US Department of State Daily Briefing #2:
Monday, 1/6/92
Boucher
Source: State Department Deputy Spokesman Richard
Boucher
Description: Washington, DC
Date: Jan, 6 19921/6/92
Category: Briefings
Region: MidEast/North Africa, Eurasia, E/C Europe,
South Asia, Southeast Asia, Caribbean, Subsaharan Africa
Country: Chad, Israel, Iraq, USSR (former), Russia, Georgia,
Yugoslavia (former), Afghanistan, Vietnam, Haiti,
United States
Subject: Mideast Peace Process, Immigration, History,
POW/MIA Issues, Democratization, Human Rights,
United Nations, Refugees, Nuclear Nonproliferation
12:50 P. M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
MR. BOUCHER: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I
don't have any statements or announcements today, so I'd be glad
to take your questions. George.
Q Richard, can you give us --
MR. BOUCHER: Oh, Barry.
Q I'm sorry. Can you go on, George.
MR. BOUCHER: Either one. I don't care.
Q Well, you won't be surprised if I ask you what the
outlook is for Mideast negotiations beginning tomorrow, and
could you also tell us how many PLO-ers, who normally would not
be eligible for admittance to this country, have been given
waivers so far?
MR. BOUCHER: Barry, as far as the outlook for the
peace talks, you know that when the parties left Washington a
couple of weeks ago, there was an informal understanding that
talks would resume this week, the week of January 6. Last week
in our discussions with them to try to pin down the details, we
proposed that talks resume in Washington on January 7.
The facilities will be available for business beginning
tomorrow on the same basis that they were in December. As I
think many of you may know, the Israeli delegation has already
arrived to resume the talks, and we are awaiting information on
the travel plans of the Arab delegations.
As far as visas go, I am aware of one -- well, I mean
first of all, we've issued visas and we issue visas to
Palestinians all the time. I think Margaret reported to you in
December on the waiver process and told you, I think, that since
1989 there have been 120; and she described the various
categories for which we issue those visas. So I'm not -- at any
given point, I mean, I'd have to do new totals that I haven't
done, so I don't know how to characterize individual
applications or any group of applications.
I'm aware of at least one recent application that's
currently being reviewed.
Q Will that one recent application involve somebody
who -- by the way, I asked about PLO-ers, not
Palestinians.
MR. BOUCHER: Oh, that's true.
Q I mean Palestinians who, because of their
association with the PLO --
MR. BOUCHER: Who require a waiver.
Q -- would not normally be eligible. You made two
exceptions last time for -- but they're called "advisers," I
believe -- and I wondered if you have added -- have you renewed
those two exceptions, and have you now added a third one?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have a list. I'm aware that we
have a request for a visa from Nabil Shaath, and that his
application is currently being reviewed.
Q And if such a person -- this one in fact -- has an
appointment to make a speech -- if a speech is set up for
somebody who normally wouldn't be admittable, does that
establish a rational basis, or does that make it possible to
give him a waiver? Is that the reason for a waiver, that you
have to make a speech?
MR. BOUCHER: As I said, this is currently in process.
It is currently being reviewed. Let's see how this particular
one comes out. I think Margaret, when she reported on the
various reasons for doing these waivers, talked about academic
conferences being one of the reasons, among others. But I don't
want to try to prejudge a particular case until we get it
through the process.
Q Just for the record, you say the facilities are
being prepared. Are they the same facilities as in December --
here in this Department?
MR. BOUCHER: It's my understanding that they are, yes.
Q Can you give us an idea of the consultations at
the United Nations on a resolution to condemn Israel for the
deportations?
MR. BOUCHER: The U.N. Security Council is considering
a resolution condemning Israel's decision to deport
Palestinians. The U.N. Security Council will meet this
afternoon, we understand, to consider such a resolution, and a
vote may occur today.
We're talking to other members of the Council about a
proposed resolution, in keeping with our own long-standing and
oft-stated opposition to deportations. I'll also refer you to
the statement we made last Friday concerning our position on
deportations, and also expressed our condemnation on the rise in
violence.
Q So is our understanding correct that the United
States will support such a resolution at the United Nations?
MR. BOUCHER: As you know, we'd never say finally what
we will support until we see it. But, yes, we will support a
resolution if it is consistent with our views on the subject of
deportations.
Q Another question, if I may. There is a newspaper
report in Israel that the United States is ready to resume a
dialogue with the PLO. Can you comment on that?
MR. BOUCHER: I hadn't seen that report, and I know of
absolutely nothing new on the subject of a dialogue. We don't
have one right now.
Q Richard, would you describe the proposed
resolution as a United States initiative?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I could do that. I think
it's being discussed with other members of the Council. I'm not
sure whose name will be on it in the end. Perhaps it will come
out of the Council as a whole, so we'll see.
Q Was the United States the first to broach the
issue?
MR. BOUCHER: Not that I know of. I don't know where
it started.
Q Richard, in the same part of the world, the London
Times carried a report yesterday that before U.N. inspection
teams got to Iraq, some ten tons of nuclear material was shipped
to Algeria, and that Algerians are now helping Iraqis with their
nuclear program. Can you comment on that?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, we've heard such reports before,
and we've not found any information to confirm them. However,
I'd have to point out that we take all reports of Iraqi efforts
to evade compliance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 687
seriously. We have urged all countries to be vigilant to
potential Iraqi attempts to avoid compliance with U.N.
resolutions.
The international community continues to closely
inspect and monitor Iraq, with the goal of eliminating any Iraqi
capability to pursue weapons of mass destruction.
We've discussed nuclear-related issues with the
Government of Algeria, including cooperation with Iraq.
Obviously, we expressed our concerns about any possible
cooperation with Iraq, and the Algerians said that they had no
nuclear cooperation with Iraq. So, as I said earlier, we have
no information from the Algerians or elsewhere that would
confirm such reports.
Q Richard, can you tell us when the 120-day
moratorium on discussion of the Israeli loan guarantees will
conclude?
MR. BOUCHER: No.
Q Is this a moving 120 days, or is --
MR. BOUCHER: Norm, I don't think we ever set a precise
date to it. We expressed our intentions at the time. I don't
have any reason to believe those intentions have changed, but
we've never put a precise date to it.
Q What are your intentions? I mean, what are your
intentions now, then? What do you plan to do in coming days or
the next few weeks in terms of pursuing that issue?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have any game plan for you at
this point.
Q Is there a moratorium on public discussion of this
issue?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know anything new about it since
we last discussed it many months ago. So, if you want an
update, well, maybe we'll look for one for you, but there's
nothing new to say at this point.
Q I think everyone would like an update.
Q Is the U.S. rationale for having the moratorium in
the first place still operative? That is, has anything changed
in the peace process which was the underpinning, if you will,
for the request for the moratorium in the first place that would
suggest to us that a change might be, you know, warranted in the
policy?
MR. BOUCHER: Ralph, I don't want to rehash everything
that was said at the time, and the rationale was expressed in, I
think, more detail than you just expressed it, at the time. As
far as I know, our intentions to take this issue up have not
changed.
Q Richard, a follow-up -- the President's
conferences downstairs -- no, they're upstairs meeting with
Dennis Ross. Are they talking about the loan guarantee issue,
or why are they here?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know. You can ask them what
they're talking about.
Q O.K.
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know.
Q Richard, the rationale at the time -- can you tell
us whether it was to get a conference held in Madrid or to get
some progress towards peace in the Middle East?
MR. BOUCHER: Norm, I'd just go back to the statements
we made at the time. I don't want to try to say anything new
here.
Q Are any U.S. officials meeting today with members
of either the Israeli or the Palestinian delegation to the
talks?
MR. BOUCHER: Ed Djerejian has a meeting scheduled
today with the Israeli delegation members, and he also has a
separate meeting with a member of the Palestinian delegation who
remained in the United States.
Q Is that Dr. Shafi?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes.
Q Can you tell us when those are?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have the times on those.
Somebody said that Dr. Shafi had been seen already, so I presume
that's occurred.
Q Richard, what do you think about this disagreement
between Ukraine and Russia about the Black Sea fleet? Doesn't
it confront the U.S. policy for recognition --
MR. BOUCHER: Did you say "agreement" or
"disagreement"?
Q Disagreement.
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not aware that they've reached an
agreement at this point.
Q Disagreement.
MR. BOUCHER: Oh, O.K. I thought you were making news
on me. Well, control of the Black Sea fleet is one of the many
issues still being negotiated among the states of the
commonwealth. The states of the commonwealth have managed to
reach amicable agreements in their negotiations related to other
military issues up to now, and we think that they should
be able to reach a mutually agreeable solution on this issue as
well. Other than that, I'll leave it to the parties to decide.
Q I presume that there are some nuclear weapons on
these ships, so doesn't it confront the policy of recognition of
the states? I mean, this U.S. policy of unified control --
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know what the status of nuclear
weapons on the ships is, and that's certainly not something for
me to announce from here. I don't have any details, really, on
the current status of the fleet in any way. But, certainly, the
issue of a single unified command for nuclear weapons is
something that remains very important to us.
[Former Soviet Union: US Urges Peaceful Resolution in Georgia]
Q Richard, what is the United States position on the
president of Georgia? Is it the position of the government that
he ought to remain in office or --
MR. BOUCHER: Our position is that throughout the
crisis we have made clear that we believe that full protection
of human rights in Georgia is the key to ending tensions there
and to ensuring stability.
The U.S. Government continues to urge all parties to
renounce the use of force and negotiate a peaceful settlement
based on internationally recognized human rights principles. We
hold both sides to this tragic dispute responsible for ending
the violence and for taking all necessary steps to ensure the
security and safety of all Georgians, including members of
President Gamsakhurdia's government.
The United States Government has stated clearly that we
will engage in closer relations with new states in the former
Soviet Union on the basis of the Secretary's five principles,
and the U.S. Government will not engage in closer relations with
any government in Georgia until it demonstrates its commitments
to the five principles.
Q Gamsakhurdia has now fled to Armenia, but before
he left he asked for a United Nations supervised referendum on
whether he should resign or not, and he does have some support
in parts of the country. Would the United States support this
request for a referendum on whether he should govern or not,
supervised by the United Nations?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't really have a U.S. position on
that. The United States is -- I think I just said our opinion
is not to take sides but is to say that any government that is
there should adhere to the basic principles of human rights, and
that these issues need to be settled peacefully, and that's been
our consistent position.
Q But doesn't the U.S. have a position on the
deposition of a leader elected by democratic elections?
MR. BOUCHER: Bill, our position --
Q Being deposed by force?
MR. BOUCHER: -- all along on the Gamsakhurdia
government has been concern about its behavior. It wasn't based
on questioning his democratic credentials, but we questioned its
behavior, especially in the human rights area after
Gamsakhurdia's election.
We certainly urge both sides to try to end this thing
peacefully and settle this one based on the international
principles that we have enunciated, and that others have
enunciated, and that's what we've done. We're in touch with
both the government and the opposition -- we've been in touch
with them -- through their representatives in Moscow, and this
is the view that we've been expressing.
Q But here's a guy who was elected by a democratic
process. I mean, is this the most we can say in support of him?
MR. BOUCHER: John, as you know, we've had our concerns
about this government. We have our concerns about how this
situation has been going. We think both sides are responsible
for the violence and for not settling it peacefully. So we've
been in touch with both sides to urge them to try to settle
these differences peacefully.
Q But in Haiti the United States is calling for the
restoration of President Aristide to power. I notice that
you're not doing that here.
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not going to start making
comparisons.
Q But do you consider that Gamsakhurdia is still the
President? Does the United States believe he is still the
President of Georgia, living in exile, I guess, or, I mean what
is the status of the government of --
MR. BOUCHER: Ralph, the status of the Government of
Georgia is not for me to say. As you know, from the Secretary's
speech in December and from the President's announcement on
recognition on Christmas, this is not a government to which we'd
extended a desire to have diplomatic relations at this time
because of our questions about its human rights practices.
That's certainly not changed with the present situation.
So in terms of our choosing a government of Georgia,
that's not something we do. We have urged the various sides to
these disputes to respect human rights and to solve their
differences peacefully, and that's our contribution to the
situation.
Q Your statements today, though, have made repeated
references to the Gamsakhurdia government, and I guess a lot of
us are wondering whether there is a Gamsakhurdia government,
since he is not present in that country.
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know whether the way we've tried
to describe it -- but we do not question the election or the
fact that he was a democratically-elected leader. As I said
before, we questioned his behavior and the practices of that
government after the election.
Q So, Richard, I'm thinking of your principle of
change coming about peacefully. The Government of Georgia is
not changing peacefully -- is it? -- when a guy has to flee like
this?
MR. BOUCHER: No, it's not, Barry, and --
Q I mean, forget how he was elected. Putting that
aside, how about the transition now to a new government? Isn't
there a kind of a blip in the well-crafted, well-scripted, five
principles that Mr. Baker, you know, tried to have all the
former republics agree to? You can't like the development, can
you?
MR. BOUCHER: No, we don't. And I think I said that we
have urged them to resolve this peacefully; that we've been in
touch with them. We've monitored the situation. We've kept in
touch with both sides through their representatives in Moscow
and consistently urged both sides to stop the violence and
resolve these issues peacefully, just as much as we've urged the
government of President Gamsakhurdia to accept the five
principles and basic principles of human rights.
Q How is the U.S. remaining in touch with the
Gamsakhurdia government?
MR. BOUCHER: Through representatives in Moscow.
Q He has representatives?
MR. BOUCHER: Both sides have representatives in
Moscow.
Q Richard, there does seem to be a contradiction in
your various principles. You support the results of freely
elected governments but only so long as their behavior is
acceptable?
MR. BOUCHER: That's not the situation, Jim. Jim,
we're dealing with a real situation here. We're dealing with a
situation where we think both sides are responsible for the
violence. Obviously, we don't recognize a government that comes
to power through violence. That's not in accordance with the
guidance of the five principles, and the kinds of principles
that we hope to see respected.
At the same time, we've urged both sides to stop the
violence and to try to resolve this peacefully, and that remains
our position.
Q But as one of your principles, who is the
recognized government in the Republic of Georgia now?
MR. BOUCHER: As one of our principles that predates
all this -- it goes way back to August and before -- we have not
tried to settle these disputes or to decide for others who their
governments are going to be. I think we've always said that's a
matter for the people themselves to decide.
So we don't have diplomatic relations with the
government in Georgia for reasons that the Secretary and the
President have explained in the past, and our position is that
these disputes need to be settled peacefully, and that we would
not expect to have closer relations with a government in Georgia
until it is clear that they are respecting the five principles.
Q Richard --
MR. BOUCHER: Pat.
Q -- Japan's Prime Minister indicated today that his
country is prepared to make trade concessions and allow U.S.
cars to be sold in Japanese dealerships, buy more auto parts,
that sort of thing. Do you have any reaction to that?
MR. BOUCHER: My reaction is that the President is
either in Japan or about to arrive there, and I'll leave it to
him.
Q Richard, do you have any more this week on the
release of the Kennedy-Krushchev letters?
MR. BOUCHER: We're putting together the final right
now. I think we'll be able to do it for you this afternoon. I
just want to make sure we had all our ducks in a row.
Q You have the letters?
MR. BOUCHER: We should have a statement, a list of the
various letters that have been released previously and those
being released now, and copies for you of the remaining letters
that hadn't been released today.
Q Can I go back to the Soviet Union, please?
MR. BOUCHER: To where?
Q Back to the former Soviet Union. The aid
conference later this month here in Washington -- how do those
preparations stand at this point?
MR. BOUCHER: They're underway. I don't have any
announcements for you or any details.
Q Any idea how many RSVPs you've received?
MR. BOUCHER: No. I don't have that.
Q And will there representatives from all of the
republics? Are they all being invited to send representatives?
MR. BOUCHER: Again, I don't have any details for you
at this point on when it will be and where it will be and who's
going to be there.
Q One other try, if I can. I gather that Prime
Minister Major suggested last week that there might be a summit
meeting of U.N. Security Council Permanent Members. Is the U.S.
interested in pursuing that? What position, if any, have you
relayed back?
MR. BOUCHER: The position that I relayed on Friday,
when I was asked that question here, was that I would leave that
one for the White House, because it involves a meeting at the
summit level.
Q Could I follow on that question? The United
Nations is considering a peacekeeping force of 10,000 troops to
send to Yugoslavia, and France has today said that it would
participate with more than 3,000 troops. Would the United
States participate in a force like that?
MR. BOUCHER: Not that I'm aware of. The current,
operative question, I think, has been a report to the Secretary
General by his emissary, Cyrus Vance. We expect the Council to
discuss that report. One of the things in the report is that
the Secretary General states that he plans to send up to 50
military liaison officers as a continuation of the good offices
mission that's being led by Cyrus Vance.
These people will be drawn from existing U.N.
operations, and we have some observers with U.N. operations.
But it's not clear at this point where any of those people would
go on this liaison mission.
As for the composition of the actual peacekeeping
forces themselves, I'm not aware that the U.S. has been asked or
intends to send anybody to that.
Q Richard, has the United States been in touch with
the -- I suppose he's the former King of Afghanistan -- or any
of his leading lights? I understand his chief of staff is in
Washington or has been, and there's been a lot of consultation
with various leaders.
MR. BOUCHER: This is who? This is Zahir Shah?
Q Yes.
MR. BOUCHER: We've met with him in the past. I don't
know of anything recent. I'd have to check on it.
Q There's been a lot of move about -- people talking
to him about going back to Afghanistan, and I was wondering if
the U.S. was in on any of this?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know if we've talked to him
recently. As you know, the U.N. Secretary General has an envoy
that's been working on this and talking to all the parties,
including us.
Q Are you still planning to meet with -- or is
someone at the State Department still planning to meet with the
KGB officer Kalugin, and do you have any comment on his
credibility, since the man he's quoting has denied saying it?
MR. BOUCHER: I hadn't heard any new quotes from the
person that he's talking about. We've met with Kalugin several
times in recent days. We have not yet met with the
interrogator, the alleged interrogator.
We've made clear our desire to meet with him and
continue our efforts to try to get such a meeting with the
Embassy.
Q Richard, the Argentine soccer star, Diego
Maradona, who's facing charges of cocaine use in his home
country, said in an interview that he wants to settle in Florida
and has bought an apartment for that purpose. Would the United
States be willing to grant him a visa?
MR. BOUCHER: I have no idea, Alan, and that's not
usually the type of thing that we comment on in advance.
Q How about a waiver? (Laughter)
MR. BOUCHER: If somebody applies, we deal with the
case.
Q If he makes a speech at an academic conference,
would you -- (laughter) --
Q How about citizenship?
MR. BOUCHER: I'm not sure he's covered by the same
law, Barry.
Q Going back to the Mideast, Israel has rejected the
U.S. condemnation of the deportation of the Palestinians, saying
this is not an issue for negotiation. Would that strengthen the
U.S. resolve to back a really strong resolution at the U.N.?
MR. BOUCHER: As I said, we're discussing a resolution
now at the U.N. The United States will support a resolution
that is consistent with our views. I expressed our views on
Friday. They've been long-standing United States' views that we
were opposed. We condemned deportations for the reasons that I
expressed, and we also expressed concerns and condemned the rise
in violence there.
Q But since Friday when you expressed that, Israel
has come out and said basically it rejects all you had to say.
I wonder if you had a comeback?
MR. BOUCHER: No. Our views are stated -- have been
stated before. They're based on a long-standing position that
the United States has taken that Israel is well aware of. We've
supported and would support resolutions in the United Nations
that are consistent with those views, and that's where we are
now. There is no interplay between various statements. We have
a position. We'll support resolutions that are consistent with
that position on that basis.
Q Richard, where do we stand on the Moscow Middle
East peace conference -- Moscow portion of the Middle East peace
process?
MR. BOUCHER: The multilateral talks in Moscow?
Q Yes. The multilateral.
MR. BOUCHER: There's nothing new. Nothing changed.
Q They're still scheduled and --
MR. BOUCHER: Still scheduled January 28-29 in Moscow.
Q Can you tell us anything more about, less than
three weeks away now, who's going to be coming, or who's been
invited, or anything of that sort?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I can't.
Q Reggie on his way yet?
MR. BOUCHER: Oh, Reggie's trip?
Q It's about now, isn't it?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, we're still talking to people about
dates and agendas and things like that. We're talking to
representatives in the four nuclear republics, which I have a
list of somewhere.
Q Do you mean an interlocutor forum?
MR. BOUCHER: We're discussing dates, timing and agenda
for a trip by U.S. nuclear experts with the Republics of Russia,
Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It's not scheduled yet. As
you know, during the Secretary's visits, the leaders of all four
states expressed their interest in having such a visit.
Q Richard, do the technicians get to go separately?
I mean, you know, the nuts-and-bolts guy, to help them dismantle
missiles?
MR. BOUCHER: The whole scheduling of this -- the
agenda, timing, dates, people -- is still being worked on. It's
not set yet.
Q Do you expect it to be this month?
MR. BOUCHER: I think that's what we offered. At this
point, since it's not settled, I can't tell you precisely when
it will be.
Q On Haiti, do you have an update that would
indicate whether people were fleeing during the holiday season?
Do you have any new numbers that would shed light on --
MR. BOUCHER: There haven't been any new Haitians
picked up at sea by the Coast Guard since December 30. There
were none over the weekend, according to information we got from
the Coast Guard this morning.
There are 77 Haitians being returned voluntarily to
Haiti this morning from Guantanamo. This brings the total of
voluntary returns to 493. There are an additional 78 of those
who have been found to have plausible claim to asylum that are
being flown from Guantanamo to the United States -- have been
flown, I guess, already.
That brings the total flown to the United States to
pursue their claims to asylum to 391. On interviews, there are
8,168 who have been interviewed. Of these, 2,089 have been
found to have a plausible claim to asylum.
Q Are we going to start the repatriation soon?
MR. BOUCHER: We're still following the court order.
There is still a ban from the court on involuntary
repatriations. We're complying with that ban. The court
postponed a hearing on the case to allow time for clarification
of the issues. Briefs were filed on December 31, but oral
argument is not scheduled to be heard until January 22.
Q Do you have anything on the negotiations over a
Prime Minister -- there were reports that Renee Theodore has
withdrawn, and that the talks are at an impasse?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have anything new on that.
That's something, as you know, that the OAS is pursuing, and we
certainly support their efforts.
Q Richard, do you have any comment on the French
declared intention to give military support to the Government of
Chad, taking into consideration the fact that they are going to
-- the French, I mean, are going to support the government that
is being supported already by the Libyans?
MR. BOUCHER: Let me get you something afterwards on
the situation in Chad. I think we had something on Friday, but
I don't remember.
Q Richard, I'm not sure, since briefings have been
infrequent over the last two weeks, whether there has been a
State Department reaction to the election of a basically Islamic
fundamentalist parliament in Algeria?
MR. BOUCHER: If you remember, on Friday I sort of
declined to comment at this point and said they have a second
round scheduled, so we really don't know what the final makeup
of the parliament will be.
Q Richard, one more on the Middle East talks: In
addition to having the facilities ready tomorrow, is the U.S.
Government in contact with the various parties, urging them to,
in fact, show up?
MR. BOUCHER: Yes, certainly we are. I'll get the
appropriate phrasing. We're urging all the parties to resume
the talks, and we expect them to act in their own best interests
by doing so.
Q And how is this process being carried out?
MR. BOUCHER: I know we have -- I think I reported to
you on at least two meetings that Ed Djerejian is having here
today. We're also in touch with the various parties through
other channels, including our Embassies and Consulates.
Q And have they been giving you any indication
whether in fact they will show up?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, as I said, the Israeli delegation
has already arrived, and we're awaiting information on the
travel plans of the Arab delegations. But, obviously, that's
something you'll have to get from them.
Q Have the Arab delegations imposed any conditions
that they would like met before they show up?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know what precisely you're asking
about. If you're asking about the U.N. deportations resolution,
as I said before, there are no conditions, no deals on that.
We're supporting resolutions consistent with our policy.
Q Richard, a lot of attention has been devoted to
Soviet or ex-Soviet nuclear weapons. What about their civilian
nuclear programs? After all, it was a civilian program that
exploded in Ukraine in 1986.
Is the United States concerned? Is it urging any
action? Is it doing anything to ensure the safety of these
parts which have now devolved to republics like Ukraine and
Belarus?
MR. BOUCHER: I don't really know, Alan. I guess I
can't say. It's been something, obviously, of concern to them.
I think in their Alma-Ata meetings, they addressed specifically
the question of Chernobyl, and I know we in the past have, I
think, had some contacts with them on the subject. But I'm not
aware of any new proposals that we've made.
Q Richard, can you elaborate on the Djerejian
meeting with Dr. Shafi? Dr. Shafi came for the talks or just --
MR. BOUCHER: No. As I said, this was a member of the
Palestinian delegation who remained in the United States after
the last round, and, you know, he's here. We meet with these
people all the time. He's here. We're meeting with him.
Q Do you have any update on food shipments to the
republics and concerns about the way it's being handled there?
The Germans have said they will stop shipping food until they
can be sure it's not going to be stolen at its source
practically when it arrives? Is there anything you have on --
MR. BOUCHER: I don't have anything on new shipments at
this point. We did do an answer that I think we posted about a
week ago, explaining how the process of distribution of the two
flights that went into St. Petersburg and Moscow had gone, and
we had people supervising that all the way through. So it looks
like it went well.
Q Anything else being planned?
MR. BOUCHER: We said there was a possibility of
further flights. I don't have any new details at this point --
specific plans at this point.
Q Just a technical question on the peace conference
-- peace process stuff. You said the facilities would be
available tomorrow. I may have missed it, because I was not
here for a couple of weeks. At what point did the facilities
not become available? I mean, aren't they -- I thought when we
left that they were available at any time.
MR. BOUCHER: Ralph, this has never been a major issue
for us, frankly. We said the parties said that they would
resume talks. We welcomed that. We said that was a good
thing. Obviously, we're not going to have people hanging around
the hallways on days that we know they're not going to be here.
We've always said that whatever the parties want to do
and if we can facilitate it, we'll do that. When they left last
round, they said they were leaving town. They said they
intended to come back this week and have some talks, so we're
making the facilities available when they want to use them.
Q Thank you.
(The briefing concluded at 1:23 p.m.)