26 April 2007
Rice Addresses Afghanistan, Kosovo, Middle East in Norway, April 26, 2007(Secretary intends to travel to Russia soon to address missile defense issues)
By Jacquelyn S. Porth
USINFO Staff Writer
Washington – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discussed peace in the Middle East, missile defense for Europe, Kosovo’s status and NATO’s efforts in Afghanistan during a trip to Norway for the informal NATO foreign ministers meeting.
The alliance is not “out of the woods, militarily” yet in Afghanistan, she said during an April 26 press briefing.
Rice said the foreign ministers had extensive discussions about alliance commitments in Afghanistan and the broader alliance approach to help the Afghans fight terrorism and to support democracy-building efforts there.
In a separate interview with the Norwegian press, Rice said that there is still much work to be done in Afghanistan, which is why Norway’s military contribution is so appreciated. NATO deployments in Afghanistan, including Norway’s contribution of additional special operations forces, are important, she said.
NATO’s economic development and reconstruction efforts are part of the alliance’s comprehensive approach in Afghanistan, Rice said, and will help the Afghans to look back several years from now -- as East Europeans now look back on NATO – “and say NATO helped us secure our democratic future.”
Asked about Kosovo, Rice said the United States and Europe have been very supportive of United Nations Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s report on Kosovo. “We now are in the process of working with all the parties,” she said, including the Kosovar government, which will need to help protect minority rights and religious sites and work to build a multiethnic state.
The secretary also said discussions are under way with Serbia to ensure it understands that it “has nothing to fear from the international community” and “has everything to gain by closer association with Europe and with European institutions.”
Further delay will not improve the possibilities for a stable situation in the Balkans, Rice warned.
Regarding a possible U.N. Security Council resolution issue, she said the United States wants “to work with Russia and, indeed, with the Serbs to make certain … that everybody understands that Kosovo is sui generis, that this is not a precedent for any other circumstances in which there might be a claim of independence,” but instead arises from “a very particular set of conditions” created by the Balkan war.
On the Middle East, the secretary emphasized the need to move to a two-state solution. The Palestinians have waited sufficiently long for their state, she said, and the Israelis “have waited long enough for the peace and security that will come from a good and democratic neighbor.”
A Palestinian government that recognizes the Quartet [United States, United Nations, Russia and the European Union] principles fully “would be a very good step forward,” Rice said. The principles call for the recognition of Israel’s right to exist and the renunciation of violence, among other points, as a foundation for peace.
Asked about U.S. policy toward Iran, Rice said if Iran is ready to suspend its nuclear enrichment and reprocessing efforts, the United States is ready to withhold further action against Iran in the U.N. Security Council.
The secretary also pointed out that “no one is saying Iran should not have civil nuclear power.” The United States is “prepared to talk to Iran about civil nuclear power without the fuel cycle,” she said, “which would reduce proliferation risks.”
The issue of Russia’s reaction to a U.S. proposal to put elements of a limited anti-missile shield in Central Europe followed Rice en route to the NATO meeting and the NATO-Russia Council meeting. She said there appears to be “a growing understanding of the importance of meeting future [long-range ballistic missile] threats through defensive means like missile defense.”
The U.S. proposal would place 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a single missile-tracking radar in the Czech Republic. “I do think we have to demystify some of the things that are being said about it,” Rice said.
As far as defending Europe against an emerging threat from Iran or elsewhere, Rice said, “I think you’ll start to see that people want to be defended.”
It is not possible that such a limited system would threaten Russia’s extensive strategic deterrent, the secretary said. “It’s just not capable of doing so, and so we’re going to have to talk about the facts as well as … about peoples’ perceptions of the system.” Rice will travel to Moscow soon to address ongoing Russian concerns.
Transcripts of Rice’s remarks en route to Oslo, her interview with NRK, comments with the Norwegian foreign minister and at the NATO ministerial meeting are available on the State Department Web site.
