Daily Press Briefing
Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman
Washington, DC
October 19, 2006
INDEX:
NORTH KOREA / CHINA
China's Special Representative Tang in North Korea with Strong
Message / China Working to Persuade North Korea to Comply
September 19 agreement
Secretary in Beijing to Meet with Foreign Minister Li and Others
to Discuss North Korea / Individual Countries Stepping in To
Implement 1718
UKRAINE
U.S. Board of Geographic Names Decision to Change Official
Spelling of Kyiv
DEPARTMENT
U.S. Space Policy / Space Should Be Used For Benefit of All
Nations
BANGLADESH
U.S. Supports Democratic System and Process
IRAN
Discussions on Sanctions Ongoing / UN Resolution Not Yet Tabled
President Ahmadi-Nejad's Remarks on Israel Unfortunate
Iran Not Positive Force in Bringing About Middle East Peace
LEBANON
U.S. Has Provided Generous Aid Package / U.S. Supports Sinora
Government
Possible Participation in Donor's Conference in France
RUSSIA
Secretary Rice's Visit Will Focus on Implementation of Resolution
1718 and North Korea
SERBIA / KOSOVO
Serbian People Must Determine Vote on Constitution's Wording /
Final Status of Kosovo Should Be Established Through Negotiations
ISRAEL
Secretary Rice's Discussed Rafa Crossing, General Dayton's
Mission, Security Situation During Talks With Israelis
TRANSCRIPT:
11:51 a.m. EDT
MR. CASEY: Okay. Good morning, everyone, since we are still a little before noon. Pleasure to be here with you. I don't
have any announcements for you. And the only statement I have in light of game 7 tonight between the Cardinals and Mets
is let's go Mets. So with that, Barry, let me take your questions.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
MR. CASEY: Didn't think you would.
QUESTION: Well, you have a -- I know there's a planeload of officials. Maybe it's redundant to ask questions here, but
let me at least try to ask you for an overall appraisal and basically are they on the same wavelength, the Chinese and
the U.S.? The Chinese Envoy has been to North Korea. The Secretary is issuing conciliatory statements that suggest to me
there's some compromise so far as tone is concerned because the Chinese are always for conciliation with North Korea.
But anyway, do you have any 30 second or a two minute appraisal of the Chinese on whether they're correlating with the
United States?
MR. CASEY: Well, first of all, certainly we know that the Chinese have sent Special Representative Tang to North Korea.
We understand he's carrying a very strong message from the Chinese Government about the need for the North Koreans not
to engage in additional nuclear tests and to move forward in terms of stopping their negative behavior and returning to
the path outlined by the September 19th agreement.
Certainly the Secretary tomorrow will be in Beijing. She'll be having meetings there with Foreign Minister Li, among
others. And I expect we'll have a good readout from her after those meetings. But in general, I think as you've heard
her say, we know that not only the Chinese, but the other members of the six-party talks, including the Japanese and
South Koreans who she has been in conversations with over the last couple of days and the Russians who she'll see
subsequently after the Chinese, all supported this resolution and all have indicated that they intend to move forward
with the implementation of it. Now obviously there are a lot of discussions and a lot of details to be worked through,
as the Secretary said herself, in terms of how that implementation is going to work and each country is in a slightly
different position and we'll need to do things slightly differently. A land border is different than a sea border, for
example. But again, I think we are very comfortable that the broad and universal support shown by the Security Council
for Resolution 1718 is being backed up by steps by the individual countries involved to help implement it. And in that
sense, I think we very much appreciate the efforts that all countries are taking at this point to do that.
Yeah.
QUESTION: This is a practical question, Tom. Reports are starting to surface again of a possible five-party meeting. Can
you put a stake through the heart of that?
MR. CASEY: Well, she actually addressed that in a transcript you might not have had a chance to see, but was a meeting
with some Japanese journalists in Tokyo and I'll just leave it where she said which is while we certainly would always
be open to a ministerial level six-party talk meeting, should the North Koreans ever change their mind about that, she
does not expect there to be such a meeting or -- such a meeting minus the North Koreans taking place in Beijing.
Mr. Lambros.
QUESTION: On Albania and I need your attention because it's very important. Congressman Donald Payne in a statement
before the U.S. House of Representatives, September 27, criticized the Albanian Government and the Department of State
for being less, according to the records, than forthcoming in addressing the humanitarian mission namely to facilitate
the retrieval of the remains of Gregory Stavrou, who was executed by the Hoxha regime in 1953. He was an intelligent
operative for Greece who's (inaudible) were shared with the U.S. Government too. According to the same statement, Mr.
Casey, his brother, a prominent professor here in the town, has by his own means located the place of his execution and
the burial, but the American Embassy in Tirana takes the word of the Albanian Minister of the Interior which claims
ignorance in his burial place. Yet, the Embassy refuses to tell the professor why Albania pleads such a type of
ignorance.
Question: What problem does the American Embassy in Tirana sees thus far declines to formally request from the Foreign
Ministry permission for an American citizen to retrieve the remains of his brother? He knows where they are. Is the
Department of State still honoring Enver Hoxha's secrecy laws mainly still on the Albanian books?
MR. CASEY: Well, Mr. Lambros --
QUESTION: It's a humanitarian issue --
MR. CASEY: Yeah, Mr. Lambros, first of all I'm not familiar with this specific case. Certainly I am sure that the
embassy in Tirana, as all embassies do, will do anything they can to help American citizens who have concerns in a
foreign country.
With regard to this specific case, frankly, I would refer you to the embassy in Tirana. I'm not sure whether there are
Privacy Act issues involved here or otherwise, but I can tell you with certainty that I'm sure the embassy in Tirana
will pursue any legitimate cases involving American citizens because that's part of what all our embassies do overseas.
QUESTION: May I go to Serbia?
MR. CASEY: Well, let's come back -- let's go down to Sylvie, and then we'll go back to Serbia later.
Sylvie.
QUESTION: I have a question about Ukraine.
MR. CASEY: Okay.
QUESTION: The State Department recently officially changed its spelling of the Ukrainian capital from the Russian
transliteration to the Ukrainian language transliteration. I wanted to know why.
MR. CASEY: Well, first of all -- and I'm so glad you asked this question, Sylvie.
QUESTION: You were ready for this.
MR. CASEY: I was, you know -- been waiting for this for several days. First of all, let me explain about decision in
Ukraine. The U.S. Board of Geographic Names, which is a federal body, in case for those of you that don't know, it was
created 1890 and was established in its present form in 1947. It's comprised of representatives from several different
government agencies. And for those of you that didn't know, the Board is authorized to establish and maintain uniform
geographic name usage throughout the federal government and this is actually a responsibility it shares with the
Secretary of the Interior.
Now, this decision was made to change the spelling of the capital of Ukraine to what is now currently spelled K-y-i-v.
The reasons for this as I understand the board's decision making was that this is more in keeping with how the
Ukrainians themselves pronounce the name of their capital. It is also now in keeping with how a number of international
organizations, including NATO and the UN, are now spelling it. So basically it was a change designed to be more
consistent both with local pronunciation standards as well as to ensure some consistency with what other international
organizations as well as the Ukrainians themselves are doing.
QUESTION: My grandmother's hometown is now Lviv and it's been Lviv for years and years in Ukraine -- it was Lvov. I
mean, that switch was made at least ten years ago.
MR. CASEY: Well, I'd refer you to the --
QUESTION: I'm just curious --
MR. CASEY: Honestly, Barry, I don't the answer to that.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
MR. CASEY: I'd refer you to the board themselves in terms of their deliberations and how that process works.
QUESTION: But if I may, this decision appears very political because only half of the Ukrainian population speaks
Ukrainian and half speaks Russian. So the State Department seems to take side.
MR. CASEY: Well, I don't think that this decision has anything reflective in it, other than what I said. The board
itself is not involved in foreign policy matters or discussions. And again, I would simply treat it as a continuing
effort to standardize practice with other international organizations and in keeping with what the Ukrainian
Government's doing.
QUESTION: The State Department is on the board?
MR. CASEY: Yes, we are.
QUESTION: And why haven't you changed Burma to Myanmar?
MR. CASEY: You know, I'll have to get back to you on that one, Arshad. But I think there is actually some public
statements regarding that. But for now, Burma is known as Burma.
QUESTION: Did you hear anything from Macedonia lately?
MR. CASEY: I haven't -- (laughter) -- but as you know and as Mr. Lambros well knows there was in fact a change in how
the United States Government referred to Macedonia.
QUESTION: FYROM.
MR. CASEY: Yes, exactly.
QUESTION: In spite of -- (laughter).
MR. CASEY: Only as annotated in certain NATO documents.
QUESTION: Mr. Casey, since you mention that --
MR. CASEY: Actually, Mr. Lambros --
QUESTION: -- what is the position vis-Ã -vis to the name which is difference between Greece and Skopje in the FYROM
government the name because it's very important since FYROM has applied to become a NATO member and also a member of the
European Union with the support of the U.S. Government?
MR. CASEY: Mr. Lambros, as you know, the decision that the United States made a little while ago with how to refer to
Macedonia is a decision that is reflective of U.S. policy. As we've always said, we look to the discussions at the UN
between Macedonia and Greece to ultimately work out an agreement between them on the naming issue. That continues to be
our policy.
QUESTION: That means also that you recognize also the existence of Macedonia language and ethnicity?
MR. CASEY: Mr. Lambros, it means we recognize Macedonia, the country, by its constitutional name. The United States
Government does not recognize languages or other sort of sub-national groups like that as far as I know.
Elise.
QUESTION: Tom, I don't know if you would have any -- it's a new topic. I don't know if you are going to have anything on
this about the new U.S. space policy. They -- the U.S. has introduced this new space policy which says that it'll deny
adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S. interests. And I was wondering -- I mean, there was a whole
litany of things in the policy. But I was wondering if you're hearing back from other governments about whether, you
know, this affects their space policy and whether new negotiations --
MR. CASEY: You know, this is something that was announced a couple of days ago from the White House and I'd honestly
refer you over there for details about it. My reading of it is, it is fairly straightforward and in keeping with
longstanding U.S. policy to ensure that space is used for the benefit of all nations and is used in a peaceful way and
is not, in fact, militarized or does not become any kind of area for militarization. Again, I'd refer you back over the
White House folks for more specifics. As far as I know, we have not heard anything specifically from other countries on
this issue. Certainly, I'm sure that there may be questions that people have that might come up in terms of some of the
specifics on it. But at the moment, certainly we haven't had any particular reaction that I have to report to you.
Let's go to this gentleman here.
QUESTION: Tom, this is Arshad with the Bangladesh newspaper. Question on Bangladesh. The ongoing dialogue between the
two major parties are going nowhere, almost being stalled. And what is the take of the State Department about the
progress so far? And the other question is that on the 28th of this month, the current administration is going to hand
over power to the caretaker administration if there is no decision. There is an insider move that the President may
assume the charge simultaneously as the chief advisor. And in order to arrest civil commotion the army may be brought in
just for the sake of a free and fair election. So how would you characterize this position?
MR. CASEY: Well, I don't have anything new to offer you in terms of specifics on this issue today. As you know, as a
matter of longstanding policy, we have supported dialogue among the various political elements in Bangladesh and we
certainly have strongly supported the democratic system and democratic process there and would not wish to see anything
occur that would break with that.
We definitely do want to see the many issues that have come up in the political process there resolved and resolved
peacefully. But beyond that, I don't have anything new to offer you in terms of specific comment on where the
discussions stand right now.
QUESTION: Could you take this question --
MR. CASEY: I'd be happy to.
QUESTION: Thank you so much.
MR. CASEY: Let's go down to Sylvie. The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad again launched an attack on Israel saying
that the (inaudible) regime is fraudulent and illegitimate and cannot survive. And he said also that Iran won't give up
an inch over its nuclear program. Do you have any comment on that?
MR. CASEY: Well, I haven't seen his remarks. Look, I think our positions on both these issues are certainly well known.
We are continuing with our discussions in New York among a variety of Security Council members on a resolution on
sanctions related to Iran's failure to comply with previous UN resolutions related to its nuclear program. We certainly
wish that the Iranians would have taken up the offer to accept the package offered by the P-5+1 and negotiate. That
didn't happen, so we're now on a path towards sanctions.
In terms of President Ahmadi-Nejad's comments related to Israel, I think it just continues an unfortunate pattern of
remarks that I think have generally been rejected by most other members of the international community. Clearly our
goal, with respect to the situation in the Middle East, is what the President has stated, which is to achieve a
Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel and with all its neighbors. And certainly Iran has not
exactly been a positive force in terms of trying to help bring about that kind of settlement in the Middle East.
QUESTION: And what about the resolution and the sanctions, is it making progress?
MR. CASEY: Well, there continue to be discussions in New York. There is not, as you know, yet a resolution that's been
tabled. But we are moving forward and we are continuing our discussions. I'd say they are going well and we're making
progress on them. And we'll look forward to being able to have a resolution for people to consider in the near future.
QUESTION: Is the discussion still within the P-5 or have you started discussing the elements of a possible resolution
with other members?
MR. CASEY: Well, I think for the moment a lot of the drafting work is within the P-5+1 context, but there have been
other discussions outside of that about elements with other Security Council members.
Let's go over here.
QUESTION: I have a question on Lebanon. France recently announced that it's going to host an international Donors
Conference in January. And I'm wondering if -- has the Administration made a decision to participate, any contemplation
of additional aid or perhaps revising a needs assessment depending upon what happens?
MR. CASEY: Well, as you know, we've already stepped forward with a generous package of assistance to Lebanon in light of
the conflict there. It's very critical to us that we do what we can to support the Siniora Government's efforts at
reconstruction as well as support the implementation of Resolution 1701.
I'm not sure of what our representation will be at the Donors Conference in France. I believe that's a decision that's
not yet been made. But as soon as we have any information for you on that or a decision on that, we'll let you know.
Let's go back here.
QUESTION: Just to clarify, in the meeting between Kim Jong-il and China's Jiaxuan Tang, Mr. Tang also communicated to
Kim Jong-il to return to the six-party talks within the year. And I was wondering if you could confirm that?
MR. CASEY: I can't because Mr. Tang works for the Chinese Government not for us. And we haven't gotten a full readout on
his discussions. I'd refer you to the Chinese Government for a readout on that right now.
QUESTION: Can I just follow up on that?
MR. CASEY: Do you have a follow-up?
QUESTION: Yeah.
MR. CASEY: Sure.
QUESTION: If the North Korea does return back to the six-party talks within the year let's say, what will happen to the
cargo inspections and implementation of the resolution?
MR. CASEY: Well, look, I think first of all let's see what North Korea does. Right now, as you know, the focus of the
Secretary's trip has been to work on implementation of that resolution which was just passed. I would be delighted to be
confronted with a situation, as I'm sure we all would be, when North Korea changes its behavior, changes its mind and
goes back to talks, but I'm not in a position to speculate right now on what might happen if that occurs.
Yeah.
QUESTION: Yeah, kind of a new topic. The Secretary is going to be visiting Moscow this weekend. And surely North Korea
is going to be topping the agenda. But while there, would she be speaking with her Russian counterparts about the
ongoing conflict between Russia and Georgia?
MR. CASEY: Well, I'm not sure what will be on the agenda beyond the primary purpose of her visit, which is the
continuation of discussions about the implementation of Resolution 1701* and North Korea's nuclear program. Certainly
I'm sure that she would be prepared to discuss that issue to the extent that it comes up in a conversation.
Obviously, our relationship with Russia is very broad and covers a number of topics. I just don't know at this point
beyond the very specific focus there what other items might come up, and I'd frankly have to defer to the party for an
answer on that one.
Sylvie's got one more and then Mr. Lambros has one more.
QUESTION: On October 28th and 29th --
MR. CASEY: Or Mr. Lambros has one more and then Sylvie has one more. Go ahead Mr. Lambros.
QUESTION: On October 28th and 29th, Serbs will vote on a new constitution. In its preamble declare that Kosovo is an
integral of the Republic of Serbia. Any comment Mr. Casey since the U.S. Government is involved very much to find a
solution to the Kosovo status?
MR. CASEY: Well, Mr. Lambros, obviously it will be up to the people of Serbia to determine how to vote on these issues.
In terms of U.S. policy with respect to Kosovo, though, and frankly in terms of the international community's policy
with respect to Kosovo, that situation hasn't changed. We continue to believe, as was called for originally and I
believe it as Resolution 1244 that the final status of Kosovo should be determined through a process of negotiations.
And that clearly is going to have to be an arrangement that is acceptable both to the people in Kosovo as well as to
those in Serbia. And we look to the dialogue being organized by former President Ahtisaari to move those talks forward.
*Note: Correct UN Resolution is 1718
QUESTION: A follow-up. Marti Ahtisaari is speaking in Brussels today together with the NATO Secretary General, Jaap De
Hoop Scheffer, said that his "Plan" for the future status of Kosovo should be definitely completed by the end of this
year 2006. As a member of the contact group, the U.S., do you have any idea about the plan which is going to create a
real mess, Mr. Casey, in the Western Balkans involving U.S. troops, NATO, KFOR, and the Albanians having the upper hand?
MR. CASEY: Mr. Lambros, certainly we have a number of ongoing discussions with Mr. Ahtisaari. Frank Wizner, our special
advisor, is involved in speaking with him. In terms of any specifics of what plan he might develop, I would leave that
to him. Certainly though again, we are supportive of the process he's leading.
Let's go, Sylvie.
QUESTION: Yeah, it was a question about the Middle East. Do you have any comment on the raid Israelis is making today in
Gaza to destroy tunnels allegedly --
MR. CASEY: You know, I saw the initial press reports on that, Sylvie, but I haven't a chance to look into it. So if we
have anything for you, I'll let you know.
QUESTION: Okay. And may I ask again the question we asked yesterday about the demands of the Secretary when she was in
Jerusalem to facilitate the circulation of goods in and from the Palestinian territories? What did she -- what is the
results?
MR. CASEY: In terms of the discussions on that, well, as you know, she talked about -- in her conversations the need to
ensure that the Rafah and other crossing -- Karni crossings -- were open on a more consistent basis. She also talked
about continuing the mission that General Dayton is still doing to try and help move forward on the security situation.
My understanding is that there is some progress made towards those goals, but I don't have anything specific to report
to you right now on that.
QUESTION: Thanks.
MR. CASEY: Thanks, Charlie.
(The briefing was concluded at 12:12 p.m.)
DPB # 169
Released on October 19, 2006
ENDS