H.E. Dr. Marwan Muasher
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Media Stakeout
with US Secretary of State Colin Powell
and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Marwan Muasher
September 29, 2004
Washington, D.C.
SEC. POWELL: Well, good
afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It's always a pleasure to have Foreign Minister
Muasher here at the State Department, and we had a good conversation. I want to
thank the minister, and through him His Majesty and the people of Jordan for the
strong support they have steadfastly provided to us in the campaign against
terrorism and especially the assistance they have been providing to the people
of Iraq as the people of Iraq prepare for elections that we expect to be held by
the end of January 2005. As His Majesty King Abdullah mentioned the other day,
the security situation is a challenge. We understand this, and our commanders
are hard at work as well as our political authorities, hard at work with the
Iraqi interim government to bring the security situation under control and to
defeat this insurgency, especially the insurgency raging within the Sunni
Triangle. But let us not lose sight of the fact that what is important is that
the Iraqi people be given the opportunity to vote for who their leaders will be,
how they will be governed, and the nature of their constitution. And it is the
obligation of the international community to help the Iraqi people achieve
freedom and stability so that they can become a nation of stability in the
region. And I thank Jordan for the assistance that it has been providing. I also
thank the minister for the contribution he made to the conference that we had
last Friday morning at the U.N. in New York. It was really a preliminary
conference, the beginning of a process called the Forum for the Future that came
out of the G-8 meeting at Sea Island earlier in the year where the Broader
Middle East and North African nations come together with the G-8 to talk about
modernization and reform within the region; reform and modernization as
determined by the nations of the region, but with the assistance and help and
with the partnership of the industrialized world. It was an excellent opening
conference. Twenty-eight nations came together and talked candidly, not just
rhetorically, but candidly and with substance, about the challenges that we're
all facing together and how we can work with each other in partnership and in
friendship to support reform efforts that are coming from within the region. And
I would especially like to thank my friend, Marwam, for the leadership he has
played within the Middle East in bringing this to the attention of all of the
nations of the Middle East, and helping bring a statement forward out of the
Arab League that endorses this kind of reform and modernization effort. Our
bilateral relationship, as always, is very solid and strong. And, Marwan, it's a
great pleasure to have you here, and I invite you to say a word or two.
MIN. MUASHER: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. It's always an honor and a
pleasure to be here. And indeed, as the secretary said, we had a very good
discussion over a range of issues, from Iraq, to the peace process, to the very
central issue of reform which we have in our region. Last week in New York, we
indeed had the chance not only to take stock of what has already been achieved
in the region, but also to start planning ahead of the next steps we need to
take in that regard. We had a very healthy dialogue with members of the G-8, and
I think that the process is starting to get traction and hopefully will lead to
further progress as we go along in the future. We expressed our strong support
for the Iraqi interim government in its efforts to hold elections and move the
political process forward. We hope these elections will be held all over Iraq so
that every Iraqi can participate in the future-making of their country. We also
had a chance to talk about the peace process, undergoing certainly great
difficulties. But I indicated again our support for the road map and for the
need to maintain our objective of a two-state solution as the only acceptable
outcome of the peace process. And we discussed ways in which we can work
together to move the process forward. Mr. Secretary, again, thank you for
receiving me.
SEC. POWELL: Thank you, Mr. Minister.
Q Mr. Secretary --
SEC. POWELL: Barry?
Q (Off mike) -- I ask you for your views of an Iraq conference which the
Iraqi foreign minister would like held? The French say put on the agenda the
withdrawal of U.S. troops. I wonder if you think that's a terrific idea. And you
know, do you think generally that it is a good idea to have this conference? I'm
going to do a two-for, which I never do. But Mr. Minister, on elections, your
government appears to stress security; the U.S. is stressing the need to have
the Iraqi people choose a government. Is there a difference between your two
positions?
SEC. POWELL: On the first point, the conference that the Iraqi interim
government wants to hold is something that we strongly support, and it's an idea
that Prime Minister Allawi has been discussing with his neighbors and with us
for some period of time. It got a lot of attention last week in New York because
I made reference to it on several occasions. It would be a conference held in
the region with all of Iraq's neighbors, the G-8, and representatives of the
Arab League and Organization of the Islamic Conference, and perhaps some others.
Dates are being examined now. Prime Minister Allawi and Foreign Minister Zebari
are out working this right now, and so I hope this conference will be held in
the not too distant future. But the specific date, I'll wait for the Iraqi
interim government to announce after arrangements have been made. And I look
forward to personally participating in the conference. I think what Foreign
Minister Barnier, the French foreign minister, was suggesting the other day was
that such a conference might look at the resolution that was passed by the U.N.
that talked about what happens after a year and after the next election with
respect to the mandate of the multinational force. And the French embassy and
the French ministry have clarified that the minister was in no way suggesting a
precondition for their attendance at the conference, nor was he suggesting
specific agenda items. He was merely noting that the resolution itself calls for
a review of this matter after the elections are held next year. And if that's an
item that the participants wish to put in the agenda, that would be perfectly
appropriate, and I see nothing wrong with that. So I'm afraid that the
minister's comments were somewhat misinterpreted by the press. At least that's
what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes as well.
MIN. MUASHER: Barry, let me stress that there is no difference whatsoever
between our position and that of the U.S. administration. We both agree that
security is very important, and we're both working with the Iraqi interim
government to be able to help them provide that security. We both agree that
elections should be held all over Iraq, so that every Iraqi can participate in
the election process. And we expressed our hope that the elections will be held
on time and that the conditions would be conducive for that. Q Can you tell us,
Mr. Secretary, what you know about Italy's efforts to free those two hostages
who arrived in Rome last night? And there has been a lot of talk about ransom. I
wanted to ask you: Are you concerned that a steadfast ally like Italy might have
negotiated with terrorists and paid -- or someone connected to them paid a
ransom of as much as a million dollars?
SEC. POWELL: I have no information concerning their release, and I would
suggest that you ask the Italian government. I have no information with respect
to the release. And I will take my lead from whatever the Italian government
says about the matter. Thank you.