Source: http://www.usunnewyork.usmission.gov/06_309.htm http://www.usunnewyork.usmission.gov/06_309.htm Date: October 30, 2006 USUN PRESS RELEASE #  309(06)   October 30, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     Remarks by Ambassador John R. Bolton, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, at the Security Council stakeout, October 30, 2006 Ambassador Bolton: I'll just take a question or two. I don't really have any… I think you have the remarks I made on the 1559 report. Reporter: Why did you take so long to come out? Ambassador Bolton: Because we were talking about Cote d'Ivoire. Reporter: No, no. There is any problem with the Syrian and Iran influence in this disarmament? Ambassador Bolton: There's a lot of problems from our point of view. That's why I made the comments that I did in the remarks I made in response to Special Envoy Roed-Larsen's report. But the actual discussion of the report I think was about an hour. Reporter: (inaudible) Ambassador Bolton: Well, about an hour and a half. The rest of the time we've been talking about Cote d'Ivoire. Reporter: Ambassador, in light of what you said, do you think that the rules of engagement of UNIFIL should be changed so there will be more action towards disarming Hezbollah? Ambassador Bolton: We didn't really get into that subject, so… Reporter: Tomorrow will you vote again, Venezuela versus Guatemala? Ambassador Bolton: If it's all night, it's all right. Reporter: Ambassador, reaction from Iranian President Ahmadinejad to… U.N. Security Council should be careful in how they consider their Resolution. And what's the latest update… Ambassador Bolton: I haven't… I haven't seen his… I haven't seen his comment. Reporter: (inaudible) Ambassador Bolton: Hang on a second. I haven't… hang on a second… haven't seen his comment, so I won't respond to it directly. But let me be clear: we said in Resolution 1696 that Iran had until August 31st to suspend its uranium enrichment activities. If they did not, we would be back here for sanctions. We're talking about very narrowly tailored sanctions, and we'd like to proceed as soon as possible. Reporter: Are you seeking some amendments to the draft resolution on Iran? Ambassador Bolton: Well, I'd -- we haven't been talking about the draft resolution on Iran today; we've been talking about 1559, right, so… or Cote d'Ivoire, if you want to ask about that. Reporter: What did you say about Cote d'Ivoire? Ambassador Bolton: There are still some areas that are not worked out on this resolution. I think the French will put it in blue tonight so it can be voted on tomorrow. But consultations have been scheduled for 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. It's clear that further changes I think are likely, and we're going to continue to work on it. Reporter: Mr. Ambassador, on 1559, can you tell us what the differences are? I know there's a presidential statement in the works. Is it going to happen? And… Ambassador Bolton: It's going to happen here in a few minutes, yeah, at long last. Reporter: So there is agreement… Ambassador Bolton: Yes. Reporter: … there is agreement on that? Could you also comment on what's happening with a tribunal for the… whoever is possibly brought to justice for the Hariri assassination? Ambassador Bolton: Well, the discussions have been going on between the Secretariat and the government of Lebanon, various other interested parties, and there's obviously no agreement on the exact composition of the tribunal yet, so those discussions will continue. I'd just say if you go back to 1595, it says a tribunal of an international character -- Lebanese tribunal of an international character… so there's obviously room for play there. And that's why that particular formulation was chosen. There was not a set allocation of judges or anything else in mind. It's something that we have to work out, and those discussions are continuing. Reporter: Just a quick follow-up. Did you have any comments on the … Ambassador Bolton: Patience there at the end. Reporter: (inaudible) …comments by President Lahoud about the tribunal today? Ambassador Bolton: No, I don't. Reporter: He was very adamant in his -- very forceful in rejecting some proposals. Ambassador Bolton: I haven't seen exactly what he said. Everybody recognizes that he acts on behalf of Syria, and I think you have to take that into account. So we'll -- you know, he's the president; we'll take it into account. But life goes on. Raghida? Reporter: But from your understanding here in the council, the position of the president, President Emile Lahoud, is it something that you don't have to reckon with? This is just a follow-up before I ask my question. Ambassador Bolton: No, I think what we're trying to do is find a formula that will work to have an effective tribunal. The secretariat is handling those negotiations; we're obviously following them. But it doesn't surprise me that they haven't reached agreement. The council deliberately left the composition of the tribunal open, and that's a matter to be discussed. Reporter: And in your statement before the council, you made it a point to speak about attempts to destabilize Lebanon, but you also spoke of attempts to physically threaten the leaders of Lebanon. What do you know? Are you afraid of further assassinations? Why did you speak of that? Ambassador Bolton: Absolutely we're afraid of it. And in fact, the special envoy in the proceeding said that he had received information from the government of Lebanon about the re-supply of Hezbollah in violation of the arms embargo, but that the government was afraid to be specific about these arms coming across the Syrian-Lebanese border because of the fear of retaliation. And I think that the absence of complete cooperation by the government of Syria remains very troubling in that respect. And I think it's very courageous for any of the democratic politicians in Lebanon to go about their business under that kind of threat. Yeah? Reporter: Mr. Ambassador? Do mean that Mr. Siniora told you… Mr. Ambassador? Ambassador Bolton: Sorry? Reporter: Do you mean that Mr. Siniora told you that there is smuggling of weapons to Hezbollah? Ambassador Bolton: No, no, he didn't. I wasn't referring to anything anybody said to me, I was referring to what the special envoy said he had heard from the government of Lebanon about that, and which I think is common knowledge that the arms embargo is being violated. That's just… Reporter: On the issue of Iran, are…On the…on the… Ambassador Bolton: You're very polite. We'll do this one first. Reporter: Are the negotiations on the nuclear issue and on the draft resolution on Iran continuing? Because last Friday it was about the beginning of the negotiations, but this week it didn't resume. Ambassador Bolton: There haven't been any discussions on the Iran resolution today. Reporter: Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. On the Shebaa Farms now, on the Shebaa Farms, do you know anything, there is new delineation or do you agree for the -- on the new delineation or -- Ambassador Bolton: No, there were a number of questions in here about when the secretariat would come up with its recommendations on Shebaa Farms. And Special Envoy Roed-Larsen said he couldn't come up with a timetable because of the difficulties of the issue. But he emphasized again -- the Security Council's been clear since the year 2000 that Israel had completely withdrawn beyond the Blue Line pursuant to Resolution 425. And he pointed out an interesting fact that I perhaps hadn't fully appreciated, but that the operations of UNIFIL and UNDOF, throughout their history and defining their respective areas of operation, have treated the Shebaa Farms region as being Syrian. So the practice of the U.N. itself, going back over 20 years, over 25 years, has recognized that Shebaa Farms has been treated as Syrian territory. Reporter: Mr. Ambassador, do you have any comment about the Israeli harassment of the German warships? Ambassador Bolton: I don't. I don't have any comment on that. Reporter: On the World Food Program, does the U.S. have a position on the candidacy of Tony Banbury, one of the four finalists? Ambassador Bolton: We support the official American candidate as Josette Sheeran, the undersecretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs… Economic… Reporter: Is she more… how is she more qualified than Tony Banbury, who has worked for the WFP for… in Asia and elsewhere? Ambassador Bolton: She has enormous qualifications in terms of management experience, in terms of her understanding of international agricultural affairs, and she has the full confidence of Secretary of State Rice. Reporter: One more. What is the message behind…(inaudible) Ambassador Bolton: I beg your pardon? Reporter: Is there an Iran P-5 meeting this week scheduled? Do you… Ambassador Bolton: There's no meeting scheduled at the moment. One last question. Marina. Reporter: So what is the importance of this statement… presidential statement, from your point of view? What is the single most important thing? Does it tie up the resolutions to the other or is it just simply yet another? Ambassador Bolton: No. I think it’s a very good statement stressing the importance of the report that has been issued and I think continuing to apply the pressure that we feel very strongly that 1559 has to be implemented in full. That’s the clearest message it gives: the council is still united on that score. Okay? Alright, see you tomorrow.