Source: http://www.un.int/usa/06_048.htm http://www.un.int/usa/06_048.htm
Date: March 13, 2006

United States Mission to the United Nations
USUN PRESS RELEASE # 48 (06) 
March 13, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Remarks by Ambassador John R. Bolton, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, on Ethiopia/Eritrea, Iran and Sudan, at the Security Council Stakeout, March 13, 2006 
Ambassador Bolton:  Well, we had a very good discussion of Ethiopia/Eritrea in the Council this morning.  I reported on the meeting of the Ethiopia/Eritrea Boundary Commission in London on Friday and the continuing efforts the United States is making to resolve the issue of demarcation of the Ethiopian-Eritrean border.  We will likely extend the UNMEE mandate for thirty days, although I made it clear, our judgment is that needs to move toward more of an observer mission and the Secretary General’s Special Representative, Ambassador Joseph Legwaila of Botswana, gave a very detailed report on the state of play as well, so that was very useful.  We’re now talking about the Sudan and the meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council of last week and the contingency planning that the Secretariat has engaged in pursuant to the February 3rd Presidential Statement by the Security Council.  So with that, I’ll answer a few questions.
Reporter:  Ambassador, at this stage there’s non-agreement with the Russians and the Chinese on language for an Iran text.  Is there a growing likelihood that you’re going to have to push this for a vote, actually change to a resolution, and allow the Security Council to vote on where it stands on this issue?
Ambassador Bolton:  Well, there’s no decision at this point on exactly what form it’s going to be and I’ve said before I really don’t want to get into the specifics of how this thing evolves.  But we’ve been trying to get this issue into the Security Council for close to four years and other countries, including other Permanent Members, haven’t had that view, so it’s no surprise that different views remain and that’s what we’re discussing now.
Reporter:  Is it out of the question that the IAEA, that if there is request for the IAEA Director General to report on Iran’s compliance that this would be a report to Vienna or would it have to be back to the Security Council?  Is that a bottom line for you?  
Ambassador Bolton:  Well, I think that the Security Council now has this matter before it and I think, as in the case of other requests to the IAEA in other circumstances, there’s no reason why a specialized or technical agency of the United Nations can’t report to the Security Council on a matter within the Security Council’s jurisdiction.  That’s certainly our view.
Reporter:  Ambassador, is there going to be any change in the Russian position since they were rejected by the Iranians on the weekend?  Did you notice any change, any movement?
Ambassador Bolton:  Well, the Iranians once again rejected the Russian offer, but I understand that there have been subsequent announcements and there may be further conversations.  Shouldn’t come as any surprise to anybody that the Iranians would love to talk further.  They’ve loved talking for the last four years and they’ll talk as long as they can as they master the technical difficulties they’ve encountered in the uranium enrichment process.  So it’s no flash news, if I can enter your business, it’s no stop the presses, that the Iranians want to talk.  Of course they do, to throw more sand in our eyes.  We’re eager to move ahead here and we’re going to continue to pursue our discussions in the Security Council.
Reporter:  You say that the U.S. will support a thirty-day rollover of the UN Mission, but are you saying that the U.S. will not support any further extension; you will call for a political or observer mission beyond that?
Ambassador Bolton:  We’ve said in the Council and publicly that we think as long as the impasse remains, both on the question of the border demarcation and on the restrictions on UNMEE, that it’s appropriate to move in the direction of an observer mission.  And we just wanted to give everyone enough time to think about that and have a fair time for consideration and we can talk about it in thirty days on April 15th, when we’re all suitably in the right mood to talk about.  No just kidding, yeah April 15th being our tax day, for those of you who don’t have the burden of paying.
Reporter:  Will all the members of the Security Council be able to see the draft for either the statement or the resolution?
Ambassador Bolton:  Well, you know it’s a British-French draft that we’ve been considering and I think I wouldn’t be surprised if within a day or two the elements might not be distributed to the full Council.  I think that’s appropriate.  We’re trying within the Perm-5, but we’re not going to rest there if we can’t reach agreement.  We’ll go to the larger Council.  Let me take one more.
Reporter:  (Inaudible) are Iranian-American talks excluded completely from the table?
Ambassador Bolton:  I don’t believe I’ll be participating in any such talks anytime soon.
Reporter:  On Sudan, is the AU decision to (inaudible) get the ball rolling on Sudan?
Ambassador Bolton:  We’re discussing now contingency planning in the Secretariat on force deployment.  We’re still looking at the five-page PSC document and it remains the U.S. position that it’s important to move forward as rapidly as possible with contingency planning while we try to understand fully what the PSC itself said.  But because the contingency planning, responsible contingency planning, has to take place as part of the transformation from an AU force into a UN force and that work needs to go ahead. I’ll see you a little bit later.