Source: http://www.un.int/usa/06_235.htm http://www.un.int/usa/06_235.htm
Date: September 18, 2006

USUN PRESS RELEASE #  235(06)   
September 18, 2006 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 		  
Remarks by Ambassador John R. Bolton, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, on the Iraq Compact, Lebanon, Sudan and other matters at the Security Council stakeout, September 18, 2006 
Ambassador Bolton: It must be late in the day, people are moving slowly. 
All right, why don’t we get started. Obviously there is a lot going on today on Lebanon, on Sudan, on Iraq. And I think that on the Iraq Compact, the Secretary’s statement I think you all have or will have shortly, this is an important meeting here today to move the process along and showing the importance the government of Iraq attaches to it. I am very pleased at the turn out, at the ministerial level in most cases, and by the enthusiasm and response to the compact and will now take that work forward. This is principally a project of the government of Iraq but obviously something we support them very strongly on. On Lebanon in the Security Council this morning we had a discussion of the implementation of 1701. I expressed our continuing concern about the problem of getting to the disarming of Hezbollah to eliminate its status as a state within a state inside Lebanon and the twin problem, the other side of the coin not only do we want to disarm Hezbollah, we certainly want to prevent it from being rearmed. And this afternoon we had an open discussion, which you heard on the Sudan, both the southern part of the country and the continuing problems in Darfur. We are going to be circulating around a resolution tomorrow to extend the UNMIS’s mandate for another six months. And that extension will include not simply the existing operation in southern Sudan, but the expansion of that mandate in 1706 as well. And why don’t I stop there. I’d be happy to see if there are any questions.
Reporter: The only chip that the Iranians have is the suspension that most countries or people won’t enter negotiations giving up immediately the only chip that they have. Its almost seems unrealistic to demand that, and I’d like your reaction to President Chirac saying that condition does not have to be met. 
Ambassador Bolton: Well, I don’t read what he said to be that way and I don’t take it that there is any change in position from the government of France as expressed in resolution 1696. The discussions with Iran appear to have come to a stop in the sense that Mr. Larijani, whom we expected in New York, is not here. So I don’t anticipate that this conversation will go on forever given that we’re now 18 days, by my calculation, after the August 31 deadline. Our position remains, unless there is a full and verifiable suspension of uranium enrichment activities by Iran, we will seek sanctions in the Security Council but as I have said to you several times before, that’s not our only step we are also undertaking a variety of conversations with governments and financial institutions about the risks of transactions with front companies set up by the government of Iran to help finance their programs of weapons of mass destruction.
Reporters: (inaudible)
Ambassador Bolton: I don’t…No, they don’t confide in us their schedules or their reasons, but we had expected him here and he has a visa and as of right now I am informed that he is not here.
Reporter: The next step, how much patience does the US have? Will you circulate a resolution this week? How are you going to move ahead and in what timeframe?
Ambassador Bolton: I think we have said several times, and the President will elaborate on this as appropriate tomorrow. The Europeans have asked for more time, more conversation with Larijani. We have accommodated that request. We have not pressed for a sanctions resolution here in New York, but upon receipt of appropriate instructions, I am prepared to do so. 
Reporter: Ambassador, I wanted to ask you about the Sudanese draft resolution that you are going to circulate today. Is there any sort of overlap from the other Sudanese resolution and do you think you are going to get consensus on this one? 
Ambassador Bolton: Well, there’s no question, I think, of the rollover of the existing mandate, being operational in southern Sudan but obviously we want to show that this is an integrated command so we will extend the mandate both in 1590 and as expanded in 1706, and I don’t see why there should be any opposition to it since we just adopted 1706.
Reporter: Follow up on Iran. President Chirac has floated a compromise that the United States suspend its threats while Iran suspends its enrichment of uranium. Would you be willing to do something simultaneous like that?
Ambassador Bolton: I didn’t read that to be what he said to be exactly, and as I say, I see no indication the government of France has shifted from it’s position of support of Resolution 1696, which as you’ll recall, is simply an elaboration of a decision by the IAEA Board of Governors, and has been the position of France for some three years now, along with Britain and Germany, that negations with Iran over possible incentives of that country have to be predicated on a suspension of uranium enrichment activity, and I saw no indication that position had changed.
Reporter: I have a question on Burma if you don’t mind. The First Lady is hosting a round table tomorrow, and you’ve got this vote, you will have a meeting in the Security Council. Do you have a date yet for the Security Council meeting? And also why is the U.S. putting so much pressure on Burma these days?
Ambassador Bolton: The procedural vote that we took last Friday in addition of inscribing Burma formally on the agenda also requested the President of the council to do consultations, and come up with an appropriate date for the briefing on Burma that we hope to have from Under Secretary General Gambari. This is obviously a busy week this week, and next week is almost as busy, so we wanted to be flexible but we do want it this month, and we want to call attention to the situation in Burma and the threat that its policies pose to the region and more broadly because the government of Burma’s policies are not changing, and if we don’t ratchet up the level of attention there is no reason to think those policies will change, so that’s why we’re doing it. 
Reporter: One question, on Burma, Myanmar known as Burma in the United States…
Ambassador Bolton: Known as Burma to me.
Reporter: oh okay… We had a briefing earlier today by the head of the U.N. Office of Drug and Crime, and it was mostly on Afghanistan, but he said that his office finds that Myanmar known as Burma, the production of opium is in fact, declining, and has been in decline. So, he said he’d be willing to brief the council. I’m wondering just what in your litany of the threat they pose, that was one of them, is it an outflow from some other source or…
Ambassador Bolton: Well decline, decline from what level? If you look at the so called golden triangle the areas controlled for many, many years by the Shan united army; production of narcotics out of that region has been at enormous levels for years and years and years. So, even a decline doesn’t signal the end of the kind of problem that the government of Burma poses.
Reporter: On Lebanon, Resolution 1701 requires the Secretary General to make suggestions to implement the resolution. Were you satisfied with the suggestions the SG made? And another question on the Arab Ministerial meeting, I understand now that it’s going to be held on Thursday. Can you tell us about what changes were made that changed the U.S. position?
Ambassador Bolton: Well we have not agreed completely with the idea. We still don’t see the real utility of the meeting and we don’t see the utility of having a draft Presidential Statement. This is not something that the Security Council has had a role in before of this kind and you know, we have proposed and there is now agreement there will be a meeting of the Quartet. We think that’s the appropriate vehicle, and we expect an important discussion at the Quartet later this week and an important statement out of the Quartet, and we think that’s the appropriate vehicle to use.
Reporter: (inaudible) President Bush and the leader of Sudan. What’s the message for the Sudanese leader if he does come here? How tough is the Council really going to get with this Sunday’s demonstrations not getting through to him?
Ambassador Bolton: I don’t have anything to say about whether there would be a meeting and if there would be such it meeting it would be for the White House to announce. I think our position on this is very clear that the notion that Sudan is not going to accept the presence of a UN peacekeeping force is something we don’t find to be credible. The President last week expressed his frustration I think quite clearly with that position and with the inability of the Security Council to do more about it.
Reporter: Ambassador, two quick questions. Do you know directly that Mr. Larijani’s not coming? Is that just today or this whole week? And then secondly on Sudan, Mr. Pronk said that even if there’s no transition agreed on now there should be heavy support put into the African Union. How is that done?
Ambassador Bolton: Well, the best I can say on Mr. Larijani is that I don’t think he’s here today but I have no clue what his travel plans are. It’s certainly been our position on Sudan now, it certainly been our position for quite some time that as we prepare for the UN takeover the peacekeeping responsibilities in Darfur that we strengthen the existing AMIS operation and we’re hoping that when the African Union Peace and Security Council meets in a few days they will extend the AMIS mandate through the end of the year and that that will provide the basis on which AMIS will continue and we can strengthen AMIS as we simultaneously with preparing for the UN handover.
Why don’t I just take one more here. One or two more. How about two.
Reporter: About the Middle East. Did you hear the voice from Washington that the American Government will press Abu Mazen to accept all the terms of the Quartet? Do you have any notion on that?
Ambassador Bolton: Well, there’s never been any variation on our position on that. I think that’s consistent with the statement we made in connection with the talks on a possible coalition government that the principles of the Quartet, all of them, had to be fully accepted by any such government.
Reporter: Do you have the United States and Abu Mazen to accept those terms?
Ambassador Bolton: There’s no change in the level of pressure. That has been and remains our position.
Reporter: The Italian Premier Prodi said yesterday he’s going to meet the Iranian President here on Wednesday. So I just wanted to know how you feel about that and I wanted to know how you felt about the 5 + 1 becoming the 5 + 2?
Ambassador Bolton: I think we certainly welcome Italy’s participation in that discussion and look forward to it. And in terms of commenting on the possible meeting between President Prodi and President Ahmadinejad I plan to duck that question.