Brussels, 06/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - The US Principal Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, Kurt Volker, took part on 6 February in the Transatlantic Task Force meeting in Brussels. This meeting is held three times every six months to discuss transatlantic relations and prepare EU/US annual summits. The next summit will be in June in Vienna (the exact date has not yet been given). President Bush, has finally decided to go to the meeting, announced Mr Volker. Addressing a small group of journalists, Volker gave an update on a number of current news items.
Iran. The decision of the IAEA (see other article) to send the dossier to the Security Council is “an important step”, which in the long term, should culminate in economic sanctions that persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear military plans and resume cooperation with the international community, explained Mr Volker. The latter declared that, “Whether sanctions will work remains to be seen. Iran is a country that does care about its engagement in the international community. Putting that enlargement in question is a right and sensible next step”. He also underlined Washington's support for the affair being in the hands of the UN and affirmed that, “We think that the UN has its responsibility to exercise in the case of Iran” and in order to reach a consensus at the Security Council it will be necessary to obtain cooperation and good will from all quarters, including China and Russia, which are “key” countries. Mr Volker also explained that if there is no agreement at the UN on what measures should be taken, the USA and other countries could legitimately envisage economic sanctions outside UN structures and without the approval of the Security Council. “If the UN does not do that (sanctions), we will face questions about what do we do because it is a very serious thing…I don't believe there is a question of legitimacy for the US, Europe or others to apply sanctions”.
Hamas/Palestine. Mr Volker insisted that, “We have made very clear that we do not see the ability of the US to continue funding the Palestinian Authority if that authority does not renounce violence or does not accept Israel's right to exist”. In order to clarify the situation, “The best outcome would be if Hamas came forward with some new statements and positions”. Volker averred that in an effort to help push the peace process forward, it was absolutely necessary for the two sides to agree to the final solution of two co-existing states in peace and security. If this did not occur, Mr Volker explained, there would be no progress towards peace.
Islam/caricatures. Freedom of the press should be preserved and defended but it is also important “that it be exercised with responsibility”, which meant that the Bush Administration would “certainly not” support the caricatures which are “objectionable”. On the other hand, the reaction of the Muslim world has to be “in an appropriate measure”, which up to now has not been the case. Volker said that “the violence that we have seen in recent days is beyond what could be justified”. He also suspects certain countries, such as Syria, of inflaming the protests for its own political advantage. Volker underlined the fact that every country where embassies had been attacked were responsible for protecting diplomatic representations under the Vienna Convention.
CIA flights and prisons in Europe. The temporary commission at the European Parliament has sent letters to the US authorities requesting information on this affair and according to Mr Volker, Washington has already replied by highlighting the different points of view expressed by Condoleezza Rice during her visit to Brussels in December (EUROPE 9085), namely: “the US abides by its own laws and respects its international obligations”, it fully respects the sovereignty of its allies and would “not comment on specific individual cases”. Volker explained that the USA was therefore prepared to collaborate with the Europeans, including the EP, to examine these “serious subjects” but it should not be expected that the USA provide information on specific cases. Mr Volker was also pleased that the debate in Europe seems to have cooled.
NATO reform. In the context of future reform, the Atlantic alliance should also envisage formalising its relations with third countries it works with, as part of its numerous military operations in the four corners of the world, as in Afghanistan, for example, where it is closely cooperating with New Zealand, Australia and Japan (see other article). He declared that “Maybe we should think about one kind of relationship, partnership, liaison, or something”. On NATO reform, Volker explained that “We do not have a fixed blueprint on what NATO should look like. It's being discussed within NATO, the aim being to have a more common view at the November summit meeting in Riga”. He also asserted that Washington strongly supported the EU's progress in defence and security policy, “We strongly support ESDP, we don't see any reason why this should be in competition to NATO. This can be done in a very transparent and operational way”.