CQ Transcriptions
March 4, 2010 Thursday
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS PHILIP J. "P.J."
CROWLEY HOLDS STATE DEPARTMENT REGULAR NEWS BRIEFING
TEXT:
MR. CROWLEY: Good afternoon, and welcome to the Department of State. A
few things to mention before taking your questions.
The Secretary is in Costa Rica today. She had a meeting with female
entrepreneurs before moving to the Pathways for Prosperity
ministerial, which I think she is still in the midst of. Later on this
afternoon, she will have a meeting with Costa Rican President-elect
Laura Chinchilla and dinner with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.
At the Pathways ministerial, she will engage – she has – is engaging
with her colleagues on how to promote growth, democracy, open markets
in the hemisphere, sharing best practices, promoting entrepreneurial
development. In her remarks (inaudible) I think we will have for you,
you’ll hear about promoting sustainable inclusive prosperity,
expanding economic opportunities in the region, regional integration,
expanding trade, increasing competitiveness, while protecting both
workers and the environment.
Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg, along with the Senior
Director for Asian Affairs Jeff Bader, are now in Tokyo for meetings
with senior officials of the Japanese Government. In Beijing, they had
talks with senior PRC officials, including Foreign Minister Yang and
State Councilor Dai. The U.S. and PRC agreed on the high importance
each attaches to the relationships and their commitment to building a
positive, cooperative, and comprehensive relationship. The two sides
engaged in an in-depth exchange of views on issues of mutual concern,
and they look forward to working together constructively to address
these issues. In particular, the U.S. raised concern over Iran’s and
North Korea’s nuclear programs, economic, trade and market access
issues, and climate change.
The U.S. responded to PRC’s concerns over Taiwan by reiterating that
it has followed a consistent approach, pursued by both administrations
of both political parties on a one-China policy, adherence to the
three joint communiques in the Taiwan Relations Act, and expectations
of a peaceful resolution of the differences across the strait.
Mr. Steinberg and Bader indicated a willingness to try to work
together with China to bridge differences and deepen cooperation on
areas of common interest.
Special Envoy Senator George Mitchell will travel to the region for
meetings on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Monday
with Palestinian President Abbas. He departs the United States
tomorrow night and is expected to return to Washington on Monday,
where he will update Secretary Clinton.
And with that, Elise.
QUESTION: Turkey – the Armenia genocide resolution being marked up in
the House right now, I understand that Secretary Clinton called
Chairman Berman to urge him to not vote on this right now because it
could hurt the talks between Turkey and Armenia, and it seems like he
is going ahead with the vote anyway. If you could just speak to that.
MR. CROWLEY: Secretary Clinton did call Chairman Berman yesterday, and
in that conversation, she indicated that further congressional action
could impede progress on normalization of relations. I think the
President also spoke yesterday with President Gul and expressed
appreciation for his and Prime Minister Erdogan’s efforts to normalize
relations between Turkey and Armenia. And in that call, I think he
continued to press for rapid ratification of the protocols that have
been worked out between the two countries.
QUESTION: Well just – well, if you don’t mind, just to follow up, I
mean, this Administration has specifically asked Congress not to go
ahead, and it seems that at least the committee is going ahead. You
saw what happened last time when this resolution passed the committee.
The Turks recalled their ambassador for a period of time. There was a
lot of tension in the relationship. I mean, are you worried about
damage to U.S.-Turkish relations if this happens?
MR. CROWLEY: Well, I mean, we’ve worked very hard to assist Turkey and
Armenia. As the President has made clear, it – we promote a free – a
fair, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts related to the
historical events of 1915. We are concerned that possible action that
Congress would take would impede the positive momentum that we see in
the Turkey-Armenia normalization process. We’ve made that position
clear to Chairman Berman, and we’ll see what Congress does as a
result.
QUESTION: Well, I mean – I’m sorry. What about U.S.-Turkish relations?
And I mean, this – it’s going ahead. They’re voting at 2:15. I mean —
MR. CROWLEY: I understand. I do understand that.
QUESTION: — they’ve ignored your pleas. I mean, do you think this is
for political means?
MR. CROWLEY: I – well, Elise, let’s see what happens in Congress and
then let’s see how Turkey reacts to it. We have had very specific
conversations with Congress. There – I think they have a firm
understanding of our views on this issue. We have also talked to
Turkey. The Secretary had a meeting with Prime Minister Erdogan in
Doha a couple of weeks ago. So this is obviously something that has
come up before, and we are concerned about its potential impact on our
relations with the affected countries. We do think that the
normalization process is the proper mechanism within which to address
these issues, and we will continue to work very, very hard on this.
We’ve had – this has been a very, very significant issue for the Obama
Administration since coming to office. We’ve had a lot of high- level
meetings with Turkey and Armenia on these issues. We’ve pressed hard
to see the progress that we’ve seen to date, and we certainly do not
want to see that jeopardized.
[unrelated parts omitted]
QUESTION: One more thing. I’m sorry. Just – we’re just wondering if
additionally to the concerns that you expressed that Secretary Clinton
has, you know, regarding the Turkey-Armenia issues, are there concerns
as well – further concerns – that this could affect Turkey- U.S.
relations, for example, within NATO and affect relations in the Middle
East?
MR. CROWLEY: Well, let’s take this a step at a time. The United States
and Turkey are NATO allies. That means that we have a very strong
partnership and mutual security responsibilities. I would certainly
not expect anything to change in that fundamental alliance. We
understand Turkey’s concerns. We share those concerns. We’ve
communicated those concerns to representatives of Congress and will
continue to work and work through this issue in the coming days.
QUESTION: Thank you.
END