Remarks With Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed

After that, there was a expanded meeting with the "6+2" and the United States and there will be the joint statement that will be distributed to the press. After that, we will continue to have a working dinner. Before we do not want to spend a lot more time, so we will limit the questions to two questions. Two questions for the American side and two questions for the Kuwaiti side. And of course, as usual, I will give my colleague Secretary Rice to choose.

SECRETARY RICE: Well, thank you very much, Minister, for inviting me here and also for hosting the GCC plus Jordan and Egypt. We've had very fruitful bilateral discussions. I was very appreciative of the Amirs taking the time to meet with me, the Crown Prince, other ministers. And we have had a very good discussion of the just excellent relationship the United States and Kuwait enjoy, not just global issues, but our bilateral issues as well.

We have had a very good meeting of the GCC+2. We will continue those discussions. But as my colleague has said, there is a joint statement, so you can see that we have talked about a number of issues, Lebanon, the Palestinian-Israeli issue and of course, Iraq where I reported to the GCC+2 on the President's plan. And I think we had a very fruitful discussion. I see, Minister, that our minister colleagues have already gone off to dinner and therefore, perhaps we should begin the questions so that we can join them.

Alright.

QUESTION: Thank you. Mr. Minister, in recent days, President Bush and Secretary Rice have issued some very strong warnings to Iran about Iranian behavior. At the same time, the President has ordered a second aircraft carrier to the region, move forward some anti-missile defense batteries and other military maneuvers. Taking together both the language and these military actions, do you think American policy in the region is helpful for regional stability or is it overly provocative? And if it is helpful, sir, is the GCC becoming an anti-Iranian alliance? Thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER MOHAMMED: Well, I think that what we have in the front of us is a Security Council Resolution 1737 issued under Chapter 7, calling on Iran to comply fully with the IAEA and the international community regarding this nuclear program. We noticed -- we know that there's going to be a review session for that resolution in a few weeks. We have expressed our hope that Iran would comply with the resolution and comply with the requirements by IAEA and especially to satisfy Dr. ElBaradei who is a person that we trust and who has tremendous credibility. And after all, he's the recipient of a Nobel Prize. So we hope that by the time the Security Council review the matter, Iran would be able to show some progress and the international community would be satisfied with Iran's nuclear program.

As with respect to United States policy towards Iran, I think that the United States and the Gulf expressed in this joint communiqué that we call upon all countries to refrain from interfering in Iraqi internal affairs. This is something that we are all concerned about. We'd like the neighboring countries to work together for peace and stability in Iraq. And we expressed our desire to see the President's plan to enforce the American military presence in Baghdad as a vehicle and a venue to stabilize Baghdad and to prevent Iraq from sliding into this ugly war, the civil war.

QUESTION: According to the Lebanese issue (inaudible) Lebanese parliament, could it reach agreement about the International Court of the Hariri assassination? Are you going to issue a (inaudible) Security Council new resolution under the Chapter 7? Thank you.

SECRETARY RICE: Well, there is a process that is set forth now for following up on the resolution that created the tribunal -- the investigation and the tribunal for the Hariri assassination. We are urging that this be done expeditiously. There has been in Lebanon support for that tribunal from the government indeed from a majority of the parliamentarians and we hope that it will move forward through the Lebanese processes so that the tribunal can be brought into being. It's very important. It's important to the Lebanese people, it is important to the international community that those who are responsible for the assassination of Rafik Hariri be brought to justice. And we as a group have expressed our concern about the Hariri assassination and other assassinations in Lebanon. The best way to deter in the future assassinations of high-ranking officials is to make sure that those who are engaged in this are brought to justice.

All right. Yes, Anne Gearan is right there.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, I wanted to ask you about the day's developments in Iraq. There were dozens of people killed at Baghdad University and the United Nations released a report saying that last year there were 35,000 civilians killed and about 36,000 wounded. You have just spent with the Administration weeks drafting a new policy. But I wonder if you're concerned that you are running out of time to actually make a difference?

And for the Foreign Minister, are you concerned that really there is no time left or not enough to actually stop Iraq from sliding into the civil war you referenced a moment ago?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, Anne, obviously, the violence in and around Baghdad is one of the very important reasons the President went to the American people and said that the situation in Iraq is unacceptable to him, just as it was unacceptable to most Americans and that that violence needs to stop. Now, violent people will always be able to kill innocent people. And so even with the new security plan, with the will and capability of the Iraqi Government and with American forces to help reinforce Iraqi forces, there is still going to be violence. But whatever the number of civilians that have died in Iraq, and there are obviously competing numbers, but whatever the numbers, it's too many.

And the Iraqi Government recognizes its responsibility to try and provide security to its population. Most especially to provide security based on an evenhanded treatment of all Iraqi citizens. And it's precisely because violence has been -- has spiked since the Samara bombings of -- the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samara in February of last year that we believe that a new strategy was necessary and we believe that yes, it is urgent. It's why the President felt that he couldn't wait. The Maliki government couldn’t wait until its own forces were completely ready at the end of the summer. But time is of the essence and that's why the President has acted.

FOREIGN MINISTER MOHAMMED: Very quickly, nine foreign ministers are meeting in Kuwait today to precisely prevent Iraq from sliding into a civil war. And that, I think, speaks volumes about the (inaudible.)

From our side.

QUESTION: (In Arabic.) There was some thinking about introducing the European Union and come to join this mechanism and to participate in putting an end to the regional problems that are happening. To what extent have you discussed adding a role for the European Union and this mechanism GCC+2?

FOREIGN MINISTER MOHAMMED: There was no discussion about the role of the UAE. This is a consultations between GCC and Egypt and Jordan and the United States. There is no doubt that the European Union has an important and essential role to play in the region. And also the members of the European Union participate in the multinational forces in Iraq. Therefore, we believe that this mechanism that we have is based-- is designed for consultations and limited to GCC plus Egypt, Jordan, and the United States. Thank you very much. And now we will need to go and continue our dinner.

Thank you.

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2007/T1-10