MR. MCCORMACK: Good afternoon. I have one opening statement for you, and then we can get to the questions.

Today's attack on Iraq's Council of Representatives facility is a heinous act of terrorism meant to intimidate the Iraqi people, their democratically elected representatives and institutions, and all those work selflessly on their behalf to build a peaceful, unified and stable Iraq.

I extend my heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured. The United States condemns such criminal acts and will continue to work with the Government of Iraq and our coalition partners in pursuing the criminals who commit these atrocities against the Iraqi people and their democratically elected government.

And with that --

QUESTION: From the Secretary?

MR. MCCORMACK: No, it's from me.

QUESTION: From you?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes.

QUESTION: Okay.

QUESTION: Do you have any further information on the casualties? It seems that now they're talking about eight people.

MR. MCCORMACK: I saw General Caldwell cited the figure of eight and 20 injured. I don't have any update beyond that figure.

QUESTION: How about the -- is it still correct that you are not aware of any Americans killed or wounded?

MR. MCCORMACK: Still not aware of any Americans injured or killed.

QUESTION: There are news reports out there that al-Qaida is responsible. Have you heard that yet? Have you heard --

MR. MCCORMACK: No, we don't know. We don't know. Clearly, it's an indiscriminate terrorist attack. There were Sunni, Shia killed in this attack. It was timed apparently with lunch breaks where people would be in this cafeteria that was used by parliamentarians and those who work in the parliament.

QUESTION: To your knowledge, have there been any claims of responsibility?

MR. MCCORMACK: No, I'm not aware of any. I'm not aware of any.

QUESTION: Sean, are you aware of the fact that their -- apparently -- metal detectors were not operating properly?

MR. MCCORMACK: No, I'm not --

QUESTION: You hadn't heard that?

MR. MCCORMACK: I don't -- as for the particular circumstances that allowed this attack to take place I'm sure there's going to be a thorough investigation by the Iraqis. We're going to be ready to help them out in any way that we possibly can, not only to determine what happened with this particular attack, but also to ensure that this is a place where parliamentarians and those working on behalf of the Iraqi Government can do what they need to do in a safe, secure atmosphere.

QUESTION: Do you know if there were any Americans around the scene -- in the building at the time?

MR. MCCORMACK: I don't know. I don't know. It is a building that Americans from the Embassy visit on a regular basis.

Okay.

QUESTION: Do you read anything into the switch of North Korean prime ministers that was made today, bringing in a technocrat?

MR. MCCORMACK: No. I don't think at this point we would ascribe any particular significance to it, other than they have filled the position. It goes out without saying that it's not a democratically elected government and that these types of positions are appointed positions. But beyond that, I don't -- I couldn't read any particular significance into it.

QUESTION: Have you gotten anything yet -- have you heard yet from either Richardson or Hill anything to give you any more insight into what's going on with the Yongbyon closure and--

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I haven't heard anything back from Richardson's trip. We of course have our own ways of determining some of what might be going on there. I'm not at liberty to discuss that. We haven't received any official notifications from the North Koreans as to what they have or have not done about the reactor.

QUESTION: And they still haven't -- and to your knowledge, they still haven't suggested that they might not be able to meet the Saturday deadline?

MR. MCCORMACK: We haven't --

QUESTION: (Inaudible) silent on that?

MR. MCCORMACK: We haven't received any formal notification in that regard.

QUESTION: And have you heard anything from -- if not a formal letter of notification from them, are you hearing anything on that issue? You know, are they -- have they said anything to either the Chinese or the South Koreans about that?

MR. MCCORMACK: I haven't gotten any reports in that regard.

Elise.

QUESTION: New topic?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes.

QUESTION: Do you have anything -- any reaction to the missile that India test-fired this morning? Apparently, it could carry a nuclear warhead and is able to reach China.

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, the Indians do have an active missile program and typically what they do under their agreements with the Pakistani Government is there's a prior notification. I can't verify for you at this point that that did take place in these circumstances.

What we urge all the governments in the region to do -- India, Pakistan included -- is to work within the constraints of the agreements that they have regarding notification and also not take any actions that would be destabilizing to the balance in the region.

QUESTION: Do you consider this to be an action that's destabilizing to the region?

MR. MCCORMACK: Elise, I'd have to check to see if this is something that is technically different or goes beyond the previous technical demonstrated capabilities of the Indian Government, the Indian military, in launching the missile. I'm not aware that it does, but I'll be happy to check for you.

QUESTION: Just given everything you're trying to do kind of on the nuclear front with Iran and North Korea, getting them to kind of dismantle their nuclear programs, is this a time that India should be test-firing a missile that actually has a nuclear capability?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, it's not the first time they've done this, to my knowledge -- test-fired missiles. As I said, I can't tell you what the technical capabilities of this missile are versus previous missile launches.

India is trying to enter into a different kind of relationship with the rest of the world vis-à-vis its nuclear program. We are in negotiations with the Indian Government about that, currently ongoing. They have in certain international fora demonstrated a certain level of responsibility with respect to preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction technology, including nuclear technology. So India certainly is trying to, I would say, enter into a different kind of relationship with the rest of the world than it has previously had on the nuclear issue.

QUESTION: Do you have any comment on Zimbabwe? And Morgan Tsvangarai said that 600 political activists have been abducted and tortured, and he also said that he was prepared to deal with President Mugabe as part of President Mbeki's sort of mediation plan.

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, on the first, we aren't able to verify the numbers. He mentioned 600. But certainly we know that well over the hundred documented cases likely exist in terms of political activists that had been arrested, maltreated, beaten. And certainly any number at all is unacceptable. Zimbabwe should be a place where people are able to freely express their views whether they're in opposition to the ruling government or not. This is a country in which political reconciliation is badly needed as a result of the actions taken by the Mugabe government, which have been decidedly undemocratic.

It is a country that is on -- either on the brink or gone past the point of economic ruin. Its social fabric is badly tested and it is a problem in the region for the development -- greater development of the region. Zimbabwe is a country that has natural assets. It could be a place that not only could feed its own people but export food to the rest of the region.

So it's a sad case and we have encouraged leaders in the region, including President Mbeki, to take a more active role in trying to help the Zimbabwean people resolve their political differences. Unless you're able to resolve those political differences, you're going to continue to have the kind of political instability within the system that you see right now.

QUESTION: Is there any movement within the Bush Administration as to how you might put pressure on Mugabe to be more open to his critics and opposition?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, we have already tried to apply quite a bit of pressure. We have a limited number of levers that we can use. We have already imposed things like travel restrictions and that sort of thing in an effort to try to get Mugabe off the dime on any sort of political -- meaningful internal political dialogue addressing the real economic and humanitarian issues that exist there previously. We have made efforts to provide direct humanitarian assistance for the Zimbabwean people.

So we've tried a lot of different ways to help the situation. We are going to continue to do that. But it really does at this point come down more on those in the region and those who might have more influence with Zimbabwe and its leadership to make every effort they can to get them to change their behavior.

QUESTION: So in other words, you haven't come up with any sort of new solutions except putting pressure on the neighbors?

MR. MCCORMACK: I don't think that we have any particular actions that are going to -- or suggestions that are going to resolve the situation, certainly not just actions by the United States but continuing efforts to convince President Mugabe to change the pathway that he's on.

QUESTION: There's really nothing you guys can think of beyond public suasion?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, as I pointed out to Sue, we have already put in place a number of different actions and they have not changed the qualitative situation in any significant way. You still have an economy that's broken. You still have a political system that is dominated by one person and one party in which you can't freely express yourself; if you do, then you're beaten and arrested.

So it's a sad situation. It really is. We continue to be very concerned about it and doing what we can, but admittedly our -- the levers that we have are limited.

QUESTION: One other -- just to follow up on Sue's initial question. When you say that you can't verify that 600 number, do you have any reason to doubt it or are you trying to cast doubt on it or are you --

MR. MCCORMACK: I'm not trying to undercut it. Just as a simple matter of fact, I can't tell you that the number is 600. We have seen -- our people on the ground have -- would they be able to verify, you know, on the order of 100, 150 documented cases, but in verifying that they say there are likely more cases. So I'm not trying to cast any doubt on the number. I just can't verify it for you.

Yes.

QUESTION: Norway announced today that they were going to resume direct aid to the Palestinian Authority after a meeting with Salam Fayyad. And Fayyad said that the money would come in once banking restrictions had been lifted and expected that to happen very soon. Are you aware of any moves afoot to ease restrictions that presumably result from the Quartet boycott?

MR. MCCORMACK: Let me check into it, David, and see what they're talking about.

QUESTION: Do you have any response to the Norwegian decision?

MR. MCCORMACK: No, I think I want to understand exactly what Salam Fayyad is talking about before I have any particular response, and other than to say we haven't changed our position or the Quartet hasn't changed its position with respect to direct funding to the PA.

QUESTION: Can you -- if you could -- when you check into it, if you could try to get a specific response on the Norway angle too because --

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, we'll try to post something for you.

QUESTION: And also on the same thing. Fayyad is on his way to Washington.

MR. MCCORMACK: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: Is there anything new on possible meetings?

MR. MCCORMACK: Nothing new. We'll keep you up to date if there are any meetings with Department officials

QUESTION: Did the Iranian -- the governor of the Iranian central bank get his visa to come to the --

MR. MCCORMACK: The application's still pending.

QUESTION: So there is no chance he can come because it's the day after tomorrow?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, you know, I can't speak to travel plans, but the application is still pending.

Yes, Samir.

QUESTION: Is there going to be a ministerial meeting for the Quartet on the margin of that Iraq conference in Egypt?

MR. MCCORMACK: Not on the books right now. I know that the Quartet plans to do, at some point, a meeting in the region, but I don't see that on the books right now.

QUESTION: Will all the members be there, though?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes, but they're there for a different reason. They're there to --

QUESTION: Well, I know, but I mean, they will all be there, right? Or am I wrong in thinking that?

MR. MCCORMACK: I would expect that they will. I don't -- I haven't seen whether or not they're going to be at the ministerial level. They're going to have to decide that for themselves, but there's two focuses: international compact for Iraq and the Iraq neighbors meeting.

Also, we're at a point in the Abbas-Olmert meeting process where they will have -- probably will have not met twice by that point, as I think their next scheduled meeting is next week, so it's possible that they will have met by that point. So we want that process to proceed and unfold a bit more before the Secretary heads back to the region or really have a Quartet meeting.

QUESTION: But is there some reason why two meetings is -- I mean, this is going to sound stupid, but I mean, is two meetings better than one to have a Quartet meeting at -- is that --

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, it's just -- all it means is that they have had more of an opportunity to have a discussion not only laying out the agenda of what they want to talk about, but perhaps make some progress on things that they are discussing.

Janine.

QUESTION: Sorry I wasn't here on April 9th when you addressed the question of the Waxman hearing on April 18th and you said that she saw no reason to go and then you were going to check with her. Have you given a definitive answer on that?

MR. MCCORMACK: I know there is a second letter from Chairman Waxman and we're in the process of formulating a lengthy reply that we would hope answers all of his questions.

QUESTION: Does that mean she's not going to the Hill on the 18th?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, let's reply to the letter, see what the Chairman thinks of the reply. We're making every effort to answer all of his questions in full, and so we'll see what they think of the reply.

QUESTION: Why do you say lengthy? Are they lengthier than the first reply?

MR. MCCORMACK: I don't know if the number of --

QUESTION: I just was curious as to --

MR. MCCORMACK: -- the number of pages, I don't know if it will be more than the last ones. There were a number of attachments to the last one, including letters -- copies of letters that had previously been sent. Well, there are several questions in here that might require a little bit of type space in order to answer it. But -- so we want to be responsive.

Okay. Yes.

QUESTION: There were reports this morning that President Putin has issued some more strong criticism of our missile bases in Czechoslovakia and Poland. Do you have anything on that?

MR. MCCORMACK: I haven't seen his comments, but I would just underline what has been said repeatedly, and that is this has nothing to do with Russia, other than we would love to invite into joint research and development of a missile defense program. I don't think that they've taken us up on that, but the offer still stands.

These are facilities that are designed to protect against potential missile launches emanating from the Middle East, in particular from places like Iran, and it is also designed to help protect European populations. So this has nothing to do with Russia or the Russian deterrent. I think that those arguments are really a red herring. And we have had repeated consultations with the Russian Government on this matter and I expect that we're going to have more to walk them through exactly what it is that this program does, the threat that it is designed to protect against, and also to invite them to participate in the development of these technologies. They face a similar threat.

Nicholas.

QUESTION: On this, Sean, the Russians have expressed a desire to discuss this as part of the Russian-NATO Council meeting in Oslo at the end of the month. They obviously want to make this a NATO issue. Is the Secretary agreeable to talking about this part of the agenda in Oslo?

MR. MCCORMACK: I haven't checked with her. I'm sure -- she's certainly open to talking about the matter. I don't know if it will be a formal agenda item at the meeting or not. I'm sure that it will come up. If they're signaling already that they intend to bring it up, she'll be ready to talk about it.

QUESTION: All right.

MR. MCCORMACK: Matthew.

QUESTION: Do you have anything more than you had this morning about the Deputy Secretary's schedule or is it still --

MR. MCCORMACK: No, that's it.

David.

QUESTION: Mohamed ElBaradei today said that it was the IAEA's view that the development of the enrichment -- centrifuge and cascades and everything -- in Iran was still at the hundreds stage --

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: And the Russians have also come out and said they really didn't think that they were any where near industrial.

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: Do you have any more to flesh out?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, I certainly have no reason to dispute Director General ElBaradei's account. The IAEA are the ones who are on the ground in Iran and they have the ability to measure how many centrifuges -- not only do they have in a cascade, how many are they working on -- so I have absolutely no dispute with that.

Now, as for President Ahmadi-Nejad's statement that they have reached industrial-level capability and that they are on their way to 1,000 or 3,000 or more centrifuges, that I think is a, at the least, a real caution for the international system. Because the one -- whether or not the Iranians have actually installed 1,000 or 3,000 centrifuges as he has claimed is -- verifying that fact is important and the Director General has said that in fact is not the case.

But one thing the Iranians have consistently done is followed through on what they said they are going to do. So even if they have not yet installed the thousand or 3,000 centrifuges, the international community should take the Iranians at their word -- that is their intention and then that is where they are heading. So I don't think anybody should really take that deep a breath just because they haven't gotten to that point. It's very clear that they intend to and that they are working very hard to reach those goals.

QUESTION: Okay. Thank you.

MR. MCCORMACK: Oh, wait. We have a couple more guys back here.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Sean, Guantanamo?

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes.

QUESTION: Al Jazeera photographer Sami al-Hajj has been detained there since 2001. Do you have any updates on his condition? He has not been tried or charged. Given the fact that he is a journalist, do you have any updates or concerns?

MR. MCCORMACK: I don't -- check with the Department of Defense who are running that process.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. MCCORMACK: Dave.

QUESTION: Sean, Nigeria is going to have a couple sets of elections later this month. Opposition is charging some intimidation of candidates, that the slate of candidates has been limited. There was at least one editorial suggestion this week that the U.S. is pulling its punches with Nigeria on this because of other interests. I wonder if you want to address that?

MR. MCCORMACK: No. In no way, shape or form. And we'll have -- I actually have a fairly lengthy written statement that I'll put out after the briefing on this. But the United States is a committed supporter of free, fair and open elections in Nigeria. It is a country that is trying to move beyond its past where some of those -- the credibility of some of those elections came into doubt among outside observers. So they are trying to move down a pathway where eventually in a Nigerian election, there aren't questions raised automatically about whether or not the election is free, fair and transparent.

So we're not only lending rhetorical support to that effort, but we have also over the years provided millions of dollars to help train political party supporters in how to participate in elections, how to contest elections, help training poll watchers, poll workers and helping them build an infrastructure that can support the kind of legitimate elections that meet international standards. But I'll have a little lengthier statement for you after the briefing.

QUESTION: But have you raised diplomatically some of these problems that have been cited by the opposition.

MR. MCCORMACK: We have talked to the Nigerians periodically about the importance of having the right kinds of elections. And the right kind of election means one that is free, fair and transparent, not only on election day, but also in the run-up to the election where candidates have full access to the media, that they have an opportunity express their views and to try to convince voters to vote for them, free from intimidation.

Yes.

QUESTION: New topic. Paul Wolfowitz just put out a statement that he is apologizing for the way he handled the promotion and seconding of the State Department to Ms. Riza and said he made a mistake and he's sorry for that. Do you have any reaction to how he handled --

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I think it's an internal World Bank matter.

QUESTION: -- well, no, I mean, how he handled the case and her movement over to the State Department?

MR. MCCORMACK: That's an internal World Bank matter.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. MCCORMACK: Yes, sir. In the back. We have one more.

QUESTION: Today Turkish Chief of Staff of military Yasar Buyukanit said that we should make the military operation to northern Iraq. What is your response for that?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I talked a little bit about this earlier and since then Dan Fried has been in contact with Turkish officials to express what I have expressed in public and that is that Turkey and Iraq are neighbors and that situation isn't going to change. They're going to be living next door to one another for a long, long time. And that as such, that they should really focus on trying to resolve differences that they may have and put in place lasting solutions.

Now, Turkey faces a real threat from the PKK. It's a terrorist organization that has killed innocent Turkish citizens, that has killed Turkish military and it's a problem that needs to be dealt with. The way we suggest it be dealt with is to have the Iraqis and Turkish Governments working together to try to eliminate this threat and we have lent our good offices to that effort in the form of retired General Joe Ralston, former SACEUR. And he has had good discussions working with the Iraqis and the Turks on this issue. It's clearly a very emotional issue I think on both sides. Everybody understands that. But the focus should be on trying to resolve this in a cooperative way, in a joint way, rather than to resort to unilateral actions.

QUESTION: Do you know who he spoke with?

MR. MCCORMACK: Let me check for you. I can get that for you.

QUESTION: Was it a call or was it a meeting here?

MR. MCCORMACK: Let me check for you, Matt.

Thank you.

(The briefing was concluded at 12:30 p.m.)