Cohen, Qatar foreign minister discuss relations and regional issues
Qatar-USA, Military, 4/7/2000

Here follows are some of the questions and answers of US Secretary of Defense William Cohen and Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamed bin Jassim al-Thani press conference at the emiri diwan in Qatar on April, 5, 2000.

Foreign Minister: His Highness the Emir and the Crown Prince met with Mr. Cohen today and they discussed many issues, the bilateral relations on the military side and the situation in the Gulf and all aspects which are related to the relations between the United States and Qatar. It was a good meeting. I think that the relations between Qatar and the United States are excellent and these visits always indicate how both countries respect each other and try to increase mutual cooperation. We welcome Mr. Cohen to Qatar again and although his visit is short, I hope that he enjoys his time whenever he visits Qatar. Now, we would like to open the floor for questions unless Mr. Cohen would like to say a word.

Cohen: Thank you very much. I'd like to make just a brief statement and then open it up to your questions. As many of you know, I take the occasion on at least twice a year to visit countries in the Gulf to review a range of mutual security issues, and my conversations in Qatar are always a valuable part of my tour.

Today I met with the Emir, the Crown Prince and of course with my colleague here, Foreign Minister Hamad Bin Jassem. We continued some of the discussions that I had with him and the Crown Prince in Washington last month.

The United States is committed to the security of all our friends in the region, and Qatar is an important partner in efforts to maintain a peaceful and stable Gulf.

We work with our partners in a variety of ways, including exercises, forward presence and, as in Qatar, the pre-positioning of U.S. equipment.

Today I talked with the Emir and the Crown Prince about ways to enhance our cooperation with Qatar and to work together on new multilateral security measures, such as the Cooperative Defense Initiative. The initiative is designed to enable Gulf nations to counter potential chemical and biological attacks. Such threats will exist as long as Iran and Iraq pursue efforts to either build or maintain weapons of mass destruction.

And so I did raise the issue of the need for Iraq to permit weapons inspections in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions. As long as Saddam Hussein refuses to allow inspections and comply with other Security Council Resolutions, UN sanctions, of necessity, must remain in place. Full compliance is the quickest way to help the people of Iraq.

In our meetings, I discussed the conversations that I had with Israeli Prime Minister Barak, Egyptian President Mubarak, and Jordanian King Abdullah about recent developments in the Middle East Peace Process. I think all of us were deeply disappointed by the inflexibility that Syria showed when President Assad met with President Clinton in Geneva recently. With the Syria track blocked at this point, Israel is concentrating on withdrawing its troops from Southern Lebanon and on talks with the Palestinian Authority. Qatar's support for a comprehensive Mideast Peace Agreement has been helpful. And I want to thank the Emir and the Foreign Minister and the Crown Prince for their dedication to trying to bring about a peace settlement for the Middle East.

Q: Mr. Secretary, do you think that after nine years of sanctions and arms inspections, Iraq continues to pose a threat to its neighbors?

Cohen: Well, as you know, there have not been any inspections for over a year and a half now. There are two requirements, of course -- that Saddam must fully comply with those inspections to satisfy the international community that imposes the sanctions. And that he is no longer building either a nuclear capability or possesses or is developing chemical and biological agents. There is no way to make a determination as to whether those activities continue without the presence of inspectors on the ground. And so, once again the Security Council has gone on record -- and members of the Security Council -- he must comply. And until such time as he complies, there should be no relief from sanctions because after all, if you have no inspections and then you take the sanctions away as well, let me go back to building my military again to the extent that it was with either chemical or biological nuclear weapons, then the entire region once again will be placed in jeopardy. And so, the best thing that he can do is to allow the inspectors to come back. Let them make their determination and then report to the Security Council. At that time, they can be relieved from the sanctions once they have satisfied that he is complying. But I must tell you that he is imposing hardship upon the Iraqi people. Because the oil for food program is designed to go to the needs of the Iraqi people. He is preventing much of that assistance from getting to the people, especially in Baghdad and in the south compared to what's taking place up north. And the UN agencies have made that determination, that there has been withholding of humanitarian support by Saddam himself by storing medicines and pharmaceuticals and supplies for the Iraqi people. And so, there's only one person who is creating the hardship and that's Saddam Hussein.

Q: One last question Mr. Secretary. A little bit further east, you said you would be briefing GCC leaders on a missile, early warning and interception system. Is this related to US expressed concerns over Iran's development of long-range ballistic missiles?

Cohen: It pertains to any threat in the region from a potential missile attack and what we have instituted at least, we would like to see greater multilateral cooperation throughout the region so that all of the Gulf States can feel secure. That they would not be subject to a surprise attack, that this shared early warning would help to identify should such a missile that would be launched against any of the Gulf states so that preventive measures could be taken. But it could apply to Iraq should it reconstitute its missile capability, which we hope he will not be able to do. It could apply to Iran, it could apply to any number of countries. So the goal is to have the Gulf area feel secure, that they would have full knowledge and be able to make preparation for either active or passive defenses.

Q: ... about supplying Qatar with the American Patriot missiles. Are these reports true and is there a need for these missiles in Qatar? The second question is for Secretary Cohen. How true is the news that a joint defense agreement will be signed between the U.S. and Israel after the Middle East Peace Process. And do you think that the American promise to supply Israel with an arms deal with a total cost of 17 billion dollars will help achieve peace or is it aid to strengthen Israel in order to enforce what is called the peace of force and not the force of peace? Thank you.

Foreign Minister: Regarding the first question, during the Heir Apparent's visit, I think the news appeared because he visited some factories that build these kinds of missiles. We always discuss with the U.S. how to cooperate in defense and other fields. This includes the issue of any defense weapons we need in Qatar. But the Heir Apparent did not discuss during his visit a contract with American officials on this issue. It was a visit to understand the capabilities of the missile and discuss defense issues. But there were no, and I want to stress this, we did not sign nor talk in detail about a contract.

Cohen: As for the second question, and I repeat it for the American press who is here, as to whether or not there was a joint peace treaty to be signed between the United States and Israel. And whether or not any appropriation for the peace agreement would be in the interest of Israel or the region.

First, let me point out that there is no treaty that was being discussed. We have a strong bilateral relationship with Israel. There was discussion about enhancing the relationship, but only in the context of a peace agreement with Syria. And so as that is on hold at this point, we continue to have a strong bilateral relationship with Israel. But any discussion of enhanced relationship in other types of appropriations for Israel were only in the context of an agreement with Syria.

Q: I want to ask you Mr. Minister if there is a complete agreement between Qatar and the United States on the needs for this cooperative defense initiative, and what concrete steps your government is considering to take this initiative forward.

Foreign Minister: As I mentioned, our relations with the U.S. allows us to discuss all these issues and we believe that the early warning system for the area is an important issue. And we appreciate what our ally, the U.S., recommends. The presence of U.S. troops in the Gulf area is not secret. And the protection not only for the troops, but also for our region is the top priority. And we always discuss with the U.S. and our allies, and especially with the U.S. to see how we can develop protection from any attack. And I would like to make it clear that when I say attack, I am not accusing anybody specifically, but certain measures should be taken during peace and war. And these measures are being taken for the benefit of both sides.

Q: I have two questions. The first is for the H.E. the U.S. Secretary of Defense and the second is for H.E. the Qatari Foreign Minister. First, Mr. U.S. Secretary of Defense, after a few days, the Iranian Defense Minister will visit Saudi Arabia. There are news indicating that he will reiterate an offer to sign a joint security agreement. How does the U.S. see this issue or this assumption? The second question is for the Qatari Foreign Minister. Is Qatar playing a role in reactivating the Syrian-Israeli track?

Cohen: Let me respond on the issue of Iran and any security arrangement they might have with Saudi Arabia. First of all, we were somewhat encouraged by the elections that took place in Iran. There is growing evidence that the new generation in Iran would like to have a different relationship with the external world and for that I think we can say it's a very positive sign. We also support some of the domestic initiatives of Khatami. What we have not seen, however, is any change in their external policy, namely their support for terrorism, namely their undermining of the Middle East Peace Process, and their acquisition of weapons of mass destruction. And so, our policy toward Iran cannot change until we see those changes in their policy. How other countries deal with Iran is up to them, as I have indicated, each country must decide for itself. But I believe that others will look to Iran as well to see whether there will be changes forthcoming in their reform policies, to see how they relate to the rest of the world.

Foreign Minister: We don't have any direct relations with the Syrian-Israeli track, but we always try to encourage both sides to participate in the peace process and to try to overcome difficulties. And by the way, I would like to thank the United States for their efforts and President Clinton for his measures in Geneva and we also urge the U.S. to try to bring both sides together to achieve a comprehensive peace in the area.

Q: I have two questions for H.E. the Minister and the Secretary of Defense. The first question is for the Qatari Foreign Minister. Israel stated that it agreed with Qatar to raise the level of representation with Qatar from a trade office to a full embassy. How true is this? Another question: There is news of a visit by the Emir to Iran. Will His Highness, if he makes the trip, carry a file on the islands disputed between Iran and the UAE? The two questions for the U.S. Secretary of Defense: Several experts said that the early warning system is very expensive and will not be of benefit to the region. So why campaign to market the system? The other question: What is new in American-Iranian relations?

Foreign Minister: You have four questions, two and two. Anyway this is the last question. On raising the level of diplomatic representation with Israel, our view is to seek peace and to support the parties involved in the Middle East Peace Process to complete the process. Until now we have not decided to raise the representation, but Qatar has always taken steps to normalize ties with Israel and to convey to the Israeli and non-Israeli public opinion that Qatar does not have a direct goal or direct interests in this issue. Our goal is to notify the Israeli side that whenever the peace process moves forward and whenever there is peace, there will be normal relations with Qatar. And I am sure that this is the feeling of the majority in the Arab World. We want peace in all tracks and this peace will lead to normal relations with Israel because Israel is part of the Middle East region. But until now the decision has not been taken because we await developments in peace negotiations between Syria and Israel, between the Palestinians and Israel, and withdrawal from Lebanon. All of these issues are important elements in the decision. This is with regard to the first question. The timing of the Emir's visit to Iran has not been decided. H.H. the Emir attaches great importance to the region's issues, including the three islands' issue, but there is a committee that has been made responsible, by the GCC, to look into preparing the right atmosphere between Iran and the GCC states or between Iran and the UAE to solve the issue. The committee is responsible for this issue. That's why we do not have any comment or follow up except through this committee, that includes Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar.

Cohen: You asked about the shared early warning. This is not a very expensive system. In fact, it has to do with communications capability, much of which is involved with software development. And so this would not be seen as a major expenditure on the part of the Gulf states. On the second question, as I recall, you were asking about the relationship between the U.S. and Iran? The latest news -- you probably heard that Secretary Albright last week announced that there would be some easing of trade restrictions with the United States on some of the luxury goods coming into the United States but there has been no fundamental change in the policy of the U.S. toward Iran until such time as those three conditions that I mentioned before change. Stop supporting terrorism, stop trying to undermine the Middle East Peace Process, and stop the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction. Until we see a change in those policies, we will not have a change in U.S.-Iranian relations.

Previous Stories:
  Cohen arrives in the Gulf region   (4/5/2000)
  US, Qatari military exercises   (6/17/1999)
  US wants an Arab Gulf anti-missile defense system against Iraq and Iran   (10/14/1998)

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