Verbatim transcript of Quartet press conference - New York, 4 May 2004
www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=911

[Powell: The President also said - and this gets to the heart of your
question - that we have to consider certain realities on the ground. The
parties have to consider them as they go into final status discussions. But
ultimately, all of the issues that you touch on are matters to be resolved
between the parties themselves. And we did not prejudge. We made a statement
that what we believe was appropriate - what might have to happen in order to
get to final settlement. But ultimately, final settlement is something to be
resolved between the two parties themselves in negotiation with each other,
with the assistance of the international community, in a manner consistent
with the roadmap. And the Quartet stands ready to assist in this process. ]

SG: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for waiting. Let me now
read you what the Quartet has agreed:
We reaffirm our commitment to our shared vision of two States living side by
side in peace and security. One of those States will be Israel and the other
a viable, democratic, sovereign and contiguous Palestine.

We call on both parties to take steps to fulfil their obligations under the
roadmap, as called for in Security Council resolution 1515 and in our
previous statements, and to meet the commitments they made at the Red Sea
Summits in Aqaba and Sharm-el-Sheikh.

In that context, we welcome the Israeli Government's recent reaffirmation of
its readiness to implement certain obligations under the roadmap, including
progress towards a freeze on settlement activity. We urge the Israeli
Government to implement these commitments, and to fully meet its roadmap
obligations.

We view the present situation in the Middle East with great concern. We
condemn the continuing terror attacks on Israel, and call on the Palestinian
Authority to take immediate action against terrorist groups and individuals
who plan and execute such attacks.

While recognizing Israel's legitimate right to self-defence in the face of
terrorist attacks against its citizens, within the parameters of
international humanitarian law, we call on the Government of Israel to exert
maximum efforts to avoid civilian casualties.

We also call on the Government of Israel to take all possible steps now,
consistent with Israel's legitimate security needs, to ease the humanitarian
and economic plight of the Palestinian people, including increasing freedom
of movement for people and goods both within and from the West Bank and
Gaza, removing checkpoints, and other steps to respect the dignity of the
Palestinian people and improve their quality of life.

The Government of Israel should take no actions undermining trust such as
deportation, attacks on civilians, confiscation and/or demolition of
Palestinian homes and property, and other measures specified in the Tenet
work plan. The Quartet calls for renewed efforts to reach a comprehensive
ceasefire as a step towards dismantlement of terrorist capabilities and
infrastructure, and renewed progress towards peace through implementation of
the roadmap.

We note the Government of Israel's pledge that the barrier is a security
rather than a political barrier and should be temporary rather than
permanent. We continue to note with great concern the actual and proposed
route of the barrier, particularly as it results in the confiscation of
Palestinian land, cuts off the movement of people and goods, and undermines
Palestinians' trust in the roadmap process by appearing to prejudge the
final borders of a future Palestinian State.

We took positive note of Prime Minister Sharon's announced intention to
withdraw from all Gaza settlements and parts of the West Bank. This should
provide a rare moment of opportunity in the search for peace in the Middle
East. This initiative, which must lead to a full Israeli withdrawal and
complete end of occupation in Gaza, can be a step towards achieving the
two-State vision; and could restart progress on the roadmap.

We further note that any unilateral initiatives by the Government of Israel
should be undertaken in a manner consistent with the roadmap, and with the
two-State vision that underlies the roadmap. We reaffirm President Bush's
June 24, 2002 call for an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967,
through a settlement negotiated between the parties.

We also note that no party should take unilateral actions that seek to
predetermine issues that can only be resolved through negotiation and
agreement between the two parties.

Any final settlement on issues such as borders and refugees must be mutually
agreed to by Israelis and Palestinians, based on Security Council
resolutions 242, 338, 1397 and 1515, the terms of reference of the Madrid
peace process, previous agreements, and the initiative of Saudi Crown Prince
Abdullah endorsed by the Beirut Arab League Summit. It must also be
consistent with the roadmap.

We have agreed to undertake the following steps, with appropriate mechanisms
established to monitor progress and performance by all sides:

1. We will act on an urgent basis, in conjunction with the World Bank, the
UN Special Coordinator (UNSCO) and the Ad-
hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), on the basis of a World Bank/UNSCO
rapid-assessment study, to ensure that Palestinian humanitarian needs are
met, Palestinian infrastructure is restored and developed, and economic
activity is reinvigorated.

2. We are prepared to engage with a responsible and accountable Palestinian
leadership, committed to reform and security performance. The Quartet
members will undertake to oversee and monitor progress on these fronts.

3. We will seek to ensure that arrangements are put in place to ensure
security for Palestinians and Israelis, as well as freedom
of movement, and greater mobility and access, for Palestinians. We
underscore the need for agreed, transparent arrangements with all sides on
access, mobility and safety for international organizations, and for
bilateral donors and their personnel.
As Israel withdraws, custody of Israeli-built infrastructure and land
evacuated by Israel should be transferred, through an appropriate mechanism,
to a reorganized Palestinian Authority, which - in coordination with
representatives of Palestinian civil society, the Quartet, and other
representatives of the international community - will as quickly as possible
determine equitable and transparent arrangements for the ultimate
disposition of these areas.

4. Effective security arrangements continue to be critical to any
possibility of progress. Palestinian security services should be
restructured and retrained, consistent with the roadmap, to provide law and
order and security to the Palestinians, and to end terror attacks against
Israel.

Finally, we reaffirm our commitment to a just, comprehensive, and lasting
settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict, based on resolutions 242 and 338.
We remind all parties of the need to take into account the long-term
consequences of their actions, and of their obligation to make rapid
progress toward resumption of a political dialogue.

An appropriate coordinating and oversight mechanism will be established,
under the Quartet's authority.

We call on all States in the region to exert every effort to promote peace
and to combat terrorism.

Thank you very much. We will now take your questions.

Q: My question is to Secretary Powell. Sir, what is the purpose of this
group, when George Bush and Ariel Sharon are making deals on their own that
seem to have rendered much of the work of this group irrelevant?

Mr. Powell (United States of America): I don't think that the exchange of
letters between Prime Minister Sharon and President Bush has done any such
thing. If you look carefully at the exchange of letters and statements of
President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon, you will see a commitment to not
prejudging final status issues. You will see a commitment to final status
issues being resolved by agreement between the two parties. You will see a
commitment to 242, 338 and the other relevant resolutions. You will see a
commitment to the roadmap process. Nothing anticipated doing as we go
forward will be inconsistent with the roadmap. So if you read carefully what
the President said and what he put into the letter to Prime Minister Sharon,
you will see that it is all consistent with what we are doing here today.

And, in fact, what we have done here today is note the new opportunity that
exists for progress in the Middle East, because, for the first time, we have
an Israeli Prime Minister who has stood up and said that he wants to
evacuate the settlements: 21 in the West Bank; excuse me, 21 in Gaza and
four in the West Bank. Mr. Sharon had a setback, obviously, with the Likud
party the other day, but he continues to say that is his goal: to go forward
with evacuations; and he is examining how best to do that. And I take note
that all polling suggests that the majority of Israeli citizens would like
to see a movement in this direction.

In the process of discussing this matter with the Israelis, the President
and the Prime Minister took into account certain realities that we believe
were appropriate to be taken into account with respect to right of return
and with respect to alignment of the armistice lines that might be
appropriate. Previous negotiations knew that these features would have to be
taken into account, these realities would have to be taken into account and
any future negotiations would have to take them into account, and the
President made it explicit.

I think what we have to look at now is how to move forward, and that's what
the Quartet was focused on today: how to take advantage of this new
opportunity of the evacuation of settlements, as opposed to just relying on
the statements of the past, but something that can actually occur - the
evacuation of settlements; and how we can get the Palestinians ready to take
advantage of this opportunity and to get back into the roadmap, get back on
the path to peace.

Spokesman: I would like us to stay on the subject of the Middle East
initially. We will go to other subjects later.

Q: Mr. Annan, with reference to a reorganized Palestinian Authority
[inaudible]. Does this mean the rest of the world is beginning to agree with
the United States that Yasser Arafat is not a good candidate to make peace
with Israel. What is a reorganized Palestinian Authority? Or do you just
mean a strengthened security force? Are you - do you favour reorganizing the
leadership of the Palestinian Authority so there would be a chance to come
to terms with Israel?

SG: Basically, yes, security was part of it, but we didn't focus just on
security. In the past, when we talked about reform of the Palestinian
Authority, we had also talked about empowered Prime Minister working with
the international community and reform of the security sector. Quite a lot
of work has been done with the Palestinians, particularly by the European
Union, on the economic and the financial area, also with the World Bank and
IMF involved. So we are looking at this whole set of reforms that will give
us - will give the Palestinians capacity and will have a government or an
authority on the other side that can take on its responsibilities with full
capabilities.

Q: Yes, follow-up to this question, please. What do you mean by "appropriate
mechanism" when you are saying that you have not determined once Israel
withdraws from certain areas, to whom it would be transferred, and, Mr.
Secretary Powell, why is it difficult for you to give the King of Jordan,
King Abdullah, a letter of assurances, which is really not asking for very -
for much, although you have given such a letter to Prime Minister Sharon?
Aren't you undermining his efforts, and did he commit to come to the United
States regardless if you give him the letter or not?

SG: On your first question, let me say that we are dealing with an evolving
situation. As Secretary Powell indicated, the Likud Party voted against the
plan. The Prime Minister has reaffirmed his intention to go ahead. We are
monitoring it, and we are waiting to see how things evolve and then adapt
our plans or mechanisms accordingly. And so this is why we didn't come up
and say, this is what we are going to do. We need to see how the situation
evolves. Thank you.

Mr. Powell (United States of America): I think I, yeah, the only thing I
would say is that Jordanian officials are in Washington
today, and we're discussing this situation with them and looking over
various language that might, might be used. But I will just let those
discussions take place among our officials in Washington and leave it at
that for the moment, because I've been here for the last couple of hours.

Q: My question is also, has to do with that reorganization plan. There's an
effort in the World Bank to raise funds for the Palestinians. My question
is, is this a condition, and is it more involvement of the international
community with the Palestinian economy, and aren't we risking turning it
into an oil-for-food-type programme?

SG: I think the World Bank has already been involved in this situation for
quite some time. As I indicated, there has been quite a lot of assistance to
the Palestinian Authority, and, of course, when we talk about Palestinians
fulfilling certain obligations and taking on certain action, they need to
have the capacity, they need to be able to organize their society and move
ahead. We cannot let the economic and humanitarian situation wait until some
other day, and whenever we can, strengthen their capacity and improve the
economic and humanitarian situation, I think it should be done.

Q: I'd like to ask the Russian and Irish Foreign Ministers what their
impressions are. Is the roadmap back on track after this meeting today?

Mr. Lavrov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): Thank you. I think that
the roadmap never disappeared in terms of our moving forward, and today's
statement by the Quartet, which has just been cited by the
Secretary-General, confirms definitely that this is the only unified
position, the one unified position of the Quartet.

Mr. Cowan (Ireland): Well, in answer, Conor, I think we have have had
(inaudible) the fourth meeting of the Quartet at a time when hope is in
short supply. But the Quartet has reaffirmed its commitment to a
comprehensive, inclusive settlement negotiated between the parties and the
support for a two-state solution and for the roadmap as a means of achieving
this. The final-status issues, such as frontiers and refugees, can only be
decided by agreement between the parties themselves. And there's an
important reassurance that a settlement will not be imposed. We have
identified a number of obstacles to progress on which we believe immediate
action is necessary, including violence and terrorism, Israeli settlement
activity, the route of the separation barrier, and we're agreed that a full
Israeli withdrawal from Gaza could mark an important step towards the
implementation of the roadmap and the realization of a Palestinian State.
The Quartet is ready to provide support in bringing that about, and we're
looking for the support of the international community in reaffirming our
commitment to such an outcome.

Q: (spoke in Russian) Yes, a question for Minister Lavrov. Russia was the
initiator of this meeting. Are you satisfied with the results, and what do
you stress the most?

Mr. Lavrov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): Yes, the Quartet members
were interested in this meeting taking place as soon as possible, and so I
would call it a collective initiative, but we did actively call for this
type of meeting to take place. The focus, I would say, on what has just been
noted by the Secretary-General - the Quartet has maintained its position,
and I would say has consolidated its position, as was already stated. We
agreed to set up a monitoring and oversight situation to see how each one of
the parties will deal with and comply with their roadmap obligations and the
steps that they have promised to undertake and which they signed to
undertake.

It is very important in particular not only to reaffirm the roadmap, and all
of the Security Council resolutions and all of the agreements that the
parties have entered into as a basis for a Middle East settlement, but it is
also necessary to achieve this settlement only through negotiations,
including, of course, all final-status issues. And so I think that just that
alone emphasizes the importance of today's meeting, and I would add that the
Quartet says that any unilateral steps taken have to be in line with all of
the undertakings under the roadmap. The Quartet will facilitate the parties'
doing this through the oversight mechanism that I have alluded to and will
ask the donors to provide assistance in reform to the Palestinian Authority,
so the Palestinians themselves will be able to deal with their land.

Q: Mr. Secretary, laying aside the question of a letter for the King of
Jordan, there is a perception in the Arab world that President Bush gave
away two of the best bargaining chips the Palestinians had when he gave his
letter to Sharon. Why is the Administration resistant to the idea of making
a balancing statement that would recognize concessions the Palestinians
might receive from the Israelis, and I'm also interested to see if the other
parties up there are interested in - whether they think such a statement
would be appropriate at this time.

Mr. Powell (United States of America): We are in conversation with Arab
leaders, with King Abdullah and his associates, President Mubarak and his
colleagues. We are in contact with Prime Minister Abu Ala. I spoke to him
last week, explaining our position, and I think that the statement we have
issued today on behalf of the Quartet, consisting of the European Union, the
United States, the United Nations and the Russian Federation, I think gives
some assurance to the Arab world and to the whole world that we are
committed to the basis upon which the peace process rests - that's
appropriate UN resolutions - we are committed to the parties' agreeing
amongst themselves on final-status issues and not having those final-status
issues
imposed. So, to some extent, I think we have put out a statement here that
should provide that sort of assurance to the Arab world and to Palestinians.
And we are in conversation with our other Arab friends to see what
assurances and comments they may need from us to make sure that they know
that the President has not abandoned them, has not abandoned the hope for
the creation of a Palestinian State, he has not abandoned the vision that he
laid out in June of 2002.

But where were we going with that vision? Where were we going with this
process? Where were we a few weeks ago? We were still hoping for something
to break, something to come into the equation, that would change the
equation and give us something to work with.

We now have that with the stated intention of Prime Minister Sharon, and
with the clear support of the Israeli people to move in this direction. And
this gives us something to work with. And we are trying to take advantage of
that opportunity. That is what the Quartet has done here today. That is what
President Bush did a few weeks ago by embracing what Prime Minister Sharon
stated was his intention. And so, this is the time for us to look at the
opportunity that has been presented, rather than to get into arguments that
don't take us anywhere. This takes us somewhere.

If we seize this opportunity and work with the parties, we'll get back onto
the roadmap, both sides will be expected to meet their obligations under the
roadmap, and settlements will be evacuated. Settlements will be gone, from
Israeli occupation. And that settlement property will be converted to
constructive use on the part of the Palestinian people, who will be free to
move about these areas and build a society for themselves, a civil society,
a political infrastructure, a security force that will protect them and also
keep terrorists from taking advantage of this freedom that the Palestinian
people will have.

And so, we view this as an opportunity to be seized. That's what the Quartet
said today. And I think the statement that we put out today should be read
that way by friends and colleagues in the Arab world.

Q: My question is to the Secretary-General first. It is a simple question,
Sir. Does the announcement of President Bush during the Sharon conference
and the letters exchanged between the two leaders live to the letter and
spirit of 242, 338 and especially 194 - the right of return?

And my question to Secretary Powell: President Bush went to war to uphold
the United Nations resolutions on Iraq. 194 preserved the right of return
for the Palestinians; 338 and 242 also speaks about the armistice line of
1949. Wasn't it the right podium to change these rules of the game here in
the United Nations - the Security Council - instead of bilateral letters
between the two leaders and through press conferences?

SG: I think on your first question, let me say that the Quartet, which
includes the US, today has reaffirmed again the basis for the peace process,
including the resolutions you have cited - 242, 338. And we also refer to
the Arab initiative of Crown Prince Abdullah, which was endorsed by the Arab
League. So, the basis for moving forward and land-for-peace is clear and
accepted by all of us. And you heard Secretary Powell indicating that that
is the basis that we are moving all forward, including Washington.

Mr. Powell (United States of America): 194, 242, 338, 1397, [1515]: all well
known to us. And we understand that the parties themselves have to mutually
agree between them before any of these issues are settled in final status
negotiations. That's what the President's exchange of letters with Prime
Minister Sharon says. In every paragraph, that is reaffirmed. So, we believe
we are operating on this solid basis.

The President also said - and this gets to the heart of your question - that
we have to consider certain realities on the ground. The parties have to
consider them as they go into final status discussions. But ultimately, all
of the issues that you touch on are matters to be resolved between the
parties themselves. And we did not prejudge. We made a statement that what
we believe was appropriate - what might have to happen in order to get to
final settlement. But ultimately, final settlement is something to be
resolved between the two parties themselves in negotiation with each other,
with the assistance of the international community, in a manner consistent
with the roadmap. And the Quartet stands ready to assist in this process.

Q: Secretary Powell, the Prime Minister of Israel is revising plans because
of the Likud vote. Would the United States endorse a partial withdrawal?

And I have another question, for the Secretary-General, and for Minister
Lavrov and Solana. The last time we sat here, you talked about bold moves
were necessary by the international community. Do you consider Sharon's move
the bold one, or do you have something else up your sleeve?

Mr. Powell (United States of America): Since I don't know what Prime
Minister Sharon might do - all I've seen is press reporting of potential
modifications - let's wait and see what he does rather than give a
speculative answer to a hypothetical possibility.

SG: I think on your second question, let me say that when you look at the
communique we issued today, we are taking initiatives and saying things that
we had not done before. I had also had a chance to say in this building,
when I was asked if the roadmap was dead, that it may have been in distress
but it wasn't dead. And today, I think you have seen the effort by the
members of the Quartet to push ahead with the process and work with the
parties to honour their commitments and obligations they undertook, and help
them implement the agreement.

Mr. Solana (European Union): Let me say that once the document is in your
possession, you can read it. I am sure you will agree with me on one issue:
this document is a very important document that states in a very clear
manner that the objective of the Quartet and the objective of the roadmap is
to end the occupation that started in 1967, through the construction of two
States - a Palestinian State and an Israeli State. That is the essence of
the document.

But on top of that, it puts forward some mechanisms to achieve that goal,
mechanisms in which, as Secretary Powell and Secretary Annan have said, go
through also the mechanism stated by Prime Minister Sharon, of withdrawal
from Gaza. We said very clearly that that withdrawal has to be total. It has
to be the end of the occupation in that territory. And I think it is a very
important document - the one we have achieved today among the Quartet - can
put the Quartet again at the centre of gravity of the peace process.

Mr. Lavrov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): I could add that we are
truly looking at the stated intentions of Israel to leave Gaza as a very
important step that, if it is done, would begin the process which for a long
time was at a standstill. It is an important step. But it is an initial step
for a comprehensive settlement to end the occupation and to fully meet all
the obligations of the roadmap. That is the general position of the roadmap
of the Quartet. So I subscribe to it. Whether it is bold or not bold - that
is up to the journalists, who use their discretion.

Q: This question is for Secretary Powell, but if other members of the panel
could address it. I think we have covered the Quartet meeting in great
depth. If I could move over to Iraq. This is on the issue of the
international backlash over the prison abuse photos, which you yourself have
called despicable. It seems that there is great international outrage over
this. Your Department has put out warning messages for Americans abroad -
possible threats against Americans for the backlash. And I'd like to refer
you to a report prepared by your Department's Bureau of Intelligence and
Research suggesting that this could affect US standing abroad and foreign
policy.

How are you going to counter this? And are you afraid that this is going to
complicate efforts in the diplomatic world? And also, do you think this
could affect how any future Iraqi Government could trust the US in the
future?

Mr. Powell (United States of America): The photos that we all saw last week
and into this week stunned every American. It was shocking. They showed acts
that are despicable. The President has spoken to this. It is totally out of
character of what we expect from our men and women in uniform. What they did
was illegal, against all regulations, against all standards. It was immoral.

When our military commanders learned of what happened, within a day or so
they had launched investigations. Those investigations produced results as
to who might have been responsible rather quickly. Secretary Rumsfeld has
now launched additional investigations which will deal with the training of
our troops, accountability of our commanders, and will get to the bottom of
this.

Yes, I am deeply concerned at the horrible image this has sent around the
world, but at the same time I want to remind the world that it's a small
number of troops who acted in an illegal, improper manner. We will let the
military justice system - that I have nothing to do with, and it is another
department, and the reason I say that is because ultimate legality will have
to be determined by the Department of Defense. But it's just a few number of
troops. When you compare that to the tens of thousands, hundreds of
thousands of young men and women who have served in Iraq and who served
around the world, not just in this current period but in the past, who have
come to build - build hospitals and schools - and restore civil society and
rebuilt devastated nations in Europe and Asia, and who are doing likewise in
Afghanistan today and are also doing it in Iraq, these wonderful young men
and women are distressed that some of their fellow soldiers acted in this
manner.

The one thing you can be sure of is that justice will be done. We are a
nation of justice. These sorts of actions are not tolerated, and these
individuals will be brought into our military justice system and will be
dealt with in a way that the world can observe and watch. And I can assure
you that no stone will be left unturned to make sure that justice is done
and to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.