Philip J. Crowley
Assistant Secretary
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
June 10, 2010
www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2010/06/142963.htm

TRANSCRIPT:
1:19 p.m. EDT
...
QUESTION: Just one more back on sanctions, one more point on the S-300. Is
there any side-letter agreement or understanding with the Russians, between
the U.S. and Russia, on the S-300?

MR. CROWLEY: We have had conversations with Russia about this broad set of
issues. And I would note that people have kind of overlooked the fact that
there is a significant expansion of the restrictions on the sale of arms to
Iran. And that has a direct bearing on Russia, which has had a fairly
significant level of commerce with Iran over a number of years.

So this was very meaningful for Russia to agree to the restrictions that are
in this resolution. But - been some statements out of Russia today regarding
the S-300, and as we said, we note the fact that it's not captured
specifically by this resolution, but we have recognized and appreciate the
restraint that Russia has shown up to this point.

QUESTION: But to the question, is there any separate understanding between
the U.S. and Russia about the sale of S-300s, is there any agreement or any
letter --
MR. CROWLEY: I mean, I don't know that there's any agreement. We have talked
to Russia about this issue, and Russia obviously will make up - make its own
determination as to how to proceed or not.

QUESTION: But you're satisfied that this particular sale is not - is
excluded from the sanctions?

MR. CROWLEY: That is clear, since this resolution was based on the existing
arms registry at the UN, and the S-300 is not on that list.
Yes.
...

QUESTION: I just wanted to ask about the visit of the president of the
Palestinian Authority. He spoke today at Brookings. He was quite upbeat. He
wanted to keep hope alive and all that and so on. So are we likely to see
the resumption of the talks? What will the Secretary of State discuss with
him tomorrow? Are there any practical steps?

MR. CROWLEY: Well, I mean, I think if there is a silver lining in the recent
tragedy regarding the flotilla, it is that while it did increase tensions in
the region, it did not knock the proximity talks off course. And we value
that. The President had the opportunity to talk to President Abbas
yesterday. The Secretary will have a chance to talk to President Abbas
tomorrow. We want to see these continue and we want to see - and we'll
continue to explore at what point the parties will feel confident that they
can move from proximity talks into direct dialogue. That is - that's our
immediate next step, is to get them into direct negotiations, and we're
still trying to work for the right formula to bring that together.

QUESTION: But if you have, like, these incidents like the flotilla or these
various incidents, how are you going to make sure that these proximity talks
are not just
dealing with, like, fallout from day-to-day issues? I mean, presumably, you've
got to think that a lot of the proximity talks now are going to be just
dealing with the aftermath of the flotilla incident.

MR. CROWLEY: Well, those are not mutually exclusive. The President and
President Abbas had the opportunity to talk about not only the status of the
proximity talks but also the situation in Gaza. I mean, they are
fundamentally interrelated. We are seeking a solution for all of the
Palestinian people. That's difficult under the current circumstances, where
you have, in essence, divided governments.

But we are encouraged by the fact that they've started. In all of these
negotiations, go back any number of years, there have been times where there've
been an
event on the ground and, tragically, sometimes they do knock negotiations
off track. I think we're encouraged by the fact that notwithstanding the
tragedy involving the flotilla, people remain recommitted to the proximity
talks. They recognize that, ultimately, the only way to solve and prevent a
repeat of these kinds of confrontations is, in fact, to find an end to the
conflict. And that's precisely what the proximity talks are intended to do:
lead us into a negotiation that helps us reach a settlement agreement, a
two-state solution, and peace and security for everybody.

So I think we certainly agree with the sentiment of President Abbas. That
doesn't mean that there aren't very complex negotiations and difficult
decisions to be made in the weeks and months ahead. But I think we are
encouraged by his steadfastness in recognizing that the proximity talks
offer us the best way forward.