Hillary Clinton: Press Conference Following Syria Action Group Meeting
Press Availability Following the Meeting of the Action Group on Syria
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State
Palais de Nations
Geneva, Switzerland
June 30, 2012
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Good afternoon. As you’ve just heard from Special Envoy Annan, today
the international community came together to endorse a plan for a
democratic transition in Syria that aims to end the violence and pave
the way for a post-Assad unity government.
Kofi Annan called this meeting to mobilize the political will needed
to implement his six-point plan. And after a long day of intense
discussions, the next steps are clear.
First, we all agreed to support Kofi Annan’s principles and
guidelines for a Syrian-led transition, including the goal of a
democratic, pluralistic Syria that upholds the rule of law and respects
the universal rights of all people and all communities, regardless of
ethnicity, sect, or gender; maintaining the integrity of the Syrian
state and its institutions; the formation of a transitional governing
body exercising full executive powers, which would be broadly inclusive
and chosen by mutual consent; and an inclusive and transparent
Syrian-led process to review the constitution and prepare for free and
multiparty elections. These are principles that have formed the basis
for successful democratic transitions all over the world, and they offer
the best chance for restoring peace and meeting the needs and
aspirations of the Syrian people.
Second, the United States and others will carry this plan to the
Friends of the Syrian People in Paris next week and seek to build even
greater international consensus and momentum. As long as Assad continues
to wage war against the Syrian people – and he himself now calls this a
war – the international community must keep ratcheting up the pressure
on the regime to halt the violence and do more to provide humanitarian
assistance to civilians in need. The United States is stepping up our
own efforts to get food, medicine, and emergency relief to areas hardest
hit by the regime’s violence. And in Paris, we will press for more
coordinated international action and aid.
Third, in the session today, I called on every nation to use all
possible leverage to pressure both the regime and the opposition to
accept and support the Annan plan. Those states that carry influence
with the Syrian Government should insist that Assad halt the violence,
accept the transition principles, and comply with his obligations under
the plan. And we will do our part. At the conference hosted by the Arab
League in Cairo next week, we will engage a broad cross-section of the
Syrian opposition and urge them to unify around the Joint Special
Envoy’s principles and to seek buy-in from every part of the Syrian
community.
We recognize that Syrian dissidents and activists are working under
the most difficult circumstances, as shells rain down on their homes and
helicopters strafe their streets. They will be aided by a clear vision
that demonstrates to all Syrians that there is a credible alternative to
the Assad regime that will end the violence, protect their rights, and
advance their aspirations.
Finally, we will accelerate our work in the Security Council in New
York on a resolution that would reaffirm Annan’s six-point plan and the
guidelines and principles adopted today, which obligates the regime to
stop its attacks and pull back its troops, and impose real and immediate
consequences for noncompliance, including sanctions, as the Joint
Special Envoy has requested.
No one has any illusions about the difficulties ahead. We are dealing
with not only a murderous regime in a combustible region, but the
potential for that region to be gravely affected by the continuance of
this violence. But the stakes of inaction by the international community
are just too high. If Syria spirals further into civil war, not only
will more civilians die, not only will more refugees stream across the
borders, but instability will most certainly spill into neighboring
states.
Kofi Annan has offered a plan to avoid that path, and we should spare
no effort to support him. The United States will not waiver in our
conviction that the future of Syria belongs to the Syrian people. They
deserve our support and the support of every nation, so we will press
ahead, building on what was accomplished today, pursuing every
diplomatic avenue, and playing a leadership role in resolving this
crisis that has gone on too long.
Thank you very much. MS. NULAND: We only have time for two today. We’ll start with AP, Matt Lee, please. QUESTION: Madam Secretary – I don’t know – I’ll just
speak really loudly. Oh, it’s working? Okay. Listen, for all intents
and purposes, it looks like the Russians have won here. There is no
exclusionary language in the document that has been agreed to, whereas
the draft contained language that would exclude people deemed to be bad
for the transition. This speaks only of mutual consent, which would seem
to give both sides – the Assad government and the opposition – veto
power, which seems to be a recipe for continued stalemate.
Can you address why you think this calls for – in your own words,
what you said, lays the way – paves the way for a post-Assad future,
when in fact, it doesn’t require him to leave and leaves open – and it
leaves the open – it leaves open the – leaves the question open
entirely? Thank you. SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I disagree with your
premise, obviously, because as I’ve made clear all week, we supported
the Joint Special Envoy’s original text, but we agreed to some changes
that we did not believe affected the substance, because frankly, we read
the results to be the same. Assad will still have to go. He will never
pass the mutual consent test, given the blood on his hands. I think you
already heard Kofi Annan basically say the very same thing. The text
also makes clear that the power to govern is vested fully in the
transitional governing body, which strips him and his regime of all
authority if he and they refuse to step down and leave.
Now, every day that has gone by without unity on the Security Council
and among the states gathered here has been a day that has given
comfort to Assad and his cronies and supporters. What we have done here
is to strip away the fiction that he and those with blood on their hands
can stay in power. The plan calls for the Assad regime to give way to a
new transitional governing body that will have full governance powers.
Now, in deciding to accept the minor textual changes, we and our
partners made absolutely clear to Russia and China that it is now
incumbent upon them to show Assad the writing on the wall. I do not
believe that anyone in the Assad regime ever thought we could come out
with a unified statement today expressing not only the concerns but a
path forward that would include Russia and China. And he needs to hear
loudly and clearly that his days are numbered.
Russia and China have also pledged to start helping Kofi Annan find a
way forward and work to use their leverage in order to establish the
transitional governing body. We, of course, will do our part as well,
because this transitional governing body will only succeed if it is
composed of men and women who are beyond reproach.
The plan we have endorsed gives the Syrian people a real roadmap out
of the violence and the increasing sectarian destruction of parts of
their country. And I think it is absolutely important to note that more
than 700 people lost their lives across Syria this week. That’s more
than 100 a day, about the number we have in this room, and Damascus
itself is now ringed with violence. And we believe that the plan will
gain the support of many other countries and expect to see that occur at
the Friends of the Syrian People meeting in Paris on Friday.
I guess I would repeat and associate myself with Kofi’s remarks. He
has been working very hard to create the conditions for mediation. There
was not unity in the international community as represented by the
permanent members of the Security Council about what road he was
supposed to be traveling as he tried to mediate and negotiate among and
between the regime and the opposition. Now there is. I think that is an
important step forward and a boost for his efforts to try to bring an
end to the violence and bring about a transition that will protect and
benefit the Syrian people. MS. NULAND: Last one today, Noureddine Fridhi from Al Arabiya, please. QUESTION: Madam Secretary, Noureddine Fridhi from Al
Arabiya News Channel. Is there a timetable for the implementation of
this roadmap? And what will be the reaction of the Action Group, of this
group, if this roadmap will have the same outcome as the six-point
plan? Thank you. SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, our responsibility now is
to everything we can, which we have pledged to do, to see that this
roadmap is implemented. That means using all the leverage at our
disposal. Some of us have leverage with certain parties and others with
additional parties. We think it’s important that both the regime and the
opposition be sent a very clear message that those who support them
expect them to cooperate with Kofi Annan’s efforts. And we will do all
that we can, and I’m confident that the other members of the Action
Group will as well.
We also have work to continue doing in New York. We should endorse
this plan in the Security Council. We should endorse it with real
consequences, including Chapter 7 sanctions if it is not implemented. We
all accepted the fact that Kofi Anna will be coming to report and to
make clear what is happening on the ground, who is cooperating and who
is not. And I think we have to give this plan a chance to actually work.
As I said in my statement, I am by no means naive. I am very
clear-eyed about how difficult this is. I also know from following and
working on conflicts around the world that it’s, unfortunately, a
necessary process to keep raising the pressure in order to change the
internal dynamics within groups that are committed to fighting until
they decide, either personally or collectively, that there’s more to
lose than gain by continuing the violence.
So what we are doing with this plan is creating some new factors and
even realities that we then have to continue to push on to try to get
the results that we are all seeking. Diplomacy is not easy. It doesn’t
come with some automatic guarantee. But I think the Action Group has
given the Special Envoy a vote of confidence and a roadmap that now
we’re going to support him in doing his utmost to try to get
implemented.
Thank you. MS. NULAND: Thank you all very much.
