Hillary Clinton's Last Press Availability From NATO HQ As SOS
Over the past few weeks and months we have seen many "lasts." It is
bittersweet since we have loved following Mme. Secretary's diligent
service, but having we watched also have an idea of how the physical
investment has weighed on her. There are only a few weeks left for her
in this post, and here, to the press, she uses the word "final" perhaps
for the first time.
Press Availability Following Ministeral Meetings at NATO Headquarters
Press Availability
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
NATO Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
December 5, 2012
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Well, good afternoon. Well, today marks my final attendance at a NATO
foreign ministerial. I’ve spent a good amount of time in this building
during the past four years, and I think it was time well spent. The
alliance has made great strides, and we’ve seen, just in the past 24
hours, how much ground member-states can cover when we are working
together. And it proves, once again, why this alliance is one of the
greatest forces for security and stability in history.
Yesterday,
at the meeting of the North Atlantic Council, we reached a decision to
augment Turkey’s air defenses to protect against a threat of ballistic
missiles from Syria and reinforce our commitment to Turkey’s security.
The United States expects to make a contribution to this essential NATO
mission.
At yesterday’s meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, we
reviewed our extensive cooperation with Russia in places like
Afghanistan and also spoke frankly about the areas of disagreement that
continue to exist between NATO and Russia, including Georgia’s
sovereignty and territorial integrity and the need for a political
transition in Syria.
At today’s meeting with our non-NATO ISAF
partners, we reviewed the situation on the ground in Afghanistan as the
transition to 2014 continues, when the Afghan National Security Forces
will have full responsibility for Afghanistan’s security, with the U.S.
and ISAF forces in a supporting role. And we discussed the need for an
efficient, transparent, accountable mechanism to channel the
international community’s contributions to the Afghan forces.
At
the NATO-Georgia Commission meeting this morning, we continued our
conversation with Georgia about how it can keep making progress toward
NATO, especially by continuing to strengthen democratic institutions,
reform their armed forces, and contribute to our common security.
When
you take a step back and consider all the important issues that we
covered in a single ministerial meeting here at NATO, it reveals, again,
how critical our alliance is. After more than 60 years, it keeps us
safe; it projects security and stability globally. And through our
partnerships, we’re able to do more in more places. For the United
States, we find it extremely valuable to be able to consult closely with
our European allies on challenges from Syria to the Middle East to
North Korea.
When I think back on the past four years and all we
have accomplished together, it really is quite impressive: summits in
Strasberg, Lisbon, and Chicago that put forth very substantive outcomes;
a new strategic concept to guide NATO in the 21st century; a
major successful operation in Libya; a plan to protect all allies from
ballistic missiles; a substantive dialogue with Russia started again
after having been frozen; chartering a course for the transition in
Afghanistan; and of course, enlarging the alliance to include Albania
and Croatia.
So the United States is grateful to NATO. We believe
it’s needed more than ever, and therefore we believe we all must
continue to invest in it, politically, financially, diplomatically, and
communicate to our people the value that NATO brings, because these
investments are worth it.
And finally, on a personal note, I’ve
been very proud to work with Secretary General Rasmussen and the
extraordinary team here at NATO, along with my foreign ministerial
colleagues. And I thank all of them for the excellent working
relationship that we’ve enjoyed the past four years. MS. NULAND: We’ll take three today. We’ll start with AP, Brad Klapper, please. QUESTION:
Yes. Thank you. Madam Secretary, you and National Security Advisor
Donilon have spoken with your Egyptian counterparts about Egypt’s
constitution process, but you’ve expressed no public concern, despite
what some people in your Administration warn is the draft’s attempts to
roll back the rights of women, religious minorities, freedom of speech,
and the press. Madam Secretary, what shortcomings do you see in the
draft constitution, and what would be the repercussions of the
constitution entering into force on the democratic transition? Thank
you. SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Bradley, first let me say we
have been watching very closely this process as it is unfolding in Cairo
with concern. We’ve expressed that repeatedly over the last weeks.
Because almost two years the Egyptian people took to the streets because
they wanted real democratic change. And they, therefore – not the
Americans, not anyone else but the Egyptian people – deserve a
constitution that protects the rights of all Egyptians, men and women,
Muslim and Christian, and ensures that Egypt will uphold all of its
international obligations. They also want and deserve a constitutional
process that is open, transparent, and fair and does not unduly favor
one group over any other.
So the upheaval we are seeing now, once
again in the streets of Cairo and other cities, indicates that dialogue
is urgently needed, and it needs to be a two-way dialogue, not one side
talking at another side, but actual, respectful exchanges of views and
concerns among Egyptians themselves about the constitutional process and
the substance of the constitution. It’s also important that Egypt’s
courts be allowed to function during this period.
So we call on
all stakeholders in Egypt to settle their differences through democratic
dialogue, and we call on Egypt’s leaders to ensure that the outcome
protects the democratic promise of the revolution for all of Egypt’s
citizens. Ultimately, it is up to the Egyptian people to chart their way
forward. But we want to see a process that is inclusive and a dialogue
that is truly open to a free exchange of ideas that will further the
democratic process in Egypt. MS. NULAND: Next will be Javid Hamim from Pajhwok News Agency, Afghanistan.
Please. SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, here? Here. QUESTION:
Thank you. What is the latest development of negotiation about
bilateral security agreement with Afghanistan, and what’s its impact on
negotiation and reconciliation? SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I
think we are off to a productive start about the bilateral security
agreement. It follows, as you know, on the Strategic Partnership
Agreement that we signed between the United States and Afghanistan last
May. And with the launching of the talks on a bilateral security
agreement, we’ve had the first round of negotiations November 15th.
There is an agreed date to have the next round with the goal being to
conclude an agreement within one year. And these talks really illustrate
our commitment to a post-2014 Afghanistan that can secure itself and to
a political process that is able to move Afghanistan further toward
democracy and stability that respects the rights of all Afghans, and
which puts into writing the partnership that the United States and
Afghanistan enjoy.
We also continue to support an Afghan-led,
Afghan-owned reconciliation process. Ultimately, we believe there has to
be a political resolution to the ongoing disputes among themselves. So
the United States strongly supports that and we would like to see
progress made. We think the two are reinforcing, because we want
everyone in the region to know that the United States intends to stand
by the people of Afghanistan, and that we want to see all Afghans enter a
political process, lay down their arms, absolutely denounce violence,
and work together for the betterment of their country. MS. NULAND: Last one today will be Alexandra Mayer DPA, Germany. QUESTION:
Right here, Madam Secretary. Just to get back on the Patriot missiles,
how worried are you that this deployment could actually intensify
tensions in the region rather than calm down the situation? And is the
United States ready to go further if there are chemical weapons used
inside Syria or against neighbors? Thank you. SECRETARY CLINTON:
Well first, I think it’s a great tribute to NATO that this decision to
deploy the Patriots was taken, because it’s very much in line with our
solidarity among all of the members. This is for defensive purposes;
that’s made absolutely clear in the statement that was agreed upon. It
is solely for the defense of Turkey. It will have no offensive or other
purpose. I don’t believe that it necessarily brings any greater
attention to the tragedy unfolding in Syria, but it does send a clear
message to the Syrians that Turkey has the full support of all its NATO
allies.
And I have to say again what I said on Monday, what
President Obama has said repeatedly: We’ve made our views absolutely
clear to the Syrians, to the international community, through various
channels – public, private, direct, indirect – that this is a situation
that the entire international community is united on. And our concerns
are that an increasingly desperate Assad regime might turn to chemical
weapons or might lose control of them to one of the many groups that are
now operating within Syria. And so as part of the absolute unity that
we all have on this issue, we have sent an unmistakable message that
this would cross a redline and those responsible would be held to
account. And we intend to make that view as clear as we possibly can.
Now
ultimately what we should be thinking about is a political transition
in Syria and one that needs to start as soon as possible. Now that there
is a new opposition formed, we are going to be doing what we can to
support that opposition. I’m looking forward to the Friends of the
Syrian People meeting next week in Marrakesh, where we will explore with
likeminded countries what more we can do to try bring this conflict to
an end. But that will require the Assad regime making the decision to
participate in a political transition, ending the violence against its
own people. And we hope that they do so because we believe, as you know,
that their fall is inevitable. It’s just a question of how many people
will die until that date occurs.
So on Syria there’s great concern
here at the alliance but a great solidarity in defending Turkey and
sending a clear message to the Assad regime and in trying to work toward
the day when we can see the conflict come to an end. MS. NULAND: Thank you all very much.
