Remarks with Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger After Their Meeting
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of StateTreaty RoomWashington, DCNovember 16, 2010SECRETARY CLINTON: I am delighted to welcome my colleague, the foreign minister of Austria, here to the State Department – he just told me – for the first time. And I am especially pleased that we’ve had this opportunity to reaffirm the bonds of friendship between our two countries, and I’ve already had an excellent working relationship with him.
U.S.-Austria relations are strong. They’re based on mutual interests and shared ideals. Today we discussed numerous areas of cooperation, from nonproliferation and global security, to the mission in Afghanistan, to peacekeeping in the Balkans and the Golan Heights.
I also want to thank the minister for his active participation on behalf of Austria in the United Nations Security Council. He and I have worked closely together on sanctions regarding Iran, and I appreciate his excellent work on that. We’ve worked together on Resolution 1325’s implementation regarding women’s participation in peace and security issues, and again today, where the minister spoke out strongly about the need for the parties in Sudan to move forward on implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
I was also pleased to see Austria’s cabinet extend the peacekeeping mission in the Balkans and on the Golan Heights. The 1,700 Austrian military police and civilian personnel serving in these missions have a profound global impact. I know that these men and women are far from their families and friends, but their work goes a long way to ensure a better and more stable future in the Western Balkans, in Kosovo, and in the Middle East and the Golan Heights.
I also want to thank Austria for the vital customs and police training to help Afghans assume greater control of their own peace and security efforts. There is so much we have to talk about and work on, and the minister mentioned a number of other issues that Austria is taking the lead on, including an important anticorruption effort, a new commitment to disarmament and nonproliferation, and so much else.
So thank you very much for being here, Michael.
FOREIGN MINISTER SPINDELEGGER: Thank you very much, Madam Secretary. It’s a great pleasure for me having spent the whole day with you, the morning in New York and the afternoon in Washington.
Of course, this was a wonderful meeting, just having a focus on the cooperation between the United States and Austria. And I think, as you mentioned, there are a lot of different issues where we can also cooperate in the future.
We had the experience for two years in the Security Council dealing with the United Nations and, of course, having a partner in United States of America. And for us, it was a very good experience to be with you in protecting civilians in armed conflicts, in the Resolution 1325 about women, peace, and security, and also in the case of Sudan. Today, we had a meeting in the Security Council where I think the outcome was the right one, just to have a good ground of cooperating between the South and the North.
And of course, we have been talking today about further engagement in the Balkans. I think we, as Austrians, will keep the United States informed about all of the developments in Kosovo, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and all the other issues we have to face. These are challenges where we are much more close to this area, and we would like to keep you informed and to cooperate with you in this field.
And we had a lot of other opportunities and plans we presented today to you, and I think this a very good reason for you to come to Austria and to deepen our relations also in the future. Thank you very much.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much, Michael.
FOREIGN MINISTER SPINDELEGGER: Great pleasure.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you.
MODERATOR: Time for just a couple of questions. First Hanno Settele from the Austrian National Press.
QUESTION: Madam Secretary, in your – during your recent visit to Bosnia, you pretty much criticized Bosnian authorities for not pushing hard enough in their efforts to join the European Union. In your opinion, do you think we need something like a Dayton Treaty number two after 15 years?
And in the same line of questioning, joining the European Union, there is considerable opposition towards Turkey joining the European Union amongst many member states. America is heavily in favor of such a introduction into the European Union. Do you consider changing your stance on this in the light of the European people, many of them not really being in favor for it? Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first with respect to Bosnia-Herzegovina, I very much appreciate the strong partnership that the United States and the European Union and individual countries such as Austria have with us in continuing our efforts to help bring about changes for the benefit of the people in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
We all believe that there needs to be constitutional reform in order for the government to function more effectively. I made it clear when I was in Sarajevo that we support the continuation of the Office of High Representative until there is such time when we believe that the government is willing to address the issues that are still unresolved amongst the various communities.
But I was delighted when the European Union offered visa liberalization to Bosnia-Herzegovina. I thought that was a very strong vote of confidence in the people and what the people, particularly the young people, need and are able to contribute to Europe. I met with about 400 young people in one of the theaters there, and I was very impressed. Whether they were Bosniac, Serbian, or Croat, they were very committed to a better future. And so we’re going to continue to work together. The minister will be co-sponsoring a conference on reconstruction and stabilization in December on the Balkans. So we’re going to keep at it because we think it’s very important.
With respect to Turkey, the United States, along with many other countries in Europe, support the membership of Turkey inside the EU. I know that it is an issue that divides the European Union. We don’t have a vote, but if we were a member, we would be strongly in favor of it.
Do you want to say something about what you’re doing on the Balkans?
FOREIGN MINISTER SPINDELEGGER: Of course. Maybe I can add something. You have been mentioning that we are organizing a conference in Berlin in the beginning of December, and I think this is the right moment. We have been agreeing to that during our meeting that we should pay more attention to all that what is happening now, especially in Bosnia-Herzegovina. They are forming a new government, and this is the right moment just to give them advice that we are expecting constitutional reforms in Bosnia-Herzegovina. And we agreed about that. There is also the time to give some pressure to them to do so.
MODERATOR: Christophe Prantner, Die Presse.
QUESTION: Thank you, Madam Secretary. As you mentioned before, you have met the minister quite often in last couple of months. Is there anything special the U.S. is expecting from Austria, let’s say concerning letting in Guantanamo detainees or doing more in Afghanistan, let’s say with policemen, or is it enough for Vienna to give away a chocolate cake from time to time? (Laughter.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I think that the leadership that Austria is showing on a range of issues is very important and welcome, not only to Europe but to the United States. And the success of the training mission that Austria is running with the customs officials in Afghanistan certainly suggests that it would be most helpful if Austria could extend that, add more civilian trainers, because the faster we can train up the Afghan military, police, and governmental officers, the faster they can take charge of their own security. We also welcome a lot of the leadership initiatives like the one I mentioned on anticorruption, which is important.
We were very gratified that Austria added to its mission in Kosovo because we think that is essential now that we’re working hard and, as Michael said, focused on the Balkans together. We want to make progress together, but we have to stay alert and help create the conditions for the mediation that the EU will run between Serbia and Kosovo. So there’s an important role that Austria is playing, and it’s one that we’re very happy to see because we admire the capacity that they bring to these endeavors.
Thank you all.
RESIST, INSIST, PERSIST, ENLIST.” - HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Secretary Clinton's Remarks with Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger After Their Meeting
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Secretary Clinton's Remarks With Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger
Remarks With Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of StateUnited Nations Headquarters
New York City
October 26, 2010QUESTION: Madam Secretary, are you going to – can we ask you a question or two?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, let – I think both Michael and I have a short statement to make.
And first, let me thank the foreign minister for his crucial help in getting this event organized. I believe very strongly that Austria’s leadership on behalf of this issue is essential because we need to form a strong global partnership to make clear that we are committed to bringing about peace, but in doing so, we want to empower women to not be victims, but agents of peace and ending conflict.
And I also want to wish Austria a very happy National Day. I’m sorry that this Security Council meeting coincided with National Day and that the foreign minister had to be here, but from our perspective, we’re very glad he is, and his leadership and the excellent commitment that were – commitments that were made by the Austrian Government in the intervention by the foreign minister. So I thank you very much for your leadership.
And I also want to say how pleased we are to have a strong, growing, even deeper relationship between the United States and Austria. The foreign minister and I have worked closely together on several key issues, from the Balkans to Iran and so much else. And we have a shared commitment to human rights and the rule of law and to nonproliferation. And I am very grateful that I will be having a bilateral, thorough discussion with the foreign minister in Washington, D.C. on November 17th.
FOREIGN MINISTER SPINDELEGGER: Thank you very much, Madam Secretary, ladies and gentlemen. For us, it’s a great pleasure to see how engaged Hillary Clinton is in this field – framework of 1325. And this gives us hope and this inspires us to be more active in this way. And of course, I think if you have a look, after all the events, we have to notice there is a lot of space for more engagement. We have to double our efforts to make, for the future, a better world for women and, of course, if you have a more close look to all these areas of conflict, we should now have these indicators, these 26 indicators, that gives us more tools and more information about that – what we have to do in all these areas.
And I think it’s wonderful to cooperate. Thank you very much for that. And of course, as I said, we are now celebrating the 10th anniversary, but we also are celebrating the birthday of Hillary Clinton here today.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, dear.
FOREIGN MINISTER SPINDELEGGER: Twenty-fifth birthday. (Laughter.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: Coincides with National Austria Day. I’m very excited about that. (Laughter.)
FOREIGN MINISTER SPINDELEGGER: So it’s really a wonderful story and I would like to thank you also for this cooperation between the United States and Austria. We are very much happy with that and we would like to continue it in the future. Thank you very much.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much.
QUESTION: Madam Secretary, you’ve talked very passionately about the women of Afghanistan and not leaving them behind. I wonder if you had any comment on the comments by the president of Afghanistan, President Karzai, about the United States and it’s giving cash to him to run his office?
SECRETARY CLINTON: I do not. I have a very strong opinion about the work that we’re doing, which I think is critical for our national security, the national security of Europe. I work closely with our representatives in Afghanistan and with the Government of Afghanistan. It’s a very challenging and quite complicated situation, but I think we’re making progress, and I am very, very pleased to have the opportunity to try to support the women of Afghanistan while we do so.
QUESTION: Mrs. Secretary of State, the situation of women and also girls in many countries of the world, especially in Africa, but I would like to mention also Afghanistan, Iran, et cetera is very serious. Do you really think that resolution discussed today can make a difference, can change something? Or does this – it could be only done on the level of the government and the – on the politics?
SECRETARY CLINTON: I think it’s both. I think in my own lifetime – since it is my birthday, I can look back on it and see so much progress that has occurred. It has occurred both on the international level in beginning to look at women’s rights as human rights and to create coalitions around change on behalf of women, and of course, it’s happened in my own country.
So the progress that women have made in the last 50 years is remarkable when you consider it against the backdrop of the prior history of humanity. But as Michael and I have said, there is still much more to be done. And certainly, those of us who are fortunate enough to live in countries like the United States and Austria where there have been great advances on behalf of women’s rights and opportunities, I believe have an obligation to try to do more to help women and girls in countries where those rights and opportunities are not respected.
So yes, we’ve made progress and shining a bright light of international concern on these issues gives heart to women and men working on behalf of this cause all over the world and helps to move the progress, the trajectory, a little bit further along. So it’s all worth doing.
QUESTION: Madam Secretary, you have mentioned the special and growing relationship with Austria, and could you be more specific what has brought about this renewed friendship with Austria? And could you specify the areas of cooperation where the friendship with a small country like Austria could really make a difference?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I can give you two examples based on my own experience with the foreign minister. He and I spoke several times in depth on the necessity for sanctions on Iran’s nuclear weapons program. He was very helpful in conveying the concerns not only of the United States but of the international community directly to representatives of the Iranian Government. And certainly, with the IAEA headquartered in Vienna, I’ve spoken with the foreign minister on nonproliferation, which is a key goal of President Obama. So those are two areas where Austria’s commitment and values, combined with its very strategic location, has been of benefit to our common cause.
Do you want to add anything to that, Michael?
FOREIGN MINISTER SPINDELEGGER: Yes, I think, of course, it was an area where we had to be in a close contact. It was a very sensitive moment, I think. And I only can give you back this was very good to have this close contact to inform each other what’s the next step forward, and I think we have reached a lot. If you have looked today, maybe Iran is ready to come to the table back, this is one of the results of our (inaudible).
MODERATOR: Thank you, everyone. Thank you. We have – sorry (inaudible).
QUESTION: You both mentioned Iran, though, and today the Iranians announced that they were going to restart refueling the reactor. Is this something that --
SECRETARY CLINTON: But that – let’s not confuse – Iran is entitled to the peaceful use of civilian nuclear power. They are not entitled to a nuclear weapons program. What they are doing is starting a reactor that is, based on everything we know about it and everything that the Russians have informed us about it since they have worked with the Iranians over many years to build this reactor, strictly for peaceful purposes. Our problem is not with their reactor at Bushehr. Our problem is with their facilities at places like Natanz and their secret facility at Qom and other places where we believe they are conducting their weapons program.
So I know – I heard some of the news coverage that oh my goodness, the Iranians are starting the reactor. That is not the issue. They are entitled to peaceful civilian nuclear power. They are not entitled to nuclear weapons. There’s two different processes. And so I’m glad you asked the question because I think it’s important to distinguish that. And as Michael said, we’re hoping that the Iranians will come back to the table soon with the – what we call the P-5+1 or the E-3+3, headed by Cathy Ashton, to begin an in-depth negotiation over their nuclear arms program.
MODERATOR: Thank you.
