Secretary Clinton's Remarks With Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen

Well, there is a dearth of pictures coming in from Greenland, but this one, again with the cute red coat does show Mme. Secretary standing with Danish FM Lene Espersen with whom she issued the remarks below.

Remarks With Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen After their Meeting

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Hotel Hans Egede

Nuuk, Greenland

May 12, 2011

---

FOREIGN MINISTER ESPERSEN: Welcome to all of you. Before we take on the Arctic agenda this afternoon, we’ve just had the opportunity to briefly touch base on some of the other international issues that preoccupy us both and where we believe that we have a very valuable cooperation.

On Libya, we agreed that now is not the time to waver, that we have to sustain. The international community must maintain and increase the pressure on Qadhafi and his regime. And we are strongly committed to and actively engaged in the work of the Libya Contact Group, and of course, the efforts to assure a political solution for Libya.

We also agreed that the operation against Usama bin Ladin has created a new boost to international counterterrorism efforts, and we must build on this to further galvanize the broad international cooperation. Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, let me begin by saying how delighted I am to be here in Nuuk at this Arctic Council meeting, the first time that the United States has been represented by the Secretary of State. And I am very grateful to Minister Espersen for her leadership and for the strong partnership that exists between the United States and Denmark.

Before I talk about the meeting we just had and today’s working session of the Arctic Council, I want to say a few words about the situation in Syria. Despite overwhelming international condemnation, the Syrian Government continues to exact brutal reprisals against its own citizens, including, tragically, the deaths of hundreds of Syrians since March. They engage in unlawful detention and torture and the denial of medical care to wounded persons. Now, there may be some who think that this is a sign of strength, but treating one’s own people in this way is, in fact, a sign of remarkable weakness.

President Obama and I have condemned these actions in no uncertain terms, and I do so again today. The recent events in Syria make clear that the country cannot return to the way it was before. Tanks and bullets and clubs will not solve Syria’s political and economic challenges. And relying on Iran as your best friend and your only strategic ally is not a viable way forward. Syria’s future will only be secured by a government that reflects the popular will of all of the people and protects their welfare. President Asad faces increasing isolation, and we will continue to work with our international partners in the EU and elsewhere on additional steps to hold Syria responsible for its gross human rights abuses.

It is such a pleasure for me, in contrast to what we see happening in a place like Syria, to be celebrating the alliance, partnership, and friendship between the United States and Denmark, rooted in our shared democratic values and aspirations. And that is the underpinning of the partnership we have here in the Arctic Council, and our determination to work together on a range of global challenges.

Today, Lene and I had the opportunity on the boat to discuss at length many of the issues that we are working on in this fast-moving world, including in North Africa and Afghanistan. And I thanked the minister for Denmark’s strong support throughout the Maghreb region. In Libya, Denmark was one of the first countries to fly air-to-ground missions, and may I say it is absolutely exemplary in every way, in all of the actions it has undertaken. It is also making substantial contributions in Egypt and Tunisia through its support for vulnerable groups such as young people and women, and its support for political reform, fair elections, rule of law, social dialogue, and civil society.

In Afghanistan, we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder as we work to ensure the smooth transition of security responsibility that was agreed upon at the Lisbon summit. Denmark’s general – generous development assistance is crucial to this effort, and I commended Foreign Minister Espersen for her initiative to improve women’s access to justice in Helmand province.

Now of course, we are here because of our shared concern and commitment to the Arctic. This region faces so many challenges, especially with the harmful effects of climate change on its ecology, natural resources, and the livelihoods of millions of people who are used to living off the land and the seas. And we will be discussing many important matters in our meeting to start just shortly, from mitigating the effects of black carbon, to cooperating on possible oil spills, to search-and-rescue operations. And in all of these discussions, we have benefitted enormously from the wisdom and engagement of the Council’s permanent participants.

Now the challenges in the region are not just environmental. There are other issues at stake. The melting of sea ice, for example, will result in more shipping, fishing, and tourism, and the possibility to develop newly accessible oil and gas reserves. We seek to pursue these opportunities in a smart, sustainable way that preserves the Arctic environment and ecosystem.

So for more than 15 years, the Arctic Council has established itself as the region’s preeminent intergovernmental body, and the United States is committed to this forum. The search-and-rescue agreement, which we co-chaired with Russia and which we will be signing today, is an example of how the Council can work collectively to effect positive change. The United States is an Arctic nation. This region matters greatly to us. That’s why I was delighted to be joined by Senator Lisa Murkowski, who represents Alaska. We know that the decisions we make now are going to have long-lasting ramifications, and we want to make the right decisions.

So again, I thank the minister and I thank Denmark for hosting this very important meeting.

MODERATOR: Thank you. (Inaudible) from (inaudible) TV.

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, a question about Syria: Do you think al-Asad has lost his legitimacy as the leader of Syria?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, let me say that we have watched with great consternation and concern as events have unfolded under his leadership in Syria, and we are working with our international partners to make as strong a case as possible to sanction those who are leading and implementing the policies that are coming from the government.

I think it is – I think it’s fair to say that we’re going to hold the Syrian Government accountable. Now how that happens and what the timeline in – is, is something that we are working on as we speak. But I wanted to make very clear at the outset of this press conference that the United States, along with Denmark and our other colleagues, are going to be looking for ways to increase the pressure.

FOREIGN MINISTER ESPERSEN: Yeah, and I think that we completely agree. We’ve been amongst the countries in the European Union calling for sanctions, and now we’re calling for the Syrian leadership to actually deliver on the promises that they’ve made also on TV about political reforms and national dialogue. And I will say if the Syrian leadership does not deliver on reform, we are prepared to tighten the sanctions against the Syrian regime.

MODERATOR: Washington Post.

QUESTION: Thank you both for speaking with us. Madam Secretary, just a question: One of your goals in coming here is to call attention to important environmental issues, including climate change, but it’s been difficult for U.S. administrations to follow through on some of these ambitions and commitments on things from Law of the Sea to climate. I’m just wondering what assurances you can give the international community now that the U.S. is prepared to go forward and take some concrete action.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Joby, you’re right that it’s been challenging in our political system to take the kinds of actions that we know are dictated by the science and by what we see in front of our eyes. Many of the indigenous people who are here at the Arctic Council meeting can give you very dramatic descriptions of how their land and the sea has changed in their lifetimes. So there is no doubt, except among those who are into denying the facts before their eyes, that climate change is occurring, and it is contributed to by human actions at every level.

I don’t think the Obama Administration, certainly not the President, has given up on continuing to make the case for what the United States can and should do. We were not successful in getting the Senate to pass a comprehensive bill, but as you know, the Administration has increased its attention to regulatory actions that can be taken to improve everything from the gas mileage of cars to the regulation of utility emissions. And we’re going to continue to do that. We’re going to use every single available option that can demonstrate clearly to our own people, first and foremost, and then to the international community that the United States is taking action and will be doing everything we can to make our contribution.

MODERATOR: AP.

QUESTION: Yes. To both of you, since you’re both cooperating on Libya, we’ve seen an intensification of the bombing raids, particularly against Tripoli. Is there a parallel effort, diplomatic effort, to push Qadhafi out, and how long would that take? Do you have an assessment of how long he might remain in power?

FOREIGN MINISTER ESPERSEN: Well, I think what is the most important thing is actually that when both Secretary Clinton and I were in Rome last week, we decided to have a much better international coordination and actually putting pressure on finding a political solution. One of the things that Colonel Qadhafi has been quite smart at doing has actually been sending all kinds of messengers out, negotiating ceasefires and things like that, only with one purpose, I think, and that is just to prolong everything and to try to make the international society start a quarrel whether we’re doing the right thing or not.

And what’s very important is that the Libya Contact Group and the international society remains committed to stay in until the job has been done, protecting the civilians and, of course, making sure that the UN special envoy Al-Khatib is supported a hundred percent in his very important job, trying to negotiate a political solution and a ceasefire. And I think that’s actually the best we can do, not having different countries negotiating with Qadhafi but having one person coordinating and negotiating, so that he knows that now the pressure is on him.

And I think that’s the most important thing, and I’ve spent any opportunity I have to say, because the Danish airplanes are doing a lot at the moment, to say that we are living up a hundred percent to the UN Security Council Resolution 1973. We are there to protect the civilians. And if it takes us to bomb military buildings and other things, we will continue to do that in order to protect the civilians. So we’re very committed on that.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I can only echo what the minister said, because she was very eloquent in describing what is the international consensus. And I think out of our meeting in Rome, we were even more determined to keep the military pressure on and to intensify our diplomatic and political efforts. They are proceeding as we can with a lot of consultation. The UN has a major role to play, but there are also other contacts that will be undertaken to make clear to Qadhafi and those around him that we’re persistent and we’re patient and we’re determined.

And I would just end by once again thanking and applauding the efforts of Denmark. Denmark is just an extraordinary country in every way, and its commitment to its international obligations, as evidenced not only in this operation under the UN Security Council but in its generosity of foreign assistance and in so many other areas it sets a very high standard.

MODERATOR: We have time to do one final question from T2.

QUESTION: Thank you very much. Madam Secretary, would you please give advice to your Danish colleague, being a woman in a man’s world as a foreign minister? (Laughter) Is it an advantage sometimes, actually?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I think she doesn’t need any advice from me. She’s been a minister twice before in interior and justice where she, by every measure, was a great success. And now she is handling the foreign ministry obligations at a time when Denmark, like the United States, is facing a very fast-changing world. And I am a great fan of Lene’s. I think that she represents Denmark exceptionally well, and I also know that, like many young women – and I can say this because I’m not and she is – (laughter) – she has family responsibilities, she has two young children, and like so many women in Denmark and the United States and elsewhere, she is a highly responsible person in balancing both her family responsibilities and her obligations to her country. So I don’t think she needs any advice from me. I think she’s doing very well.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much. Let’s end here.

Video: Secretary Clinton's Remarks with Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen After their Meeting

**UPDATE** This is another video I posted without having had time to watch. I love these two together! Cool logic, mutual respect, and calm voices. The Tea Partiers will jump all over me if they Google Lene because there, they say she attended the Trilateral Commission twice, but she is a Conservative! Anyway, I found a better bio of her at The Arctic Council.

Remarks with Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen After their Meeting

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Treaty Room

Washington, DC

June 18, 2010

---

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, good morning. And I am very pleased to welcome the foreign minister to the State Department. We have a strong alliance, partnership, and friendship between our two countries. And I happen to live near the Danish Embassy in Washington. They’re wonderful neighbors as well. And it is a relationship that is rooted in shared democratic values and aspirations. I think it’s fair to say that we are both problem-solving people focused on meeting the challenges and seizing the opportunities of the 21^st century. And today once again, I had the opportunity to discuss with the foreign minister the challenges that we’re confronting and how we can continue to make progress on common goals.

I also want to thank the foreign minister for the steps that Denmark and the other members of the European Union announced yesterday regarding Iran’s illicit nuclear activities. These strong measures to implement and accompany UN Security Council Resolution 1929 send a clear message to Iran’s leaders: Uphold your international responsibilities or face growing international isolation and consequences. We also look forward to the announcement of specifics by the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council. And we once again reaffirmed our mutual commitment to pursue a diplomatic resolution, but we have to have the Iranians adopt a more constructive course.

Denmark provides outsized leadership on many of the world’s most pressing challenges. We greatly appreciate the contributions of the Danish people to global peace and prosperity, and deeply value our bond as NATO allies.

The Danish Government also deserves to be recognized for the enormous time, effort, and energy it devoted to last December’s climate change summit in Copenhagen. More than just hosts of the conference, Denmark was actively engaged throughout the year in working to move the negotiations forward and to achieve for the very first time in the Copenhagen Accord that all major economies make national commitments to curb carbon emissions and transparently report on their mitigation efforts. We will continue to work together on that as well.

And I particularly want to thank the people of Denmark for their commitment and sacrifices in support of the international missions in Kosovo, Iraq, off the coast of Somalia against pirates, and, of course, in Afghanistan. We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan. Denmark has suffered grievous losses among their troops in a probably disproportionate manner compared to the size of their country. The courage, heroism, and skill of the Danish forces is well recognized by everyone. And in addition, Denmark’s generous development assistance has been crucial in building institutions, good government, spurring economic development, and providing educational opportunities.

Today, the foreign minister and I also discussed how crucial Afghan women are to long-term stability. We both believe that with – (laughter) – a great deal of personal conviction. And we are targeting assistance to women in areas ranging from girls’ education to health services, particularly maternal health, to protecting women from violence and enhancing their roles in education, the economy, and governance. We are committed to advancing the rights and opportunities of women, and our governments will actually co-host a conference in Copenhagen later this year on this important issue.

We discussed NATO, where, of course, a former Danish prime minister is now serving as secretary general. And we also reviewed, between the two of us, the important work needing to be done in the Arctic. And I want to express the U.S.’s appreciation of Denmark’s leadership as the Arctic Council chair, and I look forward to continued Danish leadership and to attending the meeting that Denmark and Greenland will co-host next year.

There’s so much to say thank you for, Madam Foreign Minister. And please also express our appreciation to your government, to your embassy, and to the Danish people because we are together building a future of greater peace and prosperity, not only for the Danish and American people but for those who deserve it as well around the world.

FOREIGN MINISTER ESPERSEN: Thank you very much. And thank you very much, Madam Secretary, for the hospitality that you’ve shown me. I think we’ve had a very fruitful meeting. And what is, of course, very important for a small-sized country like Denmark is that the country that we’ve been friends with for decades continue to be a longstanding friendship. And I think that is the case with U.S. I think the United States can always count on Denmark being a friend and working together in trying to solve many of the problems that we face today in a globalized world. I also think that we share many values that are the same. And we both have a very pragmatic approach to things. We want to get things done. And that’s one of the reasons why American and Danes work so well together.

Especially when we look at Afghanistan, I think that the U.S. is, of course, playing the major role, and that you are also suffering many losses. Therefore, of course, I think it’s very important that we stick to the plan and try to get progress ahead in Afghanistan. General McChrystal and ISAF is doing an excellent job but, of course, apart from the military, which is very important, I think that the civilian side as well is extremely important. And I think that our initiative to try and strengthen the role of the women of Afghanistan is very important in creating a future where Afghanistan can stand on its own. So, I’m looking forward to the Kabul conference. And hopefully, we will have a focus on making sure that the rights of the women and the way of enhancing the women will be in focus at that point.

I also appreciate very much the work being done by the U.S. in getting the UN Security Council to actually make a resolution with sanctions against Iran. Denmark is a strong supporter of strong sanctions against Iran, and we’re very happy that yesterday at the EU summit, the heads of state decided to move on and to put these sanctions on Iran. Hopefully, that will put the pressure on Iran to start a dialogue with the rest of us again because both you, Madam Secretary, and President Obama have tried for more than one and a half year to be in dialogue with Iran, have been trying to see if we could move ahead the dialogue. But I think that moved in the wrong direction, and therefore, hence, the sanctions are necessary.

And to trend of – I think that we have a lot in common, even though you are a very big state, a big country – (laughter) – and we are a very small country, there are many ways where we can actually, with our values, create a better world. And especially, I think the work that we are doing in terms of finding legal ways of handling the piracy of Somalia, and especially with regard to the fight against terrorism, also the work that’s being done in looking into new ways legally of handling of people being captured, I think these are all very, very important issues in making sure that the rule of law is being taken care of on a global scene.

So thank you very much for a very good meeting.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.

MR. CROWLEY: We have time for two questions, one on each side. We’ll begin with Jill Dougherty with CNN.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Hi, Jill.

QUESTION: Hi, Secretary Clinton. Thank you. A question on Kyrgyzstan. You know there are allegations now that, in essence, what’s going on is ethnic cleansing by Kyrgyz military against Uzbek citizens, and I’d like to hear your opinion on that. And in connection with that, there are some who would say that the United States is softening its criticism of the Kyrgyz Government in order to make sure that the U.S. does not jeopardize its lease to the Manas Air Base. How would you answer that?

And then just one last quick question. An article about you recently, this week in a local newspaper, which said, “Would you like to trade places with Joe Biden?” (Laughter.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Let’s stick to Kyrgyzstan. (Laughter.)

Jill, I think that the situation is much more complex than any short description could possibly capture. I spoke at length to Roza Otunbayeva yesterday, to President Karimov in Uzbekistan. As you know, Assistant Secretary Bob Blake is in Bishkek now. We are trying to do everything we can to deal with the very serious humanitarian crisis that has come about because of the violence and the displacement of people from their homes. I think it would be premature to conclude what the source of this outbreak of violence is, but there are a number of factors contributing. Certainly, the ouster of President Bakiyev some months ago left behind those who were still his loyalists and very much against the provisional government. There certainly have been allegations of instigation that have to be taken seriously. There were a number of problems in keeping control over the violence that was sparked by the crackdown and then the overthrow of Bakiyev, which now have, unfortunately, rippled through the police and the military establishment. So it’s difficult to tell how much arises from preexisting ethnic or political differences, how much was instigated and by whom and for what purpose.

What we are trying to do with many partners in the international community, including, of course, the United Nations, is to help support the provisional government, which had scheduled a vote on a new constitution for, I think, next week. And they are, unfortunately, under very difficult conditions trying to determine whether they can go forward with that vote. And some have argued that one of the potential reasons for the violence was to prevent the constitutional referendum from going forward. So there are many moving actors and circumstances.

So our bottom line is work with the international community to try to support the provisional government in bringing about a resumption of order; work with Uzbekistan, which has opened its borders to tens of thousands of fleeing Uzbeks; work to get humanitarian aid in as quickly and comprehensively as possible, and then see if you can stabilize the situation, how to put Kyrgyzstan back on a much more solid footing. But we’re all searching for answers, so we don’t want to prejudge. We don’t want to say, well, that’s what caused it, because there are many different factors at work.

FOREIGN MINISTER ESPERSEN: If I can add, it’s exactly the same position of the European Union. We also had the opportunity to discuss Kyrgyzstan during our council meeting on Luxembourg. Exactly as the Secretary is saying, you know that the first victim in any conflict, that’s the truth – there are all these stories about who’s saying what. So what we decided to do was to have our Special EU Envoy Morel being sent to try and look into as a fact-finding mission what is actually going on. There are all these different numbers. But we completely agree with the way that the Administration is looking into that and, hopefully, the international pressure and focus will bring some progress in the future.

MR. CROWLEY: (Off-mike.)

QUESTION: (Inaudible) Broadcasting. Madam Secretary, it is no secret there is a growing war fatigue among allied in Europe when we talk the war in Afghanistan. The Dutch are withdrawing, the Canadians are withdrawing, the Poles are talking about withdrawing, and there are still the caveats among some of the NATO allies on how they can fight in Afghanistan.

What changes in the attitude among NATO allies would you like to see, and would you like to see a further involvement by EU when we talk Afghanistan?

And this is for foreign affairs minister. You said yesterday that a withdrawal from Afghanistan is out of the question before it is safe and peaceful. What did you exactly mean by safe and peaceful when we talk Afghanistan?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first I want to start by expressing our very strong appreciation for Denmark’s contributions. We appreciate all of the commitments and sacrifices that our ISAF partners have made and are making in Afghanistan, and Denmark has been a model partner in every way. Danish troops have been on the front lines in Helmand Province. Denmark has been a leader in the support for sub-national capacity building and a real model for better integration of civilian and military activity.

Now, certainly, we know how hard this is and we believe that this is in our national security interest and the national security interest of our NATO allies and other partners who have voluntarily joined ISAF for this effort. No one likes war. If people were not worried about or concerned about war, there would be something wrong with them. And we come from nations that are democracies with strong values and ideals, so certainly, you’re not going to find either the foreign minister or I doing anything other than recognizing that war is sometimes necessary. And in this case, we believe it is necessary.

We cannot speak for other countries and their decisions, but I think both the United States and Denmark see the geostrategic political significance of what we are trying to achieve in Afghanistan. Both Denmark and the United States understand that an Afghanistan that once again became a failed state and provided a refuge for terrorists to organize attacks against our countries, our people, our allies, would require response as we had to after 9/11.

So we think that we’re making progress. We know how hard it is. The Afghan military and police are improving, and we are working hard to provide the trainers and mentoring that they need. We are looking to see more results from some of the governmental reforms that we’re expecting. But it is just not true that we haven’t seen positive accomplishments. If you look at a lot of the indicators on education, on health, on government capacity, on agricultural output, on economic growth, on a revenue base for the country to function, there’s a lot of positive indicators.

But the story is not written yet. And we have made very clear that we are going to be committed to this effort, but we want to put the people and the Government of Afghanistan on notice that they have to take more responsibility, which they understand. The foreign minister and I will be in Kabul in July for the follow-up conference that was held in London setting forth very clear expectations from both the Afghans, neighbors, us, and others. So we are committed and we think that it’s a commitment that is in our interests.

FOREIGN MINISTER ESPERSEN: I think that sometimes when we see the casualties, the Danish and American soldiers on Helmand, which is one of the places where the insurgents are in the largest amounts and really fighting back, sometimes we forget why we’re there. We’re there for the safety of ourselves. We’re there for the safety of the Danish citizens and American citizens, because if we weren’t there, we would get attacked by terrorists. So it’s our own safety that’s at stake.

And of course, this means that I think that nobody wants to stay in Afghanistan a second longer than necessary, because they should take care of their own business when they’re able to do that. But it all depends on the ground security. It depends on the progress being made. We’re very fortunate that we now have an Afghan Kandak with a Danish group, so we have a whole battalion of Afghan soldiers being trained into being able to take over responsibility at some point. But I think that the message is that we want them to be able to take over responsibility so that they could secure their own population, and we will do our utmost to train them to do that.

Thank you.

# # #