International Conference on Iraq, June 21-22, 2005, Brussels, Belgium

MR. DENIG: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Washington Foreign Press Center. Welcome, also, to journalists assembled in our New York Foreign Press Center. We are very pleased this morning to be able to welcome to our podium Ambassador Richard Jones, the Senior Advisor on Iraq to Secretary Rice. Today’s briefing deals with a very important event coming up next week, the International Conference on Iraq, which will be held in Brussels, June 21 to 22.

Ambassador Jones will have an opening statement to make and after that we'll be very happy to take your questions.

Ambassador Jones.

AMBASSADOR JONES: Thank you very much, Paul. I guess it's still good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for coming. I don't want to take too much time speaking on my own. I'd rather take the time to answer your questions. So I will make a few opening remarks as Paul mentioned, but otherwise, the floor will be open to you.

As Paul mentioned, I'm the Secretary's Senior Advisor for Iraq. But I'm also the Coordinator for Iraq policy. And in that capacity, I've been working very hard in organizing something that we think is shaping up to be a very important international event. And that is the conference that the European Union and the United States are hosting in Brussels next week at the request of the Iraqi Transitional Government.

This is a conference that I think was originally envisaged as a possibility in UN Security Council Resolution 1546. But I think that interest in the conference gained considerable momentum after the elections that were held successfully on January 30th of this year. And in fact, when President Bush visited Europe in February, it was announced at that time that the European Union and the United States would be pleased to host such a conference, should the new government find it useful and request it. In fact, shortly after the new government came into being, they did make that request. And so I have been working with the European Union and with a few other countries to help to organize the planning for the conference, which will, as I said, be held next week on the 21st and the 22nd in Brussels, Belgium. And the first day will be at a senior officials level where we'll be looking for in-depth discussions with Iraqi senior officials. And then the second day, we'll be at the level of foreign ministers.

We're expecting that there will be an appearance briefly at the conference of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, Dr. Ibrahim Jaafari. We're also expecting that Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, will be the head of the Iraqi delegation. It will include a very strong representation from the Iraqi side -- several ministers, I'm told, besides the Foreign Minister, will be included on the delegation, as well as representatives from the Iraqi Transitional National Assembly, including the Speaker of that body; as well as representatives of the Independent Iraqi Judiciary. So we are looking for a full representation from the Iraqi Government, not just from the Executive Branch, but also from the Independent Legislative and Judicial Branches.

It will be an opportunity for a large group of representatives from the international community -- we've had about 85 invitees. I'm not sure where the acceptance stands, but as of two days ago, it was over 70 positive acceptances, including almost all at the foreign minister level. So it will be a very strong representation from the international community. Secretary Rice will head the American delegation. I think that's already been publicized.

And the conference itself, as I said, will be a good opportunity for the international community to show that it's united in support of the democratically elected government that came into being after the January 30th elections. It will be an opportunity, also, for that government, in a very efficient manner, to present its views, its vision for the new Iraq, its priorities as a government for the period that it is in office, to the international community and to appeal for assistance from that community.

This is not a donor's conference per se. There is already a donor's process that's well underway for Iraq. You may all recall the conference that took place in Madrid in October of 2003, which has been followed up by several conferences since then, including most recently in Tokyo. And in fact, the next conference in that series of donor conferences looks like it's going to be held in Amman, Jordan in, I think it's July 18th and 19th.

So the Brussels conference is, in a way, for the Iraqi Government to present its priorities to help tee up the discussions that will take place at the Amman conference on assistance. But the conference itself is not focused on assistance, certainly not on economic and reconstruction assistance alone, but rather on political support.

And the areas of discussion will be three: one, is the political process; two, is the economic recovery, including the integration of Iraq -- or I should say the reintegration of Iraq into the international economic system; and then finally, there will be a discussion of security issues which will primarily be focused on strengthening the rule of law in Iraq.

The first topic of discussion on the political process will focus particularly on the completion of the political process as laid out in UN Security Council Resolution 1546, which called not only for the elections at the beginning of this year, but also for the drafting of a permanent constitution by August 15th, ratification of that constitution by October 15th, and then elections for a new government by December 15th and the installation of that new government by the end of the year.

And so Iraq will be discussing its progress in that transition, political transition process, and what areas that it is looking to the international community for support, particularly with respect to the drafting of the constitution and then the ratification of that constitution as well as the organization of the elections for December. And in fact, the United Nations, under UNSC Resolution 1546, is to play a prominent role in all of these areas. And the UN, of course, will also be well represented at the conference, including, I believe, by the Secretary General.

Our second area, as I mentioned, will be strengthening the Iraqi economy and reintegrating it into the international economic system and in this regard, we'll also talk about development priorities, but we'll also talk about Iraq's plans for economic reform and, as well, we will talk about debt relief. As you may know, the Paris Club countries have agreed on a very generous package of debt relief for Iraq, relieving up to 80 percent of the official debt held by these countries. Unfortunately, however, the Paris Club countries only hold about $40 billion out of Iraq's $110 billion estimated official debt. This is an incredible debt burden that Saddam saddled on his people.

We believe that it is very important for the international community to recognize that the Iraqi people did not benefit from this borrowing and that if that debt burden is not relieved, it will be a drag on their economy and it will keep them shackled and prevent them from making economic progress, so that in order for them, for example, to have access to international capital, whether as a borrower or as a recipient of foreign investment, it's extremely important to get as much of this debt wiped off their books as possible and we're going to be urging those countries that are not members of the Paris Club who, as I point out, hold the majority of the official debt, to be generous with Iraq. We're hoping that we may see some statements indicating their predisposition in this direction at Brussels, although it is still too early to tell if that will, in fact, be the case.

Of course, any actual debt relief agreements would have to be negotiated between Iraq and those countries and that will take time, even as negotiations with individual Paris Club countries also have to take place. In fact, the only one that I'm sure that's been finished is our own. The United States agreed, in our discussions with the Iraqis, to go beyond the Paris Club standard and in fact, we agreed to waive 100 percent of Iraq's debts to the United States, which amounted to approximately $4 billion.

The final area is, of course, the security, strengthening the rule of law. This is a very important topic as well. We are now, of course, organizing ourselves and training Iraqi security forces to fight the terrorist insurgency that is bedeviling the Iraqi people.

But at the same time, we recognize that this is a challenge that we are likely to surmount. I'm not going to predict when, but we do want the Iraqi system to be strong so that when we are finished fighting the insurgency, we have a well-balanced legal structure and law enforcement structure in Iraq so that we're not just emphasizing counterinsurgency or police training, but that we're also working to strengthen the judicial system as an independent body within the Iraqi system of government. We've done a lot already to strengthen the judicial system, but more needs to be done, and I think the Iraqis will call upon the international community to help in that regard.

And finally, another important part of the rule of law system is corrections, and I believe the Iraqis will also call on the international conference to help them to strengthen the rule of law by improving their corrections system, professionalizing it, helping to modernize their prisons and so on.

So we believe that this is going to be a very important conference. It's going to be attended by a large number of senior officials and, importantly, by a large number of Iraqis. We think it's going to be a good opportunity for Iraq to present its program and for the international community to show its strong support for the new, independent Iraqi Government.

Thank you.

MR. DENIG: We'll be glad to take your questions now. Please wait for the microphone, introduce yourself and your news organization. We'll start with the lady in the middle, please.

QUESTION: Aya Batrawy with the Kuwait News Agency. Can you please tell me exactly what the U.S. is hoping to get out of Kuwait as far as debt relief and if any negotiations or pre-negotiations to this conference have happened with Kuwait as far as that goes? And what exactly is the debt from Iraq to Kuwait?

AMBASSADOR JONES: Well, it's not what the United States is hoping to get out of Kuwait, it's what Kuwait can do to benefit the Iraqi people. There is a sizable debt from Iraq to Kuwait. Obviously, it's a debt that's been owed for some time. Saddam Hussein did not service this debt. I'm not sure of the amount. These things have to be negotiated or discussed between the debtor and the creditor, because sometimes, there are significant problems in reconciling debt, depending on how the original loans were structured. But Kuwait is a significant debt holder. Like I said, I think it's better for the Kuwaiti Government and/or the Iraqi Government to pronounce on numbers rather than for someone from the United States. But Kuwait is a significant holder of debt, and we have briefed the Kuwaitis on the conference, including on the importance of debt relief for allowing the Iraqi people to move past the Saddam era and to reintegrate their economy into the world economy. And I'm confident that Kuwait understood that message.

MR. DENIG: Next question? Yes, Russia up here, please.

QUESTION: Ivan Lebedev, Russian News Agency TASS. Tell us, many countries like, let's say, Russia, China, in general, support the process of political stabilization in Iraq. On the other hand, they are not the members of the coalition forces in Iraq and are quite reluctant in providing financial support for the new Iraqi Government. I'm not talking about the debt relief issue, let's put it aside. So what would you like these countries to do in this situation, in practical terms, to support the Iraqi Government? What can they do in your view?

AMBASSADOR JONES: That's a very good question. In fact, Russia is very interested in working on Iraq and particularly on this conference. Russia is actually a member of the steering group that has been working to prepare the conference. And you mentioned debt relief. In fact, Russia is a member of the Paris Club and is participating in the debt relief for Iraq.

In terms of what other things countries can do, one of the things that's important that any country can do is to extend diplomatic relations and to receive an Iraqi Ambassador and to have their own Embassies open and headed by a full Chief of Mission, an Ambassador. That's just something that we think any country can do, regardless of its economic status, regardless of its willingness to cooperate with the multinational forces or with the United States or any other donor. So there are practical things that can be done.

We would look upon countries to be receptive, for example, to Iraqi efforts to rejoin international institutions. The Iraqis, for example, are looking at joining the World Trade Organization. Under Saddam Hussein, they didn't even belong to the GATT and they have not sought entry into the WTO before. But a WTO membership is one of the things that the international community can do to support.

So there are a lot of things that countries can do politically as well as extending economic support, or as you point out, debt relief. And I would, of course, urge all countries to think about what their own national interests are vis-à-vis Iraq.

You mentioned China. China, of course, is an important importer of energy. And Iraq is one of the hugest potential suppliers of energy that exist in the world today. And so I think it's very important for China to think about what its national interests are, for example. And how it can help Iraq develop and, either as a donor or having its companies participate actively in the Iraqi market. Many of those same comments would go for Russia and would go for many other countries. Japan is another major importer of energy, obviously. Russia is not an importer of energy, you're an exporter of energy, but you have oil companies that are, I think, seeking to make an impact on the international market. And I'm sure that your oil companies are interested.

And so we all have an interest that varies from country to country depending on our own expertise and our own resources, but Iraq has been a pivotal country in the world, literally, for millennia. And so it's hard for me to believe that there isn't some interest that all countries have in Iraq and that in pursuing those interests I think they will help to stabilize the situation and help to improve life for the Iraqi people.

And so we are encouraging every government to think about what its national interests are in Iraq and how they can further the interests of the Iraqi people as they pursue those interests.

MR. DENIG: Let's go to Japan up here, please.

QUESTION: Hi, Mr. Ambassador. This is Tsutomu Ishiai, Asahi Shimbun, Japanese newspaper.

AMBASSADOR JONES: Nice to meet you.

QUESTION: Hi. Actually, I have a question about the participants from the neighboring countries, especially Iran and Syria. Are they coming to the conference and, if so, the United States and Secretary Rice have any plan to talk with them directly? That's first question.

And second question is, as you mentioned, Japan is involved in many areas, you know, trying to help the reconstruction of Iraq. So in this conference Japan is not a co-sponsor but what kind of coordination between you and Japan is underway for the summit?

AMBASSADOR JONES: In terms of the participants, my understanding is that all the neighbors have been invited -- and when I say neighbors, I mean, the countries surrounding Iraq that have borders with Iraq. My understanding is that every country that has a border with Iraq intends to be represented by their foreign minister.

The focus of our work in the conference will be on the conference itself. Secretary Rice plans to participate fully in the conference and all of its events and that is the focus of her visit. Her focus is not on bilateral meetings. She will have a few bilaterals, but there is no intention to have bilaterals, I think, with any of the neighbors.

In terms of Japan's role, Japan has a very important role. As you mentioned, Japan is, besides the United States, the most important bilateral donor. You've been extremely generous, $1.5 billion in grants, $3.5 billion in loans. The grants, in fact, have all been committed and I know you're now working with the Iraqi Government to identify areas where the loans might be best utilized. And, of course, Japan has been a member of the coalition since the beginning. So Japan has been a very important player in Iraq and, in a reflection of that, Japan has also been an active member of the steering group. In fact, you were a founding member of the steering group and your Ambassador Shirota* has been a very active force in that steering group and has made a very positive contribution.

MR. DENIG: Let's go to Italy back there, please.

QUESTION: Thanks. Giampiero Gramaglia, Italian News Agency ANSA. I have two questions.

The first one is about the participation of the United Nations involved in the conference and are the other financial international institutions like World Bank and IMF involved?

And the second one is, what do you expect as outcome of the conference? There will be a joint declaration? There will joint statements? What we can expect?

AMBASSADOR JONES: Let's see. In terms of the involvement of international organizations, all the organizations you mentioned have been invited. The United Nations, the World Bank and the IMF have all been invited. As I said earlier, I believe the United Nations will be represented by the Secretary General, although that's up to them to confirm. I don't know about the representation from the World Bank or the IMF, but they have definitely been invited.

The UN, as you point out, does have a very important role in Iraq. This is a role that is clearly spelled out in UN Security Council Resolution 1546 and it's a role that the UN played very well at the beginning of this year in its support for the elections that were held in January. And the UN has a relatively large mission now back in Baghdad. It's not as large as it once was, of course; and we all know the tragic events of August of 2003. But they are increasing their presence as they shoulder their responsibility to help with the drafting of the constitution. We are also looking to the United Nations to help lead a donor coordination effort.

One of the deliverables, as we call it, from the conference will be improved donor coordination and that means not only coordination among donors but it also means between donors and Iraq. And, of course, that's one of the reasons why it's so important to hear Iraq's priorities so that donors can adjust their assistance to match those priorities. But it's also very important for donors to work together to make sure that there are no gaps or overlaps in assistance and so that the assistance is delivered as efficiently as possible.

And the UN is playing a very important role in that regard. They already host a forum in Baghdad of those countries who have representatives on the ground that are managing assistance programs. The United States and Japan and the European Union participate in those discussions -- or actually representatives of the European Union, I don't think the EU itself is yet in Baghdad although they may be soon.

What else can I tell you? Of course, we're looking to the UN to repeat its role, the positive role it played in the elections, in terms of organizing the referendum for the constitution and then the elections at the end of the year and we are hoping to hear very soon that the UN has been able to identify a person to head up an Elections Commission as Carlos Valenzuela was so instrumental in the success of the elections, working of course, with the Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission, and was so helpful in organizing and seeing that those elections were a success. We expect whoever is named to succeed him, by the United Nations, will also be equally successful. And we're looking forward to hearing who that person will be before long.

MR. DENIG: And the second part of the question was outcomes.

AMBASSADOR JONES: We expect there will be some kind of a statement. We have to engage -- that's one of the jobs of the senior officials on the 21st, is to engage to see whether -- you mentioned several possibilities, a communiqué, a statement, a joint statement, a statement with broad consensus. We'll have to engage with the other countries and see how strong the consensus is, how interested people are in having a detailed statement. But I think we'll have some kind of statement. I think things are in pretty good shape. It won't be a lengthy statement, this is not a conference to go into incredible detail, but I think it will be a clear statement of the strong support of the international community and the partner, the spirit of partnership that now exists, thanks to the successful elections in January, amongst the members of a united international community in the support of Iraq.

QUESTION: Tom Hambrick-Stowe, Yomiuri Shimbun. Will a reduction of troops or a possible timetable for withdrawal be discussed on the security agenda?

AMBASSADOR JONES: The security agenda is focused on, as I said, strengthening the rule of law. That's primarily on the civilian issue. It will primarily be focused on training of police, training of judges, things like that. I don't expect it to be a discussion of operational issues of the kind you mentioned.

MR. DENIG: All right, let's go right here. Radio Sawa.

QUESTION: Samir Nader with Radio Sawa. How do you assess the involvement of countries like Syria and Iran in the conference since they are not helping, according to the administration, a positive role to assist Iraq?

AMBASSADOR JONES: Well, these countries, of course, have been involved with Iraq in the neighbors process. And in the neighbors process, they have made commitments along with the other neighbors to be good neighbors. In English, we sometimes say that, "good neighbors make good fences -- or good fences make good neighbors." But I'd like to turn around and say good neighbors make good fences, in other words, good neighbors enforce their borders and prevent their borders from being used against their neighbors. And this is something that all of the neighbors have pledged to undertake through the neighbors process -- most recently, in the declaration that was issued after the meeting in Istanbul, which was at the beginning of last month I think.
And in any event, we expect the conference will urge all the neighbors to live up to the commitments that they've made. And to give the Iraqi democracy the chance it deserves, to give the Iraqi people the chance they deserve after decades of tyranny, to chart their own destinies without inference from foreign influences.

MR. DENIG: All right. Do we have a final question? Yes. Back to Japan.

QUESTION: So it's kind of a follow-up regarding security. Do you have any plan to discuss the possible, I mean, trial with Saddam Hussein or any other war criminals?

AMBASSADOR JONES: I don't know if it will come up. I mean, maybe someone will ask the question of the Iraqis, but I don't see it would be natural for it to come up in under the topics that we're planning to discuss. Like I say, this conference is more about the future and about the policy and organization of support. It's not so much about day-to-day or operational questions, although I couldn't rule it out.