BRIEFINGS AND STATEMENTS 04/16/2002 Secretary Colin L. Powell Remarks at David Citadel Hotel SECRETARY POWELL: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Let me begin by extending my congratulations to the state of Israel on the 54th anniversary of its independence. The United States has stood by Israel since its creation and will continue to do so with an unshakeable commitment to Israel's security and wellbeing. read more 04/16/2002 Remarks By Secretary of State Colin L. Powell Before Meeting With Peace Coalition Members QUESTION: What do you expect, a roadmap for Israeli withdrawal and a statement by Yasser Arafat condemning terrorism before you leave; and also for Mr. Beilin and Mr. Safir, do you think that the Israeli military offensive over the last few weeks has hurt chances for a cease-fire? read more 04/16/2002 Remarks By Secretary Of State Colin L. Powell Before Meeting With Palestinian Civil Society Representatives QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, do you think you can persuade the Palestinian leadership that they should begin talks prior to an Israeli withdrawal? SECRETARY: We are going to have good conversations, my staff and the Palestinian side today, and I look forward to seeing the Chairman tomorrow morning. I think we are making progress and I look forward to furthering that progress over the next twenty-four hours. read more 04/15/2002 Statement by Richard Boucher, Spokesman Secretary of State Powell will meet with Prime Minister Sharon late tomorrow afternoon. We are also making arrangements to meet with Chairman Arafat on Wednesday morning. read more 04/15/2002 Briefing by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell on Board Plane En Route Tel Aviv QUESTION: Did either the Lebanese or the Syrian governments offer you any promise of reining in militants, be they Hezbollah, the Palestinian radicals, and did they give you anything else? SECRETARY POWELL: With both governments I made a strong presentation with respect to the dangers associated with continued firings over the Blue Line. I think I can say with reasonable assurance that both governments understand the seriousness of it, recognize that it could open a front that neither one of them would like to see opened, and both said that they would do what they could do to restrain activity of that type. read more 04/14/2002 Remarks By State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher Secretary of State Powell had a very good and thorough discussion with Prime Minister Sharon this evening. He discussed with Prime Minister Sharon some ideas on how to achieve what Israelis and Palestinians want: an end to the violence and moving forward on the political issues. read more 04/14/2002 Remarks By Secretary Of State Colin L. Powell After His Meeting With Chairman Yasser Arafat SECRETARY POWELL: We just completed a useful and constructive exchange with Chairman Arafat and his staff. We exchanged a variety of ideas and discussed steps on how we can move forward. The members of my staff will be meeting with members of his staff again tomorrow. read more 04/14/2002 Remarks By Secretary Of State Colin L. Powell Prior To Meeting With Israeli President Moshe Katzav QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, do you think that Arafat, who encourages the terror, can be a partner to a peace process? POWELL: Well, we're working on a peace process where we're trying to see if we can find a way out of this crisis. I look forward to speaking with the President. I've always benefited from his wisdom before, and I hope to do so again today. read more 04/14/2002 Briefing by Richard Boucher, Spokesman MR. BOUCHER: Secretary Powell will meet with Chairman Arafat tomorrow, Sunday, April 14, in Ramallah. The statement issued earlier today by Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian leadership contains a number of interesting and positive elements: read more 04/13/2002 Remarks By Secretary Of State Colin L. Powell Before Meeting With Non-Governmental Organizations QUESTION: The Lutheran Bishop just said that you told him that you would be seeing Yasser Arafat. Is that true? SECRETARY POWELL: What I said is we are examining what's going on today and we are going to see what happens. We'll make an announcement later. read more 04/13/2002 Statement by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell The United States is deeply concerned about the serious humanitarian situation of the Palestinian people. Israeli forces must exercise the utmost restraint and discipline, and refrain from the excessive use of force in the conduct of military operations, in order to ensure that civilians are protected and to avoid worsening the already grave conditions inside Palestinian areas. We call upon Israel to respect international humanitarian principles and to allow full and unimpeded access to humanitarian organizations and services to provide basic humanitarian services, including evacuation of the wounded and deceased. In this regard, we are particularly concerned at the humanitarian situation in Jenin. read more 04/13/2002 Briefing by Richard Boucher, Spokesman MR. BOUCHER: The Secretary condemns, in the strongest possible terms, today's terrorist attack and expects Chairman Arafat to do so as well. It is important that Chairman Arafat not miss this opportunity to take a clear stand against the violence that harms the Palestinian cause. In his phone call today, the Secretary expressed his sympathy on behalf of the United States government and people to Prime Minister Sharon and to the families of those killed and wounded. read more 04/12/2002 Statement by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell SECRETARY POWELL: I just spoke to Prime Minister Sharon a moment ago and expressed my deep regrets over the incidents that took place in Jerusalem this afternoon and I condemned the terrorists for this act. It illustrates the exceptionally dangerous situation that exists here and the need for all of us, everyone, the international community, to exert every effort we can to find a solution. read more 04/12/2002 Press Availability With U.S. Secretary Of State Colin L. Powell And Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres FOREIGN MINISTER PERES: Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to welcome the Secretary of State, Mr. Colin Powell, a great statesman, a dear friend. He's really coming at the most trying and delicate period of time in our region. The difference between a complete success and a great failure is so thin that you need a real orientation and determination to handle it. I can hardly recall a visit of a Secretary of State where so many hopes of so many people were accompanying his mission here, knowing that this is a real demanding and complicated issue. I don't take it lightly. read more 04/12/2002 Press Availability With U.S. Secretary Of State Colin L. Powell And Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon PRIME MINISTER SHARON: I would like to welcome the Secretary of State, Mr. Colin Powell. You are here among friends. You are a friend of Israel and you are among friends. I send my regards from here to President Bush, who is courageously leading the free world in the war against global terror. He is a true friend of Israel. Mr. Secretary, I am very happy for the opportunity that I had to talk with you this morning. It was a very good conversation - a conversation between friends. We discussed the situation on the ground; we discussed the dangerous situation in the north; and we discussed possible solutions. read more 04/11/2002 Secretary of State Colin L. Powell And Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher FOREIGN MINISTER MUASHER: -- address the needs of both sides, but to hopefully come up with a detailed, specific and time-lined plan of action that would start maybe with the implementation of Tenet and Mitchell, and end with the end of the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state. read more 04/10/2002 Secretary of State Colin L. Powell: Remarks with Foreign Minister of Spain Josep Pique MINISTER PIQUE: Specifically on what we have done, that is to say the say the signing of the Protocol of the Agreement on Defense Cooperation between the United States of America and Spain and the Declaration of Principles for Enhanced Cooperation on matters of Defense Equipment and Industry. If you will allow me, I would like to make a very short introductory comment and to later give the floor to Secretary Powell. read more 04/10/2002 Joint Press Conference with EU, Russian and UN Officials FOREIGN MINISTER PIQUE (translated from Spanish):Good morning to all, thank you for your presence.We have less than 30 minutes for this press conference.I will make a very brief introduction so I can turn it over to the Secretary General of the United Nations, who will be the spokesperson for all of us, and then there will be time for questions; but keep in mind the time constraints that we have. read more 04/09/2002 Secretary of State Colin L. Powell: Press Briefing on Board Plane QUESTION: Both you and the President have repeatedly called on Israel to withdraw, now. Has Israel reached the point that it is openly defying the US? SECRETARY POWELL: It's not a matter of defying the United States. Israel is a sovereign country that makes its own decisions. It has a democratically elected leader. We made it clear, however, that we thought it would be best for them to withdraw now. read more 04/09/2002 Secretary of State Colin L. Powell: Remarks with Foreign Minister Of Egypt Ahmed Maher FOREIGN MINISTER MAHER: It's always a pleasure to receive Secretary Powell in Egypt. We always have very open, profound, and useful and productive discussions. This is no exception. The president was happy to receive Secretary Powell. They had a very thorough exchange of view and review of the serious situation in Palestine as a result of the invasion of Israel to -- of the territories of Palestine. read more 04/08/2002 Secretary of State Colin L. Powell: Remarks after Meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah SECRETARY POWELL: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I just had a very productive two-and-a-half hour session with Crown Prince Abdullah and Foreign Minister Saud and other Saudi officials, to include Prince Bandar. And as you would imagine, our discussions focused mostly on the situation in the Middle East. I reviewed my mission with the Crown Prince. I also thanked him for the excellent work that he did at the summit meeting in Beirut which produced the declaration out of that summit meeting where all 22 Arab states would recognize and have normal relations with the State of Israel at the end of the negotiating period. I also said that the President was very much looking forward to his visit at the end of April. read more 04/08/2002 Secretary of State Colin L. Powell: Remarks after Meeting with King Mohamed VI SECRETARY POWELL: We began the discussion by congratulating His Majesty on his recent marriage. I am delighted and the American people are very much looking forward to his visit to the United States later this month. read more