|
CNN SHOWDOWN: IRAQ
Bush Preparing for Azores Trip
Aired March 14, 2003 - 12:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Packing it in, or just packing? President Bush is preparing for a very quick visit to the Azores island in hopes of salvaging one last ultimatum for Saddam Hussein.
CNN's Dana Bash is ready to bring us up to date on that and more from the White House -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. Well, as talks over that second resolution at the United Nations really stalled this week, they were hoping to get a vote even by today. That clearly didn't happen. They are now going to have a meeting with the top sponsors of the resolution. President Bush will go and meet with Tony Blair, the British prime minister, and the Spanish prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar. They will meet in Portugal in the Azores islands. The prime minister of Portugal will host them.
And this is all an effort to get together, face to face. These leaders have been talking almost daily this week about the efforts to try to get that resolution passed, to try to find the magic formula to pull on board those six undecided or undeclared countries at the United Nations. So what we are told is that this summit will just be one day long on Sunday, and they will talk diplomacy. They will talk about what they think it will take to bring on those six nations, and what each of the other countries, including the United States, can stomach in order to forge a compromise to get it through. So we are told the focus, at this point, will be one last chance at the United Nations -- Wolf.
BLITZER: One up for (ph) diplomacy in the coming days to come -- in the midst of all of this, Dana, as you know, the president a couple hours ago made a surprise decision to go into the Rose Garden at the White House and deliver a statement on the Israeli/Palestinian peace prospects. What's behind the timing, all of a sudden, of this initiative?
BASH: Well, I should tell you, Wolf, the official line here at the White House, as one source put it to me, is that if Iraq was not on the map, this would still be going on. That's the official line here. But there is no question that the two issues are linked to, really, a strong degree.
When Tony Blair came and met with the president at the end of January, he came with two messages. One was discussion of Iraq and the situation there, and going through the United Nations, and the other was a very strong message that the White House and this president must begin the process of addressing the issue of peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. So the White House is very cognizant of that, and this morning they -- the president discussed the fact that what has gone on in the Middle East lately has led to something that could start the so-called "road map." That road map has been under discussion among the United States and other key allies, a series of steps that could lead to possible peace in the Middle East, including a Palestinian state.
We are told that this is something that certainly will help the United States with some of its European allies who have been very upset that the White House has not paid enough attention to this issue. Also, it will help with some of the moderate Arab allies in the Persian Gulf, some of whom have been helping the White House with its efforts in terms of basing military troops and others for a potential war with Iraq.
Now, the president made clear that part of his decision was the fact that the Palestinians elected a new prime minister, and he made it clear that any implementation of the road map will be hinged on that prime minister's confirmation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The new Palestinian prime minister must hold a position of real authority. We expect that such a Palestinian prime minister will be confirmed soon. Immediately upon confirmation, the road map for peace will be given to the Palestinians and the Israelis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, the president's challenge was not only to the Palestinians, but also to the Israelis, saying that settlement activities must end. His point, his message was that entrenched positions must come to an end -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Dana, in a very carefully choreographed move an hour later, the British prime minister Tony Blair came out with a similar message. Dana Bash at the White House. Thanks very much, Dana.
We'll get more on this story from Jerusalem. We are going to get reaction from Israelis and Palestinians later this hour.
We also expect to hear more directly from the White House. That's coming up momentarily. The White House daily press briefing, the press secretary, Ari Fleischer, expected to emerge very soon. We'll have live coverage from the West Wing of the White House, the press briefing room.
Whatever happens or doesn't happen between the United Nations and Iraq, it's still very clear that relations between the British and the French have gone sour. The latter term, poisoned -- in fact, the relationship has become poisoned, that coming directly from Number 10 Downing Street itself, perhaps was behind a morning phone call earlier today.
Let's get some more on what's happening between France and Britain. I'm joined by CNN's Jim Bittermann. He is in Paris, and our senior European political correspondent, Robin Oakley. He is in London.
Robin, let's start with you. What's the latest word from the British government on the prospects of finding some sort of diplomatic solution?
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: They are still not too hopeful of that diplomatic solution, Wolf. They talked this morning of the situation being fluid and dynamic. Well, it has proved since then to be not so much fluid as totally liquid. But with this meeting coming up in the Azores, with President Bush and Jose Maria Aznar of Spain and Tony Blair, there are still some hopes that they can craft together a second resolution, which would go through the U.N. Security Council, give them that moral majority they seek.
And, of course, Tony Blair is the man who needs this more desperately than anybody else. Two members of his cabinet now threatening to walk out if he goes to war without U.N. sanction, only 19 percent of the British public prepared to back him if he does. Tony Blair really needs that, and I think he's appreciating that George Bush is now willing to go, really, the last inch of the last mile down the U.N. route in an attempt to give Tony Blair that political cover that he needs. But the British, I think, are still pretty despondent in terms of their hopes of getting a U.N. resolution at the end of the day -- Wolf.
BLITZER: You and I spoke earlier in the week, and we spoke of the chilly personal relationship between Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac. What's behind the phone call? All of a sudden, these two leaders speaking today?
OAKLEY: I think there's a recognition there, Wolf, that things are just getting out of hand, and that the bitter diplomatic or undiplomatic language being used by diplomats on both sides was in real danger of splitting the European Union beyond all sense, and I think Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair have probably made that phone call in order to try and steady things down a bit. It's -- there are more conciliatory words coming from the French in terms of seeking a consensus in the Security Council, talking about unity, saying that some compromises are possible. But Downing Street says there's no sign yet of the French actually changing in substance, and it's still being made clear by President Chirac that the French are not prepared to back anything which gives an ultimatum or a trigger for war. And so they are, I think, accepting the practicalities of the situation, but they have not made any real progress on the substance -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Robin Oakley in London. Robin, thank you very much.
Let's move over to Paris now. CNN's Jim Bittermann is standing by. What are they saying at the Elysee Palace as far as we can tell, Jim, about this phone call between President Chirac and Prime Minister Blair? JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, they say they initiated that phone call, among other things. They said it was about ten minutes long, happened before lunch today. Jacques Chirac calling Tony Blair, basically to hand -- to extend an olive branch, I think, because there really is a recognition that the rhetoric has gotten way out of hand over Iraq. As someone said here earlier in the day, Long after Iraq, there is still going to be France and Great Britain, and you've got to take that into account, and not let this so poison the relations, using the word that was used in Great Britain over the last couple of days.
So, I think this was an attempt, but as Robin quite rightly points out, nothing has changed as far as the French position is concerned. Basically, they do not want an ultimatum in any kind of resolution. They believe the inspections process is working, and should be allowed to continue to work. They think that anything after a military action will be a lot worse than anything before military action, the way things stand now, that you're going to end up with a situation that may be a lot worse afterwards than -- than presently.
So they basically have said they do not want an ultimatum. The one sign of flexibility is that Jacques Chirac repeated this call that was made by his foreign minister last week. There is a suggestion that France would be flexible on the number of days the inspection process should go on -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jim Bittermann in Paris.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
|
