Press conference

YVES BRODEUR (NATO Spokesperson):  Good afternoon and welcome to this briefing session. Thank you very much for being so patient, as you might well imagine our working schedule has been a bit disrupted over the last couple of days and as a result meetings tend to be, to slip a bit from the plan agenda. Alors, bienvenue à tous et merci d'avoir été patient.  Comme je viens de l'expliquer, notre calendrier de travail a été un peu bousculé comme vous pouvez sans doute le deviner depuis les deux derniers jours.  Ce qui occasionne des délais, des retards dans la tenue des réunions.

NAC, North Atlantic Council met this afternoon as planned, it was a regular meeting so not a special or extraordinary meeting. There were two items on the agenda, the first one was the situation, security situation in the United States of America and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The meeting started with a minute of silence for the victims of the attack. So Council rose and kept silence for one minute and then the discussion started on the security situation. The Council was informed that as we speak now,  the NATO organism or NATO institution that looks after cooperation and coordination of response to disaster, the EADRCC, yes, was operational and ready to coordinate relief assistance from NATO and EAPC countries. In other words, what it means is that we stand ready to act as a clearing house to coordinate offers of assistance coming from NATO member states. As we speak, the United States of America did not express an immediate requirement for outside assistance but offers have been made and I think that as the situation evolves and there is a better read out of the requirements then the, the EADRCC may be called to play a role. Si vous le permettez, je vais pour le bénéfice des collègues francophones, répétez un peu ce que je viens de dire en français.  Donc, la réunion a débuté ce matin... cet après-midi je devrais dire par une minute de silence par respect pour les victimes des attaques terroristes.  Suite à cette minute de silence, le conseil a lancé le début de la réunion sur...  On me dit qu'on a les interprètes.  Alors donc, je vais simplement revenir à l'anglais.  Mais simplement pour terminer ce que j'allais dire, c'est que l'agence de l'OTAN qui est responsable de coordonner les efforts en matière d'aide dans le cas de désastre est maintenant fonctionnel et prête à coordonner les offres qui ont été exprimées par différents pays membres en ce qui concerne les secours, ou les équipements pour venir en aide aux recherches... aux gens qui font les recherches, qui effectuent les recherches pour  (inaudible)...

As I said, as we speak, there is no expression of an immediate requirement on the part of the United States. The members of the alliance were also informed on the prevailing situation at this time which we are told is not much different than what everyone has been able to see on TV screens. It remains a difficult situation and right now at this moment the emphasis is very much on relief efforts. So saving lives is the priority right now. And I guess that as rescue efforts progress then we’ll get a better sense of what we’re faced with here. The United States Government also expressed high appreciation for the support that’s been demonstrated by fellow members of the alliance as well as by other countries who reacted very quickly in offering support and condolences to the people of America.  Finally,  there was an exchange of views, general, on the commitment or the interpretation of commitments of the members of this alliance under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. That discussion actually was not meant to arrive at any sort of decision and right now I’m not in a position to elaborate further on this, but obviously it’s on the mind of members of the Alliance who have now to consider this issue. The next item on the agenda was the situation in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The key points of this discussion first, were that the operation Essential Harvest is proceeding according to plan and schedule. We are, I believe, quite close to achieving the objective of collecting two thirds of the weapons, which is good news. And consensus was that the mission has been very successful so far. The key priorities identified by the Council are first of all, to continue the collection of weapons, to encourage the authorities of the Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic to put in place a well thought of, well considered plan for the reintegration of security forces in areas held by the Albanian insurgents. Progress, real progress towards amnesty, implantation as well of confidence building measures such as the creation and the training of a multi-ethnic police force and encourage parliament to stick to its calendar. As you know, parliament is working on the basis of a 45 days calendar. And finally to consider, in cooperation, close cooperation with other members of the international community, a plan for the implementation of a monitoring mission if and if we are asked, the international community is asked by the authorities of the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic to undertake such a mission. Various options were actually presented and I will not provide details. Countries now have food for thought and we hope to come back to this discussion rather quickly. First and foremost also the point was made that what is, what matters at this point is that the authorities in FYROM must decide how they want to proceed ahead. What is, what is it, how do they see the plan, what is it that they want to do, how do they intend to proceed once the operation Essential Harvest is completed? And as right now this moment we don’t have any sort of formal indication and we mean not only NATO, but the international community, we have no formal indication as to exactly what will be the plan. I think that in terms of Essential Harvest it was also stressed that the mission must and will stay on track, that it is within mandate and timeline and we intend to keep it that way. Finally, concerns were expressed on the presence of paramilitary elements in FYROM as well as with the sale of military, or purchase I should say of military equipment and by the armed forces. Tomorrow, 13^th, will be the sort of, the agreement signed in Skopje will be exactly one month old and a lot has been accomplished so far in four weeks and the message that we want to send out to the authorities in Skopje is one of support and encouragement. They should maintain their efforts and keep track of the ultimate objective, which is to achieve peace and stability in the country by peaceful means. I’ll stop here and take questions. S’il vous plait.

Q:  Yes I just wanted to ask first of all if you could specify who it was who raised this issue about the Article 5 today, was it the United States? If there is anything you could say about the ensuing discussion, whether or not there was a conclusion, you said that wasn’t the point, but what was said at this meeting. And then there are reports out there that there is a specific survey going on of the member nations of NATO as to whether they would support a finding of an Article 5, could you say whether that’s true or not?

YVES BRODEUR:   I haven’t heard about that survey so I cannot comment on that. I mean I haven’t seen those reports and as you know it’s not the practice of this house to identify who basically launched a discussion on what. Let me just say at this point again that it’s very much on the mind of member states that indeed this is an issue that will have to be, that is, must be considered, they’re aware of that. I think the text is for everyone to see and it’s for them to look at it and form an opinion. The North Atlantic Council will have essentially to I guess make a judgement call on that.

Q:  Gord Peyette, Stars and Stripes.

YVES BRODEUR:  Just, could you please hold on, we’ll bring the microphone there. Thank you.

Q:  Gord Peyette from Stars and Stripes. First of all we have Colin Powell today saying, I believe the quote is, this is war. Of course we have Article 5 which you mentioned and the strategic concept of terrorism that was put in during the Washington Conference. I guess my question is,  could you at least take us through what options right now the alliance does have under this, under Article 5 and under the strategic concept? I mean just kind of give us some more background on it, just more than, you won’t discuss what went in the meeting, at least, could you please?

YVES BRODEUR:  I cannot give you background and but what I can tell you though is that, and I don’t want to do this here, I don’t want to read Article 5, I think that that’s a little exercise that you may want to undertake and it’s pretty I think straight forward and it’s written in clear language.

Madame, at the back please.

Q:  I don’t have a microphone.

YVES BRODEUR:  It’s coming.

Q:  Sylvia Schriva, Der Spiegel. You mentioned the change of you concerning the commitment, could you be a bit more clear of what this means? What you said.

YVES BRODEUR:  Well I cannot be much more, much clearer than I was, I’m sorry for that. What it means essentially again is that in the light of what happened all member states have, I guess, on mind the issue of what this Article says and what sort of impact the, or what sort of consequences I should say the events of the last couple days have on the interpretation of this Article.

Q:  Normally Article 5 means conventional warfare, so is this a change of view means that conventional warfare is now out and in comes the disaster as we have seen as the case for a commitment?

YVES BRODEUR:  No, again Article 5 says exactly what it says. I think that, read it, you’ll see it’s well written.

Q:  Georgi Gotev, Sega Daily, Sofia I think we know what Article 5 says but we are not sure who is the enemy.

YVES BRODEUR:  Well I think we’re all in the same position and this is I think why everyone wants to be extremely careful.

Q:  Est-ce que l'Article 5 peut s'appliquer automatiquement?

YVES BRODEUR:  Le libellé de l'article... et je ne suis pas un expert.  Mais disons que comme on dit, le "common wisdom" est qu'en principe le Conseil doit se former une opinion.  Et essentiellement, l'application est laissée aux États ensuite. 

Q:  German Government officials told us today via television networks that taking into account several, that information sources from Spain, England and others and even Germany indicate that Osama Bin Laden is the one to be punished. Was there any confirmation of this in the conference?

YVES BRODEUR:  No. Sorry it’s a short answer but that issue didn’t even come up in the discussion this afternoon.

Q:  Oui, Yves, on aurait voulu avoir des précisions sur les pays qui ont proposé de l'aide de leurs moyens de secours... d'urgence à l'EADRCC.  Quels sont ces pays?  Et quels sont les types de moyens qu'ils proposent?  Et que peuvent faire exactement l'OTAN dans cette situation en réaction?.

YVES BRODEUR:  Comme j'ai expliqué l'OTAN peut aider à coordonner la livraison de cette aide et donc aussi en même temps éviter le dédoublement des efforts.  Donc, en principe, c'est dresser un inventaire des moyens, des mesures qui sont offertes, des outils qui sont offerts; et s'assurer que ces moyens, ces outils correspondent bien aux besoins.  Alors, on me dit que c'est une liste qui n'est pas... qui n'est pas exhaustive aussi.  Mais au moment où on se parle que l'Autriche, la Belgique, la République tchèque, les Pays-Bas, la Pologne, la Russie qui n'est pas un membre de l'OTAN évidemment mais qui est un membre du EAPC, l'Espagne, la Suède, la Suisse, l'Ukraine et l'Ouzbékistan ont déjà fait des offres concrètes d'assistance. Jérôme...  Jérôme....

Q:  Que se passe-t-il...Juste...

YVES BRODEUR:  A low profile here.

Q:  Que se passe-t-il en ce qui concerne le personnel de l'OTAN, est-ce qu'il est invité à revenir demain à travailler normalement?

YVES BRODEUR:   Oui, demain, c'est une journée normale de travail.  Et donc on prévoit le retour de tous les employés…

Q:  Is this it the first time that there was a discussion in the NAC of Article 5 and its interpretation, in the history of the alliance?

YVES BRODEUR:  My memory of this institution doesn’t go back as far as that so I would not be able to confirm that but I can certainly check that and verify and give you an answer.

Q:  (Inaudible) de la télévision algérienne. Vous avez déclaré l'état d'alerte ici au siège de l'OTAN.  Est-ce qu'on va soutenir... jusqu'à quand?.

YVES BRODEUR:  En fait, ce qui a été décrété, c'est ce qu'on appelle un niveau d'alerte qui correspond en fait à une appréciation du risque potentiel.  C'est une mesure préventive.  Donc, la décision qui a été prise hier était une décision qui en a été une de précaution, de prudence.  Au moment où on se parle maintenant, il n'y a aucune information... On ne dispose aucune information à l'effet que l'OTAN serait directement visé.  Donc, c'est ce que ça veut dire.  Et évidemment, c'est révisé au fil des heures.  Mais on ne discute pas les détails et les arrangements ou les mesures qui sont appliquées en fonction de ces différents niveaux.

Madame derrière peut-être. 

Q:  [Inaudible], Newspaper Best. But they also today, on today’s NAC session it was discussed a possibility of any concrete military action of, or any possibilities of military action?

YVES BRODEUR:  No there was no discussion on eventual military actions. Madame, s'il vous plait?

Q:  I want to ask you if the Council agrees with the opinion of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of European Union that international military presence in Macedonia will be needed? What was the opinion of the Council?

YVES BRODEUR:  What the Council believe is that a concerted effort of all the members of the international community, that includes NATO, must be established I guess and that essentially we, we need to remain engaged to ensure that the peace agreement is implemented once the operation is finished. Now will, what form this will take exactly has not yet been decided, as we speak.  I think there are, as I said several, several views, several options considered not only here, but in other institutions as well. But again, first and foremost we need a clear signal, an official one, as to what exactly is expected of the international community after Operation Essential Harvest is finished.

Q:  I’m [Inaudible], with the Polish Press Agency. Was there any member state that clearly said that it, that the Article 5 shouldn’t apply in this circumstance?

YVES BRODEUR:  The, the discussion was not so much about should it apply or should not, you know maybe it shouldn’t apply or anything like that. The discussion was, well we have to look at this and, and form an opinion. So it’s very much now a, a time of reflection, if I may say so.

Q:  Yeah, you say that the Council wants to form an opinion, was there any sense of urgency to how soon this opinion might be formed? We have a country that considers itself a victim of an act of war. Is there a special meeting set for the NAC to discuss this, or will it be handled in next week’s regular meeting?

YVES BRODEUR:  What I can say is that yes indeed there is a sense that we need to proceed quickly, but also we need to proceed carefully. So, and I think we are still at this point very much expecting or still awaiting a more formal assessment of the situation. As you know, it remains at this point a bit confused, that’s normal under circumstances. So again, yes, sense of urgency, but again a need also to proceed carefully.

Q:  Michele Cercone de l'agence de presse Italienne ANSA.  Est-ce que vous considérez que les événements d'hier vont avoir quelques conséquences sur les rencontres de l'OTAN à Naples.

YVES BRODEUR:  Les conséquences dans quel sens?..

Q:  Est-ce qu'à votre connaissance les rencontres... la réunion va se tenir normalement?  Est-ce que le sujet a été abordé? .

YVES BRODEUR:  En ce qui concerne l'OTAN nous n'avons pas été approché ni officiellement, ni officieusement par les autorités italiennes.  Et donc la réunion va se tenir tel que prévu, aux dates prévues. 

Q:  Yves, was there any instruction or recommendation given to KFOR and SFOR by the Council?

YVES BRODEUR:  Recommendations about what?

Q:  About measures of precaution or security measures.

YVES BRODEUR:  Well of course commanders in theatres have all the flexibility they need to assess the situation and to take the measures that they deem appropriate to guarantee their safety. I’ll take two more questions, I have another meeting after.

Q:  Has there been any discussion of how the other partners, other allies, could help the US pinpoint who the author, the real author of the attacks is?

YVES BRODEUR:  No but there’s obviously, a consensus and agreement that we will all share the information that we may have. I think that seems to be a reasonable thing to do, in order to try and maximize the chances to provide results. Last question please here.

Q:  As I understand what you’ve said, basically there isn’t going to be an emergency Ministerial, Naples goes on as scheduled, but have you had any kind of request, now coming to Macedonia, have you had any kinds of requests from the Council for any kind of action today, when you had a meeting with them as far as, as whether, as whether you should get involved in Macedonia, stay involved in Macedonia?

YVES BRODEUR:  Request from who? I’m not sure I understand the question.

Q:  From the EU.

YVES BRODEUR:  Well there is a consensus. I mean that’s clear, that we, not that we should remain engaged militarily but that, that again the international community that includes NATO should coordinate their efforts to ensure that the, the agreement signed in Skopje on the 13^th is implemented. So there has been no formal requests put to NATO to consider a new mission, or to extend the actual mission, or to create a new mission, nothing of that sort. I remind you that the meeting last weekend in Genval was an informal meeting of Foreign Ministers.

Thank you very much, merci beaucoup.