Portorož, Slovenia 28 Sept. 2006

Press briefing by the NATO Spokesman, James Appathurai Informal Session of the Ministers of Defence in Portorož Event Programme of the meeting Multimedia Audio file (.MP3/11.847Kb) Biography James Appathurai JAMES APPATHURAI (NATO Spokesman): Thank you for coming and sorry I'm a little bit late, but we got started a little bit late. Let me, well, introduce myself to those who I haven't met before. My name is James Appathurai. I am the NATO Spokesman. I am here to give you a little preview. Obviously the meeting has just started, but I know that you have, of course, filing times, and it's perhaps an advantage, at least, to get a scene setter and a little flavour of where we're going. The Secretary General will be out in slightly less than three hours to update you on the actual discussions. You will not be surprised that as I was leaving the room they had begun their discussions on Afghanistan, NATO's number one priority, and certainly the defence ministers will be looking today at a number of issues. One will be the current state of force generation and how allies are doing in providing the forces necessary for the operation. Another is looking forward to the expansion of the mission to encompass the entire country. Third will be the issue of caveats. In other words, the restrictions that NATO nations put on their forces, and the extent to which those can be reduced. You will not be surprised that the Secretary General, of course, is very focused on reducing these, what we call, caveats, national caveats, to a minimum. When I left the room General Jones was beginning--the Supreme Allied Commander--was beginning a briefing to ministers on the current state of affairs on all of these issues and then the discussions will go forward.  There are a number of other operations which ministers will wish to address. Kosovo is certainly one of them. You are well aware that the status talks for Kosovo are moving forward and moving closer to a decisive point. You are also aware that there has been some tension in Kosovo in recent days and weeks and I think we can expect that the level of tension could potentially rise, as we get closer to decisions on status. That is why, of course, KFOR is very focused and very active in maintaining a secure environment, but I'm sure ministers will wish to discuss, not only the current KFOR operation, but potentially also to look forward to what role NATO might play in a post status Kosovo. The Secretary General, I'm sure, will be able to update you on those discussions. Darfur. You may know that the Secretary General spoke last week in New York with the president of the African Union and the chairman of the African Union, President Konare. The African Union asked the Secretary General for NATO to extend its support for the AU. The AU has extended its mission to the end of the year, and the AU asked NATO to continue providing the support that it is currently providing, and that is airlift and potentially training. That issue, I'm sure, will be discussed also amongst ministers here today. That, I think, will be the focus of the operational discussion this evening. Tomorrow they will focus on capabilities. And it is, I think, not news that one of the issues that the Secretary General will wish to raise, is the level of defence spending within the Alliance. He will certain encourage... he may not be the only one, around the table, to encourage allies to continue raising levels of defence spending. They will wish to look at the various capability initiatives that are under way in NATO. You have heard of at least two of them. One is progress, for example, on airlift. We have a Strategic Airlift Interim Agreement, which involves aircraft from Ukraine and Russia. We have recently taken a decision to move forward to acquire three-plus C-17s, strategic transport aircraft for the Alliance, and there has been progress also in moving forward on Theatre Missile Defence for deployed NATO troops. There are a number of other capability initiatives which will be under discussion at the table, and the Secretary General, I'm sure, will update you on those as well. Finally, NATO ministers will have a meeting with their Russian counterpart, Sergey Ivanov. Two issues... two main categories of discussions. One will be current political issues, and there are a number of current political issues, strategic issues, which defence ministers may wish to address. I don't need to list them for you. And, of course, the other will be defence cooperation. We have quite an extended range of areas in which NATO and Russia cooperate on a very practical basis. You know of some of them. For example, there is a Russian ship now steaming alongside NATO ships in the Mediterranean. Which brings with it, of course, totally new levels of cooperation, including the possibility of exchanging classified information between NATO military vehicles, vessels, and Russian military vessels. That has never happened before. It also involves learning each other's doctrine. So it's a demonstration of the kind of very practical cooperation that not only we are doing, but will be better able to do in future. That's going well. There are areas where we can do better, and that will be under discussion tomorrow as well. That is the general framework. Let me open the floor to any questions you might have. Q: Thanks, James. First of all, are you expecting any (inaudible) meetings, (inaudible) meetings with the, through ISAF (inaudible)... regarding the extension of the (inaudible)...silence procedures (inaudible)..., is that correct? And why (inaudible)...? APPATHURAI: In terms of new offers this is not a force generation conference. As you know, the formal force general conferences take place in Mons, near Brussels. Do we expect ministers to discuss what contributions have been made and what further contributions might be made? Yes, of course. We have heard positive signals in the past few days and weeks. You are aware of them. The advancement of the Polish deployment, the battalion, the Romanian deployment of a. company-plus battalion-minus, which by mid-October will be available for us as an in-theatre reserve. Canada is sending several hundred more troops and tanks. And other countries, and hopefully this will be more firmed up later on in the day, are also considering greater contributions. So we have moved the yardsticks. However, there are still shortfalls that need to be met and the pressure will certainly be kept up. But what I can say is that  NATO is moderately satisfied with the progress that has been made until now, but there is much more progress that needs to be made in terms of new offers. And hopefully, and I expect that that will be discussed at the table today. In terms of silence procedures, I'll keep silent on the procedures, but the  issue of expansion of the mission to the east is certainly on the agenda right now, in the meeting, and we are cautiously optimistic that  we will see progress on this. Q: (inaudible)... Ukrainian Press. How strong is the signal from this conference to the upcoming Riga conference? Do you think the cohesion is strong (inaudible)...success? APPATHURAI: Well, Riga will have, of course, I would say three chapters to it. One chapter will be the political chapter. The chapter which will focus on, for example, the signal given to aspirant countries, the discussion of how NATO might more profoundly cooperate with what we call contact countries, countries that are like Japan or Australia and New Zealand, South Korea, sharing our values, contributing to common operations. But that with which we don't have formal structural relationships. Those political issues were discussed last week by foreign ministers in New York. There will be operational issues, and of course, our progress here in moving forward our operations will be, of course, be directly relevant to what Heads of State and Government will discuss in Riga. I might specifically point, for example, to Kosovo. By the end of November, of course, the situation in Kosovo, the political circumstances around the Kosovo issue, will have moved much closer to, I think, a decision, and of course, I would not be at all surprised if that was brought up in Riga. All this to say, it's an important stepping stone. I think everyone is expecting around that table that Riga will be a summit at which we can note significant success, both political and military. The third element will be in terms of capabilities and that's what they'll discuss tomorrow morning. Q: (inaudible)... You mentioned that the Secretary General (inaudible)... caveats. What is to consider about (inaudible)... caveats? (inaudible)... APPATHURAI: There are a whole host of caveats, formal and informal caveats, on the movement of NATO, on the use of forces. In Afghanistan... Let me give you an example from Kosovo, to give you an illustration of what we saw during the March riots of 2004, that some nations had restrictions on the geographic movement of their forces; that they should not be moved from the zone in which they were... to which they were allocated. Others had restrictions, for example, on crowd and riot control. In some cases, constitutional. So it's not simply that they didn't want to do it. These are formal legal barriers against their use. In Afghanistan one of the main ones is the freedom of the commander to deploy forces where he needs to deploy them. Geographic flexibility. It's not the only one, and I think General Jones, in particular, should speak more to this subject than I should. It's very much a military one. But certainly... and that is, as I stress, it is not the only one, but that is one of the primary areas where the Secretary General and General Jones will wish to see political and military restrictions eased to the maximum extent possible. I think there were questions... yes. Q: Shada Islam, German News Agency, DPA.  James, once this (inaudible) is taken (inaudible)... by taking this decision? And secondly, when is (inaudible)...? APPATHURAI: I will... in terms of the date of the formal transfer, let's let the discussions inside the room conclude, but I expect and hope that the Secretary General will be in a position to give you more detail on that. What sort of signal will it send? Speaking for myself, I would say, and I think speaking for NATO, what it shows is that NATO's... this operation is moving forward. It has not completed it expansion so that NATO will be operating throughout the country. And I think it demonstrates continuing success. Progress and success. We have expanded from the capital to the north, to the west, to the south, and now to the east. I might add that what you can see, for example, in the north and the west is a primary focus on reconstruction and development, because the security conditions allow that. And what NATO has shown in the south is that it can fight and win. It can fight and win to set the conditions for reconstruction. That reconstruction and development is already happening. Millions of dollars have been allocated now for reconstruction and development. Precisely in the south it is starting to be spent to rebuild people's homes, and compensate for lost crops, and begin the overall process of reconstruction and development. So both in what... in terms of what we're doing in the south, to move immediately to the reconstruction and development effort, with concrete funds and concrete projects, and with, when it comes, the expansion to the east, I think it shows progress. I think there was Mark and then this... Q: Mark John, Reuters. (inaudible)... and the fact that, you know, (inaudible)...? APPATHURAI: Well, I wouldn't call it an acceleration. In fact, the logic of a single coherent ISAF mission which encompassed the entire country has always been clear. It removes the seams and allows for full flexibility for the commander to move in a coherent way the forces that he needs throughout the country. So it always... has always made sense to do it, but in a phased timed way, when you're ready. Now what is clear is, certainly to NATO, that one shouldn't look at the shortfalls, the remaining shortfalls in the south, as being an impediment to moving to expansion to the east. The east comes with its own forces. They have their own mission in the east. They are already there. So the remaining shortfalls in the south need to be addressed, and they are being addressed, but that doesn't prevent... it doesn't undermine the logic of going... of expanding to the east. I would finish by saying that the shortfalls in the south, and this is just a reminder, have not prevented NATO what it needs to do. The success that we've had with Operation Medusa, which could perhaps have been accomplished more quickly, who knows, but certainly extra forces would have given the commander more flexibility. All of that is true. But that mission is succeeding. And as I say, the logic for expansion to the west... or to the east, remains. Q: (inaudible)... I just wanted to ask if you can confirm the figure of 12,000 British(?) soldiers (inaudible)... and (inaudible)...? APPATHURAI: In terms of the figure, yes, 12,000 is approximately correct. In terms of individual countries, it is certainly not for me to specific individual countries. I have a mortgage and I'll have to keep paying it, so I won't... I won't name... point out individual countries. I will fall back on, I'm sorry, the phrase, but which is true, that the Secretary General will want and expect all countries contributing to this operation to minimize to the extent possible the restrictions on the use of their forces and that includes, very much, geographic restrictions. Q: (inaudible)... from the Spain(?) newspaper, El Periódico(?). Is NATO worried about the lack of power and the weakness of the Afghan government, and also the number case of corruption? There are some countries, (inaudible) countries that are very worried about this? Do you think that this can undermine all of the efforts that NATO is doing in all the country? APPATHURAI: When... a few weeks ago the Secretary General and the entire North Atlantic Council, so all the ambassadors, with General Jones and General Henault, the chairman of the Military Committee, they all went to Afghanistan, all met with President Karzai and his cabinet, and I can tell you that this issue did come up. Of course, corruption, governance and the effectiveness of Afghan national structures, in particular security structures, and I might add, in particular the police. President Karzai heard, of course, encouragement from all NATO nations, and the Secretary General as well, to do the maximum to fight corruption. Of course everyone is concerned with corruption in Afghanistan. I can tell you that President Karzai is very concerned. I was, of course, not at the table, but at the back of the room listening, and of course, he is very concerned in making the maximum effort possible on corruption to enhance his security structures as well. The sentiment from NATO is that in particular with relation to the Afghan police, much more needs to be done. This is an institution that needs a lot of help. It is absolutely essential to enduring security in Afghanistan that it has an effective police force. At present this police force needs a lot of help to reach an appropriate standard. In terms of equipment, in terms of training, in terms of fighting corruption, in terms of pay. It is a critical building block for the future of the country and right now it is not a strong building block. So that is one area where NATO will hope for the international community to come forward and provide much more in the way of support. Q: Jeanne Rubner, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Munich. The German Ambassador to Afghanistan was quoted today in a newspaper saying the south cannot be won. Considering this estimation and considering that the situation has gotten worse and worse in the south, can NATO afford to walk out of this conference without making further commitments to troop. I understand this is not a force generation conference, but... APPATHURAI: I think one thing that is clear is that there is no military solution alone for the problems of Afghanistan. Certainly not in the south either. The military in the south is essential, to clear the ground for what is necessary for long-term security. And that is development reconstruction and the effective presence of central government authority. That means, in the presence of the army, in the presence of the police, in the presence of the governor, who has, of course, the following of the people who are there. What we are trying to do now, following the military, the kinetic operation, if you want to call it that way, following the kinetic operation, which is to push out the Taliban from this critical area, critical for them in terms of the psychology of the south, this is Kandahar, where they, of course, have their heartland, it is very symbolic that they were pushed out of it. Now, we have to bring in, we the international community, but also the Afghan authorities, have to demonstrate that people's lives will get better, under the authority of the central government. And that is what we were trying to do. I think that is what we are doing. As I say, several million dollars have been pledged for this effort. It is already starting to be spent. So I think... this is eminently winnable. It is winnable. But it requires the concerted effort of the Afghan government, supported by us, and that means NATO on the military side, supported of course by the coalition, or with the coalition alongside, but it absolutely means the international donors, the United Nations, the European Union, the non-governmental organizations, they all have to step up their game. All. That means us and them. For this to be a success. And that is exactly what has to happen. Q: Warren Cook(?), AFP. Just in terms of... you said the commander is now going to have more flexibility--flexibility seems to be the key word--with the move, early move, or a move soon to the east. Could there then be the flexibility to help you solve some problems in the south by redeploying troops? APPATHURAI: My understanding, and you'll have to get the Secretary General to confirm this, but my understanding is that the forces that would, when this decision is taken, come over to ISAF, would not come with geographic restrictions on their use. That does not mean that the shortfalls in the south do not need to be met, because these forces that are in the east have a mission in the east. But it is my understanding that they will not come with geographic restrictions on their use. Please. Q: (inaudible)... Croatian Daily. James, you just mentioned the political signals to the aspirant countries for the Rita Summit. Croatian government is expecting strong signals from that summit. Can you please elaborate on that and Croatian involved in Afghanistan? APPATHURAI: The contribution of every country to the mission in Afghanistan is important militarily, but it's also important in two other ways. One, as a demonstration of solidarity amongst allies, and aspirant allies, and second as a demonstration particularly by aspirants of the kind of contribution that they can make. So I can tell you as an ex-defence department employee, and someone who's been on the ground, there is no greater way to show commitment than with boots on the ground. That is the ultimate demonstration of commitment. In terms of the signal, as I mentioned, this was discussed by foreign ministers last week. While they did not discuss language, it not a drafting session, and I can tell you you shouldn't expect that until the very last minute, probably right up until the day of the summit, to get agreement on language. What was clear was, a strong commitment that NATO's doors should be open. Second, that NATO would give a clear forward-learning signal on enlargement at the summit. But with no language attached to that at present. I think there may be time for one more, unless there are no more. Even better. Thank you.