USA: U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE COLINPOWELL HAS SAID THAT THE UNITED STATES AND NATO ARE "HOPEFUL" THAT A POLITICAL SETTLEMENT CAN BE REACHED IN MACEDONIA

Record ID: 222896

  • Title: USA: U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE COLINPOWELL HAS SAID THAT THE UNITED STATES AND NATO ARE "HOPEFUL" THAT A POLITICAL SETTLEMENT CAN BE REACHED IN MACEDONIA
  • Date: 21st June 2001
  • Summary: (W1) WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES (JUNE 21, 2001) (REUTERS) 1. SLV U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL AND NATO SECRETARY GENERAL GEORGE ROBERTSON WALKING TOWARDS MICROPHONES/MEDIA (2 SHOTS) 0.12 2. MCU (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE POWELL SAYING "We of course talked about Macedonia. We're hopeful a political process will start to pick up some speed and events will move forward and as you know we were part of the consensus that said it was appropriate for NATO military authorities to come up with a "con-plan" or an operations plan, a concept plan for putting troops in if a political arrangement came into being that will allow weapons to be turned in and picked up. But we have not gotten to the point of actual U.S. participation in such an effort, we haven't made a contribution yet and there are many ways in which we can make a contribution, but that has not gone any further than that in terms of our deliberations." 0.50 3. SLV POWELL AND ROBERTSON SHAKING HANDS; POWELL GETTING IN CAR (2 SHOTS) 1.07 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 6th July 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA96132CS7TN5VS8KPLG48AGFLA
  • Story Text: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that the
    United States and NATO are "hopeful" that a political
    settlement can be reached in Macedonia but Washington has
    still not agreed to take part in a disarmament force.



    Powell was speaking after talks at the State
    Department with visiting NATO Secretary-General George
    Robertson on Thursday (June 22).

    They discussed the troubled negotiations between majority
    Macedonian Slavs and minority ethnic Albanians.

    "We of course talked about Macedonia. We are hopeful the
    political process will start to pick up some speed and
    momentum and move forward," Powell told reporters.

    He said the United States had taken part in the NATO
    decision to make contingency plans for deploying Western
    troops in Macedonia to disarm the ethnic Albanian guerrillas
    who are fighting for more rights for their community.

    NATO says it would deploy such a force only if the
    Macedonians can reach a political settlement.

    Powell added: "But we have not got to the point of actual
    U.S. participation in such an effort. We haven't made a
    contribution yet. There are many ways in which we can make a
    contribution, but that's not gone any further than that."
    In Macedonia on Thursday (June 21), Western envoys tried
    to salvage peace talks between the two communities amid
    suspicions among diplomats that ethnic Albanian leaders may be
    seeking to draw in NATO to police a partition of the fragile
    country.


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