Armitage offers condolences following Riyadh bombing

Efforts to establish stability in Iraq were at the top of the agenda of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah and Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal in Riyadh April 21.

"I came here at the request of President Bush and Secretary Powell to seek wisdom with regard to the question of Iraq and how to move forward in a way that makes clear there is a future for all Iraqis -- Kurds, Sunni, Shia, Turkomen and others," Armitage told reporters after his meeting.

The deputy secretary also offered his condolences for the bombing that occurred in Riyadh and said, "On the question of terrorism, we have an absolute identity of views, that we need to root out these terrorists. We've both suffered terribly, and it's been something that's allowed us to cooperate tremendously."

While Armitage acknowledged differences of opinion with the crown prince regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said "the Israelis leaving Gaza, leaving 21 settlements in Gaza and four settlements in the West Bank, is a historic opportunity for the Palestinian people to actually take over these settlements. And also have, for the first time since 1967, have a border with an Arab state, Egypt, from which commerce can go back and forth."

"So we want to make it a great success, and prove to all people that the Palestinians can have a very productive and happy life," he said.

Following is the transcript of Armitage's press availability:

(begin transcript)

Press Availability in Saudi Arabia
Richard L. Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
April 21, 2004

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I am very happy to be back in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but so unhappy that yet again in Riyadh we've had this terrible bombing, by people who wish ill to the Kingdom and the people of the Kingdom. I hope you'll allow me to express my condolences for that. I had a very good meeting with the Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al Faisal, and Crown Prince Abdullah. I came here at the request of President Bush and Secretary Powell to seek wisdom with regard to the question of Iraq and how to move forward in a way that makes clear there is a future for all Iraqis -- Kurds, Sunni, Shia, Turkomen and others --and exchange views. Of course, Crown Prince Abdullah has long been worried about the Palestinians and the Occupied Territories. He expressed views on all these matters and I will convey them to Secretary Powell and he will report to the President.

QUESTION: Were your views identical on the issues you discussed?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, I wouldn't say they're identical, but I must say on the question of terrorism, we have an absolute identity of views, that we need to root out these terrorists. We've both suffered terribly, and it's been something that's allowed us to cooperate tremendously. On the question of Iraq, I would say we both want a stable Iraq that is not a threat to its neighbors and that has a future for all Iraqis. To that extent, I would say they're identical. I think our friends here in the Kingdom have some questions about the way we've gone about it, and on the question of the Occupied Territories, of course our views weren't identical. But the Crown Prince's strongly held views are very important to us and I'll take those back to Washington.

QUESTION: Lakhdar Brahimi has requested Arab troops to help run the security in Iraq. What do you think about this?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, this is a question for the Iraqis and the Arab nations themselves to decide. We are part of a mighty coalition, we're working hard to try to bring stability, and whatever is comfortable to Iraq and to her neighbors is certainly comfortable to us. But I made no, we did not discuss this during my visit here to Riyadh.

QUESTION: Your Excellency, I know your time is valuable, but my last question.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: No, please.

QUESTION: The latest warning from the State Department, concerning the employees. Was this on information from the Saudi side, or from your intelligence side?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Yes, it's both. The Saudis and the U.S. have cooperated on counter-terrorism, and the information was jointly shared. We made a decision that we needed to draw down our Embassy. I think the terrible bombing here in Riyadh today showed the wisdom of that decision. And we pray for the day when all citizens here are safe -- not just Americans, but all citizens, because I understand perhaps a Saudi citizen lost his life today.

QUESTION: (Inaudible)...roadmap? Question from your side?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: No, there was no question. We have made a statement, to Crown Prince Abdullah, about the whole question of the Palestinians. We think this could be, the question of the Israelis leaving Gaza, leaving 21 settlements in Gaza, and four settlements in the West Bank, is a historic opportunity for the Palestinian people to actually take over these settlements. And also have, for the first time since 1967, have a border with an Arab state, Egypt, from which commerce can go back and forth. So we want to make it a great success, and prove to all people that the Palestinians can have a very productive and happy life.

QUESTION: What about the refugees?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Now, you'll note that in the President's statement, we said that all of the final status issues had to be mutually agreed by the parties. They can't be imposed by us. So, I think that remains as it was.

QUESTION: Thank you.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE : Thank you all. [End]

Released on April 21, 2004

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)