PRIME MINISTER:
Ladies and gentlemen, the Secretary of State has just completed, along with her colleagues, a meeting with the National Security Committee of Cabinet and prior to that I've had an extensive discussion with her and she dined with myself and National Security Committee Ministers last night and earlier yesterday had lengthy discussions with Mr Downer. In welcoming the Secretary of State to Australia can I say that there is no country with whom Australia has a closer security relationship, our historic commitment to freedom, our sharing the burdens of the battlefield in so many conflicts, beginning with World War I, is well known and the goals and the values of the United States and Australia are close. The relationship between our two societies is intimate and the partnership between the United States Administration and the Australian Government in fighting terrorism and in the defence of liberty and the expansion of democracy around the world is both strong, unconditional and consistent. And it is in that sense that I welcome the Secretary of State to Australia and say how much we have enjoyed having her and how valuable have been the discussions that we have had over the whole gamut of national security and international affairs and I would like to invite the Secretary of State to say a few words and then we will take a couple of questions.
DR RICE:
Thank you very much Prime Minister. I have very much enjoyed our discussions thus far, I am looking forward to going on to Melbourne to the Commonwealth Games. This relationship with Australia and the United States is one of the deepest values and the deepest friendship and I want to thank you for the steadfastness of Australia in the war on terrorism. Indeed I know Prime Minister that you were in Washington when September 11th, the September 11 attacks took place and returned here to mobilise Australia on behalf of all of us who needed to fight in the war on terror. Of course Australia has felt the sting of terrorism as well, losing many Australians in the Bali bombings, but I said yesterday at the university that it is always good to have friends, but it is especially good to have steadfast friends when you have difficult fights ahead. And as we continue to fight the war on terrorism, as we continue to try and supplant that ideology of hatred that has produced terrorism with the hope of democracy and liberty for people around the world, it is wonderful to have a steadfast friend like Australia. Thank you very much and thank you for having me here.
PRIME MINISTER:
Questions from the American media.
JOURNALIST:
Iran is willing to open talks with the US over stabilising Iraq, is there a timeline for such talks and do you think these talks could be expanded to include Iran's nuclear programme? And also the US launched a major offensive in Iraq today, what do you think this offensive will achieve? And why are you making this push at this time? And then Prime Minister Howard do you think these talks between Iran and the United States should be expanded to include the nuclear programme and maybe you could also comment on this major military problem in Iraq?
DR RICE:
Alright let me start with question one Sue, which was about the Larijani comments yesterday, Zal Khalilzad, as our Ambassador to Iraq, has had for some time guidance which allows him the discretion to meet with his Iranian counterpart if he believes that it would be useful to do so. We understand that much as in Afghanistan these talks might be useful, but they, and I should say that Zal had that same discussion in Afghanistan as does his now counterpart, or his successor Ron Newman in Afghanistan. But those talks are limited to questions concerning the country at issue, so in this case it would be limited to questions concerning Iraq. We will see when and if those talks take place, but that discretion has been there for Zal Khalilzad for some time and I am sure that we'll talk about his exercise of it. This isn't a negotiation of some kind, we have found it useful to exchange information and to talk and if we do it will be about Iraq. The Iranians have but one thing to do on their nuclear program and that is to accede to the just demands of the international community that Iran pursue its civil nuclear power program in a way that is consistent with its NPT obligations, that is, consistent with the world's concerns about Iran's history of lying to the IAEA, it is now before the Security Council, that's the appropriate venue for it and I think that that is the place that this issue needs to be resolved. As to the offensive that took place last night, you've seen the reporting on it and as you know, when there is reason to believe that such military force can be used on the basis of either intelligence, or on the basis of concerns about a particular insurgent stronghold then the military does that and they have launched this offensive in Samara. I would call attention to the role that Iraqi security forces have played in this offensive, which it seems to me demonstrates that Iraqi forces are indeed taking on more of the security fight. I am sure that over the next few days as the offensive continues and then winds down that we will learn more about what was going on in Samara, but obviously Samara has been, there has been concerns about Samara as a stronghold of the insurgents for sometime.
PRIME MINISTER:
The only thing that I would like to add to what the Secretary of State has said is how encouraging we in Australia find the enhanced capacity and role of the Iraqi security forces. Clearly a growing capacity by the Iraqis to look to their own security, provide their own security, is pivotal to how long coalition forces remain in Iraq. And any evidence that they are coming up to the crease and doing more and carrying more of the burden the better. Mr Barker.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister could I ask you, in view of the material put before the Cole Commission yesterday, is it still the Government's position that it knew nothing about the kickbacks scandals? And while we're in the business of multiple questions, could I ask Secretary Rice, the dialogue tomorrow and Japan being the third party in this, given the fraught state of Sino-Japanese relations, what do you think can, if anything, be done to ease that situation?
PRIME MINISTER:
Geoffrey, let me say that I don't retract anything that I have previously said in relation to the AWB inquiry and the subject matter. I reject, of course, the absurd allegations of lying made by Mr Rudd and I invite people to wait until the Commission has brought down its findings. This Government has been utterly transparent, we established the Commission and I think that was the right thing to do and I continue to think that. I think everybody should hold their breath and wait until the Commission has brought down its findings.
DR RICE:
After the trilateral discussions tomorrow, let me just say, first, that while it is true that the United States, Japan, and Australia will discussion this fast growing and dynamic region, and obviously a rising China is a part of that, we want conditions in which China's rise is a positive force for the region. We have good relations with China and we have encouraged good relations between Japan and China. I might note that despite some of the difficulties that exist in that relationship they do have an extensive economic relationship, a trade relationship and so we are together in APEC, as members of the Pacific-rim nations. So there is a lot to work with in the Japan-China relationship and we have encouraged that relationship to get better and better. I want to note too that while we are going to discuss the Pacific, we and Australia and Japan have a lot of other interests in common as well that can be discussed in this trilateral format. For instance we have been active together in Iraq and so it is a natural course to discuss the situation in Iraq and I am sure that that will be a source of conversation tomorrow when we meet in the trilateral arrangement. We have, of course, enjoyed Australia's backing for what all of us are trying to do in the six-party talks concerning North Korea. We, Japan and Australia are actively engaged in nonproliferation activities like the proliferation security initiative. So while it is important for us to discuss the Pacific and of course to discuss the dynamic changes in this region, including China, I think it would be wrong to leave the impression that that is the only thing on the agenda when Japan, the United States and Australia get together because we share values, we share a lot of responsibilities, not just regionally but also globally.
JOURNALIST:
Another question about China. You have mentioned that US, Australia and Japan came up together to make China a responsible stakeholder. However the relationship of these three countries with China is quite different, Australia's most friendly, (inaudible). How are you coordinating these three countries (inaudible) China?
DR RICE:
Well as I said we have encouraged good relations between China and Japan and even though there are difficulties in that relationship, China and Japan also share a lot of interest and indeed a lot of trade and commerce and a lot of economic relations and so I think there is a very good basis for good relations between China and Japan. We all want the same things for this region, Australia does, the United States does, Japan does. We want a region that is at peace, we want a region in which free trade, in a rules-based international economy is going forward. That leads to great prosperity for our people at home as well as for people in the region more generally. We want a region in which the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is not a problem. We need to be able to deal for instance with the problems of a state like North Korea which is clearly outside now its obligation in the NPT. We want a region in which the, in which China which is going to be, is influential and is going to be more influential over the next several years, is more open in its domestic politics and more open in its face to the world. We have all been supporters of Chinese accession to the World Trade Organisation and of course we want to encourage Chinese behaviour that is consistent with those WTO obligations within the trade, international trading system. So we want the same things and I think we will have every reason to believe that when we work together we help to create that kind of environment. But I just want to emphasise what I said before, United States, Japan and Australia have a large agenda together, it is an agenda that is about not just China, but also about South-East Asia. It is an agenda that joins us together in APEC and it is an agenda that is global. We are together in Iraq, we've worked together on Afghanistan, we are working together on non-proliferation issues and so there is plenty to talk about when the Foreign Ministers of Japan and Australia get together with the Secretary of State of the United States.
PRIME MINISTER:
Cynthia.
JOURNALIST:
Dr Rice I'd like to ask you what do you make of the revelations that the Australian monthly wheat exporter paid kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime? And Prime Minister I'd also like to ask you, did you discuss the question of India and the US nuclear cooperation agreement with Dr Rice? And what did you tell Dr Rice about whether Australia would ever consider exporting uranium to India?
DR. RICE:
On the Volker Commission report, we've all followed the outcomes of that Commission report and I have confidence that Australia, as a democratic state, is going to everything that it can to investigate the allegations. I understand that there is a Commission that is to do so and this is how democratic states handle situations like this, they investigate the allegations and I am sure they will be thoroughly investigated.
PRIME MINISTER:
Cynthia, in relation to India, we did discuss it and I indicated to the Secretary of State a number of things, I said that we were pleased about the American-Indian agreement because it would bring for the first time, India's nuclear, civilian nuclear capacity under international inspections. I said that we had a long standing policy in relation to only selling to countries that abided by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, however, we would send in the next little while, a team of officials to India to get some more information regarding that agreement and that group would go on to the United States. I mean obviously the aggregate impact of the agreement between the United States and India and the impact that has on potential proliferation, and bear in mind that India has a good record in the 30 years or more since she exploded a nuclear advice in what 1974, has had a very good record in relation to non-proliferation. But there isn't going to be any immediate change in Government policy, obviously like all policies you never say never, but obviously we have a policy and we are not going to automatically change it because of the agreement between the United States and India or despite the fact of course that India has expressed as you all know a great interest in purchasing Australian uranium.
[ends]