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Bush Negotiates with Russian Ministers

Aired September 20, 2002 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin at the White House, where President Bush has been lobbying Russian leaders for their support in his bid for possible military action against Iraq.
Russia, along with China and France, have expressed reservations about a new United Nations resolution to that effect. All three have veto power on the Security Council, we should tell you.

Our senior White House correspondent, John King, is here to give us the latest on the president's efforts -- hello, John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles, and good day.

And it is because of that veto power that the president is spending so much time, today focusing on Russia and in the days ahead, we are told, France and China on the list as well, and some hopeful signs here at the White House, at least in the White House views it, perhaps an opening to continue this diplomacy with Russia. The president early this morning made a telephone call to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Iraq was item number one in that conversation.

Then, a meeting here in the Oval Office with Sergei Ivanov. He is the Russian defense minister, and Igor Ivanov -- they are not related -- Igor Ivanov is the Russian foreign minister. Mr. Bush, in that meeting --you see the picture here -- discussing a number of issues, including the ongoing war on terrorism in Afghanistan, the nuclear agreement both countries made to dramatically cut the number of warheads, but Iraq obviously a subject of discussion there. Mr. Bush pressing for a new Security Council resolution that puts on the table the justification for military strikes if Iraq does not comply with its commitments to the United Nations.

Russia has said send weapons inspectors back in, see if Saddam Hussein interferes with them, and only then consider a new resolution. But coming out of that meeting, the defense minister and the foreign minister did take questions from reporters, and the foreign minister said both the United States and Iraq see eye-to-eye on the urgency of getting weapons inspectors back in, and Russia, as of last night, was opposing a new resolution, but the foreign minister did say this -- quote -- "we agree to pursue the exchange of views on how to make the work of the inspectors more effective."

Here at the White House, they are interpreting that as an openness to considering a new resolution in the Security Council, we are still waiting to get a better readout on the Bush-Putin phone call to see if the president, perhaps, opened the door to that diplomacy, and perhaps to at least getting another chance to get Russia's support on the Security Council in that phone call -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Once again reading the tea leaves a little bit there, John. John, give us a sense of -- if the Bush administration had its way, what would the timetable be for all of this?

KING: The time table would be -- and we are told U.S. and British diplomats working on the language of a new Security Council resolution -- that resolution will be shared among the Security Council members, we are told, early next week.

The administration would like a vote on that resolution, if not by the end of next week, then the week after that. If that happens, the administration would have no problem at all with the timetable now being discussed to send weapons inspectors back into Iraq, sometime -- middle to late October. Certainly an advanced party as early as October 15, the United Nations says, and then perhaps by the end of October, weapons inspectors in.

That timetable would be fine with the administration. The administration wants those inspectors, if they are to go back in, to go as soon as possible, but the president says they should not go to Iraq unless there is first a Security Council resolution that makes clear to Iraq, these must be any time, any place, anywhere inspections or else. The "or else" would be language in a Security Council resolution that says any interference would justify military strikes.

O'BRIEN: John, is there a sense within the halls of the administration that once inspectors are on the ground there, things could bog down significantly?

KING: It depends who you ask, Miles. Most in this administration believe if the inspectors go in and aggressively do their work, that within a matter of weeks if not days, Saddam Hussein will say no.

He will block access to some site, whether that be a military installation or one of the -- quote-unquote -- "presidential palaces" in Iraq. In this administration, whether you ask the president, the vice president, Secretary Rumsfeld, all believe, at some point, Saddam Hussein will say no to the inspections teams. If he continues to say yes, then certainly, the administration's policy of regime change would be on a back burner if the inspectors are reporting back to the United Nations that they are getting unfettered access.

O'BRIEN: CNN's John King at the White House, thank you very much, sir, appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired September 20, 2002 - 12:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin at the White House, where President Bush has been lobbying Russian leaders for their support in his bid for possible military action against Iraq.
Russia, along with China and France, have expressed reservations about a new United Nations resolution to that effect. All three have veto power on the Security Council, we should tell you.

Our senior White House correspondent, John King, is here to give us the latest on the president's efforts -- hello, John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles, and good day.

And it is because of that veto power that the president is spending so much time, today focusing on Russia and in the days ahead, we are told, France and China on the list as well, and some hopeful signs here at the White House, at least in the White House views it, perhaps an opening to continue this diplomacy with Russia. The president early this morning made a telephone call to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Iraq was item number one in that conversation.

Then, a meeting here in the Oval Office with Sergei Ivanov. He is the Russian defense minister, and Igor Ivanov -- they are not related -- Igor Ivanov is the Russian foreign minister. Mr. Bush, in that meeting --you see the picture here -- discussing a number of issues, including the ongoing war on terrorism in Afghanistan, the nuclear agreement both countries made to dramatically cut the number of warheads, but Iraq obviously a subject of discussion there. Mr. Bush pressing for a new Security Council resolution that puts on the table the justification for military strikes if Iraq does not comply with its commitments to the United Nations.

Russia has said send weapons inspectors back in, see if Saddam Hussein interferes with them, and only then consider a new resolution. But coming out of that meeting, the defense minister and the foreign minister did take questions from reporters, and the foreign minister said both the United States and Iraq see eye-to-eye on the urgency of getting weapons inspectors back in, and Russia, as of last night, was opposing a new resolution, but the foreign minister did say this -- quote -- "we agree to pursue the exchange of views on how to make the work of the inspectors more effective."

Here at the White House, they are interpreting that as an openness to considering a new resolution in the Security Council, we are still waiting to get a better readout on the Bush-Putin phone call to see if the president, perhaps, opened the door to that diplomacy, and perhaps to at least getting another chance to get Russia's support on the Security Council in that phone call -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Once again reading the tea leaves a little bit there, John. John, give us a sense of -- if the Bush administration had its way, what would the timetable be for all of this?

KING: The time table would be -- and we are told U.S. and British diplomats working on the language of a new Security Council resolution -- that resolution will be shared among the Security Council members, we are told, early next week.

The administration would like a vote on that resolution, if not by the end of next week, then the week after that. If that happens, the administration would have no problem at all with the timetable now being discussed to send weapons inspectors back into Iraq, sometime -- middle to late October. Certainly an advanced party as early as October 15, the United Nations says, and then perhaps by the end of October, weapons inspectors in.

That timetable would be fine with the administration. The administration wants those inspectors, if they are to go back in, to go as soon as possible, but the president says they should not go to Iraq unless there is first a Security Council resolution that makes clear to Iraq, these must be any time, any place, anywhere inspections or else. The "or else" would be language in a Security Council resolution that says any interference would justify military strikes.

O'BRIEN: John, is there a sense within the halls of the administration that once inspectors are on the ground there, things could bog down significantly?

KING: It depends who you ask, Miles. Most in this administration believe if the inspectors go in and aggressively do their work, that within a matter of weeks if not days, Saddam Hussein will say no.

He will block access to some site, whether that be a military installation or one of the -- quote-unquote -- "presidential palaces" in Iraq. In this administration, whether you ask the president, the vice president, Secretary Rumsfeld, all believe, at some point, Saddam Hussein will say no to the inspections teams. If he continues to say yes, then certainly, the administration's policy of regime change would be on a back burner if the inspectors are reporting back to the United Nations that they are getting unfettered access.

O'BRIEN: CNN's John King at the White House, thank you very much, sir, appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com