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CNN Live Event/Special
War in Iraq: Mending Fences
Aired April 03, 2003 - 06:48 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Another main issue on the diplomacy front, let's talk diplomacy now. After a visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell, Turkey has agreed to allow overflights of U.S. heavy military equipment into northern Iraq. It has also agreed to let the U.S. send food, fuel and medicine to its soldiers in northern Iraq, but not weapons.
And with the momentum of U.S. forces in Iraq clearly behind him, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has embarked on a goodwill tour of sorts. In fact, he's sort of on a fence mending mission. He's in Brussels right now where he's had a series of some 20 meetings.
That's where CNN's Robin Oakley is now.
Bring us up to date -- Robin.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, he's certainly setting a frantic pace here in Brussels. He's currently been having lunch with all the E.U. foreign ministers. He'll be in a full NATO council meeting this afternoon with the foreign ministers of all the 19 NATO countries.
He started off by seeing many of those from countries that have backed the U.S.-U.K. effort in Iraq, Spain, Italy, the 10 ambassadors from the so-called Billness 10 (ph), the Eastern European countries who had been supportive of the U.S.
But he is not confining his efforts to those who have backed the war at all, because he's also seeing Dominique de Villepin, the French Foreign Minister. He'll be having another bilateral with Joschka Fischer, the German Foreign Minister. And this evening, he'll see Igor Ivanov, the Russian Foreign Minister, not, of course, a member of the E.U. or of NATO in any full sense as yet.
But frantic diplomacy going on. And really what they're talking about most of all is what happens in Iraq in the post conflict situation. They can't agree on the rights and wrongs of the war across the European Union. They are all agreed that it needs a massive humanitarian effort, a huge reconstruction effort after the war.
Where it becomes a matter of argument once again between the European Union and the U.S. is on precisely who controls that reconstruction effort. To what extent it falls under the umbrella of the United Nations, as the European Union are insisting. And of course they're a little bit worried that Colin Powell has been to the U.S. Congress and said that the coalition forces haven't taken on this huge burden not to have a controlling and dominating influence in what happens in the future in Iraq after the conflict is over.
So plenty of talking to go on about all of that -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I'm sure so. Robin Oakley reporting live from Brussels this morning.
A reminder for you, in the 9:00 hour Eastern Time, Colin Powell and NATO Secretary General George Robertson will hold a news conference in Brussels. And of course CNN will bring you live coverage of that.
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 April 3, 2003 - 06:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Another main issue on the diplomacy front, let's talk diplomacy now. After a visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell, Turkey has agreed to allow overflights of U.S. heavy military equipment into northern Iraq. It has also agreed to let the U.S. send food, fuel and medicine to its soldiers in northern Iraq, but not weapons.
And with the momentum of U.S. forces in Iraq clearly behind him, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has embarked on a goodwill tour of sorts. In fact, he's sort of on a fence mending mission. He's in Brussels right now where he's had a series of some 20 meetings.
That's where CNN's Robin Oakley is now.
Bring us up to date -- Robin.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, he's certainly setting a frantic pace here in Brussels. He's currently been having lunch with all the E.U. foreign ministers. He'll be in a full NATO council meeting this afternoon with the foreign ministers of all the 19 NATO countries.
He started off by seeing many of those from countries that have backed the U.S.-U.K. effort in Iraq, Spain, Italy, the 10 ambassadors from the so-called Billness 10 (ph), the Eastern European countries who had been supportive of the U.S.
But he is not confining his efforts to those who have backed the war at all, because he's also seeing Dominique de Villepin, the French Foreign Minister. He'll be having another bilateral with Joschka Fischer, the German Foreign Minister. And this evening, he'll see Igor Ivanov, the Russian Foreign Minister, not, of course, a member of the E.U. or of NATO in any full sense as yet.
But frantic diplomacy going on. And really what they're talking about most of all is what happens in Iraq in the post conflict situation. They can't agree on the rights and wrongs of the war across the European Union. They are all agreed that it needs a massive humanitarian effort, a huge reconstruction effort after the war.
Where it becomes a matter of argument once again between the European Union and the U.S. is on precisely who controls that reconstruction effort. To what extent it falls under the umbrella of the United Nations, as the European Union are insisting. And of course they're a little bit worried that Colin Powell has been to the U.S. Congress and said that the coalition forces haven't taken on this huge burden not to have a controlling and dominating influence in what happens in the future in Iraq after the conflict is over.
So plenty of talking to go on about all of that -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I'm sure so. Robin Oakley reporting live from Brussels this morning.
A reminder for you, in the 9:00 hour Eastern Time, Colin Powell and NATO Secretary General George Robertson will hold a news conference in Brussels. And of course CNN will bring you live coverage of that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
