The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 23, 2005, Page 5, Image 5
Bush warns Europe not to lift
arms embargo against China
By TERRENCE HUNT
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRUSSELS, Belgium —
President Bush and European
leaders settled simmering
differences about Iraq but plunged
into a troublesome new dispute
Tuesday over the lifting of an arms
embargo against China. Bush
warned Congress might retaliate if
Europe revokes the 15-year ban.
Bush said lifting the embargo,
imposed after the bloody 1989
Tiananmen Square crackdown on
pro-democracy activists, “would
change the balance of relations
between China and Taiwan and
that’s of concern.” But French
President Jacques Chirac and
German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder said the ban should go.
“It will happen,” Schroeder said.
The China quarrel was a jarring
note on an otherwise upbeat day of
reconciliation, handshakes and
hopes ror oetter relations.
“First time I’ve been called
charming in a while,” Bush said
after a NATO summit. He also met
with leaders of the 25-nation
European Union. “Europe and
America have reconnected,” EU
Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso said afterward, Bush at his
side, at a news conference.
In a show of unity after bitter
disputes, all 26 countries in
NATO pledged money,
equipment or personnel to train
Iraqi security forces, though many
of the pledges were modest.
Estonia said it would send one
staff officer to Iraq, and $65,000.
France offered one officer to help
mission coordination at NATO
headquarters, said it would train
1,500 Iraqi military police in
Qatar outside NATO’s mission.
“The. NATO training mission is
an important mission, because after
all, the success of Iraq depends upon
the capacity and the willingness of
the Iraqis to defend their own selves
against terrorists,” Bush said. “Every
contribution matters.”
The European Union and the
United States, meanwhile, agreed to
joindy host a conference to rally and
coordinate international aid to Iraq.
Consulting with his harshest
critics on Iraq, Bush met with Chirac
over dinner Monday night, will
travel to Germany on Wednesday to
visit with Schroeder and meets
Russian President Vladimir Putin on
Thursday in Slovakia. Chirac said
America’s attitude is becoming
“more realistic... It is progress.”
Bush’s broad unpopularity in
Europe because of the U.S.-led
invasion was evident in the protests
on the streets of Brussels. Police
targeted demonstrators with water
cannons Tuesday, after protesters,
which numbered in the hundreds,
threw a fire bomb and glass bottles
at them near the European Union
headquarters.
Many Europeans also are
nervous about a possible U.S.
strike against Iran to stop its
suspected nuclear weapons
program, and Bush gave mixed
signals about American intentions.
“This notion that the United
States is getting ready to attack
Iran is simply ridiculous,” the
president said with a slight smile.
“Having said that, all options are
on the table.” He made a similar
statement last week, saying a
president never says never about
military action.
Europe is trying to persuade
Iran to abandon its uranium
enrichment program in return for
technological, financial and
political support. The United
States, reluctant to reward Iran,
has refused to get involved in the
bargaining and has suggested
asking the United Nations Security
Council to impose sanctions.
“It’s in our interests for them
not to have a nuclear weapon,”
Bush said.
Schroeder said he urged Bush to
fully back Europe’s diplomatic
approach toward Iran.
“We have to go down the road
of negotiations together,” the
chancellor told reporters.
Bush also signaled his
unhappiness with Putin’s retreat
from democracy.
“It’s very important for
President Putin to make very clear
why he’s made some of the
decisions he’s made, and as well as
respect his neighbors,” Bush said.
“I’m confident that can be done in
a cordial way.”
Putin, speaking in Moscow,
defended his approach.
“Russia chose democracy 14
years ago not to please anyone, but
for its own sake, for the sake of the
nation and its citizens,” Putin said.
“Naturally, basic principles and
institutions of democracy must be
adapted to today’s realities of
Russian life, to our traditions and
history.”
Before Bush’s trip, Congress sent
a clear warning to Europe about
lifting the arms embargo on China.
In a resounding 411-13 vote, the
House said revoking the ban would
endanger both Taiwan and U.S.
troops stationed in Asia and would
harm U.S. relations with Europe.
Hinting at trade retaliation, the
House resolution noted that the
United States and Europe cooperate
on the governmental and industrial
level. It said lifting the embargo
“would necessitate limitations and
constraints in these relationships
that would be unwelcome on both
sides of the Atlantic.”
Bush said he understands that the
Europeans are working on a way to
address U.S. worries about allowing
China to modernize its military with
arms and communications,
intelligence and surveillance
equipment that would give Beijing
an edge over Taiwan.
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BERND KAMMER/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A demonstrator protests against US President George W. Bush' visit
in Frankfurt, Germany, on Tuesday prior to the president’s visit to
Germany on Wednesday.
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