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USIA Transcript (Excerpt): Pentagon Spokesman's Regular Briefing, 97-04-10

United States Information Agency: Selected Articles Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The United States Information Agency (USIA) Gopher at <gopher://gopher.usia.gov>


TRANSCRIPT: PENTAGON SPOKESMAN'S REGULAR BRIEFING

DoD News Briefing
Captain Mike Doubleday, USN, DASD (PA)
Thursday, April 10, 1997 - 1:30 p.m.

CAPTAIN DOUBLEDAY: Good afternoon.

[...]

Q: As I asked you before yesterday the Turkish Embassy circulated that your Department of Defense accepted finally the Israeli's proposal for a joint military exercise with Israel and Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean. Could you please confirm this information?

A: As I understand it, you're asking if there is an exercise involving Turkey and Israel which the U.S. will also participate in, is that correct?

Q: That's correct.

A: My understanding is that there is a proposal for such an exercise, that we are right now in the process of considering the timing and the scope of an exercise, but it has not gone beyond that.

Q: So far, this is not something on a permanent basis, to do that as long as long as the agreement exists between the other two countries.

A: There is... If there is such an exercise, we are willing to participate in it, but the timing and the scope of the exercise have not yet been determined.

Q: But Captain, it was reported that in this agreement Turkey and Israel (inaudible) legally, the Greek Island of Zavdos, Z-A-V-D-O-S, which is located south of the Island of Crete. Since you are going to participate, as you said, could you please confirm this information?

A: I am certainly not aware that that island is involved in the exercise, and since we're still looking at the parameters of the exercise, I can't really go any further than that.

Q: But did you see the context of the agreement between the two countries?

A: I don't know that it involves that island at all.

Q: Thank you.

[...]

Q: As you said, the decision (inaudible) to participate in the joint military exercise between Israel and Turkey. Could you please check for me if in the text of the proposed agreement the other two contracted parties, (inaudible) included also the Greek island of Zavdos, Z-A-V-D-O-S, and if those exercises will take also the Aegean Sea and the vicinity of the Republic of Cypress.

A: Let me see what we can find out. But again, I think the problem that I have in answering your question is that it is so preliminary at this point, the outlines of the exercise are so preliminary at this point, I'm not sure that we have identified the location that the exercise is going to take place.

Q: One more question since you are in the decisionary process to find out what's going on. According to DoD legal experts, it is prohibited by the law for DoD to participate in exercises when the contracting parties, include illegally the soil of another country allied to the U.S. Could you please confirm this legal citation, too?

A: I would certainly agree that we are not going to be involved in exercises where the exercise takes place in an area where we have not been invited or do not have the authority to exercise.

Q: So this thing relates also to my question as far as the island of Zavdos.

A: Before I answer that, I don't accept your premise that that island is a part of this exercise. We will try and make a determination. But let us look into that. I believe that at this point the exercise is in such a preliminary stage that we don't know exactly where the exercise is going to be taking place.

Q: This is not only one exercise. They say it will be eight of them around the (inaudible) in '97. That's why I'm very concerned as far as what on with that particular island.

A: We'll look into it and see if we can get any further insights into it.

Press: Thank you.


From the United States Information Agency (USIA) Gopher at gopher://gopher.usia.gov


United States Information Agency: Selected Articles Directory - Previous Article - Next Article
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