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Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2002

"We are having discussions with all of our European Union and other friends around the world ... we have serious concerns with the ICC," Powell said at a news briefing.

He rejected suggestions that the United States has been pushing EU-aspiring countries, using military aid as a weapon, into signing bilateral treaties that would prevent them from surrendering U.S. soldiers to the ICC.

"We're not bludgeoning or threatening any of our friends; we're discussing with them our concerns about the ICC and a way of dealing with those concerns."

EU Tries Blackmail to Sabotage U.S.

The European Union on Monday told all countries hoping to join it that they should not sign U.S. accords granting U.S. immunity from the ICC, the Washington Times reported Tuesday.

Yugoslavia said it would not sign such a pact.

"The warning by European Commission President Romano Prodi to aspiring EU members followed an EU announcement of regret that Romania had become the first country to sign an ICC-immunity agreement with the United States," the Times said.

The ICC says that bilateral treaties granting protection to U.S. peacekeepers against surrender would make the court ineffective.

"The proposal would be tantamount to giving a veto to the state of nationality of the accused" against the court's jurisdiction, an ICC statement said.

Congress has authorized the U.S. government to withhold military aid to any country that declines to provide the needed protection to U.S. soldiers. But under this new law, the president has the authority to waive this restriction if he feels it is in the U.S. national interest to do so.

"I hope our allies will view [U.S. proposals] as a positive, constructive way of dealing with those concerns," said Powell.

But Spain's Foreign Minister Ana Palacio, who spoke to reporters outside the State Department along with Powell, declined to say whether her government would cooperate with the U.S. administration.

"Spain is not just Spain," she said. "Spain is also the European Union and it will be addressing all the concerns" at a EU foreign ministers meeting at the end of the month, she said.

Outlining the U.S. strategy, State Department spokesman Philip T. Reeker said Washington would continue to approach individual countries to agree not to extradite U.S. peacemakers.

"We are simply asking these countries to respect our decision not to become a part of that organization, just as we respect their decision to become a part of it," Reeker said. The United States has not joined ICC because of its reservations over this issue.

On Aug. 1, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John R. Bolton signed an agreement with Romania, which pledged not to turn over American peacekeepers to ICC.

Israel has also made a similar pledge.

The United States has instructed its embassies to seek similar agreements with other countries while in Washington several foreign envoys have visited the State Department during the past two weeks for talks on this issue.

Copyright 2002 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

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