Secretary Clinton's Interview in India with CNN
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson
May 8, 2012
INTERVIEW
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
With Jill Dougherty of CNN
May 8, 2012
Taj Palace Hotel
Delhi, India
QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, thank you very much for being with us. This
has been quite a trip, and I want to begin at the beginning, in China. Mr. Chen,
Chen Guangcheng, is still in the hospital. Do you believe that China will follow
through on this agreement and allow him to get out, come to the United
States?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Jill, I think that we're looking forward to
welcoming him to the United States. He is still in the hospital receiving
medical treatment, some of which was recommended by the Embassy doctors who
examined him. We remain in close contact with him. We know that Chinese
officials have visited him in the hospital in order to begin processing
necessary papers, and we're doing the same in order to prepare the way so that
he can come here and pursue his studies.
QUESTION: But do you believe that the government will follow through on
what it promised?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we're looking forward to welcoming him and seeing
him have the chance to pursue the studies that he has said he's interested in
doing.
QUESTION: Right now there is a smear campaign against him. Some of his
relatives and friends are being picked up by the police. Some apparently have
been beaten up. What, if anything, can the United States do? Are you going to be
talking about this?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we talk about the full range of human rights
issues, the specific cases that are part of our ongoing dialogue and the more
general concerns that we have. So I think it's fair to say that any issue will
be addressed. It is for us, though, principally the focus of our efforts now to
do what we can to bring Mr. Chen and his family to the United States.
QUESTION: Now, Mitt Romney, in the middle of this, made some comments, some
critical comments. Was it correct for him to do that?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I'm not going to get into domestic American
politics. That's something that I am staying out of for all the obvious reasons.
But I think that the work that was done in this exceptionally unusual case with
extraordinary circumstances was a very important demonstration of both American
values and Mr. Chen's wishes. And I think that it was in the best tradition of
what American diplomacy is about.
QUESTION: Now, here in India, one of the big issues is Iranian sanctions.
And of course, we have the deadline getting closer for countries that should cut
back on imports of Iranian oil. One of those countries happens to be India. What
are they saying to you - the Indians - about this? Will they meet those
targets?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, India has reduced its dependence on Iranian oil. I
know their refineries have stopped asking for orders to purchase Iranian oil. So
they certainly have taken steps. We are working with them to help them in any
way that we can offer technical assistance, and next week my energy coordinator,
Ambassador Carlos Pascual, will be here in India with a team of experts. Because
we know that this is hard for India, just like it's been hard for some of the
European countries that were very dependent upon Iranian oil, for Japan. And we
have worked with them and offered suggestions about alternative sources of
supply at an affordable cost. So we appreciate the steps that India has taken,
and we're continuing to consult with them.
QUESTION: But it does place friends in a difficult situation.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, India shares exactly our goal. Their goal is our
goal, and that is to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons nation, which
we think would be greatly destabilizing of the region and the world, and in fact
could lead to greater disruptions of oil supply which would also be damaging to
India.
So everything in this high-stakes diplomacy that we're engaged in is an
exercise in calculations. The Indians and the United States are on exactly the
same side as the international consensus that Iran cannot, should not, must not,
have a nuclear weapon. I don't think Iran would be at the table discussing this
with the so-called P-5+1 nations if we hadn't implemented very tough sanctions.
We want to keep the sanctions pressure on, which requires - yes - our friends,
nations with whom we have great areas of agreement, to have to make some tough
choices.
QUESTION: I want to ask you about Alan Gross. CNN's Wolf Blitzer did an
interview with him. He, of course, is the American who has been held in Cuba.
And he - Blitzer, Mr. Blitzer, got an answer from the ambassador, the Cuban
ambassador, at the Interests Section saying, look, we have the Cuban Five who
are being held in just as if not worse circumstances than Mr. Gross, but we are
willing to solve this on a reciprocal basis.
What would have to be done in order to free Alan Gross?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first of all, Mr. Gross should not even be
incarcerated in Cuba. Mr. Gross was not a spy. Mr. Gross was not an intelligence
agent. Mr. Gross worked for a development group that was helping Cubans,
principally in their small Jewish community in Cuba, to have access to the
internet. And Mr. Gross, in our view, is being held without justification and
has been detained already far too long. So there should be a decision by the
Cuban Government to release him, and we would like to see that happen as soon as
possible.
Now, we are well aware that the Cuban Government wants to see the release
of their intelligence agents, five Cuban spies who were lawfully arrested,
tried, and convicted for espionage. One has already served his sentence in
prison. He's continuing to finish out his parole. Another will be up for parole
- all within the regular order of our system, a system that provides due
process, rule of law protections. It does not have a record of arbitrary arrests
or detentions like the Cuban Government does.
I am deeply distressed and unhappy for the Gross family. I've met with Judy
Gross. People in the State Department stay in close touch with her and with her
family. They have been incredibly brave in the face of this injustice. But the
Cuban Government has released political prisoners, which is something we'd like
to see them do with Mr. Gross.
QUESTION: The French election brought in Mssr. Francois Hollande, who I'd
like to get your opinion on how this might affect things, specifically let's say
in the use of military action or a harder approach when it comes to
international action, let's say areas like Libya. Certainly, under Mr. Sarkozy,
he was quite strong in terms of using military action. What are you
anticipating? What would be your hopes with the incoming president?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first we're looking forward to receiving the new
French president, and he'll be coming to the United States for a visit,
attending the G-8 summit, the NATO summit in Chicago. So there's a lot of
anticipation on the part of our government and I think our nation, because
France is our oldest ally. We have a deep, long, enduring relationship with
France, with the government of France, with the people of France. So until we've
had a chance to actually consult and hear his views and have a chance to express
our own, we're going to be waiting eagerly to do that.
QUESTION: Have you been following the demonstrations in Moscow, the
crackdown on those demonstrations?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Right. Well, certainly from the TV coverage I have seen
the extent of the demonstrations. And I think it goes to the hope that all
Russians have and that everyone who cares about Russia has that with the new
term that President Putin is about to begin, Russia will be able to continue
democratizing, protecting and respecting the rights of all Russian citizens,
ensuring that there is a level playing field for political and economic
participation. And I think that for those of us watching from afar on television
who have such great respect for Russia, as I know you do, having lived there and
studied and really become quite knowledgeable about Russia, we want Russia to
fulfill its own potential. And that, of course, means giving people the chance
to express themselves.
QUESTION: I know you have to catch a plane, so let me just ask you a quick
question. Vice President Biden made an interesting comment. He was asked about
2016, and he said - I think he said you and he could be a team, and then he
said, "I don't know whether I want to run and Hillary doesn't know whether she
wants to run." So I was wondering if he knows something about you that you don't
know. (Laughter.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: I don't think so. We've been friends for a long time and
we've been on the same team. We've been on the same team in the Senate. We're on
the same team now for President Obama. And no matter what I do in the future,
I'd love to have Joe be on my team, because he is a great and effective person
who cares deeply about our country.
QUESTION: And just one last question. When you were at that town hall in
Kolkata, and almost every town hall, there are always personal questions about
you. And you went on at some length about the glass ceiling, the double
standards about women. And right after that, now in the blogosphere there is a
big thing about Hillary Au Naturel; in other words, you without makeup, you
wearing glasses. (Laughter.) What can I say? But this is exactly what you were
saying, that it's either the hair or it's something like that.
SECRETARY CLINTON: I feel so relieved to be at the stage I'm at in my life
right now, Jill, because if I want to wear my glasses, I'm wearing my glasses.
If I want to pull my hair back, I'm pulling my hair back. And at some point it's
just not something that deserves a whole lot of time and attention, and if
others want to worry about it, I'll let them do the worrying for a change.
QUESTION: So it doesn't drive you crazy?
SECRETARY CLINTON: It doesn't drive me crazy at all. It's just not
something that I think is that important anymore. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: I agree. (Laughter.) Okay, well, thank you very much, Secretary
Clinton.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State.)
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