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Sunday Morning News

White House Reaction Muted to Milosevic Arrest

Aired April 1, 2001 - 8:10 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Reaction from the White House to the Milosevic arrest has been muted, but there is still a lot at stake here, including another $50 million in U.S. financial aid to Yugoslavia.

CNN's Kelly Wallace is monitoring those events at the White House for us this morning. Good morning, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Kyra. Still no formal reaction from the White House to the arrest of Slobodan Milosevic, although we anticipate getting some more reaction and possibly a statement issued by the White House later this morning.

President Bush, aides say, has been briefed on the situation and has been getting regular updates as developments warrant. He is spending the weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David, and incidentally, his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, happens to be with him at Camp David.

Nevertheless, the Bush administration, which has long been pushing for Mr. Milosevic to be brought to justice, will most likely very much welcome this news. Senior administration officials have been saying that an arrest of Mr. Milosevic would be viewed as an important step forward for the rule of law.

Now, the big question is what impact the arrest of the former Yugoslav president on local charges such as corruption and not on war crimes charges will -- what impact that will have on a decision facing the Bush administration. The White House was to have decided by midnight last night if the new Yugoslav government has been taking a number of steps towards democratic reform, including cooperating with the International War Crimes Tribunal.

At stake for Yugoslavia, $50 million in U.S. assistance as well as American support for loans going to Yugoslavia from international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Now, there are two different perspectives here for the administration to consider. Some believe that the U.S. should hold back on giving any additional money to Yugoslavia until Mr. Milosevic is turned over to the War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague to stand trial for war crimes stemming from the Kosovo conflict two years ago. Others, though, disagree and believe the arrest of Mr. Milosevic signals the new government's commitment to democracy, and that that commitment should be rewarded and supported with U.S. assistance.

Now, the secretary of state was said to be working on this matter throughout the weekend. The State Department, though, said that no decision would be made, or announced, until Monday at the earliest -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Kelly, on another note, another story that is breaking this morning, a U.S. Navy plane colliding with a Chinese fighter, what can we tell you about this?

WALLACE: Well, we do know that President Bush was made aware of the situation and briefed on it. The White House, though, referring all additional comments to the Department of Defense. We also know that the U.S. Pacific Command has conveyed its concerns to the Chinese government through the U.S. Embassy in Beijing as well as the Chinese Embassy here in Washington.

At issue is whether this was an accident or something intentional, and a late word, apparently, it looks like a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command saying this appears to be an accident. Nevertheless, this is the latest incident in what is viewed as a somewhat tense relationship between the U.S. and China. The two countries disagree over a number of things, including potential arms sales to Taiwan as well as a proposed U.S. missile defense system.

Still, right now, the U.S. is said to be communicating its concerns, and I don't believe there's been any response from the Chinese as of yet -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Kelly Wallace live from the White House. Thank you very much.

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