The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Tag: Al Gore

  • Mr Major’s Doorstep Interview with Al Gore – 6 May 1995

    Below is the transcript of Mr Major’s doorstep interview in London with US Vice-President Al Gore, on Saturday 6th May 1995.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I am delighted to welcome the Vice-President here this morning. We have had the opportunity of continuing our discussions in Washington just a few weeks ago; we covered a wide range of subjects and perhaps I may firstly say how delighted I am to see the Vice-President here for these commemorations this weekend; he is very welcome indeed and I look forward to seeing great deal of him over the next day or so.

    VICE-PRESIDENT GORE:

    Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. In many ways, this was a seamless continuation of a discussion that we had in Washington a short time ago. Of course, I would like to emphasise on this occasion what a great honour it is for me personally to be able to represent my country at the VE-Day commemorations and to remember on behalf of all Americans the hours when Britain stood alone against the forces of evil threatening all civilisation and to celebrate the partnership that won that war and to honour those who sacrificed everything for our freedom.

    It is a moving experience to read into the details of the tremendous sacrifices that were made and it is a true honour to take part in it.

    In our discussions, we talked about a great number of subjects including the Prime Minister’s important meeting coming up shortly with President Yeltsin in Moscow which will immediately precede President Clinton’s meeting with President Yeltsin and of course, since we are singing off the same page of music on all security issues virtually without exception, it is always valuable to talk together about the details of what is in our interests so it was a very productive discussion on that and other issues.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Let me just add a word or two on the substance of what we discussed:

    As the Vice-President said, we look forward to the agenda for the discussions I will have with President Yeltsin next week and the lengthy discussions that President Clinton will have with him the following day, a substantial agenda there and I think we found ourselves in complete agreement upon all the substantive issues.

    We also spent some time on a matter that I know is of great interest to the Vice-President and also to the Government here and that is the public sector reforms and David Hunt was able to join us and set out many of the reforms that we are undertaking. The same nature of change is taking place in the United States and we had the opportunity of comparing notes on that.

    We were able to look at a number of other issues: clearly, the developing situation in Bosnia; the development in the discussions on Northern Ireland was another matter we touched on this morning and a range of lesser items; I won’t go into detail on them at this stage but will respond to any questions you may have but it was, as it is always is when we meet the Vice-President, a very worthwhile and a very enjoyable occasion.

    QUESTION:

    May I ask the Vice-President if he is in a position to put any more pressure on Sinn Fein to take part in a meaningful decommissioning of arms in Northern Ireland?

    VICE-PRESIDENT GORE:

    Yes. We believe it is essential and we will make that point over and over again. As President Clinton said when Prime Minister Major was in Washington, we believe that is essential to the success of all-party talks and to the success of the process that Prime Minister Major and Prime Minister Bruton and Prime Minister Reynolds before him have got under way and I want to again say how impressed all Americans have been with the tremendous courage shown by Prime Minister Major in moving this process to the stage it has now reached and a willingness on the part of Sinn Fein to seriously discuss decommissioning is absolutely key at this stage and we will be urging them in every possible way to engage in such talks.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    If I could just add a point to that, we certainly discussed that and the Vice-President has just made his views very clear and I think that it is extremely helpful and I am very grateful for that.

    We also discussed the forthcoming Washington Conference which I hope is going to lead to a good deal of investment both in the north and in the south and that sort of investment, that growth of economic prosperity, that growth of opportunity that will remove, I think, many of the reasons why so many young people in the past have joined the paramilitaries on both sides is of immense importance so we look forward to that conference being a very great success and I am sure it will be.

    VICE-PRESIDENT GORE:

    The response, incidentally, among American businesses to this upcoming conference toward the end of this month has been extraordinary. You are going to see quite an outpouring from the business community seeking to seize the significant opportunities for investment in Northern Ireland and in the border counties of the Republic. We are very excited about it and looking forward to it.

    Mr. Prime Minister, you made reference to our work on re-inventing government or “public sector reform” as I believe you often refer to it here. I want to compliment David Hunt on the work that you and he have done here. I have already got an appointment – I believe next week – in Washington to talk with Mr. Hunt. We have learned a great deal from what has gone on here and we are making progress also. It is high time that some of the reforms that have been successful in private corporations are applied thoroughly to the public sector and we are learning from one another on the best ways to do that.

    QUESTION:

    I would like to ask you about the local elections now you have had time to think about them and there have also been surveys in the press and the BBC saying that party chairmen are unhappy about disunity and blaming that for the results. What is your response to that?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I dealt with most of those matters standing here yesterday and my response today would be the same as yesterday, I have nothing further to add to that. Clearly, they were very unsatisfactory election results, I make no secret about that and I made that perfectly clear yesterday. We will have to consider and reflect upon those results and see how we take matters forward.

    What I was seeking to emphasise yesterday is that there are some long-term strategic goals that we believe are very much in the interest of our prosperity in the future and we must clearly seek to achieve those goals. That doesn’t mean we are going to brush aside without consideration the concerns that people express, of course not, that is not the way of democratic politics and it is not in my instinct so of course we will consider those very carefully.

  • Mr Major’s Joint Doorstep Interview with Vice-President Al Gore – 28 February 1994

    Below is Mr Major’s joint doorstep interview with Vice-President Al Gore in Washington on 28th February 1994.

    QUESTION:

    What did you think of the shooting down of four planes in Bosnia?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I expressed what I thought a little earlier and I may do later but not now.

    QUESTION:

    Mr. Prime Minister, the British Government has very exposed intelligence cooperation with the CIA; how much damage to British intelligence was done allegedly by Rick Ames?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I have nothing to say at the moment.

    QUESTION:

    Vice President have you heard a lot of American names down for Moscow, diplomats, for retaliation?

    VICE PRESIDENT GORE:

    No, we have no official word as of this moment.

    QUESTION:

    [Inaudible but re bringing an end to this chapter of American-Soviet relations]

    VICE PRESIDENT GORE:

    The developments of last week were very serious and everyone understands that fact. The investigation is continuing, it will be extremely thorough. At the same time, the impact of the allegations against the CIA employee should be put in a larger perspective and the relationship between the West and Russia, between the United States and Russia, should not be determined by such an incident. We have our own self-interest in continuing the improvement of relations with Russia and we will seek that.

    QUESTION:

    Prime Minister, what is your reaction to the shooting down of Serbian planes?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I expressed it earlier, it remains the same: the Security Council Resolution was passed nearly a year ago; what the Resolution said was perfectly plain; it established a no-fly zone. Here were half a dozen planes that were clearly infringing the no-fly zone, I think there is little doubt about that. They were warned, they didn’t desist, they were shot down. I think they could have expected nothing else.

    QUESTION:

    But does it damage prospects for peace in Bosnia?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I don’t believe so. The no-fly zone was there for a purpose. It is now clear to people that the no-fly zone will be enforced.

    QUESTION:

    What about the impact possibly on British troops [indistinct] aid?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I don’t think there will be an impact upon that. We have contingency arrangements to make sure British troops are secure.

    QUESTION:

    Vice-President, what is your reaction to the shooting-down?

    VICE PRESIDENT GORE:

    This has been a standing order for quite some time. Back in September there was one brief violation, this is the first violation since then and it was met instantly with the appropriate response. There is much we still need to learn about why these aircraft would attempt their mission but far from damaging the prospects for peace, it may actually improve the prospects for peace.

    QUESTION:

    How exactly?

    VICE PRESIDENT GORE:

    By sending the message very clearly and firmly that the no-fly zone is not to be trifled with and that strengthens the force of the other statements by NATO and the United Nations.

    QUESTION:

    [Indistinct] these were Serb planes, not Croatian planes?

    VICE PRESIDENT GORE:

    Let’s await further [indistinct]. We know the type of plane and the type of plane is associated with bases in Serbian-controlled territory but we need more information before making any definite statement.

    I think that is a fair comment.

    QUESTION:

    Prime Minister, have you had a reaction from the Russians on the shooting down?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I am not aware of one yet.

    QUESTION:

    Are you looking forward to going back to your roots?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I am certainly looking forward to going to Pittsburgh. [Laughter].

  • Mr Major’s Doorstep Interview in Washington – 28 February 1994

    Below is Mr Major’s doorstep interview in Washington after a meeting with Vice President Al Gore, held on Monday 28th February 1994.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Just let me say a word or two about the discussions now and earlier this morning with Secretary of State Christopher and others.
    We had the opportunity both over breakfast and now with the Vice-President to look at a range of issues and there is no doubt that our policies on Bosnia and on Russia are very closely aligned now. Some of the difficulties that existed in the past I think have substantially been put behind us. We had the opportunity of discussing those this morning and a range of other issues. I won’t go into details at the moment but I will take a few questions if you have any.

    QUESTION:

    On Bosnia, Prime Minister, the fact of what happened this morning, doesn’t that increase the risk to British ground troops and wouldn’t it increase perhaps the pressure you would like to bring on the Americans to put ground troops in too because it might concentrate their minds when it came to air strikes in Bosnia?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think what happened in Bosnia this morning was always likely to happen at some stage. We passed this Resolution a year or so ago now. I think what it does illustrate is that United Nations Security Council Resolutions can’t be ignored with impunity. That might be a very useful lesson. I am absolutely sure that Admiral Border [phon] was right to take the decision that he took this morning and I hope the lesson has been learned from it.

    QUESTION:

    How will any Serb retaliation be greeted now?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I have no reason to suppose there is going to be any Serb retaliation. The last I heard – and I may be out-of-date as this was an hour or so ago – the Serbs hadn’t even conceded they were their planes. We are still waiting for further information on that.

    QUESTION:

    Did you discuss Russia at all?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    We did discuss Russia this morning. There is no doubt we both remain very strongly supportive of the reform process. There is a great deal happening in Russia at the moment and I look forward to discussing those in further detail with the President later; I would prefer to comment after that.

    QUESTION:

    [Inaudible].

    PRIME MINISTER:

    On Partnership for Peace, we haven’t yet heard from the Russians whether they are proposing to take part in that, I very much hope that they will. I expressed that thought to President Yeltsin when I was there. I think Partnership for Peace will be enhanced by the Russians taking part in it. I think it is in the West’s interest that they should do so and I think it is in their interest as well but as yet we haven’t heard from them.

    QUESTION:

    What are you hoping can now achieved at the United Nations with fresh Resolutions related to Bosnia?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I don’t know yet what fresh Resolutions we are going to get.

    There is a good deal of discussion. What we really have to determine is how we carry forward two separate things: firstly, the political peace process; it does seem that the discussions here in Washington between the Croats and the Muslims over the last 24 hours have looked very hopeful, we will know a little more by the end of the day but they certainly seem to have gone pretty well so far. And secondly, of course, what actually happens on the ground; whether it is possible to negotiate ceasefires in an increasing range of areas.

    Those two events both need to be carried through in parallel. That is what is happening at the moment. I believe that is the right way to proceed and I think there is a unity of view about that.

    ELINOR GOODMAN:

    On Bosnia, was there anything particular you wanted out of the Americans, for example a commitment to more troops and what was their response?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    No, we were discussing strategic matters this morning and I will continue that discussion with the President later on today.