U.S. Relations With the People's Republic of China (2009)

U.S. Department of State

Interview with Jill Dougherty of CNN

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Islamabad, Pakistan
October 30, 2009

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QUESTION: But you have always personally been very skeptical about the fact that they might do what the international community wants them to do. I mean, are you being vindicated in that? Are you right?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we are going the extra mile, as we said we would, as the President made clear in his inauguration speech we would. And I think it's very significant that Russia and France and the UK, Germany, China, are all united about this. I mean, this is not the United States saying, "We have an idea we want you to follow through on." This is all of us saying, "We came to this idea. You agreed in principle. And we expect to have you follow through."

So, I think we will take it day by day, see what the final outcome is.

QUESTION: Just one more on that. Do you have a commitment from Russia and China that if the Iranians don't follow through on this particular low-enriched uranium part of their agreement that it is time to move to sanctions?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I don't want to speculate or answer a hypothetical. I want this process to play out. This was an agreed-upon approach. I signed an agreement back in New York during the United Nations General Assembly, along with the foreign ministers of every other country that is part of the P-5+1 plus the EU. So let's see where this leads.

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