Our conversation this morning with the IAC touched on all of these points. Democracy permits the participation of all citizens. We encourage the full participation of all the people of Kosovo in the development of democratic institutions and civil society. Kosovo Serbs and other non-Albanian groups should participate in the interim self-government. It is important that all communities preserve and respect their own traditions and the traditions of others. Our mission in Kosovo so ably lead by Chris Dell has encouraged cultural centers that help minority communities to develop free media and their own social institutions. The US will continue to support such efforts.

While the US supports the early completion of arrangements for substantial autonomy and democratic self-government, let me make clear that we see no role in such institutions or in the elections that will give rise to them or those who support violence inside or outside of Kosovo. You cannot have democracy exist safely in the presence of such violence, and we condemn violence of that nature from any element of the society. The international community is also deeply concerned about ethnic Albanian extremists in Macedonia and southern Serbia. Our goal is to contain and end the violent actions of extremists in Kosovo as well as outside its borders. We will work with Kosovo�s democratic leaders, other allies and friends and anyone else interested to isolate and deprive extremists and terrorists of their support.

President Bush recently said the US joins its allies and the United Nations in strongly condemning the violence perpetrated by a small group of extremists determined to destabilize the democratic multi-ethnic government of Macedonia. President Bush added that the insurgents� violent methods are hurting the long-term interests of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia, Kosovo and throughout the region. We call on Kosovars to join us in denouncing and isolating extremists, whose actions are eroding international support for Kosovo and sympathy for its people. Your dreams for a peaceful, democratic future depend on such restraint and such forswearing of violence.

The Macedonian Government�s response to the challenge of extremist violence has been measured and proportionate. Ultimately, however, there is no military solution to the problems facing the region. We welcome efforts by Macedonian Government and moderate Albanian leaders to open a dialogue, to address the legitimate concerns of the Albanian community in Macedonia through peaceful and democratic means. Finally, we strongly support the UN Security Council Resolution 1345, condemning extremist violence and calling on Kosovo Albanian political leaders to publicly condemn the violence and use their influence to secure peace.

I finally want to express my appreciation to the Representative and his colleagues and the Interim Administrative Council for coming over from Kosovo this morning. It was my great desire to visit Kosovo and see them in Pristina, but weather prevented us from going ahead with our plans and I want to express my appreciation for them joining us.

I would like to ask if Hans would like to say a word or two.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE HAEKKERUP: Thank you very much. We are very honored, Secretary Powell, that you have taken the time to come here to this region. We would certainly have liked to see you in Kosovo, but what is important is the role that the U.S. plays and especially the interest you take in addressing the problems in the region. We hope that we can change the situation so we will not be a source of instability but rather of stability in the future.

QUESTION: We have heard you and President Bush talk in the last three days and you talk about cultivating autonomy in Kosovo, but most of that province and most of its leaders want independence. What is the United States view and have they given any thought to independence of Kosovo?

SECRETARY POWELL: Well, I think that that is not what we are facing right now. What we are facing right now is a national-level vote that will bring into place political institutions that can express the will of the people. At this point that is the correct next step and that is going to be enough of a task for this year.

I frankly caution the leaders that we should take steps that build on what was accomplished at the local elections. Let�s now have the national elections and let�s not move forward into any precipitous act that might be a cause of new instability and a cause of concern throughout the region. So, just focus on the national elections and not move any further that would suggest a movement in the direction that you suggested in your question.

QUESTION: How do you comment on the resolution 1244 not being observed? We have a partial mobilization of a militia in Kosovo and there is also information that camps are being created in Albania aimed at training of terrorist. What is your comment? Do we have a situation where a new Middle East is being created?

SECRETARY POWELL: I have spoken to the Colonel Skiaker, KFOR Commander, and I have had conversations in the course of the last few days. I will take back to the U.S. what I have seen and heard with respect to the activities in Southern Serbia and Kosovo and will see that we do everything possible for KFOR to patrol this area, to look for these kinds of places and do everything to keep infiltrators from coming across the border and into Macedonia and perpetrating acts of violence. I am pleased that at the moment the situation is quiet in Macedonia after the actions of a few weekends ago. I think that the Macedonian forces responded rather well and in a proportionate manner and I have encouraged them to be vigilant.

But the ultimate solution is not how good your army is to defeat extremists, it is how good your political system is to accommodate the beliefs and aspirations of all the people in your society. If you accommodate that in the political process, than you will not find ground for extremist activity to take root.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary there has been a lot of criticism from conservatives in Congress about the mix of the peacekeeping forces in the Balkans. There have been some hard calls for the Europeans doing more. You have not raised this question in the last three days publicly. What will you tell these members of Congress, regarding the current mix of U.S. versus European peacekeepers?

SECRETARY POWELL: I will say to them what I have been saying all along and what President Bush has been saying to them since the Administration began. We want to see the number of peacekeepers that we deployed reduced as soon as possible and in a manner that is appropriate, but only after consulting with our allies and only after making a careful assessment of the missions that are being performed. This applies both in KFOR and in SFOR; and as I have reassured my NATO colleagues and the nations in the region, the United States came in with its allies and we are not going to cut and run on our allies. We are always looking for ways to reduce the demand for military forces for missions of this nature. I am very proud of what US troops are doing along with other contingents that are here and I will make further assessments in the course of the day as I travel throughout the region and give a report back to President Bush.

So we are always looking to reduce, we are always looking to see if other kinds of units are more appropriate than the kinds of combat units we have here. That there is certainly a level of danger and a requirement for troops suggests that we have to be cautious in our drawdown. Let me also point out that while the United States is here, many other nations are represented both in SFOR and in KFOR and that these other nations provide the bulk of the forces in KFOR and SFOR.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary do you share the opinion with some Albanian politicians that the conflict in Macedonia has an inter-ethnic root, which is indigenous to Macedonia?

SECRETARY POWELL: We did not get into that discussion at the meetings that I had and I did not hear that directly. The nature of the violence in Macedonia of a few weeks ago was the result of extremists who came into the country or already were in the country and were attempting to disturb this country in a way that is simply inappropriate. They were taking violent actions against a democratic nation that is working hard to reconcile the differences that still exist within that democratic nation. This kind of action must be condemned whether it is on an ethnic, multiethnic basis, whether it originates within Macedonia, or whether it reflects problems that have come across the border from Kosovo.

My message to the Council leaders who have come with me here today -- and we had good discussions; strong feelings were laid out on the table, passions were in the room. The good and productive way to direct these passions way is through the democratic process, everybody participating in the elections, getting those views out there and not holding back from encouraging all people to participate in the elections. Most importantly, however, as leaders, letting all people participate in the elections, making sure that you put into place the institutions that are necessary and that will guarantee everybody�s access to the polls and then respect the results of those elections.

QUESTION: You have stated that you do not want to see a spillover of the violence from Kosovo. Are you satisfied from what you have heard so far in the public messages conveyed by the leadership in Kosovo? Is there any doubt in your mind that the ethnic Albanians responsible for violence in the last few weeks did come from Kosovo and in fact are still in Kosovo right now?

SECRETARY POWELL: I do not have a perfect answer to that question. If I put my military hat on for the moment: if you have that kind of an insurgency, you should assume there is a homegrown basis to it; but there has also been support from outside. Some of the actions of KFOR in interdicting lines of supply that were heading into Macedonia, in stopping mule trains carrying ammunition and actually interdicting people that were going back and forth, suggest to me that it was a combination of both. In the meeting that I just completed I did hear the leaders say that they will forswear violence, and I encouraged them to speak out candidly to all people that they represent and the people that they are leading, that violence is not the answer.

QUESTION: Macedonia is a multi-ethnic state and the neighbors of Macedonia --Greece, Bulgaria and Albania -- are also multi-ethnic states. However, in the census of the population of these neighboring countries, this cannot be seen. Please, your comments on this?

SECRETARY POWELL: I do not know if I have a comment on this issue. I think that what one has to do is try to take as accurate a census of a country as you can and do it according to international standards and try to get a correct reflection of the distribution of ethnicities of a state. We had conversations here in Macedonia because there is a census that is being scheduled in the near future, and we left the suggestion with the leadership here that perhaps they might want to delay that for now until they can get proper standards established so that such a census would really be an adequate reflection of the multiethnic nature of Macedonia.

QUESTION: I would like to ask you something on a different topic. Now that the US airmen are on US soil and are home, can you elaborate on what needs to be done next to secure the release of the plane and the other outstanding issues that surround it?

SECRETARY POWELL: As you may recall over the last week or so we indicated that there was a road-map created with the Chinese government to resolve this matter. With the presentation of Ambassador Prueher's letter the other day, that was another step on that road-map; the return of those very brave young men and women back to the US was a further step.

The next step now is to convene the meeting that you are all familiar with on the April 18, with representatives of the US and the Chinese government to discuss issues such as the return of our aircraft. And I am sure lots of other issues will come up from both sides and that maritime agreement provides for this consultative mechanism, so that such views can be exchanged. I think that is the way in which this incident will be played out, exactly according to the road-map that was agreed to more than a week ago.

There are other issues that we have with the Chinese government. The President touched on a number of them yesterday and we will now go back to our regular means of communicating with the Chinese leaders and meeting with Chinese leaders and letting them know of our concerns on those areas where we have disagreement and building on those areas where we do have agreement.

Thank you very much.