State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller held a press briefing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Sorry to be late, keep you waiting.
00:02The room looks a little strange with no Matt and no Said, but we do have Jennifer McEwen-Williams
00:08back in the briefing room after a few months away.
00:10I know we're all excited to have her back, as I'm sure you are as well.
00:15Let me start with a few opening comments before I turn to questions.
00:18This weekend, Vice President Harris joined Ukrainian President Zelensky and leaders and
00:22representatives from over 90 countries in Switzerland to discuss a principled framework
00:27for peace in Ukraine.
00:29Participants reaffirmed their support for the sovereignty, independence, and territorial
00:33integrity of Ukraine.
00:35They discussed vital cooperation on global food security, nuclear safety, and catastrophic
00:40humanitarian impacts of the war.
00:43In Moscow, President Putin had a different message, another maximalist statement that
00:47called on Ukraine to surrender even more of its sovereign territory than what Russia currently
00:51occupies before negotiations could even begin.
00:55President Putin demanded Ukraine agree to disarm so that it is vulnerable to future
00:59aggression from Russia.
01:01No responsible nation can say that this is a reasonable basis for peace.
01:05It defies the UN Charter.
01:07It defies basic morality.
01:09It defies basic common sense.
01:11It is clear Russia is unprepared for any serious, good-faith discussions.
01:17Russia's actions make this especially clear as it continues its bombing campaigns against
01:21Ukraine's critical infrastructure, threatens ships in the Black Sea, and forcibly relocates
01:26tens of thousands of Ukrainian children.
01:29For our part, we will continue to maintain our steadfast support for Ukraine.
01:33This past Thursday, President Biden and President Zelensky signed the U.S.-Ukraine Bilateral
01:38Security Agreement.
01:40This legally binding agreement contains a set of mutual commitments representing a historic
01:44show of support for Ukraine's long-term security.
01:47It is a crucial milestone as we seek to establish a broad, mutually reinforcing, and powerful
01:54network of nations to safeguard Ukraine's future and support its Euro-Atlantic integration,
01:59including its interoperability with NATO.
02:02We look forward to reinforcing key points of our agreement at the NATO Washington Summit
02:07this July.
02:08In this agreement, the United States and Ukraine state our intentions to advance security and
02:12economic cooperation, anti-corruption reforms, and accountability for Russia's actions.
02:18We also commit to work jointly towards peace, as Ukraine did through this weekend's summit.
02:22We will continue to work with Ukraine, its partners, and the global community to establish
02:27the conditions for a truly just and, therefore, lasting peace.
02:31The bilateral security agreement is part of a broader effort to support a lasting peace
02:35for Ukraine, which, as President Biden said, must be underwritten by Ukraine's own ability
02:39to defend itself now and to deter future aggression.
02:43In the meantime, we will continue to support Ukraine and its people as they defend themselves
02:47against Russia's aggression.
02:48And with that, Leon.
02:50Thanks.
02:51Since you started with Ukraine, might as well go first with Ukraine.
02:57The NATO Secretary General is in town and gave a speech this morning to the Wilson Center.
03:05He specifically called on NATO and nations to impose a cost on China for its support
03:15to Russia in the war in Ukraine.
03:20What is the – and I've seen, obviously, the G7 statements and things like that.
03:24But what is the United States – what can the United States do more against China to
03:30follow that message, if you agree with it, which I think you do?
03:34And what are you prepared to do more?
03:37So let me start by saying, first of all, the responsibility is on China to stop the actions
03:42of Chinese companies that are helping Russia rebuild its defense industrial base.
03:47And we have made it quite clear to China and our European partners, including a number
03:52of NATO members, have made it quite clear to China that it is China's responsibility.
03:56That said, if China doesn't act, we've also made clear that we will.
04:00And you have seen us act already.
04:01You have seen us impose sanctions on a number of companies for taking action to rebuild
04:05Russia's defense industrial base.
04:07We have been coordinating with our allies and partners in Europe about actions that
04:11they can take, and I think it's fair to say you can expect to see additional actions
04:13coming in the future.
04:14I'm not going to get into those here.
04:17But if China is not willing to take action to stop its companies from sending microelectronics
04:27and optical sensors and other pieces of equipment that Russia can use to manufacture military
04:33equipment that are posing an enormous threat not just to Ukraine but to European security,
04:38then we're going to have to work with our European partners to take action ourselves.
04:41So you don't want to preview any potential actions you could take?
04:46No, I'm not.
04:47As a general – As always, I'm not going to do so from here, but you have seen us already
04:50take a number of actions, including since the Secretary's trip to China, and I think
04:56it's safe to say you will see others in the future.
04:57Can I go to Gaza?
04:59Yeah.
05:00I'm just wondering if there's been any progress on the ceasefire talks.
05:06Has there been any progress on the workables and not-so-workables of the Hamas counterproposal
05:11since last week?
05:12We continue to have conversations with the Government of Israel, the governments of Egypt,
05:16and the government of Qatar, but I'm not going to get into the status of those conversations
05:22or any detail about those conversations from here.
05:24We do want to bridge the differences where we can.
05:29As you heard the Secretary say and as the President say, there are a number of things
05:32that we just think are non-starters and shouldn't have been in the response, go beyond what
05:36Hamas demanded previously, and hopefully those are demands that Hamas will back down from
05:40because we don't think that they're workable.
05:42But there are a number of areas where we think we can find agreement.
05:47Doesn't mean we will because it takes two parties to come to an agreement, but we think
05:52it's possible to come to agreement, so we're going to continue to work on that.
05:55All right.
05:56And has there been anything since last week that makes you a little bit more hopeful,
05:59like any incremental progress on any of the things that you say can be bridgeable?
06:04I just don't want to offer an assessment from here.
06:06Our bottom line of this is that – this is what the Secretary said when he was in the
06:09region last week.
06:11Based on the differences between the two parties, we should be able to reach an agreement.
06:15If you just look at – let's take out some of the things that Hamas put in that are completely
06:19unworkable and that go beyond positions it has previously taken, because we don't think
06:22that's a good faith action to have an agreement or at least have accepted terms and then move
06:27the terms.
06:28Take out some of those areas.
06:30If you look at the remaining areas, we do think it should be possible to come to an
06:34agreement.
06:35Doesn't mean we will, but that – the benefits to the region, the people of Gaza, the people
06:41of Israel are so significant that we're going to continue to work to try to reach such an
06:45agreement.
06:46Right.
06:47Thank you.
06:48Go ahead.
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07:52Understanding all this information and coming up with a plan.
07:59And so I believe that one of the action yourself would document based on this information
08:10wouldn't be able to get a ceasefire in the north without resolution in Gaza. But certainly,
08:14having a ceasefire in Gaza makes a resolution in the north much, much easier.
08:17And given that ceasefire still remains elusive, in the meantime,
08:21is the message to Israel don't do anything in the north? That's the U.S. message?
08:26We have made clear we don't want to see escalation at all in the north. We've made that clear to –
08:32directly to the Government of Israel. Now, look, there is a – as you've heard us say before,
08:36there is a situation that is untenable for Israel and it's untenable for Lebanese families
08:40too, tens of thousands of which who have been forced to leave their homes and have been gone
08:45for over eight months now and can't return to their homes because of the conflict there. So
08:49it is a situation that has to be resolved. But our preference is that it be resolved
08:54diplomatically, and that has been Israel's preference too. They've stated it publicly,
08:57they've stated it privately. Yeah.
09:00Matt, do you have any comment on the dissolution of the war cabinet?
09:03I don't. That's ultimately an internal matter for the government.
09:05Do you anticipate this will make conversations with the Israeli
09:09Government more challenging, easier, particularly around the ceasefire?
09:13I'm just not going to offer any type of assessment about what it might mean. Ultimately,
09:18those decisions are decisions for the Government of Israel and for the people of Israel. We will
09:22deal with whatever government is in place in Israel, as we have since the beginning of this
09:26administration, as the United States has going back a number of administrations and over a number
09:32of different governments of Israel. It doesn't change our fundamental strategic interests. It
09:37doesn't change our fundamental assessment of the situation. We'll continue to have
09:41the very direct and candid conversations with members of the Israeli Government,
09:45as we have for some time. And the Israeli Government over the
09:48weekend announced these tactical pauses that they say is meant to increase the amount of aid that's
09:53going around Gaza. Aid groups say they haven't seen any impact at this point. What's the U.S.
09:57read on this? So that is a step that we very much welcome.
10:00It's something that we have been encouraging for some time. Our special envoy for Middle East
10:04humanitarian issues, Lise Grande, has been directly advocating for these pauses in her
10:10conversation with Israeli officials, and she's been doing that because of her work on the ground,
10:15meeting with UN relief agencies and other relief agencies about what they need to be able to deliver
10:20humanitarian assistance inside Gaza. We continue to have a tough situation where there is now a
10:27fair amount of aid that's making it to Kerem Shalom, but then not always being distributed
10:31from Kerem Shalom to the inside of Gaza. Some of that is because of the conflict in
10:36Rafa. Some of that is the instability in the security situation on the ground, where you
10:41see trucks that are in some instances attacked by private parties, by looters and criminals.
10:46This removes one of those obstacles. Now, look, it'll probably take a few days to see
10:50how it's actually implemented for people to adjust to this new reality, but we think it's a step
10:54that's very positive that ought to improve the distribution situation inside Gaza.
10:59And how does the U.S. intend to hold Israel accountable for honoring these tactical pauses?
11:04I mean, we've seen a number of instances where they said that areas were protected,
11:07that humanitarians would be protected, and then ultimately the results on the ground don't bear
11:11that out. So ultimately, we judge Israel by the results, and when it comes to either—it's
11:15not just a question of humanitarian pauses, it's to the question of how much aid gets delivered.
11:21The pause ultimately is only a means to an end. The humanitarian pause is to ensure that, number
11:27one, aid can get delivered where it needs to go, and number two, relief workers have certainty that
11:32they can carry out their jobs without being hit by an airstrike or by tank fire or by any other
11:37kind of ordnance. So it's important that Israel has put this step in place, and we'll watch how
11:44it's implemented. And if there are changes that need to be made, we of course won't hesitate to
11:48make that clear. Yeah.
11:49Can I just ask one thing on that? You said we will judge Israel by the results. So it was April
11:55the 4th. President Biden basically said – well, threatened Israel to put conditions on aid if
12:04it wouldn't do a better job of protecting civilians and if more humanitarian aid wouldn't go
12:10into Gaza. It's been more than two months. U.S. Government has taken no action and also has not
12:18basically made an assessment on how well or not Israel has done. So I don't quite understand the
12:25judgment part. So it's because we have seen them take steps that have been productive – not always
12:29perfect in every instance, but let me just go through some of them. So we saw after that phone
12:33call and after the President made clear that our policy would be dependent on the results, we saw
12:38the opening of Zikom, we saw the opening of Erez Crossing, we saw the opening of Ashdod for
12:44deliveries to come in, we saw the opening of the Jordan Route, so you now have trucks that are
12:48directly from Jordan crossing through Israel, in some cases crossing through the West Bank and
12:52going directly to the north. It's a significant improvement. Now, we also saw in the south
12:58initially an increase in the number of trucks in, but then barriers since the beginning of the
13:01Rafah operation. So what we judge by, Israel by, is now that we have somewhat stabilized,
13:06not by any chance gotten the north to where it needs to be, but at least stabilized the situation
13:10of where it was two months ago, how do we improve the situation in the south in the wake of the
13:17Rafah operation? The humanitarian pause is one step that we wanted to see them do to help improve
13:23that situation. There are others that we continue to work with them on. But Matt, aid groups say in
13:26the north it's gotten just as bad as it was before. So we have seen, so we don't have people on the
13:31ground to make an assessment. We will look to the groups that make assessments to tell us
13:36what the actual situation is, but you have seen a significant increase in assistance going into
13:41the north. When before that phone, hold on, just before that phone call, there wasn't, there wasn't
13:45a large amount of assistance that was going in. Everyone knows those stories very well.
13:49We have now seen assistance going in. Now, look, when we see reports from humanitarian groups,
13:54say the IPC that issues reports from time to time, we will take a look at those. And if there are
13:59things that need to change, we won't hesitate to be direct with Israel about how they need to make
14:03those changes. But we have seen an improvement in the aid situation going in in the north, and
14:08we've seen somewhat of a stagnation in the south, and that's what we want to see reversed.
14:11But that improvement in the steps didn't actually translate into results,
14:15because you just said that the distribution hasn't improved, and that has a lot to do,
14:19especially in the south, with the start of the RAFA operation. Okay, it's not the major,
14:23you guys don't call it the major military operation, but in the end, it basically
14:28obstructed the aid, the delivery of aid, and that was, that was an action taken by Israel.
14:33So the point I made, it's not just, it's not just the RAFA operation. There has also been
14:39attacks on trucks, attacks on humanitarian convoys coming in by common criminals and looters. That
14:46isn't a, that isn't an action taken by the Government of Israel, but it's something that
14:50we're looking to work with Israel and our UN partners and others to try to resolve and try
14:54to find an answer to. Okay, final thing on this. Is the U.S. Government actually going to give
15:01itself a certain time frame on when to deliver or make an assessment on what the President said
15:08on April the 4th? It is an ongoing assessment every day. Every day. Well, if there is an assessment,
15:15then there's got to be an action. No, it is every day we are looking at seeing if there are
15:20improvements being made, if there are actions that the Government of Israel is taking that
15:24are sufficient, and it is something that is ongoing. And I said this at the time, you shouldn't
15:28look for a magic date where we're going to look and go, okay, everything's fine now. We're going
15:32to look at this all the time and make sure that if assistance isn't going in at the
15:39level it needs to, that we push the Government of Israel to take action to let, to get humanitarian
15:44assistance in. If there are things that the UN agencies need to do to further resolve logistical
15:49hurdles, we want to work with them to try to resolve those logistical hurdles, because ultimately our
15:52goal is to get as much humanitarian assistance in as possible. I should say, however, that
15:57we've been going over this for months because of the inherent difficulty of delivering
16:03humanitarian assistance in the middle of a conflict. The best way to resolve this and to
16:09surge humanitarian assistance in and get through a number of these logistical hurdles and security
16:14hurdles would be a ceasefire. It's why we continue to push to try to get a ceasefire agreement,
16:19because all, not every one of these issues, but a number of these issues that are presented by
16:24trying to deliver aid in the middle of an ongoing conflict would be at least mitigated
16:31if not fully resolved. Yeah. You talked about the dissolution of the Israeli war cabinet,
16:38said this was an internal matter, but it's not an internal matter if it affects who is in the
16:44direct line of decision-making of the use of US military assistance and US weapons, particularly
16:50in relation to this war. And we know it seems very likely now that the ministers for national
16:55security and finance will be a far more significant part of that decision-making process.
17:00Does that concern you? We ultimately judge the decision that – decisions that
17:06the Government of Israel makes, as we do with other governments, on the policies – the policy
17:11outcomes those decisions produce, not on the people making them. That's true no matter who
17:15is in the government. It will continue to be true. But these are people you've repeatedly
17:18criticized for, I think, what you've called destabilizing rhetoric for, you know, effectively
17:22what are their values. One is a convicted supporter of terrorism, another is openly called for the
17:28ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. So if these people are now, you know, in a direct line of
17:32decision-making over the war in Gaza, surely that's a concern for you? So those are people
17:36who have always been in the cabinet, and we have made clear when they take actions that we disagree
17:41with. We've made that clear publicly, and I can tell you we've had some very direct conversations
17:45privately as well with the senior members of the Government of Israel about those policies that we
17:50think are unproductive not only to the plight of the Palestinian people, but to Israel's security.
17:57Ultimately, though, it is not for us to pass judgment on who ought to be in the Government
18:04of Israel or who ought to not be in the Government of Israel or into the cabinet. That's just not a
18:10decision for the United States to make. We don't – no, hold on. We don't decide who is in the
18:14cabinet of any other country. That is a decision for the people of Israel to make. Ultimately, what
18:20our job is is to interact with whatever government they choose and make clear what we think the
18:25policies they should pursue that are in their best interest and the best interest of the region,
18:29and we're going to do that whoever is in the government. Now, that said, when we see decisions
18:34that we – when we see decisions with which we disagree, we will not hesitate to make those
18:41disagreements known, and that has been true before the dissolution of the war cabinet,
18:47and it will continue to be true. But I mean, no one's asking you to decide who's in the cabinet,
18:52but you frequently have views on members of other governments, and this is one of your closest
18:57allies, so — Based on the policy decisions that they take, and so that's what I'm trying to
19:02speak to. When members of that government have made policy decisions that – with which we disagree,
19:08we speak out on those. And that will continue to be the case. That's – that was the case before
19:13the war cabinet. It was the case when the war cabinet decided things that we didn't
19:17agree with, and that's – that'll be our guiding principle going forward,
19:20no matter who is in the government, going one way or the other.
19:24QUESTION And do you have any policies or protocols on convicted
19:28terrorism supporters being in – a key part of the decision-making over
19:33a war being conducted by your ally in – using U.S. military assistance?
19:41MR PRICE Look, ultimately, we expect governments that receive U.S. military assistance to operate
19:47in line with international humanitarian law. That'll continue to be our expectation of
19:50Israel and everybody else. Go ahead. Michel.
19:53QUESTION I have a couple of questions. One on
19:56Amos Hochstein. Are there any new ideas or proposals that he's taking to the region
20:02during this visit?
20:03MR PRICE So as I said, and I think it was in response to Humera's question – it might
20:07have been Jenny, I apologize if so – I'm going to let the White House speak to Amos Hochstein's
20:12travel, just because he's a White House employee, and I don't typically speak to the travel and
20:16meetings of other – of employees of other agencies or other offices within the government from here.
20:20That said, ultimately, there is a diplomatic framework that we believe we can reach – we
20:28believe is reachable that would resolve this conflict without a full-on war. And I'm not
20:39going to get into the details of that from here, but it's something that we have been in discussions
20:43with the various parties with for some time, and it's something we're going to continue to push
20:49for. But it is something we believe will be much easier to achieve should we get a ceasefire,
20:56and you heard the President speak to that when he laid out the proposal that Israel had put forward,
20:59I think, over two weeks ago now, and that continues to be our assessment.
21:03QUESTION And one on Libya. Two Russian warships
21:08are visiting a military base in eastern Libya. Do you have any comment on that?
21:13MR PRICE Let me take that back and get you a comment.
21:15QUESTION And finally, on Sudan, any new updates on U.S. efforts to stop the war,
21:20and especially that the Secretary talked today to Saudi foreign minister?
21:25MR PRICE So I will say that, as you heard from us before, the war in Sudan
21:30is catastrophic. The humanitarian situation demands more regional and international attention
21:35and response. We are deeply alarmed by the reports of ongoing atrocities, including ethnic-based
21:41killings. We are demanding an end to the fighting in al-Fashr and that all parties protect civilians,
21:47as indicated by our work to pass a United – a UN Security Council resolution last week on June 13th.
21:53We continue to call on the SAF and the RSF to engage in direct negotiations to immediately
21:59end the fighting, to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law and human
22:03rights law, and to take immediate steps to improve humanitarian access to meet the emergency needs
22:08of civilians. And yes, the Secretary did have a conversation with the
22:11foreign minister of Saudi Arabia about this very thing earlier today. It's something that he has
22:16been discussing with the foreign minister going back months, as well as, of course,
22:20other leaders in the region. We continue to urge both parties to return to talks
22:27and find a way to resolve this situation, because we think there is ultimately no
22:33way to win this conflict militarily.
22:35Thank you.
22:36Brett, go ahead.
22:37Thanks, Matt. So one question first on administrative detention. So you've discussed
22:43how civilians shouldn't be held as leverage with regards to, of course, the Israeli hostages.
22:47Israel has held thousands of Palestinians in administrative detention for months
22:50with no trial or charge. Our colleagues at CNN and The New York Times, of course,
22:54recently reported on a prison camp where thousands were rounded up and allegedly abused,
22:59tied up, assaulted, stripped, but kept away from legal support, and the Red Cross.
23:04And of course, Israel has said they're moving away from that specific camp. But what's being
23:07done to ensure this kind of thing doesn't happen again? What consequences are there?
23:11And then what about this larger issue of detention, where thousands of Palestinians
23:15are just rounded up with apparent no legal or judicial accountability?
23:19So we have made clear to the Government of Israel on a number of occasions that they need to respect
23:24the human rights of Palestinians in both Gaza and in the West Bank, and that whenever anyone
23:30is detained, there needs to be full due process for those individuals, and they need to be treated
23:34in strict compliance with international humanitarian law.
23:37Okay. So will there be any sort of, like,
23:38material response to this specific camp beyond just, of course, this one's shutting down?
23:43I can't speak to this specific one. Ultimately, our expectation is that they
23:47ought to give people due process, and they ought to treat them with full respect for
23:53their human rights and in full accordance with international humanitarian law.
23:56And then on your mention of the West Bank parts, the Israeli newspaper reported recently
24:01on Israeli snipers killing seven innocent bystanders in the Jenin refugee camp, which
24:07is, of course, to say, not Gaza. The dead included two teenagers and reportedly the
24:11director of the government hospital surgical ward. So these are soldiers putting seven
24:17people into their lands, sniping them. They have the moment to see who these people are.
24:21It's in the West Bank. What's the explanation for this?
24:24So I can't give you an explanation. You should ask the government of Israel for an
24:27explanation. I would say that in any kind of incident like that, what ought to happen
24:33is that there ought to be an investigation. Israel ought to conduct an investigation of
24:36its IDF soldiers. The IDF ought to conduct the investigation of its INP. It ought to
24:39be the INP that conducts an investigation. If there is – if they find wrongdoing,
24:44there ought to be full accountability and full transparency.
24:47Have you – has the U.S. communicated with Israel on this issue at all?
24:50I'd have to check to see if we've raised a specific incident, but that is our broad
24:53expectation when it comes to any of these types of incidents.
24:55And then just one quick question on Ukraine. What exact – when exactly,
24:59sorry, was the ban on arms transfers to the Azov Brigade lifted?
25:03I'll have to come back and get to that. I know we've spoken to it before,
25:05but I don't have it at my fingertips.
25:07Okay. Thank you.
25:09Janne.
25:09Thank you, Matt.
25:10Janne.
25:11Regarding Russian President Putin's visit to North Korea today, Korea time,
25:17what are the United States concerns about the meeting between Putin and Kim Jong-un
25:25and their cooperation?
25:27So it's not just that these are concerns of the United States. We believe that deepening
25:31cooperation between Russia and the DPRK is something that should be of great concern
25:36to anyone that is interested in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,
25:40upholding the global nonproliferation regime, abiding by UN Security Council resolutions,
25:46and of course, supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom against Russia's
25:50invasion. We've seen – it's not just the United States. We've seen other countries
25:53express concern about this deepening security partnership. We have seen over the past few
25:58months the DPRK unlawfully transfer dozens of ballistic missiles and over 11,000 containers
26:05of munitions to aid Russia's war effort. We have seen those munitions show up on the battlefield
26:10in Ukraine, so we know that they are using DPRK ammunition to threaten Ukraine and kill Ukrainians.
26:18And so we will continue to make clear our concerns. We don't believe any country
26:24should support this deepening relationship, and we will continue to call for Russia to respect
26:29all UN Security Council resolutions with respect to nonproliferation, including ones that they
26:34voted for.
26:34One more quick – Commander of the U.S. and ROK Combined Forces Paul Lakamura,
26:42General Paul Lakamura, said that – he said put the brake on the South Korean Government
26:49loudspeaker broadcast against North Korea. Why should South Korea stop taking legitimate
26:58countermeasures against North Korea's trusty drone provocation?
27:04MR PRICE You know, I didn't see that comment. I would
27:06refer to the Pentagon just to speak to it in detail.
27:08QUESTION Thank you.
27:08MR PRICE All right.
27:09QUESTION Thank you. On North Korea and Russia, has the State Department observed any transfer
27:14of military intelligence from Russia to North Korea at this point, and is that still a concern?
27:19MR PRICE I don't have an assessment to offer on that from here.
27:21QUESTION And then can you say if the timing of this visit – right now Vladimir Putin's visit
27:24– is there any concern that he could be seeking more arms to break past the stalemate in Ukraine
27:30and launch another offensive?
27:31MR PRICE Oh, I think it is quite certain that he is continuing to look for arms to support his
27:35war against Ukraine. We have seen him get incredibly desperate over the past few months
27:41and look to Iran to re-bolster the military that he's – military equipment that he has lost in
27:47Ukraine, to look to North Korea to rearm himself. And so I'm quite certain that that is what he's
27:53up to. All I can say is that we will continue to work with our allies and partners to support
27:58Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression. If I – look, if I were judging
28:05partnerships, I would look to the leading democracies and leading economies of the
28:09world as a much more reliable partner than North Korea and Iran.
28:12QUESTION And last one, just Russia and China's
28:14interference in existing resolutions in the United Nations and also
28:19rejecting new limits on Pyongyang. Can you say if that has impacted the U.S. ability to monitor
28:27the exchange of weapons between Russia and North Korea at all?
28:30MR PRICE Certainly, it has had an impact. It's why we were disappointed that the
28:34Russians vetoed the ongoing monitoring mechanism that was in place several months ago.
28:38That said, we're going to continue to work with our allies and partners to monitor such
28:43proliferation and to try to – and to respond to it as effectively as possible.
28:48Jen.
28:48QUESTION Can I follow up on a question I asked you last week on Syria and Hoda Muthana?
28:51MR PRICE Yeah.
28:52QUESTION Why isn't the U.S. working to at least repatriate her son? I understand the court rulings
28:57around her citizenship, but at the time of his birth, my understanding is she was still
29:01a citizen, still a passport holder.
29:03MR PRICE So let me just say this. Repatriation usually is something that is
29:06reserved for U.S. citizens or the direct family members of U.S. citizens. We do sometimes resettle
29:14others who are non-U.S. citizens. It's something we've done with
29:17people from the detention camps in northeastern Syria.
29:21We encourage other countries to repatriate citizens and resettle citizens because ultimately
29:26we think it's important that we reduce the size of these detention camps. So I can't speak to this
29:35individual case. We can never – or rarely can speak to individual cases here from the podium,
29:38but I will say that repatriation has been a priority for us and will continue to be.
29:43QUESTION Can you say if there's any discussion
29:44about repatriating him or her? She has offered to stand trial here in the United States.
29:49She's expressed remorse.
29:50MR PRICE I just can't speak – for all the
29:52reasons I think you can imagine, I just can't speak to the details of this type of case publicly,
29:55but repatriation and resettlement is something that we continue to support. Now, that said,
29:59there are often a lot of times – lots of times very sticky issues that we have to work through
30:02to make it happen, but it is something that we continue to pursue.
30:06QUESTION And then on Evan Grishkovich, our understanding is this will be a closed trial.
30:10What is the U.S. comment on this? Are you concerned that this is going to be conducted in secrecy?
30:14MR PRICE So certainly, we have a concern about that.
30:17We are going to attempt to attend the trial. Don't know if that will be possible. We have
30:21continued to have consular access to Evan at times. We will try to attend the trial,
30:29as we try to attend the trial of any American citizens who are detained in Russia. But
30:34ultimately, I don't have an answer for you yet whether that's going to be possible. It will be
30:38a high priority for us to do so, because the safety and security of American citizens is our
30:44highest priority. Ultimately, we're going to try to bring him home and we're going to try to bring
30:48Paul Whelan home, and that continues to be our overriding goal, which is to get those two
30:51unlawfully detained Americans.
30:53QUESTION Do you know if he's been moved from Moscow yet?
30:56MR PRICE I don't. I don't. Yeah.
30:58QUESTION Thanks so much. A couple of follow-ups, starting from Evan. There were hopes in this
31:03building that the fact that they prolonged the pretrial detention for more than a year
31:08would open up some window for negotiation. Is that hope deflated?
31:13MR PRICE I'm just never going to make that
31:16kind of assessment from here. A few things I will say about the case. Number one, he should never
31:20have been arrested in the first place. Charges against him are completely bogus, as we have made
31:25clear, and we believe the Russian Government knows that they are completely bogus. That said,
31:30we are going to continue to try to bring him home. There was a significant offer that we put on the
31:34table for the return of both Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan several months ago, and we will
31:39continue to try to pursue their release, but I'm not going to get into the details of that from
31:43here.
31:43QUESTION But the fact that they went further to schedule the first trial,
31:46what does it say about how serious they are in terms of the possibility of that?
31:49MR PRICE I'm just not going to make that kind of assessment. He shouldn't have been released – he
31:54shouldn't have been arrested in the first place. That obviously was a very serious breach of
31:58international norms, and so everything that follows from that is just one more action piled
32:04on top of actions that shouldn't have taken. So all that said – shouldn't have been taken in
32:08the first place. All that said, we're going to continue to try to bring both Evan and Paul Whelan
32:13home.
32:13QUESTION I also can't help but ask about Asuka Maki, but tomorrow marks another month of her
32:19arrest. Any update on your – in terms of recognizing her detention as wrongful?
32:24MR PRICE I just don't have any update on a wrongful detention determination,
32:28but you heard the President say that she ought to be released, and that remains our position.
32:32QUESTION And she – he said that because he believes that it is wrongful.
32:34MR PRICE He said that because he believes she should be released.
32:36QUESTION And his Department of State does not recognize —
32:39MR PRICE We believe that she should be released. I can't get into a – I can't speak to a formal
32:43determination at this time, but we've been pretty clear about the status of her case and what we
32:46think about it.
32:47QUESTION Thank you. If I could go back to Oakley Saban on Swiss peace summit. I know you spoke
32:51about North Scholes previously, but what do you make of the fact that some of the countries,
32:5610 countries, including Brazil, South Africa, South Arabia, India, and others, did not sign
33:03the final communique which highlighted what you just said was about territorial integrity of
33:07Ukraine. In this stage of the war, third year of the war, you say that I am neutral when it comes
33:14to territorial integrity. How doable is that? MR PRICE So every country has to speak for itself
33:19and every country has to decide for itself. But if you look at the support that Ukraine got,
33:23you had over 90 countries that attended this peace summit. You had over 80 countries and
33:27international organizations that signed on to the final communique. We think both of those
33:31numbers represent a very significant show of support for Ukraine and for not just peace,
33:38but a just and lasting peace – something that we have always made clear is important.
33:43We're going to continue to work to make sure Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself now,
33:48but we are going to continue to work to try to secure a just and lasting peace,
33:51and we welcome the support from dozens and dozens of other countries around the world in that regard.
33:55QUESTION Thank you. A final topic for me,
33:57ahead of tomorrow's talks with NATO Secretary General, the only response to Russia's comments
34:01on – his initial comments that NATO is discussing bringing nuclear weapons
34:06into combat readiness. Is it going — MR PRICE So I would just – sorry,
34:09I would just say with respect to those comments from Russia, look, it is Russia that initiated
34:12this conflict. It is Russia that has escalated this conflict every step of the way – not NATO,
34:17not the United States. Yeah, go ahead in the back.
34:20QUESTION Thank you very much. Iraqi media reports
34:25that the security advisor to Prime Minister Sudani has been strongly critical of your
34:31nominee for ambassador, saying she is ignorant of Iraq's current situation, is interfering in
34:38Iraq's internal affairs, and is disrespectful toward its neighbors. What is your comment? As
34:46you know, Teresi, at the Senate just talked about militia roles, who they attack U.S.
34:54friends last weekend. Do you have a follow-up? MR PRICE I'm not going to respond specifically
35:00other than to say that the President has put forward a very capable, qualified nominee for
35:05ambassador to Iraq, and we urge a swift confirmation.
35:08And another question is, last week the G7 in its final communique strongly criticized Iran,
35:17including for its nuclear program, its support for Russia against Ukraine, its destabilizing
35:23activities in the Middle East, and its human rights violation. Many of the participants
35:30have never criticized Iran in such strong terms before. Do you see this as a
35:37violation of your view that you are right about what Iran is doing and how to respond?
35:44MR PRICE So we obviously welcome the G7 speaking with
35:49one united voice about the threat that Iran poses and the threat that its destabilizing
35:56activities pose. And yes, we have seen a growing agreement on that question internationally,
36:04not just with our G7 partners but with other countries around the world.
36:07Yeah, Al. QUESTION
36:09Can you say whether there have been – there has been any change in position or stance on
36:13weapons deliveries to Israel in the past week or since the beginning of Blinken's visit? There
36:21have been – you might have noticed some unsourced and unattributed news reports saying
36:25that they promised to release all restrictions. Blinken told Netanyahu that.
36:33MR PRICE Yeah, I did see those reports. So two things. Well, number one – no,
36:36I don't have any updates to give. But number two, just as a general matter,
36:41when you see reports in the Israeli media of things that the Secretary supposedly said in
36:47his meetings with Israeli Government, you should not always assume that those reports are
36:51entirely accurate. Yeah, go ahead. QUESTION
36:54Okay. Did you see the comments from China's president over the weekend
36:59claiming that various U.S. shows of support for Taiwan, including military exercises in the region
37:06and congressional delegations, relate to a general desire by the Biden administration for
37:15China to invade Taiwan? MR PRICE
37:17It's certainly not accurate. We have made clear, including directly to senior members of the
37:24Chinese Government, that our One China policy has not changed, it will not change, and we continue
37:29to urge calm and stability across the Taiwan Strait. QUESTION
37:33And one quick second one. A few minutes ago you described the persons or groups that have been
37:39attacking some of the aid trucks at some of the Gaza crossings as, I think, criminals and looters,
37:46for your words. Has there been any sort of internal discussions within the State Department
37:54about determining whether this is like an organized action against aid trucks or whether
38:02this is truly some sort of disorganized band of criminals? And if you have had those discussions,
38:08has the U.S. raised any of these concerns about aid trucks being attacked with the Israeli
38:12Government? MR PRICE
38:13So the answer to the second question, yes, we have raised it with the Israeli Government. It's been
38:18a topic of discussion with our UN partners as well. This isn't anything that's new. It's an
38:23issue that has kind of gone up and down over time. There have been times before where aid trucks were
38:28being attacked by criminals and then seeing – you've seen the aid diverted and sold on the black
38:33market. At times it's less of a problem, and it recently has been an issue again that has
38:38limited the distribution of some of the humanitarian assistance inside Gaza. So it
38:41is something that we have worked with not just Israel but with UN organizations as well. As to
38:49whether it's systemic, it's not something I can speak to.
38:51QUESTION Can I follow up on that?
38:53MR PRICE Yeah, yeah, go ahead.
38:54QUESTION The – now that the Rafah crossing is closed, aid workers now have to go through
39:00Kerem Shalom, but the Israelis are putting more restrictions on them. I'm just wondering what
39:06your message to the Israeli Government is about that.
39:09MR PRICE So two things. First of all, that we need to reopen Rafah crossing,
39:12and that's something we've been working on with the Government of Israel and the Government of
39:15Egypt to try to find a way to safely reopen Rafah crossing in a way that can allow humanitarian
39:21workers to leave in the way that they were doing before the crossing was closed and in a way that
39:27would allow humanitarian assistance to come in. So that is ultimately our goal is to try to get
39:31Rafah back open. In the meantime, yes, we have worked to try to facilitate the rotation of
39:36humanitarian workers through Kerem Shalom, so aid workers that are in Gaza for some period of time
39:43that need to come out to rest, to see their families and be replaced by others so that can
39:47happen. There has been some rotation of aid workers through Kerem Shalom, and we continue to try to
39:52work to get additional rotations, because it's important that humanitarian workers both be able
39:57to go in and be able to come out so they can do their jobs. It is vital, lifesaving work that
40:03they need to do, and it's something we continue to work through with the Government of Israel.
40:06QUESTION They say the Israelis are making them stay longer, though, which makes it hard to
40:12find people to do it. Is there specific reasons that the Israelis are giving you about that?
40:16MR PRICE I can't – I just can't get into that level of detail from here. I can tell you that
40:20it's something Elise Grande, our Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues, has been focused
40:25on, of how to get humanitarian workers in, get enough of them in, and get them out to rest,
40:30as I said. How long they stay is not something that – it's not a level of detail I can get into,
40:37but I know it's been a high priority and something that she interfaces with the aid organizations
40:41directly on and then with the Israeli Government to try to solve. Ultimately, as I said, the
40:46solution needs to be to get Rafa back open, but in the interim, doing nothing is not a sufficient
40:52outcome either. QUESTION Thank you.
40:54MR PRICE Yeah, go ahead.
40:55QUESTION Thank you so much. At the very 11th hour, the United States and Saudi Arabia are
41:00very close for a defense deal. There are reports, unconfirmed reports, that Saudi Arabia is not
41:05going to renew petrodollar deal with United States. So any confirmation by U.S. side?
41:10MR PRICE That Saudi Arabia is not going to what?
41:11QUESTION Petrodollar agreement that took place 50 years back.
41:14MR PRICE I'm just not going to speak to those reports at all.
41:16So secondly, United States House Foreign Affairs Committee concluded brief hearings
41:21on U.S. prisoners that are detained on foreign soils. Now some lawmakers are suggesting sanctions
41:28against Pakistan with the context of U.S. citizens in Pakistan, those who are supporting Imran Khan's
41:33PTI party specifically. So in this context, there are also reports that United States asked Pakistan
41:41to remove the name of a U.S. citizen, Khadija Shah, from the exit control list. So how seriously
41:51United States is taking this matter? MR PRICE Let me take that question and get
41:55you a detailed answer to it. Tom.
41:57QUESTION On the Ukraine, the GCC is reporting today about these so-called conscription squads
42:02and some reportedly developing a bit of a fearsome reputation for pulling people off buses and trains
42:08and taking them to enlistment centers. And the reporting reflects, I think it's fair to say,
42:12some divisions within Ukrainian society about this new conscription drive. And I was just
42:17interested on the wider issue about are you concerned about the issue of enlistment
42:22and what it says more broadly about the issue of manpower at the front?
42:26MR PRICE So the Secretary did speak to this when we were in Ukraine. I know you were
42:31with us and saw his speech that Ukraine did take a very difficult decision to
42:36increase conscription so they had sufficient manpower to fight the Russian military. And
42:44we know that was a difficult decision. We recognize all the reasons why it always is
42:48in any country. Ultimately, that is a decision that the Ukrainian Government,
42:53the elected Ukrainian Government, has to make on behalf of its people.
42:57The only thing I would say about it is that you have consistently seen people
43:04underestimate both the ability and the willingness – mostly the ability – of the Ukrainian people
43:09to fight and defend their homeland since before this war even began. And every time people have
43:14had those doubts, they've seen the Ukrainians put those doubts to rest, and we fully expect
43:19that to be the case going forward. Yeah. QUESTION Thank you, Matthew.
43:23I have a question about Europe. Are there any concern from the State Department about
43:30the populist wave that won the European election in terms of help towards Ukraine
43:40for the future? And the second question would be that Italy won a lot of consents
43:47for the European Parliament, so it's kind of leading also after the G7. So what – like,
43:51a state like Italy can do more to support the United States in foreign policy looking at Gaza
43:58and China. Please. MR PRICE So with respect to the first question,
44:02everyone in the room is going to roll their eyes when I say that – say this, but we're not going
44:05to comment on elections in Europe or anywhere else. But that said, we have been heartened that
44:12one of the things we have seen over the past two years is a wide range of governments in Europe
44:17from across the political spectrum, sometimes even after elections that resulted in a change
44:21of government, continue to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia, and we expect that
44:26to continue. Look, obviously elections have consequences and elections have results, but
44:30when we have seen changes in government in Europe, we have sometimes, to the surprise to some of the
44:38kind of political prognosticators, seen these countries continue to support Ukraine despite
44:43expectations to the contrary. And we believe that will continue because we believe the vast
44:47majority of Europeans recognize the threat that unchecked Russian aggression represents to all
44:53of European security. And then with respect to your second question, Italy has been an
44:58extraordinarily – extraordinary partner for the United States. They were a great host for the G7.
45:03You heard the President speak to that directly when he was there, and we look forward to continuing
45:07to work with them on all of these issues. QUESTION And anything else that can be
45:10improved in foreign policy to support the United States or Gaza or China,
45:16since Italy is now – is going to be leading in the European parliament?
45:19MR PRICE So I'll just say we will continue to work with them to advance our shared concerns
45:22on all of those issues. QUESTION Thank you.
45:23MR PRICE Yeah, go ahead.
45:24QUESTION Thanks. Just one other question on what you said earlier related to the issues of aid
45:30access and one issue being, of course, connection to folks on the ground in the north.
45:34MR PRICE What in the north?
45:36QUESTION Oh, folks on the ground in the north in terms of aid distribution. Of course,
45:41one pivotal group that's operated there is, of course, UNRWA, a group that has had issues from
45:46the Israeli Government in accessing and operating there, and one in which, of course, the U.S. has
45:50also withdrawn funding. So I'm wondering, have you interfaced with the Government of Israel on
45:54specifically UNRWA's ability to access and operate? And then secondarily, what is the future of U.S.
46:00support for UNRWA? I know it's been months of this ongoing open investigation.
46:04MR PRICE So with respect to the first question, yes, it's something that we have communicated
46:09directly with the Israeli Government, and we have made clear that UNRWA plays a vital role
46:13in the distribution of humanitarian assistance in Gaza, and that work should not be in any way
46:20obstructed because they are, in many cases, the only means of delivering humanitarian assistance
46:26to the Palestinian people. And we've seen them continue to do that despite the controversy
46:30around UNRWA, despite some of the rhetoric you hear out of the Israeli Government.
46:34UNRWA has continued to play that role over the eight months of this conflict.
46:37Second, with respect to the U.S. posture, there's a law that passed by Congress,
46:40and so we are now restricted from providing direct budget support from – to UNRWA. We don't
46:47have the ability to. That said, the investigation that the UN has conducted – you saw one of them
46:52that finished. There's another investigation that is ongoing. We wait to see the results of that.
46:55But ultimately, we have to follow the law that's passed by the Congress,
46:59and the law right now says that we cannot provide any direct budget support to UNRWA.
47:03So go ahead, and then we'll do – then we'll wrap up here.
47:06What happened between China and Philippines in the South China Sea?
47:10I think according to the Chinese Coast Guard, Philippine supply ship
47:15approached the Chinese ship, resulting in a collusion. Do you have any reaction for that,
47:21what happened?
47:21Yeah, a few things about that. Number one, as you have heard us say before, we stand by
47:25our Philippine allies and commend the escalatory and irresponsible actions by the PRC to deny the
47:32Philippines from executing a lawful maritime operation in the South China Sea to deliver
47:37supplies to service members that are stationed at the Sierra Madre. The PRC vessel's dangerous
47:44and deliberate use of water cannons, ramming, blocking maneuvers, and towing damaged Philippine
47:49vessels endanger the lives of Philippine service members. It's reckless and it threatens regional
47:55peace and stability. And finally, the – this escalatory incident is the latest in a series
48:00of provocations by the PRC to impede critically needed supplies from reaching service members
48:06stationed at the Sierra Madre, and those actions reflect consistent disregard for the safety of
48:11Filipino lives and for international law in the South China Sea. And with that,
48:15I think we'll wrap for today. Thanks, everyone.