State Dept Spox Grilled: Are You Working With Germany To Find A Solution To Israel-Hamas War?

3 months ago

During a press briefing on Tuesday, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel answered reporter questions on Germany's work to find a diplomatic solution to the Israel-Hamas war.

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Transcript

00:00Go ahead.

00:01I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind.

00:04First, is the U.S. coordinating with Germany in its efforts to find a diplomatic solution

00:10for the war between Israel and Hezbollah, and are you aware of a visit that a German

00:17intelligence official made to Beirut and met with Hezbollah officials?

00:21So I would just – I would let the Government of Germany speak to their own efforts in the

00:27region.

00:28My understanding is that Germany is one of our closest partners in a number of areas,

00:32not just when it comes to the Middle East, but also Ukraine as well, and I have no doubt

00:36that they are eager to play a positive and contributive role in addressing this conflict

00:43and not just finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Gaza, but also ensuring

00:50that there is calm along the blue line as well.

00:53But I will let them speak to their own efforts.

00:57On Syria and Turkey, do you have any comments on the clashes between Turks and Syrians

01:03inside Turkey and in northern Syria that killed seven people yesterday?

01:08We have urged our partners in the Government of Turkey to coordinate with both Iraqi and

01:15Kurdistan Region of Iraq authorities on any cross-border military operations to protect

01:21civilians from harm.

01:22We certainly recognize the ongoing threat posed by the PKK, but we also urge the Turkish

01:27Government to respect Iraqi sovereignty and to coordinate these kinds of military operations.

01:31But the clashes weren't about the PKK because Syrians in Turkey got attacked by Turks, and

01:40they demonstrated yesterday in northern Syria and attacked Turkish troops who are based

01:47in northern Syria.

01:49I'm happy to look a little bit more specifically into this incident, Michel, but I would just

01:55say unequivocally that in any kind of activity or operation, that efforts need to be made

02:00to protect civilians from harm.

02:03Do you support a meeting or a reconciliation between Syria and Turkey, especially that

02:09officials from the two countries will meet soon in Iraq?

02:14So I've seen those reports, Michel, and our position has been clear.

02:19We will not normalize relations with the Assad regime absent authentic progress toward a

02:24political solution to the underlying conflict.

02:27We've been clear with regional partners, including Turkey, that engaging with the Syrian regime,

02:33that credible steps to improve the humanitarian condition, human rights, and the security

02:39situation for all Syrians needs to be at the focus for these kinds of engagements.

02:43And we've also stressed with regional partners that the Syrian regime needs to cooperate

02:49in the political process that is laid out in UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

02:54My last question.

02:55Yeah.

02:56Iran is expediting its nuclear program, and they are more open now about declaring that

03:02they need the nuclear bomb based on the last round of missiles with Israel.

03:09What's your comment on that?

03:10So since the onset of this administration, President Biden and Secretary Blinken have

03:16been clear that Iran will not be able to obtain a nuclear weapon, and so that continues to

03:25be our goal and focus.

03:26I don't have any updates to offer beyond that.

03:29Sean.

03:30Sure.

03:31Switch topics.

State Dept Spox Grilled: Are You Working With Germany To Find A Solution To Israel-Hamas War?

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