On Wednesday, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller held a press briefing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Let me start with a couple things at the top.
00:17Secretary Blinken spoke earlier today with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
00:21Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani to discuss the latest developments in ongoing
00:26negotiations to reach a ceasefire deal to the war in Gaza.
00:30The Secretary and Prime Minister discussed the remaining issues on the table and practical
00:34solutions to bridge the differences between the parties.
00:37The Secretary reiterated that the U.S. continues to see a deal as critical to bringing the
00:42hostages home and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people, and that we stand
00:47ready to work to ensure that the deal turns into an end to the war and lasting peace and
00:52stability for the region.
00:54And then on a scheduling note, the Secretary will now depart tomorrow for Asia instead
00:58of tonight, as we had originally planned, so he can attend the meeting between the President
01:03and Prime Minister Netanyahu tomorrow here in Washington.
01:06We have to accommodate that, reorder the schedule a little bit.
01:09He's now going to travel to Laos first and then on to Vietnam, but otherwise the trip
01:13will follow the same schedule that we previously announced.
01:17And with that, happy to take questions.
01:20Said.
01:22Could you explain when there's going to be a meeting with the Prime Minister?
01:27Between the President and the Prime Minister?
01:28No, no.
01:29We know the President and the Prime Minister is going to meet them on Thursday.
01:31Tomorrow, yeah.
01:32But there's going to be a meeting with the Secretary of State?
01:35The Secretary's going to attend the meeting between – attend the meeting between the
01:38President and Prime Minister.
01:39Okay.
01:40Not a separate meeting?
01:41Not a separate meeting, no, no.
01:42Okay.
01:43He had always planned to attend that meeting, but earlier – that meeting was previously
01:46scheduled for earlier in the week.
01:47Then, as you know, the President had COVID, so we changed the schedule, so now it's
01:50going to be tomorrow.
01:51All right.
01:52Let me start with where you began at the very top on – that he spoke with the Qatari foreign
01:59minister and so on.
02:00So there's still the outlook or there's still – there are signs that – a bit hopeful,
02:07right, that we might have something or a deal arrived at maybe in the next few days?
02:13Because we know come next month the Knesset is going to go on holiday.
02:18We will enter the election seasons here and so on.
02:22So give us your assessment of how the talks are going and what might be the glitches.
02:29What are the optics?
02:31So first of all, I'm not going to put a timetable on a table, which I know you didn't
02:35ask for, but you referred to a timetable in the premise, so I want to say that.
02:40I think that we remain optimistic, but at the same time realistic, which is something
02:44you've heard me say before.
02:46It is important that we have reached a framework agreement and that the two parties, Israel
02:50and Hamas, have agreed to the framework that the President outlined publicly some six,
02:55seven weeks ago.
02:56That was a critical step and a critical thing to get agreed, but of course, that's not
03:03a full agreement.
03:04There are still a number of issues that we need to work through, and we are working through
03:07those issues.
03:08Obviously, the negotiators themselves are discussing them.
03:11The Secretary discussed a number of them today with the Prime Minister of Qatar, who
03:15of course is one of the prime mediators of the deal, and we continue to work through
03:21and try to make progress on all of those issues.
03:23We want to see a ceasefire as soon as possible because it is the best way to alleviate the
03:29suffering of the Palestinian people, to get the hostages home, and ultimately bring an
03:32end to this war.
03:33So, I mean, in a couple of hours, in fact, in less than an hour, the Prime Minister will
03:39be speaking before Congress, one of the most important places on Earth.
03:44Do you think that he can – I mean, your assessment, will he take such an opportunity
03:48to say, okay, I am announcing that we agree to these terms and so on, whatever caveats
03:52you might have?
03:53I do not know what the Prime Minister will say in his speech.
03:56Okay.
03:57All right.
03:58So in the meantime, Matt, the UN says that 150,000 Palestinians flee the new assault
04:06on Khan Yunis.
04:08I mean, this is – it is almost like the twilight zone.
04:11We see these people moving from place to place and so on.
04:13I do not want to – it is somewhat apocalyptic, as a matter of fact.
04:17So how long should this go on?
04:19I mean, suppose we do not arrive at a deal.
04:21What is the vision beyond the deal, if there is no deal?
04:26We do not want to see the horrific suffering that is happening in Gaza go on another single
04:31day.
04:32Right.
04:33We want a ceasefire now.
04:34We want it as soon as possible.
04:36We want to see one reached between the two parties.
04:38And that is why we have been pushing for that for some time, and not just pushing but doing
04:43the hard work of negotiating.
04:45And when roadblocks and obstacles come up, trying to develop practical ways to overcome
04:51those obstacles and present solutions to the two parties to meet Israel's legitimate
04:56security needs and also ensure that Palestinian civilians are protected and they get the food
05:02and water and care that they need.
05:05When you look at the additional evacuations that have happened over the past week or so,
05:10it's heartbreaking to think of what those families are having to go through, to see
05:13children picking up and having to move for maybe the second time, maybe the third, fourth,
05:19fifth time, and to move from one place that hasn't been safe to other places that might
05:23not be safe.
05:26The suffering is unspeakable, what people in Gaza have been through.
05:30And that is why we continue to push so hard to get a ceasefire.
05:35I know this issue has been raised time and again on the issue of UNRWA, but the Knesset
05:39advanced legislation that would designate UNRWA as a terrorist organization.
05:47Now UNRWA has been responsible for Palestinian refugees for a very long time, since 1950
05:53or 49.
05:54So do you envision an alternative to UNRWA?
05:59How will schools be run?
06:01How will clinics be run?
06:02And so on.
06:03Let me say a few things about this.
06:04First, UNRWA is not a terrorist organization.
06:07And we urge the Israeli government and the Knesset to halt the movement of this legislation.
06:12We have been clear about the important role that UNRWA plays in delivering humanitarian
06:17assistance and other critical assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and throughout the region,
06:24not just in Gaza.
06:29I think you know the United States provides a majority of the funding for humanitarian
06:35efforts in Gaza through the UN.
06:37We expect to continue to do so.
06:38As you know, we are currently barred by statute from providing assistance through UNRWA.
06:43But that doesn't mean we don't support the work that they do, and we don't support other
06:46ways to get humanitarian assistance.
06:48So I would say, and you've heard us say this before, that the attacks that the Israeli
06:53government has leveled on UNRWA are incredibly unhelpful.
06:57They do nothing to advance the cause of getting humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.
07:03So we're going to continue to support the work that UNRWA does in the region while also
07:08recognizing the need for reform, something that you have heard UNRWA and the UN also
07:11speak to.
07:13One last thing.
07:15If you could comment on – there's a – about UAE hosting a secret meeting with Israel
07:22and the U.S. for the day after.
07:24Could you –
07:26Said, I think you were sitting right there when I commented on this yesterday.
07:28Yes, I know.
07:29But there's – I understand.
07:30But is there anything –
07:31No, there's nothing – there's nothing I have that I would add that goes further
07:36than what I said yesterday, which is, yes, there was a meeting last week that Tom Sullivan,
07:41the counselor to the State Department, attended in the UAE.
07:45We were discussing a number of – they were discussing a number of the measures that we
07:50want to have in place to implement the various provisions of a ceasefire and to set the conditions
07:56for the day after the conflict.
07:59And it's part of a number of meetings that we have held and discussions that we've
08:02held that the Secretary kicked off in January and that the Secretary and others in the department
08:06have been leading for the past several months, primarily focused on security, governance,
08:12reconstruction.
08:13But of course, as to the particulars of what was discussed, we will keep that private.
08:17So would you –
08:18It's quite delicate.
08:19Would you encourage, like, a UAE or an Arab peacekeeping force?
08:23So I'm not going to get into publicly exactly the discussions that we are having with our
08:30partners about how to best establish security on the ground in Gaza.
08:35Obviously, security is critical.
08:37You've heard the Secretary speak to this a number of times.
08:39In the absence of security on the ground in Gaza, you will see the reemergence of Hamas.
08:47And so it is critical – unless you're going to have IDF occupation, which is something
08:53that we reject, something the international community rejects, and something Israel says
08:57it doesn't want to do.
08:59So it's critical to develop a security solution for Gaza.
09:04We're working with our partners in the region.
09:06We have made progress on it, but I don't want to speak to the details of that publicly.
09:11Yeah, Simon.
09:12Just a couple of things to follow up on from Said's questions.
09:16On UNRWA, didn't you announce a ban of – before this congressional action, you announced that
09:24the administration would no longer be funding UNRWA, and as far as I know, never lifted
09:27that.
09:28We announced a suspension of funding to UNRWA pending the investigation that UNRWA launched.
09:35That investigation is still going.
09:36But in the interim, before the time that investigation was finished, Congress enacted a ban.
09:42So your pausing of aid basically precipitated this – like, it seemed to precipitate a
09:50situation where everybody pulled funding from UNRWA, and now you're sort of criticizing
09:54other people for cutting off UNRWA or criticizing the Israelis for cutting off UNRWA.
10:00Does that make sense?
10:01That's not – that is not what I criticized Israel for.
10:02I criticized Israel for – or I criticized the verbal attacks and threatening rhetoric
10:07and advancing legislation, calling them a terrorist organization, which we do not agree
10:11with.
10:12But we've always made clear that other countries have to make their own decisions about funding,
10:14and we've seen other countries restore funding.
10:18We just simply don't have the flexibility to make that decision because of the action
10:23that Congress took.
10:24But the investigation and therefore the decision of this department on whether funding should
10:30go to UNRWA from the U.S. is still up in the air.
10:33Is there any expectation of when that will be finished?
10:36No, it is a – because it's a UN investigation.
10:40It's not something that we are conducting, so it's not something that we can put a
10:42timetable on.
10:43They've had two investigations ongoing.
10:45One of them finished.
10:46One has not.
10:47But just to go back to the decision we made, we made a decision to suspend funding to UNRWA
10:52after there were allegations made about UNRWA employees having been involved in October
10:577th that UNRWA told us they found credible.
10:59And so when you had UNRWA telling us they found credible, we thought that was an appropriate
11:03step to do, to suspend funding, to fund humanitarian assistance through the – to the Palestinian
11:08people through other mechanisms while that investigation proceeded.
11:12That investigation is still ongoing.
11:13Now, in the meantime, as I said, Congress came in and enacted this statutory restriction
11:18that bars us from funding UNRWA.
11:20But all the humanitarian assistance money that we would have provided to Palestinians
11:25through UNRWA, we are providing through other mechanisms, chiefly at the UN and then through
11:29other nongovernmental organizations.
11:32Right.
11:33And also, just on the question of the day-after talks that Said mentioned involving the UAE,
11:40some mention in The Washington Post reporting on that of the U.S. playing a coordinating
11:45role with this international force that would – being responsible for securing Gaza would
11:53be invited in by the PA.
11:54These are obviously details I'm not sure if you'll get into, but I wonder if you could
11:59sort of address the possibility of the U.S. playing that kind of coordinating role and
12:04separately whether U.S. security contractors could also be involved in that.
12:09I just don't want to get into any of the details at all.
12:12I think it's not appropriate at this time.
12:14One more slightly separate thing.
12:17Just on the trip planning that you mentioned, I wonder, now that you're basically – the
12:24Secretary has decided to stay for an extra day to attend the Netanyahu meeting.
12:30I wonder what the message to ASEAN and to that region, to Southeast Asia, is that you're
12:35also – that means it was announced yesterday that you would be at – that he would be
12:40– or, sorry, earlier in the week that he would be attending the funeral of the Vietnamese
12:45former leader.
12:46Now, we're not going to attend that funeral.
12:49It seems like the participation at ASEAN is much shorter than was previously planned.
12:55This is all happening because the prime minister of Israel has decided to come to the U.S.
13:00How do you square that with sort of trying to tell Asian allies, partners in the region,
13:05Southeast Asia – this is obviously a really important region – that the U.S. is sort
13:09of all in on your region, but when a crisis happens in the Middle East, this is a meeting
13:16that's run by the president.
13:18Does the Secretary of State really need to be there?
13:20So I think our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific understand a few things.
13:24Number one, that this is the Secretary's 18th trip to the region.
13:27It was his first trip as Secretary, continues to be a major priority for us, and we show
13:32that not just by our words but by the amount of time he spent in the region.
13:37And as I said, it's his 18th trip.
13:38I think they understand that he will be visiting all of the countries that we announced that
13:44he's visiting.
13:45He will still travel to Laos, to Vietnam, to Japan, to Singapore, to the Philippines,
13:50to Mongolia.
13:51And I think that demonstrates our commitment, as do the investments that we've made in
13:57the region, as do the partnerships that we have announced in the region.
14:01I think people understand that there was a meeting he had planned to attend, and the
14:05timing of the meeting got shifted due to something that's – could not be foreseen.
14:09That's the president getting COVID.
14:11And I think they understand that that happens.
14:14It happens to a number of foreign leaders where there are unforeseen events at home
14:18that mandate a slight shift in the schedule, but we will still be there attending the meetings
14:24that we intended to and still traveling to Vietnam to pay our respects – not on the
14:28day of the funeral, but the day after – to meet with senior government officials, and
14:31I think our allies and partners quite – I think certainly understand the importance
14:37we place on the region and understand that we have the ability to do more than one thing
14:40at a time.
14:41QUESTION.
14:42Yeah, sure.
14:43I think the – obviously, the Secretary's travel has been to the region a lot, but the
14:46President did miss the ASEAN Leaders' Summit last year.
14:49That will also be in November this year.
14:53Is there – do you have anything you can tell us on how the U.S. will be represented
14:57at that one?
14:58Obviously, ministerial this week, but the Leaders' Summit last week.
15:01MR.
15:02HARFSTEIN.
15:03The summit?
15:04No, I can't.
15:05I would let the White House speak to the President's participation.
15:06Obviously, that's still, I think, a couple of months away.
15:08But as I said, the overall presence of the U.S. in the region – I think if you look
15:13at what we said at the outset of this administration, how we plan to make a major investment of
15:18time, of resources, of energy and capacity in the Indo-Pacific, we have borne that out
15:23through our actions the past three and a half years, and we intend to continue to do that
15:26for the next six months.
15:27Yeah.
15:28QUESTION.
15:29Thanks, Matt.
15:30We've been talking about UNRWA, and America has very – it doesn't have anybody on
15:37the ground in Gaza.
15:38I just wondered if you had any comment about the rising cases of polio, a disease that's
15:42virtually almost eradicated from the rest of the world, rising in Gaza, and also hepatitis
15:49A. Is there any – we've seen American doctors have gone in there to volunteer.
15:57We've obviously got lots of aid organizations.
15:59Is there anything else that the United States can do to assist with reducing the risk of
16:07disease rising over the next months?
16:08Yeah.
16:09It seems like it's hanging a lot on, like, waiting for the ceasefire deal, but —
16:13So obviously, a ceasefire deal would go a long way towards alleviating suffering because
16:19it would make it much easier to get humanitarian assistance in, get it moving around Gaza,
16:23make it much easier for people to move around Gaza free from the threat of harm.
16:28But we have not been waiting for a ceasefire deal to try to address the spread of infectious
16:32disease and to address the potential spread of infectious disease before we even saw these
16:37results.
16:38Our coordinator for Middle East humanitarian issues, Lise Grand, has been incredibly focused
16:43on this.
16:44She has worked to try and get disinfectant products and cleaning products and vaccinations
16:49– vaccination supplies into Gaza.
16:54There has been, as you might imagine, right, a decrease in vaccinations since October 7th.
16:59You imagine how hard it is when people are not in their homes and are not going to school,
17:03how hard it is to continue with a vaccination program.
17:05So we have been working to try to get more vaccines for polio and other diseases into
17:10Gaza as well as working on just basic sanitary supplies to try to deal with the very unsafe
17:20conditions that people are living in.
17:22So there is a lot of work that we have been doing with the UN, something that the Secretary
17:27discussed with Sigrid Kog when they spoke two days ago.
17:31So no, we have not been waiting for a ceasefire.
17:33Obviously, a ceasefire helps alleviate – helps make easier all of the problems that are plaguing
17:37Gaza right now, but we have been working on addressing – on addressing the risk for
17:43potential disease for some time even before we saw these reports.
17:46And presumably those supplies are suffering from the same problems of not being able to
17:50move around inside Gaza.
17:52Yeah, everything suffers from the same kind of threats to lawlessness that make it very
17:57difficult to move convoys from Kerem Shalom into the – to places in southern Gaza or
18:05other – moving around northern Gaza.
18:07And now with the pier being out of operation, is that – are airdrops continuing at all
18:12with the U.S., or is that –
18:13I'm not aware of any, but I would defer to the Pentagon to speak to that.
18:17Yeah.
18:18Janne.
18:19Thank you, Matt.
18:20Two questions.
18:22American families victimized by Hamas by the lawsuit in U.S. federal court demanding $1
18:33billion in compensation from North Korea.
18:38The argument is that this is because the weapons used by Hamas were provided by North Korea.
18:48What is your assessment on that?
18:51Is there any reaction from North Korea on this?
18:55So as is the case, whenever I get asked about litigation matters, I'm going to defer to
19:01my colleagues at the Department of Justice to speak to that.
19:05And another one.
19:06Following the Russian vice minister of defense visit to North Korea recently, the Belarus
19:14foreign minister visited North Korea yesterday.
19:19They discussed military cooperation and arms trade.
19:25What effect do you think this will have on the war in Ukraine?
19:31So I don't have an assessment with respect to this particular visit, but as you know,
19:35we've been incredibly concerned about deepening security cooperation between Russia and North
19:40Korea.
19:41And if we saw weapons flowing from North Korea to any other country or from any other country
19:46to North Korea, that's something we would also be equally concerned about.
19:50Also, China can mediate two peace talks between Russia and Ukraine because Wang Yi, the Chinese
20:03foreign minister, invited and trained foreign ministers yesterday.
20:09So how do you see this?
20:11Yeah, so I saw the statement that the Chinese foreign ministry put out about those talks
20:16with Foreign Minister Kuleba, and I also saw the statement that the Ukrainian foreign ministry
20:21put out about it, which said that nothing has changed in their position, that they have
20:26always been ready for negotiations, they have always been ready for negotiations to reach
20:31a just and lasting peace, but that Vladimir Putin to date has shown no change to his war
20:38frames and has shown no real willingness for negotiations.
20:41So our take on this continues to be what it has been for some time, which is that when
20:46it comes to diplomacy, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.
20:50Alex.
20:51Thank you, Matt.
20:52Staying on the topic, the Russian drones reportedly fell on Romanian territory last night as they
20:57were – they say they were attacking Odessa.
21:01Romania had to fly F-16s in response.
21:03How much do you know about it and what's your response?
21:06So my understanding is that the Government of Romania is conducting an investigation
21:09into this matter.
21:10We have full confidence in that investigation into the explosion near their border with
21:16Ukraine, and we commend them for the professional and deliberate manner in which they are conducting
21:21it.
21:22We will continue to assess and share any new information as it becomes available to us.
21:27So are you guys involved in the assessment process?
21:29No, it's not an investigation being conducted by us.
21:31It's an investigation being conducted by Romanian authorities.
21:33Obviously, it's on their soil.
21:35And if they asked us for any cooperation, of course, we would be willing to do that,
21:39but it's an investigation being carried out by them.
21:42Moving to Iran, yesterday marked 90 days since the Mahsa Act became the law of the land.
21:47You guys were supposed to provide us a report, unclassified report, determining those who
21:52were supposed to be sanctioned in Iranian leadership.
21:56As far as we know, there hasn't been any determination.
21:59Is there any – an update?
22:00Let me take that back and get you an answer.
22:03On Georgia, we heard from State Department officials yesterday on the Hill.
22:07They were talking about some measures that they are planning to take.
22:11But they also said that it remains – I'm quoting – it remains a hope that Georgian
22:14leadership will reconsider their actions, sentiment that I also heard from this podium
22:19a couple of weeks ago.
22:20But we're talking about same regime that is like galloping away from the European values.
22:24They talk about even – they're waiting you out, according to their latest statements.
22:31And they're talking about Trump administration will come in and everything will become bright
22:35for us.
22:36They are blacklisting Georgians fighting in Ukraine.
22:39What gives you hope that they are open to reconsidering their position?
22:44So if you've looked at the actions that we've taken, we have made clear that we
22:49are going to judge the Georgian Government based on their policies, and that our policies
22:54will depend on the actions that they take.
22:56And so you saw the Secretary announce a review of our relationship with Georgia.
23:02You saw him oppose initial restrictions, initial sanctions on officials in Georgia.
23:06That review with Georgia continues.
23:07Now, we are always hopeful that any country that starts to backslide on a path towards
23:15– backslide on democratic measures or backslides on European-Atlantic integration, we're
23:22always hopeful that they will change course, especially when you see the people of that
23:25country saying that they want to change course.
23:28But at the same time that we hope that they will make a change, we develop our policies
23:33around the very real contingency that they might not, and that's what you've seen
23:37us doing.
23:38And speaking of the actions that you have taken so far, is there any consideration in
23:41this building to shift the strategy in terms of naming the names?
23:45You know, you did come up with sanctions, but Georgian people also saw that you did
23:49host their foreign minister here, you hosted their spy chief here.
23:52Some police officers who actually were involved in the cracking down on opposition leaders,
23:56they were actually part of the 4th of July event in Tbilisi.
23:59So maybe – is there any consideration to shift that policy?
24:03To naming names from the visa restrictions that we have imposed, for example?
24:06We're – it's not a question of strategy, it's a question of law, and we are by law
24:09not allowed to name – to release the names of people on whom we've imposed visa restrictions.
24:13You did name four prosecutors last year when they –
24:17It depends on what you're talking about.
24:19The recent restrictions that we have imposed have been visa restrictions, and under United
24:23States law, we are not allowed to name those people on whom we've imposed those restrictions.
24:28Is it fair for us to expect a second charge soon?
24:31I don't have – as always, I don't have any announcements about any measures before
24:34we impose them.
24:35Did you name an Israeli guy in the visa restrictions?
24:37We did, and if you look back at the – I discussed this extensively the day that we
24:42announced that.
24:43It was because that individual was sanctioned under a different law.
24:46He was sanctioned under the law under the State Department Authorization – or I think
24:51State Department Appropriations Act, which allows us to name individuals.
24:56But when we sanction people, when we impose visa restrictions under the authority given
24:59to us under the Immigration and Nationality Act, we are required to keep those names confidential.
25:05So it depends.
25:06There are different sanctions authorities and different provisions of different law,
25:13and they give us different – we are, with respect to the visa restrictions contained
25:18in the Immigration and Nationality Act, which are the relevant ones here, we are barred
25:22from doing so.
25:23Yeah.
25:24I just have one on Iran.
25:26CBS has reporting that yesterday there was a rare principles committee meeting at the
25:32White House with cabinet secretaries and President Biden, and that there seems to be concern
25:40about possible actions that Iran or proxies could take while there's a little bit of
25:44transitional – well, not a transitional phase, but like whilst there's a lot going
25:49on domestically in the U.S.
25:51And then you've also got an Iranian president who has said that he's more open to talking
25:58to the West, and guys are always saying that diplomacy is what you see as the best option
26:04moving forward.
26:05Has there been any outreach or anything towards the new leadership in Iran to consider reopening
26:13any kind of talks on the nuclear front or anything?
26:15So it is true that we have always seen diplomacy as the best way to achieve a sustainable,
26:23long-lasting solution to Iran's nuclear program, but we have made clear that one way or another
26:28we are never going to allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
26:34When it comes to diplomacy, when it comes to talks, I think we're a long way from anything
26:41that – like that right now, given the nuclear escalations that Iran has made over the past
26:48several months, given its failure to cooperate with the IAEA.
26:52And also, when you look at the new Iranian president, ultimately it's clear that the
26:58authority for these matters lies with the supreme leader.
27:02And because of that, we don't judge any change in their behavior likely at this time.
27:09But it's always laid with the supreme leader, even when U.S. and Iran were talking.
27:14So is now not a good opportunity to maybe – or is it just that Iran is just not a priority right now?
27:21So, no, it very much is a priority.
27:24But given the actions that we have seen Iran take, the first thing that ought to happen
27:28is for Iran to stop its escalation and start cooperating with the IAEA.
27:32I also wanted to just say something broad and general about the first part of your question
27:37without confirming any kind of meeting that took place, which I would never do.
27:40I would certainly hope that any adversaries around the world who think that the United
27:45States has in any way taken its eye off the ball because of the announcement by the president,
27:53they should know that they are sorely wrong in that judgment, if that is indeed what they are thinking.
27:57The president remains focused on our national security priorities.
28:01The Secretary of State and the entire national security team remain focused on them.
28:05It's one of the things the president said to the Secretary when he talked to him
28:09on Sunday after his announcement, which is, I want you all focused on the objectives that
28:14we have laid out and I want you to focus on achieving them over the next six months.
28:19Yeah.
28:20QUESTIONER 1 Thank you, Matt.
28:20I have three questions today.
28:21One question on the Iraqi and U.S. security dialogue, which concluded yesterday.
28:26I know the Pentagon is the mainstream of that discussions, but the State Department delegates
28:30were there and they attended the meetings.
28:33One question that the Iraqi people want to have an answer from the U.S. State Department,
28:37the U.S. Government, and the U.S. Pentagon is what's your position, what's your
28:44idea about having a timeline, having a deadline for the U.S. withdrawal in Iraq,
28:49which the Iraqi delegation came here with the idea for at least having a deadline or having
28:55a timeline for that withdrawal.
28:57But we didn't see anything from the joint statement that just published by Pentagon.
29:02Do you have anything exactly on that?
29:04MR PRICE So let me just say, so the meetings that
29:06were happening the last few days here in D.C. are the – through the joint security cooperation
29:13dialogue that we have established with Iraq.
29:17The question about the United States military presence in Iraq is something that we are
29:21discussing separately with them through the higher military commission.
29:24That is an ongoing discussion with them.
29:26And as I said yesterday when I got a similar question, it is a process that we have set
29:31up with the Government of Iraq to determine the coalition's military mission, how it
29:34will transition based on the following factors – threat from ISIS, operational and environmental
29:39requirements, and capabilities of the Iraqi Security Forces.
29:42So those are discussions that are happening in a separate channel from the one that met
29:46here in Washington the last couple of days.
29:48QUESTION The discussion is still ongoing?
29:49MR PRICE They are.
29:50QUESTION Yeah.
29:50Okay.
29:50And two more questions on Rojava, northeast Syria.
29:54I'm wondering if you have changed your position about the election in northeast Syria,
29:57which was rescheduled to be held in August.
30:01And you were objected to that election.
30:04Have you changed your position on that election?
30:06MR PRICE I don't have any new position to announce, no.
30:08QUESTION Thank you, Matt.
30:10You declared Bangladesh a Level 4 most dangerous zone for traveling.
30:15Mass atrocities are occurring under the regime's shoot-on-sight order, with the death toll
30:21surpassing 200.
30:23Students are carrying out peaceful protests.
30:25What specific steps is the U.S. going to take to rescue the innocent student and the nation
30:32from the brutal regime?
30:35MR PRICE So first of all, again, we have made clear our concerns about the ongoing security
30:40situation in Bangladesh.
30:42We announced the other day that we are exploring all options to ensure the safety of our personnel
30:48in Dhaka.
30:50We authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency personnel and family members at the U.S.
30:55embassy in Dhaka.
30:56The embassy does remain open to provide consular and other services to United States citizens
31:01who are in Bangladesh.
31:03And with respect to the safety and security of any American citizens, obviously, that
31:08is our first priority.
31:09And we encourage any U.S. citizen who is worried about their safety and security, has concerns,
31:16has anything they want to discuss, to contact our embassy.
31:18QUESTION Is the U.S. embassy full operation in Dhaka?
31:20MR PRICE It is operational.
31:22QUESTION Thank you.
31:23The Biden administration has recommended more than $100 million for Pakistan to strengthen
31:29democracy and fight terrorism.
31:31Could you provide some details, please?
31:33MR PRICE Some details of the – sorry, I thought – I usually have a longer question,
31:38so I thought there was a —
31:39QUESTION I can repeat the question.
31:40MR PRICE So I would just say – I'm not – for exact details, I can follow up with
31:45you in more length.
31:46But the – we did just make a budget request to Congress to – for $101 million to Pakistan
31:57to strengthen democracy and fight terrorism.
32:00We would use that for the types of programs to strengthen democracy and civil society,
32:05to counter terrorism and extremism, to support economic reforms and debt management.
32:10We have made similar budget requests and similar budget authority – or received similar budget
32:16authority from Congress in the past and may – and invested – used the funds that were
32:20appropriated by Congress to invest in our partnership with Pakistan, and we would use
32:25funds, should they be appropriated by Congress, to invest in similar programs as we have in
32:29this fiscal year and in previous ones.
32:31QUESTION Sir, Indian media is reporting that in few states the BJP government is forcing
32:35Muslims owners of restaurants to display their Muslim names at their eateries.
32:40But due to growing hate against Muslims, they fear it will bring more problems for them.
32:44What are your thoughts when you see such kind of actions by any government?
32:47MR PRICE So we have seen those reports.
32:50We have also seen the reports that the Indian Supreme Court on July 22nd issued an interim
32:55stay on the implementation of those rules, so they're not actually in effect now.
33:00And speaking generally, we are, as we always say, committed to promoting and respecting
33:06universal – promoting and protecting, I should say, universal respect for the right of freedom
33:11of religion and belief for all anywhere in the world, and we have engaged with our Indian
33:15counterparts on the importance of equal treatment for members of all religious communities.
33:20QUESTION U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom once again urged Biden administration to list
33:24India as a country of concern.
33:26This request has been ongoing for the past three years.
33:29According to several U.S. commissioners, their visas have been denied by Indian high commission
33:35in D.C. They wanted to go there to monitor the ground realities on religious freedom.
33:40What are your thoughts on that?
33:41MR PRICE So I'm not going to speak to a specific visa decision.
33:45I'm not aware of the facts of those specific things, but when it comes to religious freedom
33:49designations, that is a process that we take seriously and we announce the conclusions
33:52every year in our annual report.
33:55QUESTION Thank you very much.
33:57My colleague just asked you about the 101 million you have announced, requested the
34:02Congress for Pakistan for democracy.
34:04But at the same time, Congressman Brad Sherman has tweeted and mentioned about his meeting
34:10with Under Secretary Donald Lu once again to go ahead – to tell the ambassador in
34:17Pakistan to go and meet Imran Khan.
34:20101 million democracy funds, but the biggest leader in the country is languishing in jail
34:26for one year, and the U.S. ambassador is not meeting him, despite the Congress telling
34:31him – how do you see this?
34:35MR PRICE How do I see it?
34:36So first of all, Donald Lu comes up more in this briefing than any assistant secretary
34:41in the building.
34:41I don't know how many times I've gotten questions about him.
34:44I'm not aware of – you said it was a tweet from Brad Sherman?
34:46Haven't seen this tweet, so I can't respond to it.
34:50I would say, as you know, because you and I have discussed this issue on a number of
34:54occasions, internal political matters in Pakistan are something that we do not take a position
35:01on.
35:02We urge respect for democracy, respect for human rights, and treatment of all political
35:08parties equally.
35:09QUESTION Okay.
35:10Just one more.
35:12Although I don't agree with the – I do not think that Congress is going to approve
35:15your request while – the way democracy is being treated under this administration.
35:20But my second question is about first time now a girls' school is blown up in North
35:26Waziristan, the tribal areas that I belong to as well.
35:30So I have mentioned to you that Talibanism is expansion – is expanding in that region,
35:37and I know the president of this administration has been under tremendous work since Ukraine
35:41war, now Gaza.
35:43But is there any, like, serious concentration being paid to this whole terrorism spread?
35:49Like, this is the same time, by the way, when Malala was shot, and like – so that whole
35:54thing about girls' education has now passed from Afghanistan and has jumped into Pakistan
36:00as well.
36:01MR.
36:01ZELTAKALNSMITH So you started your question referring to
36:05the – to our administration requesting additional funds to fight terrorism in Pakistan
36:10and then ended it by questioning our commitment to fighting terrorism in Pakistan.
36:15QUESTION No, that was democracy.
36:17MR.
36:17ZELTAKALNSMITH I just – I think I would just suggest that
36:19in this case the question answers itself.
36:20Go ahead.
36:20QUESTION Thank you.
36:21A situation about Bangladeshi already last seven days we are talking here.
36:27Once Bangladesh was a safe haven for terrorist organization like JMB, Halkatul Jihad,
36:33with the help of U.S.
36:34Government, the Bangladesh Government made impressive progress in countering terrorism
36:39with the support of USA, of course, I told.
36:41But the recent days, huge number of militant element have destroyed a significant large-scale
36:48government and public properties, including institute and brutally killed not only innocent
36:55people but also law enforcement agencies with deliberate plan to topple the current government.
37:01One of the most concerning issue for USA and Bangladesh, also for Indo-Pacific zone,
37:06that they have attacked one of the major prison and released nine convicted leader of their
37:14militant outfit who were the think tank and brain of the terrorist activities in Bangladesh.
37:21Given the recent violent activities where militant element and anti-government political
37:27parties have caused significant destruction, and does the State Department believe this
37:33action will escalate terrorism in Bangladesh?
37:35And how does the U.S. plan to support again the Bangladesh Government for the effort to
37:41maintain stability and counter these terrorist?
37:45So let me try to make this clear because I've said it the last couple of days.
37:49We condemn all recent acts of violence in Bangladesh.
37:52We support the freedom of peaceful assembly.
37:55We condemn violence against those who are exercising their peaceful right to assembly.
38:00And we condemn violence on behalf of any protester who has turned their peaceful
38:05exercise of assembly into an excuse for violence.
38:08We condemn violence in all cases.
38:10Of course.
38:10We want the people of Bangladesh to be able to exercise their fundamental freedoms the
38:16same way we want people all over the world to do – to be able to exercise their fundamental
38:20freedoms.
38:21So we want to – we continue to urge both protesters, private citizens,
38:25and the government to refrain from violence.
38:26Any comment on that portion, released of nine convicted leaders of militant outfit?
38:30Because these are not – these are not regular –
38:33I don't have a specific comment on that.
38:35All right, thank you.
38:36And with that, I think – do you have one?
38:37No.
38:38I think we're out for today.
38:39Thanks, everyone.