WEBVTT 00:00.009 --> 00:01.898 Everybody , apologies for being a 00:01.898 --> 00:05.739 little tardy uh Today um still 00:05.750 --> 00:08.083 starting early than what we are used to . 00:08.083 --> 00:10.194 So I guess that's a good thing . Um I 00:10.194 --> 00:12.649 have two very , very brief things . Uh 00:12.659 --> 00:15.180 And then I'm happy to dive right into 00:15.189 --> 00:18.030 your questions . So first , uh this 00:18.040 --> 00:19.984 morning , the Secretary of State , 00:19.984 --> 00:21.929 together with the President of the 00:21.929 --> 00:24.889 World Food Prize Foundation announced 00:24.899 --> 00:28.750 the 2023 World Food Prize laureate . Uh 00:28.760 --> 00:31.340 The World Food Prize is considered the 00:31.350 --> 00:35.169 preeminent award for global Agriculture 00:35.180 --> 00:36.770 and celebrates breakthrough 00:36.779 --> 00:39.330 achievements in combating hunger and 00:39.340 --> 00:41.284 enhancing food security around the 00:41.284 --> 00:43.909 world . This year's winner is American 00:43.919 --> 00:47.040 Heidi , founder and CEO of the 00:47.049 --> 00:50.340 nonprofit Roots of Peace , which works 00:50.349 --> 00:53.110 to transform heavily mined areas into 00:53.119 --> 00:55.770 sustainable agricultural farmland . 00:55.919 --> 00:57.863 Since its establishment , roots of 00:57.863 --> 01:00.200 peace has facilitated the removal of 01:00.229 --> 01:03.049 100,000 land mines and unexploded 01:03.060 --> 01:05.540 ordinances and strengthened food 01:05.550 --> 01:07.589 security in local communities in 01:07.599 --> 01:10.730 Afghanistan , Angola , Croatia , 01:10.739 --> 01:13.660 Guatemala , Israel , the Palestinian 01:13.669 --> 01:16.290 territories and Vietnam among others , 01:16.300 --> 01:18.220 we offer her congratulations and 01:18.230 --> 01:20.680 gratitude for this critical work . The 01:20.690 --> 01:23.300 world is facing a global food security 01:23.309 --> 01:25.290 crisis of historic proportions . A 01:25.300 --> 01:27.500 combination of climate shocks and 01:27.510 --> 01:30.129 regional conflicts including Russia's 01:30.139 --> 01:32.110 illegal war against Ukraine have 01:32.120 --> 01:34.949 disrupted global food production and 01:34.959 --> 01:37.199 distribution , driving up the cost of 01:37.209 --> 01:39.226 feeding people and families and 01:39.236 --> 01:41.707 disproportionately impacting those in 01:41.717 --> 01:43.766 developing countries . The US is 01:43.777 --> 01:46.556 committed to addressing this crisis and 01:46.567 --> 01:48.567 working with the world to build 01:48.577 --> 01:50.607 resilient food systems that support 01:50.616 --> 01:53.097 local communities . Uh And secondly , I 01:53.107 --> 01:55.707 wanted to offer an update on Sudan 01:55.717 --> 01:58.717 specifically the talks that are ongoing 01:58.726 --> 02:00.946 in Jeddah . Uh Assistant Secretary 02:00.957 --> 02:03.887 Molly Fe and Ambassador John Godfrey 02:03.897 --> 02:06.564 are leading the US delegation to the 02:06.573 --> 02:09.274 Jeddah talks which are ongoing and are 02:09.283 --> 02:11.774 focused on establishing the commitment 02:11.783 --> 02:14.283 of the two parties to recognize their 02:14.294 --> 02:16.363 obligations under international 02:16.373 --> 02:19.044 humanitarian law and to agree to 02:19.054 --> 02:21.544 arrangements to allow the safe delivery 02:21.554 --> 02:23.574 of humanitarian assistance and the 02:23.583 --> 02:26.283 restoration of essential services in 02:26.294 --> 02:28.363 this process . We will continue to 02:28.373 --> 02:30.914 engage and press for the effective 02:30.923 --> 02:33.041 short term cease to facilitate 02:33.050 --> 02:35.621 humanitarian assistance . The talks 02:35.630 --> 02:38.031 that are ongoing in Jeddah enjoy broad 02:38.041 --> 02:40.910 support from the A U the Igad 02:40.921 --> 02:43.680 tripartite mechanism countries in the 02:43.690 --> 02:45.651 region and many Sudanese civilian 02:45.660 --> 02:47.960 groups have also issued supportive 02:47.970 --> 02:50.600 statements . The pre negotiation talks 02:50.610 --> 02:52.970 contribute to the goals and intent of 02:52.981 --> 02:55.470 the A US April 20th communique and 02:55.481 --> 02:57.592 support the A US forthcoming road map 02:57.592 --> 02:59.814 to de escalation . These talks are a of 02:59.820 --> 03:02.210 course a first step and more broadly , 03:02.220 --> 03:04.699 we continue to engage Sudanese civilian 03:04.710 --> 03:07.050 leaders , resistance committees and 03:07.059 --> 03:08.948 civil society to work towards the 03:08.948 --> 03:11.509 shared goal of establishing civilian 03:11.520 --> 03:13.759 democratic governance in Sudan as soon 03:13.770 --> 03:16.235 as possible and to harmonize civilian 03:16.244 --> 03:18.411 and international assistance efforts . 03:18.625 --> 03:21.524 Uh With that Matt , you'd like to take 03:21.554 --> 03:24.095 us off . Thanks . Uh I got a couple but 03:24.104 --> 03:25.771 I don't think you'll have any 03:25.771 --> 03:28.235 substantive answer to any of them . So 03:28.244 --> 03:30.244 they'll be very brief . I promise . 03:30.244 --> 03:32.188 Just uh first on your Sudan , what 03:32.188 --> 03:34.300 exactly is your understanding of what 03:34.300 --> 03:37.729 pre negotiation talks are ? What , what , 03:37.740 --> 03:41.690 what is that Matt ? The work is ongoing 03:41.699 --> 03:44.389 to know what the hell does that mean 03:44.399 --> 03:46.566 Pre negotiation talks ? They're either 03:46.566 --> 03:48.788 talks , they're negotiations or they're 03:48.788 --> 03:50.899 not what we are working towards . And 03:50.899 --> 03:53.010 you can assign uh any vocabulary that 03:53.010 --> 03:56.509 you like as I as I So 03:56.979 --> 03:59.035 what is your understanding of this ? 03:59.035 --> 04:01.146 What what this is about at the end of 04:01.146 --> 04:03.257 this ? If it is successful at the end 04:03.257 --> 04:06.130 of these pre negotiation talks ? Are 04:06.139 --> 04:08.740 there supposed to be negotiations ? Are 04:08.750 --> 04:11.320 there supposed to be talks ? What this 04:11.330 --> 04:15.029 is about is , is what this is about , 04:15.039 --> 04:18.609 Matt is about taking further steps to 04:18.619 --> 04:21.570 see a reduction in violence , to see uh 04:21.579 --> 04:25.029 steps being taken for a ceasefire to be 04:25.040 --> 04:28.135 extended and adhere to that all of us , 04:28.144 --> 04:30.125 all of which to get to an ultimate 04:30.135 --> 04:32.302 cessation of hostilities . That's what 04:32.302 --> 04:34.524 this is about . All of that is well and 04:34.524 --> 04:36.746 good , but it doesn't make any sense to 04:36.746 --> 04:36.244 me pre negotiation talks . They're 04:36.255 --> 04:38.366 either talks , there are negotiations 04:38.366 --> 04:40.975 or they're not . Anyway . Um I want to 04:40.984 --> 04:43.206 ask you something . I know you're going 04:43.206 --> 04:46.019 to defer to justice on prove me wrong . 04:46.649 --> 04:48.427 Do you have any comments on the 04:48.427 --> 04:50.890 extradition of the extradition re on 04:50.899 --> 04:53.010 the suspect in the Natalie Holloway 04:53.019 --> 04:56.670 case ? And was there any um state 04:56.679 --> 04:58.735 department involvement in this uh to 04:58.739 --> 05:01.160 your uh surprise matt that ? And as you 05:01.170 --> 05:03.579 know , as a matter of longstanding 05:03.589 --> 05:05.700 policy , the Department of State does 05:05.700 --> 05:08.709 not comment on pending extradition 05:08.720 --> 05:10.887 matters . And so I don't have anything 05:10.887 --> 05:13.164 additional for you on that . All right . 05:13.164 --> 05:15.276 And then before my colleagues ask you 05:15.276 --> 05:17.442 unanswerable questions about China and 05:17.442 --> 05:19.498 Pakistan , let me just ask you about 05:19.498 --> 05:21.664 Israel and Gaza . Has there been any ? 05:21.664 --> 05:23.720 We saw that Jake Sullivan spoke with 05:23.720 --> 05:25.664 his Israeli counterpart last night 05:25.690 --> 05:28.260 about the situation . Uh has there been 05:28.269 --> 05:30.213 any state department engagements ? 05:30.213 --> 05:32.047 There certainly has been a state 05:32.047 --> 05:33.769 department engagement . Uh The 05:33.769 --> 05:36.459 department uh include many who work on 05:36.470 --> 05:38.248 these issues from the Assistant 05:38.248 --> 05:40.470 Secretary of Barbara Lee ambassador and 05:40.470 --> 05:42.581 I have continued to remain engaged on 05:42.581 --> 05:44.748 this . I don't have any uh specific uh 05:44.748 --> 05:46.803 calls from the secretary to read out 05:46.803 --> 05:48.803 our preview , but obviously , uh we 05:48.803 --> 05:51.140 continue to call on both sides to uh 05:51.149 --> 05:54.760 take steps uh that will uh not uh 05:54.839 --> 05:57.750 tensions and further incite violence . 05:57.760 --> 06:00.339 And of course , we would ask all sides 06:00.350 --> 06:02.406 to take prudent steps to ensure that 06:02.406 --> 06:04.529 civilian life is not harmed . 06:07.829 --> 06:11.200 That , ok , go ahead . 06:11.500 --> 06:14.670 I am surprised today that you didn't 06:14.679 --> 06:16.790 really have anything to say on what's 06:16.790 --> 06:19.000 going on in Gaza , the Israelis , you 06:19.029 --> 06:21.309 know , broke an agreement or a 06:21.320 --> 06:24.059 ceasefire and they killed Children . I 06:24.070 --> 06:26.014 mean , they killed Children in the 06:26.014 --> 06:28.014 middle of the night while they were 06:28.014 --> 06:30.390 sleeping , girls and boys , five of 06:30.399 --> 06:32.455 them . And you had nothing to say on 06:32.455 --> 06:35.890 this . And the other thing uh today 06:35.899 --> 06:39.859 marks the one year anniversary of the 06:39.869 --> 06:43.260 assassination of an occupying army of 06:43.269 --> 06:45.325 an American Palestinian journalist . 06:45.325 --> 06:47.325 And you have nothing to say on this 06:47.325 --> 06:49.436 either . So can you update us on both 06:49.436 --> 06:51.820 issues ? A aside from the stuff that 06:51.829 --> 06:54.859 you said to me , we want to hear what 06:54.869 --> 06:56.820 is the United States government's 06:56.829 --> 07:00.320 position on what Israel did in Gaza in 07:00.329 --> 07:02.218 the middle of the night , killing 07:02.218 --> 07:04.470 Children while they were sleeping . And 07:04.480 --> 07:07.130 the second update us on what's going on 07:07.140 --> 07:08.529 with the investigation , 07:09.160 --> 07:12.179 unaccountability of those responsible 07:12.190 --> 07:15.910 for the killing of Sheri Abba . Let me 07:15.920 --> 07:18.359 uh let me , let me um say a couple 07:18.369 --> 07:22.290 things . Uh first , uh we 07:22.299 --> 07:24.859 condemned Shereen killing uh when it 07:24.869 --> 07:27.579 happened uh a year ago and we condemn 07:27.589 --> 07:30.559 it uh today as well . Uh And we 07:30.570 --> 07:34.339 continue to uh pursue accountability uh 07:34.350 --> 07:37.940 to ensure uh that steps are taken to 07:37.950 --> 07:41.029 prevent a similar tragedy , tragedies 07:41.040 --> 07:43.151 from occurring in the future . And we 07:43.151 --> 07:45.339 continue to engage when it comes to 07:45.350 --> 07:47.940 rules of engagement . Uh not just with 07:47.950 --> 07:50.579 our Israeli partners but others in 07:50.589 --> 07:53.549 other regions where journalists may 07:53.559 --> 07:56.320 find themselves in harm's way . We 07:56.329 --> 07:58.549 continue to underscore the importance 07:58.559 --> 08:02.130 of accountability when it comes to her 08:02.140 --> 08:05.489 killing . But sed I will also note that 08:05.500 --> 08:08.190 and we've spoken about this before that 08:08.200 --> 08:12.040 both the findings from the ID F 08:12.049 --> 08:15.440 as well as the findings we discussed 08:15.450 --> 08:18.739 last summer uh from the US security 08:18.750 --> 08:21.109 coordinator . Uh continue to indicate 08:21.200 --> 08:24.290 that there was not an intentionality to 08:24.299 --> 08:27.809 this very tragic , tragic incident and 08:27.820 --> 08:30.910 that we continue to , to still condemn . 08:31.070 --> 08:33.070 Uh But I think that is an important 08:33.070 --> 08:36.109 piece of this to remember sed uh number . 08:36.119 --> 08:38.341 Uh going back to the first part of your 08:38.341 --> 08:41.130 question , we have continued to call on 08:41.140 --> 08:43.159 both sides on both our Israeli 08:43.190 --> 08:46.690 partners and the Palestinian authority 08:47.549 --> 08:50.799 to take prudent steps to 08:50.809 --> 08:54.530 ensure the lo life is prevented . 08:54.690 --> 08:58.320 And that steps are taken to ensure that 08:58.330 --> 09:00.590 violence is reduced . And these kinds 09:00.599 --> 09:02.710 of actions don't happen . Of course , 09:02.710 --> 09:04.770 the reporting that we're seeing from 09:04.780 --> 09:07.469 overnight is tragic and heartbreaking . 09:07.549 --> 09:09.760 But that is exactly why we continue to 09:09.770 --> 09:13.219 pursue uh uh our efforts for a 09:13.229 --> 09:15.340 negotiated two state solution and why 09:15.340 --> 09:18.460 we continue to pursue uh uh a goal of 09:18.469 --> 09:20.849 equal measures of prosperity , security 09:20.859 --> 09:23.289 and freedom for Israelis and 09:23.299 --> 09:25.849 Palestinians . So let me just follow up 09:25.859 --> 09:27.970 on Shari's case . So you can consider 09:27.970 --> 09:30.109 that case is closed as far as this 09:30.119 --> 09:32.397 department is concerned . Case is over , 09:32.397 --> 09:34.710 it's closed , right ? Are , are you 09:34.719 --> 09:36.775 talking about what you were saying ? 09:36.775 --> 09:38.941 You say that you accept the findings . 09:38.941 --> 09:41.429 We have , we will never forget about 09:41.479 --> 09:44.109 Shereen and her tragic death and the 09:44.119 --> 09:47.059 circumstances around it . But to us 09:47.070 --> 09:49.580 pursuing accountability , uh what that 09:49.590 --> 09:52.630 looks like is continuing to work with 09:52.640 --> 09:54.609 our Israeli partners with partners 09:54.619 --> 09:57.070 around the world , partners in places 09:57.080 --> 09:59.136 where journalists find themselves in 09:59.136 --> 10:01.150 harm's way discussing these very 10:01.159 --> 10:03.729 important issues of rules of engagement 10:03.950 --> 10:06.359 and ensuring that steps are being taken 10:06.369 --> 10:09.119 collectively to ensure that 10:09.130 --> 10:11.570 civilian risk and the risk to 10:11.580 --> 10:13.929 journalists is mitigated . That is what 10:13.940 --> 10:16.530 accountability to us looks like and we 10:16.539 --> 10:18.706 will continue to , to to work on these 10:18.706 --> 10:21.119 matters . So , on this particular case 10:21.130 --> 10:23.297 with the intelligence of my colleagues 10:23.297 --> 10:25.000 and you , of course , on this 10:25.010 --> 10:27.121 particular case , what would you tell 10:27.169 --> 10:29.799 Shari's family today ? Where are we 10:29.809 --> 10:31.920 with this process ? Is there going to 10:31.920 --> 10:35.559 be further probing of this issue 10:35.570 --> 10:38.679 by the United States of America or is 10:38.690 --> 10:41.369 it over ? That's it . I mean , you have 10:41.380 --> 10:43.436 to live with it . It's tragic . It's 10:43.436 --> 10:45.380 sorry that it happened and so on . 10:45.380 --> 10:47.602 We'll make sure that it does not happen 10:47.602 --> 10:47.500 again . Although these raids have 10:47.510 --> 10:49.677 killed 22 Palestinian journalists this 10:49.677 --> 10:51.621 far , but we don't want to go into 10:51.621 --> 10:53.621 there . What would you tell Shari's 10:53.621 --> 10:57.239 family today site Sheen's family uh 10:57.250 --> 11:00.799 has experienced something tragic , um 11:00.809 --> 11:03.520 something horrific and that is losing a 11:03.530 --> 11:05.880 family member and , and losing a loved 11:05.890 --> 11:09.700 one uh in any uh in any 11:09.710 --> 11:13.229 way is a tragic , 11:13.239 --> 11:15.250 sad , unfortunate and heartbreaking 11:15.260 --> 11:17.219 thing . And so I'm just not gonna 11:17.229 --> 11:19.396 engage on that from here . What I will 11:19.396 --> 11:21.979 reiterate again is that the United 11:21.989 --> 11:23.880 States will continue to pursue uh 11:23.890 --> 11:26.659 accountability , will continue to work 11:26.669 --> 11:29.780 with our partners in the region with 11:29.789 --> 11:33.330 Israel on rules of engagement on steps 11:33.340 --> 11:35.284 that are taken to ensure that this 11:35.284 --> 11:37.890 doesn't happen again . Any , any , any 11:37.900 --> 11:40.429 follow up on uh Senator Chris Van 11:40.630 --> 11:42.852 Hollen letter to the secretary , I just 11:42.852 --> 11:44.963 don't have any updates on internal um 11:44.963 --> 11:47.320 us government uh documents , Sean uh 11:47.559 --> 11:49.670 briefly on one of your responses . So 11:49.670 --> 11:51.837 you , you said that you're calling for 11:51.837 --> 11:54.003 um prudent steps to ensure the loss of 11:54.003 --> 11:56.059 civilian life is prevented . Uh Just 11:56.059 --> 11:58.059 for all the Eu Foreign Policy Chief 11:58.059 --> 11:59.726 today called for an immediate 11:59.726 --> 12:01.948 comprehensive ceasefire . It seems like 12:01.948 --> 12:01.760 is that also something the United 12:01.770 --> 12:03.992 States supports does support the States 12:03.992 --> 12:06.103 want to , does the United States want 12:06.103 --> 12:08.103 to cease fire ? Is it working ? I , 12:08.103 --> 12:10.326 I've not seen the specific reporting of 12:10.326 --> 12:12.326 High Commissioner Bres comments but 12:12.326 --> 12:16.039 certainly any steps that we can take or 12:16.049 --> 12:18.216 that the two sides can adhere to as it 12:18.216 --> 12:20.440 relates to a reduction of violence are 12:20.450 --> 12:22.672 steps that can be taken to prevent uh a 12:22.672 --> 12:24.672 loss of civilian life . Of course , 12:24.679 --> 12:26.846 would be a positive and welcome step . 12:27.340 --> 12:29.562 Can I switch topics ? Somebody wants to 12:29.562 --> 12:31.909 anything else on this before uh on , on , 12:31.919 --> 12:34.229 on before we , I think you're good to 12:34.239 --> 12:36.295 change topics . Go ahead . Sure . Uh 12:36.295 --> 12:38.350 Can I switch to U and South Africa ? 12:38.390 --> 12:41.690 The ambassador today made um 12:42.559 --> 12:45.390 allegations that Russia has delivered , 12:45.400 --> 12:47.511 correct me that he said that , that , 12:47.511 --> 12:49.678 that , that South Africa has delivered 12:49.678 --> 12:52.289 weapons to , to uh to Russia . Maybe 12:52.299 --> 12:54.410 there's some more nuance to that . Uh 12:54.410 --> 12:56.521 the South Africans in China have said 12:56.521 --> 12:58.688 that they're disappointed that he went 12:58.688 --> 12:57.960 public with this . Could you explain a 12:57.969 --> 12:59.913 little bit more of the allegations 12:59.913 --> 13:02.080 about why the United States feels that 13:02.080 --> 13:04.025 this is that this happened and the 13:04.025 --> 13:06.191 decision to go public ? Does it , will 13:06.191 --> 13:08.302 it affect the relationship with South 13:08.302 --> 13:10.302 Africa ? Uh What I will say Sean is 13:10.302 --> 13:12.247 that we remain committed to uh our 13:12.247 --> 13:14.247 affirmative agenda of our bilateral 13:14.247 --> 13:16.640 relationship with South Africa . One 13:16.650 --> 13:19.380 that is focused on the priorities . The 13:19.390 --> 13:22.109 two governments share priorities that 13:22.119 --> 13:24.260 the recent high level delegation to 13:24.270 --> 13:27.179 Washington discussed . These include 13:27.190 --> 13:29.659 issues of global peace and security . 13:29.719 --> 13:32.429 Uh further growing the robust trade 13:32.440 --> 13:34.809 relationship working together on shared 13:34.820 --> 13:37.929 shared health agenda , finding ways in 13:37.940 --> 13:40.841 which uh we the United States can be 13:40.851 --> 13:43.021 helpful to South Africa's energy 13:43.031 --> 13:45.581 challenges through a just transition of 13:45.591 --> 13:47.758 renewable sources of energy as well as 13:47.758 --> 13:51.481 continued partnerships on work as it 13:51.492 --> 13:53.659 relates to addressing climate change . 13:53.659 --> 13:55.825 Uh That being said , Sean , as we have 13:55.825 --> 13:58.671 previously said , the US has serious 13:58.682 --> 14:01.651 concerns about the docking of a 14:01.661 --> 14:04.494 sanctioned Russian cargo vessel at a 14:04.504 --> 14:07.114 South African naval port in December of 14:07.124 --> 14:10.473 last year . And as good partners do we 14:10.484 --> 14:12.513 have raised those concerns directly 14:12.523 --> 14:14.745 with multiple South African officials ? 14:14.745 --> 14:16.967 And I will uh I will leave it at that a 14:16.967 --> 14:19.134 little bit more , a little bit more of 14:19.134 --> 14:21.356 what you think actually transferred and 14:21.356 --> 14:23.467 I'm just not going to get into that . 14:23.467 --> 14:25.690 Uh from here , Sean again , what I will 14:25.690 --> 14:27.912 and this is not something knew that the 14:27.912 --> 14:30.096 US government has said is that we have 14:30.106 --> 14:33.125 serious concerns about the docking of a 14:33.135 --> 14:35.835 sanctioned Russian vessel at a South 14:35.846 --> 14:38.226 African naval port in December of last 14:38.236 --> 14:41.815 year . Just one more , just one more 14:41.866 --> 14:43.644 attempt at that in terms of the 14:43.644 --> 14:45.810 motivation for this . I mean , you see 14:45.810 --> 14:48.144 this as a , as a purely covert activity , 14:48.144 --> 14:50.255 perhaps not with full knowledge or do 14:50.255 --> 14:49.935 you see this as South Africa actually 14:50.460 --> 14:53.059 cooperating and actually giving support 14:53.070 --> 14:55.270 in Russia ? I'm not going to offer an 14:55.280 --> 14:57.391 assessment to that from here . What I 14:57.391 --> 14:59.549 will say is that we have been quite 14:59.559 --> 15:01.929 clear and have not parsed words about 15:02.090 --> 15:05.549 any country taking steps to 15:05.650 --> 15:09.440 support Russia's illegal and 15:09.450 --> 15:11.950 brutal war in Ukraine and we will 15:11.960 --> 15:15.020 continue to engage with 15:15.030 --> 15:17.450 partners and countries on , on this 15:17.460 --> 15:19.682 topic , but I'm just not going to offer 15:19.682 --> 15:21.793 an assessment on that from here . Let 15:21.793 --> 15:23.960 me because you had to follow up . Then 15:23.960 --> 15:23.940 I'll come to you , Simon . I promise . 15:23.950 --> 15:25.783 Go ahead . Thank you . The South 15:25.783 --> 15:28.006 Africans have asked that the US provide 15:28.006 --> 15:30.061 evidence or intelligence release the 15:30.061 --> 15:31.617 intelligence supporting the 15:31.617 --> 15:31.570 ambassador's claims , is that something 15:31.580 --> 15:33.636 that the US is going to consider ? I 15:33.636 --> 15:35.802 just don't have anything additional to 15:35.802 --> 15:38.289 offer on this , given the since the 15:38.299 --> 15:40.521 reporting this morning . And so I don't 15:40.521 --> 15:42.743 have any , I don't want to speculate on 15:42.743 --> 15:45.419 additional steps , right . Go ahead . 15:45.750 --> 15:49.169 Um I mean , I just wanted to sort of 15:49.179 --> 15:52.719 probe why the ambassador is out there 15:52.729 --> 15:54.618 speaking so strongly about this . 15:54.618 --> 15:56.673 Whereas you're not able to sort of , 15:57.179 --> 15:59.068 you know , why , why , why is the 15:59.068 --> 16:01.179 ambassador saying different things to 16:01.179 --> 16:00.919 what you're saying ? Is there a 16:00.929 --> 16:03.789 disconnect between the US ambassador to 16:03.799 --> 16:05.577 South Africa and what the State 16:05.577 --> 16:08.059 Department think believes about , about 16:08.070 --> 16:11.950 what happens with this ship , Simon ? 16:11.960 --> 16:15.049 Uh I'm just not going to uh get 16:15.059 --> 16:17.859 into uh how I am talking about 16:17.869 --> 16:19.591 something or how uh one of our 16:19.591 --> 16:21.925 colleagues uh is talking about an issue . 16:21.925 --> 16:24.450 Uh What I will reiterate though is that 16:24.460 --> 16:26.729 one ? Uh we continue to be committed to 16:26.739 --> 16:29.090 our affirmative agenda with uh our 16:29.099 --> 16:30.988 South African partners and we are 16:30.988 --> 16:33.210 focused on the priorities that we share 16:33.210 --> 16:35.155 between our two governments . I've 16:35.155 --> 16:37.266 outlined a number of those , but also 16:37.266 --> 16:40.260 we continue to be concerned about 16:40.270 --> 16:43.210 that . A docking of a sanctioned 16:43.250 --> 16:45.919 Russian vessel took place at a South 16:45.929 --> 16:48.040 African naval port and we'll continue 16:48.040 --> 16:50.040 to engage on this directly with our 16:50.040 --> 16:51.929 South African partners , but with 16:51.929 --> 16:54.151 allies and partners across the world as 16:54.151 --> 16:56.599 well . You mentioned the high level 16:56.609 --> 16:58.887 South African delegation that was here . 16:58.887 --> 17:02.039 I couldn't see uh the State Department 17:02.659 --> 17:04.579 that the State Department put out 17:04.589 --> 17:07.099 specific readouts from from that visit . 17:07.109 --> 17:09.331 Is there anything you can tell us about 17:09.469 --> 17:13.109 the purpose of that visit as led by 17:14.119 --> 17:16.300 the National security adviser to the 17:16.349 --> 17:18.949 South African president and 17:18.959 --> 17:21.540 specifically was the uh South African . 17:21.989 --> 17:25.828 Um the role of a 17:25.999 --> 17:29.348 go with , with regards to trade with 17:29.359 --> 17:31.526 South Africa . Was that something that 17:31.979 --> 17:34.201 I'm not going to get into the specifics 17:34.201 --> 17:36.423 of these diplomatic meetings ? But what 17:36.423 --> 17:39.019 I will say is that a number of topics 17:39.029 --> 17:41.889 were discussed including global peace 17:41.899 --> 17:44.625 and security , further the robust trade 17:44.635 --> 17:47.155 relationship that we have with South 17:47.165 --> 17:49.221 Africa . And of course , I I have no 17:49.221 --> 17:51.685 doubt that a go out was discussed in 17:51.694 --> 17:53.675 that context as well as well as 17:53.685 --> 17:56.295 continuing to work together on shared 17:56.305 --> 17:58.416 on the shared health agenda , as well 17:58.416 --> 18:00.361 as well as the numerous energy and 18:00.361 --> 18:02.361 climate issues that I I mentioned . 18:02.361 --> 18:05.515 Also the South African response to this 18:05.525 --> 18:08.025 is to say that they're gonna , there's 18:08.035 --> 18:10.257 gonna be investigation into , into what 18:10.257 --> 18:12.424 happened with this is that , does that 18:12.424 --> 18:14.729 satisfy uh the serious concerns that 18:14.739 --> 18:16.906 you have it , it certainly would be uh 18:16.906 --> 18:20.390 uh a welcome step . But uh again , uh 18:20.400 --> 18:22.567 you know , the deeply concerning piece 18:22.567 --> 18:25.829 of this is the uh the docking of a 18:25.839 --> 18:28.569 sanctioned Russian vessel at a South 18:28.579 --> 18:32.099 African uh naval port . Um Go ahead , 18:32.109 --> 18:34.969 Alex . There's a certain pattern we 18:34.979 --> 18:36.812 have seen South Africa and other 18:36.812 --> 18:38.923 countries in Africa have been blaming 18:38.923 --> 18:41.257 the US on , you know , when it comes to , 18:41.257 --> 18:43.368 you know , Black Sea Grain deal , not 18:43.368 --> 18:45.201 only time in Russia , I I'm just 18:45.201 --> 18:47.312 wondering how much does this indicate 18:47.312 --> 18:49.423 that uh us have been failing in terms 18:49.423 --> 18:51.535 of making the case in that possible , 18:51.535 --> 18:55.239 Alex ? I would point you no further 18:55.250 --> 18:59.069 than the UN vote that was held on 18:59.079 --> 19:01.880 this in , in , in the clear 19:01.890 --> 19:04.630 condemnation of Russia's aggression in 19:04.640 --> 19:08.000 Ukraine in which more than 100 and 40 19:08.010 --> 19:11.689 countries spoke in unison about 19:11.800 --> 19:15.130 Russia's barbaric and unjust and 19:15.140 --> 19:17.822 unlawful actions in Ukraine countries 19:17.832 --> 19:21.371 that uh many of which are from that 19:21.381 --> 19:24.342 region and the African continent and 19:24.352 --> 19:28.021 are watching how the US , 19:28.031 --> 19:30.222 as well as its allies and partners in 19:30.232 --> 19:32.732 engage on this . And since you've given 19:32.741 --> 19:35.112 me the opportunity on the Black Sea 19:35.121 --> 19:38.501 Grain initiative , it is unfortunate 19:38.511 --> 19:41.823 that uh Mos has continued to use and 19:41.833 --> 19:43.889 has continued to weaponize grain and 19:43.889 --> 19:46.173 hunger in a way that has forced the 19:46.183 --> 19:48.534 Black Sea Grain initiative uh to be 19:48.543 --> 19:50.265 needed in the first place , it 19:50.265 --> 19:52.432 shouldn't have been needed . Uh But it 19:52.432 --> 19:55.034 is exactly uh because of this mechanism 19:55.043 --> 19:58.963 that has allowed for uh grain uh to 19:58.973 --> 20:01.614 get to the places that it has needed , 20:01.624 --> 20:04.656 including uh many final destination on 20:04.666 --> 20:06.845 the African continent as well . How do 20:06.855 --> 20:08.744 you explain the fact that we keep 20:08.744 --> 20:10.466 hearing South Africa and other 20:10.466 --> 20:12.799 countries are blaming the US , you know , 20:12.799 --> 20:14.911 double standards . Is it a reflection 20:14.911 --> 20:17.077 of strong Russian propaganda or , or , 20:17.077 --> 20:19.188 or I don't think we're hearing people 20:19.196 --> 20:22.526 blame the US again . 20:22.536 --> 20:25.326 The United States has taken prudent 20:25.336 --> 20:28.758 steps to show leadership on 20:28.767 --> 20:32.427 Russia's unjust and barbaric invasion 20:32.437 --> 20:35.358 in Ukraine . It has done so in a number 20:35.368 --> 20:37.424 of steps in taking steps to hold the 20:37.424 --> 20:39.608 Russian Federation accountable through 20:39.618 --> 20:42.008 sanctions , through export controls and 20:42.017 --> 20:45.838 doing so in a way that has ensured that 20:45.848 --> 20:49.787 humanitarian materials and goods are 20:49.797 --> 20:53.329 still able to flow freely . We have 20:53.339 --> 20:55.599 also taken steps in conjunction with 20:55.609 --> 20:57.630 allies and partners to support our 20:57.640 --> 20:59.807 Ukrainian partners to ensure that they 20:59.807 --> 21:01.862 can defend themselves , defend their 21:01.862 --> 21:03.973 territorial integrity and sovereignty 21:03.973 --> 21:06.084 as well as reclaim territory that has 21:06.084 --> 21:09.209 been taken from them . We've also seen 21:09.219 --> 21:11.219 a number of countries including the 21:11.219 --> 21:12.949 United States step up in the 21:12.959 --> 21:16.479 humanitarian space as well uh offering 21:16.489 --> 21:19.284 and providing human goods as well as 21:19.293 --> 21:22.553 taking an active role in the in 21:22.563 --> 21:26.443 accepting and welcoming refugees and 21:26.453 --> 21:28.713 displaced people from Ukraine as well . 21:29.284 --> 21:31.693 Jenny , go ahead . Thank you . Thank 21:31.703 --> 21:34.754 you , Korea and China 21:35.124 --> 21:38.154 Chinese China is threatening South 21:38.163 --> 21:40.953 Korea with the economic retaliation . 21:40.963 --> 21:44.567 Again , pointing out the th the missile 21:44.578 --> 21:48.037 and the strength of the US and all 21:48.047 --> 21:51.537 alliance . What would the United States 21:51.547 --> 21:55.218 do to counter China's economic 21:55.228 --> 21:58.258 retaliation against its allies ? 21:58.958 --> 22:01.098 Well , we are certainly not gonna 22:01.108 --> 22:04.167 preview or get ahead of any actions or 22:04.177 --> 22:06.858 designations from here . Uh but we will 22:06.868 --> 22:09.312 continue to work lock step with our 22:09.322 --> 22:11.433 allies and partners in the region and 22:11.433 --> 22:13.266 across the world , including the 22:13.266 --> 22:15.044 Republic of Korea . And we will 22:15.044 --> 22:17.211 continue to take prudent steps that we 22:17.211 --> 22:19.671 believe are integral to peace , 22:19.682 --> 22:21.738 prosperity and stability in the Indo 22:21.738 --> 22:23.849 Pacific region and around the world . 22:23.849 --> 22:26.491 And you've seen us done to do so quite 22:26.501 --> 22:28.732 clearly , the most recent state visit 22:28.741 --> 22:31.342 and that the administration hosted in 22:31.352 --> 22:33.495 which we hosted the Republic of Korea 22:33.515 --> 22:35.885 and President y you saw a number of 22:35.895 --> 22:39.066 steps and active policies come out of 22:39.076 --> 22:40.743 that including the Washington 22:40.743 --> 22:42.909 Declaration . And so we'll continue to 22:42.909 --> 22:45.076 pursue those lines of efforts . Do you 22:45.076 --> 22:47.725 think it is necessarily true ? 22:47.735 --> 22:51.485 Stability us R K Japan 22:51.495 --> 22:55.355 Alliance Consultative Group to respond 22:55.365 --> 22:59.189 to China's economic retaliation ? 22:59.199 --> 23:02.229 There are of course benefits to working 23:02.239 --> 23:04.890 these issues uh in a bilateral 23:04.900 --> 23:07.067 mechanism . There is of course benefit 23:07.067 --> 23:09.289 to working these issues , trilateral as 23:09.289 --> 23:12.810 well . Uh We have important close 23:12.819 --> 23:15.380 partnerships with both the R O K and 23:15.390 --> 23:18.829 Japan . We also have uh important work 23:18.839 --> 23:21.739 to be done in the trilateral auspice as 23:21.750 --> 23:23.972 well . Uh Secretary Lincoln has had the 23:23.972 --> 23:26.189 opportunity to engage with his foreign 23:26.199 --> 23:27.977 Minister counterparts both in a 23:27.977 --> 23:29.839 bilateral setting uh as well as 23:29.849 --> 23:31.960 trilateral uh and will continue to do 23:31.960 --> 23:33.829 so . Uh Go ahead 23:36.119 --> 23:38.650 from news Pakistan . There is a 23:38.660 --> 23:41.069 political unrest in Pakistan since long 23:41.079 --> 23:43.190 and after the arrest of Foreign Prime 23:43.190 --> 23:45.412 Minister Imran Khan , we have seen some 23:45.412 --> 23:47.635 charge crowds attacking on the military 23:47.635 --> 23:50.430 uh offices in their homes , how 23:50.439 --> 23:52.550 Washington observing the situation in 23:52.550 --> 23:54.383 Pakistan . Well , we continue to 23:54.383 --> 23:56.272 monitor the situation in Pakistan 23:56.272 --> 23:58.606 closely . And as the US has said before , 23:58.606 --> 24:00.949 we don't have a position on one 24:00.959 --> 24:03.181 candidate or one political party versus 24:03.181 --> 24:06.959 other . Uh what our interest is is a , 24:06.969 --> 24:10.430 is a safe and secure , prosperous 24:10.439 --> 24:12.619 Pakistan that is an interest of the US 24:12.630 --> 24:15.040 Pakistan relations . Uh And we call for 24:15.050 --> 24:17.666 the effect of democratic principles and 24:17.676 --> 24:20.135 the rule of law around the world . The 24:20.145 --> 24:22.201 government of Pakistan also shutting 24:22.201 --> 24:24.034 down social media platforms like 24:24.034 --> 24:25.978 Twitter , Facebook , Instagram and 24:25.978 --> 24:27.923 others . And there are some strict 24:27.923 --> 24:29.701 restrictions on Pakistani media 24:29.701 --> 24:31.946 channels like what to show and what not 24:31.956 --> 24:34.306 when state department officials engage 24:34.316 --> 24:36.316 with the Pakistani authorities . Is 24:36.316 --> 24:38.483 this subject as a part of discussion , 24:38.483 --> 24:40.205 media freedom . Well , this is 24:40.205 --> 24:40.026 something that the secretary has 24:40.036 --> 24:42.385 emphasized pretty clearly before he has 24:42.395 --> 24:44.761 been clear that access to information 24:44.862 --> 24:47.842 and diverse ideas make for a more 24:47.852 --> 24:50.141 prosperous and democratic societies and 24:50.151 --> 24:52.151 access to internet connection . For 24:52.151 --> 24:54.491 example , uh it connects the public to 24:54.501 --> 24:56.723 information . They need to advocate for 24:56.723 --> 24:58.779 themselves , to communicate with one 24:58.779 --> 25:00.945 another , to make informed decisions , 25:00.945 --> 25:02.557 to hold government officials 25:02.557 --> 25:04.445 accountable and to exercise their 25:04.445 --> 25:06.445 freedom of expression . So one last 25:06.445 --> 25:08.445 question , many analysts believe in 25:08.445 --> 25:10.390 Washington that due to the rift in 25:10.390 --> 25:12.339 Pakistani military and growing 25:12.349 --> 25:14.400 extremism and the political unrest 25:14.410 --> 25:16.739 poses a big threat to the safety of 25:16.750 --> 25:18.750 Pakistani nuclear assets . I mean , 25:19.109 --> 25:22.469 does the US government also have same 25:22.479 --> 25:24.479 concerns or you think that they are 25:24.479 --> 25:27.329 perfectly in safe hands ? Uh There's no 25:27.339 --> 25:29.561 uh I I'm just not going to speculate on 25:29.561 --> 25:31.729 that . That is some something internal 25:31.739 --> 25:34.709 to Pakistan . Go ahead . Yeah , so the 25:34.729 --> 25:36.840 same thing , but I want to understand 25:36.840 --> 25:38.951 it because I heard this from Mr Kirby 25:38.951 --> 25:41.007 as well that the US wants to stay in 25:41.007 --> 25:43.062 Pakistan . And the other day I heard 25:43.062 --> 25:45.290 from Karen as well when she said that 25:45.300 --> 25:47.467 we don't have a favorite candidate and 25:47.467 --> 25:50.260 you said this as well today . But I am 25:50.270 --> 25:52.699 just personally trying to wonder if the , 25:52.709 --> 25:56.579 if stability is really like the 25:56.589 --> 25:58.839 US is appreciating it or not . Because 25:59.160 --> 26:02.469 um you have a prime minister who runs 26:02.479 --> 26:04.701 two of the largest cancers hospitals in 26:04.701 --> 26:07.040 the world who takes millions of 26:07.050 --> 26:10.459 donations from the US every year . And 26:10.469 --> 26:12.525 then you have another prime minister 26:12.525 --> 26:14.691 who was convicted on the Panama papers 26:14.890 --> 26:17.479 and journalists have been killed since 26:17.489 --> 26:20.410 last one year in Pakistan . Uh media . 26:20.420 --> 26:22.739 His colleague , uh my colleague was 26:22.750 --> 26:25.920 just asking a question earlier . I mean , 26:26.079 --> 26:28.170 the US has no stand on these things 26:28.180 --> 26:31.199 that they like , you have no favorite 26:31.209 --> 26:33.339 candidate . You understand that , but 26:33.349 --> 26:35.516 like the US is not taking any stand on 26:35.516 --> 26:39.449 some of the atrocities which has taken 26:39.459 --> 26:41.515 place since the last one year . Uh I 26:41.515 --> 26:43.570 would reject the , the , the , the , 26:43.570 --> 26:45.626 the the premise of your question . I 26:45.626 --> 26:47.737 let , let me say a couple things that 26:47.737 --> 26:49.681 is true . We do not have a favored 26:49.681 --> 26:51.959 candidate or a favored political party . 26:51.959 --> 26:53.959 Um not just in Pakistan , but as it 26:53.959 --> 26:56.920 relates to any uh government system um 26:56.930 --> 26:58.986 in , in , in , in around the world . 26:59.859 --> 27:02.081 And I will reiterate what my colleagues 27:02.081 --> 27:04.192 and Admiral Kirby and Kaine said that 27:04.199 --> 27:07.229 the a prosperous and strong democratic 27:07.239 --> 27:10.229 Pakistan is critical to us interests 27:10.239 --> 27:13.459 that remains unchanged . But on some of 27:13.469 --> 27:15.469 these areas such as press freedom , 27:15.469 --> 27:17.636 human rights , things of that nature . 27:17.640 --> 27:19.780 Uh we have consistently raised these 27:19.790 --> 27:22.703 issues . Uh our counterparts , not just 27:22.713 --> 27:24.892 in Pakistan but in other countries 27:24.902 --> 27:27.322 where we have a perspective to offer on 27:27.333 --> 27:29.623 that . But to give you some examples , 27:29.633 --> 27:31.855 what the United States is interested in 27:31.855 --> 27:33.744 is , you know , we are looking to 27:33.744 --> 27:36.392 continue to strengthen economic ties 27:36.402 --> 27:38.843 between our two countries by expanding 27:38.853 --> 27:40.964 private sector trade and investment . 27:40.964 --> 27:43.385 And there is also important security 27:43.395 --> 27:45.125 collaboration and areas of 27:45.135 --> 27:47.135 collaboration on renewable energy , 27:47.145 --> 27:49.145 addressing the climate crisis , and 27:49.145 --> 27:51.145 increasing agricultural trade and a 27:51.145 --> 27:53.256 number of areas . That's what we mean 27:53.256 --> 27:55.505 by a strong and prosperous and 27:55.515 --> 27:57.737 democratic Pakistan that is critical to 27:57.737 --> 27:59.682 us interests . How is it that it's 27:59.682 --> 28:01.904 stable ? Pakistan is in the interest if 28:01.904 --> 28:04.186 after the US withdrawal , the Prime 28:04.196 --> 28:06.085 Minister Imran Khan was the Prime 28:06.085 --> 28:07.918 Minister . At that time , the US 28:07.918 --> 28:10.029 president did not call him about it , 28:10.029 --> 28:11.918 then he gets shot . The president 28:11.920 --> 28:14.031 called him about it . Are you , which 28:14.031 --> 28:16.087 withdrawal are you referring to from 28:16.087 --> 28:18.253 the US ? Withdrawal from Afghanistan ? 28:18.253 --> 28:20.587 At that time , I was the Prime Minister . 28:20.587 --> 28:22.698 I mean , President Biden has is known 28:22.698 --> 28:26.310 for a long time and expertise and 28:26.489 --> 28:29.530 I'm certainly not going to get into a 28:29.540 --> 28:32.359 tit for tat of who's called what or 28:32.369 --> 28:34.270 when uh what I will say is that 28:34.469 --> 28:37.920 Pakistan continues to be an important 28:37.930 --> 28:39.986 partner in the region , an important 28:39.986 --> 28:42.097 trade partner , an important security 28:42.097 --> 28:45.439 partner . And even in that time period , 28:45.449 --> 28:47.790 we continue to engage with our 28:47.800 --> 28:49.949 Pakistani counterparts on a number of 28:49.959 --> 28:52.310 issues , ok . Just 11 Prime Minister 28:52.319 --> 28:55.650 Modi is coming to the US next 28:55.660 --> 28:58.949 week . The same podium I had asked Mr 28:58.959 --> 29:01.459 Kirby again when he was coming here 29:01.689 --> 29:05.040 during President President Obama's Day . 29:05.050 --> 29:07.106 That was President Modi's first time 29:07.106 --> 29:10.040 coming to the US after being rejected 29:10.050 --> 29:12.380 US visa for 20 years . Now , he's 29:12.390 --> 29:14.446 coming again . This time , President 29:14.446 --> 29:16.501 Biden had said in his elections days 29:16.501 --> 29:19.140 that he will raise the issue of Kashmir 29:19.150 --> 29:21.569 with them , he will raise the issue of 29:21.579 --> 29:23.579 how minorities are being treated in 29:23.579 --> 29:25.640 India , especially the Muslims and 29:25.650 --> 29:27.594 especially how the journalists are 29:27.594 --> 29:29.817 being treated under his leadership . So 29:29.817 --> 29:31.872 my question is , is president or the 29:31.872 --> 29:33.983 secretary gonna raise this issue with 29:33.983 --> 29:36.206 him over here or not ? They're gonna be 29:36.206 --> 29:38.569 uh first uh I think you meant the visit 29:38.579 --> 29:41.219 is next month , not uh not next week . 29:41.229 --> 29:44.310 Um uh Secondly , uh we very much look 29:44.319 --> 29:46.375 forward to hosting uh Prime Minister 29:46.375 --> 29:49.089 Modi uh and uh uh members of the Indian 29:49.099 --> 29:51.709 government uh at this uh next upcoming 29:51.719 --> 29:53.869 state visit . Uh I'm not going to get 29:53.880 --> 29:56.102 ahead of what's going to be discussed . 29:56.102 --> 29:58.150 Uh But we have an important uh 29:58.160 --> 30:01.785 partnership uh with uh India . Uh And 30:01.795 --> 30:03.906 we look forward to continuing to take 30:03.906 --> 30:06.564 steps to deepen that . Uh And uh this 30:06.574 --> 30:08.741 uh next state visit will be an immense 30:08.741 --> 30:10.852 opportunity to talk about a number of 30:10.852 --> 30:12.518 shared priorities , including 30:12.518 --> 30:14.296 addressing the climate crisis , 30:14.296 --> 30:16.614 addressing trade issues , uh deepening 30:16.625 --> 30:18.736 our security cooperation and a number 30:18.736 --> 30:22.015 of other areas as well . Uh I'm gonna 30:22.025 --> 30:24.303 go to , then I'll go to you , Michelle . 30:24.303 --> 30:27.920 Go ahead of us . 30:28.060 --> 30:31.550 Lawmakers introduced a bill today to 30:31.560 --> 30:34.280 bar the US government from recognizing 30:34.290 --> 30:37.589 the Assad regime . And the bill moves 30:37.599 --> 30:40.189 to expand the ca would you say to bar 30:41.489 --> 30:43.711 and the bill moves to expand the Caesar 30:43.711 --> 30:46.739 Act and ask the administration to be 30:46.750 --> 30:49.880 more aggressive in implementing it any 30:49.890 --> 30:51.839 reaction to that ? And is the 30:51.849 --> 30:53.960 administration that need to implement 30:54.140 --> 30:57.189 act against the Arab countries who 30:57.199 --> 30:59.255 normalize with the Syrian regime ? I 30:59.255 --> 31:01.699 just general as a general matter , I'm 31:01.709 --> 31:04.969 not going to get into uh pending or 31:04.979 --> 31:07.079 active legislation . But what I will 31:07.089 --> 31:09.969 say is that that is already our policy . 31:09.979 --> 31:13.420 We have been very clear that we do not 31:13.430 --> 31:17.030 seek to normalize relations with the 31:17.040 --> 31:19.589 Assad regime and we would not support 31:19.599 --> 31:22.400 our allies and partners doing so either . 31:22.410 --> 31:25.819 And so that is already the posture of 31:25.829 --> 31:28.550 the United States as it relates to any 31:28.560 --> 31:30.782 actions . I'm just not going to preview 31:30.790 --> 31:32.901 them from here , Michel , but when it 31:32.901 --> 31:35.079 has come to holding the Syrian regime 31:35.089 --> 31:37.439 accountable when holding members of the 31:37.449 --> 31:39.616 Assad regime accountable , we have not 31:39.616 --> 31:41.560 hesitated to take actions and take 31:41.560 --> 31:44.880 steps including through the Caesar Act . 31:44.939 --> 31:46.680 Roslin , go ahead , 31:50.630 --> 31:54.569 go ahead will 31:54.579 --> 31:57.250 gain more support from the Arabic 31:57.260 --> 31:59.449 countries and also from the some eu 31:59.459 --> 32:02.449 countries . Will that impact on your 32:02.459 --> 32:05.599 military presence in Syria in the short 32:05.609 --> 32:07.670 or medium term ? I don't have any 32:07.680 --> 32:10.979 posture assessments to offer from here . 32:10.989 --> 32:13.100 But what I will say and I spoke about 32:13.100 --> 32:15.156 this earlier this week on Monday , I 32:15.156 --> 32:18.050 think as it relates to our efforts in 32:18.060 --> 32:20.699 the region , one of our key priorities 32:20.709 --> 32:24.180 will continue to be despite what our 32:24.189 --> 32:26.959 partners in the Arab League may choose 32:26.969 --> 32:28.969 to do or not do . One of the United 32:28.969 --> 32:31.080 States priorities in conjunction with 32:31.080 --> 32:33.136 our partners in the Arab world is to 32:33.136 --> 32:35.025 ensure that the steps that we are 32:35.025 --> 32:37.191 taking for the degradation of ISIS and 32:37.191 --> 32:39.191 the influence that they have in the 32:39.191 --> 32:41.358 region that the work that we are doing 32:41.358 --> 32:43.358 continues and persists . And I will 32:43.358 --> 32:45.930 just point that in , since this has 32:45.939 --> 32:48.106 been in his office , we have been able 32:48.106 --> 32:50.109 to take two ISIS leaders off the 32:50.119 --> 32:52.341 battlefield and we've continued to take 32:52.341 --> 32:55.290 steps to degrade ISIS influence in the 32:55.300 --> 32:57.411 region . And so that will continue to 32:57.411 --> 32:59.780 be our priority for this part of the 32:59.790 --> 33:03.219 world irregardless of what happens . Uh 33:03.229 --> 33:07.150 Else other questions I can come back 33:07.160 --> 33:10.479 to you after said 33:10.489 --> 33:13.339 today that he doesn't feel that his 33:13.349 --> 33:15.571 country is ready for the spring counter 33:15.571 --> 33:17.460 offensive . And this comes just a 33:17.460 --> 33:19.571 couple of days after the US announced 33:19.571 --> 33:21.900 another tranche of military equipment 33:21.910 --> 33:24.260 and support for the Ukrainian army . 33:24.270 --> 33:27.180 Does the US government share Zelinsky s 33:27.189 --> 33:29.699 assessment that now isn't the time for 33:29.709 --> 33:31.939 them to mount a counter offensive . And 33:31.949 --> 33:35.829 if so why if you disagree , why Rosin 33:35.839 --> 33:37.410 I'm just not gonna get into 33:37.420 --> 33:39.476 prescriptive battlefield assessments 33:39.476 --> 33:41.698 from up here . Uh What I will reiterate 33:41.698 --> 33:43.864 and this is something that you saw the 33:43.864 --> 33:45.753 secretary talk about in uh his uh 33:45.753 --> 33:47.809 engagement earlier this week with uh 33:47.809 --> 33:49.939 foreign Secretary . Cleverly and 33:49.949 --> 33:52.189 yesterday , with his counterpart from 33:52.199 --> 33:55.459 Spain , the US s role will continue to 33:55.469 --> 33:57.750 be to ensure that our Ukrainian 33:57.760 --> 34:01.530 partners have the assets , the training 34:01.550 --> 34:04.819 and the pieces that they need to ensure 34:04.829 --> 34:06.996 that they can defend their territorial 34:06.996 --> 34:09.051 integrity , defend their sovereignty 34:09.051 --> 34:11.169 and reclaim the top , the territory 34:11.179 --> 34:13.479 that was taken from them . There has 34:13.489 --> 34:16.340 been a group of more than 50 countries 34:16.350 --> 34:18.128 that of course , that have come 34:18.128 --> 34:20.909 together to provide support to Ukraine 34:20.919 --> 34:23.250 that has included the United States and 34:23.260 --> 34:26.689 this is a coalition of countries . I 34:26.699 --> 34:28.793 will let it it to the Ukrainians to 34:28.803 --> 34:31.283 speak to their own next steps and to 34:31.293 --> 34:32.904 their own assessments of the 34:32.904 --> 34:34.904 battlefield . But the United States 34:34.904 --> 34:36.682 will continue to stand with our 34:36.682 --> 34:38.737 Ukrainian partners as they , as they 34:38.737 --> 34:40.843 endure . This is the US having 34:40.854 --> 34:43.076 conversations with the Ukrainians about 34:43.699 --> 34:45.810 how to prepare for the day when there 34:45.810 --> 34:49.290 is some sort of peace negotiation is 34:49.300 --> 34:51.909 the US stressing to the Ukrainians that 34:51.919 --> 34:54.520 they can't fight forever . Uh Rosin 34:54.530 --> 34:56.752 again , I'm just not gonna get into the 34:56.752 --> 34:58.586 specifics of , of , of , of , of 34:58.586 --> 35:00.500 diplomatic engagements . Uh Even 35:00.510 --> 35:03.689 President Zens has been clear eyed and 35:03.699 --> 35:06.350 vocal about the fact that uh the 35:06.360 --> 35:09.590 resolution of this needs to happen uh 35:09.600 --> 35:11.770 through peace and through diplomacy . 35:11.780 --> 35:14.686 Uh But let's not forget that that could 35:14.696 --> 35:18.006 happen at any minute . If the Russians 35:18.016 --> 35:20.016 indicated that they were willing to 35:20.016 --> 35:22.585 engage in good faith , they have not , 35:22.595 --> 35:25.805 the Russia could end this war right now . 35:25.815 --> 35:27.759 If they wanted to , by withdrawing 35:27.759 --> 35:30.676 their troops from Ukraine , they again 35:30.686 --> 35:32.686 have chosen not to and instead have 35:32.686 --> 35:35.021 taken steps to further the strikes and 35:35.031 --> 35:37.691 to further their violence and attacks 35:37.701 --> 35:40.771 that have targeted civilian and energy 35:40.781 --> 35:44.352 infrastructure across Ukraine . So we 35:44.362 --> 35:46.473 will continue to take steps to ensure 35:46.473 --> 35:48.640 that our Ukrainian partners are in the 35:48.640 --> 35:50.473 best position possible to defend 35:50.473 --> 35:53.441 themselves and to reclaim the territory 35:53.451 --> 35:55.673 that was taken from them . Uh Shannon , 35:55.673 --> 35:57.850 go ahead one more question on South 35:57.860 --> 35:59.693 Africa if I can't , if the State 35:59.693 --> 36:01.693 Department does come the assessment 36:01.693 --> 36:03.916 that in fact , arms were transferred to 36:03.916 --> 36:05.971 Russia . If that concern escalates , 36:05.971 --> 36:08.249 will there be penalties that they face ? 36:08.249 --> 36:10.249 Because when the administration was 36:10.249 --> 36:12.304 anticipating that China might supply 36:12.304 --> 36:14.304 lethal aid . It was made very clear 36:14.304 --> 36:16.360 that they would face swift . This is 36:16.360 --> 36:18.193 I'm just not going to get into a 36:18.193 --> 36:21.125 hypothetical Shannon , but we have not 36:21.135 --> 36:23.695 parsed our words as it comes to any 36:23.705 --> 36:27.665 country , taking steps to support the 36:27.675 --> 36:30.054 Russian aggression in Ukraine . But 36:30.064 --> 36:32.455 again , I'm not going to get ahead of 36:32.465 --> 36:35.489 anything right now . Go ahead . Yeah , 36:36.070 --> 36:39.270 I from coming G7 leaders meeting in 36:39.280 --> 36:41.330 Hiroshima yesterday . Uh President 36:41.340 --> 36:44.110 Biden touched on the possibility of uh 36:44.120 --> 36:46.590 I think the G7 summit virtually uh 36:46.600 --> 36:48.949 depending on his negotiation with 36:48.959 --> 36:51.739 Congress on debt ceiling . So I'm 36:51.750 --> 36:53.972 wondering if state department is having 36:53.972 --> 36:55.750 any discussion with uh Japanese 36:55.750 --> 36:57.919 government or other decent members 36:57.929 --> 37:00.320 countries . Uh regarding this 37:00.330 --> 37:02.830 possibility . Uh Look , I , I will let 37:02.840 --> 37:04.896 the , the White House speak to the , 37:04.896 --> 37:07.969 the President's own um travel schedule . 37:07.979 --> 37:10.090 Um uh I just don't have anything else 37:10.090 --> 37:11.979 to offer on that . We of course , 37:11.979 --> 37:14.139 continue to engage with our Japanese 37:14.149 --> 37:15.989 partners on a number of issues 37:16.000 --> 37:19.209 including the upcoming G7 leaders 37:19.219 --> 37:21.163 meeting . Uh The secretary had the 37:21.163 --> 37:23.163 opportunity to represent the United 37:23.163 --> 37:25.330 States at the Foreign Minister's level 37:25.330 --> 37:27.497 meeting . Um And I know that the White 37:27.497 --> 37:29.330 House will be in touch about any 37:29.330 --> 37:31.544 changes that may or may not take place 37:31.554 --> 37:33.554 uh as it relates to the president's 37:33.554 --> 37:35.776 schedule . But my understanding is that 37:35.776 --> 37:39.655 the plan is still on and 37:39.665 --> 37:42.754 will proceed as , as normally . Um Nick , 37:42.764 --> 37:46.495 go ahead for the Afghanistan 37:46.504 --> 37:48.905 Descent cable is six PM . Today , 37:48.915 --> 37:51.137 yesterday , Chairman mccall said he had 37:51.137 --> 37:53.082 no alternative but to proceed with 37:53.082 --> 37:55.248 contempt proceedings if he doesn't get 37:55.248 --> 37:57.304 it . Um I know you commented on this 37:57.304 --> 37:59.359 earlier this week , but today is the 37:59.359 --> 38:01.304 deadline . So will the State State 38:01.304 --> 38:03.637 Department comply with today's deadline ? 38:03.637 --> 38:06.070 Nick , we will continue to engage with 38:06.080 --> 38:08.302 the House Foreign Affairs Committee and 38:08.302 --> 38:11.239 discuss with them on their uh requests . 38:11.250 --> 38:13.459 As I have said before . Uh the 38:13.469 --> 38:16.100 department has already offered a 38:16.110 --> 38:19.620 classified briefing and a summary of 38:19.629 --> 38:22.044 the Dissent channel cable as well as 38:22.054 --> 38:24.195 the department's response . Uh We 38:24.205 --> 38:27.024 believe that this information has been 38:27.034 --> 38:30.264 sufficient to meet what the committee 38:30.274 --> 38:33.195 has requested thus far , but we again 38:33.205 --> 38:35.427 will continue to engage with them and I 38:35.427 --> 38:37.649 just don't have any uh updates to offer 38:37.649 --> 38:39.155 right now . Go ahead 38:41.125 --> 38:44.534 yesterday Wednesday , the president of 38:44.544 --> 38:46.864 the Un Human Rights Council appointed 38:47.250 --> 38:49.340 the Islamic Republic of Iran as the 38:49.350 --> 38:53.179 next chair of the Council's social 38:53.189 --> 38:55.879 Forum and the topic for the next 38:55.889 --> 38:57.722 session when Iran is going to be 38:57.722 --> 38:59.949 president as the chair is technology 38:59.959 --> 39:02.126 and human rights . Now , I'm not going 39:02.126 --> 39:04.389 to go into the past nine months 39:04.399 --> 39:06.939 developments in Iran , but given that 39:06.949 --> 39:10.854 the United States spearheaded the of 39:10.945 --> 39:13.675 Iran from the UN Commission on the 39:13.685 --> 39:15.852 Status of Women . What do you think of 39:15.852 --> 39:18.215 this appointment ? Well , this is 39:18.225 --> 39:21.854 obviously deeply troubling the 39:21.864 --> 39:24.455 appointment of the Iranian ambassador , 39:24.465 --> 39:27.225 the representative of an egregious 39:27.495 --> 39:30.405 consistent human rights violator to 39:30.415 --> 39:32.935 chair such a group . Sim simply 39:32.945 --> 39:36.090 undermine uh it's already limited uh 39:36.100 --> 39:38.729 usefulness . Um As you might recall , 39:38.739 --> 39:41.229 Guta , the US opposed the resolution 39:41.370 --> 39:44.030 that created the social forum in 2015 . 39:44.040 --> 39:46.040 Uh noting at the time that it would 39:46.040 --> 39:49.449 serve uh limited utility and uh add 39:49.459 --> 39:52.389 unnecessary and additional costs . Uh 39:52.399 --> 39:54.530 The US has not participated in the 39:54.540 --> 39:56.651 social forum in the past and does not 39:56.651 --> 39:59.405 intend to participate in the 2023 39:59.415 --> 40:03.165 session either . But of course , we are 40:03.175 --> 40:05.814 disappointed that the president of the 40:05.824 --> 40:09.034 council made this decision and it is 40:09.044 --> 40:11.915 not appropriate for Iran to serve in a 40:11.925 --> 40:15.084 leadership position on a body that is 40:15.094 --> 40:17.165 supposed to be associated with the 40:17.175 --> 40:19.195 promotion and protection of human 40:19.205 --> 40:21.479 rights . Um The Biden administration 40:21.489 --> 40:23.433 has from the very beginning sought 40:23.433 --> 40:25.489 reforms at the UN . Don't you think 40:25.500 --> 40:27.222 there should be a criteria for 40:27.222 --> 40:29.444 appointments like this for appointments 40:29.444 --> 40:32.850 in general or uh elections , even that 40:32.860 --> 40:36.729 whatever country is being put forward 40:36.739 --> 40:38.517 as a candidate should meet some 40:38.517 --> 40:41.969 criteria to be eligible to hold that 40:41.979 --> 40:45.500 certain . I I'm , I'm not gonna be 40:45.510 --> 40:47.689 prescriptive about reforms from , from 40:47.699 --> 40:49.679 up here . But uh as you know , as 40:49.689 --> 40:51.633 someone who has followed this very 40:51.633 --> 40:54.129 closely , um when we have seen uh in 40:54.139 --> 40:56.830 consistencies with uh the makeup of 40:56.840 --> 41:00.320 various multilateral bodies . Uh At a 41:00.330 --> 41:02.052 recent example , being this uh 41:02.052 --> 41:04.219 commission on the status of women , uh 41:04.219 --> 41:06.824 the US has not hesitated to take steps 41:06.834 --> 41:10.165 to ensure that uh the values uh 41:10.175 --> 41:13.145 that uh such a group is supposed to be 41:13.155 --> 41:16.125 working on uh is consistent with the 41:16.135 --> 41:19.455 values of the uh uh make countries that 41:19.465 --> 41:21.632 are made up of its membership . Um And 41:21.632 --> 41:24.135 so I will just leave it at that . Go 41:24.145 --> 41:26.145 ahead . Is there anything ongoing 41:26.155 --> 41:29.024 behind the scene or over with the CPO A 41:29.034 --> 41:32.125 W where is envoy Maley ? Is he 41:32.649 --> 41:34.538 conducting any kind of talks with 41:34.538 --> 41:37.010 either signatories to the deal ? 41:38.510 --> 41:40.649 As you know , President Biden is 41:40.659 --> 41:43.419 absolutely committed to ensuring that 41:43.429 --> 41:45.760 Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon . 41:45.919 --> 41:48.030 And as we have said repeatedly , will 41:48.030 --> 41:50.141 you believe diplomacy is the best way 41:50.141 --> 41:52.252 to achieve that goal but have nothing 41:52.252 --> 41:54.141 to announce or nothing to share a 41:54.141 --> 41:56.086 preview at this time . Joseph , go 41:56.086 --> 41:59.909 ahead . Also on Iran and 41:59.919 --> 42:02.449 Yemen , there was a bipartisan bill 42:02.459 --> 42:04.626 introduced , I think earlier this week 42:04.626 --> 42:08.360 on the hill calling for sanctions on 42:08.370 --> 42:10.259 Iran's missile and drone programs 42:10.259 --> 42:13.120 because of the looming expiration of 42:13.129 --> 42:15.530 the UN resolution that expires in 42:15.540 --> 42:19.100 October on the UN . The UN missile ban 42:19.110 --> 42:22.919 on Iran . Iran expires is 42:22.929 --> 42:25.659 the , is the state department looking 42:25.979 --> 42:29.810 at extending that seeing as it expires 42:29.820 --> 42:31.931 in a couple of months , I'm not going 42:31.931 --> 42:34.300 to preview or get ahead of any actions 42:34.310 --> 42:36.550 from here . Joseph , what I will say is 42:36.560 --> 42:38.727 that as it comes to the Iranian regime 42:38.727 --> 42:41.739 and the Malign influence that Iran has 42:41.750 --> 42:44.679 had and of course Yemen and the role 42:44.689 --> 42:47.469 that they have played when it comes to 42:47.479 --> 42:50.139 destabilization in that conflict , of 42:50.149 --> 42:52.389 course , continues to be of immense 42:52.399 --> 42:54.679 concern to the United States . And so 42:54.689 --> 42:57.229 we will not hesitate to take action in 42:57.239 --> 42:59.517 holding the Iranian regime accountable , 42:59.517 --> 43:01.683 but I'm just not going to preview this 43:01.683 --> 43:03.683 morning . Special envoy Lender King 43:03.683 --> 43:05.628 said that Iran was still smuggling 43:05.628 --> 43:08.419 weapons and drugs into Yemen from this 43:08.429 --> 43:11.629 podium before you guys have have stated 43:11.639 --> 43:13.679 or revealed those violate previous 43:13.689 --> 43:16.719 violations of that . Have you seen , 43:17.110 --> 43:19.510 can you elaborate on the special envoys 43:19.520 --> 43:21.687 comments this morning ? Has there been 43:21.687 --> 43:23.909 any recent incidents that you can point 43:23.909 --> 43:26.370 to in terms of Iran smuggling weapons ? 43:26.969 --> 43:29.330 I don't have any specific metrics to 43:29.340 --> 43:31.562 offer from here , but certainly you are 43:31.562 --> 43:33.673 right . We have not parsed words from 43:33.673 --> 43:35.507 this podium when it comes to the 43:35.507 --> 43:37.689 destabilizing influence and actions 43:37.699 --> 43:40.760 that the Iranian regime has taken in 43:40.770 --> 43:43.360 Yemen . And it continues to be an area 43:43.370 --> 43:45.550 of deep concern to us and we will 43:45.560 --> 43:49.159 continue to work through un led efforts , 43:49.169 --> 43:52.080 efforts that we're undertaking , of 43:52.090 --> 43:54.540 course , with our partners in Saudi 43:54.550 --> 43:56.661 Arabia . Well , we will also continue 43:56.661 --> 43:58.604 to take steps to hold the Iranian 43:58.614 --> 44:00.844 regime accountable if and when 44:00.854 --> 44:02.854 necessary , Simon , you've had your 44:02.854 --> 44:05.155 hand up . Go ahead . Yeah , this issue 44:05.165 --> 44:07.784 has come up before , but some lawmakers 44:07.824 --> 44:10.125 including Senator Durbin 44:11.419 --> 44:14.100 have raised the question or criticizing 44:14.110 --> 44:17.620 the Pentagon primarily for blocking the 44:17.629 --> 44:19.989 sharing of intelligence with the 44:20.000 --> 44:22.056 International Criminal Court for the 44:22.056 --> 44:24.209 for the investigation into Russia's 44:24.219 --> 44:26.909 actions in Ukraine or you know , war 44:26.919 --> 44:29.197 crimes , alleged war crimes in Ukraine . 44:30.159 --> 44:33.580 I wonder as part of this . It , it was 44:33.590 --> 44:37.219 also seem to be um said that the State 44:37.229 --> 44:39.562 Department is cooperating with the IC C . 44:39.562 --> 44:41.673 So I wonder if you could clarify , is 44:41.673 --> 44:43.896 state providing intelligence to that IC 44:43.896 --> 44:47.050 C investigation or is the Pentagon's 44:47.239 --> 44:50.270 opposition to that preventing the 44:50.280 --> 44:52.449 entire US government from sharing 44:52.459 --> 44:55.360 materials that could be evidence in 44:55.399 --> 44:57.679 those cases . Uh Simon , I don't have 44:57.689 --> 45:00.379 any uh updates on this from when this 45:00.389 --> 45:02.667 was last raised at the at the briefing . 45:02.667 --> 45:04.860 But if you'll allow me the US , of 45:04.870 --> 45:07.037 course , strongly supports pathways to 45:07.037 --> 45:08.759 justice and accountability for 45:08.759 --> 45:10.729 international crimes committed in 45:10.739 --> 45:13.679 Ukraine and we support a range of 45:13.689 --> 45:15.522 international investigations and 45:15.522 --> 45:17.820 inquiries into war crimes and 45:17.830 --> 45:20.030 atrocities in Ukraine . This includes 45:20.040 --> 45:23.449 those conducted by the IC C prosecutor . 45:23.459 --> 45:27.419 It includes the Un , un Human Rights 45:27.429 --> 45:29.280 Council created International 45:29.290 --> 45:31.810 Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine . It 45:31.820 --> 45:34.500 also includes uh auspices through the 45:34.510 --> 45:37.500 missions under the Moscow mechanism of 45:37.510 --> 45:40.300 the OS CE as well . Uh International 45:40.310 --> 45:42.379 courts such as the IC C can play an 45:42.389 --> 45:44.129 important role as the part of 45:44.139 --> 45:45.917 international efforts to ensure 45:45.917 --> 45:48.149 accountability for atrocities . And the 45:48.159 --> 45:50.048 US will continue to take steps to 45:50.048 --> 45:51.992 empower organizations to collect , 45:51.992 --> 45:54.419 preserve , analyze and disseminate open 45:54.429 --> 45:56.596 source and comprehensive information . 45:56.596 --> 45:58.485 Um But I just don't have anything 45:58.485 --> 46:00.318 additional to offer that support 46:00.320 --> 46:02.939 specifically regarding the IC C . Does 46:02.949 --> 46:06.169 that support include sharing uh 46:06.750 --> 46:10.040 what might be evidence ? There is a AAA 46:10.050 --> 46:12.850 number of uh mechanisms in which we are 46:12.860 --> 46:15.090 working to support uh international 46:15.100 --> 46:17.669 organizations who are working on the 46:17.679 --> 46:19.568 issue of accountability for these 46:19.568 --> 46:21.790 atrocities . I'm not gonna get into the 46:21.790 --> 46:24.012 specifics of what those uh partnerships 46:24.012 --> 46:26.080 and engagements are . Uh uh But uh I 46:26.090 --> 46:28.310 will leave it at that . Uh go ahead 46:28.320 --> 46:30.729 Sean um question unless Alex wants to 46:30.810 --> 46:34.209 jump in a Rajan . Um 46:34.729 --> 46:36.840 just uh just , I wanted to see if you 46:36.840 --> 46:38.673 had any comment about the um the 46:38.673 --> 46:40.396 violence there , the secretary 46:40.396 --> 46:42.673 discussions with the two top diplomats . 46:42.673 --> 46:44.451 Do you see this as set back the 46:44.451 --> 46:47.709 diplomatic process ? Sean and Alex , I 46:47.719 --> 46:51.590 guess uh we uh this kind of violence we 46:51.600 --> 46:54.850 believe it undermines the progress made 46:54.860 --> 46:57.149 by Armenia and Azerbaijan toward a 46:57.159 --> 46:59.570 durable and dignified peace . Uh And we 46:59.580 --> 47:01.691 call on the leaders of , of , of both 47:01.691 --> 47:03.580 of these countries that when they 47:03.580 --> 47:06.739 convene in Brussels on the 14th to a 47:06.770 --> 47:09.239 that these two parties agree to 47:09.250 --> 47:11.469 distance their forces along the border 47:11.479 --> 47:14.439 uh as discussed uh by Secretary Blinken 47:14.449 --> 47:17.010 during their participation uh of these 47:17.020 --> 47:19.187 negotiations that we hosted uh here in 47:19.187 --> 47:21.242 Washington DC uh at the beginning of 47:21.242 --> 47:24.959 May . Um Does the secretary view 47:24.969 --> 47:27.025 upcoming meeting on the forties as a 47:27.025 --> 47:29.191 continuation of Washington dialogue or 47:29.191 --> 47:31.358 that was a separate track ? Uh We , of 47:31.358 --> 47:33.580 course , we , we , we see uh we see the 47:33.580 --> 47:35.636 dialogue that we hosted as important 47:35.636 --> 47:38.280 positive steps in which we felt the two 47:38.290 --> 47:40.580 countries had the opportunity to engage 47:40.590 --> 47:42.689 on some important issues . See the 47:42.699 --> 47:45.270 other side's point of view and we 47:45.280 --> 47:47.336 believe that there continues to be a 47:47.336 --> 47:49.889 durable path forward . We believe that 47:49.899 --> 47:52.560 there is a peaceful solution to this . 47:52.570 --> 47:55.280 It's why we from the secretary on down 47:55.290 --> 47:57.590 have continued to be so deeply engaged 47:57.600 --> 47:59.544 on this , but I'm not going to get 47:59.544 --> 48:01.850 ahead of these talks themselves about 48:01.879 --> 48:04.046 Russia's position on this because your 48:04.046 --> 48:06.101 Russian counterpart today questioned 48:06.101 --> 48:08.709 the secretary's optimism on the results 48:08.719 --> 48:11.060 of Washington talks . And also she laid 48:11.070 --> 48:13.530 out , you know , the rules say her 48:13.540 --> 48:15.762 standards that , you know , there is no 48:15.762 --> 48:18.939 success outside of trilateral agreement 48:18.949 --> 48:21.290 they had , which according to local 48:21.300 --> 48:23.370 experts is about fixing the co not 48:23.379 --> 48:25.435 solving the conflict . So how do you 48:25.435 --> 48:27.435 see Russia's position on this ? You 48:27.435 --> 48:29.490 know , Alex , I don't spend a lot of 48:29.490 --> 48:31.490 time thinking about what my Russian 48:31.490 --> 48:33.657 counterparts from her podium . Uh What 48:33.657 --> 48:35.823 I can say though is that as it relates 48:35.823 --> 48:37.935 to this very important issue of peace 48:37.935 --> 48:40.101 between Armenia and Azerbaijan , it is 48:40.101 --> 48:42.101 something that this department will 48:42.101 --> 48:44.300 continue to remain deeply engaged on . 48:44.320 --> 48:46.431 We believe that there is a clear path 48:46.431 --> 48:49.189 forward . We obviously were happy to 48:49.199 --> 48:52.350 host these two countries at the 48:52.360 --> 48:54.879 beginning of May . We believe that 48:54.889 --> 48:57.360 those talks were fruitful and laid the 48:57.370 --> 48:59.481 groundwork for a continuation , these 48:59.481 --> 49:02.260 talks beginning in Brussels and we'll 49:02.270 --> 49:04.381 let that process play out . I'm going 49:04.381 --> 49:06.437 to work the room a little bit , Alex 49:08.360 --> 49:10.979 phone call . I don't have any calls to 49:10.989 --> 49:13.469 preview or read out . Go ahead , go 49:13.530 --> 49:17.270 ahead related to the Iraqi 49:17.280 --> 49:18.060 traffic which 49:23.570 --> 49:25.514 I'm sorry . I'm having a hard time 49:25.514 --> 49:27.626 hearing you . The commands related to 49:27.626 --> 49:30.850 the Iraqi budget shows that 49:31.159 --> 49:33.750 the hash Al Shabi , it's a paramilitary 49:33.760 --> 49:36.989 groups umbrella which there are some 49:37.000 --> 49:40.020 prominent Iranian backed groups are in 49:40.030 --> 49:43.310 this uh hash Al Shabi group and 49:43.709 --> 49:45.709 they , their number in the past two 49:45.709 --> 49:48.280 years have double in size it and if the 49:48.290 --> 49:51.639 budget passed now , it will give 2.7 49:51.649 --> 49:54.439 billion to the hash Al Shabi which are 49:54.449 --> 49:56.282 part of these forces . They were 49:56.282 --> 49:58.449 working so hard to expel the US forces 49:58.449 --> 50:00.830 in Iraq . And then don't you have any 50:00.840 --> 50:03.007 concern about the future of the nature 50:03.007 --> 50:05.219 of the role it will play in the future 50:05.229 --> 50:07.969 in Iraq . Uh This is largely an 50:07.979 --> 50:10.489 internal uh domestic matter for Iraq . 50:10.500 --> 50:12.444 I don't have an assessment to , to 50:12.444 --> 50:14.669 offer from here . What we support is a 50:14.679 --> 50:17.489 stable , prosperous and democratic and 50:17.500 --> 50:20.689 unified Iraq . Uh We have a strategic 50:20.699 --> 50:22.755 framework agreement and that remains 50:22.755 --> 50:24.689 the foundation of our bilateral 50:24.699 --> 50:26.477 relationship , but I don't have 50:26.477 --> 50:28.532 anything else to offer . Go ahead in 50:28.532 --> 50:30.532 the back . Andrew Thor of the times 50:30.532 --> 50:32.699 actually have two questions both about 50:32.699 --> 50:34.921 ASEAN . Uh So this week ASEAN announced 50:34.921 --> 50:37.143 that it cease to strengthen cooperation 50:37.143 --> 50:37.010 with China , including hastening the 50:37.020 --> 50:39.187 development of a cooperation agreement 50:39.187 --> 50:41.298 regarding behavior in the South China 50:41.298 --> 50:43.353 Sea . Uh two questions on that one . 50:43.353 --> 50:45.464 What is the administration's hopes if 50:45.464 --> 50:47.353 any that China will adhere to the 50:47.353 --> 50:49.409 tenets of such an agreement ? And if 50:49.409 --> 50:51.576 the agreement is solidified , how will 50:51.576 --> 50:53.742 the capabilities , the maritime domain 50:53.742 --> 50:53.689 awareness capabilities that the US 50:53.699 --> 50:56.032 provides to ASEAN be used to enforce it ? 50:56.429 --> 50:59.320 What I will say is that uh I , I've not 50:59.330 --> 51:01.330 seen this reporting but what I will 51:01.330 --> 51:03.274 just say , and you've seen us talk 51:03.274 --> 51:06.290 about this before is that as it relates 51:06.300 --> 51:08.870 to the South China Sea , there is 51:08.879 --> 51:11.870 important work being done as it relates 51:11.879 --> 51:14.050 to maritime boundaries and 51:14.060 --> 51:16.649 international delineation . Uh We 51:16.659 --> 51:19.409 believe that there is uh an important 51:19.419 --> 51:21.530 space for those kinds of uh talks to 51:21.540 --> 51:24.120 continue to have some kind of framework 51:24.129 --> 51:26.018 uh and rules of the road uh as it 51:26.018 --> 51:28.185 relates to uh that uh that part of the 51:28.185 --> 51:30.351 world , but I don't have anything else 51:30.351 --> 51:32.573 to offer . Uh Right , I can probably do 51:32.573 --> 51:34.629 a couple more . Go ahead . The White 51:34.629 --> 51:36.518 House announced a meeting between 51:36.518 --> 51:38.810 National Security Advisor and Chinese 51:39.000 --> 51:42.120 Officer Wang Yi happened in Vienna and 51:42.129 --> 51:44.240 that the meeting , do you think there 51:44.240 --> 51:45.962 are any progress on the future 51:45.962 --> 51:47.760 engagement with China including 51:47.830 --> 51:49.941 possible phone call between President 51:49.941 --> 51:52.389 Biden and Xi Jinping and the possible 51:52.399 --> 51:56.270 secretary . Well , these , these talks 51:56.280 --> 51:58.620 between national security adviser , 51:58.629 --> 52:01.530 Jake Sullivan and Foreign Affairs 52:01.540 --> 52:04.699 Commissioner Wang Yi , they are part of 52:04.709 --> 52:08.030 ongoing efforts to maintain and open 52:08.040 --> 52:10.207 lines of communication and responsibly 52:10.209 --> 52:13.469 manage competition that continues to be 52:13.479 --> 52:15.535 the case . And as you've heard , the 52:15.535 --> 52:17.757 secretary say previously , uh we intend 52:17.757 --> 52:19.959 to uh get this trip uh back on the 52:19.969 --> 52:21.913 books when uh conditions allow and 52:21.913 --> 52:24.129 we'll continue uh to work uh through 52:24.139 --> 52:26.510 that process . Um Go ahead . 52:35.239 --> 52:37.128 Uh We have been very clear in our 52:37.128 --> 52:39.072 designation of the , of the Wagner 52:39.072 --> 52:40.860 group as a group that is a uh 52:40.870 --> 52:43.479 transnational uh threat group . Uh 52:43.489 --> 52:45.545 Again , our assessment of the Wagner 52:45.545 --> 52:47.889 group is that they are motivated by uh 52:47.899 --> 52:51.379 profit , uh not necessarily fame and 52:51.389 --> 52:53.409 some of the other uh metrics and 52:53.419 --> 52:56.219 assessments uh that are made uh in an F 52:56.229 --> 52:59.270 T O process that being said , um uh the 52:59.280 --> 53:01.729 processes as it relates to designations , 53:01.739 --> 53:03.628 uh those processes continue to be 53:03.636 --> 53:06.237 ongoing and they are not some kind of 53:06.247 --> 53:08.497 moment in time snapshots . So I don't 53:08.507 --> 53:10.707 have anything additional to offer on 53:10.717 --> 53:12.828 Georgia . Go ahead . Georgia . Russia 53:12.828 --> 53:15.717 has lifted visa regime and direct 53:15.727 --> 53:19.626 flight ban Georgia concerning that this 53:19.636 --> 53:22.227 might add up to Georgia's side stepping 53:22.237 --> 53:25.556 of sanctions . Look Alex the many 53:25.566 --> 53:27.656 Western countries including the US 53:27.666 --> 53:30.346 prohibit Russian aircraft from entering 53:30.507 --> 53:33.333 their airspace if direct flights 53:33.343 --> 53:35.843 between Russia and Georgia resume , we 53:35.854 --> 53:37.743 of course would be concerned that 53:37.743 --> 53:40.333 companies at Georgian airports could be 53:40.343 --> 53:43.164 at risk for sanctions if they service 53:43.174 --> 53:45.553 aircraft subject to import and export 53:45.563 --> 53:47.993 controls . The entire western community 53:48.003 --> 53:51.493 has distanced itself from the Russian 53:51.503 --> 53:53.753 regime and now is not the time for any 53:53.763 --> 53:55.985 country to increase its engagement with 53:55.985 --> 53:58.194 Russia . The people of Georgia would 53:58.204 --> 54:00.148 likely prefer that President Putin 54:00.148 --> 54:03.400 withdraw Russian troops from the 20% of 54:03.410 --> 54:06.091 Georgian territory that Russia occupies 54:06.101 --> 54:08.920 rather than the direct flights restored 54:08.930 --> 54:12.900 or the visa regime changed on 54:12.910 --> 54:15.301 Georgia to align with the sanctions 54:15.490 --> 54:18.061 against Russia . Again , it would be of 54:18.071 --> 54:21.361 of deep concern to 54:21.371 --> 54:24.541 companies at Georgian airports . 54:24.551 --> 54:27.111 Should flights between Georgia and 54:27.121 --> 54:29.020 Russia resume ? Right . Thanks 54:29.030 --> 54:29.889 everybody . Thanks .