Good afternoon . I do not
have any opening comments . So Matt
take , take it away you anything new to
tell us today ? Depends on what your
questions are . Well , yeah , obviously ,
no , hold on , let me start my recorder
here . Um
So uh I know a lot of people want to
talk about Gaza . Uh but I have
something else that I just need to get
off at the top . Um uh the Russia
sanctions package that the White House
President Kirby , you , everyone has
said it's coming on Friday . What can
you tell us about what that is ? Is it
related to the two year anniversary ?
Is it related to Navalny's death ? What
is it ? What is it ? So I don't want to
speak in detail about announcements
that will be coming two days from now .
But the excuse me , I've got a bit of a
lingering cough from this cold . I've
had the sanctions that we will be
announcing on Friday will be in
connection both to the two year
anniversary of the full scale invasion
of Ukraine and to Navalny's death . Ok .
And , and , and you know , Russia is
one of , you know , along with Iran and
North Korea is already one of the most
heavily sanctioned um countries by the
United States and others uh on the , on
the planet . Um Where would you expect
these sanctions to ?
I don't want to preview too much uh of
what we're going to do on Friday , but
it will be a robust sanctions package .
We are always looking at , at uh
additional ways that we can uh choke
off the Russian war machine that we can
deny the Russian uh military industrial
complex uh components that it needs to
use to fund its war effort uh as well
as to hold accountable those involved
in it . So without getting into too
much detail , like as I said , two days
before uh the announcement , you should
expect them to follow the general
direction of our past sanctions as well
as some sanctions specifically related
to the death of Alexei Navalny , right ?
But when you say that they're going to ,
it's going to be robust . You know , I
go back to a line from Spinal Tap ,
right ? How much more robust can they
be ? Aren't they already pretty robust ?
The guys exact um you know ,
super big sanctions on Russia after ,
after the Ukraine invasion , they are
incredibly robust and they've had an
impact on Russia's economy and Russia's
military , but much more . Well , you
will see on Friday , but I can
guarantee you , it's it is , it is , as
I said , a strong robust package partly
because we are always look , look ,
it's a dynamic situation , right ,
Russia watches the sanctions sees the
sanctions and tries to respond to the
sanctions that we impose . And so we
watch the actions that they take and we
look to impose new sanctions either on
individuals or new uh areas that they
explore and also to focus on sanctions
evasion when we see them or entities
that deal with Russia trying to evade
the sanctions that we previously put
into place . We have ways to tighten
those sanctions . Last one , does that
suggest then that that a bunch of the
stuff in this package might be
secondary sanctions ? I don't want to
make any comments about what they look
like two days before we roll them out .
So I'll come to you . Ok , go ahead
the floor . Now . Apparently there's a
new intelligence assessment from
Western governments suggesting that
Putin thinks he can win the war in
Ukraine for three reasons . One , a
possible return of Donald Trump to the
White House . Two increased
conscription and three , a rejuvenated
military manufacturing sector . Does
state believe on the record that Putin
does believe that these factors can
help him win the war . Does this
increase the need to provide funding
for Ukraine ? If in fact , there's a
belief that Putin may now have some
leverage in this situation . So I never
want to discuss intelligence matters
from here . Uh real or imagined , but
uh I think it should be obvious to
everyone that Vladimir Putin is
watching what happens in Washington
closely . Uh You have to assume that he
is , was watching what happens in
Congress . I think he has always
assumed from the beginning of this
conflict that he can wait out the West
that the West's attention would flag
that the West's interests would flag
that the West would be uh unwilling to
maintain sanctions . Uh And so far the
West has proved them , them , uh ,
proved him wrong . I don't just mean
the United States but Europe as well ,
which took dramatic action early on to
Wean itself from Russian energy .
Something I think Putin never thought
would happen . But uh I have to think
that the entire world including those
in Moscow are watching , whether the
United States Congress is willing to
step up and continue to fund Ukraine to
help it defend itself from Russia's
aggression . We have been very clear in
the Biden administration , what we
think ought to happen . We have been
very clear what is in the United States
national security interests and we will
continue to make that case and we hope
that Congress will respond because as I
said , the entire world is watching .
Does the US though actually believe
that Putin now has the advantage . We
do not believe that at all . If you
look at um uh the shape of this
conflict over the past , not just two
years , but even the , the , the most
recent history . Yes , you have seen
Russia make gains on the battlefield .
We saw gains just over this week , uh ,
this last weekend because Ukraine was
not able to properly resupply its
troops in large part because Congress
has not taken the action that we think
it sh it should to continue to support
Ukraine as it , as it fights to defend
its territory . But you have also seen
Ukraine make dramatic , uh , uh
improvements on the battlefield most
significantly , I think in the Black
Sea where they have pushed the Russian
fleet back , they have opened up a new
shipping quarter that has allowed them
to export , not just wheat and grain ,
uh but also other manufactured goods
through the Black Sea . Something that
was not possible in the early days of
the war when Russia had blockaded uh
Ukrainian ports . So we think they'll
continue to make progress there . Uh
And we will continue to support them to
the best of our ability , but we need a
partner in Congress to help us . Go ,
go ahead and then is just adding to the
list of questions you want to ask ,
reported that the North Korean missiles
that Russia recently used , excuse me ,
recently used against Korea contained
the US and the European component . How
many times has Russia used those
missiles against Ukraine ? So I'm not
going to speak to that in detail . We
will continue to use all of our
relevant tools , export control
sanctions , interdiction and law
enforcement actions to prevent uh the D
pr K from uh acquiring sensitive items
and technology they can use in its
unlawful weapons of mass destruction
and ballistic missile programs . And
that includes uh preventing Russia from
acquiring weapons and other sensitive
items , including components from North
Korea or from anywhere else . One more
question . Uh No . And Kim Jong Un and
Putin's R with the Roxi uh cars .
Russian President Putin gave Kim Jong
Un Roxi car as a gift . Is
this a violation of UN sanctions ? So I
did see that report . I actually
frankly didn't know there was such a
thing as a Russian luxury car . Um I
hope Kim got the extended warranty . Um
uh I would note that , that the , I
just look when he comes , he , he can
still expect the cell phone , the spam
cell phone call from the warranty
department . Uh I , I bet that's right .
Um I'm not sure if I were buying a
luxury car . Uh Russia would be the
place I would look even if , even if it
wasn't , even if it wasn't with respect
to sanctions . But um un security
Council resolutions do require all UN
member states to prohibit both the
supply of transportation vehicles and
the supply of luxury automobiles to the
D pr K . Um And uh if this is true , it
would , it would appear to be once
again Russia violating Un Security
Council resolutions that it itself
supported . Humera . Thank you , Matt .
Um I just wanna give you a um a couple
of comments that Benny Gents just made
about an hour ago . Um He basically ,
he said there were promising early
signs of progress on a new deal for the
hostages . I'm just wondering what's
the latest that you guys are hearing
and whether you're picking up the same
promising early signs of progress . You
know , I don't want to discuss um those
discussions , those negotiations in
detail and I don't want to offer any
assessments beyond what we have said uh
previously , which is we do think that
there is space to reach an agreement
here . Um We are gonna continue to stay
engaged in this matter um uh With
everything that we can bring to bear on
behalf of the United States to work
with Israel to work with Egypt to work
with Qatar because we want to see the
hostages released . We want to see a
pause in the fighting . So that's what
we'll continue to pursue . Ok . He's
also saying that if no new deal were
struck , the Israeli military would
keep fighting in Gaza even into the
Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan . Um I'm
just wondering if that would be
something the United States would be
supporting . So I think I got a version
of this question yesterday . I don't
have anything new to add . Um We want
to see a deal struck . So I'm not going
to get into what might happen if we
don't get an agreement , but we want to
see an agreement reached , we want to
see it reached as soon as possible .
That would include , of course , before
Ramadan it could , it could be even
earlier than that . So that's what
we're going to continue to pursue . But
I think you guys have um made it a bit
of a red line . I mean , if I guess one
can call it that the need for a
humanitarian plan on top of obviously a
military strategy before Israel goes
into Rafah . So I think what I'm trying
to get at is whether fighting
continuing in Ramadan is really
offensive , starting or continuing into
Ramadan , whether that's a similar red
line or not , I just don't want to
speak to where we'll be in two weeks .
I think it's impossible to say we want
to see a hostage agreement that secures
uh a temporary ceasefire where we can
get the hostages out and get
humanitarian assistance . And
ultimately , we want to see a durable
resolution of this conflict and we want
to see it as soon as possible with
respect to where we'll be in two weeks .
Um uh I , I just don't want to speak
beyond , I don't want to speak to , to
that in detail . Ok . I have a few
quick ones on , on . Um I'll be quick .
Um Take your time . You got interrupted
a few times . So go ahead and cite
attempt to interrupt you again and now
I interrupted you . Sorry , go ahead ,
go ahead , Humera . Um , have you asked
other UN agencies like your funding is
stopped for now ? And , and you know ,
there is legislation that has not yet
passed within supplemental that might
bar you completely from resuming that
funding , but that legislation is not
on the house floor yet . So I'm , I
guess I'm wondering , uh , what you
guys are doing in the meantime , have
you asked other UN agencies to pick up
the slack ? and exactly what did you
ask them to do ? Like are there owner
workers on the ground right now working
for actually working for other UN
agencies who are doing the distribution
of aid ? We have been in conversations
both with the United Nations and with
other countries around the world about
how to make sure that the important
work that UN R A does is not
interrupted . We want to ensure that
humanitarian assistance continues to
flow to the , the Palestinian people
right now . Unrwa is the key
facilitator of humanitarian assistance
in Gaza and we don't want to see that
humanitarian assistance disrupted in
any way . At the same time , we are
obviously cognizant of the draft
legislation and the provision that it
contains . Um it's not law as you said ,
but we have to plan for all
possibilities including the possibility
that it becomes law . So we're looking
at all the options uh that may be
available to us . Um But I don't want
to discuss that in detail . Uh It's uh
internal plan that continues to go on
inside the government thing is there is
reporting in DEVI which says that you
have actually asked other UN relief
agencies to pick up the slack . But ,
um , Secretary General Antonio Guterres
have urged the heads of those agencies
to basically rebuff uh , your , your
plea . I mean , I'm just not , I'm ,
I'm not gonna confirm that report at
all . Yeah , I'm guessing you may not
have a lot to say about this but , but
further on Huma's question , uh bred
mcgurk , of course , is , is in the
region . Um I know he works in a
different building . But do you have
any um But do you have anything you can
say more generally about what he's
about uh about the tone of , of what
he's doing ? No , I , I will leave it
to the White House to speak in detail
to uh to Brett's work and , and what
he's trying to accomplish on the trip .
But I think , look , you know , you
have seen from the administration
broadly what our are with respect to
the conflict right now . Our immediate
goal is to try to uh achieve a deal
that brings about a uh an a cease fire
in the fighting , a temporary cease
fire in the fighting allows us to get
hostages out and allows us to get
humanitarian assistance and , and kind
of um uh would help with some of the
bottlenecks that have begun to prop ,
to pop up inside Gaza to preventing
humanitarian assistance , actually
getting out to the people that need it
because there's uh fighting on the
ground and looting and , and other
obstacles . So we are trying to achieve
all those things . And that of course
is uh Brett mcgurk , it's the secretary ,
it's the president himself . They are
focused on , on that issue . Sorry , go
ahead . Thank you . Thank you for being
sort of patient . Thank you for being
somewhat patient . Oh , no , no . II ,
I did not mean to interrupt you . I
feel like a school , I feel like a
school scolding people .
Yeah , I don't know that that's a
little bit of archaic , a little bit of
archaic term . Yeah . Ok . Uh
So just to follow up on her point , you
said that you , you're hoping that a
deal will be struck , what if it
doesn't get struck ? I mean , we have
been there before . There were these
artificial deadlines and calendars and
a week here and , and the end of
October , then the end of November ,
then , you know , December the end of
the year and all these things . I mean ,
you know , to be honest , Palestinians
and Israelis fought in Ramadan many ,
many times and they were struck . So ,
you know , what if a deal is not , what
is your vision on how this thing will
end ? So I'm not going to deal with a
hypothetical as I think , you know , um ,
uh I will tell you though , I think
it's a fair question about , about
where we want to see this conflict go
in the short term . We want to see uh
as I said , in response to several
other questions , uh a temporary
ceasefire that allows us to get the
hostages out , bring more , um bring
more humanitarian assistance in . But
we have also been very clear and if
you've looked at the secretary's many
public comments on this , he's been not
just clear but quite detailed in what
we want to see in the long term . And
what we want to see in the long term is
a durable agreement that allow that
brings about peace and security for
both Israel and Palestinians through
the establishment of an independent
Palestinian state with real security
guarantees for Israel , Israel further
and integrated into the region . That
is our long term vision and that is
what the secretary has been focused on
uh through his diplomatic engagements
in the region and what it is what we
will continue to pursue . Now , the
first step in that is getting an
agreement to , to get the hostages out
uh while we work on this longer term
plan for the region . Well , yeah , I ,
I'm sorry , uh point . But you know ,
in the meantime , people can't get food .
I mean , kids , Children , you know ,
five year olds , my grandson's age and
so on . So , I mean , they're not
getting , they , they're asking for
bread , for crying out loud , they're
standing in line asking for bread and
bread is not . So what do you , I mean ,
you keep saying about things that the
need for things to go in , you know ,
but it's not going in . So the the
humanitarian situation in Gaza
continues to be extremely difficult ,
dire for many people , which is why we
continue to focus all the efforts of
the United States to improve that
situation . When it comes to bread .
The United States has funded flour that
would feed 1.5 Palestinians for five
months . A lot more than
1.55 0.5 million Palestinians for five
for five months ,
1.51 0.5 million
Palestinians for , for five months . Uh
We have worked to uh not just fund
humanitarian assistance but get it into
Gaza and continue to stay engaged on
that every day , not just on the big
picture issues , but on very , you know ,
minor logistical issues that have a big
impact , uh things that seem minor ,
but they have a big impact in getting .
Uh yeah , is enough food and water and
other humanitarian assistance getting
in . Absolutely not . Which is why we
continue to stay engaged to improve the
situation every day . You know , you ,
you talk about the Palestinian State
although we've heard statements that
are really emphatic by the Prime
Minister of Israel saying no , under no
circumstances whatsoever and so on . I
just wanna read you what a member of
his cabinet , you know , from the
recoup as a matter of fact , may Golan
of the glu during a knesset hearing uh
about the motion to expel MK . Yeah .
Oh Kasi . She said I am personally
proud of the ruins of Gaza and that
every baby even 80 years from now will
tell their grandchildren what the Jews
did unquote . I mean , this is the kind ,
I mean , this is not someone extremists ,
not smart , it's not Ben Gair , this is
and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
party said I would encourage you to
take a close look at the comments the
secretary made in Tel Aviv at a press
conference two weeks ago where he
talked specifically about the effects
of dehumanized , dehumanizing language
and why it's important um that no one
on either side of this conflict ,
dehumanize anyone else that will
continue to be our position , it will
continue to be what we pursue because
as the secretary has , has spoken , um
we care about the lives not just of
Israelis , but of Palestinians .
Palestinian men and women and Children .
And we grieve for all of those who have
been killed , all of those who have
been injured . And it's what animates
our work to try to bring a durable into
this conflict . Congressman Ogles as
well . What does that go for ?
Congressman Ogles ? He
made a comment in , in response to a
protester up on the hill about the
deaths of Palestinian Children and I'm
slightly paraphrasing . Well , they
should kill all of them . So I haven't
seen his comments . It's the first I've
heard of him and with a slight
paraphrase , I'm , I'm reluctant to ,
you know , without seeing the , the
comment , reluctant to reaction . And
we typically don't respond to comments
made on the hill . But obviously , we
would urge anyone whether in the United
States abroad to avoid DEA dehumanizing
language and dehumanizing sentiments ,
the majority of the Israeli that has
voted today against the unilateral
recognition of Palestinian statehood .
How do you feel this ? So , I again ,
will only continue to speak for the
United States and what we are trying to
pursue and we are trying to pursue the
establishment of an independent
Palestinian state . We are focusing our
uh diplomatic efforts on that . Not
just because we think , and again , um
uh you've heard the secretary speak to
this a number of times , not just
because we think it's in the interests
of the Palestinian people , but because
we think it is in Israel's short ,
medium and long term security interests
as well . But the government and the
knesset and Israel plan to the
establishment of the a Palestinian
state . You so uh again , you have
heard the secretary speak to this ,
that what we will do is continue to lay
out what we think the best choice for
the government of Israel to make and
the best choice for the Israeli people
to make . Ultimately , Israel will have
to make its own decisions as every
sovereign country does . We will
present to them the um uh ideas and
plans that we are developing with uh
our partners in the region , the
commitments that other countries are
willing to make to Israel's security
and every country will have to make its
decisions about it . How it's going to
proceed ? Going back to your line of
question with Matt on the sanctions .
The eu today came up with its agreed on
its 13th package of sanctions with some
2000 listings uh to um could it
be a good t for you Friday ? Uh You
know , uh I would want to just say
everyone just wait for two days and
you'll see all the sanctions that we're
going to impose . Obviously , we work
closely with the EU and uh countries
around the world uh uh on the on on
various sanctions packages and um we're
glad to see the eu take its the steps
that it did , but you should just watch
and , and look at our sanctions . We
rolled them out on , on Friday and ,
and my colleague made a point about
North Korea early in January . You guys
announced the provision of ballistic
missiles from North Korea to Russia
several weeks past neither Russia and
North Korea have faced any consequences .
Why is it going to be addressed through
this next package ? Again , I have said
everything I'm going to say about a
sanctions role that is not happening
for another two days . I would
encourage you to check back on Friday
to see . See I said a little bit . I
gave a little more than nothing but ,
you know , two days to go . Any , any
update for us on the latest us citizen
arrested in Russia , any access to her .
Uh uh No , I have no , no further
updates . We continue to see Councilor
access . It's not yet been granted and
we go back if I may going back to
Munich . Last week , the secretary met
with a army leaders . Um Does he still
believe that the peace is within reach ?
I'm just borrowing he used last year
this time , he still does believe that
if peace is within reach and he
discussed that uh with the leader of
both directly with the leaders of both
of those countries uh and encourage
them to work together to bridge the
what ultimately are , are just the
remaining few issues . Um uh And we
will continue to encourage those
countries uh to reach a peace agreement .
I know that the two leaders met uh
bilaterally in Munich . And so we will
continue to offer the assistance and
the support of the United States in in
reach an agreement . My , my , my last
my promise . He also reminded Aliyev of
his uh obligations on human rights
according to your result . Uh Just day
before that meeting uh occurred , uh
The secretary was addressed on the hill .
So 21 congress members uh called him
out telling him that to ask him to
prioritize the case of Kadi Bardo and
his well being , did the secretary have
a chance to go through the cases
including me ? So I don't have any um
uh further read out of the media other
than we , what we already offered
publicly . Uh Thanks Matt two questions
on Iran . Um The country's national
Virtual Space Center has banned the use
of VPN S . Um And it has been also
endorsed by the supreme leader . I was
wondering if they wanted and people
should be worried about having access
to information to the outside world or
as in the past during the
demonstrations , the US was gonna , is
gonna step in . So this decision is
just the latest reminder of how much
the Iranian regime fears its people and
what they are capable of when they are
giving , given unfettered , unfettered
access to the internet and unfettered
access to information . Um the internet
disruptions that the Iranian regime has
put in place in the past have cost the
economy , billions of dollars uh cost
pay to businesses as well as of course ,
choking off information that people
need to make decisions about their
lives and decisions about their futures .
Uh Support for internet freedom in Iran
will continue to be a central pillar of
our efforts to support human rights uh
in the country . Uh as you said in the
past , in the height of the protests in
2022 and 2023 . Uh As many as one in
three Iranians used us supported anti
censorship and digital security tools
such as VPN S . Um There are millions
of Iranians have continued to use those
uh tools um uh to this day . So uh I'm
not going to speak to what actions that
we will take in the future . But uh as
I said , uh upholding internet freedom
and ensuring Iranians uh Iranians ,
citizens access to the internet will
continue to be a central pillar of our
engagement in that country . Thank you .
Also um Abraham Paley special envoy for
Iwan um is or was in in
Vienna , he met with Iae , a Director
General , Rafael Grossi . I was
wondering if you could tell us anything
about the nature of this visit given
that Grossi has spoken out a lot
recently about his concerns about
Iran's nuclear program . Sure . So
deputy Special envoy Paley was in
Vienna to meet with uh Director Grossi .
He reiterated the United States
appreciation for the IE A's extensive
efforts to engage Iran on long standing
questions related to Iran's safeguards
obligations . Um Iran's cooper
operation remains severely lacking . We
seriously concerned about Iran's
continued expansion of its nuclear
program in ways that have no credible
civilian purpose , including its
continued production of highly enriched
uranium . And that was the focus of the
discussions today . Any discussions ,
any , any solution to gaining access to
Iran's nuclear program by the Iaei .
I don't want to give any further
comments about that meeting other than
to say that um they did discuss how
Iran should fully uphold its safeguards
obligations and provide full cooper to
the IE a without further delay . Can I
ask a few different issues around the
world ? Uh seal ? Um I know uh the
secretary spoke not so long ago with
President Seoul about uh about the
election . Uh The there was a court
decision called in for a new date but
it hasn't been set yet . Do you have
any update on , on us engagement there ?
And , and the US stands about what's
happening now . So we continue to stay
engaged with the um uh with the
government in Senegal . I don't have
any specific en engagements to read out ,
but it's , we have been in , stayed in
uh close coordinations with them and
I'll just say that we want to see the
election uh take place as soon as it as
practical practicable um elsewhere in
Africa . Um There was an agreement
signed today between Somalia and Turkey
on a naval upgrade or a coastal upgrade .
It's obviously bilateral , but this is
in the context of Ethiopia and Somali
land . Uh having a pact . Does the US
have any stance on on Turkey's
involvement ? Let me take that one back
and get you an answer on it . And uh
one other thing , uh Pakistan , uh uh I ,
I know you've been saying in recent
weeks that it's uh they're not gonna
come until the government is formed ,
but there's a coalition that actually
has , is being informed between two of
the major factions without , uh , Iran
Khan's , uh , uh , enforcement . Is
there an idea that this is a
representative government ? So how does
the US feel about this again ? I don't
want to comment on the , uh , on the
government before it's formed
ultimately . Uh , as is the case ,
whenever you see , uh , coalition
politics taking place inside any given
country , that's a , it's a decision
for that country itself , not something
that we would weigh in on . Sure . Sure .
Um And in terms of , in the past ,
you've talked about um allegations of
fraud , of , of , of rigging . Is there
any follow up on that ? Is the us
looking for anything in particular
before we want to see a full
investigation into any claims of , of
irregular irregularities ? And just
finally , um yesterday , I asked about
the disruptions on social media in
Pakistan . Is there anything further on
that ? So we are concerned by any
report of restrictions on the exercise
of the freedom of expression and
association uh uh in Pakistan ,
including uh the partial or complete
government imposed internet shutdowns ,
which includes , of course on social
media um platforms . We continue to
call on Pakistan to respect freedom of
expression and restore access to any
social media that has been uh
restricted including Twitter , I think
now known as X . Uh we have and we will
continue to emphasize the importance of
respecting these fundamental freedoms
during our engagements with Pakistani
officials and just by that's , that's
has that been communicated through
official chapter it has been . Yeah .
Uh go ahead right here . The Foreign
Policy magazine in a recent report
titled the Taliban wants a piece of
Pakistan reveals that the Taliban
engaging to border tension with the
Pakistan through the supporting while
the Taliban publicly refuse . The I'm
sorry , what was that ? What would ,
was this the last , the last ? It's
about a foreign policy report that the
title , the Taliban wants a piece of
Pakistan and while the Taliban publicly
refuse the D line as the official
border between Pakistan and Afghanistan .
What's the position of the United
States about the D line ? We support
the territorial integrity of both
Afghanistan and Pakistan within their
internationally recognized borders .
Another question about Afghan
Adjustment Act that uh was not passed
by the Congress uh recently . Uh well ,
there are some reports that United
State Department Estate uh is going to
run out of the SI VP one and P two
quarters . Uh Do you confirm this
report ? And what are you doing about
the SI V and Afghan Adjustment Act ? So
as the president has said , uh we urge
Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment
Act , we support it and want to see it
passed um when it comes to special
immigrant visas , I would just note
that uh in the last fiscal year 2023 .
The government issued more than 18,000
special immigrant visas to Afghan
applicants outside the US . That was
the most in any single year . So go
ahead . Thank you , Pakistan Ambassador
Maso Khan here in DC . Yesterday said
that Pakistan is pleading with the
Congress with the US Congress to help
restore the US military aid that was
suspended in 2018 by the Trump
administration is the US considering
restoring the program given that
Pakistan is a major non NATO ally in
the region . I I just don't have any
comment on that . Go ahead . Thank you
a question on the Christian region
parliamentary election which uh was
expected to be held in October 2022 .
But due to the disputes , political
disputes , they delayed . And last year ,
the Iraqi top court ruled against the
self extension of that parliament which
the region has no parliament now . And
today , the Iraqi top court ruled
against the uh Christian regional
parliament minority seats . Uh any
reaction and comment on that and have
you ever engaged with Al Baghdad on
that issue ? So we have seen the
reports that the court issued rulings
today um related to the Iraqi Kurdistan
parliament elections and other issues
concerning relations between the
Kurdistan regional government and the
Iraqi Federal government . Uh We are
still reviewing the full scope of the
decision . Uh As a matter of uh long
standing us policy , we support holding
parliamentary elections in the Iraqi
Kurdistan region at the earliest
opportunity . And as we do everywhere ,
we encourage those elections to be free ,
fair and transparent . And one more
question Iraq , we know the situation
in Iraq is being cooled down and the
the militia group is is not attacking
you as they did before . And today ,
the US ambassador met with the Iraqi
Prime Minister and they discussed the
upcoming visit of the Iraqi Prime
Minister , what the upcoming visit of
the Iraqi Prime Minister to Washington ?
So my question is that , are you done
with the response to those groups who
were responsible for killing three US
service members and injuring 40 others ?
Uh I am not going to preview uh or rule
out any potential steps from this party .
And what's your general assessment
about the current situation ? Do you
think that these groups are taking
their words when they say that we are
not going to attack the US forces ? I
don't want to offer any assessment or
speak for any of these groups . Uh I
will say on behalf of the United States ,
we have made very clear um uh not just
with our words , but with our actions
that we are prepared to defend us
forces and us interests in Iraq and in
the region and we are prepared to hold
accountable anyone who attacks us
forces . And uh I think I'll leave it
at that . Um Go ahead ABC
Australia , the Australian Parliament
recently passed a motion calling for
the assange matter to be brought to a
close and for him to be allowed to
return home . What's your response to
that motion ? Uh So I spoke uh about
Julian Assange extensively uh from this
podium yesterday and I don't think I
have anything to add uh on uh to that
matter . It is in ongoing legal matter
and an extradition matter and beyond
what I said yesterday , I think I don't
want to comment uh uh in any more
detail . Um Go ahead . Yeah , good
afternoon , Matthew . Good to see you .
Uh Two questions . One on Ukraine , one
on , on Haiti and Ukraine , the Knights
of Columbus . They're an organization
that has provided millions of dollars
in aid to Ukraine helping people there
during this very terrible time . How
would you describe the impact of groups
like the Knights of Columbus ? Um So
look , we um uh support any
organization that wants to uh deliver
aid to people in Ukraine or any uh
where in the world who are in need of
it . And then on Haiti where of course
we all know there's been uh terrible
violence uh Catholic the other day ,
Catholic Bishop Pierre Andre Dumas was
hurt in an explosion at a house . He's
in stable condition reportedly recently ,
six Haitian religious sisters recently
uh uh abducted and then released . It's
the state department's reaction to
those incidents . So I will just say
generally we continue to be very
concerned about the ongoing violence in ,
in Haiti and it's why we continue to
focus on the launch of a multinational
security force to help with the
situation on the ground in Haiti . And
that uh Secretary Blinken will in fact
be engaging with counterparts at the G
20 about the deployment of such a
mission uh today and tomorrow while
he's in Brazil . Yeah , say about the
indictments over . Um uh
uh I do not , I do not go ahead back .
Yeah . Yeah , go ahead . Thank you so
much on us and Brazil . Um What is the
evaluation of the meeting this morning
in Brasilia between Secretary Lincoln
and President Lula ? So we put out a
readout about that meeting . I will say
that they discussed a number of issues
including the work uh through the G 20
to help alleviate poverty and , and
combat climate change . They talked
about uh regional issues including the
work that Brazil uh Brazil has done to
uh try and de escalate tensions between
Venezuela and Guyana . Uh talked about
Brazil's support for democracy in South
America including uh in , in Venezuela .
Uh And then they talked about bilateral
issues between the United States um uh
and Brazil as well as um uh issues
around the world such as the war in
Ukraine and the conflict between Israel
and Hamas . Follow up yesterday on this
podium . It was said that the United
States does not agree with uh with what
President Lula said last weekend on
Gaza . But from your perspective , are
those comments a matter of public
retraction as the Israeli Foreign Mi
Minister suggested and how the United
States analyze those comments in a
moment that there is an effort to
deescalating tensions in the region .
So there are comments with which we
disagree . As I made clear today , the
secretary had a chance to discuss uh uh
the the comments with President Lula
today in in his meeting uh in the
context of an overall discussion uh uh
about the conflict in Gaza . And made
clear as I did yesterday , made clear
that those are comments with which we
disagree in the T 20 . Is is it
possible to highlight the priorities
from the US , the summit of Ministers
of summits ? Well , as I said , and you
will see comments from the secretary
and he's going to have a press
conference tomorrow before he leaves
the G 20 . So I don't want to get too ,
I don't want to get ahead of too far of
his comments , but we will be focused
on um uh fighting poverty , addressing
climate changes and other issues that
um President Lula has put on the agenda
for this meeting of the G 20 . Go ahead
a few questions . When will the draft
us resolution calling for a temporary
cease fire be put forth before and
voted on by the Security Council ? I
don't want to put a timetable on it .
It's something that we continue to
discuss with partners on the Council
and the administration supports
Israel's goal to annihilate Hamas . Yet
the support does not seem unconditional
as the administration opposes any
further Israeli military operation . Ra
how do you square the two if Israel's
goal of an Hamas requires going into
Rafah , why would that not be supported
by the US ? We support Israel's goal to
uh to , to defeat Hamas and to
ensure that the terrorist attacks of
October 7th can never be repeated . But
we have always said that it needs to
the campaign that Israel is carrying
out needs to be carried out in a way
that puts civilian protections first .
And so we don't see any tension between
those two and that's why we have said
that before . Israel conducts a full
scale military campaign against the
Hamas battalions that remain in Rafah ,
that it needs to have that kind of
civilian protection . And finally ,
does the State Department have any
reaction to the rise in cyber
operations by China ? Has the
administration taken any actions to
hold the CCP accountable for targeting
the US infrastructure with malware ? We
have long made clear that we oppose any
um uh cyber actions in that of that
regard by both the uh uh pr C and
others . And if you look , there is a
long history of us taking action to
impose consequences when we see them .
Go ahead . Yeah , there as Russia's
treatment of dual citizens to become a
more visible problem . Has the State
Department taking any steps to push
Russia to change its policy and allow
regular consular access to American
dual citizens beyond just asking for
access to those already in detention .
We have , we have uh pressed it at a
number of levels . Um uh Both you've
seen the secretary raise this in , in
direct conversations in the past , not
uh didn't have a lot of regular
engagements with the Russian government
now , but our embassy continues to
raise it on a regular basis . The
unfortunate truth though is that Russia
continues to uh detain its own citizens
and continues to detain American
citizens . And it's why we have tried
to make clear as uh just as , as
plainly as we possibly can that no
American citizen should con consider
traveling to Russia for any reason
period because they are at risk of
detention uh imprisonment by the
Russian regime . So uh we will continue
to work to try to get consular access
to Americans that have been detained .
Uh We will continue to try to work to
free those American citizens who we
have determined to be wrongfully
detained and we will continue to call
on humane treatment for everyone . But
I think people need to remember the
kind of brutal regime that we're
dealing with that's willing to inflict
brutality uh on its own citizens and
willing to inflict brutality on
citizens of other countries . And if
you are considering travel to Russia
for any reason , do not do it . I don't
think we can say that more clearly .
The State Department should consider
traveling for it . They shouldn't think
about it , think about it and make a
very quick decision not to do it . But
in that travel advisor , the State
Department's language says that Russian
refuse to acknowledge dual nationals ,
us citizenship . Are you aware of any
case where Russia actually has
acknowledged ? I'd have to look back
through history . I'm not aware of any
recent case where they have . No ,
thank you . And so I just one more and
this goes back to something that was
raised yesterday about the UN expert
panel of experts on the sexual alleged
sexual assault of Palestinians . You
said that you were looking for an
independent confirmation or an
investigation of that . Has that , has
that gone anywhere we have reached out
to , to the United Nations uh uh
specific United Nations Agency for more
information about this report . And we
have reached out to the government of
Israel to encourage that it be uh
investigated . My understanding ,
reading Israel's public comments . They
have said they have not been presented
with specific factual cases that they
can investigate . They , I know that
they've also rejected , but they said
they haven't seen any specific factual
evidence . So we're asking the UN for
more information and we're urging
Israel to fully investigate . So in
other words , it's still up in the air ,
correct ? Ok . Ok . That's it
for today . Thanks everyone . Thank you .