JUST IN: State Department Holds Press Briefing After Mass Graves Discovered In Gaza

uh anything off the top uh so Ellen like to kick us off Hi V um a former State Department Security and human rights official Charles Blaha took part in a panel presentation on um credible allegations of Human Rights abuses by Israeli forces um this afternoon and he said that in his experience in 30 years at the state department the state department um gave uh Israel special treatment that no other country in the world got and that it showed undue preference to Israel and accepting its accounts of uh incidents um her that involve allegations against Palestinians so aside from the fact he's a free Citizen and free to say what he wants to say um is he correct is is is the person who was Central to the kind of reviews that are happening now in the state department is he correct in saying that's the situation or did he misunderstand how things worked over 30 decades I can't um I can't speak to these comments I haven't seen them um or can't really speak to uh this individual um and their uh what their role may have been here at the state department what I can say uh uh unequivocally is that we apply uh the principles um and guidelines that are outlined um in clear legislation when it comes to the security relationships we have with countries around the world uh including Israel uh consistently uh I will also note that when it comes to uh the appropriate use of um American uh security assistance we also apply the principles and guidelines um uh as relates to those consistently with countries uh across the board uh simultaneously we have a number of measures and efforts in place when it comes to um ensuring that there is uh compliance with International humanitarian law we've talked about a number of those levers um from this briefing room uh and we applies the tenants laid out in those measures consistently across the board with countries um uh across the board there is no such thing as a special or preferential treatment when it comes to um the implementation and enforcement of what we believe to be uh US law uh simultaneously when it comes to Israel um at every conversation um we have stressed the moral and strategic imperative to ensure that every possible step is taken when it comes to ensuring that civilian uh casualties are minimized that deconfliction uh measures are implemented immediately um and that humanitarian Aid can get to the places it needs to go and that humanitarian Aid workers are protected and will continue to be very direct um about those efforts and we'll continue to apply the tenants of our um of these factors consistently across the board with all countries a former a couple of former senior State Department officials involved in the process have come forward now to say that's not the case does that does that prompt should that prompt an examination of the State Department of of its own process well again I've not seen the these uh other comments but what I can say unequivocally is that uh there is no such thing as double standards or preferential treatment we apply uh the rule of the law and the standards outlined in the various accountability mechanisms we have consistently uh across the board with all countries that we have um security relationships with um I I assume these individuals that you uh outline um are private citizens so they have every right to um speak uh whatever it is their opinion is on issues pertaining to to to Global Affairs but uh um we you know uh we see no indication of or Reason to reassess our policy or the steps and procedures that we have in place Dy go ahead thank you a senior Israeli defense official has said that Israel's military is poised to evacuate Palestinian civilians from Rafa and assault uh Hamas holdouts in the city do you feel that us concerns about an operation in Rafa have been heard or addressed uh we don't this is an ongoing process uh we continue to be very clear and uh Ambassador saterfield reiterated uh some of this yesterday that when it comes to uh uh military operation in Rafa uh there needs to be a serious credible plan when it comes to um how to deal with some of the very pressing humanitarian challenges uh you've heard let me talk about these before first and foremost we have more than 1 million people seeking refuge in Rafa Rafa as a region continues to be an important conduit for humanitarian Aid as well as a region of safe departure for foreign Nationals for these reasons and many others we continue to uh engage directly with our partners in Israel about them needing a very serious uh coordinated and wellth thought out plan when it comes to any military uh operation in Rafa have you gotten any assurances on protection of civilians from the Israelis we are having these conversations they are ongoing obviously in the broader sense of the conflict uh we have stressed the moral and strategic imperative of uh pressing uh of protecting civilians and making sure that every possible step is taken to protect and minimize civilian casualties but on the uh on the topic of an operation in Rafa this is a conversation that we're going to continue to have uh you uh might have been in the briefing last week in which we talked talked about uh National Security adviser Sullivan's um uh meeting with the through the Strategic consultative group to talk about some of these issues uh these conversations will continue to be ongoing uh and we'll continue to engage with our Israeli Partners on this will the US take any action if they go ahead with an operation I'm just not going to get ahead of hypotheticals here okay and if I could just ask um Palestinian authorities reported finding hundreds of bodies in Mass Graves at a hospital in communes this week after it was abandoned by Israeli troops I know you said earlier this week that the reports are troubling but will the US call for an independent inquiry so first the let me just say the the allegations are troubling they are disturbing we take them very seriously and we're continuing to press the government of Israel for more information um it's our understanding the IDF has spoken to some of this publicly they've stated that in search of Israeli hostages they have uncovered graves in the area uh where Palestinians had previously been uh buried and after determining that no hostages were there um these Graves were recovered uh obviously the IDF can speak to specifically about their operations in in the region uh but we're also continuing to press the government of Israel for more information onto um uh what this is and what the circumstances are here and when we have that information we'll be happy to to share that with you sure my colleague at that event actually where they released something called The Independent task force on the application of nation security memorandum 20 I'm sure you aware of now these two former uh officials from the state department they were of course there's you know private citizens but there were speaking uh officially of their time spent in the state department so you are saying that there's never been at any time a special treatment of Israel in terms of uh dispensing Aid military aid or otherwise or even political Aid side what I'm saying is that when it comes to the security relationships that we have with countries around the world whether it be Israel whether it be any other country where we have a robust security relationship the applications and standards of the laws that guide that security relationship including the laws and procedures that guide accountability measures that are in place within our system to ensure that human rights are not being violated to ensure that American assistance is uh being used properly the laws and guidelines and standards of those are applied consistently across the board there is no double standards and there is no special treatment regardless of country there's absolutely no special treatment of Israel at any given point in the past 50 years whatever I can only speak to this Administration and the work that is ongoing here I think we yeah you know we always uh don't like turning these press briefings into history lessons I'm not here to speak about 50 years what I can say is that since the onset of this relation this Administration and our long-standing um security relationship with Israel this has been the case yeah I'm not interested in reating History either I just wanted to ask you now the the report there are talking about or the memo they're talking about was issued back on February 8th I believe there's another one coming up soon in May can you tell us what it will what it will do and will not do uh s I'm going to not get ahead of the process here uh you saw around um in March us speak to uh this first uh Benchmark which was uh uh receiving these um letters from the various uh ministers and government officials who uh we have security relationships with uh but beyond that there's of course an additional uh component uh around the May 8th date and so I'm just not going to get ahead of that process yeah two more points uh under Patrick lee law uh now we understand that it is obligatory right it is obligatory that whatever arm send to anyone of your security partners and so on would abide by what is stated uh what or what is dictated by the Le law it is a law so can you share with us the mechanism that you apply in enforcing that law so uh um uh S without uh getting uh technical let me just uh be clear uh of course we take our obligations to the Ley law incredibly seriously it is another example of uh uh uh a tool that we have at our disposal that we continue to apply consistently across the board when it comes to countries of uh in which we have security relationships uh uh a determination on a l he law uh violation would essentially mean that it we would have been found uh gross violations of human rights and then uh particular components under a particular country where we have a security relationship those specific components would be ineligible for us assistance um but again um that is talking about in a broad term and I'm not going to get more specific than okay and and lastly on the mass grave uh now an an Israeli spokeswoman for the Israeli Army uh basically dismissed the whole thing dismissed the charge now you're saying you find it troubling and you asked the Israeli government for a clarification do you expect them to come back to you with these clarifications do you have a time frame I don't have a time frame for you and we uh do expect them to provide us for more with more information but considering that this is just happening and it has a certain level of urgency I mean considering that the UN is asking for an independent investigation and so on do you say that we need a response within this this period of time we are stressing the urgency of uh not just uh this incident but other incidents in which we continue to press our partners in Israel for more information and more details about the circumstances surrounding it uh we don't always read those conversations out sometimes they are private but uh our partners in Israel are ones in which we engage with regularly around the clock at varying levels and we'll continue to do so Elizabeth go ahead um there was a report in Israeli media over the weekend that Israeli finance minister smotrich is pushing to legalize 68 outposts in the West Bank does the state department have a reaction to that report and is this something you've raised with Israeli officials so uh look these uh reports about directives to support illegal outposts in the West Bank we believe that to be dangerous and Reckless uh our policy US policy uh remains that settlements are counterproductive to the cause of peace and uh the government of Israel's program is inconsistent with international law and we'll continue to urge Israeli officials to refrain from taking actions to fund alots that have long been uh illegal under Israeli law actions or announcements seeking to expand OST will only move um the goal of peace and stability in the region further away um Abby on the region or anything else the yeah go ahead um Hamas released a video today of Israeli American hostage um hsh Goldberg poen and I wondered if you had any comment um on the video and if you had any further information on um proof of life or the the date of the video and more broadly if you could give an update on on the hostage discussions sure so the video itself is being actively um examined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the hostage recovery Fusion cell um I can't comment it on it any further at this time on any of the um specific parameters on the uh verification of it or not uh but I will just note that if uh it's real um that this is another example of Hamas preferring to hold hostages rather than end the war and bring much roed needed relief to the Palestinian people in Gaza uh on the matter of Hostage talks and negotiations Abby there is a deal on the table uh release the sick the wounded the elderly woman and uh there is ceasefire it's simple as that uh the whole situation continues to be um totally uh unacceptable to us since October 7th we have stressed at every tide and turn that every single hostage uh needs to be released and candidly over the course of this conversation it's something that uh the world has lost focus on a little bit that it is Hamas that started its War it's Hamas that is continuing to hold hostages and has the ability to end it by releasing them uh when it comes to this video um HS should be home with his family and uh we and secretary blinkin are not going to rest uh a single minute until that happens including the president of course um Alex on the region uh let me see if there's anything else on uh Gaza specifically before we pivot to some of the broader topics go ahead in the back does the US support an investigation into the mass gra found in Gaza and independent investigation so as I said we're continuing to uh ask our partners in Israel for more information I don't have an additional assessment to offer uh so you want Israel to investigate but not an independent we are asking for more information on the circumstances uh relating to the reporting of the mass grave as I said to both of your colleagues when they asked this very same question um go ahead thank you madam so in the human rights report released on Monday you said that Israel the government took some credible steps to identify and punish officials who may committed who may have committed human rights abuses uh however we have not we have not seen some credible steps uh regarding several investigations since October 7 including the killing of uh hindra job uh I wanted to follow up on what met said yet uh last week uh he said that uh you would ask for more information in the light of in light of the recent uh Washington Post report which casted uh doubts uh on on earlier Israeli findings um any updates on these have Israelis gotten back to you so uh specifically as to what mechanisms might be in place within the Israeli system I will let our partners in Israel speak to that about any efforts that they are undertaking um from the United States perspective you've heard me say this before we uh consistently in all conflict zones continue to assess and identify um evidence facts situations on the ground um those are analyzed those are looked through the various inputs and systems that we have to assess uh violations of possible human rights uh and we take the process from there and we'll make additional assessments uh as we need uh but these are deliberative processes that are rigorous that are detail oriented um that are rooted in the law and rooted in facts and uh they take time I don't have anything additional I'm asking about the killing of hindra job have you asked them for more information and have they gotten back uh I'm happy to check on this case specifically I don't have anything for any updates on World Central Kitchen Aid workers you were reviewing Israeli findings uh have you made an assessment so when it comes to the findings in the world uh Central uh kitchen um that that tragic uh event uh you saw our partners in Israel take uh a number of steps when it C comes to accountability measures uh specifically as it relates to uh dismissing three officers and um placing uh some additional others on probation um in light of that we've also continued to see uh some steps in the right direction when it comes to humanitarian assistance but uh we also continue to stress the importance and we need to see uh additional steps being taken when it comes to De confliction mechanisms um and steps that they can take to protect humanitarian workers Ambassador saterfield spoke a great deal about that yesterday about things like uh comm's equipment and other ways in which uh steps can be taken to ensure that humanitarian workers are kept safe and we're going to continue to press our partners in Israel um for those kinds of things back to you go ahead can we ask about the the work being done for the findings that will be finished on May 8th are are there any additional new investigations or inquiries being done as part of that examination of of Israel's so the National Security memorandum is not a a new process or a new uh policy uh process in which there are new um standards or some sort of new thing that is applied to the countries that we have uh a a relationship on it is uh an assessment of whether um uh we find a particular country who we have a security relationship with um whether we find their assurances to use US security assistance properly whether we find those assurances is credible uh and viable and that work is ongoing when it comes to though but when it comes to ensuring that there are not violations of human rights and that human and that us assistance is being used appropriately there are a number of processes in place that already exist within the federal government we've talked a lot about them here I understand it's the same processes and standards as before my question is are there new any additional investigations reviews interview it's not it's not an investigation it is an assessment I don't fully understand what you are asking I mean um are are you looking uh is is there a deeper look being taken into specific instances that is this is work that is already ongoing and totally separate from the National Security memorandum you are conflating these two very separate things talking about the national secur I understand I understand and what I'm stressing to you is what we have said from the onset since the National Security memorandum was signed it is not a new investigation or a new process when it comes to ensuring the appropriate use of American Security assistance and ensuring that VI human rights violations are not taking place there are a number of steps that already exist within the US government that are being inputed into that are being assessed we are looking at the facts on the ground as we would in any conflict Zone uh but I'm not going to speak to but I'm not going to speak to these ongoing deliberative processes we're not Gathering new facts this this Gathering of facts has been ongoing since the onset of October 7th as it would in any conflict Zone the National Security memorandum process is a totally separate thing it is not an outlining any new process or any new investigation it is an assessment of assurances operated offered by host governments uh when it comes to the assurances that they provide on the use of us assistance we've been pretty clear about this going dating back to a number of press briefings right I I guess I'm I'm saying are you doing any you've got the assurances but how do you determine their ACC that is the work that's ongoing I I I don't mean to sound like a broken record but this is the work that has been ongoing not just in this conflict Zone but in every conflict Zone on the face of this planet where we uh look at the facts on the ground we work with civil society organizations we work through our embassies and consulates to assess what is happening on the ground and those facts they then are assessed at looked at further they are examined and they can move into various other processes as well whether they be tur whether it be a Ley process whether it be something else that work is always ongoing uh go ahead in the back it's about colia okay I'm gonna come back to you at the end go ahead Alex staying on Iran for a while I have couple of other questions on Ukraine Tomas Sal very well-known disident uh rapper very well known for criticism of his Crim of the Iranian regime got sentenced today to death um and action and any steps us can take to prevent this from happening we've seen those uh disturbing reports um he we're talking about someone who has already faced torture and other harsh treatments and detention uh this is just another example of the Iranian regime's horrific and pervasive human rights abuses we once again condemn the Iranian regime's use of death use of the death sentence as a as a tool to suppress people's human rights and fundamental freedoms we continue to closely follow reports of uh Mr Le's situation the the mastera ACT is now the law of the land can you guys give us a sense of how you going to implement it when and uh and will you directly will you be willing to directly Target Iranian supreme leader for his uh you know gross human rights violations so Alex we continue to have a number of tools at our disposal to hold the uh Iranian regime accountable the Masa and uh ships act as you so noted uh we're of course going to implement the but I'm not going to get ahead of the the process here and uh we'll wait on speaking to any of the Iran related Provisions specifically um for now move to Ukraine if I may or uh let me finish out on the region and then come back to you go ahead um regarding to my and the sentence he was just given is there anything you can do on the international scene to stop it well look GA we continue to have uh tools at our disposal when it comes to the uh to pressuring the Iranian regime uh when it comes to their Crackdown and their various uh serious egregious violations of human rights I'm not going to preview those uh from up here but uh again it is uh this is just another example of the regime's pervasive and egregious human rights abuses sure among the tools you've you always refer to is sanctions but sanctions is not going to stop them from executing somebody who has spoken in support of uh freedoms anything else you may be able to do well look uh the the reports are uh incredibly disturbing and troubling and will continue to raise cases like this one and raise violations of human rights like this and continue to make clear these kinds of uh egregious crackdowns in public forums like this one through the International Community um so that we can further uh collectively hold the Iranian regime uh accountable for its crackdowns um on the region on the region go ahead doc okay thank you Don I just follow up I didn't get to finish my question about the netsa Yehuda Battalion and this is a question in light of Jewish press.com and Middle East Forum reports regarding the Democracy for the Arab uh world now organization criticism of the IDF uh that Battalion and their ties to the Muslim Brotherhood which supports Hamas in its war against Israel does the US government vouch for The credibility of the Democracy for the Arab world now organization reports regarding those us sanctions against the NSA Yehuda Battalion and a quick followup um I'm not sure I fully am following your question what exactly are you asking you heard of the Democracy for the Arab world now organization um I'm not familiar with this organization okay I I'll go to the next question here there's United States continues to sanction more and more Israelis can you describe in detail what is the basis for the sanctions why there isn't a public hearing so that the American public can see um or hear the evidence and uh which other allies does the United States currently have sanctions against the Citizens and military units so uh generally public hearings are not part of the process of designating individuals or entities under uh uh under our system uh but uh let me just be clear and let's talk about what this is about this is about uh violence um in the West Bank violence that we believe to be uh destabilizing when it comes to our ultimate goal of peace and stability in the region uh and that's why you saw the administration take steps last week to designate individuals that we believe to be uh contributing to that instability through violent extremism go ahead yeah thank you goodand a question on Iran rapael Grossi director general of the international Atomic agency said in interview with dellaa that Iran is weeks rather than months away from having enough ened uranium to make a nuclear weapon what's what's the US assessment on that do you have the same belief so um I don't have any uh I don't have any uh assessment to to offer from up here what I can say is that uh we sincerely appreciate uh the ia's extensive efforts to engage Iran on long-standing questions relating to Iran's Safeguard obligations and we're going to continue to support uh director General gry and the ie in their efforts uh we'll also continue to consult closely with um the E3 and other appropriate Partners on this U but I'm not going to don't have anything what about his comments he says that Iran is weakest closer to to enrich uranium to have the nucle does that concern the US government look any kind of uh the president has been very clear that uh we will go at all Lan to ensure that Iran doesn't obtain a nuclear weapon but I don't have an assessment to offer on uh director General gry's comments uh but we certainly uh continue to appreciate his efforts to engage the Iranian regime uh as it relates to their Safeguard obligations one last question if I may sure yeah this week and after the Iraqi prime minister went back to Baghdad the militia group is resume their attacks the Pentagon spoke of that and here at the state department Matthew spoke of that too but my question is that were there any connections with the Iraqi government on that specific attacks and the resumption of the militia groups attacks on the US forces um i' refer you to my colleagues at the Pentagon to speak in Greater detail about this I don't have anything to to offer connection from State Department I I don't have any assessment to offer from up here go ahead thank you very much Mr P just a few one and promise to make them brief um on Monday secretary give uh detail about the human rights report uh and you say you do not have double standards since last year and a half you do not see a million Pakistani moving out of the country journalists uh being put in jail women in jail political workers in jail is there a question here so Pakistan was not part of the human uh rights violation in the yearly report do you guys not see any violation happening there since last one year I'm sure that there is a section uh that is that includes uh uh Pakistan uh but beyond that did you attend the briefing on Monday yes uh then you probably recall both uh the secretary Matt uh Ambassador Gilchrist uh being being pretty explicit about the fact that the human rights report is not a compendium of every single human rights violation that has occurred um in calendar 2023 it is uh uh it is picked certain uh specific entries it is not supposed to be some sort of crosscutting to Total list that includes every single violation of course when it comes to uh any country uh in the world uh including of course Pakistan um human rights continues to be on the agenda and it's something that will'll continue to raise with them okay just one sir yeah just one go ahead on the same topic the human rights report the Mexican president spent 40 minutes today early in the morning criticizing the report he said among many other things that the reporting itself it's a breach of international law he also said that the criticisms of his Mexican government in the report were not accurate so what do you have to say about this is is it unlawful on international law issuing these kind of reports and do you give assurances of the things that you included regarding Mexico so uh one certainly the uh publication of the human rights report is not a violation of international law it's something that we have done uh uh every year that this secretary has been secretary and for every year almost before that I can't think of a year in which the state department across administrations across secretaries have issued uh human rights reports again I've said in this a number of times this week uh the human rights report um is not an United States assessment on these various anecdotes and entries that are in there it is a compilation of entries uh made from credible inputs media organizations government organizations Civil Society actors our embassies and conflicts who uh input these specific uh entries um and as it relates to the the the the section on me Mexico I just am not going to speak to these specific entries your opportunity to do that was on Wednesday when amb or on Monday when Ambassador Gilcrest was here so you all should have uh attended to to talk about some of these entries more specifically um go ahead in the back the human right report Colombia also sent a diplomatic note of protest because of the inclusion of an investigation against the son of the president of President Petro the Colombia believes that it's unfriendly it shouldn't be included there and on the other hand they protested against you your statements yesterday because they believe you gave credibility to the information of the investigation I want to clarify exactly what were you trying to say when you said that you gave credibility because let me be clear some people are even saying that you said that money entered the campaign so uh I don't think that there should be no confusion um as it relates uh to my comments um let's just take a step back and uh talk talk about this as a matter of fact fact first uh the the Colombian government has every um uh is their prerogative to uh conduct whatever kind of uh diplomacy or take whatever actions that they uh seem fit under um their government but uh what we're talking about here is that in the 2023 human rights report in the Colombia section um there are references to an inquiry that was opened by the Colombian Attorney General's office um the uh it's a matter of public record that the Attorney General's office has opened this inquiry the state department didn't announce it the human rights report didn't announce it uh this is a matter of public record um and government organizations are one of the many credible inputs that go into compiling uh the the the human rights reports uh this report one of the things it's known for is compiling credible actions that governments take but the inclusion of any entry in the human rights report does not denote any kind of fact finding or assessment by the United States government as it relates to these specific entries and on the case that you note yesterday I was pretty clear yesterday and I will be so again I have no comments or assessment or details to offer as it relates to this specific matter that the Attorney General's office has raised that is for them to speak to including the details and any specifics around uh the inquiry that they're looking into the United States government does not have an opinion or point point of view or an assessment on what's laid out there Mr Patel Just One Last Thing there's a new attorney in Colombia it was appointed by President petro and the course of that investigation is already changing does the US trust that the investigation can be conducted fairly do you trust like the coloman institutions on this on the Attorney General office appointed by President Petro investigating his son uh I have no uh uh different assessment to offer when it comes to the justice system in Colombia this is an issue for uh the government of Columbia and the Colombian Attorney General's office I don't have any other perspective from the United States thank you Abby go ahead sure um what a pivot yeah serious pivot um at least two Americans are currently being DET detained in Turks and Kos um after bringing in ammunition to the country earlier this year um does the state tournament have any concerns um regarding the Detention of Americans um for bringing ammunition into the country they're both looking at the potential of 12E sentences so Abby um as you know uh our embassies in Conflict we have no higher priority than the Safety and Security of American citizens overseas we're aware of the arrest of US citizens in Turks and Kos uh when a US citizen is arrested We Stand by ready to provide all appropriate conselor assistance uh but uh in a foreign country US citizens are subject to the country's laws even if they May differ from what is law in the United States um I will note that uh our department put out a security Alert in September of 2023 uh that states that in the Turks and Kos Islands Firearms ammunitions and other weapons are not permitted uh Turks and Kos Island authorities strictly enforce all firearms related laws and the penalty for traveling to Turks and caos Islands uh with a firearm or ammunition um or other weapon is um a minimum of uh custodial sentence of 12 Years so uh but beyond that we're are aware of these reports and we are uh continuing to engage and provide all appropriate Consular assistance are you able to provide any estimate for how many Americans are being detained in Turks and Kos as you know um Abby as a veteran covering this department the uh number of American citizens not just in Turks and caos but in any country um that is a number that fluctuates we do not ask or even require American citizens to register or notify with us um when they travel when they head to any destination so that is just not a number um I can offer from up here go ahead thank you H there have been reports that President erdogan's meeting with the Hamas leader might have affected his anticipated White House visit I will not ask you to confirm whe whether the Turkish president is coming but I will ask you what is your message to your allies will a meeting with the Hamas leader potentially set an obstacle to a White House visit so our message to our allies and partners today is the same that it was on October 7th which is that it no longer can be business as usual uh with Hamas um and that any country who may have a relationship with Hamas influence with Hamas uh needs to send a very clear message that they should take the deal on the table that will release hostages and help bring about much needed relief to the Palestinian civilians in Gaza um and that they should ultimately ensure that every single hostage is released but I don't have any other so does that mean that a meeting with the Hamas leader is business as usual so it can influence a visit in unit uh I have no uh assessments to offer on that meeting beyond that so I just follow sure quickly so would you like to see your ally like Qatar for instance throw the Hamas leadership from Qatar uh I because there's been a lot of talk about this I I spoke a little bit about this last week I will again leave it to the government Kadar to speak to uh any steps or that they may be taking as it relates to their own government go ahead thank you uh on the secretary's visit to China uh he said he would address human rights uh but on this uh report uh that came out on Monday will he specifically addressed the persecution of religious groups like uh the Wagers and Fallen gong and uh what have talks been like on this in the past so uh what I can say is that in every engagement that we have had with the uh People's Republic of China since the onset of this Administration human rights um have always been on the agenda and they will continue uh to be so uh and I have no doubt that human rights will be discussed um this week while the secretary is there um go ahead the secretary's trip to China comes on the appeals of the state visit by the Japanese prime minister the US Philippines trilateral and forward movement on August and next month um the inauguration of the Taiwanese president-elect is approaching how will these factor into discussions with Chinese officials potentially President Chief so uh look broadly uh the peace and stability of the uh Indo Pacific region um continues to be a key tenant of uh what we uh will be engaging on not just with these uh countries uh that you laid out but also um uh in our engagements with uh the PRC over the course of this week uh it's important to not there's a number of other uh topics that we expect uh to come up we talked a little bit about uh them earlier this week uh he's going to work the secretary to accomplish three main goals first make progress on key us priorities including uh resuming counternarcotics cooperation um continuing military to military communication um issues around artificial intelligence and strengthening People to People ties um he'll also clearly and directly communicate concerns on Regional and Global issues as I said peace and stability in the indo-pacific region maintaining cross straight ties ensuring that uh tensions are kept in check uh we also will uh discuss uh managing uh our relationship and competition responsibly with the PRC you can expect all of these things to be talked about um and uh more importantly you'll have a chance to hear from the secretary at the end of the week uh when he has a press conference at the conclusion of his trip you had your hand up in the back did you not um yes about my question being asked but just to follow up um relax Alex I will get to you secretary want to have his um ending press conference in China or back here in the US um it will be um in Beijing at the end of the week um go ahead Alex thank you now two topics Ukraine uh first uh the first trash is out today it did not include long range attacks but there reports that president has already directed adition officials to send them I think reports actually said it has already been delivered and it's being used give is confirmed that and overall your reaction to first page sure Alex so yes I can confirm that the United States provided Ukraine with longrange attack hims at the president's D Direction he quietly directed um his National Security team to send attacks to Ukraine uh for use inside Ukrainian Sovereign territory in February uh they started moving as part of the military aid package we announced on March 12th uh and those missiles arrived in Ukraine this month uh we did not announce this um at the onset uh in order to maintain operational security for Ukraine at their request uh and I'll defer to them to speak about their use and how they uh may or may not be operationalized uh in their own military operations extremely helpful moving forward uh can you guys give us a sense of how you guys going to determine what kind of guns weapons do they need you know to make it tangible will change so I'm just not going to speculate on any forthcoming draw Downs or any uh any forthcoming um security systems or assets we may be uh providing our Ukrainian Partners only to say you saw us take a uh a huge step today with the announcement of this uh1 billion package um it was incredibly uh helpful and our message to our Ukrainian Partners is that um this assistance is on the way uh and that our uh commitment to their uh defense is unwavering fin from on Arman there are reports about some progress has been made in ter of b delimitation um any reaction are you guys involved is a special advisor for plan to go region or is he invol I I don't have any travel to announce Alex but uh the secretary mentioned this in his tweet that uh we welcome the announcement that uh Armenia and aeran have agreed upon the 1991 uh Alma Ada declaration uh as the basis for border delimitation between the two countries this is an important step towards uh concluding a durable and dignified uh peace agreement daffany did you have your hand up um yeah I was just going to ask how many attack long range attack again I I'm not going to speak to that specifics um all right thanks everybody

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Published: Wed Apr 24 2024