U.S. Department Press Briefing – July 9, 2024 July 9, 2024 1:37 p.m. EDT

 Department Press Briefing – July 9, 2024

July 9, 2024

1:37 p.m. EDT

MR MILLER: All right, everyone. Sorry to be late. Better get this show on the road. I know Leon has somewhere to be at three o’clock so —

QUESTION: You wish. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: He does?

MR MILLER: He does. You don’t know? Today’s a semifinal of the Euros, Spain versus France. I believe that Leon is tracking that very closely.

QUESTION: I try.

QUESTION: So, team handball? No?

MR MILLER: (Laughter.) Matt, I thought you were much more international than that.

QUESTION: I’m more international when it comes to cricket.

MR MILLER: Fair. (Laughter.) Fair enough. I don’t have anything to start so —

QUESTION: No? All right. Let’s start with NATO and the summit. So, the Secretary has had a couple meetings today already. I guess the summit hasn’t yet kicked off but will tonight. Are you aware that he has heard any concerns from the people that he’s spoken to so far about President Biden?

MR MILLER: No, I’m not aware of him having heard any concerns as of yet.

QUESTION: Have you asked or are you deliberately —

MR MILLER: We —

QUESTION: — trying to avoid —

MR MILLER: I talked to him an hour ago, and he did not mention having any concerns with anyone.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR MILLER: Or I’m sorry – did not mention having heard concerns from anyone.

QUESTION: So, he has his own concerns?

MR MILLER: No. That is not a fair implication. No.

QUESTION: (Laughter.) Okay. Well, I just want to make sure.

MR MILLER: He has spoken to this quite clearly. Yeah.

QUESTION: Okay. But I mean, does that mean – do you know if they’ve come up? Have they come up with anyone else?

MR MILLER: They have not – they have not come up in – well, I can’t speak for anyone else all around the government, obviously. But no, I’m not aware of anyone raising concerns with the Secretary or anyone else from the State Department about the President. What we consistently hear from allies and partners around the world – when we travel the world and when people come here – is that they are grateful for the leadership the President has shown – in this case, when we talk about NATO – in expanding NATO and convincing Allies to raise their collective support for NATO’s defense and deterrence measures and his leadership in rallying an international coalition to push back on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, among many other foreign policy measures.

QUESTION: Okay. And then are – is there any State Department component to the aid package that’s supposed to be announced today that you’re aware of?

MR MILLER: So, I don’t want to get – that’s a nice way to try to get me into talking about something that has not yet been announced so – but I – but so —

QUESTION: Are – let me put it —

MR MILLER: So I will – let me —

QUESTION: Let me put it this way then.

MR MILLER: Let me answer it elliptically. So —

QUESTION: (Laughter.) Elliptically.

MR MILLER: Elliptically. So, there will be new air defense capabilities announced during this summit, both by the United States and by other countries. There will be other new defense commitments announced. And of course, the State Department does play a role in all of those.

QUESTION: Right. Well, other than the – I mean, I think that at this event this morning he said something about $7 million in protective gear, equipment for Ukrainian women’s armed forces.

MR MILLER: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: Is there a – so you’re saying that beyond that —

MR MILLER: There will be –

QUESTION: — or beyond the U.S. component of that, there will be more from State —

MR MILLER: Yeah, we will be —

QUESTION: — that is coming?

MR MILLER: We will be announcing across the government – some of that will include State Department components – political, economic, and military measures to support Ukraine.

QUESTION: Thanks.

QUESTION: Just quickly.

MR MILLER: Leon, go ahead.

Yeah, go ahead.

QUESTION: The 7 million – sorry about that. Apologies. The 7 million the Secretary said – he said NATO countries. So how many – how much of it is the U.S.’s portion?

MR MILLER: Let me get details to you offline.

QUESTION: I have another one on the Secretary.

MR MILLER: Yeah. Go ahead.

QUESTION: I was wondering if you have any – if the final communique has been finalized or definitively the wording that the NATO summit leaders would give to Ukraine on this bridge – you guys call it a bridge – to membership. There’s talks of some capitals – the Baltic states sort of specifically – they want the word “irreversible” in the final communique. My understanding is that it’s been negotiated. Can you say where it stands at this point?

MR MILLER: I don’t want to – I obviously don’t want to say what the final communique will say. There are pieces of the communique that continue to be worked on and negotiated, which is usual for the summit, right? There are a lot – there’s a lot that comes in those NATO communiques. You’ve seen them before. And some of that goes right up to the last minute.

I will say that a significant amount of time has gone into discussions about the wording about Ukraine’s path to membership. The Secretary talked with President Zelenskyy directly about this when we were in Ukraine several months ago. It was a significant portion of discussion at the NATO foreign ministers meeting last month that the Secretary attended in Prague. And of course, it has been the subject of ongoing discussions between our building and other NATO members – and of course, Julie Smith, our ambassador to NATO, being in the lead on that over the past few weeks.

I will say I think we have landed in a place – and you will all see this when the language comes forward – that makes clear, as we have said, that NATO’s future – or I’m sorry – that Ukraine’s future is in NATO. And the communique will make that very clear, and you’ll all get to see the language and talk about it when its publicly released.

QUESTION: I mean, is it still being negotiated to your knowledge?

MR MILLER: There may be pieces – that part we have largely – I will just say that language we have largely settled on. There are other pieces of the communique and maybe some smaller pieces of that piece of it that we’re still negotiating as well.

QUESTION: But that part of it is settled?

MR MILLER: That part is largely settled. Yeah.

Said.

QUESTION: Thank you. Can I move on?

MR MILLER: Yeah.

QUESTION: Okay. I wonder —

MR MILLER: I didn’t think you were going to ask me a NATO question when I called on you.

QUESTION: I do have my NATO questions, but let’s – (laughter) – talk about Gaza, okay. Anyway, are you aware of The Lancet Group report? It’s a medical magazine – British medical magazine that estimated the deaths as a result of the war in Gaza could be 186,000. And of course, it’s taken into account – the expert took into account indirect deaths that have happened thus far and may happen as the result of the war, including disease and other things and starvation. Are you aware of that?

MR MILLER: So I’ve seen the report, and I will just say whatever the number of civilians that have actually died as a result of this conflict, we know that it’s far too many. And far too many civilians have been needlessly killed as the result of this conflict, and that is why we are working so hard, including negotiations that are going on this week, to try to reach a ceasefire that would alleviate the suffering in Gaza, that would bring home the hostages that continue to be held, and ultimately put us on a path to hopefully ending the war.

QUESTION: So are you concerned that the figures could be far more staggering, that what we’ve seen published by, let’s say, the Ministry of Health in Gaza — I remember early on the Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf said – told the – I guess one of the committees on Capitol Hill that the deaths may actually be more than what the ministry – the health ministry, Hamas is saying. Are you —

MR MILLER: Sure. The death toll could very well be more. We know there are potentially people who are under rubble, who have not been counted. But it goes to my – the point I was making. Whatever the number is – the reported number already is far too high. The reported number already is unacceptable – the number of civilian deaths. So, of course, something higher than that would just be further tragedy. But we long ago passed the stage where – this is has been a horrific human tragedy for some time.

QUESTION: You’re smirking. You’re smirking as you say that.

MR MILLER: No, excuse – go ahead with another question, Said.

QUESTION: You are smirking as you say —

MR MILLER: Absolutely not. I’m not going to – I’m not even going to entertain that.

QUESTION: Let me finish my – let me finish – let me finish my question, please.

MR MILLER: I’m not even going to entertain that.

Said, go ahead with another question.

QUESTION: Matt, you’re smirking.

QUESTION: Okay. Thank you.

MR MILLER: That’s ridiculous.

QUESTION: All right. I wanted to ask you about the status of the talks. I know yesterday you said – and Kirby at the White House, your colleague at the White House – said that you are a bit optimistic, although there are gaps. Do – are we any closer today? Do you have any assessment as where to – where we are today and so on? And of course, Hamas is saying that the latest Israeli attack actually may jeopardize ceasefire talks.

MR MILLER: So, I – as I said yesterday, neither want to negotiate in public, nor do I kind of want to offer ongoing daily assessments of where the talks stand. As we said last week when we go the proposal back from Hamas, we saw room for progress and room for hope that we could reach a ceasefire. And we continue to work hard to pursue a ceasefire because of, as I said, the immense, ongoing suffering in Gaza that we want to alleviate, which we know a ceasefire is the best path to accomplishing.

QUESTION: And my last question. The Israeli prime minister is expected to come to the city in two weeks and so on. Is it your assessment that he actually would come, and speak before Congress if a deal has not been arrived to? What is your assessment of his visit? And would he, let’s say, be received at the State Department?

MR MILLER: I don’t have any independent assessment to offer of whether he’ll come or not. All I can tell you is Congress has invited him, and he has accepted the invitation. I have no reason to think that he won’t come. As to any meetings with the Executive Branch, I don’t have anything to announce today.

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: Just to follow up on that?

MR MILLER: Yeah, sure. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Any update on the negotiations with Hizballah also?

MR MILLER: No. I spoke to this some yesterday. It remains our assessment that the best way to reach calm in the north is to get a ceasefire in Gaza. It’s not to say it’s the only way. We continue to pursue diplomacy to resolve the conflict in northern Israel and southern Lebanon and try to de-escalate the conflict and keep tensions from rising further. But that remains a very tough goal as long as the conflict in Gaza continues to wage. And so, we do – and you heard the President say this when he outlined the ceasefire proposal several weeks ago – that we do believe – we believed then and we continue to believe that the best way to find a path to calm in the north is to first achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

Yeah.

QUESTION: In the region.

MR MILLER: Yeah.

QUESTION: It’s been over a month since the U.S. detained – or sorry. It’s been over a month since the Houthis detained dozens of locally – dozens of UN staff and civil society members, as well as former locally employed staff from the U.S. Embassy in Yemen. Do you have any update on U.S. efforts to secure their release or hold the Houthis accountable for their attacks in the Red Sea?

MR MILLER: So first of all, we condemn the Houthis wrongful detentions and, once again, call on them to release all detainees, including the United Nations diplomatic and non-governmental organization staff that they detained last month. We will not rest until all detainees are released. I can tell you the Secretary personally has discussed this matter with partners in the region, with a number of countries, to impress upon everyone that it’s important that the Houthis release these workers who have nothing to do with the conflict in Gaza. There is no reason that they should have been detained, in the same way that the Houthis attacks on international shipping have nothing to do with the war in Gaza, so do their detentions of aid workers and others.

So, I will just say that through these actions, these attacks that the Houthis continue to launch, they are alienating the world community and putting the peace process in Yemen, which parties including the Houthis have painstakingly negotiated over the last two years, in jeopardy. And so, we will continue to impress upon them, through all available channels, that they should stop their attacks and they should release all the workers that they are detaining.

Simon.

QUESTION: Could we – just staying on – well, in the region, on Gaza. There are supposed to be talks in Doha tomorrow. Is there any sort of update from the U.S. side that you can give us on the possibility of a hostage deal? There’s been some positive talk last week, but are we any closer to getting a deal?

MR MILLER: I kind of answered this with – to Said’s question. I don’t really want to offer a daily kind of assessment of how the talks are going, other than that we are working on them. A lot of this proposal has been agreed to for some time. When you think about the – and proposal is maybe not the right word, but when you think about the outstanding issues or the issues that would be encompassed in any kind of ceasefire, a number of them have been essentially agreed on, maybe some fine points to be worked out for some time, and we have been down to for some time some of the much harder issues and much stickier issues, and that continues to be the case.

We have made progress. We certainly think we’re closer to a deal than we were a few weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean we’ll get one. You’ve heard the Secretary say before that oftentimes in these types of negotiations the issues that are saved for the end are the hardest ones. And so even when a deal seems within reach, it doesn’t mean you’re going to get one. All we can do is continue to make clear that this deal is in the interests of Israel. It’s in the interests of the Palestinian people in Gaza. It would alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza. So, we hope we’re able to come to an agreement as soon as possible.

QUESTION: And we’ve seen – there’s been some reporting that Arab foreign ministers have been invited to the NATO summit. I think there’s an Israeli delegation here. Is there anything you can say about who’s here, whether the Secretary will meet with them, and also what the – or what – how much that – the Gaza situation, the Israel-Palestinian situation, will be part of the talks at NATO?

MR MILLER: Yeah. So obviously, you have NATO members who are in town. And then you have the heads of state of four other countries who are partners of NATO, and that includes Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea. And then there are foreign ministers in town from other NATO countries – Israel, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Mauritania, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia, and UAE. I actually did happen to have the list right here. And yes, the Secretary and other members of the government will be meeting with them when they are in town.

And yes, I would certainly expect – to your question about the topics, I would certainly expect that the conflict in Gaza will be something that’s discussed. And not just the work to achieve a ceasefire, but the ongoing work that we are doing to try and develop robust plans for the day after the conflict to establish governance and security that would give us a path to lasting peace, security, and stability for the region. And I will note that even while that work is going on here, Barbara Leaf, our assistant secretary, is traveling in the region right now, meeting with counterparts to advance those same lines of effort.

QUESTION: Is there a separate – is there a meeting involving Secretary Blinken and those Middle Eastern foreign ministers, including the Israelis? Are they all in one meeting that’s going to be discussing that?

MR MILLER: I’m not aware – I’m not aware of any such meeting. We have several bilats and different meetings, but I’m not aware of one meeting with those foreign partners just focused on Gaza. It may be that there’s something as part of the overall summit that they’re involved, but I’m not aware of it.

QUESTION: But did – could I just clarify on that?

MR MILLER: Yeah.

QUESTION: When you mentioned a list of non-NATO countries, you – I think you did say the Secretary would be meeting them. But just to clarify —

MR MILLER: Not necessarily with all of them. The Secretary and others in the government. These are all – these are people who were invited to be in town that will be participating in different NATO events, some of the – some of the side events that go on.

QUESTION: Yeah.

MR MILLER: And at some of those, there will be bilateral meetings that happen here, some at the White House, some at the Defense Department – the usual thing that happens on the margins of these types of summits. There’s not one meeting organized around all of them.

QUESTION: Could I just make a nitpicky correction?

MR MILLER: I would expect nothing less, Matt.

QUESTION: So, these are not all heads of state, right? In fact, the head of —

MR MILLER: No, I said these are foreign – I think I said foreign ministers. There were four heads – heads of state from four – heads of government. Yes, thank you, Matt.

QUESTION: Yeah, the head of state of —

MR MILLER: Heads of state – heads of state.

QUESTION: — Australia is the king.

MR MILLER: Heads of state and heads of government, I should’ve —

QUESTION: And in fact, the Australian prime minister is not coming. It’s his deputy who’s coming.

MR MILLER: I should’ve said —

QUESTION: And the head of state of Japan is the emperor, not the prime minister. So, let’s —

MR MILLER: I appreciate the correction. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: No, look, you guys exist on protocol.

MR MILLER: I – I – it is a fair point. I very much take the point. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: But just to come back, so it – there was a – there will be bilateral meetings between the Secretary or other U.S. officials and those countries where you will talk about the future of Gaza? That’s on the agenda?

MR MILLER: I can’t say with every one of those countries I listed who have been invited, but yes, with a number of those countries, there’ll be meetings going on. Yes, that’ll be part of the agenda.

QUESTION: And are you hoping for the NATO, as a whole, to express some view on the conflict in Gaza? Particularly, are you expecting or you’re that NATO leaders will endorse a peace deal, a hostage-for-peace deal?

MR MILLER: Let me defer that question until further in the week when we actually have the communique.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR MILLER: Yeah, Kylie.

QUESTION: I know you don’t want to get into a full assessment as to the ongoing talks for a ceasefire, but I do – I do wonder if you could just help us understand how this moment is different than it has been in the past a little bit. It was about a month ago that Blinken said in the region that some of the changes that Hamas had put forth are workable and some are not. Is that still the case, or has that changed?

MR MILLER: I really don’t want to – I really don’t want to get into that in public, only because —

QUESTION: The Secretary has gotten into it in public. I mean —

MR MILLER: That was a different time. We’re in the middle of some very intense negotiations over this right now. That was when we first received a response back from Hamas that we are characterizing it – that we were characterizing. We are in the middle of some pretty delicate, sensitive negotiations right now about a path forward, and I don’t want to say anything that could potentially jeopardize those.

QUESTION: So, you can’t say or you’re not willing to say if Hamas has dropped any of its demands that were made about a month ago?

MR MILLER: I just don’t want to speak to it at all.

QUESTION: Okay. And then I know we talked briefly about this yesterday with Modi visiting with Putin, but they did make some announcements particularly with regard to continued agreements when it comes to energy and oil. And obviously, that is a key factor in fueling Russia’s war in Ukraine, and so I just wonder how you guys respond to that. You’ve been previously a little bit reluctant to criticize India for importing Russian oil.

MR MILLER: So, as I said yesterday, we have been quite clear about our concerns about India’s relationship with Russia. We have expressed those privately, directly to the Indian Government and continue to do so, and that hasn’t changed.

QUESTION: Can I make a follow-up?

QUESTION: Have you done so since – since this news has broken over the last 24 hours?

MR MILLER: We have had conversations with them in the past 24 hours, and I think I’ll keep the contents of those private.

QUESTION: One follow-up.

MR MILLER: Sure, go ahead.

QUESTION: How do you view the Modi-Putin hugging chemistry, as President Zelenskyy has seriously objected, saying it’s a huge disappointment that the leader of the world’s largest democracy hugs a bloody criminal in Moscow? This is a devastating blow to peace efforts. Will this create any impact on your trusted and strategic partnership with India?

MR MILLER: Well, as I said yesterday, we urge India, we continue to urge India, to support efforts to realize an enduring and just peace in Ukraine based on the principles of the UN Charter, based on upholding Ukraine’s territorial integrity and its sovereignty. And that will continue to be what we will engage with Ukraine – I’m sorry – we will engage with India about.

QUESTION: One on Bangladesh, if I may.

MR MILLER: Yeah, sure.

QUESTION: At a recent public event, ruling Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina claimed that Nobel Laureate Professor Yunus was not the founder of the Grameen Bank and that then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called her regarding Professor Yunus and this position with many U.S. officials lobbying for Yunus and threatening her official. She also claimed that the U.S. lobbied the World Bank to cancel its funding for building of the Padma Bridge. Given the facts supporting Professor Yunus as the founder of the Grameen – founder of the Grameen Bank and the prime minister assertion that she stopped meeting with U.S. officials while still – while still trying to secure meeting with the U.S. officials and leadership, can the State Department confirm the accuracy of these claims made by the ruling prime minister of Bangladesh?

MR MILLER: So, I don’t think I have any comment on that at all. I mean, it’s been 12 years, I think from doing the math, 12 years since Hillary Clinton was secretary of state. No, I don’t have any comment on that.

Tom, go ahead.

QUESTION: Bangladesh. Can I – can I —

MR MILLER: Tom, go ahead.

QUESTION: I wanted to ask you about a story that BBC is reporting today about Diego Garcia, which is that the U.S. Government has blocked a legal hearing on Diego Garcia which was due to be attended by a British judge, British lawyers, the migrants who are trapped on the island as – who describe themselves as being held in prison-like conditions, and also BBC journalists stopped effectively by the U.S. from traveling there. Do you have any comment on that?

MR MILLER: So, I did see that story. I looked into it, and I would refer you to the Pentagon for comment. It’s entirely a matter before the Pentagon, not the State Department.

QUESTION: Well, I mean, it’s thoroughly our – it’s our understanding in the reporting of this in depth for a long time that there is State Department involvement in this process.

MR MILLER: So, I can tell you that I inquired about this before coming out to the briefing, and it is a Pentagon facility, it is a Pentagon matter. The State Department often has some coordinating role, but the – it is predominantly, if not exclusively a Pentagon matter, so I’d refer you to them for comment. They do have a briefing this afternoon, so I would —

QUESTION: Okay. And could you say anything about security reasons which are being quoted? And if not, does the U.S. have anything to hide on Diego Garcia?

MR MILLER: I will not say anything about security reasons because that is a matter administered by the Pentagon. So it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to do so. It’s not something I know about, but it’s certainly something they can speak to more appropriately than me.

QUESTION: Do you have anything to hide on Diego Garcia?

MR MILLER: No, but I appreciate when I tell you that I can’t speak to a matter that has nothing to do with my department, you continue to ask me – (laughter) – you ask me —

QUESTION: Well, I mean, as I say, it is all in the —

MR MILLER: Look, stop, hold on. Just – there’s – there are – I’m not saying none of these are legitimate questions, but when you ask me —

QUESTION: You even conceded —

MR MILLER: When you ask me a question like that –

QUESTION: — that the State Department has a role.

MR MILLER: — that you know I have nothing to say when it is a matter of because —

QUESTION: But you just said the State Department —

MR MILLER: Hold on. It’s like coming and asking and me about something the Agriculture Department did, and saying do I have anything to hide. No, but I don’t have anything to say about it because it’s not a State Department matter. It’s a Defense Department matter. So, I would encourage you —

QUESTION: Okay. It’s just that you —

MR MILLER: I would encourage you to go to their briefing and ask them questions about it. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Okay. It’s only you did concede in the answer that the State Department, in your words, may have a “coordinating role.” So —

MR MILLER: Some small coordinating role. It is largely, predominantly, if not exclusively, other than some small role that we often play as diplomats, a Department of Defense matter. So, I would defer you – I would defer to them.

QUESTION: Actually – more broadly on the whole Chagos island situation with the islanders, the State Department does play a major role in it because there is a diplomatic thing. There’s a dispute going on between the Brits and Mauritius who – and the islanders. And you guys have taken a position. Do you have any guidance on what – on whether that position has changed or not?

MR MILLER: I do not —

QUESTION: In the past it has been this is an issue for those – for them to work out amongst themselves.

MR MILLER: I do not have any update on that question.

QUESTION: Okay. And so, while we’re at it, on the subject of British overseas island territories, how about the Falklands? Anything new on that?

MR MILLER: (Laughter.) No. No, Matt.

QUESTION: No? Okay. And New Caledonia? Let’s go to France. Let’s go to —

MR MILLER: No, we can tour the entire world.

QUESTION: I mean, on the issue of these dozens of migrants who are trapped, basically, in what they describe as – I mean, that is something that you can have a view on, because it’s something that we know factually has been happening. What is your —

MR MILLER: I’ll take – I can take it back and get you an answer on that.

Yeah. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. Going back to Ukraine and South Caucasus, foreign ministers in the building, they had a meeting. At the very beginning, Ukrainian foreign minister pleaded the U.S. assistance for rebuilding the hospital. Is it something you guys are entertaining?

MR MILLER: So, as you know, we have provided significant assistance to Ukraine since even before this war and certainly continuing throughout the war, and that war has not just been security assistance, though security assistance gets most of the attention. It also has been economic assistance. You’ve seen us provide direct support for rebuilding the Ukrainian electric grid, as well as for rebuilding other facilities that have been the subject of Russian attacks. So, the meeting was still going on while I – when I came down here. I’m certain the – certain it is something that they discussed in the meeting, and as I said, we will have significant military, political, and economic measures to announce over the course of this summit.

QUESTION: Thank you. And for the yesterday’s attack, do you guys support the calls for war crimes investigation?

MR MILLER: So, we have long made clear that we support investigations into war crimes and potential war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.

QUESTION: On this very episode, yesterday’s attack?

MR MILLER: So, I don’t have anything with – specific to this, but we have long made clear that we support those investigations, so certainly it’d be appropriate here.

QUESTION: Thank you. Moving to Georgia, if I may, any comment on the EU’s decision today to freeze Georgia’s accession dialogue and also funding?

MR MILLER: Any comment on what?

QUESTION: EU’s decision today to freeze all the dialogue and funding for Georgia.

MR MILLER: No. I mean, obviously, that is a decision made by the EU and something that they can more appropriately comment on. But I know that they have made clear, as we have made clear when it comes to our relationship with Georgia, that there would be consequences for Georgia’s democratic backsliding.

QUESTION: And where are you at in terms of comprehensive review with Georgia?

MR MILLER: On comprehensive – the review is ongoing.

QUESTION: And there is a concern in Georgia that now the spotlight, international spotlight has faded, so they’re going after the activists, their family members, even their friends. Any comment on how the GD is taking a revenge, if you want?

MR MILLER: So obviously we would oppose any crackdown on democratic dissent. That’s the point that we have been making for some time. And it’s the point we have made about the passage of this law, and that it would be used to crack down on legitimate democratic dissent. It’s a troubling pattern of behavior by the Georgian Government that we would urge them to reverse.

QUESTION: Okay. And final one from me, on Armenia-Azerbaijan. The Secretary, as you know, will be hosting NATO partners, and also both ministers will be in town. Is he planning to meet with them? If not, will that be a missed opportunity?

MR MILLER: (Laughter.) I don’t – I love – I don’t have any announcements to make about – regarding the schedule. You know that that is always the case with —

QUESTION: Is there any hope for a happy ending there?

MR MILLER: What’s that?

QUESTION: Any hope for a happy ending at this —

MR MILLER: We continue to work for a diplomatic resolution.

QUESTION: Follow-up on Georgia.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR MILLER: Yeah.

QUESTION: Yeah. The – Russia’s foreign intelligence service said – accused the U.S. of plotting regime change in Georgia, said the Biden administration has already developed a large-scale information campaign to discredit the ruling Georgian Dream party. How do you respond to that?

MR MILLER: So, it’s completely false. I think it’s quite obvious that it’s completely false. It’s not the first time Russia has made allegations like that with respect to U.S. involvement in Georgia and other countries around the world that have been completely false, and have been absurd. And I would just point out the irony of the country, Russia, that is illegally occupying 20 percent of Georgia as we speak, making those absurd allegations about another country.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Thank you so much. I’ll be very impactful with your time. I have two question. I’ll put all two together. The Committee for Democratic Bangladesh, a not-for-profit platform of Bangladeshi Americans, has written a letter to the U.S. ambassador in Bangladesh regarding legal issues surrounding Dr. Muhammad Yunus. The letter criticized the lack of action from U.S. Government and the President of the United States was overwhelmed by Dr. Yunus’ too-powerful American lobby. A trial court in Bangladesh found Dr. Yunus was not paying his own taxes either. What would be a likely response from the U.S. Government to the concern raised by the committee?

And my second question also: What is – I know that everybody was talking about Modi’s visit, and I – my concern is I want to know your response about what is the U.S. perspective on Indian Prime Minister Modi visiting Russia and Bangladeshi prime minister visiting China at the same time. Thank you.

MR MILLER: So, with respect to Dr. Yunus, we continue to monitor closely developments in the case against him. We have expressed for some time our concern that these cases may represent a misuse of Bangladesh’s labor laws to harass and intimidate Dr. Yunus. As a key economic partner to Bangladesh, we also worry that perceived misuse of labor and anti-corruption laws could raise questions about rule of law and dissuade future foreign direct investment.

With respect to the two visits, I’ve already spoken to the Modi visit. I don’t have anything to add to what I said. And with respect to the visit to China, look, we understand that countries engage with China. We engage with China. The Secretary has made two trips to China himself, so I don’t have any further comment on it.

QUESTION: Thank you so much.

MR MILLER: Yeah.

QUESTION: Thank you very much, Matt. Two on Pakistan, one on Afghanistan. The other day I saw a leg of a human being torn apart with whom I had a dinner here in Washington, D.C. a couple of years ago. He was a senator of Pakistan, and he was killed in IED blast in the tribal areas where I’m from. Today, a captain was killed over there. You and Vedant both believe that because of the last couple of years, because of Imran Khan – I might have asked a lot of questions about him, but I also ask a question that whatever these decisions have led to is now there is a terrorist war over there where the U.S. military agrees on it, the Pakistani military agrees on it, but because of Imran Khan the situation has become so confusing in the KP region that it has become – it has become very difficult for the government to take decision whether they should do this operation or not. Do you – have you given any guidance or any support to Pakistan to go ahead with this operation that they’re planning to take or no?

MR MILLER: So, first of all, let me just offer my condolences to the loss of what I understand is a personal acquaintance of yours. And number two, I’ll just say that the Pakistani people have suffered greatly at the hands of terrorists, and we have a shared interest in combating threats to regional security. We partner with a range of Pakistani civilian institutions and regularly engage the Government of Pakistan to identify opportunities to build capacity and strengthen regional security.

QUESTION: Second one is the journalist was killed, and I had asked about him a couple of times as well. Yesterday, the Kenyan court where he went – Pakistani journalist went to Kenya and got killed over there. My father served the longest term in jail of nine and a half years as well, so I do like to think at least about my journalist colleagues. Pakistan judiciary do you think is – or any just, like, general opinion, it’s not as bad as Kenya. Kenyan Government has given him, the poor journalist, justice, but in Pakistan the guy has not – can you at least put a word to Pakistani judiciary or the politicians to at least not play with the lives of journalists?

MR MILLER: I’m not aware of this case, so I’m not going to comment in any way specifically on it at all but, of course, we support the work of journalists around the world. And we think that it’s important that they be able to do that job – their job safely.

All right.

QUESTION: Lastly, can I ask about this interview about the Taliban? Please, just last one?

MR MILLER: Go, one more. Yeah, one more.

QUESTION: Taliban senior official for the first time did an interview with a Pakistani journalist. The journalist was a former government senior employee, retired, became a YouTuber, and did an interview. In that interview, everything – most of the things were completely lied. Like for example, the Taliban spokesperson said that there are 90,000 female teachers in Afghanistan – 90,000 – whereas the fact is that 90,000 female teachers are sitting home getting salary from the government. Vedant last week told me that the U.S. is not supporting Taliban, and 800 million has been given by USAID, 300 million has been given by the State Department – in different forms, okay. But what I’m saying is women without education and still a billion dollar receiving – and lying on international media that there are 90,000 women teachers while absolutely girls are still without —

MR MILLER: So get to the question, if you don’t mind.

QUESTION: Yes, sir. Your thoughts about this whole girls’ education and U.S. support and international —

MR MILLER: So, first of all, no, we do not support the Taliban. As Vedant made clear last week, as I have made clear in previous briefings, we do not provide any funding to the Taliban. That is absolutely false. Number two, I do – that does, however, give me a chance to comment on something that we saw just today. So, you may have seen, because I know you track this issue very closely, that the UN issued a report on the treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan and so-called moral oversight in Afghanistan. And what we saw is that the unpredictable and arbitrary enforcement of the Taliban’s so-called morality code undermines the human rights of all Afghanistans.

We continue to monitor closely the Taliban’s treatment of the people of Afghanistan, especially their treatment of Afghan women and girls. We expect the Taliban to honor their assurances to the Afghan people and the international community in this regard. And as we have said in public and private to the Taliban’s representatives, their relationship with the international community depends entirely on their actions. And we have made that clear and, I think, have been, as I said, crystal clear about that for some time.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you so much. Thanks so much.

QUESTION: Thank you. So, we know the U.S. is working for a day-after plan in Gaza, and for the NATO summit, Turkish President Erdogan and his delegation, including the foreign minister, will be here in town. Is that something you will discuss with your Turkish counterparts, given Ankara has long pledged to guarantorship in the region and we know – we hear from the Turkish officials that they are encouraging Hamas to accept the ceasefire proposal. And also right after Joe Biden announced the ceasefire deal, we know Secretary Blinken and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone call immediately right after that.

MR MILLER: Yeah. Yeah.

QUESTION: So I’d like to hear more on that.

MR MILLER: Yes. In fact, we have been discussing the end of the conflict and what comes next with Türkiye for some time. You may recall that Secretary Blinken in January traveled to Istanbul to meet with President Erdogan and with Foreign Minister Fidan and has had subsequent – a number of subsequent meetings with the foreign minister to talk about both how we get to a ceasefire and how we reach a durable end to the war with robust security, governance, and reconstruction plans for Gaza. So that continues to be a topic that we discuss on any occasions when we meet with our Turkish counterparts.

QUESTION: Should we expect similar meetings on the sidelines of the NATO summit this week between American and Turkish counterparts?

MR MILLER: I just don’t – I just don’t have any meetings to announce here today, as I’ve said to other people.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR MILLER: Yeah, Simon.

QUESTION: Just a slightly different thing. The State Department official Jung Pak, who was the acting special representative on North Korea, has stepped down, I believe. Is there – are there any plans to appoint a new envoy for North Korea?

MR MILLER: So, first of all, yes, she has stepped down, and we do thank Dr. Pak for her tireless dedication and strong leadership on DPRK since assuming office in 2021. We wish her well on future endeavors. Assistant Secretary Dan Kritenbrink will oversee DPRK policy for the Department of State. Ambassador Julie Turner will continue to serve as special envoy on North Korean human rights issues, Seth Bailey will continue to serve as deputy special representative for the DPRK, and I don’t have any additional personnel announcements to make today.

QUESTION: The previous special representative, Sung Kim, left at the end of last year, I believe. So, there are no plans to fill that role again?

MR MILLER: I just don’t have any personnel announcements to make today.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Thank you so much. As you are hosting NATO head of state summit here, a week ago, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazakhstan on the sidelines of SCO summit, and he suggested President Putin that he must consider barter trade as a means to counter Western financial sanctions, and he also referred Pakistan and Russia bilateral barter system trade from 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. So how will you respond on that?

MR MILLER: I don’t have any comment on that.

QUESTION: Secondly, with the number of resolutions from the U.S. Congress, number of letters from the lawmakers to President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and number of many other things regarding the Pakistan democracy, election interference, or election investigations, there – all these things are believed that Imran Khan followers are backing and they are, like, asking their representative here to do this. Now there is a backlash on the Pakistan embassy here. The Pakistani ambassador here, (inaudible) Masood Khan, he was just removed unduly, and he was – he didn’t just completed his diplomatic tenure, although he was a political appointee. But this is something like – it is believed in Islamabad he was (inaudible) the – all the things but he was given, like – he didn’t make it happen. Like, he didn’t stop all these things, the resolutions piled up that are coming in the favor of Imran Khan. So, this is something very clearly visible that – how the Pakistani democracy is running and who is running it. So how do you see this?

MR MILLER: I was not aware of that case until you raised it, so I don’t have any comment.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you. This morning on Capitol Hill, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Iran was on – was talking to some lawmakers and giving a congressional briefing about the various massacres in the 1980s as well as the contemporary status of human rights in Iran. He – as part of his remarks after the event, he spoke a bit about the Biden administration’s policy towards Iran and basically denied or rejected the idea that there is an overarching strategy for Iran that has been laid out by the Biden administration, at least in the UN’s view or his view. How do you respond to that? And if, assuming – excuse me – assuming that the President will be returning to the White House next year, can we expect a sort of future of Iran negotiations to be laid out by this administration?

MR MILLER: So, first of all, I will say everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that obviously is very much one that we would not agree with. If you look at the totality of our policy, we have made clear that we are committed to ensuring that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon. We have worked with our allies and partners around the world to ensure that objective. You have seen us impose over 600 sanctions and export controls on Iran and Iran-related entities to counter Iran’s malign influence. You have seen us work with partners in the region through diplomatic measures to try to counter Iran’s influence and to take on Iran’s support for terrorism, so no, it’s not something I would agree with at all.

QUESTION: Got you. And one sort of quick second follow-up. We got official confirmation today that the President is going to be holding a official press conference as part of the NATO summit this week. The —

MR MILLER: I think they announced that at the White House yesterday, so – (laughter).

QUESTION: Yeah, the official or unofficial description was it’s going to be a big boy press conference for the President. I was wondering if you could confirm for us whether this is going to be another situation where it’s a joint press conference with other leaders or whether this is going to be a stand-alone thing.

MR MILLER: So, I will let the White House speak to the President’s schedule, but I think they made clear yesterday he plans to hold a solo press conference.

QUESTION: Got you.

MR MILLER: So with that, we’ll wrap for today. Thanks.

QUESTION: Thank you.

(The briefing was concluded at 2:17 p.m.)

# # #

Non-NATO countries ↑

Afghans ↑

Tags

Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bangladesh Georgia India Iran Israel Office of the Spokesperson Pakistan Palestinian Territories Russia Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Yemen