Department Press Briefing – August 7, 2024
August 7, 2024
1:23 p.m. EDT
MR MILLER: Good afternoon, everybody. Get everything situated here. All right, I do not have any opening remarks, so Shaun?
QUESTION: Sure. Start in the Middle East, I suppose?
MR MILLER: Yeah.
QUESTION: I know Admiral Kirby spoke a little bit about the current state of play, but wondering, in particular with the situation between Iran and Israel, where things stand now. Has there been any further communication from the Secretary or others with players in the region? How worried are you right now about the chance of escalation?
MR MILLER: So we continue to engage in very intense diplomacy with allies and partners in the region to make clear that we don’t believe anyone should escalate this conflict. As you know, the Secretary has been engaged in calls really since last week. I don’t have any new ones to read out today, but it’s been an ongoing process, and I expect he’ll engage in further conversations in the days ahead.
And the message that we are sending to everyone is: Look, this is obviously a very delicate time for the region. Tensions are high; we are in the final stages, hopefully, of a ceasefire deal; and escalation has the potential to make every problem the region faces worse. And so the message that we are impressing upon everyone in the region is that no party should take any steps to escalate this conflict.
QUESTION: A couple things on that. Could you talk about the OIC meeting and how significant or not it would be? Obviously, Iran and the Palestinians called this. What message do you – I mean, I know the U.S. isn’t a member, but what message do you hope this sends, particularly to Iran?
MR MILLER: So we would hope that at that OIC meeting the same thing happens that we have been – that we have been trying to effectuate throughout the last week, which is that all parties that have a relationship with Iran impress upon Iran, the same way that we’ve been impressing upon the Government of Israel, that they shouldn’t take any steps to escalate the conflict. And so obviously there are a number of countries with whom we speak who are attending that meeting who are members of the OIC. We have heard from those countries really a broad consensus in every conversation that we have had that they share our opinion that escalation would only exacerbate the problems facing the region. And so certainly we would hope that countries at that meeting would impress that upon Iran.
QUESTION: Sure. Just one more from me. I know the Secretary was asked this yesterday, but about the leadership of Hamas. The Secretary said yesterday that Sinwar has always been the primary decider; nonetheless, somebody who purportedly masterminded the October 7th attacks. And today, the Israelis have – it’s not a surprise, but very clear that they want to kill him. How does that – how does that complicate the – just the process of diplomacy and getting a ceasefire? And is there at least —
MR MILLER: I don’t —
QUESTION: – if not a contradiction, at least a tension between trying to kill someone and trying to negotiate a ceasefire?
MR MILLER: I don’t think there is. I really don’t think – it’s what the Secretary said yesterday, obviously, and I think is accurate, which is it doesn’t really change the situation. Two things can be true: Number one, Sinwar is a brutal terrorist with blood on his hands, including the blood of American citizens, and not just American citizens but citizens of many countries around the world. Let’s remember, it’s not just citizens of Israel that were killed on October 7th; there were citizens of multiple countries, as I said, including the United States. That is true.
It is also true that he continues to be the person that calls the shots for Hamas. And that was true before the death of the leader of the – the political leader of Hamas; it continues to be true today. Ultimately, it was Sinwar that had the final decision-making authority, as we can see throughout these negotiations, on whether to accept a ceasefire or not.
So yes, Sinwar absolutely ought to be brought to justice. We believe that, for the – his significant acts of terrorism. And we also think he ought to accept the ceasefire deal that is manifestly in the interests of the Palestinian people as well as, of course, in the interests of Israel and the broader region.
QUESTION: Can I follow on that?
MR MILLER: Yeah.
QUESTION: In particular, have the Qataris given any indication that they are any more reluctant to deal with Hamas now that Sinwar is de facto the head of the organization?
MR MILLER: No, they have not. In fact, Qatar has indicated to us that they continue to look to play the productive role they have really played since the – since October 7th. Qatar, along with Egypt, have played an incredibly important role in trying to mediate a ceasefire deal. They’ve played a role in the return of hostages previously. And they continue to play a really important role that you see us often express gratitude for, and that continues to be the case.
QUESTION: Absent the designation by Hamas, presumably by Sinwar, of somebody who can physically be present at these negotiations – because presumably, Sinwar himself will not be traveling to Cairo or anywhere else —
MR MILLER: That’s presumably correct, yeah.
QUESTION: — is there not at least a logistical obstacle to furthering ceasefire talks at this time?
MR MILLER: So a few things about that. Number one, Haniyeh was not the only person who attended talks when there have been previous rounds of negotiations. There are other people from Hamas, from outside Gaza, who attended those talks, and that can still be the case. Those people have had the ability to get messages to Sinwar; that’s been true all throughout the negotiations, and I would expect that to still be the case.
The second thing is that just because it – or let me say it a different way. The second thing is that actual physical negotiations are not the only time that there are talks that go on throughout this process. Right? We talk to Qatar and Egypt all the time. We talk to Israel all the time. They have the messages to communicate with the leadership of Hamas even absent getting in a room and talking to them, and I would expect that to continue to be the case as well.
QUESTION: I do not mean this to sound flippant, but does it not – and I take your latter point. But does it not require a commitment from Israel, and I guess all of the negotiating parties, not to kill the people who are taking part in these talks if only to, again, sort of finalize a deal that I assume would have to happen in person?
MR MILLER: So we want to see the talks get finalized. Right? If – there’s a couple ways to take your question. If you mean with respect to Sinwar – maybe that’s not what you meant, so I will just say, with – because that was something that Shaun asked about. Certainly with respect to Sinwar, he’s something that – somebody that we believe ought to be brought to justice. There are other members of Hamas as well who are terrorists who deserve to be brought to justice in one way or the other.
But we do want to get these talks across the finish line. It is important that the talks be able to take place, that they take place sometimes virtually and that they take place in person as well, and we’re going to continue to push for those to happen to finalize this agreement. As you’ve heard the President say, as you’ve heard the Secretary say, we really do think we are in the final stages. We have agreement on a framework. There’s some final pieces left to agree on to implementation. That takes both Israel and Hamas agreeing. So yes, we want to see talks continue, and that does mean that there has to be someone on the other end of those negotiations.
QUESTION: I guess I more mean who would want this job, given it probably places an immediate target on this person’s back? Just —
MR MILLER: So I’m not sure that I fully accept the premise of the question. I would hope people would want the —
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
MR MILLER: Yeah, but I would just say – well, there are a number of people who have been involved in the negotiations. I would just say, I would hope people would want the job because they would see getting a ceasefire deal in the interests of the Palestinian people that they purport to represent. That, I think, is a reason why anybody who is a member of Hamas or a leader of Hamas ought to want to participate in these negotiations, get them over the finish line.
QUESTION: Okay. And on the final stages qualification, which seems like it’s a relatively recent descriptor that the White House and the State Department have been using to describe these talks, not too long ago a U.S. official said that there were still implementation issues that needed to be overcome. Is this description of final stages meant to indicate that those implementation issues have been resolved or are they still outstanding?
MR MILLER: There are still implementation issues that need to be resolved. but if you look at how far we have come and what’s left remaining, those implementation issues – I don’t – maybe “minor” is not the right word, but compared to the scope of what has been agreed to are things that we think ought to be able to agree to, and ought to be able to agree – ought to be able to be agreed to fairly quickly by the two parties. And so we do not think there should be any further delay. We think both parties ought to come to an agreement, and that is the message that we have sent directly as well as what you’ve heard us say publicly.
QUESTION: One quick last one on Al Asad and whether there’s been any engagement diplomatically with the Iraqi Government as to – is there any indication the Iraqi Government is going to take any steps to investigate, mitigate what happened to U.S. troops?
MR MILLER: Yeah, so we have been in conversation with the Iraqi Government about this question. You may have seen also they have announced publicly that they have launched an investigation and arrested a number of suspects in connection with the attack. That of course is the appropriate thing for them to do. We have long said in previous rounds of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq that those personnel are there at the invitation of the Iraqi Government, and it is incumbent upon the Iraqi Government to take steps to prevent attacks in the first place; and when attacks do occur, to fully investigate and hold accountable those parties responsible. So it’s appropriate that they are doing so in this case.
QUESTION: Another on Russia, but I’ll defer.
MR MILLER: Yeah, just —
QUESTION: A follow-up – follow-up on that.
MR MILLER: You already said last one, so you – (laughter.)
QUESTION: I know I – yeah, no, I know. I know.
QUESTION: Just a follow-up on —
QUESTION: You can come back.
QUESTION: — on the negotiations. Just so I understand, so one of the things that you’re kind of saying to the Iranians is don’t escalate because they’re – we’re really close to getting a ceasefire deal. This was – this is the deal, the same deal, that you were calling an Israeli deal, right? This came from the Israelis in the first place; the President communicated it. Do the Israelis – have they signed up to all parts of the deal? Like, is there a deal ready for whoever the new Hamas negotiator is to come in and immediately say yes to?
MR MILLER: So when we first – when the President first made public the proposal, which I think was on May 31st, if I remember correctly, that was a proposal that the Government of Israel put forward and that they had agreed to and that the President made public and that we submitted to Hamas, or said that Hamas ought to sign up to; it was submitted to them through the mediators.
Since then, there have been further iterations of the proposal. There are things that – facts on the ground that have changed since the proposal was made publicly. There were facts on the ground that changed between the time that the President made the proposal and Hamas issued their response.
So that proposal that we described as an Israeli proposal was what the President put forward on May 31st. There have been additional issues that have come into play since then that, no, Israel has not agreed to and Hamas has not agreed to. So there are additional things absent – outside of the overall framework that Israel put forward that Hamas agreed to that we’re still pushing to get agreement on from both parties.
QUESTION: Right. So put a finer point on it, they’re – you’re still – as well as – as well as hoping that a new negotiator comes forward from the Hamas side, you’re still – there’s – this is still kind of optimism and hope that the Israelis will close that final gap.
MR MILLER: We always have optimism and hope, even in a difficult situation as this one. The Government of Israel can speak for itself. I will give you our assessment of the situation and what it is we’re trying to do. Our assessment of the situation is that these final issues very much ought to be bridgeable, and that there are real proposals that we have put forward to bridge the differences that we think ought to be agreed to, and we have made clear to the Government of Israel that they ought to agree, just as we believe the other mediators who are in contact with Hamas have made clear to Hamas that they ought to agree, to compromises on these final issues and get us to an agreement.
QUESTION: And just finally, the Secretary mentioned these direct contacts with the Iranians. Can you tell us, has there been any – has the U.S. sort of had any response directly, not through – not through intermediaries but directly. Has – have the Iranians said anything in response to these messages you’ve been sending?
MR MILLER: So I don’t want to speak to that publicly. We have always said that when we need to send a message to Iran, we have the ability to do so. And of course we have the ability to talk to others in the region who can impress upon Iran our shared concern about escalation. But as for Iran’s responses, I will not have any comment on that.
Said.
QUESTION: Thank you. A couple of things on the Iranian response. Do you believe that the longer it takes means that it is more deliberate or more thought is going into it? It is likely to be more controlled and less provocative or less spreading to make a major role in the region?
MR MILLER: There really —
QUESTION: I mean, your assessment, what is it?
MR MILLER: So it really requires me to, number one, speculate; and number two, try to put myself in the heads of the leaders of the Iranian Government, and I’m not going to do either one of those things.
QUESTION: Okay. All right. Fair enough. I also wanted to ask you about Sinwar. In retrospect, do you believe the Israelis made a mistake by assassinating someone like Haniyeh who is more moderate, knows – goes around and so on, and now you have someone who is probably a lot less moderate, more militant, probably more isolated, not exposed in terms – with the negotiations?
MR MILLER: Look, the – the way I’ll answer that is ultimately Sinwar ought to have the interests of the Palestinian people at heart. That’s what he said before.
QUESTION: Right.
MR MILLER: And when you think about what has happened in Palestinians in Gaza since October 7th, since the outset of a war that Sinwar decided to start, there have been devastating humanitarian consequences. And Sinwar has been immune from those consequences because he’s safe underground. He’s immune from the tragedy that his actions have wrought on the Palestinian people and that they continue to bring upon the Palestinian people by Hamas fighters hiding inside civilian infrastructure.
So ultimately as I said to – I think it was Olivia’s question – Sinwar ought to make the same calculation as Haniyeh or any other leader of Hamas would, which it is a time for a ceasefire so the harm that the Palestinian people in Gaza are feeling can finally be alleviated, that we can surge more humanitarian assistance in, and ultimately we can bring an end to this war.
QUESTION: So that brings me to this question. It’s been more than two months since the President on May 31 announced the proposal, and it was – he said that it was an Israeli proposal, yet we really are not going anywhere. I mean, more Palestinians are being killed every day. The lists – humanitarian aid and so on is going – the situation is very, very dire. It seems no end in sight. So what should – what steps can the United States take to make sure that this actually is – that —
MR MILLER: Yeah.
QUESTION: — the field goal is reached?
MR MILLER: So first of all, we have come a long ways in terms of getting an agreement to the proposal. When you look at the agreement – the pieces of the proposal that have been agreed to by the two sides, it is a remarkable step forward from where they were several months ago. And there a lot of things responsible for that, but one of them is the very hard work that the governments of the United States, the governments of Egypt, and the governments of Qatar put into trying to get this proposal over the line and get a framework agreed to.
Now that said, nothing is final until everything is final so we do need to reach agreement on these final issues. And so all we can do as the United States is push all of the relevant parties to come to an agreement, to work diplomatically, to try to get them to come to an agreement, and to continue to impress upon every party in the region how further escalation of the conflict threatens the ability to reach a ceasefire, has the risk of further plunging the region into conflict and violence and wider war. And so it’s in no – it’s in no party’s interest to take those further escalatory steps.
QUESTION: I wonder if you would comment on the situation in the West Bank. Yesterday, the Israeli occupation forces killed 10 Palestinians, basically executed them. And of course, they were holding money. They were seizing the money and so on. The situation is really deteriorating in the West Bank. It’s – in many places is not much better than what’s going on in Gaza.
MR MILLER: So two different things in your question. With respect to anti-terrorism operations that Israel has conducted, they have a right to defend themselves. They have a right to conduct anti-terrorism operations. I saw that in the reports of some of those Palestinians who were killed, you had Palestinian Islamic Jihad praising them as members of the resistance, and members of the armed resistance. So those are obviously people that Israel has a right to conduct legitimate terrorism operations against.
When it comes to the withholding of Palestinian tax revenues, however, that’s a different matter. We have made very clear that Israel needs to release all of that money. It’s Palestinian money. And you have seen our diplomatic engagements on this question over the past several months produce results time and time again. Not all of the money has been released, but a very significant portion of the money that at times Israel has withheld has been released as a result of the work that we have put into this.
QUESTION: So Israel has a right to use fighter planes, fighter jets to fight – by the United States – against an occupied people —
MR MILLER: I’m not going to speak to —
QUESTION: — who really have no means of protecting themselves?
MR MILLER: So I’m not – I’m not going to speak to each strike or each specific tactic, but they do have – they do have the right to – when there are people – when there are militants who are launching, plotting terrorist operations against Israel, of course they have the right —
QUESTION: But —
MR MILLER: — no – of course they have the right to carry out strikes and other anti-terrorism operations to defend against those – to defend against terrorism.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR MILLER: Alex.
QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. May I move to Ukraine, please?
MR MILLER: Sure.
QUESTION: Nearly 900 days of full-scale Russian invasion. Today the Kremlin suddenly remembered that there are some borders, sovereign borders of every country. Can you talk to – speak to what’s going on, the latest developments given the reports coming out? What do you know, how much do you know, and have Ukrainians informed you about the latest?
MR MILLER: Have we heard from —
QUESTION: The Ukrainians, Ukrainian side —
MR MILLER: So we are in communication with the Ukrainians about this particular operation; I believe you’re referring to the operation across the border that they launched earlier today. I will leave it to them to speak to what it is they’re – what kind of operations they’re conducting and what their goals are. It’s appropriate that they speak to that publicly, not us.
But you’re right, I have seen the statements from the Russian Government. It’s a little bit rich them calling it a provocation given Russia violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty – you said 900 days; it actually goes back much longer than that, it goes back to 2014 – and continues to illegally occupy Ukrainian territory.
Ultimately, the decisions about how Ukraine conducts its military operations are decisions that Ukraine makes. Nothing has changed about our policy with respect to strikes across the border.
QUESTION: I mean, no constraints placed on Ukraine in terms of how they fight back or take the fight across the border?
MR MILLER: Nothing of – nothing with respect to the policy that we announced several months ago, with respect to allowing our – the equipment that we provide to be used in strikes across the border over to target sites, Russian military sites across the – just across the border. Nothing about that policy has changed.
QUESTION: But beyond the U.S. weapons, do Ukrainians have a right to make Russia feel the consequences of their own illegal actions?
MR MILLER: So ultimately these are all decisions that are left to Ukraine.
QUESTION: I also wanted to ask you about – I did raise this two days ago —
MR MILLER: Go ahead.
QUESTION: — about Ukrainian prison of war – prisoners of war. Given the latest reporting, how Russians are treating them. We’ve seen like dismemberment of Ukrainian prisoners, do you have any reaction?
MR MILLER: So obviously, Russia has an obligation to abide by the Geneva Conventions when it comes to the treatment of prisoners of war. One of the things that we have seen throughout this conflict is Ukraine be able to engage in conversations – not directly with Russia, I believe, but through intermediaries – to be able to return Ukrainian prisoners of war. And those are obviously important.
QUESTION: And one more on Georgia, if I may. The Secretary today issued a statement about 16 years of illegal invasion of Georgian territories. Two points here. One is: Are you in a position to finally say out loud what the Georgians have been waiting for 16 years to hear from you, that this was unprovoked? It was Russian action, nothing was provoked by Georgian side. Unfortunately, they’re hearing different narratives both from Moscow, also pro-Putin regime in Tbilisi.
MR MILLER: So I think the Secretary’s statement today was actually quite clear, that this was an illegal invasion and an illegal occupation by – or illegal invasion by Russia and continues to be an illegal occupation by Russia. And of course, the steps that they are trying to take to continue to claim territory are completely without justification.
Back to Olivia.
QUESTION: I just wanted to clarify two things about Alex’s questions. One is whether it is known to the U.S. whether U.S.-provided weapons are being used in southern Russia by the Ukrainians.
MR MILLER: I will let the Pentagon speak to that question.
QUESTION: And second was you’re – you said you’re in communication now. Did the U.S. have visibility from the Ukrainians before they went into Russia that they would do so?
MR MILLER: We did not, but it’s not unusual for the Ukrainians not to notify us of their exact tactics before – before they execute them. This is a war that they – they are conducting. We provide them with equipment, we provide them with advice, but when it comes to the kind of day-by-day tactics that they carry out, the day-by-day strikes that they take, sometimes we’re in communication about them; sometimes we’re not. And that’s – it’s appropriate for them to make those decisions.
QUESTION: Okay, thank you.
MR MILLER: Yeah.
QUESTION: Sorry, on the operation in that Kursk region, is it the State Department’s sense that Ukraine is opening up a second front into Russia?
MR MILLER: Again, I will let Ukraine speak to its operations.
QUESTION: And then can you just specify – because this isn’t a strict counter-fire situation, perhaps, like we saw in Kharkiv: Can Ukraine use U.S.-supplied weapons in this region if it’s a military target?
MR MILLER: So the – I’ll answer it this way: Nothing about our policy has changed, and with the actions that they are taking today, they’re not in violation of our policy.
QUESTION: And then I have another one on UK.
MR MILLER: I’m sorry – yeah, go ahead.
QUESTION: Sorry, this is on the UK, if that’s okay.
MR MILLER: Yeah, of course.
QUESTION: The protests that are happening right now, fueled in part by misinformation that appears to be spread by far-right agitators – I’m just wondering, has the State Department been in contact with any of their UK counterparts about this? And are there concerns that this kind of pattern could repeat here in the U.S.?
MR MILLER: So I don’t have any conversations to speak to from the podium today, but obviously we have been watching the – first the protests and then later the riots in UK – in the UK over recent days. Everyone around the world has the right to exercise their rights to freedom of speech, their rights to freedom of assembly, but that does not in any way justify violence, it does not justify rioting, and UK authorities are well within their rights to use all law enforcement authorities to hold those accountable who engage in violent activities.
QUESTION: Could I follow up briefly?
MR MILLER: Yeah, yeah, sure.
QUESTION: The role of social media and (inaudible) the disinformation on social media, including U.S.-based sites. Has the State Department had any discussions about that, about the role – any role that could be made – that it could use to try to get rid of that disinformation?
MR MILLER: So that is obviously something that we work on quite a bit here through our Global Engagement Center, when it comes to misinformation online overseas. But I don’t have any specific assessments with respect – or specific – specific actions with respect to these most recent events in the UK to discuss.
QUESTION: And any sign of – I’m not saying that there this, but there have been some suggestions perhaps – perhaps Russian involvement in this. Is that – is that something that —
MR MILLER: I just don’t have any assessments to offer today.
Yeah, Janne.
QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. Excuse me – two questions. At a meeting of U.S. and – excuse me – at a meeting of U.S. and Australian foreign and defense ministers’ meeting yesterday, both sides called for the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and for North Korea to engage in diplomacy, which is the only path to lasting peace. However, North Korea has recently completely closed its dialogue channel with the United States. How will it approach this?
MR MILLER: So we will approach this by continuing to consult with our allies and partners and continue to make clear that it’s not just the United States that rejects the nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; it’s not just the United States that’s calling for a return to diplomacy; it is other countries. You mentioned that Australia, in the joint statement that we released this – released yesterday, shares the same position as us. That’s a position that is held by countries, really, around the region. And so ultimately it is the broad – I won’t say consensus; there are other countries that have different views, of course – but when you look at most of the countries in the region, it is a near consensus that Iran’s – or North Korea’s actions are unacceptable and that they ought to return to diplomacy.
QUESTION: One more quick – North Korea has been laying tens of thousands of landmines since April in the DMZ, and the North Korea continued to send landmine to South Korea carried by heavy rain. And comment on this – what do you comment on this? Also do you have – do you think North Korea violated the Ottawa Convention agreement?
MR MILLER: So I won’t speak to a legal question, but obviously we continue to believe that North Korea should stop these destabilizing actions.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR MILLER: Go ahead.
QUESTION: Thank you. Going back to Israel, Israeli media today released a video showing Israeli soldiers raping a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman detention camp. The footage was very disturbing. You – I know you have commented on the reports about this detention center before, but we have now – we now have a new evidence, which is video. Have you seen that video? And do you have anything to say on that and also the reports of rape in Israeli prisons?
MR MILLER: Yeah. So we have seen the video, and reports of sexual abuse of detainees are horrific. They ought to be investigated fully by the Government of Israel, by the IDF. Prisoners need to be treated – prisoners’ human rights need to be respected in all cases, and when there are alleged violations the Government of Israel needs to take steps to investigate those who are alleged to have committed abuses, and if appropriate, hold them accountable. And it is appropriate that the IDF in this case has announced an investigation, has arrested a number of people who are alleged to have been involved, and I won’t speak to the outcome of that investigation, but it ought to proceed swiftly, and if they are determined to be in violation of criminal laws or violations of the IDF’s code of conduct, then of course they ought to be held accountable.
QUESTION: And actually this is not the first rape incident – we have been hearing about Israeli prisons, and Israeli human rights group B’Tselem on Monday released report saying that Sde Teiman is only tip of the iceberg and that Israeli detention centers turned into a network of torture camps for Palestinian – Palestinians. It – report cited testimonies from 55 Palestinian detainees. So I know the Israelis are investigating this, but would you support an independent investigation into those allegations?
MR MILLER: So I would have to look at what the specific independent investigation people are calling for and pass judgment on the merits. But look, there ought to be zero tolerance for sexual abuse, rape of any detainee, period. That’s a fundamental – it’s a fundamental belief of the United States. And if there are detainees who have been abused, if they – or detainees who have been sexually assaulted or raped, the Government of Israel and the IDF need to fully investigate those actions and hold anyone responsible accountable to the full extent of the law.
QUESTION: Just a final one on that. What is your reaction to that Israelis, including politicians and lawmakers, protested actually the arrest of Israeli soldiers who are suspected of abuse and rape? And we have also seen comments from Israeli lawmakers trying to justify the rape of Palestinians. Have you seen those remarks?
MR MILLER: So obviously, with respect to the last question, there is no justification for rape of anyone. As I said, there must be zero tolerance for sexual assault of detainees. And with respect to comments that have been made by people in the Israeli Government or protests or attempts to interfere with the judicial system, the military judicial system in Israel, our principle, the principle that we believe ought to apply in Israel is a principle that ought to apply anywhere in the world, and that is that the rule of law needs to hold. And so we have seen the statements by the IDF chief of staff that these investigations are important, that they are going to continue, and that is fully appropriate.
QUESTION: Can I – have you seen the – I’m sorry. Have you seen the B’Tselem report? It’s called – it’s called “Welcome to Hell,” the B’Tselem report that —
MR MILLER: I have – I have seen the report. I haven’t reviewed it in detail.
Yeah.
QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. Going back to Iraq, and this attack has happened just in – after 24 hours after the Secretary Blinken calls to Iraqi prime minister, and he was requesting him the protection for the U.S. forces. So you haven’t labeled any militia groups who was behind this attack. Do you know which group attacked the U.S. forces in Iraq? Has the Iraqi Government told you any information on this?
MR MILLER: So it is a question that we continue to review, and of course, as I said in response to an earlier question, it’s a matter that’s under investigation by the Government of Iraq.
QUESTION: And then has the Iraqi Government requested you to not respond this attack because of – they are doing investigative and they will take care about accountability?
MR MILLER: I’m not going to get into any private diplomatic conversations.
Go ahead, Ksenija.
QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. Nine Serbian post offices in northern Kosovo were closed by the Kosovo Government on August 5th, an action the EU condemned as unilateral and uncoordinated step and a violation of agreements reached under the EU-facilitated dialogue. The condemnation include familiar word such as unilateral, uncoordinated, and calls to return to a dialogue, which to this day Prime Minister Kurti didn’t take seriously. So how many red lines in northern Kosovo can Prime Minister Kurti keep violating without any consequences?
MR MILLER: So I’m not going to speculate about actions in the future. What I will say is we are concerned by the continuing uncoordinated decisions by the leadership of Kosovo. We believe they put at risk the opportunities that we have helped Kosovo create. If you look at the story since Kosovo’s independence, the United States has strongly supported their full integration into the international community as a sovereign multiethnic democracy, but to realize this vision, which is a vision that we share, we have cooperated with successive Kosovo political leaders on measures that enhance peace and prosperity at home while advancing Kosovo on this Euro-Atlantic path that you agreed to. And so what we would encourage the Government of Kosovo to do is to return to close and constructive engagement with the United States, with the EU, with NATO, and Kosovo’s other close international partners. And we have made that clear – as I’m making this clear publicly, we have made that clear privately to the government as well.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR MILLER: Yeah, go ahead. Yeah.
QUESTION: Thank you. I’m Celia from VOA. Venezuela has been in the news since last week, and we just want to clarify: You made a statement on Monday about the stance of the United States after being asked if the United States recognize Edmundo González as the president-elect of Venezuela. We have heard from the United States the week prior that they recognize his win. Is that a change or is that the same position, which is – as – to just —
MR MILLER: No, it is the same position. We have made clear that we believe he received the most votes in the election, and we think if you look at the results that were obtained by the opposition and made public by the opposition, they confirm that even if Maduro were to win every vote of those outstanding, it wouldn’t be enough to close the gap. But at the same time, what we support moving forward is an inclusive Venezuelan-led process for the re-establishment of democratic norms in coordination with our international partners, and that’s what we’ve been discussing with our international partners, as well as with the opposition in Venezuela, to whom the Secretary spoke at the end of last week.
QUESTION: So Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil is the team that has been formed so far. So the United States expresses specifically that you’re supporting that process. How that process looks like for the United States as the Government of Venezuela right now is tightening up their arrest of opposition, protesters are being detained, it’s been claims of violation of human rights, and orders of the arrest for Edmundo and María Corina Machado have been issued by the government?
MR MILLER: Yeah. So we’ve been quite clear that we have great concerns about those ordered arrests and have great concerns about the crackdown on protests. I don’t think they really – I don’t think those actions by Maduro really inspire confidence in the regime’s actions and certainly don’t inspire confidence in his proclaimed victory when you see him continue to take actions to crack down on the opposition, to not release the full results. So we’re going to continue to discuss these issues with people in Venezuela. As I said, this ultimately needs to be a Venezuelan-led process to discuss how to return to democratic norms, and we’re going to talk to – talk about it with our partners in the region.
QUESTION: How is that possible when you have the opposition leaders with a threat of arrest? She went into hiding for a while.
MR MILLER: So unfortunately, it is the sad reality this is the situation the opposition leaders have been living with for some time, not just in the past week but obviously for years, and they have shown great courage in continuing to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, their rights to political organization, and we’re going to continue to support them in doing that. And again, as we have made clear and we hope others in the region will make clear, steps to crack down on the opposition, who are just exercising fundamental political freedoms, including the right to have an election respected and have the results of an election respected – that crackdowns are something that are – that everyone in the hemisphere should oppose.
QUESTION: Finally, yesterday Nicolás Maduro made a statement about the use of WhatsApp and social media and also threats of people communicating on posting things in social media. Is a concern that is going to be basically a crackdown of any sort of information that travels through social media in —
MR MILLER: So of course – I think the answer I just gave a minute ago applies to this. You have seen him take a number of steps to crack down on freedom of expression and try to crack down on protests and crack down on the opposition exercising their fundamental rights. And certainly it wouldn’t be surprising to see him continue to take those kind of actions, and I think it’s why it’s incumbent upon everyone in the hemisphere to make clear that we oppose those actions, that they’re unacceptable, and that ultimately Maduro needs to respect the will and the votes that were cast by the Venezuelan people.
Yeah, go ahead.
QUESTION: Thank you, Matthew. So what would the U.S. response be to an Iranian or Hizballah retaliation?
MR MILLER: So we have made clear that we will defend Israel from any attacks by Iran or its proxy groups, as we have on previous occasions.
QUESTION: And does the U.S. know where Sheikh Hasina is?
MR MILLER: It’s not a question for us to speak to. It’s a question for her to speak to.
QUESTION: And then finally, has the U.S. seen Sheikh Hasina’s reported resignation – like – and does it assess this resignation to be credible and rendered in a willing and legitimate fashion?
MR MILLER: So I spoke to this the other day. We have seen the announcement by the military. We don’t have any further information other than the announcement that they made.
QUESTION: Thank you.
QUESTION: On Iran, Matt?
MR MILLER: Shaun, go ahead.
QUESTION: Can I just follow up —
QUESTION: Matt, again you are doing (inaudible) —
MR MILLER: Yeah, go.
QUESTION: Come on, Matt. Don’t do that. Please.
MR MILLER: Excuse me, please, again – when one of your colleagues has been —
QUESTION: You don’t ask me about – come on, Matt.
MR MILLER: So I’m going to say one thing, and then I’m going to move to Shaun’s question.
QUESTION: Enjoy your last few months nicely with respecting each other, respecting —
MR MILLER: I was going to call – I was going to going to call on you a moment ago, but as is always the case —
QUESTION: Don’t – don’t call on me if you are going do me a favor.
MR MILLER: When you interrupt a colleague, I’m not going to call on you.
QUESTION: Don’t – don’t do me a favor.
MR MILLER: Shaun, go ahead.
QUESTION: I am here as a journalist, don’t —
QUESTION: Let me just ask about Bangladesh. Following up on the question there, Muhammad Yunus has been appointed to be the head of an interim government.
MR MILLER: Yeah.
QUESTION: Has there been any contact with him or others in Bangladesh? How do you assess more generally the stability of Bangladesh at this point?
MR MILLER: I don’t have any contacts to read out today. We continue to monitor developments in Bangladesh, and we obviously have seen the appointment of Muhammad Yunus as the leader of an interim government. We think the interim government will play a vital role in establishing long-term peace and political stability in Bangladesh. And as you heard the Secretary say yesterday, any decisions that interim government makes should respect democratic principles, rule of law, and the will of the Bangladeshi people.
QUESTION: And —
QUESTION: (Off-mike.)
QUESTION: Sure. Just quickly —
MR MILLER: It’s interruption day at the briefing. Everyone just let your colleague finish their questions before – before speaking up.
QUESTION: I’ll just ask one more on this. Just one more on this.
QUESTION: It’s not funny at all. You find it funny.
QUESTION: Reports on – reports on visa policy and Sheikh Hasina —
QUESTION: (Off-mike.)
QUESTION: Visa policy and Sheikh Hasina.
MR MILLER: Go ahead. Go ahead, Shaun.
QUESTION: Whether the United States —
MR MILLER: Maybe start – I didn’t hear the premise of the question. Some others were speaking. So —
QUESTION: I mean, I know that the issue of a visa for Sheikh Hasina – does the U.S. have any comment on that, whether her visa will be valid or whether there – she would be allowed here if she so chose to —
MR MILLER: So visa records are confidential under U.S. law; I can’t speak to them in any way.
Yeah, go ahead.
QUESTION: Thank you, sir. So DOJ charge Iran-linked Pakistani over the political assassination plot. Couple of media organization here in U.S. claimed that this person also involved in assassination attempt – former President Trump, but White House says that there is no evidence that this man was involved in assassination attempt on President Trump. What are – what is your understanding of that?
MR MILLER: I think I would defer to the Justice Department to speak to an indictment that was returned by a grand jury.
QUESTION: Sir, what is – what kind of conversations going on with Pakistan on this? Because there is a mysterious silence in Pakistan embassy here and they are not saying anything about it. And what kind of correspondence going on in Pakistan? What kind of message being given to Pakistan?
MR MILLER: So I don’t have any discussions to speak to today, but we have been clear that the United States will continue to do what is necessary to protect our people, including former officials, from threats emanating from Iran. That continues to be the case. And beyond that, it’s really a matter that I should leave to the Justice Department to speak to.
QUESTION: Sir, Pakistan embassy also working as a point of contact for Iran here. They have a different section which is taking care of the Iranian affairs here. So is there any message being taken to Iran through Pakistan embassy?
MR MILLER: So again, I hate to – I hate to do this, but as I just said, you’re asking me about an ongoing legal matter that is the subject of a DOJ indictment. It’s just not something I can speak to from here.
Go ahead.
QUESTION: Follow-up on Pakistan (inaudible) allow me —
QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. I’m sorry —
MR MILLER: Go ahead.
QUESTION: (Inaudible), sir, because of your media management, by the way, as well.
QUESTION: So my – as Shaun asked my question, my one question is to you. Are you aware that dictator prime minister’s – Hasina’s – son staying in Virginia and threatening the new government, inciting violence? And he’s the – he was also the IC – ICT, information and technology, advisor to the former dictator Sheikh Hasina, who shut down the internet in Bangladesh. So what is your comment, please?
MR MILLER: I don’t have any comments by statements made by a private citizen. I’ve already spoken to the interim government in Bangladesh and what steps we want to see it carry out as it moves forward.
QUESTION: Sir, what is your expectation to the new government to – to make stability, to build the institution, and to arrange a free, fair, inclusive election?
MR MILLER: So as I just said into – in answer to Shaun’s question, as the interim government makes decisions moving forward, we want to do so – we want to see them do so in a way that respects democratic principles.
Ryan.
QUESTION: So – follow-up on the Venezuela question. The situations in Venezuela and the Pakistan elections are remarkably similar. You had – in each one you had the polling locations distribute the vote tallies that the opposition was courageously kind of able to get a hold of and then aggregate together and then show that the – look – that the results that were being given by the central authorities were just completely inaccurate. But the main difference, though, was the U.S. response. Like, Don Lu, for instance, said when it came to Pakistan we don’t actually recognize governments – he told Congress – that’s not a thing we do. We work with them but we don’t recognize them. But when it come – came to Venezuela, very quickly the State Department affirms that the opposition won the election. Like, do you feel like the U.S. had less credibility when it came to Venezuela because of the way that it handled the Pakistan situation?
MR MILLER: No. We make all of these assessments based on the facts, and the facts can be very different in country to country. When you look at Venezuela, within several days we were able to make an assessment – and it’s not just the United States, but there are – independent international observatory groups like the Carter Center who were able to look at the tallies that the opposition had obtained in 80 percent of precincts around the country, and look at those tallies and see that the opposition candidate had won by such a margin that it was impossible for Maduro to overtake that margin. And then you compare that with the actions that Maduro had taken, or that his regime had taken, to not release actually any tallies; still to this day they have not released any tallies.
Compare that with the situation in Pakistan, where you did have the supreme court who took steps, who reviewed it, and after a number of weeks, a number of months, did find some irregularities and ordered – I believe that several candidates were reinstated, if I get this – the exact specifics of it wrong. It’s a very – it’s a very – my point being, it’s a very different context and the factual – the – I don’t think the facts line up just quite so cleanly as the way you described them in your question.
QUESTION: More broadly, I want to ask you about transnational repression. Has the State Department seen any rise in that as a phenomenon? How seriously are you taking it?
MR MILLER: So it’s certainly something that we have been vigilant in monitoring. We have seen countries around the world engage in it and attempted to engage in it. It’s something that we take quite seriously. You’ve seen me over the – it’s more than a year I’ve been doing this job now – asked about specific incidences of transnational repression in a number of cases, and we’ve made quite clear that it is something we oppose. And of course you’ve seen the U.S. Justice Department take steps when it comes to examples of transnational repression as well.
QUESTION: And finally, on this – like, this rape and torture center that seems to be pretty clear – all sides seem to agree that horrible things are taking place here – how is it still open? Does the U.S. believe that it needs to be closed at this point and just –
MR MILLER: So we believe that all of the – all of the allegations need to be fully investigated and anyone responsible needs to be held accountable. I think that’s the appropriate first step before moving to anything else.
QUESTION: Follow-up on Pakistan?
MR MILLER: We’ll go one more in the back, and then we’ll wrap for today.
QUESTION: Second – this is not the attitude – this is not – your —
QUESTION: This is on Israel. So according to the European Union representative office in the Palestinian territories, Israel advanced last year the highest number of settlements in the occupied West Bank since Oslo Accords. The total number is 30,682. Do Palestinians who lose their lands for settlements have the right of self-defense?
MR MILLER: So we have made clear that we oppose the settlement program by – that has been executed by the Government of Israel. We think that it is inconsistent with international law, and ultimately they’re not conducive to peace, and it’s a matter we continue to engage with the Government of Israel on.
QUESTION: Do Palestinians have —
MR MILLER: I think I’ll – I think I’ll wrap there, but I do want to close with one final thing, which is just to note those of you who have been watching me for the last year know that I try to cover as many people in the room, I try to get to everyone I can. But a principle that I have tried to uphold —
QUESTION: (Inaudible) —
MR MILLER: — is that when people interrupt me and when they interrupt their colleagues —
QUESTION: (Off-mike.)
MR MILLER: — not only am I not going to call on them that day, I’m going to have a hard time calling on them in the future. Thanks, everyone.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) —
(The briefing was concluded at 2:09 p.m.)
# # #
Tags
Bangladesh Georgia Iraq Israel Kosovo North Korea Office of the Spokesperson Pakistan Palestinian Territories Russia Ukraine United Kingdom Venezuela
No comments:
Post a Comment