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Secretary Antony J. Blinken At a Press Availability

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Press Briefing Room

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, good morning, everyone.

QUESTION:  Good morning.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So we said we would run through the tape, and I think we’ve been going at a full sprint.  This has been quite an eventful final week for this administration, making good on the President’s commitment to use every minute, every day, of every week that we had to get results.

When I came down here on my first full day in office, back when I had a little bit less gray hair – as my daughter likes to point out – I spoke about how the work that we do to keep the American people in the world informed through you, with you, could not be more important.  Most of us have traveled well more than a million miles now together.  We’ve done it with a remarkable press corps, people that I’ve gotten to know as colleagues.  If I said “friends,” that might actually create problems for you, but let me simply say how much I appreciate the partnership, the professionalism, the work that we’ve done.

I have even greater respect, even greater appreciation for you asking the tough questions, for you holding us to account.  Being on the receiving end, sometimes that’s not always the most comfortable thing; not always the most enjoyable thing.  But it is the most necessary thing in our democracy.

QUESTION:  Three hundred reporters in Gaza were on the receiving end of your bombs.  Why did you keep the bombs flowing when we had a deal (inaudible)?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I’m happy to address questions –

QUESTION:  You all knew we had a deal.  Everyone in this room knows we had a deal, Tony, and you kept the bombs flowing.  Why did you sacrifice –

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I’m happy to address questions when we get a chance, thank you.

QUESTION:  – the rules-based order on the mantle of your commitment to Zionism?

QUESTION:  Did you want to finish, or –

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Yeah.

QUESTION:  Why did you allow my friends to be massacred?  Why did you allow my friends (inaudible) we had a deal (inaudible)?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I’m happy to address your questions when we get to questions.  Thank you.

QUESTION:  Did you want –

QUESTION:  Hey.  You just – you helped destroy our religion of Judaism by associating it with fascism.

QUESTION:  Did you want to finish?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Yeah, I have a statement – yeah, I have a statement to make.  Thank you.

QUESTION:  You waved the white flag before Netanyahu.

STAFF:  The Secretary will be happy to take questions at the end.

QUESTION:  You waved the white flag before Israeli fascists.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I look forward to taking questions when I get a chance to finish my statement.  Thank you.

QUESTION:  Your father-in-law is an Israel lobbyist, your grandfather was an Israel lobbyist.  Are you compromised by Israel?  Why did you allow the Holocaust of our time to happen?

STAFF:  It’s time to go.  Thank you very much.

QUESTION:  How does it feel to have your legacy be genocide?  How does it feel to have your legacy be genocide?  You too, Matt.  You smirked through the whole thing.  Every day.

STAFF:  Thank you.  Thank you.

QUESTION:  You smirked through the genocide.

STAFF:  Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.  And thank you, Matt.  Now I’ve got a few more things to say, and then I’m happy to take any question about anything, as we’ve done these past four years.  And indeed, I’ll talk a little bit about the developments of the last few days as well.  But I first really wanted to say thank you to each and every one of you, and also thank you to –

QUESTION:  Well, maybe not everyone.  (Laughter.)

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, okay, I was – (laughter).  There is an asterisk, and yes, thank you Matt Lee.  But also to a remarkable press team here, led by Matt Miller, who do the work every day of trying to make sure that you’re informed, the American people are informed.

Let me also just take a step back before diving into the developments of this week, these last days, just to consider how far we’ve come over these past four years – and also to think a little bit about where we might be going from here.  When President Biden took office, the United States faced the worst public health crisis in more than a century.  It faced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.  And unprecedented breaches with allies and partners around the world.  Our adversaries saw a historic opportunity to work together to challenge our interests, to challenge our global standing, to challenge the international system of rules and principles on which our security and prosperity depend.

The first time I had an opportunity to speak at length in this role, I laid out how we would work to leverage American diplomacy to safeguard and accelerate America’s renewal; how we would reimagine and revitalize our greatest strategic asset – our unmatched network of allies and partners – to deliver on issues that actually matter in the lives of our fellow citizens, matter in their livelihoods, matter in their futures; and to defend against increasingly assertive and aggressive revisionist authoritarian powers; and also how we’d modernize our own diplomacy to try to deliver on these priorities, to ensure that this department is ready to meet the tests of a more contested, a more complicated, a more combustible world.

As President Biden emphasized when he was here on Monday, thanks to historic investments at home and around the world, the United States can now operate from a position of greater strength to tackle all of these challenges.  Our adversaries and competitors are weaker.  Our strategy of renewal has set the stage for America to win the fierce competition to shape a new era of international affairs to the benefit of our people, to the benefit of people around the world.

And I think this week was another reminder both of the power and the purpose of American leadership and American diplomacy.  Over 15 months of devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas, we’ve worked to broker a deal that would bring hostages home, that would stop the fighting, that would surge humanitarian aid to people who so desperately need it, that would create the space to conclude a permanent ceasefire.  We now have that, and we expect implementation of the agreement to begin on Sunday.

As President Biden said yesterday, after more than 400 days of struggle, a day of success has arrived.

I want to thank our fellow mediators, Qatar and Egypt, for their extraordinary partnership, and I want to thank my colleagues – in particular Jake Sullivan, Bill Burns, Brett McGurk – for their remarkable skill and tireless dedication over these many months of negotiation.  So –

QUESTION:  Will you recognize the Geneva Conventions apply to the Palestinians?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  And again, I’m happy to address questions when I have a chance.  I’m happy to address questions in a moment.  Thank you.

This is a moment of tremendous relief for Israelis and Palestinians alike.  The daughter of one hostage spoke for many when she said, “I can’t wait to see them come back to their families.  I’m so desperate to see them.”  A mother of five, displaced from Gaza City, said simply, “We are being reborn.”

It’s also a moment of historic possibility for the region and well beyond.  It’s going to take tremendous effort, political courage, compromise, to realize that possibility, to try to ensure that the gains that have been achieved over the past 15 months at enormous, excruciating cost are actually enduring – to manage the still-profound risks, to deliver on the promise of a more integrated Middle East.  And simply put, to forge this reality, there are two immediate imperatives:  first, to fully implement the ceasefire deal; and then, second, to finalize a plan, an effective plan as I spelled out earlier this week, that provides for Gaza’s transitional governance, its security, its reconstruction, and that can make the halt in fighting endure.

Delivering on these two priorities will in turn create the conditions for Israel and Saudi Arabia to normalize relations between them, which will require a credible pathway to a Palestinian state.  On each of these imperatives, we’ve delivered concrete progress and we’ve laid a foundation for success, which we will hand over to the incoming administration.  Together, they represent a historic opportunity to advance the long-term interests of the United States, our partners in the region, and around the Middle East.

In Ukraine as well we’ve seen the results of steadfast American leadership.  We rallied and kept together some 50 countries to help Ukraine defend itself from Putin’s war of aggression.  Through Ukrainian courage and also Western resolve and firepower, Ukraine repelled Russia’s invasion and took back half the territory it originally seized.  We’ve marshaled commitments from countries around the world that will help Ukraine deter and defend against future attacks, and stand on its own feet militarily, economically, democratically.

We’ve also imposed the most ambitious sanctions and export controls ever on Russia, cutting off its biggest banks, reducing dramatically Europe’s reliance on Russian energy, oil and gas, almost to zero at this point.  As a result of some of our latest sanctions, Russian oil tankers are piling up along the Chinese coast, unable to offload.

Ukraine will continue to stand as an independent, democratic nation anchored in the West with the freedom to choose its own future.  If we sustain our support for Ukraine, if we continue exacerbate Putin’s growing manpower and economic dilemmas, we could continue to help Ukrainians gain leverage to negotiate a just and secure peace.

Now, I got back from what was my 21st trip to the Indo-Pacific in this job just a short while ago, a region where the United States is now competing from a position of strength.  We brought our regional allies together, our partners together, around a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, where goods and ideas and people flow freely, where rules are applied fairly and transparently, where countries are free to choose both their own path and their own partners.

We enhanced bilateral relationships with our core treaty allies – with Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines.  We forged a new era of trilateral cooperation with Japan and Korea, with Japan and the Philippines as well.  We’ve re-energized the Quad with Japan, India, Australia; strengthened our relationships with ASEAN and the Pacific Island countries; elevated partnerships with Vietnam and Indonesia.

As the DPRK and the PRC continue to fuel Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine, underscoring how European and Asian security are indivisible, we’ve also built enduring bridges between our Pacific and Atlantic allies and partners.  Australia, Japan, and South Korea provided important support to Ukraine.  In 2021, European allies were on the verge of signing a massive trade agreement with China; now they’re coordinating with us on everything from investment screening mechanisms to supply chain resilience to pushing back on China’s overcapacity and unfair trade practices.

At the same time, we’ve managed our competition with China responsibly so it doesn’t veer into conflict, while also cooperating on challenges where the world expects great powers to lead and where it’s clearly in the interests of the American people – from climate change to fentanyl.

We’ve also demonstrated that other countries can rely on the United States to tackle some of our biggest shared challenges and deliver on some of our own – on their own national aspirations:  preventing disease outbreaks, enhancing food security, accelerating the clean energy transition, bringing together a global coalition of more than 160 countries to address the synthetic opioid crisis.

As we celebrate the return of hostages in Gaza, including Americans, as we look to relief for the people of Gaza, I’m also thinking of all those U.S. citizens who are held wrongfully, who are hostage, in countries around the world.  I carry with me –

QUESTION:  Do you know about the Hannibal Directive?

STAFF:  Sir, respect.  Let’s have some respect.

QUESTION:  Miller says he doesn’t know about the Hannibal Directive.  Do you know about the Hannibal Directive?

STAFF:  You can leave, sir.  You want to come with us –

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Again, I’m happy to address questions in a – just a – in a few more minutes.

QUESTION:  I want him to answer –

STAFF:  (Inaudible.)

SECRETARY BLINKEN:   I look forward to answering questions in a few more minutes.  Thank you.

QUESTION:  (Inaudible.)

STAFF:  Okay, well, let him speak.  (Inaudible.)

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.  Thank you.

QUESTION:  He’s made lots of speeches.  Let him answer some questions.

STAFF:  Sir, what would you like?  Would you like to be escorted out?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I look forward to answering questions.  Thank you.

QUESTION:  Answer some questions instead of making another speech every day.

STAFF:  Sir, would you like to be escorted out?

QUESTION:  Go away.

STAFF:  You don’t have the responsibility to tell me where to go.  Do you want to be escorted out or not?

QUESTION:  I want him to answer questions.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Okay.  Thank you.  I look forward to answering questions in a minute.  Thank you.

QUESTION:  I’m a journalist; I’m not a potted plant.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Everyone will have an opportunity to ask questions in just a minute.  Thank you.

QUESTION:  Matt Miller has explicitly told me he will not answer my questions.

STAFF:  Sir –

QUESTION:  I am justified in what I’m doing.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So I have no greater pleasure in this job than crossing off a list I carry in my pocket – the names of those who had been arbitrarily detained and unfairly held hostage, unjustly held hostage, and bringing them home, returning them to their families, returning them to their loved ones.

Finally, I just wanted to share this morning –

QUESTION:  Get your hands off me.  Get your hands off me.  Get your hands off me.  Get your hands off me.  Answer a damn question.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I look forward to answering questions in a few minutes.

QUESTION:  (Inaudible) about Israel’s nuclear weapons – everybody from the ICJ – I was sitting here quietly and now I am being manhandled by two or three people.  You pontificate about a free press?  You pontificate about a free press?  You are hurting me.  You are hurting me.  You are hurting me.  I am asking questions after being told by Matt Miller that he will not answer my questions, and so I ask them.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Please, sir, respect the – respect the process.  We’ll have an opportunity to take questions in a few minutes.

QUESTION:  Wasn’t – wasn’t the point of the May 31st statement to block the ICJ orders?  You blocked the ICJ orders.  You –

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Please, sir, respect the process.  Thank you.

QUESTION:  Oh, respect the process.  Respect the process while everybody – everybody from the International – from Amnesty International to the ICJ’s saying that Israel’s doing genocide and extermination, and you’re telling me to respect the process.  Criminal.  Why aren’t you in The Hague?  Why aren’t you in The Hague?  Why aren’t you in The Hague?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Finally, we’ve worked to modernize our diplomacy so that we’re more agile, we’re more effective, we’re more prepared for the challenges of a new era.  We’ve reorganized this department to lead on issues that increasingly animate our diplomacy, whether it’s emerging technology, public health, strategic competition, economic statecraft.  We’ve embraced new tools and approaches, from integrating data and AI into the work that we do, strengthening our capacity to anticipate, to plan for risks as well as opportunities in this more volatile world.

Maybe most important, we’ve invested in our people – improving our hiring and retention practices, diversifying our workforce, strengthening our training, providing more support to employees throughout their careers.  We’ve hired the largest Foreign Service officer class in more than a decade, and we’ve grown our Civil Service corps at the fastest rate in more than 20 years.

It was gratifying to me, and I think to everyone in this department, that among the first and last stops President Biden made in his tenure was right here at the State Department.  I think that is powerful evidence of the trust that he placed in us to carry out this country’s foreign policy.  Our diplomats represent this country with exceptional skill, with professionalism, with heart.  They often do so at great personal sacrifice, little fanfare, in some of the world’s most challenging environments.  It has been, simply put, the greatest of honors to be able to work shoulder to shoulder with them.

These past four years, there have also been moments of disappointment, of hardship, of heartbreak, but I leave this job knowing that we spent every day thinking about and working toward what we believe is best for our people, the citizens we have the immense privilege of representing.  And I’m confident we leave office with our country and with this department in a much stronger position than we found it.

And now, with that, one last time, I look forward to taking some questions.  Mr. Miller.

MR MILLER:  Matt, want to start us off?

QUESTION:  Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary, and thank you for your very opening comments about the work, the cooperation with us, the press corps.  Even when we haven’t always been satisfied or – with the answers, we certainly appreciate the – your willingness to engage with us.  And so thank you for that.

I want to start – I actually only have one question.  Exactly 16 years ago today, January 16th, 2009, former – outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had her final press briefing here, and all of the questions she got were about Israel and Gaza – every single one of them.  And she said we were working on an enduring ceasefire.  She was about to sign an agreement with then-Foreign Minister Livni that would move toward that way.  She was working with international partners.  Names have changed, but countries pretty much the same – Egypt, the Europeans, the Gulf Arab states.

And so, 16 years ago, we were in the same situation that we’re in now, particularly because the ceasefire, the current one, still seems to be in limbo.  And I’m wondering if you can point to any progress that has been made over the course of those – the Bush administration, the Obama administration – has there been anything that has changed or given you hope?  Because we’re basically back in the same position we were 16 years ago.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you, Matt.  This is a long story.  It’s an enduring story.  It’s a story that is not likely to end any time soon.  And if you go back over the course of many administrations – not only Secretary Rice, but so many of our predecessors and so many of her successors, and now me – this is a story that we’ve been engaged in, one way or another.  And I think each of us has probably brought the conviction to it that we could and should do everything possible to try to get to and write a better conclusion, a good conclusion, for the story.  And so many of us, for many years, have labored to do just that.

I think one of the lessons that we have to take away is that as resourceful and as powerful as we are, at the end of the day we can’t make decisions for others.  They have to make them.  They have to make hard choices.  They have to take chances.  We can do everything possible to push, to prod, to encourage, to support, but ultimately the decision lies with those most directly concerned.  That’s one thing.

But the second thing is – and I believe this strongly – there’s also no substitute for our engagement, for the efforts that we make in trying to move this forward and get to a better place.  And yes, we have absolutely seen both progress and promise, and the question is whether leaders on all sides – with the people behind them – will find a way to seize on those opportunities.

So as I laid out in some detail just the other day, when we took office we were very focused on pursuing greater integration in the region as the real answer to creating more security, more peace, more opportunity for people, not change – not trying to change individual countries, governments, societies, but bringing them closer together.

And before October 7th, we’d done a lot of work on this integration, building on the Abraham Accords of the first Trump administration, pointing toward the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.  And as you all know, we were all planning to go to Saudi Arabia and Israel because we’d made so much progress on the normalization accords, on October 10th, a trip that of course didn’t happen, to do two things:  to try to help finalize agreements that were necessary to get to normalization, and as part of that, to find a clearer way forward, a pathway to a Palestinian state – vital to Saudi Arabia, very important to us as well.

Even with everything that’s happened since October 7th, I believe strongly, including from my many conversations with leaders in the region, whether it’s in Israel, in Saudi Arabia, or beyond, that the desire to pursue integration, the desire to bring countries together remains strong, remains powerful, and can be a driving force for finally resolving some of these other questions, including the Palestinian question.  Israel’s deepest desire from day one of its founding was to be treated like any other country in the region, to have normal relations.  And it’s been demonstrated that that’s possible and desired, but it requires, among other things, ending the conflict in Gaza, which we are now on the verge of doing as a result of everything that we have put into this, an agreement that President Biden put forward – put forward before the world in May, got the entire world to endorse, and in the months since we’ve been working to negotiate the final details and get it implemented.  And that’s where we are now.

So end Gaza’s one, and then yes, a credible pathway to a Palestinian state is two, and leaders will have to summon the vision and the courage to do that.  I laid out some ideas for how you can get there just the other day, but I believe that is possible.  And I believe the driving desire for integration is something that can carry this forward.

Finally, I’ll say this.  We’ve also seen, as a result of so much of the work that we’ve done, what the possibilities are.  For Israel, when it was attacked in an unprecedented way by Iraq and – by Iran, excuse me – a direct attack with hundreds of missiles, hundreds of drones, not only did we come to Israel’s active defense for the first time ever; we brought other countries along to do that, including countries in the region.  And Israel now sees, powerfully, what it stands to gain from greater integration in the region, including in a common security architecture.  All can see that this is a way to effectively isolate the troublemaker in the region, Iran.

So all of that is there; all of that is possible.  And I think for the incoming administration, it’ll be important to continue to show:  Here’s one path and what can be achieved by following that path, and then there’s another, which is perpetual violence, destruction, terrorism, and despair for people.  That’s the choice.  I think we’ve now put in place and done the work that, handing it off, can be used to build a strong foundation and move down that much more positive path.

MR MILLER:  Leon.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Leon.

QUESTION:  Thank you, Mr. Secretary.  Thank you for your service.  Thank you for doing this.  I trust you’re not going to miss the million of miles that you’ve done in the last four years, and that you’re happy to finally see your children.  I wanted to ask you on Gaza, of course, you mentioned tremendous relief in the region, both with Palestinians and Israel.  There seems to be uncertainty for the ceasefire, and it – basically it was announced yesterday, and it’s supposed to be implemented on Sunday.  That’s four days, quite a long time.  Israel has been – has led new strikes upon Gaza today or overnight.  How confident are you that this ceasefire is actually going to happen?  And if I may, just a broader question.  After the four years, your four years and now that your tenure is coming up, what is your proudest accomplishment in these four years and what is your biggest disappointment?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So on the ceasefire, yes, I am confident and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday.  Look, it’s not exactly surprising that in a process – in a negotiation that has been this challenging and this fraught, you may get a loose end.  We’re tying up that loose end as we speak.  I’ve been on the phone in one way or another all morning with Brett McGurk, with our Qatari friends, and I’m very confident that we – this is moving forward, and we’ll see the start of implementation of the agreement on Sunday.

In terms of my own tenure and what I take from it – and I think they’ll be plenty of opportunity to reflect on that in the weeks and months ahead – look, in terms of satisfaction, as I said at the outset, we came in knowing that we had to reset the foundation for American diplomacy and American foreign policy.  And resetting that foundation meant, as I’ve said, re-engaging, rejuvenating, reimagining these alliances and partnerships.  It’s the greatest strength that we bring to virtually every issue we have to tackle around the world – these voluntary partnerships and alliances that have stood us in such good stead over so many years and I think are vital to effectively operating in this more complicated, this more contested, this more combustible world.  And that’s exactly what we did.  But the point is not doing that for the sake of doing it; the point is doing it for the sake of more effectively dealing with the world we’re operating in.  And I think we’ve demonstrated that.

When Ukraine was attacked by Russia, because of the investments that we’d made in our partnerships and our alliances, we were able to bring together 50 countries, keep them together, and marshal their focus and their resources on helping to defend Ukraine.  And we’ve done that very successfully, and we’ve done that in a way where many other countries picked up the burden.

When it comes to maybe the biggest systemic challenge that we face in the international system, and that is China and the capacity that it has uniquely – whether it’s militarily, whether it’s economically, whether it’s diplomatically – to reshape the international order, what we’ve been able to do through these stronger alliances and partnerships is to focus other countries in ways that we haven’t seen before on how to deal effectively with the challenges posed by China.  We have much greater convergence between us and partners in Europe, between us and partners in Asia, among all of us, in confronting these challenges.  And I listed a few areas in which we’re working much more closely together.  And as I’ve said before, when you bring just the United States to the table, well, we have a lot of weight; but when it comes to economic issues, for example, where China is engaged in unfair practices, where it’s engaged in overcapacity to try to drown our industries, our communities, our workers with their products, well, when we’re taking that on and we’re doing it alone, we’re 20 percent of world GDP.  When we’re doing that in concert with allies and partners across Europe and Asia who are similarly aggrieved by these practices, well, we’re 50-60 percent of world GDP and it’s a lot more effective in getting China to change its conduct.  So those are just two ways in which we’ve used this investment in our allies and partners to get real results, to tackle real problems, to meet real challenges.

And again, through so many of the issues that are affecting the lives of our people, we’ve brought countries together in a way that’s going to have a material impact on making things better.  I mentioned earlier the coalition we built on synthetic opioids, on fentanyl.  You’ve heard me say this before:  The number one killer of Americans aged 18 to 45 is fentanyl.  And it’s by definition a problem that has to be tackled cooperatively with other countries because the ingredients that go into making it may be made halfway around the world.  They come close to our borders.  They get synthesized into fentanyl.  They come into the United States.  They kill people.  So the fact that we’ve brought all of these countries together now working in close concert to deal with this problem, that’s going to have a material benefit on the lives of the American people.  In these ways and so many more, what I’m – what I take satisfaction is, is that we now can approach each of these problems from a position of much greater strength, much greater effectiveness.

Disappointments – yeah, of course, there are always many.  There’s always the things that you didn’t get done.  There’s always the could’ve, would’ve, should’ve that you ask yourself.  But I think it’s also important to take a minute and take stock of what we actually have done, what the men and women of this department have achieved.

Would I have wished, do I wish, we could have gotten this ceasefire agreement months ago?  Of course.  The suffering since, the lives lost since, sure, could have been – could have been avoided if we had gotten this over the line sooner.  But in something as complex, as complicated, where different events have intervened and the work that we had done, the progress we were making towards bringing it to conclusion was delayed or derailed, as the President again said yesterday, almost every time you’re trying to deal with something this hard, and as George Mitchell put it so well in the context of Northern Ireland peace, you’re going to have many, many days of setback and struggle before you get to that final day of success.  But every one of those days of setback and struggle is necessary to get you to the day of success.

MR MILLER:  Daphne.

QUESTION:  Thank you for your service and thank you for taking our questions over the last four years.  Since the Gaza war erupted, there has been a flood of reports with supporting videos and evidence of potential IHL violations by Israel, and yet your department has refrained from making a definitive assessment.  There is a sense out there that you gave Israel a pass on this issue and that that’s a part of the administration’s legacy.  Is there any chance you will deliver a definitive assessment on this in your final days?

And if I may, on another region, we’re reporting that the U.S. will impose sanctions on Sudan’s Burhan today.  Could you confirm whether the administration will take that step?  And why do this now and why wait till now?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.  We and I take very seriously the work that we do – and we have a responsibility to do – to assess in any place whether violations of international humanitarian law are occurring, war crimes, other abuses of international law, international norms, international practice.  And that’s what we continue to do every day, whether it’s in the Middle East, Gaza, or in many other places around the world.  And I’ll come to that because your question about Sudan goes there as well.

In Gaza, we faced a uniquely challenging situation in trying to make final determinations. Because uniquely in Gaza, besides having a population that’s been trapped there that has nowhere else to go, you have an enemy that embeds itself in and among civilians – houses, hospitals, mosques, schools.  And getting a clear picture and a clear understanding of whether any one incident in that context constitutes a violation of international law in one way or another is an incredibly complicated thing to do, especially to do in real time.

So we continue to gather the information.  We continue to assess it.  If we have any conclusions that we can draw in the time that remains, we will.  I’d also point out that in Israel itself there are hundreds of cases that are being investigated.  They have a process; they have procedures; they have rule of law.  And we also look to them to carry out that process, to carry out the rule of law themselves.  That’s the hallmark of any democracy.

We have reported in a number of ways on what we’ve seen, including in the NSM report.  We’ve taken actions in a variety of ways in a variety of places, particularly, for example, in the West Bank, where we’ve seen abuses committed by extremist settlers against Palestinians and for the first time taken action against them.  And I believe and trust that this process will continue, and as we are able to reach results we will.

When it comes to Sudan, you know the actions we took in the direction of the RSF just a few days ago.  The SAF has also committed war crimes and it continues to target civilians.  It’s obstructed the advancement of the peace process.  It’s refused to participate on numerous occasions in ceasefire talks that we’ve sought to convene.  And together with the RSF, it’s caused what is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis that people are suffering through every day.

And we believe strongly, as we’ve said, there’s no military solution to this conflict.  So we have to see two things.  We have to see the effective provision of humanitarian assistance to people who need it.  We’ve been working very hard on that.  We’ve seen some progress but not nearly enough.  And we have to see the end of the firing, the end of this conflict.  And there we’ve seen virtually no progress.

So in this situation, we’re able much more clearly to account for actions that are taken.  There’s no ambiguity about the environment in which both sides are operating and what the results of the actions that they’ve taken actually are, both in terms of the horrific consequences for human life and what that means under our law and under international law.

MR MILLER:  Michele.

QUESTION:  Can I follow up on that?  Thank you.  Is the RSF and Burhan – are they equally responsible for mass atrocities?  And is the – are these sanctions a sign of failure of diplomacy?

And then real quickly on the Middle East, how would you describe your dealings in these past 15 months with Netanyahu?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So on the RSF and the SAF, the actions we took with – on the RSF, as you know, founded – had a determination of genocide.  The actions that we’re looking at for the SAF go to war crimes, so there are gradations in these things.  And we follow the law.  We look at the criteria.  We look at this intensely with our lawyers, with our experts, in order to make these determinations, guided, as I said, by the criteria.

The end result is, one way or another, people are suffering grievously in Sudan.  It is, again, the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.  And we have been deeply engaged with our diplomacy to try to bring it to an end.  We haven’t, to date.  But as I’ve said, part of our challenge in any of these situations is to keep working through it, to keep pushing, to keep pressing to get to that one day of success.  It is for me, yes, another real regret that, when it comes to Sudan, we haven’t been able on our watch to get to that day of success.  As I said, some improvements in getting humanitarian assistance in through our diplomacy, but not an end to the conflict, not an end to the abuses, not an end to the suffering of people.  We’ll keep working it for the next three days, and I hope the next administration will take that on as well.

On the last 15 months, look, one of the things I think is really important is, as a general matter, to focus less on personalities and on people and more on policies, and what is it that we can do, what is it we should do, to effect those policies.  And so what we’ve been working on over the last 15 months, since October 7th, was to help shape the response in a way that accomplished three basic things:  one, of course, to try to ensure that October 7th could never happen again and to make good on our commitment to Israel’s security; two, to prevent a wider war, a broader conflict that drew in more countries, more groups, both because that would bring even more death and destruction and because it was exactly what Hamas was looking for, get that wider war, be able to have others attacking Israel, and to allow Hamas to continue to do what it was doing; and third, of course, was to try to do right by the people who are caught in the middle of this crossfire that Hamas initiated – the children, the women, the men of Gaza – with better protection for them, with more assistance for them.  And that’s what we’ve been focused on these 15 months.

None of that changes what’s happened, but it has put us now in a position where there is the real possibility for moving this to a better place – the immediate possibility, more than possibility, now the immediate reality of finally moving Gaza to a better place, finally getting hostages home, finally getting relief that people need, finally having an opportunity to have an enduring ceasefire.  But also, as I was talking about with Matt before, in the region, as a result of the extraordinary setbacks that all of these actors who are responsible for the death, the carnage, the inability to make progress, the setbacks that they have encountered, whether it’s Iran, whether it’s Hizballah, whether it’s Hamas.

So that creates a real moment of opportunity.  And as I said, we’ve done everything we can to put in place, to make the investments and the plans necessary to take advantage of that opportunity.  We’re handing them off, and my hope, as I said, is the administration that’s coming in will continue them.

MR MILLER:  Jenny.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, on shaping those policies, looking back is there anything you would have changed in how you negotiate to shape those policies?  And do you regret not being firmer on the red lines you gave to Israel on humanitarian aid and civilian harm, given the state of Gaza right now?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So again, a few things that I think are important, or at least that I take away from this.  One is it’s, I think, a mistake to ascribe to any one individual or any small number of individuals policies that in the case of Gaza were basically supported by an overwhelming majority of Israelis after the trauma of October 7th.  This is a deeply traumatized society, just as Palestinian society is deeply traumatized by everything that’s followed October 7th.  And if you don’t understand that or don’t factor that in, it’s really challenging to make progress.

So I think we’ve looked at that.  We’ve understood that.  And as I said, we had certain priorities that the President set that we’ve tried to carry forward in approaching everything we’ve done since October 7th.  And we are now in a place where we’re finally, I think, making good on those priorities.  We – as I mentioned, one of them was to avoid a broader war with more countries coming in, and at various moments throughout these last 15 months we’ve been right on the edge of having that wider war.

And because of American diplomacy, because of American deterrence, because of America’s ability to mobilize others, we’ve avoided it.  When we had those unprecedented attacks by Iran on Israel, we marshaled other countries to come to Israel’s defense.  And then when it came to Israel’s response, we shaped it, shaped it in a way that it was strong but also calibrated so that Iran’s air defenses were taken out, but we didn’t have actions that were escalatory and that produced a wider war.  And that didn’t just happen.  It was the product, again, of American diplomacy and American deterrence.

Throughout the 15 months on the humanitarian situation, when – and again, in an environment that is unique, which doesn’t obviate Israel’s responsibilities, doesn’t excuse things that haven’t been done that should have been done, but is important because operating in that unique environment with a population trapped in Gaza – in other places where there are conflicts, people can usually go somewhere else.  You’re a refugee – not a good thing, but better than being trapped in a crossfire.  Gaza, almost uniquely, people are trapped.  And as I’ve said many times before, trapped with an enemy that deliberately uses them, hides among them, looks for civilian casualties as not only a necessary cost but one that actually advances their agenda.  And we know this from the leader of Hamas himself, Yahya Sinwar.  So that’s made things very challenging.  But whenever on humanitarian assistance we’ve seen things moving from bad to worse, we’ve engaged strongly and we’ve gotten results, whether it was back in April or May, whether it was more recently in September, October.

But fundamentally, the only way given the complicated – incredibly complicated environment to really get at the needs of the people was through a ceasefire and a hostage deal, and that’s why we’ve been laboring so hard on it.  And that’s why now, as it’s implemented, we’re finally going to see the relief that people so desperately need.

Let me just add this, and I’m sorry for going on:  At various points along the way in terms of getting that deal, the biggest impediments really have been Hamas and its refusal to get to yes.  Now, have there been moments when Israel has done things or taken actions that have made life more complicated, more difficult?  Yes.  But broadly speaking, and especially in the last months until we got to success, Hamas has been the major impediment.

And there were two things that were factoring into Hamas’s thinking, and we know this.  One, as I said, was the hope that they could get a wider war, that others would jump in, that the cavalry would come to the rescue.  And it wasn’t until recently that it became clear that that was not the case.  And whether it was Iran, whether it was Hizballah, whether it was Iranian proxies, whether it was the supply routes for those proxies through Syria, as a result of actions that Israel took, as a result of actions that we took, as a result of conflicts and problems that these various actors had gotten themselves into that we exacerbated, it finally got to the point where Hamas concluded that, as I said, the cavalry wasn’t coming to the rescue.  That wasn’t going to happen.

Second, Hamas held back at various points because it saw or hoped that public international pressure was mounting on Israel, and it could just wait it out and that pressure would get to a point where Israel would have to accede to all of Hamas’s demands.  And that includes the hope that there would be a lot of public daylight between the United States and Israel.  And so while clearly we’ve had differences – real differences – with Israel on the way it’s gone about the necessary defense of its people and its country, we’ve expressed those clearly at various points.  But we’ve mostly done it privately precisely because we didn’t want to feed into Hamas’s clearly held views that if that pressure was mounting and if there was daylight, they could do nothing, they could refuse to engage on the – in the negotiations, hold back on a ceasefire and releasing the hostages, and thus perpetuate the suffering, the loss for the people that they purport to represent.

All of those dynamics were in play.  All of those dynamics were ones that we had to make judgments about, navigate with eyes on the prize of getting to the day we got to yesterday, which is the ceasefire and hostage release.  So it’s absolutely appropriate to ask questions about that, to ask ourselves questions, for everyone to ask questions.  Some people say we did too much to restrain Israel when it comes to Iran, when it comes to Hizballah, when it comes to others.  Others say we did much too much to enable, and all of those questions are the right ones to ask and they’ll be asked for a long time.  We had to keep our focus relentlessly on getting to this place where we could actually get a change, where we could actually get an end to a conflict, an end to suffering, and the prospect of something better.

MR MILLER:  We’ll take one more.  Nick Schifrin.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, thanks very much.  On why you got to the ceasefire deal, as you just highlighted, you’ve talked a lot about Hamas and pressure; Hamas being diminished helped get them across the line.  But on the Israeli side, do you believe that Trump and Steve Witkoff, either through direct pressure or through Netanyahu’s perception of Trump – that helped get this deal across the line?

And I want to bring up Ukraine and give you a chance to do legacy on Ukraine.  You’ve argued that you’ve taken a lot of recent steps to try and give Ukraine leverage and give the Trump administration leverage.  Let me just point out, though, that there’s no money left in the replenishment fund, Ukraine struggles on the front line, Ukraine has a – sorry, Russia has a reconstituted defense industrial base because of China.  So do you fear that your legacy on Ukraine could actually be defined by your successor?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  On the ceasefire deal first, look, the important thing is not who gets the credit, the important thing is getting the result.  And that’s exactly what we’ve gotten, and as I’ve said, the deal that was agreed is based on the proposal that President Biden put out months ago in May, the framework that he made public in detail that we then went around the world and got country after country to endorse, culminating with the UN Security Council.  That’s what moved Hamas in the first instance, because up until that point Hamas had been rejecting the idea of having an initial phase of six weeks, ceasefire, hostages begin to come out, prisoners are released, humanitarian assistance surges, and we use the time to reach an agreement on the conditions for an enduring ceasefire.  They’d rejected that scheme, and it wasn’t until May when the President went public, detailed it, and we got the whole world behind it that Hamas was isolated and it moved.

And then every – practically every day since then has been work on trying to actually negotiate the details that had to follow from that to fill in the framework – and understandings on its implementation.  And we got very close to completing that on a number of occasions, and as I said, events of one kind or another inevitably intervene – that delay, that derail the work that you’re doing.  But we kept at it, and meanwhile, as I just described – I won’t belabor – all of these other factors that went into the calculus of Hamas changed dramatically, and in no small part because of actions we took in a way to exacerbate the challenges of Hamas and its many potential supporters, as well as actions that that Israel took.

So I think that’s what got us to this day.  Our diplomacy, our deterrence, really isolated Hamas to the point where they finally came to the – came back to the table, got to yes.  In recent weeks, just to cite some other examples, when Hamas was refusing to engage in the fall, I went to our friends in Qatar and said:  It’s time to tell them that their political operation housed in Qatar is no longer welcome.  And that’s exactly what the Qataris did.  In recent weeks, we went also to other actors, including Türkiye and President Erdogan, to use his weight and influence to get Hamas back to the table to try to conclude an agreement.  And he did and they did.

So it’s a long way of saying that all of these things coming together over many months, I believe, is what’s gotten us here.  Now, having said that, it was, I think, very important and very responsible to not only fully inform the incoming administration of what we were doing but also, yes, to involve them in the – this last part of the process that got us to the agreement.  And the reason for that is virtually everything that now needs to be implemented under the agreement will be implemented under the Trump administration.  And it was very important for the parties to know that the Trump administration stood behind the agreement that we’d negotiated and that President Biden put forward.

And I both appreciate and applaud the very good work that Steve Witkoff did, working closely with us, with Brett McGurk, in helping to get this over the line.  But I think sending – being very clear with all concerned that the incoming administration supported, endorsed, and would carry forward its responsibilities under the agreement, that was an important thing to do.

QUESTION:  Ukraine?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I’m sorry.  On Ukraine.  So as I look at it, first, where we started was Putin’s intent, desire, and plan to erase Ukraine from the map, to subsume it into Russia, to realize his imperial designs.  And as a result of the actions that we took in support of the Ukrainian people with many other countries, that’s failed and it won’t succeed.  Ukraine is standing, and that’s the most important thing of all.

Now, the question of where Ukraine goes from here and where we go from here is obviously a very important one, because there’s an opportunity, again, an opportunity that we’re handing off to make sure that Ukraine can go forward as an independent country, increasingly integrated with Western institutions, because that’s the desire of its people, and a country that stands on its own feet – whether that’s militarily, whether that’s economically, whether that’s democratically – and if its people and elected officials so desire, to pursue some kind of resolution or ceasefire with Russia.

Now, that requires Ukraine to decide that that’s what it wants to do.  It also requires Russia to agree.  And there, what we’ve been working to do all these past months right up to the end, is to make sure, as I’ve said many times, that Ukraine is in a position of strength to be able to make those decisions, whether that’s to continue fighting if it’s necessary or to negotiate but to negotiate from a strong position.  Part of that, though, has also been imposing extraordinary costs on Russia, and I think you should not discount those, including the impact that they have on Russia’s decision-making.

The losses that Russia has incurred are almost unimaginable – I think, by some assessments, 7-to 800,000 casualties.  That includes those killed and those wounded.  The flight of so many of its most talented people from Russia, the weight of sanctions, export controls, the weight that’s such that everything Russia tries to do, even the workarounds that it’s done with its war economy, everything is harder, takes more time, and costs a lot more.  We see the impact on its economy.  We see the impact on its future – its inability to invest in the critical industries of the future that would be a source of strength for Russia.  So there’s a heavier and heavier weight bearing down.

So I believe that the incoming administration is in a position where, if the Ukrainians so desire and so choose, it can help to negotiate a good deal.  And President Trump talks about having good, strong deals.  I think there’s an opportunity to get one.  One of the most critical things will be, if there is to be a ceasefire, is to make sure that it’s enduring, that it holds.  Because what we know is this:  In Putin’s mind if there’s a ceasefire, he’s simply going to rest, refit, and then when he deems the moment right, re-attack.  So you have to have built into any ceasefire the effective deterrence necessary so that he doesn’t re-attack.  That is, I think, a necessary part of any good, strong deal for Ukraine.

So there are lots of ways of doing that, and we’ve been talking to European partners about some of that.  Again, all of that I’m sharing with the incoming administration, and I would hope and expect that they can help land this in a place where everything we’ve done to make sure that Ukraine not only survives – which it is and which it will – but actually thrives can be realized.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I’ll take a couple more.

QUESTION:  (Off-mike.)

QUESTION:  How about here, sir.

MR MILLER:  (Inaudible.)

QUESTION:   On Austin Tice.  On Austin Tice, please.

QUESTION:  Sir, how about (inaudible) the only –

MR MILLER:  (Inaudible.)  Go ahead.

QUESTION:  On Austin Tice, it’s been a few weeks since Roger Carstens had said they were narrowing down locations where he may have been held.  I just wanted to see if you had any more fidelity on that.  And then separately, yesterday your successor, before the Senator Foreign Relations Committee commented on the Panama Canal.  You’ve been dismissive of the incoming administration’s overtures on Greenland but not as vocal on the Panama Canal.  He said the issue is not a joke and it’s a legitimate issue that needs to be confronted over questions of neutrality and China’s ability to choke off commerce on both sides of the canal.  So I wanted to see your comments on that.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Sure.  Look, on Austin Tice, all I can tell you is this:  Not a day goes by where we’re not out there trying to, obviously, find him or get information about what has become of him.  And I don’t have anything to report beyond what we’ve already said, but we have people throughout Syria who know the importance that we attach to this and are leaving no stone unturned to find Austin.  So he and his family remain in my thoughts, all of our prayers, but mostly we’re working to – in any way that we can – to find him.  And of course, if we have any further information and hopefully have Austin, we’ll share that or the next administration will share that.

Look, on Panama, on the Panama Canal, we have a treaty, we have a settled policy of many years.  And that’s not going to change.  And as I’ve said before, I think it doesn’t warrant spending a lot of time talking about it.  Now, when it comes to the resilience of our supply chains, when it comes to making sure that we can get what we need and we don’t have risk attendant with it, including from countries with which we have challenged relations, that’s – that is important.  And that’s something that we’ve worked on pretty much around the world for the last four years, building a greater diversity of the supply chains, building a greater resilience; also, trying to make sure that countries that were trying to build up and build out their own infrastructure to improve the lives and livelihoods of their people had a better offer from us so that they didn’t have to turn to others on much more onerous terms.  And we’ve made extraordinary progress on that these last four years.  So I think that’s where the focus should be and that’s where the – where I expect the focus actually will be.

MODERATOR:  Tom.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, thank you for taking the extra questions.  Since the ceasefire was announced, authorities in Gaza have reported another 73 people killed.  Aren’t we seeing an erosion of norms given the extraordinary numbers?  And you’ve been saying for months that Hamas is degraded militarily.  At one point you said, I think, Israel was only making marginal gains when there had been another very big airstrike with civilians killed.  So I just want to put that point to you that hasn’t – haven’t we seen here the degradation of norms given the kind of extraordinary numbers?  And here we are still seeing them after a ceasefire agreement is announced in the run-up to that.  So I wanted to get your thoughts on that.

And just secondly, on the point about international journalists being banned from Gaza, can you tell us that you are and have been still pressing the Israelis, that it is your expectation that international journalists will be allowed in?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Second part first – yes, that remains the expectation, and I think it’s, as in any place, very important that all of you and your colleagues are able to report, are able to share with the world what the reality is.  So we – and certainly I fully expect that to happen, and especially in the context of a ceasefire where the idea that it just may be too dangerous for anyone to operate is no longer the case.  So I fully expect to see that.

QUESTION:  During the ceasefire, during phase one?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I would hope so.  I can’t speak to what the policies will be, but from my perspective, at least, yes.

Second, with regard to the ongoing actions, I spoke to this the other day at the Atlantic Council.  And yes, I think some months ago, Israel achieved its core strategic objectives in Gaza, the fundamental objective being to ensure that Hamas could not repeat the horrors of October 7th, and to do that, to dismantle its military organization and capacity and to deal with the leaders who were responsible for October 7th.  And that happened some months ago.  But in order for there to be a ceasefire, it was necessary that there be some agreement on getting the hostages out, including seven Americans who remain.

And in order to get the ceasefire to be enduring, now that we have an agreement on its first phase, there have to be understandings on what comes after, on a post-conflict plan, one that allows Israel to fully pull out its forces and stay out, one that makes sure that Hamas can’t go back in, and one that’ll – that provides for the necessary governance, security, reconstruction of Gaza.  And we’d been working every day in parallel on those plans.  So now there’s an opportunity finally to move forward.

But as I’ve said, as I said to you the other day, I think Israel’s perspective on this has been if they took pressure off of Hamas, it would make it less likely that Hamas would actually finally conclude this agreement.  That’s their – that’s the way they see it and that’s the way they proceeded.  We’ve tried to reinforce every day the urgency of actually getting to an agreement so that all of this would stop, the firing by both sides would stop, the hostages would come out, the relief would get in.  Well, we’re finally at that point.

I thank you all very, very much.  Thank you.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

QUESTION:  And enjoy driving yourself on Route 66 and the GW Parkway.  (Laughter.)

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Matt, stay out of my way.  (Laughter.)

United States Supports Development of Advanced Civil Nuclear Workforce through Launch of Small Modular Reactor Control Room Simulator in Ghana

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United States Supports Development of Advanced Civil Nuclear Workforce through Launch of Small Modular Reactor Control Room Simulator in Ghana

Media Note

January 16, 2025

Today, the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Virginia E. Palmer joined the Chief Director of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology Rev. Dr. Patrick Nomo, along with the Nuclear Power Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), and guests from across Ghana’s academic, energy, and government sectors to officially launch the first NuScale Power Energy Exploration (E2) Center in Sub-Saharan Africa at the Graduate School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences in Accra.  The E2 Center uses state-of-the-art computer modeling within a NuScale 12-module small modular reactor (SMR) control room and will deliver hands-on education and training for the next generation of African nuclear professionals to operate safe and secure advanced civil nuclear reactors.

The E2 Center is supported by the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) capacity building program in partnership with the International Science and Technology Center and NuScale Power.  Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation Senior Bureau Official Ann Ganzer announced the E2 Center, envisioned as part of a SMR Regional Training Hub and Center of Excellence, at the FIRST Africa Regional Conference held in Accra in 2023.  In addition to the E2 simulator, the SMR Regional Training Hub includes the establishment of a nuclear welding certification program, academic exchanges with Texas A&M University, and other university partnerships for joint development of SMR-relevant curricula.

The U.S.-Ghana FIRST partnership began in 2022 and builds on the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation signed in 2021, which improves our cooperation on nuclear energy and strengthens our long-standing diplomatic and economic relationship.

The United States is dedicated to supporting the use of safe, secure, and peaceful nuclear technology to advance energy access and energy security in Ghana, across the African continent, and worldwide.

U.S.-Norway Technology Safeguards Agreement

Office of the Spokesperson

On January 16, 2025, the United States and Norway signed the Agreement on Technology Safeguards Associated with U.S. Participation in Space Launches from Norway, or the U.S.-Norway Technology Safeguards Agreement. The Agreement, upon entry into force, provides the legal and technical framework for U.S. commercial space launches from Norwegian spaceports while ensuring proper handling of sensitive technology, consistent with our long-standing partnership as members of the Missile Technology Control Regime.

U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation C.S. Eliot Kang and Norwegian Ambassador to the United States Anniken Huitfeldt signed the Agreement between the two countries.

This Agreement protects sensitive U.S. technology and sets the standard for how others should use such sensitive technology in the conduct of satellite and rocket launches from foreign locations.

National Human Trafficking Prevention Month 2025

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

January marks National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, an important opportunity to raise awareness, strengthen advocacy efforts, support survivors, and engage communities in a collective call to action to combat human trafficking.  Human trafficking exploits individuals, fractures communities, undermines the rule of law, and threatens national security.  Governments should lead on developing strong anti-trafficking responses.

Over the course of the past four years, we have sought accountability for individuals and organizations profiting from forced labor and launched innovative partnerships with foreign governments to prevent trafficking, protect survivors, and prosecute traffickers. We have also worked to help foreign governments and communities engage trafficking survivor-leaders and establish formal ways for survivors to shape and inform anti-trafficking efforts.

As we look ahead to 2025, we acknowledge both the gains made in the fight against this terrible crime and the need for sustained, joint efforts to eliminate human trafficking, in all its forms, around the world. Together, we can create a world where human trafficking is no longer tolerated and every individual can live in dignity and freedom.

Sanctioning Sudanese Armed Forces Leader and Weapons Supplier

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

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Sanctioning Sudanese Armed Forces Leader and Weapons Supplier

Press Statement

January 16, 2025

The United States today sanctioned Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), along with one company and one individual involved in weapons procurement.

In December 2023, I determined that members of the SAF had committed war crimes.  Since then, members of the SAF, under Al-Burhan’s leadership, have continued to commit atrocities, including targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, and executing civilians.  The SAF has violated international humanitarian law and ignored commitments undertaken in the 2023 “Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan.”  The SAF’s use of food deprivation as a tactic of war and its deliberate obstruction of the free flow of emergency humanitarian aid to millions of Sudanese in desperate need have contributed to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, leaving over 25 million Sudanese facing acute food insecurity and over 600,000 experiencing famine.

In addition, Al-Burhan has obstructed the advancement of peace, including by refusing to participate in international ceasefire talks in Switzerland in August 2024.  Al-Burhan has repeatedly obstructed the political transition to a civilian government.

This action follows the designation of the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, also known as Hemedti, on January 7, 2025.  Taken together, these sanctions underscore the U.S. view that neither man is fit to govern a future, peaceful Sudan.  The United States remains committed to holding accountable those responsible for atrocities committed in Sudan and to supporting a democratic, civilian transition.

The Department of the Treasury actions were taken pursuant to Executive Order 14098, “Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons Destabilizing Sudan and Undermining the Goal of a Democratic Transition,” as amended.  For more information on today’s action, see Treasury’s press release.

Visa Restrictions on Senior Executives of Travel Agencies Facilitating Irregular Migration to the United States

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

The Department of State is taking steps today to impose visa restrictions on multiple senior executives of travel agencies operating in Europe and Asia for knowingly facilitating irregular migration to the United States.  We will continue to take steps to impose visa restrictions against owners, executives, and senior officials as part of our broader campaign against such exploitative practices within and beyond the Western Hemisphere, in collaboration with partners in government and the private sector.  To date, we have taken steps to impose visa restrictions on individuals from 16 countries in Latin America, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Northern Africa, and Western Africa, helping to close more than 70 charter flight routes, including routes connecting Nicaragua to Cuba and Libya.

No one should profit from vulnerable migrants – not smugglers, private companies, or public officials.  This visa restriction policy is global and also applies to individuals who otherwise qualify for the Visa Waiver Program.  These actions are taken pursuant to section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

National Religious Freedom Day

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

On this day in 1786, the Commonwealth of Virginia enacted the Statute for Religious Freedom, enshrining in law individuals’ rights to “profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of Religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities.”  Our nation’s first Secretary of State and third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, drafted the Statute intending that it would not only protect religious freedom in Virginia but also inspire other states and nations to follow its example.  Today, we see this vision of religious freedom realized in the First Amendment to our Constitution, Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the laws of many other nations, and numerous international networks, agreements, and organizations dedicated to protecting the freedom of religion or belief for all.

The United States’s dedication to the freedom of religion or belief continues uninterrupted.  Over the past four years, the United States has worked tirelessly to secure this right for everyone around the world.  These efforts include: documenting religious freedom conditions in every country and designating countries of particular concern; declaring the actions of members of the Burmese military against Rohingya to be genocide and crimes against humanity; expanding to over 40 countries the International Freedom of Religion or Belief Alliance; taking life-saving action to protect thousands of human rights defenders and individuals persecuted for their religious beliefs or affiliations; releasing the first-ever National Strategy to Combat Anti-Semitism and the first-ever National Strategy to Combat Islamophobia and anti-Arab Hate; prosecuting hate crimes targeting religious minorities;  and protecting places of worship globally.

The United States has also expanded diplomatic efforts to advance freedom of religion or belief through the UN, the Article 18 Alliance, the International Contact Group, and in close coordination with partner countries.  These efforts helped secure the release of religious prisoners of conscience in Nicaragua, the People’s Republic of China, Nigeria, Iran, Somalia, Vietnam, and elsewhere around the world.  We have consistently taken action to pursue justice for victims and survivors and to promote accountability for those responsible for committing particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

On National Religious Freedom Day, as on every day, the United States remains steadfast in its centuries-long commitment to protect the freedom of religion or belief for all, both at home and around the globe.

Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats – Report

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Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats – Report

Media Note

January 16, 2025

In July 2023, the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats was launched as a new effort to disrupt drug traffickers, dismantle the supply chain for fentanyl and other synthetic drugs, and save lives – in America and abroad.  Since then, the Coalition has grown to include over 160 governments and 15 international organizations working together to prevent the manufacturing, trafficking, and distribution of illicit drugs, detect emerging drug threats, and promote effective public health interventions.  Since its inception, the Coalition has helped transform the international policy landscape, elevating countries’ awareness and attention to the challenge of illicit synthetic drugs and has generated important new measures at the country and international levels.  Its call to action has had a practical impact, resulting in over a dozen countries taking on leadership roles in the fight against synthetic drugs over the next year.

Today the Department is releasing a report summarizing results from an unprecedented international effort over the past 18 months to address the global public health and security threats posed by synthetic drugs.  This report outlines the Coalition’s steps to develop a comprehensive set of actions for tackling synthetic drugs and highlights the contributions of over 1,600 experts and the efforts of the Coalition’s Working Groups, international coordinators, and U.S. officials.  Continued global attention and cooperation are essential for ensuring the fullest implementation of the recommendations and initiatives reflected in this report.

The full report may be viewed at www.globalcoalition.us.  For further information, please e-mail INL-PAPD@state.gov or follow INL on X and Instagram @StateINL.

Renewal of Deferred Enforced Departure for Hong Kong

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

The United States reaffirms its solidarity with people in Hong Kong in the face of Beijing’s steady assault on the rights and freedoms guaranteed to Hong Kong under the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

The United States is providing Hong Kongers who remain concerned about returning to Hong Kong with temporary safe haven in this country.  Under this extension, the United States will continue to defer the enforced departure of eligible Hong Kong residents through February 5, 2027.  This decision to extend Deferred Enforced Departure complements steps taken by our allies and partners – including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia – to provide options to those who fear returning to Hong Kong.

This decision was made in light of Beijing and Hong Kong authorities’ continued and repeated attacks on the protected rights and freedoms cherished by people in Hong Kong, including the unjust sentencing of two former Stand News editors for publishing so-called “seditious” articles, the unjust sentencing of 45 pro-democracy advocates for their peaceful participation in political activities protected under the Basic Law, and the ongoing national security trial of democracy advocate and Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai.

We see this too in Beijing and Hong Kong authorities’ targeting of overseas democracy advocates.  Most recently, on December 24, Hong Kong authorities issued new arrest warrants and bounties targeting six overseas democracy activists and cancelled passports for seven other activists, including some based in the United States.  These acts of transnational repression are a threat to U.S. sovereignty and national security and show blatant disregard for democracy and human rights.

We continue to urge Beijing and Hong Kong authorities to cease the use of vague national security laws to silence those peacefully expressing their political views, to immediately and unconditionally release those detained or imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to restore the openness that was so crucial to Hong Kong’s international reputation.

U.S. Support for the United Nations Group of Experts Report on the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

The United States is deeply concerned by the findings of the United Nations Group of Experts December 2024 midterm report  on the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  The report aligns with the United States’ findings and accurately identifies the sources of the conflict in the eastern DRC.

The United States condemns the unlawful presence of several thousand Rwandan troops in the DRC, as well as Rwanda’s support to and direction of the UN- and U.S.-sanctioned militia group M23, and Rwanda’s use of surface-to-air missile systems, GPS-guided mortars, and anti-tank missiles.  Rwanda and M23 must immediately cease GPS jamming and spoofing activities, which continue to ground MONUSCO air operations and UN humanitarian flights in North Kivu.  These actions endanger UN and humanitarian personnel while blocking needed relief for civilians suffering from the related violence.

The United States also condemns what the report documents as the DRC armed force’s continued “systematic” cooperation with the U.S.- and UN-sanctioned Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) armed group.  We strongly urge Congolese authorities to ensure this cooperation ceases immediately, and we welcome the DRC government’s pledge to work with MONUSCO to execute the FDLR neutralization plan in full respect for international humanitarian and human rights law.  Moreover, there is no road to peace without dialogue between the government of the DRC and armed groups, including the M23.

Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry

Office of the Spokesperson

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met today with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Shoukry discussed ongoing efforts to protect Palestinian civilians, increase humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and secure an immediate ceasefire that includes the release of hostages. The Secretary and the Foreign Minister consulted on how to advance a path to a Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel. Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ rejection of any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Shoukry also discussed shared objectives for regional stability, including responding to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, addressing instability in Libya, and ending the war in Sudan.

Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Egyptian President El-Sisi

Office of the Spokesperson

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi today in Cairo. Secretary Blinken and President El-Sisi discussed negotiations to secure an immediate ceasefire for at least six weeks and the release of all hostages. They also discussed ongoing efforts to protect Palestinian civilians and humanitarian workers in Gaza and Egypt’s essential leadership role in facilitating increased humanitarian assistance. The Secretary reiterated the United States’ rejection of any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to work with Egypt to advance peace and regional stability, including through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel. The Secretary condemned the Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and noted they do nothing to advance the cause of the Palestinian people.

Secretary Blinken also conveyed to President El-Sisi the United States’ strong support for the Egyptian government’s recent economic measures aimed at strengthening Egypt’s economy.

Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud

Office of the Spokesperson

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met yesterday with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in Jeddah. The Secretary underscored the importance of urgently addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza. Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to achieve an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza and to the establishment of a future Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel. The Secretary and the Crown Prince continued discussions on achieving lasting regional peace and security, including through greater integration among countries in the region and enhanced bilateral cooperation between the United States and Saudi Arabia. The Secretary and Crown Prince also discussed the need for an end to Houthi attacks that are undermining both freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and progress on the Yemen peace process.

Namibian Independence Day

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

On behalf of the Government and the people of the United States of America, I offer my sincere congratulations to the Namibian people as you celebrate 34 years of independence on March 21.

The United States values the enduring partnership and friendship between our people, rooted in our mutual commitment to democratic principles, human rights, and good governance. Together, we are working to build a stronger, healthier, and more prosperous future for the Nambian people.

On your 34th Independence Day, we reaffirm our commitment to partner with Namibia, honoring President Geingob’s legacy and vision for Namibia and Namibians.

Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Christiane Baissary of Al Hadath

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Ritz-Carlton Hotel

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you for having me.

QUESTION:  This is your sixth tour in the region since the war started in October.  Are you carrying any more initiatives to end the bloodshed in Gaza?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We are.  We’re pressing for an immediate ceasefire tied to the release of hostages.  That would bring immediate relief to so many people who are suffering in Gaza – the children, the women, the men.  It would allow a much greater expansion of humanitarian assistance getting to them, and it could create the conditions to have a lasting, enduring ceasefire, which is also what we want to see.  So that’s the urgency in this moment.  That’s what we’re pressing, with Qatar and Egypt working closely with us to try to get an agreement.

QUESTION:  Some may wonder how are you pressuring Israel to do so while you are still continuing supporting them financially and militarily, and even in the United Nations by vetoing any resolution that commits for an immediate ceasefire.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, in fact, we actually have a resolution that we put forward right now that’s before the United Nations Security Council that does call for an immediate ceasefire tied to the release of hostages, and we hope very much that countries will support that.  I think that would send a strong message, a strong signal.  But, of course, we stand with Israel and its right to defend itself, to make sure that October 7th never happens again, but at the same time, it’s imperative that the civilians who are in harm’s way and who are suffering so terribly – that we focus on them, that we make them a priority, protecting the civilians, getting them humanitarian assistance.  And we’ve been leading the effort to do that, to get more in, to get more to the people who need it.  We are pressing on that as hard as we can.

QUESTION:  Talking about the humanitarian aid, as we know, the Biden administration is working on a maritime corridor or pier.  Can you tell us more about it – when it will operate, how it will operate, who will distribute the aid?  How about the security that must be there?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  What’s so important is to get as much assistance into Gaza by as many means as possible.  So yes, the maritime corridor, and actually, we’ve already seen ships start to bring assistance to Gaza on the sea.  But we want to make sure that there’s a pier, a port that can accommodate as much assistance as possible, and we’re in the process of building that.  And I think in a matter of weeks, hopefully, that will be done.

But that’s not a substitute for what’s even more important, which is getting assistance through over land, and that means that Israel needs to open up more access points to Gaza.  We’ve seen some progress there, including a new access point that was opened just about a week ago.  The ones that are already – that already exist, we have to get more assistance through on a regular basis, and all of this is necessary to do it, to make sure that as much assistance as possible is coming in through as many points as possible, reaching as many people as possible.

Another part of the challenge is it’s not enough to simply get trucks, ships, air drops into Gaza.  Once the assistance is there, it has to get to the people who need it, and this is something that we’re focusing on very much as well with the United Nations, with other providers.

QUESTION:  A UN expert said that you’re not doing enough, and even this new maritime corridor is – it will alleviate the hunger of like a small number of people in a very short period of time, and the Biden administration is doing it out of performance for political purposes related to the elections to meet a domestic audience.  How do you respond to that?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, I – simply by saying that, as I mentioned a minute ago, we’re pressing very hard on maximizing assistance coming in by every possible means.  And while the maritime corridor would be a very important addition, it’s not a substitute for making sure that we’re getting as much assistance through over land as possible.  That’s the best way to get aid into Gaza and to make sure that it gets to the people who need it.  That’s why we pressed initially to have Rafah open many months ago, then we pressed to get Kerem Shalom operating and open, then we pressed for a route from Jordan directly to Kerem Shalom and now we’re expanding that route.  We pressed for another opening that was opened just a week ago.  And we’re continuing – and we also pressed to get flour from Ashdod.

QUESTION:  But the Israelis are not letting the aid in.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  More aid is getting in, but it’s not enough.  And it’s imperative that Israel make this a priority.  It has to be the main focus, making sure that more aid gets in and gets to more people.  That’s what we’re – that’s what we’re telling Israel.  That’s a big part of our focus, and it’s a focus of my trip as well.

QUESTION:  Let’s go back to the negotiations.  As we know, several rounds of negotiations were held in Cairo, in Paris, and in Doha.  And till now, both parties didn’t reach an agreement – not a ceasefire, not even a truce.  What’s hindering the talks?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  It’s getting closer.  I think the gaps are narrowing, and I think an agreement is very much possible.  We worked very hard with Qatar, with Egypt, and with Israel to put a strong proposal on the table.  We did that; Hamas wouldn’t accept it.  They came back with other requests, other demands.  The negotiators are working on that right now.  But I believe it’s very much doable, and it’s very much necessary.  And of course, if Hamas cares at all about the people it purports to represent, then it would reach an agreement, because that would have the immediate effect of a ceasefire, alleviating the tremendous suffering of people, bringing more humanitarian assistance in, and then giving us the possibility of having something more lasting.

QUESTION:  But Hamas – lately, they are being more pragmatic, because they wanted initially a ceasefire, and now they are accepting a truce of six weeks, whereas Israel is not accepting any of this, because they want to launch an incursion into Rafah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, first, of course, if Hamas was genuinely being pragmatic, then months ago – well, they never would have done what they did on October 7th.  And then having done that, this could have ended immediately if they had stopped hiding behind civilians, put down their weapons, released the hostages.  Then we wouldn’t have seen this – this terrible suffering.  But even with that, it’s been incumbent upon Israel to put the protection of civilians and getting assistance to them as a top priority.

So I’m still hopeful that – more than hopeful that an agreement is possible, and that we can reach it.  But it’s urgent, because of course with every day that goes by, more people are suffering.  The quickest path – the quickest path to ending that is getting this immediate ceasefire with the release of hostages.  Then a lot more becomes possible.

QUESTION:  How do you think an agreement is possible?  And negotiators and mediators in Qatar were saying that Netanyahu didn’t give any mandate to his negotiation team in Doha to make really a deal.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, I can’t get into – you’ll understand I can’t get into the details of the negotiation, but I can tell you that no, absolutely, the Israeli team is present, has authority to reach an agreement.  A very strong proposal was put on the table, and we have to see if Hamas can say yes to the proposal.  If it does – if it does – that’s the most immediate way to alleviate the misery of people in Gaza, which is very much what we want.

QUESTION:  But don’t you think that Netanyahu doesn’t want this to happen, because he wants to continue his operation in Rafah?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, we’ve been very clear – President Biden has been very clear – that we cannot support a major ground operation, military operation in Rafah.  There are, as you know, 1.4 million or so civilians in Rafah, many of them displaced from other parts in Gaza.  There’s no effective way of getting them out of the way and to safety, and even the people that would remain in Rafah would be in terrible jeopardy.

So this is one of the things that President Biden talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu about.  We have a team from Israel coming to the United States to look at a different way of dealing with the remaining problem of Hamas in Rafah.  So that’ll happen next week.  And —

QUESTION:  Indeed, Axios reported that Biden administration is weighing different alternatives to the invasion in Rafah.  Can you tell us more about these alternatives?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Look, I can’t speak to the details.  We have to have a chance to talk to the Israelis about this, but as I said, what we don’t want to see is a major ground operation because we don’t see how that can be done without doing terrible harm to civilians.  But at the same time, it is imperative to do something about Hamas, because Hamas has brought nothing but death and destruction to Palestinians.  And if you go back, Israel withdrew from Gaza unilaterally in 2006; Hamas engaged in major attacks on Israel in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2021, and of course October of 2023.  That’s not a sustainable situation.  And it’s also the greatest impediment to trying to find a lasting peace, lasting security, including a Palestinian state, which is the only way in our judgment to have something that’s genuinely enduring and that can bring lasting security for Palestinians, for Israelis, and for the region.

QUESTION:  We talk about this need (inaudible), to get back to the alternatives.  So if Netanyahu didn’t accept or approve any of these alternatives, what will your position will be?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, the President’s been clear that – as I said – we don’t and will not support a major ground operation in Rafah.  And right now our focus is on showing that there’re alternatives to that that can deal with the ongoing challenge of Hamas but in a way that doesn’t further jeopardize the safety, the security of the lives of innocent people who are caught in this crossfire of Hamas’s making.

QUESTION:  How does – you’ve always alerted Netanyahu and warned him, and he continue his operations without taking into consideration any of the United States warning.  So why now you think that the situation will be different and he will take this into consideration?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We’ve had many, many clear, direct conversations over these months with Israel.  We have a long relationship and friendship with Israel, just as we do with many partners in the Arab world.  One of the hallmarks of friendship is the ability – indeed the necessity – to speak directly, to speak clearly, just as we did on Rafah but also as we’ve done on humanitarian assistance, and as we’ve continued to do on the need to have an enduring solution, including a resolution with the Palestinians.

QUESTION:  You said you will discuss – and now you’re saying get the right architecture for a lasting regional peace.  What’s your vision on this architecture?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I think as dark as this moment is, there’s also a tremendous opportunity – maybe even a unique opportunity.  Because while there have been many efforts to make peace in the past – I was involved in some of them – what’s different now is that virtually every country in the region would like to actually integrate Israel, normalize relations for those that haven’t, and in effect help Israel provide for its own security.  But that requires a resolution to the Palestinian question and particularly a Palestinian state, and, of course, it requires an end to the military operations in Gaza.  If that happens, I think there is actually an opening to have something that’s enduring, something that’s lasting.  And it’s very hard in the moment for people to focus on that.

QUESTION:  Yeah, exactly.  Do you think it’s possible with the actual government in Israel, the extremist one?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We have an Israeli society that is totally traumatized by what happened on October 7th, just as we have a Palestinian population that’s traumatized by the suffering in Gaza.  So it is hard because there’s very little trust on either side.  It’s something that we’ll have to rebuild.  But I think as people have a chance to focus on the alternatives – one alternative is this path to finally resolve the Palestinian question, to integrating Israel into the region, to giving it genuine security – that’s one path.  The other path is an endless cycle of violence, of death, destruction for everyone.  And I think as people concentrate on what the choice is, what the alternatives are, then there is an opportunity to move people down that first path.

QUESTION:  Tomorrow in Cairo is where you will discuss the governance, security, and the aid in post-war Gaza.  What’s your vision of this?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So this is an – this is a very important question to resolve, because we want to see the conflict come to an end as soon as possible, consistent with Israel’s ability to defend itself.  When it does, we have to be ready – all of us have to be ready – for what happens with the governance of Gaza, and we would like to see, ultimately, unified governance between Gaza and the West Bank with a revitalized Palestinian Authority in the lead.

We have to look at security.  You don’t want to have a vacuum.  We don’t want – we’ve been very clear there can’t be an Israeli reoccupation.  We can’t have Hamas in charge of Gaza.  So we have to make sure that there’s a plan for security.  And there has to be a massive further infusion of humanitarian assistance and development for Gaza so that people can begin to rebuild their lives and rebuild their communities.

This is what we’ve been talking about with our Arab partners starting, really, in January.  And one of the focuses of this trip is to look at the work that we’ve been doing together and to try to carry it forward.

QUESTION:  How do you see President Abbas, Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to appoint a new prime minister?  Is it enough for the reforms the U.S. is pressuring the Palestinian Authority to perform?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  These are – these decisions on individuals, on people, these are decisions for the Palestinians to make, not for us or for anyone else to make.  I think it’s very important that the cabinet of the new government that emerges have new faces, younger people – people who are genuinely representative of Gazans, the West Bank, and who are prepared to do the necessary things to really revitalize the Palestinian Authority so that it’s better able to deliver for the Palestinian people – more transparency in government, combatting corruption, and then winning the confidence of people.

Now, it’s also going to be imperative that Israel work with, cooperate with, a new Palestinian Authority because it’s going to be very difficult for it to actually deliver results without that.  But it does start with, I think, a new – seeing what this new government looks like, the cabinet looks like.  That’s what we’re focused on.

QUESTION:  On the other hand, there is also calls for Netanyahu to step down for early elections in Israel – this is what Chuck Schumer said, and what President Biden endorsed.  Netanyahu, before we entered this room, in an interview said that he’s ready and open to do early elections.  Do you think he’s serious, or he just maneuvering?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, just as it is for the Palestinians to choose their own leadership, it’s for Israelis to do the same thing.  It’s not our position to do that.  And Israelis will have to decide when to have elections.  That’s up to them.  Meanwhile, we’re working, as we always have, with the government in Israel right now, and from administration to administration in our country, Democrat or Republican, that’s exactly what we’ve done and what we’ll continue to do.

QUESTION:  The Biden administration was pressuring Israel as well to not to launch its spring offensive against Hizballah and Lebanon.  And yesterday a source told Al Arabiya that the administration is not doing this role anymore.  What does this mean?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  In fact, we’re very much engaged in a diplomatic effort to ensure that there is no conflict, there is no deepening of the conflict, spreading of the conflict, including to Lebanon and with Hizballah.  And at least it’s my judgment that no one involved actually wants that.  I don’t believe the Israelis actually want that.  I don’t believe Hizballah wants that.  I don’t believe – Lebanon certainly doesn’t want that.  And even Iran, Hizballah’s patron, I don’t believe wants that.  But it’s also unfortunately easy sometimes to fall into an unintentional conflict when there’s back and forth.

But this has to be resolved because in Israel, there are well over 100,000 people who have been displaced from their homes in northern Israel, and they should be able to go back.  There are Lebanese in southern Lebanon who’ve also been displaced from their homes.  They should be able to go back.  So we need to have a resolution where people can feel confident, feel safe, feel secure, and we have a sustained effort underway to try to reach a diplomatic solution.

QUESTION:  From Palestine, Israel, to the Red Sea, the United States and the UK were striking the Houthis in Yemen and were having talks in Amman in order to pressure Iran to use its influence over the Houthis to stop attacks in the Red Sea, and this wasn’t working.  Is the United States also doing any other editorial methods to deter the Houthi?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, I think you have countries around the world – much of the international community – that condemns what the Houthis are doing: attacking international shipping, jeopardizing commerce that’s so vital to people around the world.  Thousands of ships have had to reroute.  Prices have gone up for everything they’re carrying because they have to take longer voyages to get where they’re going.  Insurance has gone up.  And just recently, what did we see?  We saw the Houthis actually kill three sailors from – who were on a boat, Filipinos.  We saw them sink a ship that created an environmental disaster because oil was spilled, fertilizer was spilled into the sea.  We saw them attack ships that were carrying food to Yemen, to the very people that the Houthis purport to represent.

So no matter what your views are on Gaza, there’s no justification for this ongoing attack on international shipping that’s having terrible consequences for people in Yemen and for people around the world.  And dozens of countries, including at the United Nations, have spoken up and spoken out about this.  So we would like to see Iran exert the influence that it has, because it’s the primary supplier to the Houthis of weapons, of information, of technology.  We would like to see them tell the Houthis to stop.  Meanwhile, we and other countries have no choice but to try to defend the shipping and, as necessary, degrade the assets – the military assets – that the Houthis are using to continue to attack shipping.

QUESTION:  How are you pressuring Iran to do so?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, we, as you know, have many differences with Iran in many different areas, and we have a lot of pressure that’s imposed on them by us and by many other countries, including through sanctions.  But I also don’t think it’s in Iran’s interest to continue to support these Houthi attacks, attacks that, again, are being condemned by countries around the world.  The extent to which Iran is seen as being responsible for that – I don’t think that’s good for Iran, so we hope that it will use the influence it has to put an end to this.

QUESTION:  Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary, for your time.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.  Thank you so much.

Imposing Sanctions on Networks Supporting Iran’s Ballistic Missile, Defense, and Nuclear Programs

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

The United States is today imposing sanctions on procurement networks based in Iran, Türkiye, Oman, and Germany that have acquired goods for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization, Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), the Iran Centrifuge Technology Company, and other U.S.-sanctioned entities that are part of Iran’s military-industrial base.  Today’s designations follow previous U.S. designations of individuals and entities linked to the IRGC, MODAFL, and their subsidiaries’ ballistic missile production and other activities on behalf of Iran’s defense industrial base.

The United States is committed to using all available tools to expose and disrupt the networks supporting Iran’s reckless proliferation of weapons that destabilizes the Middle East and enables Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine.

The Department of the Treasury’s actions were taken pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction, and their means of delivery, and their supporters. For more information on today’s action, please see the Department of the Treasury’s press release https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-rleases/jy2194

Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud

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Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud

Readout

March 20, 2024

The following is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:  

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met today with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.  The Secretary and the Foreign Minister discussed the urgent need to protect all civilians in Gaza and immediately increase humanitarian assistance to those in need.  Secretary Blinken stressed the importance of continued close coordination with regional and international partners on resolving the conflict in Gaza and preparing for the post-conflict phase.  The Secretary emphasized the United States’ commitment to achieving sustained peace through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel.  The Secretary and Foreign Minister also discussed the importance of ending the conflicts in Sudan and Yemen.   

United States to Provide Additional Humanitarian Assistance to Sudanese People and Host Communities

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Today, the United States, represented by Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration Julieta Valls Noyes, met with Chadian Prime Minister Succès Masra and announced more than $47 million in humanitarian assistance for the emergency response in Sudan and neighboring countries, including Chad and South Sudan.

Sudan is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with more than eight million people newly displaced since the conflict began last April, and nearly 25 million people – half of Sudan’s population – needing aid, according to the United Nations. This includes more than one million Sudanese refugees who have fled to neighboring countries, including Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic.

Through the generosity of the American people, this U.S. humanitarian assistance provides critical life-saving assistance including food, water and sanitation facilities, shelter, medical services including mental health support, and protection to Sudanese fleeing the conflict.  This announcement brings total U.S. humanitarian assistance for people in Sudan and neighboring countries to more than $968 million since FY 2023.  The United States will continue to work with international and local partners to provide life-saving support to the millions of people affected by the devastating conflict in Sudan.

The United States is the leading humanitarian donor to the Sudan emergency response and calls on the international community to help alleviate the suffering of over one million refugees forced to flee their homes due to violence.  The United States urges the parties to the Sudan conflict to allow unhindered humanitarian access including both cross-line and cross-border, engage in direct talks, agree to a ceasefire, and end hostilities immediately.  Preventing a famine and long-term catastrophe will require both a ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access.

Congratulations to Indonesian President-Elect Subianto

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

We extend our sincere congratulations to Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto on his victory and once again applaud the Indonesian people for their robust turnout and commitment to democracy and the rule of law.

The United States and Indonesia are celebrating 75 years of our diplomatic relationship grounded in democracy and pluralism.  As close partners and friends under our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, we are working hand-in-hand to deliver a better future for our citizens.  We look forward to partnering closely with President-elect Subianto and his Administration when they take office in October.

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