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10/20/2022 07:43 PM EDT
Ned Price, Department Spokesperson
Washington, D.C.
2:02 p.m. EDT
MR PRICE: Good afternoon.
QUESTION: Hello.
QUESTION: Hi.
QUESTION: Welcome back.
MR PRICE: It is good to be back. It is good to be back from travel, even better to be back in this room of course. (Laughter.) I don’t know why you laugh.
QUESTION: I find that very hard to believe.
MR PRICE: I don’t know why you laugh.
QUESTION: I’m sure that Palo Alto and Philadelphia were both much nicer and more hospitable.
MR PRICE: This room has its own set of perks. So with that, we’ll get started.
[] Two things at the top. First, over the next week, Sudan will observe two important anniversaries. Tomorrow, October 21st, is the anniversary of the beginning of the 1964 October Revolution against military rule that caused the fall of that regime; and Wednesday, October 25th, will mark one year since the 2021 military takeover. Both highlight the Sudanese people’s longstanding struggle to achieve democratic, civilian-led governance.
We remain committed to helping the Sudanese people achieve the goals of their revolution, as a country that is stable, prosperous, and at peace with itself and its neighbors, and urge all Sudanese actors to engage constructively in ongoing negotiations toward establishing a civilian-led transition. On these anniversaries we remember the countless Sudanese who have bravely and at great risk demanded freedom, peace, justice, and an end to military rule. We honor all of those who were injured, harmed, or gave their lives for freedom in Sudan and call on the government – including the military and security services – to fully respect freedoms of association, expression, and peaceful assembly.
[][] And finally, this week, on October 22nd, the United States will commemorate the one-year milestone release of the U.S. National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality or the NGS. With the release of the United States’ first-ever National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, the administration reaffirmed that advancing the rights of women – excuse me – advancing the rights and empowerment of women and girls in all their diversity is both a moral and a strategic imperative.
Secretary Blinken is committed to implementing the NGS as a core component of U.S. foreign policy and national security. When women and girls can meaningfully participate in social, political, and economic life, it results in more peaceful, democratic, and prosperous nations, to the benefit of all individuals.
With that, Matt.
QUESTION: Great. Thanks and welcome back, and I hope that this room is as hospitable for you as California —
MR PRICE: It always is.
[]QUESTION: — and Philadelphia were. I was going to begin with Iran, but since your colleague at the White House has already addressed it, and I’m not really interested in you repeating the same thing that she already said – but maybe my – some of my colleagues are – but I’m going to start with something different, and that is that you will have seen that the human – UN Human Rights Commission of Inquiry released its first report to the General Assembly today on Israeli activities in the Palestinian territories. And I’m wondering if you have a response – a reaction to what the findings of that report are.
MR PRICE: We’ve – Matt, we’re – we’ll take a close look at that report. It has just been released so can’t offer a line-by-line analysis at this point. But what I can tell you is that we have made our concerns about this Commission of Inquiry clear from the start. Israel is consistently unfairly targeted in the UN system, including in the course of this Commission of Inquiry. Israel is the only country that’s subject to a standing country-specific agenda.
When we re-engaged with the Human Rights Council last year and later when we were elected as a representative to the Human Rights Council, we did so knowing that the council has tremendous potential. It’s precisely why we wanted to engage and ultimately why we did re-engage, but we also recognize that there are needed reforms. This is an effort that we continue to work towards to see to it that Israel is not unfairly singled out – and I use that term unfairly – put emphasis on that. No country – the record of no country should be immune from scrutiny, but no country should also be targeted unfairly, and that’s the principle that we seek to uphold.
QUESTION: Okay. So you – are you aware of the findings?
MR PRICE: Again, the team will go through it.
QUESTION: Okay.
MR PRICE: I don’t have a specific reaction to offer at the time.
QUESTION: Well, let me give you a very brief outline of what some of them are. And let’s just set aside whether or not the commission in itself is unfairly targeting Israel or not. It very well may. I’m not going to make a – I’m not taking a – I’m not making an argument on either side of that. But what it accuses Israel of doing is occupation, de facto annexation, forcible displacement; in other words, things that are very similar, if not the exact same, as what you accuse Russia of doing in Ukraine.
Just last week, both the United States and Israel voted in support of a resolution condemning the Russians for these things. And so I’m wondering how you square the two: whether the commission itself – the creation of the commission – is unfair or not, the allegations that it’s making are very similar to allegations that you say are credible and true in the case of Russia and Ukraine. And so what’s the difference?
MR PRICE: First, Matt, when it comes to the report that was just released, again, we will go through it. We’ll go through it carefully and thoroughly, and we can offer more feedback on the specific assertions at that time. So I’m not going to go into the specific assertions.
But what I will note is that we categorically reject the blanket comparison between the actions of the Kremlin – Russia in this case – that has launched and waged a brutal war of aggression against another sovereign state, a sovereign state that posed and poses no threat whatsoever to the Kremlin, a military campaign that has – whose toll can be measured in thousands upon thousands of lives lost, a campaign that has been condemned, as you alluded to, by countries around the world – 141 countries in the case of the March vote in the UN General Assembly; 143 countries in the case of the annexation that Moscow recently announced and attempted with the four regions in sovereign Ukrainian territory.
Matt, when it comes to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, this administration believes deeply in a two-state solution. It is – it has been at the core of the approach that successive American administrations have taken to this conflict. We believe that only through a negotiated two-state solution can we arrive at a situation where we can have what really is our ultimate goal, and that is a reality in which Israelis and Palestinians alike enjoy equal level – excuse me – equal levels of security, of prosperity, of opportunity, of democracy, and crucially of dignity. And that’s something we’re working towards.
QUESTION: Right. But the Palestinians and their supporters would argue that what you accuse Russia of doing in Ukraine, in terms of war of aggression, is very similar to what is going on in the occupied West Bank. And so I guess the – I’m trying to find what you find is different. Because obviously Russia contests those allegations that you make against it, whether they’re right or not. Israel contests the allegations that are being made against it in this report, and by others, including human rights groups that you cite repeatedly when it comes to Ukraine, when it comes to Iran, when it comes to other places. Is the difference that Ukraine is a sovereign state, in your view, and that Palestine is not?
MR PRICE: That is a key difference. You point to some of what critics are saying. Look, no country is or should be immune from criticism. That, of course, includes Israel. Some of the criticism that we’ve heard – and we’ve, of course, offered our own over the course of recent months – is justified. Much of it is not. And so when you point to comparisons in criticisms, I think it is important to take a step back and to recognize the profound differences between those two situations. You mentioned one of them, and it is a paramount difference.
QUESTION: Okay. Well, listen, it’s not me that’s making – the chairwoman of the Commission of Inquiry – okay – is a respected person —
MR PRICE: There are many assertions around the world that are made that —
QUESTION: She is the one who pointed out that just last week 143 countries, including the United States and Israel, voted to condemn Russia for its actions, not me. So sorry if you —
MR PRICE: I know —
QUESTION: I guess I’m repeating the point that she has made and not —
MR PRICE: You’re asking the question and I’m making the points.
QUESTION: But let me just follow up on that point. So with the
‘ issue of the linkage. You said there is absolutely no linkage, no comparison whatsoever. Do you dispute that the Palestinians are militarily occupied, that Israel has annexed Palestinian land? Do you dispute that? Do you dispute that they have forcibly removed populations? Do you dispute that? Do you have any other different kind of information that can convince the world that you’re speaking to that this – these tactics you cited are, in fact, are not – that’s not what the Palestinians are experiencing?
MR PRICE: Said, we’ve spoken to the reality, to the plight that Palestinians face.
QUESTION: I don’t want – I’m sorry, Ned. I’m not talking about the plight and reality and so on. Do you dispute that they are militarily occupied?
MR PRICE: We don’t dispute that. And we’ve been clear about that this historical fact that —
QUESTION: Okay. Do you feel that this military occupation should also end?
MR PRICE: — the West Bank has been occupied since 1967.
QUESTION: Right.
MR PRICE: Our – that is why at the center of our policy is the recognition that only through a negotiated two-state solution can we achieve what Palestinians seek and what Israelis seek, and that is a reality in which Israelis and Palestinians enjoy equal levels of these virtues, of these elements – security, prosperity, democracy, freedom, and dignity. That’s what a two-state solution can bring about. Just as we have acknowledged historical realities and realities on the ground, we’ve also acknowledged, as did – as have previous administrations, that we’re not there yet, clearly, in terms of a two-state solution or even in terms of creating a constructive atmosphere in which the two sides can sit down together and attempt to make progress towards that reality of a two-state solution.
That is why this administration from the earliest days has focused on practical measures that can provide some benefit to the Palestinian people, and you can measure those practical measures in the hundreds of millions of dollars – verging on a billion dollars over the course of this administration – in terms of humanitarian support to the Palestinian people. It’s why we have maintained our sacrosanct commitment to Israel’s security, knowing that if Palestinians feel opportunity and Israelis feel security, those are conditions that can help galvanize efforts to advance a two-state reality. We’re going to continue working on that. We’re going to continue to set the stage so that we can ultimately seek to make progress.
QUESTION: Okay. I tell you what, Palestinians appreciate all the help that the United States gives them, but they would appreciate more being free from occupation and controlling their own destiny.
I want to ask you – you began by citing anniversaries and so on. Well, on October 26th happens to be the first anniversary of the closure of six human rights organizations in Palestine, and you have not – I mean, your position remains mysterious. Nobody understands it, really. I mean, have you – you said that you received their answers or – to your queries and so on, but we don’t know. What is your position? Are you – a year after this happened, are you calling them to reopen those, or are you saying now they are guilty of what the Israelis are accusing them of?
MR PRICE: Said, we haven’t said either of those things. What we have said, and —
QUESTION: But why not? I mean, Ned, I’m sorry, but why not? It’s been a year.
MR PRICE: Said, we have spoken I think clearly about our position on this, and our position is that human rights and the importance of civil society is applicable in countries and places around the world. Israel is no different. Independent civil society organizations play an indispensable role in reporting back, in offering facts, in scrutinizing the records. And this goes to the point I mentioned at the top of this briefing that no country should be or is immune from scrutiny, and I think our Israeli partners would agree with that.
That’s why we have always contended there must be an extraordinarily high bar when it comes to taking action against independent civil society organizations. We want to see that bar protected. We want to see that bar preserved. The Israelis have told us that they had the requisite information to take the actions that they did. They have provided us in recent weeks with additional information. We are in the process of reviewing that.
But this goes back to a point that we made in the days after this action was first announced a year ago. The United States does not have a relationship with these organizations. We’ve long considered the PFLP a terrorist organization. Our relationship with these organizations is not what other countries and groups of countries had or have today. So there is no question about us severing a relationship. We never had one to begin with. The principle that we think is important is that civil society plays an indispensable role, plays an indispensable role around the world. We want to see that role protected.
QUESTION: Lastly – I’m sorry. Lastly, why are you remaining silent on the increased violence that is being inflicted on the Palestinians as we speak? I mean, as we speak today, Nablus is besieged, Jenin is besieged, Tulkarm is besieged, and so on. Israeli settlers attack Palestinians day in and day out, they burn crops, they burn trees, they attack civilians, destroy cars, and so on. I have not seen a strong statement that you are condemning – for instance, condemning this – the settler violence against Palestinians.
MR PRICE: Said, I’m a bit confused by the question, because I know have offered our alarm and deep concern for the trends that we’re seeing in the West Bank and elsewhere. I believe Vedant has done the same in recent days. We’ve noted that the recent period has seen a sharp and, in fact, an alarming increase in both Palestinian and Israeli deaths and injuries, including among numerous children. Since mid last month, at least 23 Palestinians and four Israelis have been killed. Those numbers may have, in fact, risen even in recent days. There’s one analysis out that suggests that this year is the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank in nearly two decades. That is something that is of great concern. That is —
QUESTION: Yet you remain reluctant to condemn Israeli settler violence against the Palestinians. You have not mentioned settler violence against the Palestinians, even in your last statement.
MR PRICE: Said, we always take issue, we always condemn violence against civilians, against innocent civilians. The fact of the matter is that we’ve seen an alarming increase in deaths on the part of Israelis and Palestinians. Some of this has been in the context, in the conduct of security operations, but there’s no question that civilians have been killed. That is always something that is deeply, deeply concerning to us.
Humeyra.
[]QUESTION: Ned, I just want to follow up on a couple of things that Kirby said. So he said the U.S. has evidence that Iranian personnel were on the ground in Crimea. That’s a different level of military alliance between Russia and Iran. I’m just wondering where that leaves the nuclear talks that were stalling for some time. Is the United States – under these new circumstances, are you guys still pursuing to revive JCPOA with Iran?
MR PRICE: Let me offer a couple broad words on the trends that we’re seeing, and then I’ll come to your question. But the reports and the information that we are providing today that you’ve heard from Kirby, that you’ll hear from us as well, speak to really the evolution of Russia’s campaign in Ukraine that we’ve seen over the course – since February 24th of this year.
When President Putin first ordered his forces into Ukraine, Russia, I think it is fair to say, had grandiose objectives. Russia’s objective was to wipe out the Ukrainian state. It was to eliminate the Ukrainian Government, Ukrainian democracy, in many ways Ukrainian identity itself. It is wrapped up in this warped and perverse notion that Ukraine does not have the right to exist as a country.
And so we’ve seen those grandiose objectives really transform into I think what is better described as grotesque objectives. As Russia has recognized that it’s not in a position to realize those grandiose ambitions, it’s turned to the grotesque. It has gone from seeking to topple the state and to erase a people and a country to targeting and hitting power grids, electricity supplies, even more horrifically neighborhoods, residential buildings, shopping malls, train stations, schools.
In all of this, it’s true that Russia has grown more desperate in recent months, and we’ve seen any number of indications of this desperation – the mass mobilization, the repression within Russia that has followed this mass mobilization, the attempts to annex by force, the imposition of martial law in the regions that President Putin sought to annex. Just think about that for a second. President Putin annexed these regions claiming that there were individuals in these regions who so desperately sought refuge from the Ukrainian state that they wanted to join Mother Russia. Now, Putin is I think proving the lie by declaring martial law, martial law in regions that he claimed just a couple weeks ago so desperately sought to join Russia.
I think the fact is that even though Russia is desperate doesn’t make it any less dangerous in some ways, and we’ve seen that in Russia, perhaps out of desperation, turning to countries like Iran to provide the wares that it is unable to produce or to acquire through other means. Some of this is a reflection of the export controls, of the sanctions, of the economic measures that we’ve imposed on Russia. The fact is that they don’t have the ability to organically produce, to import, the key inputs that they need, and so they’re turning to Iran. They’re exploring arrangements with North Korea.
And so as you heard from my colleague from the White House today, we can confirm that Russian military personnel based in Crimea have been piloted – piloting, excuse me, Iranian UAVs and using them to conduct kinetic strikes across Ukraine, including in strikes against Kyiv in recent days. We assess that Iranian personnel, Iranian military personnel, were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations. Russia has received dozens of these UAVs so far and will likely continue to receive additional shipments in the future.
In spite of all of this, we’ve seen Russia and Iran continue to lie, continue to claim that there’s no there there. The Iranians continue to claim that they are not providing this material and for indisputable proof to continue to emerge, and some of that proof was put on display before the UN Security Council yesterday.
[]QUESTION: Okay, but are you guys still pursuing a deal with Iran, because that’s what I asked. And also Kirby said, like, we’re no longer – we’re not focused on an Iranian nuclear deal right now. What does that mean?
MR PRICE: Well, right now the eyes of the world are where they should be. They are on the bravery —
QUESTION: No, but I mean, like when he says we, like I don’t – I’m not sure he’s talking about the eyes of the entire world but mostly the eyes of United States. So like, are you guys still pursuing a deal with Iran or not, and what does the “not focused” mean?
MR PRICE: Well, so Humeyra, at this point, of course, it’s no secret that a deal does not appear imminent. A deal does not appear in the offing, at least not at the moment, because Iran’s demands have consistently gone beyond the four corners of the JCPOA. We’ve heard nothing in recent weeks to suggest that Iran is prepared or preparing to change its approach, and so right now the eyes of the world are where they should be.
QUESTION: Right. But under these new circumstances, is the draft that was put forward, from your perspective, is that still on the table? If Iran were to take it tomorrow, are you guys still offering that?
MR PRICE: That is a hypothetical that I don’t think anyone expects to come to pass. The fact is that we continue – the President – let me back up. The President made a commitment that Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon. We remain determined to uphold that commitment, to see to it that Iran never does acquire a nuclear weapon. Another proposition is that we continue to believe that diplomacy is the most effective, the most sustainable means by which to realize that commitment on a basis that is both permanent and verifiable.
But the fact is that the JCPOA, the question is largely academic at the moment. And so right now we’re focused, as is the rest of the world, on what is happening not in a foreign capital with negotiations, but right now in the absence we are focused where the rest of the world is, on the bravery and the courage of the Iranian people.
Gitte.
QUESTION: Thanks, Ned. On what is happening inside Iran, there is growing calls for Iran to be expelled from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. And an NGO in Switzerland that advises ECOSOC has drawn up a draft resolution, and they say that they have also presented it to Secretary Blinken to present it to the council. Any thoughts on that? Any –
MR PRICE: We’ve made our position on this very clear. Iran’s membership on the UN Commission on Women is contemptible. It is beyond inappropriate. It is outrageous. We’ve always been clear that some of the worst human rights abusers sit on certain UN commissions. I think this is, unfortunately, a good example of that. We have worked in the UN system beyond what we’ve done using our own authorities and with our own voice to condemn the violence that Iran is perpetrating against, in many cases, the brave women and girls who are doing nothing more but exercising rights that are as universal to them as they are to anyone else.
We were one of 54 countries that issued a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for Iran to cease the disproportionate use of force against what are undeniably peaceful protesters. We don’t believe Iran should sit on this commission. We’re going to look at proposals to effect that outcome. We’re going to take a close look at ideas, and we’ll lend our support where it’s appropriate for us to do so.
Alex.
QUESTION: One – another question, please?
MR PRICE: Sure.
QUESTION: Yesterday, Iran announced that it has arrested several foreigners, including one American. And do you have any information, any update on that? Can you —
MR PRICE: I don’t, and I am not in a position to confirm that. We have been in contact with the Swiss, who are our protecting power, and we have seen no reason to – we’ve not been in a position to independently corroborate or confirm those reports.
QUESTION: Thank you.
QUESTION: Thank you. Just on –
QUESTION: A follow-up?
MR PRICE: A follow-up?
QUESTION: Just to follow up on that.
MR PRICE: Yeah, sure.
[]QUESTION: Actually, getting back to – to what you were saying earlier that it’s a lie. I mean, in your statement yesterday saying it’s a lie that what Russia and Iran is – are saying. Could you just give a bit more to that? I know that it’s intelligence, you’re probably not going to get into massive detail, but can you explain why the United States is so certain that the drones were Iranian? Is there proof on the ground from the pictures you’ve seen? What’s (inaudible)?
MR PRICE: Well, the reason we’re able to offer the detail that we have – not only this week, but actually going back to July – is because we do have credible information that pointed to this plan, and more recently credible information that points to the presence of Iranian drones inside Ukraine, the presence of Iranian trainers inside Ukraine operating in Crimea in this case. We do have credible information that Russian officials, prior to the presence of Iranian trainers in Crimea, received training in Iran.
I of course can’t detail all of this, but there is a reason why we started talking about our concerns long before the world began to see indications that our concerns were justified, because we had information that was available to us, and now the rest of the world has information available to it, not only because of what we have made public and issued, but for example the session that was held at the UN Security Council yesterday where a UN expert presented to the Security Council some of the ample evidence that the UN itself has in its possession of the operation of Iranian drones in Ukraine.
QUESTION: That was a closed meeting, though, right?
MR PRICE: It was, correct.
QUESTION: Yeah, okay. So it’s not like the entire world got to watch.
MR PRICE: No, but I think it is also fair to say that photographic evidence has emerged. There are any number of indications —
QUESTION: No, I’m not saying that —