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05/15/2023 06:22 PM EDT
Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson
1:16 p.m. EDT
MR PATEL: Good afternoon, everybody. I hope everyone had a good weekend and a wonderful Mother’s Day. Just one very brief thing at the top, and then —
QUESTION: How was your Mother’s Day?
MR PATEL: I had a wonderful Mother’s Day?
QUESTION: Did you wish your mother a Happy Mother’s Day?
MR PATEL: I spent a wonderful Sunday with my mother-in-law.
QUESTION: Did you? Okay.
MR PATEL: It was great. I have one very brief thing at the top, and then happy to dive into your questions.
[]I am very pleased to note the election of Amy Pope today to become the next director general of the International Organization for Migration.? At a time when?more than 100 million people are displaced globally as a result of conflict, climate-related disruptions, and extreme poverty, IOM needs innovative, energetic, and inclusive leadership, and Amy Pope is the right choice to provide that leadership.? We look forward to working closely with her as she assumes this new role.?
Matt, go ahead.
QUESTION: That’s it?
MR PATEL: That’s it.
QUESTION: Okay. All right, well, I assume that maybe others will ask you more about U.S. migration – immigration policies and the election of an American to run it. But I want to start somewhere else, and it’s just purely logistical, and that is there are some reports in Russia that former employee of the consulate in Vladivostok has been arrested. Do you guys know anything about —
MR PATEL: I’ve seen those reports, Matt, but I don’t have anything additional to offer from here at this time.
QUESTION: Okay. I’ll turn it over to Humeyra, who I think has some more pressing questions.
MR PATEL: Humeyra, go ahead.
[]QUESTION: Hello. Hi. I just want to ask you a couple of things about the Turkish election.
MR PATEL: Sure.
QUESTION: Obviously, it looks like it’s going to a run-off, so what you may say – what you say might be limited, but just indulge me here. So whoever wins, I am basically wondering if U.S. is thinking a little bit strategically after the election and looking at ways to create some sort of an opening for a reset in ties betweeen the two countries, because their relationship have been at best uncomfortable and sometimes tense. I’m just wondering if you guys are thinking about that.
MR PATEL: Let me say a couple things, Humeyra, and I would reject the premise of your question a little bit. We have a deep partnership with Türkiye, which is a longstanding U.S. ally. The Secretary had the opportunity to visit earlier this year, where he had the opportunity to engage with not just President Erdogan, but also Foreign Minister Cavusoglu. But broadly on the issue of the election, we are continuing to closely monitor the country’s ongoing electoral process. As you so noted, the supreme electoral council has indicated that the elections are going to go to a run-off.
But broadly we congratulate the people of Türkiye for peacefully expressing their will at the ballot box, and also congratulate the newly elected parliament. We’ll continue to work together with whatever government is chosen by the Turkish people to deepen our cooperation and our – deepen our shared priorities. But I don’t have anything else.
QUESTION: Great. Let me try a couple of more times. Washington – one of Washington’s priorities when it comes to Türkiye is to obtain a green light from Ankara for Sweden’s NATO bid. And while it was on the cards that this was probably going to go into a run-off, we’re now going to wait for another two weeks. Again, I’m wondering if the U.S. is planning to communicate with Türkiye, whoever gets elected, and try to one way or another make sure that Sweden gets an approval before Vilnius summit in July.
MR PATEL: Our message regarding Sweden is the same irregardless of whatever government is chosen by the Turkish people, and that is the longstanding position on this that you’ve heard many describe from up here, which is that Sweden is ready to join Finland as a member of the NATO Alliance. We believe this strongly; we think that Sweden’s accession will not only strengthen the Alliance, but it will strengthen security across Europe. It is why the United States was so quick to approve its formal accession protocols, and we look forward to this process finalizing. And we are – we believe that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible.
QUESTION: And my final one on this. There was a lot of commentary that U.S. was waiting to see the result of the election, the Turkish election, to proceed with the possible F-16 sales or to weigh in on a little bit more on Congress to move on this. So what is the Biden administration’s position as of now with the F-16s? Will there be a push to proceed with that sale in terms of, like, lobbying with Congress after the election?
MR PATEL: Our position hasn’t changed. You saw the President and the Secretary both speak to this a number of times since in office. One of the key things that is of upmost importance to us is NATO inoperability, and that is why we believe —
QUESTION: No, no, no. It’s inter-, not inoperability.
MR PATEL: Inter- – thank you, Matt – NATO interoperability. That is why the Secretary and the President are so supportive of this. But I don’t have any new progress to announce or anything, and we of course will continue to engage with Congress on a number of these issues.
QUESTION: I have one on Türkiye.
MR PATEL: Sure.
QUESTION: So Vedant, there was a highly competitive election, and then the turnout was about 90 percent – almost. And Erdogan finished the race by 5 points ahead of his opponent. My question, like – did the election atmosphere was quite peaceful and there were a lot of international observers also watching the election in Türkiye, including some of the U.S. So how was – what is your assessment on the atmosphere – election atmosphere in Türkiye, and your assessment of the Turkish election process in general?
MR PATEL: Well, the election process is still unfolding, as is the work of the OSCE’s election observation mission, which, as you know, released some preliminary findings. But to take a bit of a step back, Türkiye has a long, proud democratic tradition, and we trust that Turkish authorities will carry out this next phase of the presidential election in line with the country’s laws and in a manner that is consistent with its commitments to the OSCE as well as a NATO Ally. But I’m not going to predict anything additional from here.
QUESTION: Who is your favorite candidate?
(Laughter.)
MR PATEL: We do not – nice try, but I really appreciate your candid effort, but I will just say again that we look forward to deepening our alliance and cooperation with the – whatever Turkish Government is chosen by the people of Türkiye.
Shaun, go ahead.
QUESTION: Does anyone else have more on Türkiye?
MR PATEL: Anything else on Türkiye?
QUESTION: Very quickly —
MR PATEL: Sure.
QUESTION: — to clarify. Thank you so much.
MR PATEL: Yeah.
QUESTION: I just want to give it another shot because I did not hear actual assessment. Did you have U.S. observers on the ground observing elections —
MR PATEL: My understanding is that there was observers through the OSCE.
QUESTION: But the embassy was not involved, the U.S. embassy was not —
MR PATEL: Not to my understanding.
QUESTION: Okay. Thank you.
MR PATEL: Shaun, go ahead.
QUESTION: Can we go to another election?
MR PATEL: Yeah.
[]QUESTION: Also starts with a “T”, Thailand. The quite – a result that (inaudible) people did – the Move Forward Party – Mr. Pita’s party – scored a bit of an upset. Does the United States have any assessment both on the conduct of the election and on the presumed winners? And also, is there any concern about whether the winners will be able to take office considering the military-backed system there?
MR PATEL: Well, first, Shaun, we congratulate the tens of millions of people across the Kingdom of Thailand who participated in the May 14th election, and the U.S. is looking forward to working with the new government elected by the Thai people to continue advancing the interests and values that our two countries have long shared. And we support the right of the people to democratically choose their own leaders. And as a longstanding friend and ally of Thailand, the U.S. looks forward to seeing the final results and working with the next Thai Government to advance our shared goals for the benefit of both of our people.
QUESTION: Do you feel confident that the democratically chosen winners of this would be able to take office?
MR PATEL: Again, we look forward to seeing the final results and working with the next Thai government. My understanding is that the final count is still ongoing, and it will still be a number – many of number of days before an official result is announced.
Anything else on Thailand before we move away?
QUESTION: (Off-mike.)
MR PATEL: Okay. Go ahead, Janne.
[]QUESTION: Thank you. I have two questions. Thank you, Vedant. North Korea and China are fully normalizing economic trade now. Do you see this as a violation of UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea? So what sanctions does the U.S. currently imposing on China for violating UN sanctions?
MR PATEL: Let me say a couple of things there. First, it is, of course, our view that a number of countries who have influence and engagements with the DPRK have a role to play when it comes to curtailing their destabilizing activities that we see so frequently in the Indo-Pacific region. Of course, one of those countries is the PRC. There, of course, are sanctions in place with the DPRK through the UN Security Council as well as otherwise. I’m not going to get into specifics here, whether such an action is a deviation of a sanction or not. But broadly both in holding the DPRK accountable and holding accountable countries that attempt to subvert sanctions or bolster the DPRK’s destabilizing efforts, the U.S. will continue to have a number of tools at its disposal to hold them accountable.
QUESTION: And on G7 —
MR PATEL: Yeah.
[]QUESTION: — Summit, do you have plans to extend the G7 to the G8, including South Korea, and as a G8 member? Do you think South Korea is qualified enough?
MR PATEL: I’m not aware of any plans to discuss membership changes at the upcoming leaders’ summit, but of course we’ll let the summit take place first.
QUESTION: (Off-mike.)
MR PATEL: Lalit, go ahead.
[]QUESTION: On Pakistan, I wanted to ask you about what is your assessment in the situation in Pakistan right now.
MR PATEL: Specifically?
QUESTION: Because there have been some attacks – violence been taking place, attacks on the government installations —
MR PATEL: Yeah.
QUESTION: — political leader of opposition is being arrested.
MR PATEL: Certainly, Lalit. So first and foremost, of course, our belief is that individuals should have the freedom to express themselves but do so without participating in any violence, violence that would put government employees in government buildings in harm’s way. And specifically on the arrest, I spoke a little bit to this last week. The U.S. does not have a position on one political party or one candidate or other. Our view is a strong, stable, and prosperous Pakistan is crucial to U.S.-Pakistan relations and that for any arrest that such an individual is affronted basic human rights in accordance to their laws.
QUESTION: The former prime minister today said that the press is not being allowed to show the other part of the story. Are you concerned that the freedom of press has been challenged in Pakistan right now?
MR PATEL: I’m just not going to be prescriptive about the current situation. I don’t have an assessment to offer from here. But broadly, we are very clear about the need for access for media and the access for information and the free flow of information between the government and journalists.
QUESTION: I wanted to ask you also about India. Last week the White House announced President Biden has invited Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, for a state visit —
MR PATEL: Yeah.
QUESTION: – next month. I know this is all being handled by the White House, but State Department – what role State Department will have? And also, what are the key issues with Secretary, things should be on the table for the state visit between bilateral issues?
MR PATEL: Sure, sure. So first, I have no doubt that the State Department and of course Secretary Blinken will be critically involved in the upcoming state visit for Prime Minister Modi. I’m not going to get ahead of the White House or get ahead of the state visit, but I will just say, Lalit, and this is no surprise to you, the State Department’s viewpoint is that our partnership with India is one of our most consequential relationships, and we work closely with India on a number of vital priorities. And the state visit is an opportunity to deepen some of these partnerships, whether it be ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific and ensuring that it is a region that is more connected, more prosperous, more secure, and more resilient.
Obviously, between India and the United States, there exists an opportunity to deepen trade issues, deepen security partnerships. There’s an opportunity to address some shared global challenges, like global health and addressing the climate crisis. So again, I’m not going to get ahead of the state visit, but we very much look forward to hosting the Indian Government.
QUESTION: And finally, this is the third state visit of this Biden administration. Was Secretary taken into confidence, consulted on inviting Prime Minister Modi for this? And what are the reasons why India was selected from the long list of state visits?
MR PATEL: Yeah. Well, first, as Secretary Blinken is our country’s and the President’s chief diplomat and one of his most trusted and longest-serving foreign policy advisors, we of course are in constant communication with our partners at the White House on things like state visits and visits by foreign dignitaries and things of that sort. But I’m not going to get into the specific deliberations beyond that. And like I said, our partnership with India is one of the most consequential and it is why we’re very much looking forward to hosting them in a state visit next month.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR PATEL: Said, go ahead.
QUESTION: Thank you, Vedant. Today, May 15, marks the 75th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba. Now, there was an event at the UN, and the deputy ambassador, the U.S. deputy ambassador Evans chose not to go, and he said that they don’t attend event that are anti-Israeli in nature. Is commemorating the Palestinian Nakba an anti-Israeli event? And it’s – why would he – why would he skip such an event?
MR PATEL: Said – Said, the attendance or U.S. representation at any event is not reflective of our commitment to the Palestinian people. We continue to recognize the painful plight of Palestinian refugees. I will also note that this administration has prioritized our support for the Palestinian people and has provided over $940 million for Palestinians, including $730 million in humanitarian assistance for Palestinian refugees.
We also remain committed to a negotiated, mutually agreed, two-state solution that settles all final status issues, including refugees. And you recall, Said, that President Biden, standing right next to President Abbas last June, said that the Palestinian people deserve a state of their own that’s independent, sovereign, viable, and contiguous. That continues to be our view.
QUESTION: Well, speaking of President Abbas, today he said that the United States and the United Kingdom bear the responsibility for the Palestinian catastrophe. Do you agree with him? And the time has come to end it. Do you feel that the time has come to end this catastrophe?
MR PATEL: The – I do not agree with those comments.
QUESTION: You don’t agree. So they should continue to suffer?
MR PATEL: That’s not what I said, Said. I can disagree with President Abbas’s comments, but also I would reiterate what I just said, is that our commitment to a mutually agreed, two-state solution continues to be unwavering. And that is something that this government and this administration will continue to pursue.
QUESTION: All right. One last question.
MR PATEL: Sure.
QUESTION: Today it’s been reported that Secretary Blinken is considering appointing an envoy to the Abraham Accords and maybe Dan Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel. Can you comment on this? Do you have any information?
MR PATEL: I have no personnel announcements to offer from up here.
All right. Jenny, go ahead.
[]QUESTION: Overnight, an American, John Leung, was sentenced to life in prison for espionage charges in China. Do you have any comment on that sentencing? Do you see these charges as legitimate?
MR PATEL: We are aware of the sentencing of a U.S. citizen in the PRC on charges of espionage. When a U.S. citizen is detained overseas, the department works to provide all appropriate assistance, including relevant consular access. The department has no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas. But just given privacy concerns, I don’t have anything else to offer.
QUESTION: Has he been designated as wrongfully detained?
MR PATEL: So look – broadly on wrongfully detained designations, that work is a deliberative process that is ongoing. I don’t have any updates to offer on any new wrongfully detained designees from here. And again, on the reports of this case, because of privacy considerations there’s a limit to what else I can get into.
Go ahead.
[]QUESTION: Thank you, Vedant. Bangladesh authority withdraws additional security to envoys, including U.S. and UK. The foreign minister told reporters that they will not give any additional security to the U.S. ambassador and the UK and others, around six ambassadors. As you know, U.S. ambassador’s convoy attacked couple of times in recent days and 2018 by the pro-regime supporter. Are you concerned about the ambassadors and the embassy personnel security in Bangladesh?
MR PATEL: So I’m not going to get into the specifics about security details concerning the U.S. embassy or its personnel. But I will note that per the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, any host country must uphold its obligations to ensure the protection of all diplomatic mission premises and personnel and take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on personnel. The safety and security of our diplomatic personnel and facilities are of the utmost importance.
QUESTION: Follow-up, Bangladesh.
MR PATEL: Go ahead.
QUESTION: Thank you. I have two small question, one about Deputy Assistant Secretary Afreen Akhter. She just told you Saturday that about Bangladeshi election – you know this is election year – that is it ultimately on the political parties if they want to participate or not; USA will not interfere. Do you have any comment on that if BNP or other parties do not participate in election, if U.S. will have any comment on that part, that it will be fair or unfair election?
And other thing, very short, on – I’ll make it very short. Bangladesh terribly suffered from terrorist threats during the BNP-led regime in 2004 and 2005 despite the meaningful antiterrorism support from USA. According to the Global Terrorism Index, in 2023 Bangladesh tremendously improved in the position in – all over the world. The question: whether the U.S. will continue to engage with Bangladesh in counterterrorism and if Biden administration has any new plan regarding lifting the sanction on RAP, Rapid Action Battalion. Thank you.
MR PATEL: Okay, let me say a couple things. First, I don’t have any new policy to announce so no new news on any sanctions or anything like that. But broadly, let me say about the U.S.-Bangladesh relationship – you’ve heard me say this before – last year our two countries celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations. And what we’re looking forward to is deepening that relationship and deepening our cooperation with Bangladesh on a number of key issues regardless of political party or candidates or anything like that. Our hope for any election taking place around the world is that they are free and fair and accessible, but beyond that I have nothing else to offer insight on when it comes to political parties or candidates or anything like that.
QUESTION: Only if there are elections?
MR PATEL: No, that was my answer about elections.
QUESTION: Oh, thank you.
MR PATEL: Go ahead.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR PATEL: Yeah.
[]QUESTION: So a Chinese envoy is going to Ukraine and Russia this week to attempt to end a – or start a negotiation to end the war. Is the U.S. concerned about China doing these negotiations, or are they welcoming any attempt at this point?
MR PATEL: Well, you’ve heard me say this before, that it is important for the PRC to hear directly from our Ukrainian partners about why Ukraine’s security concerns and its sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. You’ve also heard us say that when it comes to diplomacy, nothing should happen about Ukraine without Ukraine.
There is a role for the PRC and frankly, any country for that matter, in supporting diplomatically an outcome that is consistent with the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. No one wants this war to end more than our Ukrainian partners.
But the other piece of this is obviously Russia, the Kremlin, and I am not saying something new. The Kremlin has yet to demonstrate meaningful interest in ending this war, and in fact they’ve done quite the opposite. While others are focused on finding ways for this war to end, including President Zelenskyy, who has laid out his own peace plan, Russia is sending drones and missiles into a neighbor’s country, hitting apartment buildings, hitting hospitals, hitting movie theaters, killing scores of children and injuring others.
Our goal, the United States goal, will continue to be to make sure that Ukraine can defend itself against further attacks from Russia and that if Ukraine chooses offensive operations of its own, it can repel Russia’s ongoing invasion, and it has the capabilities to conduct those.
QUESTION: And then on a different topic —
MR PATEL: Sure.
[]QUESTION: There’s been criticism of the U.S. building a new embassy in Lebanon. It’s estimated to cost about a billion dollars. What’s the reasoning for building such an opulent embassy, especially in a country where right now I believe about 80 percent of the population is below the poverty line?
MR PATEL: Well, I don’t have any specifics about our new mission in Lebanon. But what I will say is that where we decide to open up new facilities, that is – obviously there’s a close coordination with Congress on that. There’s also a close coordination on what building and what security and what technology requirements – we try to keep those consistent among our facilities across the world. But we’ll see if we have anything specific to offer on this one.
Coming back to you, Shaun.
QUESTION: Sure. Can I ask a couple of different things about Africa?
MR PATEL: Sure.
[]QUESTION: Nigeria first. Secretary Blinken in a statement today said there were visa restrictions being imposed on a number of Nigerians over undermining the democratic process in the elections this year. As you know, a number of opposition candidates there have challenged the actual validity of the election results. Is this in any way giving credence to that, saying that there were overall concerns about the election, and can you give us any more details about the people being targeted?
MR PATEL: No, Shaun. So you might recall that in February the Secretary spoke to this via a statement in which – congratulating the Nigerian people and the winners of that election and calling that election credible, and our viewpoint is that both things can be true. The election can be credible and we congratulated it when it happened, but also, individuals could have attempted to undermine it. And that’s what today’s designation is about, is the Secretary announcing steps to impose visa restrictions on individuals who we believe were responsible for or complicit in undermining the democratic processes during Nigeria’s 2023 elections.
QUESTION: Can you just say a little bit more if these are people in the election as an – are these officials, are these people in political parties, or —
MR PATEL: As you know, Shaun, visa records are confidential, so I’m just certainly not going to get into a specific litany of lists, but what I will note is that today’s steps are specific to certain individuals and they are not directed at the Nigerian people nor the Government of Nigeria as a whole.
[]QUESTION: Sure. Can I just follow up on what we talked about on Thursday, I believe it was, on South Africa?
MR PATEL: Sure.
QUESTION: There’s a South African military delegation in Moscow now. Is this – does the United States have anything to say about this? Do you have any further thoughts about South Africa’s relationship with Russia and how this is – how this has gone forward?
MR PATEL: So on this specific meeting, I will refer you to our South African partners and to the Russian Federation to speak to. I don’t have anything to offer on that. But as it relates to our relationship with South Africa, I’ll note that our relationship with South Africa remains strong, and we are – continue to be committed to the affirmative agenda of our bilateral relationship. There are a number of issues that we look forward to working on with them, whether that be global peace and security, furthering and growing our bilateral trade, working together on a shared health agenda, finding ways to collaborate on energy challenges, and so forth.
QUESTION: Do you think that the episode that we had last week challenges that at all? Are you confident that relations remain on track?
MR PATEL: No, our – I am quite confident that our relations remain on track. Our two governments continue to be focused on the priorities that lie ahead.
[]QUESTION: Just finally, completely different, other part of the continent.
MR PATEL: Yeah.
QUESTION: The Secretary had a call, I believe over the weekend, with the Moroccan foreign minister.
MR PATEL: Yep.