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Department Press Briefing – December 17, 2024 [ https://www.state.gov/briefings/department-press-briefing-december-17-2024/ ] 12/17/2024 05:03 PM EST
Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson
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Department Press Briefing – December 17, 2024
December 17, 2024
1:18 p.m. EST
*MR MILLER:* Good afternoon, everyone. Feels like we’re starting to get a little bit of the holidays in here already. It’s kind of a small crowd.
Matt —
*QUESTION:* Yes.
*MR MILLER:* — you want to kick us off? I don’t have any opening comments.
*QUESTION:* Okay. You have nothing?
*MR MILLER:* Have no opening comments. Ready to take questions.
*QUESTION:* Really? Okay.
*QUESTION:* (Inaudible.) (Laughter.)
*QUESTION:* All right.
*MR MILLER:* Be nice to me, Matt. I only have four or five of these left, probably, when you consider travel schedule and the holidays. So —
*QUESTION:* Okay. Sorry, I’m just —
*MR MILLER:* Or I should say enjoy – enjoy it while you can.
*QUESTION:* — trying to get my things set up here. Okay. So let’s start with Syria.
*MR MILLER:* Yeah.
*QUESTION:* What’s the situation in terms of you guys getting people back into Damascus?
*MR MILLER:* I don’t have any new announcements to make today. I think as you heard me say yesterday, it’s something we continue to look at. We don’t have any U.S. personnel on the ground in Syria right now outside, of course, of the coalition forces that have been on the ground for some time predating the fall of Assad. But we don’t have any other personnel there at this point.
We continue to assess the situation, continue to consider when might be the appropriate time for us to send personnel into Syria to engage in a number of activities, including advancing the principles that the Secretary and other countries endorsed on Saturday.
*QUESTION:* Okay, but – and the embassy compound, though, is —
*MR MILLER:* It’s secure. The embassy compound is secure. I think we talked about last week the fact that Czechia was our protecting power. They had left at some point; they have returned and resumed their status as our protecting power, and our embassy is secure.
*QUESTION:* Okay. And in terms of the search/hunt for Austin Tice?
*MR MILLER:* We continue to pursue every lead possible. As you know, probably, because there is reporting to this effect, there are a number of groups who are operating on the ground in Syria now who are combing through former prisons, former detention sites, gathering as much information as possible. They are providing that information to us, and we are chasing down every lead, but I don’t have any update.
*QUESTION:* Okay, thank you.
*MR MILLER:* Shaun.
*QUESTION:* Stay on Syria. Can you talk a little bit about the role of Türkiye? Obviously you were just in the region a few days ago and there were talks with Fidan and Erdogan. Particularly, there’s a “Wall Street Journal “report about fears of – that the Turks are amassing forces and there could be an all-out offensive on some of the Kurdish areas. Could you comment specifically on that and, more broadly, what you’re looking for from Türkiye right now?
*MR MILLER:* So we continue to engage with Türkiye about the situation in northern Syria. As you know, we worked out a ceasefire for the area around Manbij. That ceasefire has been holding. It had expired; it has been extended into the end of this week, and we continue to engage with the SDF, with Türkiye about a path forward.
As we have said publicly, we do not believe it is in the interest of any party to see increased conflict in Syria. We don’t want to see any party take advantage of the current unstable situation to advance their own narrow interests at the expense of the broader Syrian national interest. And those are conversations we’re continuing to have with our Turkish allies.
*QUESTION:* Just to follow up on that, Kobani – you mentioned Kobani specifically. Is that a fear, that there could be sort of an assault on that area?
*MR MILLER:* So I’m not going to speak to that specifically. But the concern that we have is broader than just Kobani. The concern we have is to any increase in fighting in northern Syria at this point. We understand the very legitimate concerns that Türkiye has about the terrorist threat that the PKK poses. We understand the very legitimate concerns that Türkiye has about the presence of foreign fighters inside Syria. And so we’re talking to them about those concerns and trying to find a path forward.
Ultimately, I can say that what we want to see – and the Secretary has talked about this publicly as well – what we want to see is the establishment of a Syrian national government that encompasses all of the various ethnic groups inside Syria, and that at the end of that you don’t have any subnational militias, any subnational groups who are carrying arms under their own banner. And as part of that we certainly think it’s appropriate to discuss the expulsion of foreign fighters.
*QUESTION:* So you say you’re talking to them about their concerns, and you just outlined what some of those concerns are. I mean, what’s the path forward? Is there some sort of – do you see some sort of negotiated settlement, some sort of agreement either involving the U.S. or between the – between HTS and the Kurd – the SDF and —
*MR MILLER:* So I don’t want – I don’t want to get into it publicly because this is still a matter of let’s say fairly intense diplomatic discussions. We were able to negotiate the ceasefire for Manbij that included the SDF withdrawing to the east of the Euphrates River. We are in conversation with the SDF and we are in conversation with our allies in Türkiye, and I should say our other partners in the region are in conversation with Türkiye about this question as well. This is not just a United States question. And we are trying to work on a path forward that de-escalates tensions. But while we’re in the middle of those diplomatic discussions, I don’t think I should talk about them publicly.
But I also shouldn’t understate that this is a challenging issue. It’s a very challenging issue. There is a – there are longstanding tensions between Türkiye and these groups, and so it is not an easy path forward but it is certainly one that we’re pursuing.
*QUESTION:* Just one more, maybe more the sticks than the carrots. I mean, what would be the consequence if Türkiye goes ahead with some operation? We saw that in 2019. What – how would the U.S. perceive that?
*MR MILLER:* I’m just not going to deal with hypotheticals at this point. We’re in conversation with Türkiye about the path forward, and I don’t want to get into dealing with kind of an alternative scenario that may or may not occur in the first place.
*QUESTION:* Can I just —
*MR MILLER:* Yeah.
*QUESTION:* — put a finer point on it? Did the Secretary explicitly warn the Turks not to go into Kobani when he was there last?
*MR MILLER:* I am not going to get into private diplomatic conversations, but of course they discussed the situation in the north in some detail, both in the phone conversations the Secretary had with the foreign minister before we traveled to the region last week and in a number of conversations with the foreign minister while we were there. As you know, he saw him not just in Ankara but again in Aqaba, Jordan, on Saturday.
*QUESTION:* And then more broadly on Syria, Matt, can you give us any more information about communications with HTS? Has there been any more than the few you referenced yesterday? And have they reacted to the principles that were outlined in Aqaba?
*MR MILLER:* I don’t have any further conversations to read out at this point, and I don’t – I certainly wouldn’t want to speak for them in terms of their reaction to the principles that we laid out. I will say, though, that when – those principles were not principles that were just endorsed by the United States. Obviously you saw the Secretary outline them first, before we left for the region, but then those were principles that were endorsed by Syria’s neighbors, by other countries in the region and other countries around the world. So we certainly think that they’re principles that are not advancing the interests of the United States; they’re not just advancing the interests of countries in the region. They are – they are principles that outline a path forward for the Syrian people that call for respect for minority rights, call for respect for the rights of women, call for inclusive governance, and they are the type of principles that we believe are important for HTS to show they are committed to if they are truly to lead a government that represents all Syrians.
*QUESTION:* And then on the search for Austin, is Roger still in Beirut?
*MR MILLER:* He is in Amman today.
*QUESTION:* And who is he meeting with there?
*MR MILLER:* He is – so without getting into who he’s meeting in detail, the answer I gave to Matt’s question about how we are talking to groups on the ground – so Roger has a number of connections in the region. I think I’ve talked about Roger’s approach before, and I know you all know Roger well so I probably don’t need to spell it out. But Roger’s approach in dealing with these type of situations is to talk to anyone that has information, to follow any lead that he can, to chase down any potential piece of information, and to leave no stone unturned – and that’s what Roger Carstens is doing in the region this week.
*QUESTION:* Well —
*QUESTION:* And are there any plans for him to go to Damascus, then, to chase those leads?
*MR MILLER:* I don’t have any announce – any to announce today. But as I said yesterday, notwithstanding the fact that we are not on the ground in Damascus now – and you can understand, I think, some of the considerations we have to take account of before deploying U.S. personnel into a place like Syria. We have obvious security concerns. We have to make sure all of our security concerns are properly accounted for before we could do that. That said, even notwithstanding the lack of U.S. presence in Damascus today, there are a number of groups that we are in contact with that are chasing down these leads for us. The White Helmets are one. There are others who are providing information to us. We have no shortage of resources that we tapping to get information about the whereabouts of Austin Tice, to run down leads, and to explore information that is provided to us to try and find where he might be.
*QUESTION:* So you may have just answered that – this question, but I mean, why isn’t he going in?
*MR MILLER:* We – so we —
*QUESTION:* Is there some prohibition?
*MR MILLER:* There is no prohibition. We continue to look at when the right time may be to get American personnel into Syria. But when we do that —
*QUESTION:* Well, I know. I know. But he would be —
*MR MILLER:* Let me – Matt, just let me finish. When we do that, we have to make sure that we can do it in a secure way and that’s what we’re working through – among other issues that we’re working through, but that’s one of the primary issues we’re working through.
*QUESTION:* Right. But I mean, this would be one guy going in, I mean, with obviously —
*MR MILLER:* An American diplomat who we have to make sure is properly secured.
*QUESTION:* Fair enough, but is there some prohibition right now?
*MR MILLER:* No, no, not at all.
*QUESTION:* So what is it? You’re just – you don’t think it’s safe enough?
*MR MILLER:* We are working through security issues and other considerations. We have to – look, when the United States makes a move like this, it matters. It’s something that’s watched by the entire world, so we want to make sure we go in at the appropriate time; we want to make sure we do it in a way that’s secure; we want to make sure that we do it in a way that meets the other missions —
*QUESTION:* Okay.
*MR MILLER:* — that we need to answer when we go into Syria. We’re working through all of those issues now.
*QUESTION:* All right. So he was in Beirut, now he’s in Amman.
*MR MILLER:* Amman.
*QUESTION:* And does he have any – are you aware of any onward travel that he has?
*MR MILLER:* None that I can speak to today.
*QUESTION:* All right.
*QUESTION:* Can I just follow up quickly? I was just reading back what you said. Manbij specifically said that the truce has been extended. Can you give details on how that came about? What – and is there any time period for which it’s been extended?
*MR MILLER:* So it is extended through the end of the week, and we will obviously look to see that ceasefire extended as far as possible into the future. And it came about through our ongoing diplomatic work with the SDF and with the Government of Türkiye. The initial ceasefire that was reached last week was brokered through our diplomatic engagements, and not just here at the State department but obviously we have coalition forces that operate inside Syria that have longstanding deconfliction mechanisms in working with the Government of Türkiye and working with the SNA to try to make sure that forces, including U.S. forces, aren’t put at risk. And we continue to work all of those angles to try to calm the situation in northeastern Syria and prevent the outbreak of further conflict.
*QUESTION:* Matt?
*MR MILLER:* Yeah.
*QUESTION:* One more on Syria. Any comment on the mass graves that have been recently uncovered?
*MR MILLER:* Yeah, so I mean the – when you look at the evidence that is coming out of Syria in the now 10 days since the Assad regime fell, it continues to shock the conscience. And I’m referring not just to the mass graves that have been uncovered but information that we have been gathering inside the United States Government, including information that’s not yet publicly known. I think the depravity of this regime, which was on display for the world to see over the course of this civil war – a regime that was gassing its own people and torturing its own people – we just continue to see more and more evidence pile up of how brutal they were in mistreating their own people, in murdering and torturing their own people.
And I can tell you for what we want to see going forward when it comes to mass graves, when it comes to detention sites, when it comes to torture sites are two things: number one, answers; and number two, accountability. Answers for the families of those who have been disappeared, those who have been tortured, those who have been killed, and accountability for those who did it. And we are engaged with a number of United Nations bodies, including the Independent Institute [ #post-605588-endnote-1 ] on Missing Persons, which has expertise in securing mass graves and other sites, so evidence can be gathered and collected and properly examined to ensure that the world and the Syrian people do get both answers and accountability.
Yeah, Said.
*QUESTION:* Very quickly on Syria, and then I’ll go to the Palestinian issue”. The Wall Street Journal” reported today that U.S. officials fear that Turkish military buildup signals a preparation for a Syrian incursion. Are you concerned that this may be the case?
*MR MILLER:* So I think I answered that question in response to either Shaun or Jenny.
*QUESTION:* Right. Yeah.
*MR MILLER:* I can – I’m happy to answer it again, but it’s not —
*QUESTION:* Right, please. Yeah.
*MR MILLER:* — going to be a different answer.
*QUESTION:* Right.
*MR MILLER:* We continue to have concerns about tensions in northern Syria, and we continue to work, as I was just outlining in my answer to the previous questions, to try and de-escalate tensions and find a path forward that does not further destabilize Syria.
*QUESTION:* Okay. So I mean, are you talking to the Turks about not doing this? I mean, these are – appears to be imminent.
*MR MILLER:* Said, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but a little “déjà vu”.
*QUESTION:* Okay. All right. No, I get it. That’s fine.
*MR MILLER:* I literally answered that exact question —
*QUESTION:* So you don’t feel that —
*MR MILLER:* I literally answered that last exact question maybe five minutes ago.
*QUESTION:* Okay. That’s fine. So you don’t feel that this is imminent?
*MR MILLER:* What’s that?
*QUESTION:* You don’t feel this is imminent, the Turkish incursion.
*MR MILLER:* I’m not going to speak to what may or may happen. I will tell you that – on – that for the United States part in this, we continue to talk to the Government of Türkiye and we continue to talk to others in the region about a path forward that de-escalates tensions, not one that escalates them.
*QUESTION:* All right. Okay. Let me move to Gaza. There is – there – Kirby said there’s cautious optimism, some officials saying that – about the talks, about the ceasefire talks. Can you share with us any update?
*MR MILLER:* I’m not going to get into any substantive updates. I think cautious optimism is a fair way to characterize it, though very much tempered by realism, by – tempered by the realism of the past several months, where we have been close before, where you have heard us describe this as being inside the ten-yard line, but then finding those last ten yards are the most difficult because, for various reasons, the two parties have not agreed to a final deal.
So here’s what I’ll say about it. We continue to engage with the mediators; the mediators continue to engage with Hamas and with Israel. Based on the remaining issues, we should be able to get to an agreement. We should be able to bridge the disagreements between the two parties, but that is not to say that we will. Because again, there have been times before where we were close and we thought the differences were bridgeable, and ultimately we didn’t get a deal. As you’ve heard me say before, all the United States can do is push and try to come up with compromises. But we cannot dictate to either side what choice they have to make. They have to make those decisions for themselves.
*QUESTION:* All right. Well, the Israel press – “Israel Hayom” in particular, reported that – attributed to some high-up officials saying that Hamas has basically agreed to all whatever terms that are in the deal or on the negotiating table. So if that is the case —
*MR MILLER:* It’s not.
*QUESTION:* — there should be no —
*MR MILLER:* It’s – before we get to the end of that – that’s not the case, so —
*QUESTION:* That is not the case?
*MR MILLER:* That is not the case. No.
*QUESTION:* Okay. So – all right. It’s in the Israeli press, so I – I’m not claiming anything. So if such a deal goes through, it will be like a temporary ceasefire, correct? It will not be a permanent ceasefire, right?
*MR MILLER:* I think you will understand my disinclination to opine on the details of an agreement that has not yet been reached. Should we get an agreement, it will be public for everyone to see, but I’m not going to talk about what the details are before we get to any such deal.
*QUESTION:* Okay. The fact that the Israeli prime minister said that he wants to sort of preside over the negotiations, does that give you maybe a clear view of what might – likely to happen?
*MR MILLER:* I don’t know what you mean by that, clear view. We have —
*QUESTION:* Okay. Well, he said —
*MR MILLER:* So I’ll just say we have – let me just say —
*QUESTION:* He said that he wants to – he wants to oversee the talks, which means he has his own, of course, vision of the talks that may be or maybe not – it may be – it may reflect past negotiations or may be something new.
*MR MILLER:* I’m going to decline to comment on what those comments, which I haven’t seen in full, mean. I can tell you we take our reading of the talks and where they stand and a possible path forward through our engagement with the parties, where we are, in real time, going back and forth with the mediators and with the Government of Israel about what the final issues are and what concerns they have and how we might deal with those concerns. So I don’t need to look at a public comment to have an assessment of where the talks stand.
*QUESTION:* On the Palestinian death toll, yesterday we had 50 – last night, 52 Palestinians were killed. The day before, the same number. The day before – now I asked in this room a number of times that has this become normalized. And if there is such a – there is hope for a negotiated ceasefire, should this stop right now? Would you call on the Israelis to end their bombardment of civilians, unarmed civilians?
*MR MILLER:* We are calling on Israel to reach a ceasefire agreement, and that’s what we continue to work for. We have not called for them to unilaterally disarm against an enemy that is still committed to the destruction of Israel.
*QUESTION:* Right.
*MR MILLER:* We believe it needs to be a negotiated ceasefire that ends this war. We don’t believe that Israel should unilaterally end the war while Hamas not only continues to threaten the state of Israel, but still holds citizens of not just Israel but – I will remind you – seven Americans —
*QUESTION:* Right.
*MR MILLER:* — seven United States citizens that continue to be held hostage in Gaza. So no, we don’t support a uniliteral disarmament. We support a negotiated ceasefire, and we continue to work to try and reach one.
*QUESTION:* But that is not —
*MR MILLER:* One more, Said, and then I do think I have to go to the rest of the room.
*QUESTION:* One more, one more – I promise. That is not a disarmament. I mean, the Israelis can —
*MR MILLER:* That’s what?
*QUESTION:* They can fight all they want. But they should stop bombing – I mean bombing from the sky. They’re the only ones that have an air force that continues to bomb people. We’re not telling – you’re not telling them to stop their, let’s say, ground troops from doing what they’re doing. We’re asking you if you – they could stop aerial bombardment.
*MR MILLER:* So Hamas – I’m sorry, Said. When it comes to the tactics that Hamas has been pursuing, Hamas continues to – no, they don’t have an air force, but they continue to try and launch rockets against Israel. So I think it’s not productive to call on Israel to stand down on any one military tactic. What’s appropriate is to try and reach a ceasefire that gets the hostages home and that ultimately alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people.
*QUESTION:* Thank you.
*MR MILLER:* Yeah, Alex.
*QUESTION:* Thank you, Matt. I have couple of topics, but before I shift, can I clarify – can you just clarify the HTS topic? I mean, you said yesterday that they’re committed to help you locate Tice. Have they requested any material support, any intelligence or resources? And what is your level of confidence in them?
*MR MILLER:* What do you mean, Alex?
*QUESTION:* They are not resourceful enough to – did they request any help from you?
*MR MILLER:* Any help in what way?
*QUESTION:* I mean, any resources?
*MR MILLER:* I don’t – I just understand what you mean. What —
*QUESTION:* Do you believe that – yeah.
*MR MILLER:* Hold on. Let me just – I don’t understand what resources we would provide to search inside Syria, a country where we are not currently operating, other than our coalition forces in the eastern part of the country where HTS is in control. So I don’t understand the premise, I think.
*QUESTION:* Okay. Moving to Russia and Ukraine, Russia today said that they are – they said their 2025 goal to occupy four Ukrainian regions. Can you give us a sort of update on your stated goal of providing Congressional-approved aid? How many percentage of it have already been materialized? And how long do you think they will – Ukrainians will be able to fight back with those resources before they run out in 2025?
*MR MILLER:* So we believe that that the resources that we have already provided them and that we have on – that we are still on track to provide them before the end of the administration give them the equipment, the material they need to fight through the end of 2025. As it pertains to how much of that is out the door and how much it – how much remains, these are obviously Pentagon drawdowns or Pentagon stocks. I’d refer you to them to answer that question.
*QUESTION:* And on North Korean soldiers, the reports said a number of casualties. Given that, are you observing any new, let’s say, tranche of North Korean soldiers coming from —
*MR MILLER:* I don’t have any new announcements to make today about new North Korean soldiers that have traveled to Russia, but we continue to assess that might – that’s a possibility, but it’s not something we’ve seen as to date. We have, as I said yesterday, seen North Korean soldiers deploy to the front lines in Kursk, and we have seen them sustain casualties, both killed in action and wounded.
*QUESTION:* Thank you. I have two more on South Caucasus. Azerbaijan – there’s a trial today. They started basically the hearing, court hearing, against Farid Mehralizada, a Radio Free Europe reporter. You did address this case previously. Radio Free Europe president today called the charges against him baseless. Do you have any reaction to the comment?
*MR MILLER:* We continue to be greatly concerned about that case and call on Azerbaijan to respect the human rights of everyone in the country, and certainly to respect media freedoms.
*QUESTION:* Thank you. And finally, on Georgia – who is the current president of Georgia in your opinion?
*MR MILLER:* You know who the duly elected president is, Alex. I usually decline to try and answer “gotcha” questions, and I’m going to do so here.
Go ahead.
*QUESTION:* I mean, you did say at least, Matt —
*MR MILLER:* Go ahead. Go ahead.
*QUESTION:* Thank you very much, Matt. Thank you very much. On November 26, 12 PTI workers were butchered in Islamabad with snipers. Congressman John James has said that this was a – done by a government – a government which does something like this cannot be a legitimate government. In the past, it’s been whatever days – I have not heard any press release or comment from you about just straight butchering of Pakistani citizens in the capital.
*MR MILLER:* So I will tell you that we have been – always been quite clear – and every time you ask me a question about this, I’m quite clear – that we want to see human rights and the rule of law respected inside Pakistan. We make that clear publicly. We make that clear in our engagements with the Government of Pakistan.
*QUESTION:* Just before walking in here to this briefing, I was informed by my colleague that the ministers in Pakistan just got 900 percent increase in their salaries. Just a month ago, I asked the finance minister here in Washington, D.C. that this is – it is totally unacceptable in a country where there is such poverty, where they come to the U.S. and then they beg for money. The rulers are corrupt. Shehbaz Sharif is a non-corrupt. I’ve been writing about him personally for 25 years. And you then one day calling his niece a milestone – you know what I mean, but like —
*MR MILLER:* I know there’s a question – I know there’s a question in there somewhere. I hope we’ll – I hope that we will get to it soon.
*QUESTION:* (Laughter.) But – I hope. So do – what’s your comments about that —
*MR MILLER:* On the pay?
*QUESTION:* Despite U.S. helping a nation in such hard times, these rulers increased their own salaries by 900 percent.
*MR MILLER:* I think the appropriate pay of government officials inside Pakistan is a question for the people of Pakistan and the Government of Pakistan to answer, not a question for the United States. We don’t typically opine on the relative pay of government officials anywhere around the world, and that of course – that of course will be our policy here as well.
*QUESTION:* Just last one about journalism, and your podium – you being here. We have one Pakistani journalist that was killed. He applied to the U.S. visa, and he didn’t get it. On the other hand, I heard Secretary at the Foreign Affairs Committee the other day about his legacy, and he was proud of the fact that he brought hundred thousand, the largest evacuation done. And I totally agree with it. But it was of a military which surrendered in the night, right? They were brought here, and congressmen raised questions about their vetting. A journalist applies to a visa, to the U.S. embassy, doesn’t get the visa, was a journalist for 30 years.
*MR MILLER:* I —
*QUESTION:* Please, your department and your – I really need your support for Pakistani journalists who have been facing challenges.