(AGENPARL) – ven 15 aprile 2022 You are subscribed to Department Press Briefings for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
04/14/2022 07:44 PM EDT
Ned Price, Department Spokesperson
MR PRICE: I have a couple of announcements at the top and then we’ll turn to your questions.
[]You may have seen yesterday that the CDC announced changes to their COVID-19 Travel Health Notice system. We here at the Department of State have also reassessed how COVID-19 considerations factor into our Travel Advisory levels for U.S. citizens.
Starting next week, the State Department Travel Advisory levels will no longer automatically correlate with the CDC COVID-19 Travel Health Notice level. However, if the CDC raises a country to a Level 4 for COVID-19, or if COVID-19-related restrictions threaten to strand, isolate, or otherwise seriously affect U.S. citizens, the State Department’s Travel Advisory for that country will also be raised to a Level 4, or Do Not Travel.
The updated framework will significantly reduce the level – the number of Level 4 Travel Advisories, and we believe it will help U.S. citizens make better informed decisions about the safety of international travel at this time.
We encourage U.S. citizens planning international travel this summer, or any other time, to check their passport expiration date. Act now to renew or apply for the first time. Keep in mind that many countries do require passports to have at least six months’ remaining validity for entry. Routine passport processing, as we have warned, can take eight to 11 weeks.
We also encourage U.S. citizens to stay connected with us via travel.state.gov and through our @travel.gov social media accounts, and to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP, to receive timely alerts about evolving health and safety conditions.
[]And finally, today the U.S. Department of State released our first ever Equity Action Plan to implement Executive Order 13985 on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. We joined over 90 federal agencies and all cabinet-level agencies across the U.S. Government in this launch.
This plan is the product of President Biden’s historic executive order directing federal agencies to address barriers to opportunity for underrepresented and underserved communities. Our Equity Action Plan outlines commitments, actions, and accountability mechanisms to improve our effectiveness in successfully integrating equity across our foreign affairs work.
With that, happy to take your questions. Daphne.
[]QUESTION: Russia warned today that it would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles into Leningrad if Finland and Sweden joined NATO. Is the U.S. concerned about Russia upping its rhetoric around this? And then I have a question on embassy staffing as well.
MR PRICE: The warning I saw in that regard came from a former Russian official who is no longer in power and arguably may not have been in power at the time he purportedly was in power. So no, we don’t have a specific response to that. The Russian Federation knows where we stand in terms of our commitment to Article 5, the idea, the sacrosanct commitment we have that an attack on one is an attack on all. But we don’t have a specific response to that.
QUESTION: France said today it will very soon transfer back its embassy in Ukraine from Kyiv to Lviv. Are U.S. embassy staff still commuting from Poland to Lviv? And are there any plans to stop commuting and be fully operational in Lviv, or to reopen the embassy in Kyiv?
MR PRICE: Well, a number of weeks ago, just before the start of the invasion, a core Mission Ukraine team that previously was working from Lviv relocated to Poland. They remain in Poland; they are not currently traveling over the border to Ukraine due to the unstable security situation. I will say, however, that we are constantly evaluating and re-evaluating the safety and the security situation. It is, of course, our goal to have a diplomatic presence re-established in Ukraine as soon as it would be safe and practical to have U.S. diplomats on the ground there.
But I would also hasten to add that the lack of a U.S. diplomatic presence, U.S. diplomatic officials in Ukraine has in no way hampered our ability to coordinate and to consult with our Ukrainian partners. In fact, just today, just a few hours ago, Secretary Blinken again had an opportunity to speak over the phone to Foreign Minister Kuleba. Foreign Minister Kuleba, of course, is the same Foreign Minister Kuleba that we saw last week in Brussels. It was the same Foreign Minister Kuleba that Secretary Blinken saw just before that in Warsaw, the same Foreign Minister Kuleba that he saw just before that inside Ukraine when we met with Foreign Minister Kuleba and his team along the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Of course, President Biden spoke to President Zelenskyy yesterday. Secretary Austin routinely speaks to his Ukrainian counterpart. So the point is that our engagement has been consistent. It’s been routine. It’s been very deep to discuss precisely the issues that are of most important to us, how we can continue to support our Ukrainian partners and how we can continue to hold the Kremlin to account for its illegal war of aggression against the state and the people of Ukraine.
QUESTION: Is there a likelihood that Secretary – is there a likelihood that Secretary Blinken will go to Ukraine?
MR PRICE: I don’t have any travel —
QUESTION: There’s been a great deal of talk —
MR PRICE: I don’t have any travel to speak to. What I would do is reiterate what I just said. Secretary Blinken, on very frequent occasions, has the opportunity to speak to his Ukrainian counterpart. He ends up speaking to Foreign Minister Kuleba roughly several times a week most weeks, and in recent weeks we’ve ended up seeing Foreign Minister Kuleba in person as well.
QUESTION: On the issue of diplomacy and diplomatic presence and so on, you spoke about diplomatic presence in Ukraine, American diplomatic presence. Can you update us on the U.S. diplomatic presence in Russia, in Moscow, and vice versa? Is there anything that is happening? Are you guys in contact with the Russians through Ambassador Sullivan, or are you here in contact with Ambassador Antonov?
MR PRICE: That’s the point of our diplomatic presence in Russia and around the world, to be in contact with the host government. So of course we do have a functioning embassy in Moscow. Ambassador Sullivan is in – as are Ambassador Sullivan’s deputies and colleague – in regular contact with their Russian counterparts on issues of bilateral interest. We have spoken not only in recent months but throughout the course of this administration about the unfortunate actions that the Russian Federation has taken to limit our diplomatic presence on the ground in Russia. What we seek is parity in terms of the level of diplomatic staffing that we are able to have in our embassy in Russia, our embassy in Moscow, and what the Russians have here in the United States.
We believe that the diplomatic relationship, the ability to communicate clearly, effectively, and oftentimes frankly, is important at all times, but it’s especially important in times of increased tension – and in the case of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, in the case of conflict.
Yes, Jenny.
QUESTION: The ICC prosecutor general is on the ground in Ukraine right now. I know you mentioned repeatedly that the U.S. is supporting international mechanisms. Is the U.S. sharing information with the ICC on potential war crimes? And then can you just clarify: Is the U.S. doing its own assessment of whether atrocities like genocide and war crimes have taken place in Ukraine?
MR PRICE: Let me start with that second question, which I appreciate, because I believe there is a misimpression about the process that is involved here. I think specifically there’s a misimpression that the department would require a demand signal or an order from on high to undertake a careful review of what is transpiring on the ground in Ukraine. To be clear, there is a constant demand signal, including from Secretary Blinken, for insight into potential atrocities or atrocity crimes committed around the world. And as a matter of course, our Office of Global Criminal Justice and their colleagues, other experts from the department, are carefully reviewing all of the inputs that are available to us regarding what is transpiring in Ukraine. That includes very public data points that all of us have seen across our television screens, that we’ve read in newspaper, but it also includes details gleaned from intelligence reporting as well.
As we’ve said – and this gets to the first part of your question – our priority at the moment is pursuing accountability for atrocity crimes. And we’re supporting the efforts of various accountability mechanisms, including the efforts of the Ukrainian prosecutor general, whose work we have assisted since long before Russia’s current military campaign in Ukraine began. We’ve been assisting this work for the better part of a decade now.
As you may know, and I mentioned this yesterday, our Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack is going to have an engagement – she’s going to engage virtually with her Ukrainian – excuse me, with the Ukrainian prosecutor general, who is leading an effort when it comes to criminal accountability for what has already transpired in Ukraine. That will take place tomorrow.
But let me hasten to add that same broader process, the process to collect, analyze, share, document evidence of atrocities and potential atrocity crimes is the very same one that could ultimately inform other potential atrocity crime determinations, including the atrocity crime of genocide.
As you know, the department has already assessed that members of Russia’s forces have committed war crimes, one of the three forms of atrocity crimes, another atrocity crime. There is, just to reiterate, a constant demand signal in this building for that work for a few reasons. It helps us shine a spotlight on these atrocities, it helps us bring the world together in our diplomatic campaign in support of our Ukrainian partners and in the diplomatic campaign to hold Russia to account, and to craft our public messaging, how we speak about what is transpiring in Ukraine. And when it comes to all of those elements, we will follow the facts, we will follow the law wherever they lead.
QUESTION: So sorry, just to clarify —
MR PRICE: Sure.
QUESTION: Are you currently sharing information with the ICC given that the U.S. is not a party?
MR PRICE: So we are in the first instance supporting the work of the Ukrainian prosecutor general, because there is a very clear jurisdiction in terms of her work for potentially holding war criminals, in this case, accountable for the atrocity crimes they have committed. We are consulting very closely with allies and partners about potential other accountability mechanisms. In fact, we’ve helped to birth at least one accountability mechanism. We, as part of our re-engagement with the UN’s Human Rights Council, helped to establish the Commission of Inquiry that is now focused on this as well. The OSCE and the Moscow Mechanism, the first report of which was issued yesterday, we’re supporting.
But when it comes to the ICC, we know that the ICC is one potential venue for accountability. We have cooperated with the ICC in the past. I believe I mentioned this yesterday, that within recent days the trial of a former Janjaweed commander has begun at The Hague under the auspices of the ICC. That is – that individual is being tried in part based upon evidence that the Department of State ourselves collected for his role in the genocidal campaign that the Omar al-Bashir regime carried out a number of years ago.
But we are consulting very closely with allies and partners with an eye, first and foremost, to the mechanisms and to the jurisdictions that will help us see that ultimate goal of accountability achieved.
[]QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Price. Good opportunity for me. I ask three questions.
MR PRICE: Good to see you.
QUESTION: Number one – thank you. Number one, the Taliban still continue their policy toward Afghan girls not allowed to go to school. What will be the next consequence from the State Department?
Number two, the people who are approve for SIV visa are still – there was some problem, because they have children over 21 or 22 years old. They have problem; they cannot travel without their kids.
And number three, the people who applied for the SIV visa after September 10, they didn’t get any response from the State Department.
And also the last question. Some Afghan former soldiers disappearing from the Taliban jail and nobody know where they are. Of course, some people think that they get killed by the Taliban. And Afghan people think that United States forgot Afghan people and all attention goes to the Ukraine. I don’t know.
MR PRICE: Well, nothing could be further from the truth. As you know, we have continued to stand by the people of Afghanistan in terms of our humanitarian leadership and the contributions that we have made, including in recent days, to the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people, but also in terms of what we’re doing diplomatically on the world stage together with our allies and partners.
And you raise the issue of girls education and the egregious decision last month. March 23rd, what was supposed to be the first day of the school year for school children, including girls across the country, turned into a day of horrible disappointment and despair for millions of Afghans with the Taliban’s very regrettable decision not to allow girls to return to secondary school. This – in doing so, the Taliban reversed commitments that they had made very publicly and commitments that we had discussed with them privately as well.
Their decision, as I mentioned before, it was a deeply disappointing one. It was, in some ways, an inexplicable reversal of the commitments that they had made to their own people. We’ve made the point previously that education is not only a human right, but it is indispensable to the success of any particular country. Holding back more than half of any country’s population is not a recipe for success for Afghanistan or anywhere else around the world. No country can succeed economically, no country can succeed politically, no country can succeed on any basis when half of its population or more than half of its population is unable to go to school, ultimately unable to join the – join a workforce.
Together with our partners in the international community, we have been working for some time and we continue to work to support education in Afghanistan, expecting that schools last month would have opened for all. We have called on the Taliban to overcome whatever impediments exist to implementing the commitments they’ve made, to honor the commitments they’ve made to their own people. Each day that Afghanistan’s secondary schools remain closed to girls is another missed day of school, another missed opportunity, not only for the girls of Afghanistan but for the people and the country of Afghanistan.
The Secretary, the Deputy Secretary, Tom West, our Special Representative for Afghanistan, our Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights Rina Amiri, our chargé d’affaires who is now based in Doha – they have all decried this decision on the part of the Taliban.
We have also done so in coordination with many of our close partners around the world. Shortly after the Taliban announced this decision, we released a joint statement with our counterparts in Canada, in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, the UK, and the high representative of the European Union, all condemning the decision on the part of the Taliban not to reopen secondary schools. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation similarly put out a statement, as well as female foreign ministers from 16, at least 16, countries around the world from Albania to Tonga and the UK.
This was a topic of discussion during the extended troika that Tom West attended late last month in Tunxi, China, and we have been very clear that if this decision is not reversed and if it’s not reversed promptly, it will hold significant, serious implications for our ability to engage with the Taliban and the Taliban’s desire to have better relations not only with the United States but with the international community.
[]QUESTION: On Taiwan, several U.S. senators arrived to Taiwan today. Was the – do you have anything on that, first? And – first of all. And then second of all, was the State Department given a heads up before their visit? What is the message U.S. is sending to Taiwan and China? Thank you.
MR PRICE: I don’t have a comment on the congressional delegation. I would need to refer you to the members of Congress. The State Department does assist members of Congress as a routine matter oftentimes when they travel overseas, but for comment on this particular visit I would need to refer you to those members.
Said.
QUESTION: And also, I have a follow-up. Earlier in April, Deputy Secretary McKeon met with WHO director general, and Taiwan’s participation of WHO was discussed. How hopeful is the United States that Taiwan will be invited as an observer to the World Health Assembly in May? Thank you.
MR PRICE: Well, it’s something that we support, that we have consistently supported. We believe that Taiwan, consistent with its status, should have meaningful participation in international organizations. So it’s something that we’ll continue to support.
Said.
[]QUESTION: Thank you. I have a couple of questions on the Palestinian issue. First of all, I want to note that the Palestinian Affairs Unit Chief George Noll spoke to the family of Ghada Sabateen yesterday to express your condolences to the family and demand investigation. Does that mean there is a marked change? I mean, you’ve never done that before. Do you have evidence that this was done in a cold-blooded fashion, for instance? I mean, she was a mother of five, she was partially blind, and so on.
MR PRICE: I don’t have any additional information for you on that. As you know, our officials on the ground do often engage with Israelis, with Palestinians, but I don’t have anything to read out from any particular engagement.
QUESTION: Okay. I have a few other questions. The Israeli Times of Israel newspaper reported that the U.S. aims to fold Palestinians into an expanded cooperation between Israel and Arab states. How do you envision this happening?
MR PRICE: Well, Said, you saw the Negev ministerial that Secretary Blinken attended with several of his counterparts from Israel and the Arab world. And there was a focus during the course of that ministerial on, of course, the Abraham Accords and the normalization agreements that have brought – built bridges and brought new opportunities for Israelis and Arabs alike with normalization becoming in some ways the new normal and the opportunities that come with that.
But what we heard during the ministerial itself and what you heard during the press availability that the ministers participated in was a recognition on the part of Secretary Blinken, on the part of others, that normalization can’t be a substitute for progress between Israelis and Palestinians. And so as Israel and its Arab neighbors enjoy additional opportunities owing to the progress that normalization is bringing with it, there was a concerted desire on the part of Secretary Blinken, on the part of his Arab counterparts, on the part of Foreign Minister Lapid of Israel, to do what we can across several different areas – the working groups that are emanating from the Negev forum – to achieve progress when it comes to conditions for the Palestinian people.
QUESTION: And my last question regarding the Human Rights Report, I mean the Human Rights Report that was a issued a couple days ago. It talks extensively about the West Bank and Israel and so on. My question pertains to the six human rights organizations that were listed as terrorist organizations. They have – they issued an appeal to you, to Europeans and so on, to follow through. I mean, you were investigating this. You, I guess, requested the Israelis to supply you with why they listed them to begin with, and that was back in October. Where do we stand? Have you gotten a satisfactory response from the Israelis? Do you believe that these organizations should be or should remain listed as terrorist organizations?
MR PRICE: Well, we have received detailed information on that very question from our Israeli partners, and it’s something that we’re continuing to review.
QUESTION: But is their response satisfactory as far as you’re concerned?
MR PRICE: We received —
QUESTION: That they have committed such egregious acts to require enlisted or being enlisted on the terror organization —
MR PRICE: We received detailed information from our Israeli partners on the basis for their designation. We’re taking a very close look at that ourselves.
Michel.
[]QUESTION: Hello, Ned. Do you have any update on the talks with Iran? Any new session in Vienna soon? And did the U.S. unfreeze any money for Iran, or do you know of any of your allies that unfrozen any amount?
MR PRICE: All of our sanctions remain in effect and all of our sanctions will remain in effect until and unless we’re able to achieve a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA. It’s been very unfortunate to see a number of stories that are false, that are completely untrue, not only on the questions of sanctions, or reported sanctions relief, I should say, but the related question or the way it’s been conflated of false claims of a detainee deal.
The fact is, unfortunately, we don’t have any breakthrough to announce. Any information relating to our negotiations regarding wrongful detainees, Americans who are held wrongfully in Iran, would come directly from the State Department. We know there’s been a lot of false information out there. We urge everyone to exercise caution with these reports. But the fact is now that there are two parallel tracks that are underway with Iran, one, as we’ve talked about in the context of Vienna for mutual return to full implementation of the JCPOA, and one on the release of all four U.S. citizens who are unjustly held in Iran.
Unfortunately, at this stage, neither of these negotiations has been successfully concluded. Any reports otherwise, including, as you referred to, Michel, reports that Iranian funds held in restricted accounts in third countries would be transferred, are false, and our partners have not released these restricted funds to Iran, nor has the United States authorized or approved any such transfer of restricted funds to Iran.
We are continuing to approach both of these negotiations with the utmost urgency. We urge Iran to do the same. We urge Iran to allow U.S. citizens Baquer and Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi, and Morad Tahbaz to return home to their loved ones.
[]QUESTION: Thank you so much. This is Jahanzaib Ali from ARY News TV, Pakistan. Pakistani newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that he wants better relations with United States to promote shared goals of peace, security, and development in the region. Does the U.S. see his election of PM Sharif of an opportunity to improve the bilateral relations with Pakistan?
MR PRICE: Well, you probably saw a statement that we released from the Secretary last night regarding the selection of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. For almost 75 years, the relationship between the United States and Pakistan has been a vital one. We look forward to continuing that work with Pakistan’s Government to promote peace and prosperity in Pakistan and the broader region. And in that spirit, we’ve congratulated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on his election by the Pakistani Parliament, and we look forward to working with him and his government.
QUESTION: The former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, still blaming U.S. for his ouster while his supporters are organizing anti-U.S. protest here in America, like in different states. Yesterday, D.C., his supporters attack on Pakistani American journalist and a few community members who disagree with them. So do you have any message with them who are organizing anti-U.S. protests here in America, even when you rejected all those claims and White House also rejected all those claims?
MR PRICE: Our message has been clear and consistent on this. There is no truth whatsoever to the allocations that have been put forward. We support the peaceful upholding of constitutional and democratic principles, including respect for human rights. We do not support, whether it’s in Pakistan or anywhere else around the world, one political party over another. We support broader principles, including the rule of law and equal justice under the law.
QUESTION: Sir, one last question, if you allow me, please. So today the Pakistan’s military spokesperson said that they had no evidence to suggest that United States had threatened or was involved in the conspiracy to seek the ouster of Imran Khan’s government. Your thoughts and comment on this statement?
MR PRICE: We would agree with it. Thanks.
[]QUESTION: (Inaudible) from Azerbaijan (inaudible). My question is when will the (inaudible) also amendment to the Freedom Support Act be lifted from Azerbaijan?
MR PRICE: Well, we remain committed to promoting a peaceful, democratic, and prosperous future for the South Caucasus region. And we welcome, as you’ve heard from us before in the readouts from Secretary Blinken, the April 6 meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Aliyev in Brussels, including the positive momentum on preparations for peace talks and the formation of a bilateral commission on border delimitation.
As the Secretary emphasized in the calls he had with those two leaders the day before on April 5th, we continue to encourage further peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and we reiterated – and the Secretary reiterated – that the United States stands ready to engage bilaterally and with likeminded partners, including through the role as an OSCE Minsk group co-chair to help the countries find a long-term comprehensive peace.
QUESTION: The same topic?
MR PRICE: Sure.
QUESTION: There’s a phone call between Deputy Secretary Sherman and her French colleague yesterday in which she discussed the South Caucasus, Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Now we have Lavrov a couple of days ago complaining that U.S. and France are not informing us about what they are doing. Are you guys deliberately shutting the door to Russia’s mediation efforts? And given everything Russia has done in Ukraine, do you think that – doesn’t that disqualify Russia in peacemaking efforts between Azerbaijan and Armenia?
MR PRICE: I can’t speak to the role that Russia might play in this. What I can say is that we stand ready to engage Armenia and Azerbaijan – again, bilaterally or with likeminded partners, including through the OSCE mechanism.
Conor.
QUESTION: And one more question about OSCE report that you mentioned earlier. So there are details that Russia has been using OSCE symbols to do what it has been doing. Does that bother you at all? Is Russia going to be suspended from OSCE if they continue doing that?
MR PRICE: I would have to refer you to the OSCE. They put out the Moscow Mechanism under the auspices of the OSCE, put out a comprehensive report yesterday regarding the atrocities, the potential war crimes that, according to the Moscow Mechanism, the Russians – Russia’s forces have committed in Ukraine. But I would need to refer you to the OSCE to speak to the particulars.
Conor.
QUESTION: Staying on Ukraine, pro-Russian social media accounts published what appears to be the U.S. passport of an American citizen named Joseph Ward Clark, claiming that he was captured or killed. Can you confirm whether or not that’s the case?