WEBVTT 00:02.303 --> 00:03.470 - Hello, guys. 00:03.486 --> 00:07.529 Today I’m happy to bring up to the podium Tom Countryman, 00:07.529 --> 00:10.333 who is our Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control 00:10.333 --> 00:12.518 and International Security. 00:12.518 --> 00:15.527 Tom’s gonna talk about the newly published report, 00:15.527 --> 00:17.191 To Walk the Earth in Safety, 00:17.191 --> 00:19.621 which I think you guys have in front of you. 00:19.621 --> 00:21.387 That’s an annual State Department report 00:21.387 --> 00:22.789 that documents the United States' commitment 00:22.789 --> 00:25.062 to conventional weapons destruction. 00:25.062 --> 00:26.189 So with that, I’m gonna turn it over 00:26.189 --> 00:27.256 to the acting under secretary. 00:27.256 --> 00:29.488 We’ll take a couple questions. 00:29.488 --> 00:30.702 As before, I’ll stand over here 00:30.702 --> 00:31.825 to the side and moderate. 00:31.825 --> 00:32.850 Please identify who you are, 00:32.850 --> 00:33.683 who you’re with, 00:33.683 --> 00:35.293 and then I think we got time for a couple 00:35.293 --> 00:36.214 after you’re done. 00:36.214 --> 00:38.854 He’ll have a brief opening statement. 00:38.854 --> 00:39.910 - Thanks very much, John, 00:39.910 --> 00:41.975 and good afternoon to you. 00:41.975 --> 00:45.308 I am very proud today to announce the release 00:45.308 --> 00:48.150 of the 15th edition of the publication 00:48.150 --> 00:50.483 To Walk the Earth in Safety. 00:50.786 --> 00:52.953 This is a powerful report. 00:52.966 --> 00:55.534 It chronicles the progress that we have made 00:55.534 --> 00:59.088 in reducing the global threat posed by landmines 00:59.088 --> 01:01.558 and other conventional weapons. 01:01.558 --> 01:03.710 In my own travels in the Balkans, 01:03.710 --> 01:05.677 in Afghanistan, in Angola, 01:05.677 --> 01:08.927 I’ve personally seen how these programs 01:08.949 --> 01:11.601 are saving lives and helping countries 01:11.601 --> 01:13.357 recover from conflict, 01:13.357 --> 01:17.524 and it is all due to the generosity of the American people. 01:17.926 --> 01:21.032 Since 1993, the United States has invested 01:21.032 --> 01:22.865 more than $2.6 billion 01:23.648 --> 01:26.148 to clear or destroy landmines, 01:26.559 --> 01:29.483 unexploded ordnance, and other dangerous 01:29.483 --> 01:31.973 conventional weapons and munitions. 01:31.973 --> 01:34.908 We’ve done this in more than 95 countries. 01:34.908 --> 01:37.456 We are helping post-conflict communities 01:37.456 --> 01:39.623 to recover and to rebuild. 01:40.340 --> 01:41.564 Now, this publication, 01:41.564 --> 01:43.172 To Walk the Earth in Safety, 01:43.172 --> 01:47.339 not only gives very detailed information about our programs, 01:47.358 --> 01:50.025 it makes clear, with real cases, 01:50.240 --> 01:53.022 the difference that these programs are making 01:53.022 --> 01:55.772 in the lives of countless people. 01:55.918 --> 01:58.291 We work together with the host nations, 01:58.291 --> 02:01.585 with other countries that donate generously, 02:01.585 --> 02:03.786 with the nongovernmental organizations 02:03.786 --> 02:06.518 and contractors who actually perform the work 02:06.518 --> 02:08.351 of clearing landmines. 02:08.401 --> 02:12.538 And in this way, we have turned one-time battlegrounds 02:12.538 --> 02:14.629 into land for agriculture, 02:14.629 --> 02:17.629 for homes, for vital infrastructure. 02:18.421 --> 02:19.599 Colombia, for example, 02:19.599 --> 02:22.638 remains one of the most landmine-affected countries 02:22.638 --> 02:23.721 in the world. 02:24.149 --> 02:26.293 Joint demining operations conducted 02:26.293 --> 02:27.980 by the Colombian Government 02:27.980 --> 02:30.649 and by the FARC have helped to build trust 02:30.649 --> 02:32.422 between former enemies, 02:32.422 --> 02:35.333 and also facilitated community access 02:35.333 --> 02:39.500 to land that was once marked by explosive hazards. 02:39.963 --> 02:42.267 Now, clearing landmines is a difficult 02:42.267 --> 02:44.227 and a dangerous process, 02:44.227 --> 02:45.810 and it goes slowly. 02:45.857 --> 02:47.911 But the Colombian people know 02:47.911 --> 02:50.225 that the United States, Norway, 02:50.225 --> 02:51.535 and other members 02:51.535 --> 02:54.748 of the Global Demining Initiative for Colombia 02:54.748 --> 02:56.248 will keep with it. 02:56.817 --> 03:00.682 In Angola, we’ve invested more than $124 million 03:00.682 --> 03:03.599 since 1995 to dispose of landmines, 03:04.291 --> 03:05.922 unexploded ordnance, 03:05.922 --> 03:09.672 and aging Cold War era weapons and munitions. 03:09.761 --> 03:12.786 This assistance, primarily implemented 03:12.786 --> 03:14.932 through nongovernmental organizations, 03:14.932 --> 03:18.226 has drastically reduced civilian casualties 03:18.226 --> 03:20.408 and has given more Angolans the chance 03:20.408 --> 03:23.408 to go home and to live there safely. 03:23.777 --> 03:27.021 Still, there’s a lot of work to be done. 03:27.021 --> 03:30.563 When President Obama was in Southeast Asia this fall, 03:30.563 --> 03:32.814 he noted that Laos was per-person 03:32.814 --> 03:35.781 the most heavily bombed country in history, 03:35.781 --> 03:38.386 and he promised to double our spending 03:38.386 --> 03:40.904 for unexploded ordnance clearance, 03:40.904 --> 03:44.987 committing $90 million over the next three years. 03:45.271 --> 03:46.956 And this support makes a difference 03:46.956 --> 03:48.523 all over the world. 03:48.523 --> 03:51.804 These programs produce tangible results, 03:51.804 --> 03:54.804 and they support regional stability. 03:55.380 --> 03:57.925 In the Sahel, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 03:57.925 --> 04:01.342 and Albania, they help to play a key role 04:01.484 --> 04:04.650 in shaping and sustaining a more peaceful 04:04.650 --> 04:06.400 and democratic world. 04:06.636 --> 04:09.367 Our efforts in the Kyrgyz Republic 04:09.367 --> 04:12.200 to clear unstable, old ammunition, 04:12.605 --> 04:14.892 to provide medical rehabilitation 04:14.892 --> 04:17.649 to landmine survivors in Zimbabwe, 04:17.649 --> 04:19.374 these help pave the way 04:19.374 --> 04:21.517 for broader humanitarian assistance 04:21.517 --> 04:23.684 and stabilization efforts. 04:24.636 --> 04:26.662 We support these programs 04:26.662 --> 04:29.482 not just because it’s the right thing to do 04:29.482 --> 04:32.149 from a humanitarian perspective. 04:32.476 --> 04:34.340 We support them because they are 04:34.340 --> 04:37.337 in the best interests of the United States. 04:37.337 --> 04:41.363 They are critical to advancing security and stability, 04:41.363 --> 04:43.354 to helping war-torn countries 04:43.354 --> 04:45.687 break the cycle of violence, 04:46.245 --> 04:49.162 to help them to recover, to thrive. 04:49.460 --> 04:51.422 They build tremendous good will 04:51.422 --> 04:52.762 for the United States, 04:52.762 --> 04:55.090 and they enable us to work with countries 04:55.090 --> 04:58.840 where in the past our relations were limited. 04:59.482 --> 05:02.351 When people can walk the Earth in safety, 05:02.351 --> 05:04.573 they can rebuild their communities. 05:04.573 --> 05:06.431 They can tend their fields. 05:06.431 --> 05:09.931 They can safely transport goods to market. 05:10.652 --> 05:12.066 Without these programs, 05:12.066 --> 05:14.576 development and reconstruction stalls, 05:14.576 --> 05:16.012 and the anger and resentment 05:16.012 --> 05:18.029 that contributed to the violence 05:18.029 --> 05:21.696 in the first place has a grounds to recover. 05:22.488 --> 05:25.570 Our efforts, the U.S. Government and all of our partners, 05:25.570 --> 05:27.775 are crucial to help building a more safe, 05:27.775 --> 05:30.192 secure, and prosperous world, 05:30.363 --> 05:32.228 and that’s why the conventional weapons 05:32.228 --> 05:34.205 destruction effort of the State Department 05:34.205 --> 05:38.331 have tremendous support across multiple administrations 05:38.331 --> 05:41.778 and from both sides of the aisle in Congress. 05:41.778 --> 05:44.708 So I want to applaud not just our own efforts 05:44.708 --> 05:46.853 but all the countries that donate 05:46.853 --> 05:50.292 and all the organizations that put people in the field, 05:50.292 --> 05:53.386 everybody who has helped to make it possible 05:53.386 --> 05:55.723 for the inhabitants of the Earth 05:55.723 --> 05:57.944 to walk safely and run safely 05:57.944 --> 06:00.277 and to play and work safely. 06:01.009 --> 06:03.115 So I’m happy to take a few questions, 06:03.115 --> 06:06.680 and I also want to introduce a friend I’m very proud of. 06:06.680 --> 06:08.554 Stan Brown is the director 06:08.554 --> 06:11.546 of the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, 06:11.546 --> 06:14.213 and both today and in the future 06:14.587 --> 06:18.280 a great point of contact for you for further details. 06:18.280 --> 06:20.107 So thanks for this opportunity, John. 06:20.107 --> 06:21.087 - Thank you, questions? 06:21.087 --> 06:21.920 Matt. 06:21.920 --> 06:23.894 - Yeah, just a couple very briefly, two. 06:23.894 --> 06:25.477 One is do you know, 06:25.512 --> 06:26.818 and I haven’t had a chance to look 06:26.818 --> 06:28.650 through this whole report yet. 06:28.650 --> 06:29.990 I’ve seen some of it, 06:29.990 --> 06:32.907 but in your programs that are going 06:33.031 --> 06:35.531 around clearing mines and UXO, 06:37.736 --> 06:40.736 what the percentage is that you find 06:42.008 --> 06:44.925 that are American-made or supplied? 06:46.048 --> 06:50.215 Is that a statistic or a figure that you guys know? 06:51.873 --> 06:53.269 - That’s not currently a statistic 06:53.269 --> 06:55.519 that we track specifically. 06:55.879 --> 06:57.356 It varies country to country, 06:57.356 --> 06:59.468 and we find that a lot of them are foreign-made. 06:59.468 --> 07:00.301 - Right, okay, 07:00.301 --> 07:03.602 and then secondly on the Ottawa Convention, 07:03.602 --> 07:07.269 where does the Administration stand on that? 07:10.603 --> 07:11.790 - For those of you who don’t know, 07:11.790 --> 07:15.207 the Ottawa Convention bans the production 07:17.259 --> 07:20.259 and use of anti-personnel landmines. 07:20.523 --> 07:23.727 The United States is not a party to this convention. 07:23.727 --> 07:26.200 However, we have previously announced 07:26.200 --> 07:29.617 that we will observe the key requirements 07:30.084 --> 07:33.417 of the Ottawa Convention with the exception 07:33.417 --> 07:35.667 of on the Korean Peninsula. 07:38.392 --> 07:41.264 We’re not producing anti-personnel landmines. 07:41.264 --> 07:42.955 We’re not selling them. 07:42.955 --> 07:45.519 We’re destroying those that are not needed 07:45.519 --> 07:48.536 and exploring every alternative in collaboration 07:48.536 --> 07:51.619 with our ally, the Republic of Korea, 07:51.682 --> 07:53.663 in order to find alternatives 07:53.663 --> 07:56.303 for the defense of the Republic of Korea. 07:56.303 --> 07:57.538 - So I guess my question is then, 07:57.538 --> 08:00.955 how is that quest for alternatives going? 08:02.870 --> 08:06.821 And do you know how many anti-personnel landmines 08:06.821 --> 08:09.404 there are on the Korean border? 08:09.942 --> 08:12.384 - I’ll turn again to the expert, Stan. 08:12.384 --> 08:15.551 - The opportunity to look for material 08:16.401 --> 08:17.956 and operational solutions, 08:17.956 --> 08:19.304 that rests over in DOD. 08:19.304 --> 08:21.699 They’re working very diligently to come up 08:21.699 --> 08:23.042 with solutions that would put us 08:23.042 --> 08:26.209 in a position to accede in the future. 08:27.403 --> 08:28.611 I don’t have the exact figure 08:28.611 --> 08:30.388 for what is needed specifically 08:30.388 --> 08:34.055 for the protection of the Republic of Korea, 08:34.178 --> 08:35.884 but we can follow up and get that for you. 08:35.884 --> 08:37.372 - [Matt] Okay, thank you. 08:37.372 --> 08:38.282 - [Kirby] Nike. 08:38.282 --> 08:42.449 - Just a quick follow-up on the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. 08:43.513 --> 08:44.409 A few years ago, 08:44.409 --> 08:47.409 President Obama made a policy pledge 08:47.891 --> 08:51.724 to join the treaty before the end of his term. 08:54.736 --> 08:57.005 How likely are we going to see that happen, 08:57.005 --> 08:59.467 and also, could you please update us? 08:59.467 --> 09:01.363 I know the next meeting is going 09:01.363 --> 09:04.613 to happen the end of November in Chile. 09:05.887 --> 09:08.344 Is any delegation from the United States going 09:08.344 --> 09:10.241 to be attending as an observer, 09:10.241 --> 09:12.208 and what would be the goal? 09:12.208 --> 09:13.644 - All right, I’ll make two points, 09:13.644 --> 09:16.144 and then Stan will correct me. 09:16.872 --> 09:19.789 First, what President Obama said is 09:20.058 --> 09:22.618 that we want to create the conditions 09:22.618 --> 09:25.960 under which it’s possible to accede to the treaty. 09:25.960 --> 09:28.082 Specific security conditions 09:28.082 --> 09:30.849 on the Korean Peninsula meant that 09:30.849 --> 09:34.084 although we embraced all parts of the treaty 09:34.084 --> 09:37.084 for the great majority of the world, 09:37.762 --> 09:40.762 we were not in a position to accede, 09:41.799 --> 09:44.549 and as Stan Brown just explained, 09:45.957 --> 09:48.196 we are working on getting to a point 09:48.196 --> 09:50.772 where we could in good conscience fulfill all 09:50.772 --> 09:53.251 of the convention’s requirements. 09:53.251 --> 09:55.668 We have participated actively 09:55.701 --> 09:58.294 throughout the Obama Administration 09:58.294 --> 10:00.711 in all of the review meetings 10:01.175 --> 10:02.707 under the Ottawa Convention, 10:02.707 --> 10:06.874 and I’m sure we’ll do the same in Chile this month. 10:06.958 --> 10:10.791 - What is the level to attend the next meeting 10:11.244 --> 10:13.911 in the end of November in Chile? 10:14.419 --> 10:15.546 - [Brown] Say that one more time? 10:15.546 --> 10:17.546 - Who, how high a level? 10:18.887 --> 10:21.570 - We’ll send two representatives down as observers. 10:21.570 --> 10:24.524 The head of delegation will be Mr. Steve Costner. 10:24.524 --> 10:25.690 He’ll be the deputy director 10:25.690 --> 10:28.106 for our Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement. 10:28.106 --> 10:29.172 - What is the goal? 10:29.172 --> 10:31.339 I mean, will you be coming 10:31.858 --> 10:33.441 to the goal of 2025 10:33.627 --> 10:36.294 of clearance of global demining? 10:37.466 --> 10:39.477 - We support the efforts ongoing 10:39.477 --> 10:41.060 with much of the international community 10:41.060 --> 10:44.545 with the goal of 2025 that was stated in Maputo. 10:44.545 --> 10:46.881 We have been attending as an observer nation 10:46.881 --> 10:50.018 for the Ottawa Convention meetings since Cartagena, 10:50.018 --> 10:51.435 I think, in 2009. 10:51.625 --> 10:52.731 We’ll continue to do so. 10:52.731 --> 10:55.250 The goal is, again, to further the basic principles 10:55.250 --> 10:56.313 of the Ottawa Convention, 10:56.313 --> 10:57.668 even though we’re not in a position 10:57.668 --> 10:59.585 to accede at this time. 10:59.697 --> 11:03.198 We work very closely with the international community, 11:03.198 --> 11:06.281 other nations, on reducing the threat 11:06.376 --> 11:09.126 that landmines pose to civilians, 11:09.326 --> 11:10.729 and we’ll continue to do that, 11:10.729 --> 11:13.738 and we’ll stay engaged in that discussion. 11:13.738 --> 11:14.888 - [Kirby] Any other questions? 11:14.888 --> 11:15.839 - And I’d just add, 11:15.839 --> 11:20.006 regardless of whether or not we can meet that 2025 goal, 11:21.581 --> 11:22.414 I’m very proud, 11:22.414 --> 11:25.165 and I think the American people ought to be proud, 11:25.165 --> 11:28.582 that no other nation has contributed more 11:28.766 --> 11:30.579 to the clearing of landmine 11:30.579 --> 11:34.164 and other explosives than the United States. 11:34.164 --> 11:35.282 - [Kirby] Thanks, Tom. 11:35.282 --> 11:36.265 Thank you, everybody. 11:36.265 --> 11:37.321 - Thank you all very much. 11:37.321 --> 11:41.488 - But on that, and I don’t think anyone would dispute that 11:42.265 --> 11:43.766 or say that it’s a bad thing, 11:43.766 --> 11:45.837 but you mentioned in your opening comments 11:45.837 --> 11:48.675 that your president, when he was in Laos, 11:48.675 --> 11:50.913 noted that it was the most bombed country 11:50.913 --> 11:52.746 per-person in history. 11:52.818 --> 11:54.859 Now, it was the United States 11:54.859 --> 11:57.692 that did that bombing, was it not? 11:57.727 --> 12:01.894 So, I mean, my question is aimed at isn’t it a moral, 12:02.324 --> 12:04.173 so isn’t there a moral argument 12:04.173 --> 12:07.430 that you should be the leading contributor 12:07.430 --> 12:10.263 to efforts to clear mines and UXO? 12:10.841 --> 12:13.511 - There is a moral argument that, 12:13.511 --> 12:17.011 as Americans, we have to do the same thing 12:17.426 --> 12:20.046 that we have done in so many other areas. 12:20.046 --> 12:21.631 Whether the issue is disease 12:21.631 --> 12:24.131 or poverty or access to water, 12:24.662 --> 12:28.829 we have a humanitarian impulse in the United States. 12:29.238 --> 12:31.821 And we have worked on landmines 12:32.714 --> 12:35.047 without reference to whether 12:35.203 --> 12:37.953 those landmines were emplaced by, 12:38.642 --> 12:41.139 or bombs were emplaced by the United States 12:41.139 --> 12:43.531 or the Soviet Union or a U.S. ally 12:43.531 --> 12:46.862 or a Soviet ally or in a local conflict, 12:46.862 --> 12:49.383 and that’s the right way to approach it. 12:49.383 --> 12:51.716 We don’t do it out of guilt. 12:52.177 --> 12:54.520 We do this because it’s the right thing to do, 12:54.520 --> 12:57.187 because it’s saving lives today. 12:57.421 --> 12:59.004 - [Matt] Thank you. 13:00.034 --> 13:00.867 - [Brown] Just one. 13:00.867 --> 13:01.715 - Yeah, please. 13:01.715 --> 13:04.048 - One further comment there. 13:04.118 --> 13:05.996 What we see is great support from both sides 13:05.996 --> 13:07.117 of the aisle in Congress, 13:07.117 --> 13:08.204 and one of the things that they put 13:08.204 --> 13:09.608 into the managers’ statements is 13:09.608 --> 13:11.837 that we will orient our funding 13:11.837 --> 13:14.774 to cleaning up U.S.-caused UXO first. 13:14.774 --> 13:15.607 - [Matt] Oh, okay. 13:15.607 --> 13:17.420 - Obviously, part of that is legacy issues 13:17.420 --> 13:18.920 in Southeast Asia, 13:18.977 --> 13:22.053 and we’re working very diligently there. 13:22.053 --> 13:24.878 But the majority of the unexploded ordnance 13:24.878 --> 13:27.308 and landmines around the world are not U.S., 13:27.308 --> 13:29.327 not U.S.-oriented or not U.S.-built. 13:29.327 --> 13:33.494 So we can, as Under Secretary Countryman just said, 13:34.035 --> 13:36.856 we work very diligently around the world 13:36.856 --> 13:39.523 to clean up unexploded ordnance, 13:39.656 --> 13:42.920 landmines, help secure ammunition and weapons, 13:42.920 --> 13:46.003 so that we can protect civil society. 13:46.952 --> 13:47.785 - Right. 13:47.785 --> 13:49.481 Do you have any rough idea, 13:49.481 --> 13:50.761 I realize you couldn’t say how much 13:50.761 --> 13:53.127 was American-made or supplied, 13:53.127 --> 13:56.127 and you said a lot of it is foreign, 13:56.385 --> 13:57.551 but do you have any idea? 13:57.551 --> 13:58.583 Is it half and half? 13:58.583 --> 13:59.666 Is it 60, 40? 13:59.713 --> 14:01.744 Is there any way to tell? 14:01.744 --> 14:02.932 - I don’t wanna speculate to say 14:02.932 --> 14:05.051 because it varies so greatly, 14:05.051 --> 14:06.362 depending on where you’re working. 14:06.362 --> 14:07.195 - [Woman] A follow-up. 14:07.195 --> 14:09.186 Is there one country that’s particularly 14:09.186 --> 14:11.058 more responsible than other countries 14:11.058 --> 14:13.641 for the landmines in the world? 14:13.875 --> 14:15.522 - I don’t have an answer for that. 14:15.522 --> 14:17.373 I mean, it varies by different producers. 14:17.373 --> 14:20.021 There are different producers to landmines, 14:20.021 --> 14:21.145 but I don’t have that off the top of my head. 14:21.145 --> 14:22.674 - [Woman] It wouldn’t be like the Soviet bloc 14:22.674 --> 14:24.507 or anything, would it? 14:24.676 --> 14:26.254 - I cannot answer that. 14:26.254 --> 14:28.438 - [Countryman] I’m not sure what you mean by responsible. 14:28.438 --> 14:29.805 - Well, they made them, and they laid them. 14:29.805 --> 14:30.876 - [Countryman] How about produced it? 14:30.876 --> 14:31.983 - Produced them. 14:31.983 --> 14:33.432 - That’s a question we may be able 14:33.432 --> 14:34.389 to research for you. 14:34.389 --> 14:36.172 - [Woman] I’d be interested in the answer. 14:36.172 --> 14:37.705 - [Kirby] All right, thank you, gents. 14:37.705 --> 14:38.538 - [Matt] Thank you. 14:38.538 --> 14:40.121 - Thanks very much. 14:43.069 --> 14:43.938 Okay, guys. 14:43.938 --> 14:46.929 Just a quick update on the Secretary’s travel. 14:46.929 --> 14:48.473 I think you saw that, 14:48.473 --> 14:50.594 you know that he’s in Lima today 14:50.594 --> 14:52.382 leading the State Department’s delegation to 14:52.382 --> 14:56.147 the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministerial Meeting. 14:56.147 --> 14:59.291 He will have, or by this time has had, 14:59.291 --> 15:00.959 a number of meetings today 15:00.959 --> 15:02.619 including bilateral discussions 15:02.619 --> 15:04.093 with the Japanese foreign minister, 15:04.093 --> 15:06.027 the Philippine foreign minister, 15:06.027 --> 15:08.430 the Taiwanese APEC special envoy, 15:08.430 --> 15:10.930 the Peruvian foreign minister, 15:10.980 --> 15:12.004 the Russian foreign minister, 15:12.004 --> 15:13.341 and the Canadian foreign minister. 15:13.341 --> 15:14.667 Now, some of those haven’t happened yet. 15:14.667 --> 15:15.500 Some have. 15:15.627 --> 15:17.814 I think the team on the ground 15:17.814 --> 15:19.794 will be putting out readouts. 15:19.794 --> 15:21.356 I think they’ve already put out a readout 15:21.356 --> 15:23.189 of the meeting with Foreign Minister Kishida. 15:23.189 --> 15:25.134 So you’ll see those rolling along. 15:25.134 --> 15:26.366 - [Matt] For each one? 15:26.366 --> 15:27.469 - That’s my understanding. 15:27.469 --> 15:28.478 They’ll do one for each one, 15:28.478 --> 15:31.070 so you’ll see those from Mark out on the road. 15:31.070 --> 15:31.933 With that, Matt. 15:31.933 --> 15:32.766 - Right. 15:32.766 --> 15:34.742 Let me start with my daily transition-- 15:34.742 --> 15:36.564 - [Kirby] I have nothing to update you on. 15:36.564 --> 15:38.009 - Wow, that was fast. 15:38.009 --> 15:39.009 - Yep, next. 15:40.337 --> 15:43.106 - There has been some reporting out there 15:43.106 --> 15:45.606 with people expressing concern 15:47.283 --> 15:50.866 that the president-elect and his staff are, 15:51.269 --> 15:52.372 or vice president-elect 15:52.372 --> 15:54.594 and their staffs are having conversations 15:54.594 --> 15:56.914 by phone with foreign leaders 15:56.914 --> 15:59.331 that are not on secure lines. 16:00.700 --> 16:02.700 I’m just wondering, one, 16:02.779 --> 16:04.852 does the State Department have any idea 16:04.852 --> 16:08.185 what kind of phone lines are being used? 16:08.794 --> 16:10.627 And two, does it care? 16:12.266 --> 16:15.849 Is this an issue for security or otherwise? 16:18.197 --> 16:19.447 Is it an issue? 16:19.885 --> 16:22.981 - Well, the answer to the first question is no, 16:22.981 --> 16:24.981 we don’t have visibility 16:27.573 --> 16:30.573 into the method of transmission here 16:30.662 --> 16:33.579 in terms of how the calls are being 16:33.613 --> 16:35.530 set up and facilitated. 16:35.748 --> 16:37.181 I don’t think it, I mean, 16:37.181 --> 16:38.407 and you know this, Matt, 16:38.407 --> 16:40.074 that it is possible, 16:41.936 --> 16:43.936 and it’s fairly routine, 16:46.021 --> 16:48.026 not in every case, but in many cases, 16:48.026 --> 16:50.026 for the phone calls even 16:50.499 --> 16:52.562 that we have with the foreign counterparts 16:52.562 --> 16:56.729 are sometimes done over unclassified telephone systems. 16:58.259 --> 16:59.237 Not every one, 16:59.237 --> 17:03.404 but I would say a majority of them are done that way. 17:05.127 --> 17:06.331 And then obviously, we would leave it 17:06.331 --> 17:08.356 to the transition team to speak to 17:08.356 --> 17:10.023 the degree to which, 17:10.139 --> 17:11.293 what they were discussing 17:11.293 --> 17:12.206 and the degree to which any 17:12.206 --> 17:13.205 of that might have been sent. 17:13.205 --> 17:14.880 - So anyway, so what you’re saying is, 17:14.880 --> 17:16.677 basically, there isn’t a concern 17:16.677 --> 17:17.753 from the State Department 17:17.753 --> 17:20.003 about how these calls are being done? 17:20.003 --> 17:22.854 - It’s not for us to comment on that right now. 17:22.854 --> 17:25.315 - [Matt] Well, I mean, it might be if it was a problem. 17:25.315 --> 17:27.031 And I’m just trying to figure out-- 17:27.031 --> 17:28.713 - We don’t have visibility into the content and-- 17:28.713 --> 17:29.820 - [Matt] I understand that, but-- 17:29.820 --> 17:31.059 - We don’t have visibility into 17:31.059 --> 17:32.543 who they’re calling and when. 17:32.543 --> 17:36.679 And so, I mean, obviously, one would have to assume 17:36.679 --> 17:39.679 that the transition team understands 17:41.130 --> 17:43.381 the limits of unclassified discussions, 17:43.381 --> 17:44.632 but that’s really for them to speak to. 17:44.632 --> 17:45.547 - I understand that, 17:45.547 --> 17:46.603 but I want to know from 17:46.603 --> 17:48.584 this current Administration’s perspective, 17:48.584 --> 17:50.528 is this a potential problem, 17:50.528 --> 17:53.528 or is it not something, as you said, 17:54.343 --> 17:55.176 is it not something 17:55.176 --> 17:56.892 that you’re at all concerned about 17:56.892 --> 17:59.613 because, as you said, a vast majority 17:59.613 --> 18:01.825 or a majority of phone calls 18:01.825 --> 18:05.142 right now take place over unsecure lines? 18:05.142 --> 18:07.303 - It depends on what’s being conveyed 18:07.303 --> 18:09.533 over an unclassified network. 18:09.533 --> 18:11.124 I mean, it’s hard for me to say 18:11.124 --> 18:12.116 is it a problem or not 18:12.116 --> 18:13.420 when we don’t have visibility 18:13.420 --> 18:14.500 into what’s being discussed. 18:14.500 --> 18:16.326 - Well, I’m not asking if it’s a problem or not. 18:16.326 --> 18:19.517 Is there a concern that it might be a problem? 18:19.517 --> 18:21.184 That’s the question. 18:22.591 --> 18:23.978 - We’re gonna rely on the judgment 18:23.978 --> 18:25.627 of the president-elect’s team 18:25.627 --> 18:27.752 to determine the appropriate nature of their conversations. 18:27.752 --> 18:29.182 - All right, so I just want to make sure then 18:29.182 --> 18:30.295 that I got this straight, 18:30.295 --> 18:32.518 that it is not a particular concern 18:32.518 --> 18:34.790 of the State Department how the president-elect 18:34.790 --> 18:38.775 and the vice president-elect speak with foreign leaders. 18:38.775 --> 18:40.521 - It is up to the president-elect 18:40.521 --> 18:41.879 and his team to determine the nature 18:41.879 --> 18:43.279 of their conversations with foreign leaders. 18:43.279 --> 18:44.112 - And then last one, 18:44.112 --> 18:44.945 and sorry, Lesley, thank you. 18:44.945 --> 18:45.991 And then the last one on this. 18:45.991 --> 18:48.265 So the Secretary met with the foreign minister 18:48.265 --> 18:49.682 of Japan in Peru. 18:50.775 --> 18:52.582 The readout that you guys sent out 18:52.582 --> 18:56.450 didn’t say anything about the prime minister of Japan 18:56.450 --> 18:58.194 meeting with the president-elect today. 18:58.194 --> 19:02.111 I’m wondering, did they talk about that at all? 19:02.688 --> 19:04.272 Has the Government of Japan been 19:04.272 --> 19:06.479 in touch with the Administration 19:06.479 --> 19:09.729 about Prime Minister Abe’s visit today? 19:10.303 --> 19:11.429 - Well, two different questions. 19:11.429 --> 19:13.762 I’m not aware of any contact 19:13.878 --> 19:17.395 that we’ve had with the Government of Japan 19:17.395 --> 19:20.895 in any kind of formal way about the visit, 19:22.934 --> 19:24.646 and I would just point you to the readout. 19:24.646 --> 19:28.550 I obviously wasn’t there when the visit happened, 19:28.550 --> 19:30.006 so Mark gave a readout 19:30.006 --> 19:31.565 that I thought was pretty complete, 19:31.565 --> 19:33.472 and I simply won’t go beyond that. 19:33.472 --> 19:35.882 - [Matt] Okay, so we don’t know if it was-- 19:35.882 --> 19:36.771 - Well, I mean, it’s just, 19:36.771 --> 19:38.545 I would just have to point you to the readout. 19:38.545 --> 19:40.031 I wouldn’t go into any more detail than this, and I just-- 19:40.031 --> 19:41.894 - [Matt] Can we find out if it was? 19:41.894 --> 19:43.399 I mean, maybe it wasn’t discussed. 19:43.399 --> 19:44.232 I don’t know, 19:44.232 --> 19:45.351 and that’s why it wasn’t in the readout. 19:45.351 --> 19:46.184 - I can ask the question, 19:46.184 --> 19:47.740 but I don’t think that we’re gonna go beyond the readout. 19:47.740 --> 19:48.896 (murmuring) 19:48.896 --> 19:49.729 Hang on. 19:49.729 --> 19:50.562 Lesley first, then-- 19:50.562 --> 19:51.892 - [Lesley] Are you aware of any briefing notes 19:51.892 --> 19:54.188 being shared with them at all on Japan 19:54.188 --> 19:55.260 or any of these countries? 19:55.260 --> 19:56.177 - I am not. 19:56.189 --> 19:59.356 - And a follow-up on the Japanese one, 20:00.142 --> 20:02.118 and you say you haven’t had any contact 20:02.118 --> 20:04.262 with the Japanese regarding any events out there? 20:04.262 --> 20:05.575 - I’m not aware of any contact 20:05.575 --> 20:06.841 with the Japanese Government 20:06.841 --> 20:08.511 with respect to this meeting today. 20:08.511 --> 20:09.704 - [Lesley] But, yeah, that doesn’t mean 20:09.704 --> 20:11.744 it hasn’t happened, right? 20:11.744 --> 20:13.950 - I have no knowledge of any contact 20:13.950 --> 20:15.517 between the State Department 20:15.517 --> 20:16.909 and the Government of Japan 20:16.909 --> 20:19.409 when it comes to this meeting. 20:20.862 --> 20:21.695 Yeah. 20:21.695 --> 20:23.174 - [Man] Did you prepare briefing material 20:23.174 --> 20:26.253 for the Trump team for the Japan meeting 20:26.253 --> 20:27.358 for the prime minister? 20:27.358 --> 20:28.734 - As I said yesterday, 20:28.734 --> 20:31.901 there was no briefing materials shared 20:34.082 --> 20:36.749 with the president-elect’s team. 20:37.683 --> 20:39.234 - [Man] That hasn’t changed-- 20:39.234 --> 20:40.538 - Yeah, go ahead, Nike. 20:40.538 --> 20:41.371 - Right. 20:41.371 --> 20:42.970 On the Abe and Trump meeting, 20:42.970 --> 20:45.283 do you have any expectation of the meeting? 20:45.283 --> 20:48.700 I know it’s defined as a private meeting. 20:49.382 --> 20:51.230 Do you have any expectation? 20:51.230 --> 20:52.717 - That’s really for the transition team, 20:52.717 --> 20:55.761 for the president-elect’s team to speak to. 20:55.761 --> 20:57.812 - Do you expect that the, like, 20:57.812 --> 21:00.481 recommitment to a stronger alliance-- 21:00.481 --> 21:03.481 - Nike, you’re asking the wrong guy. 21:03.481 --> 21:06.253 That’s really for the president-elect to speak to. 21:06.253 --> 21:07.357 The conversations he’s having, 21:07.357 --> 21:08.425 the meetings he’s having, 21:08.425 --> 21:10.182 that is for him and his team to describe, 21:10.182 --> 21:13.049 to characterize, to comment on, not for us. 21:13.049 --> 21:16.132 - Do you have any kind of information 21:17.313 --> 21:21.225 on when was the longest transitional contact period 21:21.225 --> 21:24.386 that we’ve had in recent presidential history? 21:24.386 --> 21:27.209 The longest period without contact 21:27.209 --> 21:29.136 between the transition team and so on? 21:29.136 --> 21:30.785 - I don’t have that kind of history. 21:30.785 --> 21:33.745 Look, I’ve been through a couple of these. 21:33.745 --> 21:35.984 Now, not here at the State Department of course, 21:35.984 --> 21:37.817 but I mean, it varies. 21:37.987 --> 21:40.614 Each incoming administration has 21:40.614 --> 21:42.614 their own inner workings 21:43.949 --> 21:46.499 and their own team and organizational approach. 21:46.499 --> 21:50.082 And there’s no right or wrong way to do it, 21:50.349 --> 21:53.737 and there’s no right or wrong time period 21:53.737 --> 21:56.996 to put teams in place at various agencies. 21:56.996 --> 22:01.163 Each transition team has to decide that for themselves, 22:01.254 --> 22:02.087 and again, I’d point you 22:02.087 --> 22:04.355 to the president-elect’s team to speak 22:04.355 --> 22:05.931 to their thinking on this. 22:05.931 --> 22:07.067 What I will tell you, 22:07.067 --> 22:08.390 again, what I’ve said yesterday, 22:08.390 --> 22:10.886 is that we are ready to receive them here 22:10.886 --> 22:11.844 at the State Department 22:11.844 --> 22:13.012 and to provide all of the support 22:13.012 --> 22:14.979 that they need once they’re ready for it. 22:14.979 --> 22:16.299 But it’s really for them to decide that, 22:16.299 --> 22:18.747 and I just don’t have the history 22:18.747 --> 22:21.707 of just presidential administration change 22:21.707 --> 22:23.172 over the last 10, 12 years. 22:23.172 --> 22:24.139 I just don’t know. 22:24.139 --> 22:25.923 - Okay, I just have a quick follow-up. 22:25.923 --> 22:26.767 At one point, I mean, 22:26.767 --> 22:28.147 considering that tomorrow 22:28.147 --> 22:29.843 is the last day of the week, 22:29.843 --> 22:31.929 next week is really a very short week, 22:31.929 --> 22:34.125 and then we probably roll into December and so on, 22:34.125 --> 22:36.228 at what point, if they don’t contact you 22:36.228 --> 22:37.423 during that period, 22:37.423 --> 22:39.260 it becomes disconcerting 22:39.260 --> 22:42.010 or a concern to you in this case? 22:42.157 --> 22:45.324 - It’s not about concern for us, Said. 22:46.640 --> 22:48.580 I mean, we’re ready to support them 22:48.580 --> 22:51.080 in any way that they deem fit, 22:52.927 --> 22:54.785 and we’ve got folks here at the State Department 22:54.785 --> 22:56.854 that are teed up and ready to do that. 22:56.854 --> 22:58.774 It’s really the timing and the timeline, 22:58.774 --> 23:00.318 the way it’s structured. 23:00.318 --> 23:03.411 All that is for the president-elect’s team to decide. 23:03.411 --> 23:04.779 It’s not about concern here. 23:04.779 --> 23:06.267 It’s about their plans 23:06.267 --> 23:10.267 and how they want to run the transition efforts. 23:10.958 --> 23:12.858 But again, those are their decisions. 23:12.858 --> 23:15.335 - But are they aware of how thick your book is 23:15.335 --> 23:16.566 that you have there and-- 23:16.566 --> 23:17.777 - [Kirby] My book? (laughing) 23:17.777 --> 23:19.026 - I mean, your book, I’m talking about, 23:19.026 --> 23:19.859 no, I’m serious. 23:19.859 --> 23:21.121 I mean all of these issues 23:21.121 --> 23:23.465 that you guys deal with daily and so on, 23:23.465 --> 23:27.382 and that they require a great deal of briefing. 23:27.748 --> 23:29.331 - I can’t speak for 23:30.824 --> 23:31.928 where their heads are 23:31.928 --> 23:35.013 on different issues about foreign policy, Said. 23:35.013 --> 23:38.180 I’m quite certain that they’re mindful 23:38.799 --> 23:40.856 of the larger world around them 23:40.856 --> 23:42.752 and the scope of the issues 23:42.752 --> 23:44.815 that they’re going to be grappling 23:44.815 --> 23:47.548 with very soon after the inauguration. 23:47.548 --> 23:51.715 But I can’t speak to their level of expertise on all, 23:52.660 --> 23:54.485 I can’t even speak to my level of expertise 23:54.485 --> 23:55.707 on all this stuff. (laughing) 23:55.707 --> 23:58.957 All I can tell you is that we’re ready, 23:59.294 --> 24:00.952 as I’ve said, to receive them 24:00.952 --> 24:03.202 and to offer them materials 24:03.634 --> 24:05.384 as they need to start 24:08.092 --> 24:11.512 to begin and build out their foreign policy agenda. 24:11.512 --> 24:13.316 - [Said] Can you give us a figure on the-- 24:13.316 --> 24:14.174 - Hang on a second, Lesley. 24:14.174 --> 24:15.407 - [Said] Number of people 24:15.407 --> 24:17.572 that will be coming in or replacing-- 24:17.572 --> 24:18.405 - No idea. 24:18.459 --> 24:19.642 You’d have to talk to the president-elect. 24:19.642 --> 24:21.211 - [Said] Like is it 300, 400, 200? 24:21.211 --> 24:22.044 - I have no idea. 24:22.044 --> 24:23.627 I don’t know, Said. 24:23.937 --> 24:25.386 - What issues do you think 24:25.386 --> 24:27.303 are the very first ones 24:28.653 --> 24:30.236 that you think that 24:30.513 --> 24:32.930 a Trump transition team needs 24:33.433 --> 24:35.989 to get a handle on at this department? 24:35.989 --> 24:37.321 Some officials are talking, 24:37.321 --> 24:39.879 saying that the fight against Daesh is one, 24:39.879 --> 24:41.875 that you can’t wait until the 20th 24:41.875 --> 24:44.125 for a transition to happen, 24:45.899 --> 24:48.750 that as soon as they name someone now, 24:48.750 --> 24:50.315 that the next day they can come in 24:50.315 --> 24:52.499 and start working with the team, 24:52.499 --> 24:55.742 because you can’t have any pause in that fight. 24:55.742 --> 24:57.492 - It’s not for me to, 24:57.574 --> 25:01.741 it’s not for us to lay out an agenda of items that-- 25:02.213 --> 25:04.443 - [Lesley] Well, you can recommend. 25:04.443 --> 25:05.429 I understand-- 25:05.429 --> 25:06.387 - But it’s not for us to lay out 25:06.387 --> 25:08.592 an agenda of items for the transition team to focus on. 25:08.592 --> 25:10.448 They will have to make decisions 25:10.448 --> 25:12.223 about what they wanna prioritize 25:12.223 --> 25:14.021 in their foreign policy agenda. 25:14.021 --> 25:15.628 All I can tell you is that 25:15.628 --> 25:16.908 on the foreign policy agenda 25:16.908 --> 25:18.212 of the Obama Administration and the one 25:18.212 --> 25:20.044 that Secretary Kerry is committed 25:20.044 --> 25:22.158 to continuing to pursue for the remainder 25:22.158 --> 25:24.491 of time that he’s in office, 25:24.510 --> 25:25.881 obviously the fight against Daesh 25:25.881 --> 25:27.870 is right up there at the top. 25:27.870 --> 25:30.037 And I think that there was 25:30.438 --> 25:31.895 in Berlin over the last couple 25:31.895 --> 25:35.812 of days another counter-ISIL coalition meeting. 25:36.032 --> 25:37.865 Brett McGurk attended, 25:38.063 --> 25:39.665 a good, wide-ranging discussion 25:39.665 --> 25:41.305 about our progress in that fight 25:41.305 --> 25:43.836 and also some of the challenges that remain. 25:43.836 --> 25:46.074 I would say the conflict in Syria certainly 25:46.074 --> 25:47.551 is going to continue to dominate 25:47.551 --> 25:51.301 the Secretary’s time for the next two months. 25:52.225 --> 25:53.997 Climate change, and I think if you haven’t, 25:53.997 --> 25:56.663 again, seen the Secretary’s very eloquent speech 25:56.663 --> 25:58.138 yesterday from Marrakech, 25:58.138 --> 25:59.205 I encourage you to look at that, 25:59.205 --> 26:01.545 but obviously, continuing our focus 26:01.545 --> 26:03.047 on the Paris Agreement 26:03.047 --> 26:07.214 and on climate change will remain front and center. 26:07.375 --> 26:09.519 International trade and economic development 26:09.519 --> 26:12.310 obviously will continue to be a key focus 26:12.310 --> 26:14.967 of the Secretary going forward here 26:14.967 --> 26:16.030 over the next couple of months. 26:16.030 --> 26:18.615 And then, obviously, the situation in Ukraine 26:18.615 --> 26:21.448 and in Europe will continue to be, 26:22.841 --> 26:25.508 I think, dominant on his agenda. 26:26.144 --> 26:28.353 Not to mention, and I left it off. 26:28.353 --> 26:29.281 and I shouldn’t have, 26:29.281 --> 26:30.948 is, of course, Yemen 26:31.219 --> 26:32.558 and the conflict in Yemen 26:32.558 --> 26:34.593 and trying to see a peaceful resolution 26:34.593 --> 26:36.043 to that conflict and, 26:36.043 --> 26:37.549 just as importantly, humanitarian aid 26:37.549 --> 26:38.657 getting to so many Yemenis 26:38.657 --> 26:41.170 who are in desperate need of it. 26:41.170 --> 26:42.543 So there is an awful lot 26:42.543 --> 26:44.270 on the Secretary’s plate for the next two months. 26:44.270 --> 26:46.467 Those are the things that he will continue to prioritize. 26:46.467 --> 26:48.042 I’m sure I missed a few, 26:48.042 --> 26:50.093 but as for what they will focus on 26:50.093 --> 26:52.125 and what they will choose to highlight, 26:52.125 --> 26:53.493 that’s really for them to decide. 26:53.493 --> 26:54.398 - I wasn’t really, 26:54.398 --> 26:55.681 I was thinking of issues, 26:55.681 --> 26:57.645 I mean, and I think that’s why everybody’s asking 26:57.645 --> 26:58.996 about the transition questions 26:58.996 --> 27:01.639 is because you can’t have people walking off the job 27:01.639 --> 27:05.244 in January 20 and just say, okay, there you go, 27:05.244 --> 27:06.577 Mosul and Raqqa. 27:06.782 --> 27:08.744 - Well, that’s the whole purpose, 27:08.744 --> 27:10.000 frankly, that’s the whole purpose 27:10.000 --> 27:11.510 for a transition process is 27:11.510 --> 27:13.813 so that one team can hand off 27:13.813 --> 27:16.813 to the other context and information 27:17.120 --> 27:19.679 to help them make these kinds of decisions. 27:19.679 --> 27:20.855 Ultimately, how they approach 27:20.855 --> 27:23.355 the issues will be up to them. 27:23.938 --> 27:26.030 Ultimately, in what priority they want 27:26.030 --> 27:28.268 to put them will be up to them, 27:28.268 --> 27:31.106 but that’s why we are ready and willing 27:31.106 --> 27:33.256 to receive them here and to provide them, 27:33.256 --> 27:34.648 to answer any questions they have 27:34.648 --> 27:37.209 about these issues and our approaches to them 27:37.209 --> 27:39.376 and what we’ve been doing, 27:40.376 --> 27:42.626 our successes and also some 27:43.887 --> 27:45.076 of the challenges that we face. 27:45.076 --> 27:46.548 So we intend to be, 27:46.548 --> 27:47.696 as the Secretary has made clear, 27:47.696 --> 27:49.581 we will be fully candid and open 27:49.581 --> 27:51.895 with them about the full scope of these issues. 27:51.895 --> 27:53.589 But again, ultimately, what they choose 27:53.589 --> 27:55.164 to prioritize is up to them. 27:55.164 --> 27:56.891 But again, that’s the whole reason 27:56.891 --> 27:58.235 for a transition process, 27:58.235 --> 28:01.020 is so that you’ve got a couple of months there 28:01.020 --> 28:05.187 to take advantage of the experience of an outgoing team, 28:06.303 --> 28:08.272 to avail yourself of the information 28:08.272 --> 28:11.427 and context to make your own decisions going forward. 28:11.427 --> 28:14.030 - [Said] Can we stay on Yemen since you mentioned it last, 28:14.030 --> 28:15.397 I just wondered on Yemen? 28:15.397 --> 28:16.310 - Go ahead. 28:16.310 --> 28:17.231 Are we still on transition? 28:17.231 --> 28:18.064 - [Abigail] Yeah. 28:18.064 --> 28:18.897 - Okay. 28:18.897 --> 28:19.809 - I understand this is similar 28:19.809 --> 28:20.984 to what it is that Said asked, 28:20.984 --> 28:22.929 but just in order for people 28:22.929 --> 28:25.096 to have context over this, 28:25.289 --> 28:26.793 the way this transition is happening 28:26.793 --> 28:28.913 compared to past administrations, 28:28.913 --> 28:30.075 are you able to share at all 28:30.075 --> 28:31.793 when it is that the transition began 28:31.793 --> 28:33.293 between the Obama, 28:33.339 --> 28:35.980 the handover from the Bush Administration 28:35.980 --> 28:38.582 to the Obama Administration within the State Department, 28:38.582 --> 28:40.960 or from the Clinton Administration 28:40.960 --> 28:42.187 to the Bush Administration? 28:42.187 --> 28:45.687 - As I understand it, some members of the, 28:46.039 --> 28:49.342 and this is just from talking to staff members here. 28:49.342 --> 28:52.092 As I understand it, some members, 28:52.462 --> 28:55.795 a very small number from the Obama team, 28:56.076 --> 28:57.826 came to stay early on 28:59.627 --> 29:01.960 within days of the election, 29:02.856 --> 29:05.523 but that it took, it’s not like, 29:05.936 --> 29:07.271 it didn’t happen all at once. 29:07.271 --> 29:08.760 And so the whole transition team, 29:08.760 --> 29:11.036 I think it took a couple of weeks or so 29:11.036 --> 29:13.540 before the whole transition team really kind of 29:13.540 --> 29:15.068 got up and running here. 29:15.068 --> 29:17.397 But they had some, a small number, 29:17.397 --> 29:19.929 who came over, again, within days, 29:19.929 --> 29:23.679 and from President Clinton to President Bush, 29:24.822 --> 29:26.142 again, that’s going way back, 29:26.142 --> 29:28.286 but again, you know that was a contested election, 29:28.286 --> 29:31.346 so it took much longer for transition teams 29:31.346 --> 29:32.823 to get into place because we didn’t have 29:32.823 --> 29:33.954 a result for so long. 29:33.954 --> 29:35.496 So it really depends. 29:35.496 --> 29:37.239 There’s no right or wrong approach here. 29:37.239 --> 29:39.920 It really is up to the president-elect’s team 29:39.920 --> 29:41.481 to decide how they wanna do this 29:41.481 --> 29:43.059 and in what manner. 29:43.059 --> 29:45.296 They have spoken to this very publicly 29:45.296 --> 29:46.376 over the last couple of days 29:46.376 --> 29:49.626 about their approach to the transition, 29:49.929 --> 29:51.217 and I’d point you to their comments 29:51.217 --> 29:54.967 about their confidence in the process so far. 29:55.113 --> 29:57.863 But Abigail, it is their process, 29:58.025 --> 29:59.358 and that’s important to respect. 29:59.358 --> 30:01.775 It is their decisions to make 30:01.957 --> 30:05.727 about how they’re going to approach the transition. 30:05.727 --> 30:07.396 All we can do from our end, 30:07.396 --> 30:08.475 as the Secretary, again, 30:08.475 --> 30:10.312 has made crystal clear to everybody here, 30:10.312 --> 30:12.717 is we’re gonna be fully cooperative and helpful, 30:12.717 --> 30:14.509 and we’re gonna be ready. 30:14.509 --> 30:17.578 So when they’re ready, we wanna make sure we are. 30:17.578 --> 30:19.560 They’ve got office spaces here 30:19.560 --> 30:21.866 at the State Department that are set up for them. 30:21.866 --> 30:24.616 We have experts across the agency 30:25.311 --> 30:28.394 that are fully prepared to brief them 30:28.943 --> 30:30.736 on whatever they want, 30:30.736 --> 30:32.572 and we’re gonna be as open, as candid, 30:32.572 --> 30:34.119 as forthright as we can, 30:34.119 --> 30:35.221 because we wanna make this 30:35.221 --> 30:37.983 as seamless a transition for them as possible. 30:37.983 --> 30:38.816 - [Man] Can we go to Yemen? 30:38.816 --> 30:39.649 - Yeah. 30:39.649 --> 30:40.489 - [Man] Transition, please? 30:40.489 --> 30:41.746 - One more on transition? 30:41.746 --> 30:42.579 - Yeah. 30:42.579 --> 30:44.524 The transition team had a conference call this morning 30:44.524 --> 30:45.742 and which they said that 30:45.742 --> 30:47.267 they’re releasing the names 30:47.267 --> 30:49.403 of the State Department guys tomorrow. 30:49.403 --> 30:50.644 They will be coming here. 30:50.644 --> 30:52.357 Have they informed you about it? 30:52.357 --> 30:56.524 - I don’t have any contact to read out to you today. 30:57.404 --> 31:01.242 - And secondly, has Secretary spoken to the President-elect? 31:01.242 --> 31:02.158 - [Kirby] I’m sorry? 31:02.158 --> 31:03.971 - [Man] Has Secretary spoken to President-elect? 31:03.971 --> 31:04.804 - No. 31:04.804 --> 31:06.611 - No, he’s also traveling globally, 31:06.611 --> 31:08.643 and when the election was going on, 31:08.643 --> 31:10.310 he has said publicly 31:10.512 --> 31:12.112 that he has been hearing concerns 31:12.112 --> 31:13.961 about some of the rhetorics 31:13.961 --> 31:15.487 during the election campaign 31:15.487 --> 31:17.330 from the various world leaders. 31:17.330 --> 31:18.835 After the elections, is he hearing 31:18.835 --> 31:21.002 the same kind of concerns? 31:21.072 --> 31:23.890 What’s the feedback you’re receiving 31:23.890 --> 31:25.069 from the world leaders? 31:25.069 --> 31:29.152 - I’m not gonna speak to the discussions he’s had 31:29.528 --> 31:30.593 since the election. 31:30.593 --> 31:32.327 Now, we’ve put readouts out on almost all 31:32.327 --> 31:33.383 of these discussions. 31:33.383 --> 31:34.732 I would refer you to those readouts, 31:34.732 --> 31:37.843 and those foreign leaders can speak for themselves, 31:37.843 --> 31:39.260 but you’re right. 31:39.327 --> 31:41.019 Broadly speaking, without going 31:41.019 --> 31:43.359 into individual (murmuring) before the election, 31:43.359 --> 31:46.526 he was open about the general concerns 31:46.949 --> 31:48.902 that he was hearing from foreign leaders 31:48.902 --> 31:51.235 about the campaign rhetoric. 31:51.670 --> 31:53.358 Since the election, I think I’d have 31:53.358 --> 31:54.940 to point you to those leaders 31:54.940 --> 31:58.155 that he met with to speak to their views of it. 31:58.155 --> 32:00.099 That wouldn’t be appropriate for us to do. 32:00.099 --> 32:00.932 Said. 32:00.932 --> 32:02.223 - [Man] Thank you. 32:02.223 --> 32:03.214 - Could you update us 32:03.214 --> 32:05.615 on the status of the ceasefire in Yemen 32:05.615 --> 32:09.338 that was brokered in Muscat, Oman a couple days ago? 32:09.338 --> 32:11.421 - Yeah, hang on a second. 32:16.161 --> 32:17.364 So what I would tell you is 32:17.364 --> 32:19.361 we recognize that the Houthis have publicly committed 32:19.361 --> 32:20.662 to the cessation of hostilities, 32:20.662 --> 32:23.442 provided that all sides implement the same commitment. 32:23.442 --> 32:25.531 We also understand that the Saudi-led coalition 32:25.531 --> 32:26.857 has also expressed a willingness 32:26.857 --> 32:29.301 to return to a cessation of hostilities. 32:29.301 --> 32:30.716 We’re working very hard to get 32:30.716 --> 32:32.979 all the parties now to agree to this. 32:32.979 --> 32:34.081 and we have seen reports. 32:34.081 --> 32:36.128 I know today is the day that it was supposed to begin. 32:36.128 --> 32:37.045 I get that. 32:37.274 --> 32:38.990 We’ve seen reports that there’s been 32:38.990 --> 32:40.416 some continued fighting, and again, 32:40.416 --> 32:41.435 we urge all parties, 32:41.435 --> 32:44.577 including the Republic of Yemen Government, 32:44.577 --> 32:45.858 to quickly and publicly announce 32:45.858 --> 32:48.371 their support for the cessation. 32:48.371 --> 32:51.754 So we’re still working this very, very hard. 32:51.754 --> 32:52.793 We want this to be done, 32:52.793 --> 32:54.469 as we’ve said before, 32:54.469 --> 32:56.908 under UN auspices under the special envoy 32:56.908 --> 32:58.432 and through his leadership. 32:58.432 --> 32:59.980 - Can you tell us about the content 32:59.980 --> 33:03.184 of a letter in the meeting between, I think, 33:03.184 --> 33:05.600 Assistant Secretary Tim King, I believe, 33:05.600 --> 33:09.517 with the Yemeni President Hadi in Saudi Arabia, 33:09.680 --> 33:11.180 Riyadh, I believe? 33:11.566 --> 33:12.559 What was the content? 33:12.559 --> 33:16.313 Was there some sort of an American apology in that letter? 33:16.313 --> 33:17.450 - What I would say is that 33:17.450 --> 33:20.050 as part of our ongoing engagement, 33:20.050 --> 33:22.556 senior Department officials did meet today 33:22.556 --> 33:26.139 with Republic of Yemen Government officials 33:26.337 --> 33:28.670 to discuss the U.S. position 33:28.690 --> 33:31.236 toward reaching a durable settlement to the conflict. 33:31.236 --> 33:34.243 Our position, again, towards the conflict remains the same. 33:34.243 --> 33:36.097 We want all sides to return 33:36.097 --> 33:37.553 to a cessation of hostilities 33:37.553 --> 33:41.555 and to accept the UN roadmap as a basis for discussions. 33:41.555 --> 33:43.305 So Ambassador Tueller 33:43.519 --> 33:46.057 and Deputy Assistant Secretary Tim Lenderking 33:46.057 --> 33:49.989 did meet with President Hadi to convey those messages. 33:49.989 --> 33:52.468 - So the Yemenis or Yemeni sources 33:52.468 --> 33:55.708 claim that the Secretary of State Kerry may have been 33:55.708 --> 33:58.656 in a bit of a hurry to conclude a deal, 33:58.656 --> 34:02.823 that it was not well thought out or well conducted. 34:04.588 --> 34:05.616 Do you agree with that? 34:05.616 --> 34:08.456 Was he in a hurry to conclude some sort of a deal? 34:08.456 --> 34:12.373 - I think the Secretary would make no apologies 34:13.285 --> 34:14.956 for having a sense of urgency here-- 34:14.956 --> 34:15.856 - [Said] Right, of course. 34:15.856 --> 34:17.447 - To try to end this conflict. 34:17.447 --> 34:18.708 You wanna call it in a hurry? 34:18.708 --> 34:20.254 Fine, you can call it in a hurry-- 34:20.254 --> 34:21.471 - [Said] No, I mean, I’m not saying it. 34:21.471 --> 34:22.420 They’re saying it. 34:22.420 --> 34:23.253 - No, I know, 34:23.253 --> 34:24.608 but obviously, he has a sense of urgency here 34:24.608 --> 34:27.358 about trying to end this conflict 34:28.389 --> 34:30.041 and to doing so peacefully, 34:30.041 --> 34:33.108 and I don’t, again, he would make no apology for that. 34:33.108 --> 34:33.945 - [Said] Thank you. 34:33.945 --> 34:34.778 - Yeah. 34:34.778 --> 34:38.491 - Turkish President Erdogan is in Pakistan today, 34:38.491 --> 34:40.915 and he publicly suggested to Pakistan 34:40.915 --> 34:43.162 that the West was behind ISIS 34:43.162 --> 34:45.829 in order to hurt Muslims, quote, 34:46.363 --> 34:48.444 “It is certain that Western countries 34:48.444 --> 34:49.806 "are standing by Daesh. 34:49.806 --> 34:51.563 "Now Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, 34:51.563 --> 34:53.815 "and many others are suffering from terrorism 34:53.815 --> 34:56.065 "and separatist terrorism.” 34:56.519 --> 34:57.648 What’s your comment on that? 34:57.648 --> 34:59.393 Do you think it’s a reasonable statement? 34:59.393 --> 35:00.643 - No, I do not. 35:03.246 --> 35:04.079 - [Woman] Could you-- 35:04.079 --> 35:05.260 - Do you have another question? (laughing) 35:05.260 --> 35:06.316 - [Woman] Well, I do, actually. 35:06.316 --> 35:07.688 I do have another question, 35:07.688 --> 35:09.679 but you think it’s a completely unreasonable statement, 35:09.679 --> 35:10.512 and he’s-- 35:10.891 --> 35:13.023 - Any such notion, I think, 35:13.023 --> 35:15.940 it doesn’t really merit a response. 35:16.894 --> 35:20.144 I mean, the United States in particular 35:20.960 --> 35:23.710 has been at the leading edge here 35:24.093 --> 35:26.353 of countering terrorism around the world, 35:26.353 --> 35:29.204 and there’s a coalition now of some 67 entities, 35:29.204 --> 35:33.238 mostly countries, that are aligned against Daesh. 35:33.238 --> 35:35.850 As I said, there was just a meeting in Berlin, 35:35.850 --> 35:37.499 a counter-ISIL coalition meeting 35:37.499 --> 35:39.962 that went through an enormous amount of progress 35:39.962 --> 35:41.874 that we’re making against this group. 35:41.874 --> 35:43.514 I think the record speaks for itself. 35:43.514 --> 35:45.221 - And Turkey’s a member of that coalition too, isn’t it? 35:45.221 --> 35:46.179 - [Kirby] They are indeed. 35:46.179 --> 35:47.012 - Okay. 35:47.012 --> 35:48.975 My other question on Turkey, 35:48.975 --> 35:51.113 at yesterday’s briefing at the Pentagon, 35:51.113 --> 35:54.378 the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve pointed 35:54.378 --> 35:56.711 to disputes between the U.S. 35:56.834 --> 36:00.018 and Turkey over the Turkish-backed offensive 36:00.018 --> 36:01.601 on al-Bab in Syria. 36:02.409 --> 36:04.130 The U.S. had been supporting that offensive 36:04.130 --> 36:05.727 by the Turkey’s ally, 36:05.727 --> 36:07.319 Arab allies with airstrikes. 36:07.319 --> 36:09.950 Now it’s not and some other things, 36:09.950 --> 36:12.093 and the spokesman said that these differences 36:12.093 --> 36:13.754 between the U.S. and Turkey were being dealt 36:13.754 --> 36:15.345 with in diplomatic channels. 36:15.345 --> 36:16.577 He wouldn’t speak to them. 36:16.577 --> 36:18.297 So could you help us understand 36:18.297 --> 36:20.673 what those differences are and what progress, 36:20.673 --> 36:22.682 if any, has been made on resolving them? 36:22.682 --> 36:23.657 - Well, I would point you 36:23.657 --> 36:25.740 to the spokesman for Inherent Resolve 36:25.740 --> 36:27.828 to go into more detail here 36:27.828 --> 36:29.060 about what he’s referring to. 36:29.060 --> 36:31.548 What I would just say is what we’ve said before. 36:31.548 --> 36:34.298 We continue to want the activity, 36:36.572 --> 36:37.828 and particularly in that part of Syria, 36:37.828 --> 36:39.252 to be coordinated, 36:39.252 --> 36:40.085 and that we’ve said 36:40.085 --> 36:43.605 that uncoordinated military activity hasn’t been, 36:43.605 --> 36:45.086 we don’t deem it to be constructive 36:45.086 --> 36:47.294 and helpful to the overall effort against Daesh. 36:47.294 --> 36:49.959 So I got nothing more to add to that, 36:49.959 --> 36:53.292 but are we having constant communication 36:54.542 --> 36:58.555 with Turkish officials about the campaign in Syria? 36:58.555 --> 36:59.902 Absolutely, we are. 36:59.902 --> 37:01.177 - He wouldn’t speak about, 37:01.177 --> 37:02.331 when people asked, he wouldn’t speak. 37:02.331 --> 37:03.490 He says diplomatic channels, 37:03.490 --> 37:04.658 which is why I’ve asked you. 37:04.658 --> 37:06.731 Well, if one can guess at it, 37:06.731 --> 37:07.990 is the Turkish offensive 37:07.990 --> 37:09.628 on al-Bab causing problems 37:09.628 --> 37:12.461 for the campaign to isolate Raqqa? 37:13.386 --> 37:14.673 - Well, again, I’m not gonna talk 37:14.673 --> 37:15.769 about operational matters. 37:15.769 --> 37:17.153 I think you know that I won’t do that. 37:17.153 --> 37:18.897 That is a better question posed 37:18.897 --> 37:21.265 to my colleagues at the Pentagon. 37:21.265 --> 37:22.961 What we have said here is 37:22.961 --> 37:24.818 that we continue to want coalition efforts 37:24.818 --> 37:27.385 to be aligned and arrayed against Daesh. 37:27.385 --> 37:29.048 That is the common threat. 37:29.048 --> 37:30.136 That’s the common enemy. 37:30.136 --> 37:31.833 That’s the purpose the coalition exists, 37:31.833 --> 37:32.666 and as I said, 37:32.666 --> 37:34.058 we just had a very useful set of discussions 37:34.058 --> 37:35.874 in Berlin about the progress we’re making. 37:35.874 --> 37:38.225 Doesn’t mean that there aren’t challenges to it, 37:38.225 --> 37:40.073 and one of the challenges we’ve talked about 37:40.073 --> 37:43.612 is the potential for uncoordinated military activity 37:43.612 --> 37:47.779 to not necessarily be helpful to the overall effort. 37:47.836 --> 37:48.669 Okay? 37:49.036 --> 37:49.869 Yeah. 37:50.358 --> 37:51.739 - Will you take my questions today 37:51.739 --> 37:54.739 despite my being a reporter with RT? 37:54.852 --> 37:56.172 - I took your questions yesterday. 37:56.172 --> 37:57.340 I’ve taken them before. 37:57.340 --> 37:59.042 I have every intention of taking them today. 37:59.042 --> 38:00.651 If I hadn’t thought that I would take your questions, 38:00.651 --> 38:01.586 I wouldn’t have called on you 38:01.586 --> 38:03.042 when you raised your hand. 38:03.042 --> 38:03.875 - I appreciate that. 38:03.875 --> 38:04.708 Thank you. 38:04.708 --> 38:06.068 Your colleague, a State Department official, 38:06.068 --> 38:07.523 emailed me the list of hospitals, 38:07.523 --> 38:10.603 which you didn’t have at the briefing yesterday. 38:10.603 --> 38:12.283 The list included three hospitals struck 38:12.283 --> 38:13.732 in rural western Aleppo 38:13.732 --> 38:15.557 and two in the Idlib province 38:15.557 --> 38:17.456 within the past few days. 38:17.456 --> 38:19.314 For your information, my colleagues at RT in Moscow 38:19.314 --> 38:20.683 did ask Russian officials 38:20.683 --> 38:22.306 about the hospitals on that list. 38:22.306 --> 38:23.139 - [Kirby] Good. 38:23.139 --> 38:23.972 - The information comes 38:23.972 --> 38:25.389 from the World Health Organization, 38:25.389 --> 38:26.680 which indeed says five hospitals 38:26.680 --> 38:29.601 in Syria in those locations were attacked. 38:29.601 --> 38:31.328 The WHO told us that it was not 38:31.328 --> 38:33.017 their job to assign blame, 38:33.017 --> 38:35.939 but since the accusations are so serious, 38:35.939 --> 38:38.273 they must be looked into, I think. 38:38.273 --> 38:40.277 With that, I wanna ask a few questions. 38:40.277 --> 38:42.406 Did you, and I mean the State Department, 38:42.406 --> 38:44.429 draw the conclusion that Russia hit the hospitals 38:44.429 --> 38:46.238 based on their location, 38:46.238 --> 38:48.431 knowing that Russia was carrying out operations 38:48.431 --> 38:50.424 in Idlib in the past few days? 38:50.424 --> 38:51.377 Was it based on the location? 38:51.377 --> 38:53.697 - What I said yesterday was these hospitals, 38:53.697 --> 38:56.377 we had information that these hospitals were hit 38:56.377 --> 38:58.114 from credible aid agencies. 38:58.114 --> 38:59.614 You mentioned WHO. 39:01.680 --> 39:03.217 We know it wasn’t the coalition aircraft, 39:03.217 --> 39:06.074 so there had to be Syrian or Russian aircraft. 39:06.074 --> 39:08.314 I don’t know and wouldn’t get into, 39:08.314 --> 39:10.235 as I never have from this podium, 39:10.235 --> 39:12.329 a specific discussion of each and every airstrike 39:12.329 --> 39:13.729 and who and how it was conducted. 39:13.729 --> 39:15.812 That’s not for me to say. 39:15.857 --> 39:18.107 - So just to make it clear, 39:20.541 --> 39:23.124 are you or are you not accusing 39:24.024 --> 39:25.264 both Russian and Syrian militaries 39:25.264 --> 39:26.416 of hitting the hospitals? 39:26.416 --> 39:27.523 - What I’m saying is 39:27.523 --> 39:30.690 that there have been credible accounts 39:31.551 --> 39:34.269 of hospitals that were hit, hospitals. 39:34.269 --> 39:35.767 Let’s not forget that as we, 39:35.767 --> 39:37.617 you and I, go in this little back-and-forth, 39:37.617 --> 39:40.534 hospitals, medical care facilities. 39:42.204 --> 39:44.507 These were credible accounts of them being hit. 39:44.507 --> 39:48.011 We know that they weren’t hit by coalition aircraft, 39:48.011 --> 39:49.283 so that leaves only, 39:49.283 --> 39:50.292 now, wait a second, 39:50.292 --> 39:53.629 that leaves only two other potential players here, 39:53.629 --> 39:55.696 and that’s either the Syrian regime 39:55.696 --> 39:56.835 or their Russian backers. 39:56.835 --> 39:57.668 They’re the only other ones 39:57.668 --> 39:59.459 that are flying tactical aircraft 39:59.459 --> 40:02.959 over Aleppo and have conducted airstrikes. 40:03.192 --> 40:05.098 Now, if you’re asking me to tell you 40:05.098 --> 40:07.167 what kind of aircraft on each hospital 40:07.167 --> 40:08.049 and how many, 40:08.049 --> 40:09.923 I don’t have that information. 40:09.923 --> 40:11.602 All I was doing yesterday was saying 40:11.602 --> 40:14.039 that we’ve seen these credible allegations and claims, 40:14.039 --> 40:16.789 and they are extremely worrisome. 40:16.854 --> 40:19.271 - Do you distinguish between, 40:19.468 --> 40:20.905 well, obviously, you said you don’t know 40:20.905 --> 40:23.085 which air force hit which hospitals, 40:23.085 --> 40:25.179 but do you distinguish between the two 40:25.179 --> 40:28.846 or do you accuse them both together of that? 40:29.470 --> 40:30.965 - Gayane, I wasn’t making accusations. 40:30.965 --> 40:32.346 I was simply expressing concern 40:32.346 --> 40:35.947 that we had seen from credible aid agencies, 40:35.947 --> 40:38.551 and I think the World Health Organization is credible, 40:38.551 --> 40:42.718 about continued Syrian and Russian-backed airstrikes 40:43.336 --> 40:46.097 in and around Aleppo where innocent people are being killed, 40:46.097 --> 40:50.097 people that are going to hospital to get better, 40:50.570 --> 40:51.427 and they’re being killed, 40:51.427 --> 40:52.699 and let’s not forget that. 40:52.699 --> 40:54.047 This isn’t about accusations, 40:54.047 --> 40:55.683 and I’m not making accusations. 40:55.683 --> 40:57.947 I was yesterday expressing serious concern 40:57.947 --> 40:59.267 that we still have, 40:59.267 --> 41:01.254 because we saw another report today 41:01.254 --> 41:03.251 from Doctors Without Borders 41:03.251 --> 41:06.532 that another two hospitals were struck today. 41:06.532 --> 41:07.947 You can go look at Doctors Without Borders 41:07.947 --> 41:10.004 on their website and see that. 41:10.004 --> 41:10.837 Okay? 41:10.837 --> 41:13.028 - Can I just do a quick follow-up? 41:13.028 --> 41:14.859 Why is it so difficult to determine 41:14.859 --> 41:15.883 who struck what? 41:15.883 --> 41:17.655 I mean, in this kind of environment, 41:17.655 --> 41:19.631 we know the combatants, as you said. 41:19.631 --> 41:22.667 We know who was carrying out airstrikes and so on. 41:22.667 --> 41:24.572 So why is it so difficult to determine 41:24.572 --> 41:27.396 that this was hit at this particular time and so on? 41:27.396 --> 41:29.052 I mean, you had definitely all kinds of-- 41:29.052 --> 41:30.038 - We don’t have perfect visibility. 41:30.038 --> 41:31.115 We don’t have perfect visibility, 41:31.115 --> 41:31.948 and, Said, look, 41:31.948 --> 41:33.501 I don’t wanna get into a military discussion here. 41:33.501 --> 41:34.870 Again, I think this is a better question put 41:34.870 --> 41:36.518 to my colleagues across the river, 41:36.518 --> 41:38.000 but we don’t have perfect visibility 41:38.000 --> 41:39.997 on the tactical situation in 41:39.997 --> 41:43.828 and around Aleppo or even in many areas of Syria. 41:43.828 --> 41:46.762 The fight, the military effort in Syria 41:46.762 --> 41:49.692 is dedicated to Daesh and to the fight 41:49.692 --> 41:51.987 against that terrorist group. 41:51.987 --> 41:54.045 And on those issues, on those strikes, 41:54.045 --> 41:56.208 on those operations, our colleagues 41:56.208 --> 41:58.206 in the military have been very candid 41:58.206 --> 41:59.413 and forthcoming with detail, 41:59.413 --> 42:01.188 but we don’t have perfect visibility. 42:01.188 --> 42:02.948 - Because apparently, I mean, 42:02.948 --> 42:06.012 rebels or opposition sources and so on, 42:06.012 --> 42:08.400 they make all kinds of claims. 42:08.400 --> 42:09.941 They claim that there is no ISIS, 42:09.941 --> 42:11.382 let’s say, in eastern Aleppo. 42:11.382 --> 42:13.650 There are no militant groups and so on. 42:13.650 --> 42:14.495 They make these. 42:14.495 --> 42:16.162 How do you determine 42:16.173 --> 42:18.700 what is credible and what is not 42:18.700 --> 42:21.246 when you don’t have your own assets on the ground? 42:21.246 --> 42:23.179 - We do the best we can knitting together 42:23.179 --> 42:25.723 a fabric of information sources that we have. 42:25.723 --> 42:27.931 Some of it can come from intelligence sources. 42:27.931 --> 42:29.380 Some of it comes from press reporting. 42:29.380 --> 42:32.387 Some of it comes from credible aid agencies 42:32.387 --> 42:33.221 and organizations. 42:33.221 --> 42:34.844 Some of it comes from the opposition groups 42:34.844 --> 42:37.011 that we’re in daily communication with. 42:37.011 --> 42:38.868 I mean, there’s a variety of sources 42:38.868 --> 42:42.684 that allow you to put together the best picture possible, 42:42.684 --> 42:44.434 but it’s not perfect, 42:45.267 --> 42:46.887 and I’ve never said that it’s perfect. 42:46.887 --> 42:47.811 Our information is-- 42:47.811 --> 42:49.083 - And my last one on this, 42:49.083 --> 42:51.401 was there any contact between the Secretary of State 42:51.401 --> 42:53.449 and the Russian foreign minister today? 42:53.449 --> 42:54.716 - As I said at the outset, 42:54.716 --> 42:56.874 they’re expected to meet in Lima. 42:56.874 --> 42:58.968 I don’t think that meeting has happened yet. 42:58.968 --> 42:59.801 As I understand it, 42:59.801 --> 43:01.168 it’s happening later this afternoon, 43:01.168 --> 43:03.448 and I’m sure that Mark will put out a readout 43:03.448 --> 43:04.287 when it’s over. 43:04.287 --> 43:05.658 - You think there will be some sort 43:05.658 --> 43:09.575 of resurrection of the September 9th agreement? 43:09.983 --> 43:11.519 - The September 9th agreement is-- 43:11.519 --> 43:12.781 - Yeah, yeah, I mean the ceasefire agreement 43:12.781 --> 43:13.614 that’s gone? 43:13.614 --> 43:14.763 - I mean, that’s still, 43:14.763 --> 43:16.182 no, I wouldn’t say that it’s gone. 43:16.182 --> 43:17.015 - [Said] Completely. 43:17.015 --> 43:18.874 - I mean, it’s still what we’re trying 43:18.874 --> 43:20.154 to achieve there, Said, 43:20.154 --> 43:23.571 but obviously it hasn’t met with success, 43:23.849 --> 43:27.062 so we wouldn’t be having this particular exchange, 43:27.062 --> 43:31.077 but the multilateral discussions in Geneva continue. 43:31.077 --> 43:33.494 I think the Secretary’s hope, 43:33.965 --> 43:35.909 and frankly, his expectation is 43:35.909 --> 43:37.255 that we’ll be able to get there, 43:37.255 --> 43:38.154 but we’ll see. 43:38.154 --> 43:38.987 - [Said] Thank you. 43:38.987 --> 43:40.350 - So, John, your counterpart 43:40.350 --> 43:41.898 at the Russian foreign ministry said 43:41.898 --> 43:44.439 that Foreign Minister Lavrov would be raising 43:44.439 --> 43:48.065 with Secretary Kerry the incident, shall we say, 43:48.065 --> 43:50.856 the exchange that happened yesterday 43:50.856 --> 43:55.023 over Syria and the hospital strikes from this room. 43:56.015 --> 43:58.630 Have you been in contact with them about this? 43:58.630 --> 44:00.454 Do you know anything about it? 44:00.454 --> 44:01.534 Is the Secretary-- 44:01.534 --> 44:03.153 - Have I been in contact with who about this? 44:03.153 --> 44:04.391 - [Matt] With either the Secretary 44:04.391 --> 44:06.558 or have any Russians been, 44:06.882 --> 44:08.182 Russian diplomats been in touch? 44:08.182 --> 44:09.774 - I’m not aware that there’s been any contact 44:09.774 --> 44:12.213 from the Russian side on this. 44:12.213 --> 44:15.296 We’ve seen tweets and press reporting 44:15.774 --> 44:18.797 that this is gonna be raised in the meeting, 44:18.797 --> 44:20.425 and I know that Mark’s aware of that, 44:20.425 --> 44:21.621 but the meeting hasn’t happened yet. 44:21.621 --> 44:22.662 So we’ll see. 44:22.662 --> 44:23.580 - [Matt] Okay, can I go to-- 44:23.580 --> 44:24.532 - Yeah, back there. 44:24.532 --> 44:25.365 - [Matt] Oh. 44:25.365 --> 44:26.198 - Thank you, sir. 44:26.198 --> 44:27.761 Since the election of Mr. Trump 44:27.761 --> 44:30.150 as the next president of the United States of America, 44:30.150 --> 44:31.667 sir, the immigrants of these countries 44:31.667 --> 44:32.716 have a lot of concerns, 44:32.716 --> 44:33.608 and as you know, 44:33.608 --> 44:37.026 that there are more than 400 racism-related incidents 44:37.026 --> 44:37.955 all over the country, 44:37.955 --> 44:39.728 and we are witnessing more on the social media 44:39.728 --> 44:41.395 and on the websites, 44:41.602 --> 44:43.489 while Mr. Trump also announced to suspend 44:43.489 --> 44:45.353 the Syrian refugee program. 44:45.353 --> 44:47.209 So does this Administration, 44:47.209 --> 44:48.465 the Obama Administration, 44:48.465 --> 44:51.467 have a concern if such a thing happening here? 44:51.467 --> 44:52.934 - Abolish what program? 44:52.934 --> 44:55.003 - [Man] Syrian refugee program. 44:55.003 --> 44:55.836 - The refugee program. 44:55.836 --> 44:57.101 - [Man] Yeah, Syrian refugees program. 44:57.101 --> 44:58.620 He announced that he is gonna suspend that program. 44:58.620 --> 45:01.703 - Well, look, the new administration, 45:03.137 --> 45:06.480 they will make whatever foreign policy decisions, 45:06.480 --> 45:08.419 whatever national security decisions 45:08.419 --> 45:10.379 they believe are appropriate, 45:10.379 --> 45:11.644 and that is for them to speak to. 45:11.644 --> 45:15.811 And I don’t know how they’re going to approach that 45:16.126 --> 45:18.647 or any other foreign policy challenge 45:18.647 --> 45:22.647 that will be facing them on the 20th of January. 45:23.274 --> 45:25.495 And it’s not our place here 45:25.495 --> 45:28.239 at the State Department to speak for them 45:28.239 --> 45:31.615 or to characterize whatever decisions they’re going to make, 45:31.615 --> 45:34.119 whether it’s with taking in refugees 45:34.119 --> 45:37.702 or the conflict in Syria or climate change. 45:39.020 --> 45:40.540 That’s for them to speak to. 45:40.540 --> 45:43.373 What we’re gonna do is two things. 45:43.641 --> 45:45.707 We’re gonna stay prepared and ready 45:45.707 --> 45:47.393 for when their team gets here 45:47.393 --> 45:48.915 to provide them all the information 45:48.915 --> 45:51.332 and context that they require 45:52.530 --> 45:55.064 to be informed as they make those decisions. 45:55.064 --> 45:57.860 And number two, for the 60-some odd days 45:57.860 --> 45:59.705 that the Administration has left in office, 45:59.705 --> 46:03.158 we’re gonna continue to pursue the foreign policy agenda 46:03.158 --> 46:04.560 and priorities and objectives 46:04.560 --> 46:05.862 that we have before us, 46:05.862 --> 46:08.193 that President Obama has set in place, 46:08.193 --> 46:09.953 and that’s what the Secretary 46:09.953 --> 46:12.060 is gonna be focused on for the next couple of months. 46:12.060 --> 46:13.185 - Sir, I have one more on Pakistan. 46:13.185 --> 46:15.109 Sir, the tensions at the Pak 46:15.109 --> 46:17.609 and India borders are on rise. 46:17.657 --> 46:20.900 Like two days ago, more than 10 Pakistani soldiers 46:20.900 --> 46:22.017 were killed at the border, 46:22.017 --> 46:24.683 while same number of Indian soldiers were also killed. 46:24.683 --> 46:26.954 Sir, you always urge both the countries 46:26.954 --> 46:28.610 to restart the dialogue process 46:28.610 --> 46:30.409 and to solve their problems 46:30.409 --> 46:31.785 with the dialogue, 46:31.785 --> 46:34.636 but what kind of diplomatic efforts are going on 46:34.636 --> 46:37.141 from U.S. side to calm down the situation 46:37.141 --> 46:38.292 that both the countries have 46:38.292 --> 46:40.656 the nuclear assets and nuclear bombs, 46:40.656 --> 46:43.252 and so it’s a very tense situation there? 46:43.252 --> 46:44.924 - We remain in close communication 46:44.924 --> 46:47.005 with our counterparts in both countries, 46:47.005 --> 46:49.325 and again, as we’ve said before, 46:49.325 --> 46:52.158 urge them both to work bilaterally 46:52.814 --> 46:54.970 to try to reduce tensions. 46:54.970 --> 46:55.803 Okay? 46:55.829 --> 46:56.662 Nike. 46:56.662 --> 46:57.673 - [Nike] Can we go to APEC? 46:57.673 --> 46:58.506 - APEC? 46:58.506 --> 47:01.382 - Yes, I just want to make sure I understand. 47:01.382 --> 47:02.791 Did you said at the beginning 47:02.791 --> 47:05.061 that the Secretary Kerry is planning 47:05.061 --> 47:06.742 to meet with the special envoy 47:06.742 --> 47:08.671 from Taiwan during the meeting? 47:08.671 --> 47:10.295 - Yeah, I think that’s what I said in there. 47:10.295 --> 47:11.128 Yeah. 47:11.128 --> 47:14.961 The Taiwanese APEC special envoy, James Soong. 47:14.986 --> 47:15.819 Yeah. 47:15.819 --> 47:16.652 - Okay. 47:16.652 --> 47:17.487 Do you have more details on that? 47:17.487 --> 47:18.702 When is the meeting and-- 47:18.702 --> 47:19.535 - I don’t know. 47:19.535 --> 47:20.651 As I said, I gave you a list 47:20.651 --> 47:22.184 of the meetings that he has today. 47:22.184 --> 47:23.356 Some of them have happened. 47:23.356 --> 47:25.164 Some of them are happening as we speak, 47:25.164 --> 47:27.301 and again, I think you’ll hear more from Mark, 47:27.301 --> 47:28.716 who’s out there with the Secretary. 47:28.716 --> 47:31.196 He’ll provide readouts of these meetings as they happen. 47:31.196 --> 47:32.605 The only one that I know we’ve read out 47:32.605 --> 47:35.260 so far is the meeting with Foreign Minister Kishida. 47:35.260 --> 47:37.015 - [Nike] What does United States want 47:37.015 --> 47:38.877 to get out from the meeting with, 47:38.877 --> 47:40.145 what should we set our expectations for? 47:40.145 --> 47:40.996 - I’m not gonna get ahead of it 47:40.996 --> 47:42.416 since I don’t even know if it’s happened, Nike. 47:42.416 --> 47:43.815 So why don’t we just wait for the readout, 47:43.815 --> 47:45.672 and I’m sure Mark will provide you the context 47:45.672 --> 47:47.383 on the back end of the meeting, okay? 47:47.383 --> 47:49.559 - [Nike] Could you at least give us some sense 47:49.559 --> 47:52.221 of the status of U.S.-Taiwan relations? 47:52.221 --> 47:53.697 - There’s been no change 47:53.697 --> 47:56.114 to our relations with Taiwan, 47:58.462 --> 48:00.566 and there’s been no change to our one China policy. 48:00.566 --> 48:01.756 I think you know that. 48:01.756 --> 48:02.805 - [Matt] Can I go to Iran? 48:02.805 --> 48:03.638 - Yeah. 48:04.110 --> 48:06.027 - So as I promised Mark 48:06.390 --> 48:09.711 when he was up on the podium last week-- 48:09.711 --> 48:11.102 - [Kirby] I think I know where this is going. 48:11.102 --> 48:11.935 - Yeah. 48:12.799 --> 48:15.008 I’m going to return to my line of questioning 48:15.008 --> 48:18.404 about the nuclear agreement and the IAEA finding, 48:18.404 --> 48:20.405 which is now fully public, 48:20.405 --> 48:23.905 even though it was fully public last week. 48:24.491 --> 48:27.211 - [Kirby] Fully public by being leaked, you mean. 48:27.211 --> 48:28.582 - [Matt] Well, it was out there. 48:28.582 --> 48:29.861 - Right, it was out there. 48:29.861 --> 48:34.028 - So it’s out there now for real, not a leaked copy. 48:34.272 --> 48:35.105 - That’s right. 48:35.105 --> 48:38.394 - It finds that Iran for the second time 48:38.394 --> 48:42.561 was not in compliance, slash violated the nuclear deal 48:43.192 --> 48:45.609 by overproducing heavy water. 48:47.849 --> 48:51.534 Mark last week was reluctant to call this a violation. 48:51.534 --> 48:52.914 In fact, not reluctant, 48:52.914 --> 48:55.299 he refused to say that it was a violation, 48:55.299 --> 48:56.547 and I’m wondering if, 48:56.547 --> 48:59.047 now that the report is public, 48:59.498 --> 49:00.658 is the Administration willing 49:00.658 --> 49:03.446 to accept that this was a violation 49:03.446 --> 49:05.113 of the nuclear deal? 49:05.190 --> 49:06.196 - Well, we certainly agree 49:06.196 --> 49:09.490 with the IAEA that they slightly exceeded 49:09.490 --> 49:12.715 the 130 metric ton heavy water stockpile limit 49:12.715 --> 49:16.048 by something of a tenth of a metric ton. 49:16.598 --> 49:18.681 And as I think Mark said, 49:19.723 --> 49:21.997 we certainly made clear to Iran 49:21.997 --> 49:23.497 that it should take quick action 49:23.497 --> 49:25.613 to resolve this issue without delay 49:25.613 --> 49:28.321 in keeping with its JCPOA commitments. 49:28.321 --> 49:29.789 It is our understanding that they’re working 49:29.789 --> 49:31.122 to do just that. 49:31.639 --> 49:33.306 - Is it a violation, 49:33.749 --> 49:35.493 or is it not a violation? 49:35.493 --> 49:37.357 - I think, again, we agree 49:37.357 --> 49:40.190 with the IAEA that they did exceed 49:41.484 --> 49:45.067 by a small amount the heavy water stockpile 49:45.548 --> 49:48.548 that the deal requires them to have, 49:53.076 --> 49:54.544 and we have made it clear to Iran 49:54.544 --> 49:58.044 that we want to see this resolved quickly. 49:58.073 --> 50:01.156 Iran has taken steps to do just that. 50:02.224 --> 50:03.533 And the other thing I’d say is, 50:03.533 --> 50:07.200 and I know you won’t fully appreciate this-- 50:07.907 --> 50:09.660 - [Matt] (laughing) Well, you might be surprised. 50:09.660 --> 50:10.743 - But this is 50:15.059 --> 50:16.726 in-excess stockpile. 50:16.900 --> 50:18.664 I mean, one of the reasons we were able 50:18.664 --> 50:19.746 to know about it was because 50:19.746 --> 50:21.409 of the regimen that’s been put 50:21.409 --> 50:22.700 in place by the deal. 50:22.700 --> 50:25.200 When we were having the debate 50:25.921 --> 50:27.952 on Capitol Hill about the deal, 50:27.952 --> 50:28.785 and we talked, 50:28.785 --> 50:30.674 and the Secretary talked about this, 50:30.674 --> 50:31.904 that we’re gonna know, 50:31.904 --> 50:33.154 and so we know. 50:33.305 --> 50:37.055 And the concerns have been expressed to Iran, 50:38.949 --> 50:40.316 and they’re dealing with it. 50:40.316 --> 50:43.899 - Yeah, but everyone in the Administration, 50:45.158 --> 50:46.870 even the President said the other day 50:46.870 --> 50:50.787 that Iran has been in compliance with the JCPOA 50:53.362 --> 50:55.445 since it was implemented, 50:55.728 --> 50:57.283 and the IAEA has found now twice 50:57.283 --> 50:59.783 where it wasn’t in compliance. 51:00.872 --> 51:03.162 How are those not violations? 51:03.162 --> 51:06.093 - Again, I’m not gonna parse words here. 51:06.093 --> 51:10.260 - [Matt] I mean, it’s just calling it what it is, right? 51:11.051 --> 51:12.236 - Well, I would also say that 51:12.236 --> 51:14.153 in removing this extra, 51:15.795 --> 51:17.778 and it is a small amount, 51:17.778 --> 51:19.945 that the removal itself is 51:20.979 --> 51:22.116 in keeping with their commitments 51:22.116 --> 51:24.324 under the JCPOA to, if they exceed it, 51:24.324 --> 51:25.397 they’ve got to get rid of it. 51:25.397 --> 51:26.533 And so that’s what they’re doing. 51:26.533 --> 51:27.366 - And so, 51:31.134 --> 51:31.967 what do they do? 51:31.967 --> 51:32.800 They ship it out, 51:32.800 --> 51:35.217 and then they sell it, right? 51:35.272 --> 51:36.864 - That’s one way to do it. 51:36.864 --> 51:37.697 I mean, to find-- 51:37.697 --> 51:39.265 - [Matt] So they’re actually making money off 51:39.265 --> 51:40.918 of violating the agreement. 51:40.918 --> 51:44.835 - To find places to sell it or to transport it. 51:47.463 --> 51:48.795 So I’d have to-- 51:48.795 --> 51:50.878 - Isn’t that an incentive 51:51.192 --> 51:52.775 for them to violate 51:53.640 --> 51:55.637 at least the heavy water element 51:55.637 --> 51:57.054 of the agreement? 51:57.469 --> 51:59.366 - Actually, I mean, our understanding is 51:59.366 --> 52:01.783 that that’s a difficult task. 52:03.229 --> 52:04.062 - [Matt] What? 52:04.062 --> 52:06.229 - To find buyers for that. 52:06.427 --> 52:07.656 - [Matt] To sell it? 52:07.656 --> 52:08.535 - It’s not easily done. 52:08.535 --> 52:09.376 - Well, you guys bought a whole bunch 52:09.376 --> 52:10.511 of it not that long ago. (laughing) 52:10.511 --> 52:11.344 - It’s not easily done. 52:11.344 --> 52:12.180 It’s not easily done. 52:12.180 --> 52:13.188 So look, I don’t want to, 52:13.188 --> 52:15.195 look, I’m not trying to justify them 52:15.195 --> 52:18.128 being in excess or make any excuses for that, Matt. 52:18.128 --> 52:19.609 We’re concerned about this, 52:19.609 --> 52:20.988 and we’ve expressed that concern, 52:20.988 --> 52:22.291 and we expect them to stay 52:22.291 --> 52:25.272 inside the limit that the JCPOA requires of them. 52:25.272 --> 52:28.605 So I’m not making light of this at all. 52:29.207 --> 52:30.040 - Go ahead. 52:30.040 --> 52:32.204 - But this is an example of how the system 52:32.204 --> 52:33.871 is supposed to work. 52:34.158 --> 52:35.575 When they exceed, 52:36.103 --> 52:38.286 when they don’t meet every single, 52:38.286 --> 52:40.286 each of the commitments, 52:40.565 --> 52:43.258 the IAEA will know and will call them on it, 52:43.258 --> 52:44.560 and they are now resolving. 52:44.560 --> 52:47.623 - But in fact, you’re not calling them on it, 52:47.623 --> 52:49.336 because you’re not saying they violated it 52:49.336 --> 52:50.503 when they did, 52:50.771 --> 52:51.832 and the way it’s-- 52:51.832 --> 52:53.167 - The IAEA said they slightly exceeded it. 52:53.167 --> 52:54.442 We agreed with that assessment. 52:54.442 --> 52:55.464 - But I don’t understand why 52:55.464 --> 52:56.897 you can’t call that what it is, 52:56.897 --> 52:58.232 which is a violation of the agreement. 52:58.232 --> 53:00.273 - I think we’ve been clear about our expectations for-- 53:00.273 --> 53:01.940 - So then all right, 53:02.047 --> 53:03.520 so let’s leave that aside then. 53:03.520 --> 53:04.818 Getting back to this, 53:04.818 --> 53:07.866 hasn’t this agreement been set up in a way that if, 53:07.866 --> 53:09.826 instead of being punished 53:09.826 --> 53:12.131 for noncompliance or violation, 53:12.131 --> 53:14.590 Iran is actually being rewarded 53:14.590 --> 53:17.290 for it because they’re gonna make money off of it? 53:17.290 --> 53:18.496 - No, as I said, 53:18.496 --> 53:19.580 look, I’m not an expert 53:19.580 --> 53:22.163 on the heavy water marketplace. 53:22.691 --> 53:26.751 As I understand, that’s not an easy thing to sell. 53:26.751 --> 53:29.668 So I don’t see that as an incentive 53:31.446 --> 53:33.029 to Iran in any way. 53:34.874 --> 53:35.740 I just don’t. 53:35.740 --> 53:37.631 - So is the United States no longer 53:37.631 --> 53:40.000 in the business of buying heavy water from Iran? 53:40.000 --> 53:43.000 - I can’t speak to future decisions. 53:43.584 --> 53:44.663 I don’t know. 53:44.663 --> 53:46.158 - Well, but at the time, 53:46.158 --> 53:48.742 people said that it was a one-off that, 53:48.742 --> 53:50.375 the last time it happened, 53:50.375 --> 53:52.160 it was explained to us as a one-off deal. 53:52.160 --> 53:54.827 - I know of no decisions pending 53:55.026 --> 53:56.710 for us to purchase more. 53:56.710 --> 53:59.941 - Right, but someone is gonna buy it, right? 53:59.941 --> 54:01.162 Or you don’t know that? 54:01.162 --> 54:02.049 - I don’t know that. 54:02.049 --> 54:03.315 - [Matt] It’s just gonna sit in where-- 54:03.315 --> 54:04.148 - I don’t know. 54:04.148 --> 54:05.325 You’d have to talk to Iranian officials 54:05.325 --> 54:06.506 about what they’re doing to do with the excess. 54:06.506 --> 54:07.339 Said. 54:07.339 --> 54:08.322 - [Said] Can I squeeze in a couple questions 54:08.322 --> 54:09.197 on the Palestinian-Israeli issue? 54:09.197 --> 54:10.030 - Sure. 54:10.030 --> 54:11.410 - It’s the same thing we talked about it before, 54:11.410 --> 54:15.491 but it seems that yesterday the bill to legalize, 54:15.491 --> 54:16.516 according to Reuters, 54:16.516 --> 54:18.965 the bill to legalize the settler outpost 54:18.965 --> 54:21.372 advanced in the Israeli legislature. 54:21.372 --> 54:23.547 I wonder if you have any comment on that. 54:23.547 --> 54:26.831 I know you commented yesterday and the day before, 54:26.831 --> 54:27.919 but it seems to be, 54:27.919 --> 54:28.752 and the day before. 54:28.752 --> 54:29.904 But this is the thing, 54:29.904 --> 54:31.760 it seems to be advancing. 54:31.760 --> 54:34.495 I mean, that is not being held back, so-- 54:34.495 --> 54:38.662 - Yeah, look, Said, we obviously are deeply concerned 54:39.359 --> 54:41.319 by the advancement of this legislation 54:41.319 --> 54:43.280 that would allow for the legalization 54:43.280 --> 54:45.392 of illegal Israeli outposts 54:45.392 --> 54:48.071 that are located on private Palestinian land. 54:48.071 --> 54:50.279 Israel’s own attorney general 54:50.279 --> 54:52.247 has reportedly expressed serious concerns 54:52.247 --> 54:55.352 about the constitutionality of this proposed legislation. 54:55.352 --> 54:57.079 If this law were enacted, 54:57.079 --> 54:59.368 we believe it could pave the way 54:59.368 --> 55:01.967 for the legalization of dozens of outposts 55:01.967 --> 55:05.048 that are illegal under Israel’s domestic law 55:05.048 --> 55:06.358 deep in the West Bank, 55:06.358 --> 55:07.960 and it would represent an unprecedented 55:07.960 --> 55:10.143 and troubling step that is inconsistent 55:10.143 --> 55:12.559 with prior Israeli legal opinion 55:12.559 --> 55:14.367 and break longstanding Israeli policy 55:14.367 --> 55:18.224 of not building on private Palestinian property. 55:18.224 --> 55:20.888 - [Matt] On that answer, that’s exactly 55:20.888 --> 55:22.860 the same answer that Elizabeth gave. 55:22.860 --> 55:25.639 It hasn’t been changed since their initial vote 55:25.639 --> 55:26.999 over the weekend, has it? 55:26.999 --> 55:28.678 - No, no, our position on this proposed legislation 55:28.678 --> 55:29.703 hasn’t changed 55:29.703 --> 55:31.225 except that it’s now advanced and-- 55:31.225 --> 55:32.089 - [Matt] I know that, 55:32.089 --> 55:34.114 but your language hasn’t been updated 55:34.114 --> 55:36.114 to reflect the new vote. 55:36.390 --> 55:37.723 - I did not read 55:38.442 --> 55:41.410 with great specificity Elizabeth’s transcript. 55:41.410 --> 55:42.307 As I understand it-- 55:42.307 --> 55:43.140 - [Matt] You did not? 55:43.140 --> 55:43.973 - No, I didn’t, and I-- 55:43.973 --> 55:44.806 - [Matt] Really? 55:44.806 --> 55:45.639 - No, I didn’t. 55:45.639 --> 55:46.472 - [Matt] Boy. 55:46.472 --> 55:47.639 - I trust her, 55:47.685 --> 55:50.496 but I don’t know that the language has changed. 55:50.496 --> 55:51.329 - Was it? 55:51.329 --> 55:52.449 It’s exactly the same. 55:52.449 --> 55:53.422 - She says it’s the same. 55:53.422 --> 55:54.624 - [Matt] All right, okay, thank you. 55:54.624 --> 55:55.677 - Let me just follow up very quickly. 55:55.677 --> 55:57.957 Also the supreme court turned down 55:57.957 --> 55:59.374 a village request 56:02.473 --> 56:05.453 to show document that they do own the land and so on. 56:05.453 --> 56:08.453 I am saying that they took 100 dunam 56:08.899 --> 56:11.816 which is like 25, 30 acres of land, 56:12.943 --> 56:16.136 agricultural land from a village near Qalqilya. 56:16.136 --> 56:18.496 The point is with the peace process 56:18.496 --> 56:20.968 and negotiations are in a coma, 56:20.968 --> 56:23.071 and there is no restraint. 56:23.071 --> 56:25.135 The Israelis are not restrained. 56:25.135 --> 56:29.251 Would you consider, like the major power in the world, 56:29.251 --> 56:30.479 maybe being the arbiter 56:30.479 --> 56:33.014 to see what is the legality of this thing? 56:33.014 --> 56:34.641 I mean, to look into it yourself. 56:34.641 --> 56:36.248 Is that something that can be done? 56:36.248 --> 56:37.424 - Look, Said, I think, I mean, we-- 56:37.424 --> 56:38.264 - [Said] Is that something that can be assumed 56:38.264 --> 56:39.192 by the United States? 56:39.192 --> 56:40.697 - I think we’ve been exceedingly clear 56:40.697 --> 56:43.197 about our view on settlements, 56:43.777 --> 56:46.444 on demolitions in the West Bank, 56:48.194 --> 56:51.687 and I mean, I just don’t have anything more to add. 56:51.687 --> 56:52.935 I mean, we have been very clear, 56:52.935 --> 56:54.263 and we continue to have discussions 56:54.263 --> 56:56.558 with Israeli leaders about that. 56:56.558 --> 56:57.836 - Should there be, 56:57.836 --> 56:59.974 in the absence of direct negotiations 56:59.974 --> 57:01.638 or something that you, 57:01.638 --> 57:05.650 under your guidance that you have shepherded in the past, 57:05.650 --> 57:07.609 should there be anything that ought 57:07.609 --> 57:09.226 to be done at the level 57:09.226 --> 57:11.647 of the United Nations to look into this matter, 57:11.647 --> 57:14.009 the land confiscation, the settlements, and so on? 57:14.009 --> 57:15.022 - I think we’ve, well-- 57:15.022 --> 57:16.124 - No, we’re not talking 57:16.124 --> 57:17.123 about a two-state solution. 57:17.123 --> 57:19.483 We’re not talking about recognizing Palestine. 57:19.483 --> 57:21.159 We’re talking about something 57:21.159 --> 57:22.972 that is actually tangible and physical, 57:22.972 --> 57:24.200 which is the land, the settlement. 57:24.200 --> 57:25.033 - [Kirby] I know. 57:25.033 --> 57:26.095 - Shouldn’t there be something done? 57:26.095 --> 57:27.729 - I’m very aware that it’s a tangible issue, 57:27.729 --> 57:30.312 and, again, we continue to talk 57:30.481 --> 57:32.518 to all sides here to take the kinds 57:32.518 --> 57:35.014 of steps to ratchet down the tensions 57:35.014 --> 57:36.709 to get us closer to a two-state solution. 57:36.709 --> 57:39.057 I’m not gonna get ahead of action 57:39.057 --> 57:41.157 inside the UN one way or the other, 57:41.157 --> 57:42.525 but we have been exceedingly clear 57:42.525 --> 57:43.701 about our position on settlements, 57:43.701 --> 57:44.984 and that hasn’t changed. 57:44.984 --> 57:45.817 - [Said] Thank you. 57:45.817 --> 57:46.650 - Okay. 57:46.650 --> 57:48.150 Thanks, everybody.