Vedant Patel (00:00):
So, Sean, you want to kick us off?
Sean (00:03):
Sure. Can we start in Syria?
Vedant Patel (00:05):
Yeah.
Sean (00:07):
I saw the Secretary had a call today with the Czech Foreign Minister, the Czech Republic, Czechia. Of course, it's been historically the protecting power in recent years. Was there any discussion of that and do you have any update on the presence, if any, of US personnel?
Vedant Patel (00:20):
So, we will have a readout of the Secretary's call go out in due time, so I'm not going to get ahead of that process. Obviously, much of the Secretary's engagements over the past many days as it's related to the situation in Syria have of course involved collaborating and talking with interlocutors and counterparts. I think we are not alone when we say that we want to see stability across the region. We want to make sure that nothing we see is consistent with escalation. But beyond that, I will let the readout of the call come out.
(00:57)
To your broader question about any personnel, I don't have anything to announce at this time. We don't have any personnel on the ground in Damascus at the moment. And we're continuing to assess the situation and consider when might be the appropriate time for personnel to go into Syria beyond our concentrated presence in the Northeast.
Sean (01:15):
Sure. I can defer, but let me just ask one more thing on that.
Vedant Patel (01:19):
Yeah.
Sean (01:21):
There's been reports today of some deadly fighting in the north of Syria involving the pro-Turkish fighters, and presumably with the Kurds, the Syrian Kurdish fighters. What's your assessment of where things stand now? I know Matt mentioned yesterday the extension of one truce in Manbij. How do things stand now, particularly in Kobanî and the idea of pro-Turkish fighters going into Kobanî?
Vedant Patel (01:45):
So, that's exactly right, I'll echo what Matt said yesterday, is that the ceasefire and Manbij has been extended and is holding. We're closely monitoring the situation around Kobanî, and while the situation is fluid, we're not seeing large-scale fighting or large-scale incursions. And I'm not going to get into private diplomatic discussions, Sean, but we are working hard, as I said, to avoid escalation, especially in northern Syria. Most important to us is continuing to work with our local partners at the SDF to carry out the shared de-ISIS mission. That's a top policy priority for this administration. We've made that pretty clear as soon as it has been the case, even before the Assad regime fall. And broadly though, Sean, I don't want to operate in hypotheticals, and we're just going to continue to monitor what's happening in that region and take it from there.
(02:40)
Can I pivot to you, Matt?
Matt (02:41):
Yeah, sorry, I was on the phone. I missed the very top. I assume that you started with Syria?
Sean (02:45):
With Syria.
Matt (02:47):
And the Secretary's call with the Czech?
Vedant Patel (02:49):
Yes. We'll have a formal readout later today. I did not-
Matt (02:51):
I thought there was one, isn't there?
Vedant Patel (02:53):
… I will double-check on that. But in answering Sean's question on the call, as I mentioned, talking about peace and stability across the region, and of course making sure that there's nothing happened that we would view as escalatory, has been a priority for us. It's been a priority for partners in the region. But I'm not going to get into more specifics of the call beyond that.
Matt (03:14):
Switch topics really briefly-
Vedant Patel (03:17):
Sure.
Matt (03:17):
… because I don't think you'll have a lot to say about this, but Senator Rubio is here today.
Vedant Patel (03:21):
So, good question, Matt. Secretary Blinken had an opportunity to sit down this morning with Senator Rubio. It was a good and constructive and substantive conversation. And as we said initially, when they first had the opportunity to speak on the phone that we expected them to have an engagement at some point, this is consistent with that. And as we've long said, we continue to stand ready to help support a seamless transition come January 20th.
Matt (03:52):
Okay. But other than good, substantive, and-
Vedant Patel (03:56):
I will not be offering any more adjectives beyond that, I'll leave it to you and your journalistic to fill in those blanks. It was obviously a private meeting. It was a good and substantive conversation, and we'll leave it at that.
Matt (04:08):
… Do you about how long it was?
Vedant Patel (04:09):
I'm just not going to get into those kinds of levels of details.
Matt (04:12):
Well, it wasn't like three minutes, was it?
Vedant Patel (04:14):
It was not three minutes. It was a good chunk of time and I will leave it at that.
(04:23)
Sorry, say that again?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
What topics did they focus on?
Vedant Patel (04:25):
I'm just not going to get into the level of specifics. We have long said that we want to be as helpful as possible and when it comes to a seamless transition, that continues to be the case. On the transition front, there's been other news, of course, as it's related to MOU signings, and agency review team members we're engaging appropriately where it sees fits.
(04:47)
Courtney.
Courtney (04:48):
Just quick follow up on that. Are any more, exactly what Nike was asking, are any more meetings scheduled between Secretary Blinken and Senator Rubio?
Vedant Patel (04:56):
I don't have any meetings to [inaudible 00:04:58].
Jenny (04:57):
Can you say was at all policy- focused or more just broad tax of transition?
Vedant Patel (05:04):
I'm just not going to get it. It was a private meeting, Jenny.I know the secretary had been looking forward and eager to having this meeting with Senator Rubio. And I will just let the Trump transition team speak to any further details as it relates to their planning, both for the state department and other foreign policy priorities.
Jenny (05:24):
Was it one-on-one or was it [inaudible 00:05:25].
Vedant Patel (05:25):
Was a one-on-one meeting, yes. Go ahead.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Thank you. Two questions on Iran. So, Iraqi officials are saying that the US demanded Iraq to dismantle armed groups backed by Iran in their country, reserving the use of force to fulfill this demand if the Iraqi government does not act.
Vedant Patel (05:49):
So, we have long said that when it comes to our people, our personnel, or our service members, when they are in harm's way, particularly from the line groups that are operating within Iraq, we of course will take appropriate measures to protect our personnel and to protect our people. But beyond that, we also believe that there is of course a responsibility on the Iraqi government to do everything possible to bring such kind of actors to justice. This is nothing new and nothing different than what we've said previously.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
The second one on the sanctions that was announced today. So, my question is, has this sanctions in general in the past four years, levied by the Biden administration, changed any of the behavior of the Islamic Republic, whether they were against the oil industry, UAVs, because we can see that with the UAV today, but Iran is sending missiles to Russia.
Vedant Patel (06:44):
Let me say two things. First, it's because of this administration's continued sanctions implementation that this department has made the assessment that the regime receives only a fraction of the market price for the oil it is able to sell. And as a result of US sanctions, Iran's government has failed to meet its budget projections again this year. And the Riyal is the lowest it has ever been against the dollar. The other broad point that I would make is that our designation and our enforcement actions as well as our interdiction efforts, all of these disrupt Iran's access to funds, goods and services and technology and its ability to perpetuate destabilization actions across the region. And we're going to continue to be steadfast in our efforts to expose and cut off Iran's ability to generate revenue. And this is an ongoing priority, not just for the United States, but for others as well, including allies and partners as well as within the -7. Jannie, go ahead.
Jannie (07:41):
Thank you, [inaudible 00:07:42]. I have questions on Ukraine and North Korea and China. Ukrainian President Zelensky announced that 200 North Korean soldiers were killed and wounded in the battle. Kim Jong Un ordered the North Korean press not to report the deaths of North Korean soldiers. Kim Jong Un's actions are blocking the North Korean people's right to not be considered the human rights violation.
Vedant Patel (08:17):
Are you talking about human rights violations in the DPRK, specifically, Jannie? Look, the human rights concerns as it's related to the DPRK, that has been a concern of ours as it relates to the DPRK state for some time now. It is one of the reasons why we continue to be incredibly concerned about what we view as closening of relationships between the DPRK and Russia. I wouldn't point any further than the most recent, what we spent some time talking about from this podium as it relates to DPRK soldiers in Ukraine. And this is something that is going to continue to be of great concern to the United States, but other allies and partners as well.
Jannie (09:01):
And China, China's espionage activities are ongoing, including the establishment of Confucius Institute in US universities, the operation of overseas undercover police stations, and [inaudible 00:09:23] training institutes. What measures is the United States taking and are there any result?
Vedant Patel (09:33):
So, I'm certainly not going to get into results and I certainly wouldn't speak to something like this in specificity, but of course we're aware of these kinds of reports and we're certainly aware of the lines of efforts that have been undertaken by the PRC to conduct what we would view as things that would be consistent with transnational repression as it relates to its own people overseas. And our view is that any country abroad should be obeying and obliging with the local law enforcement and local laws. But beyond that, I'm just not going to get into that specifically. Alex, go ahead.
Jannie (10:12):
Thank you.
Alex (10:12):
Couple topics. Can we speak to your thinking behind reimposing Nord Stream II sanctions today? The timing of it, and are those, some of them are ones that you have lifted, if I'm not mistaken.
Vedant Patel (10:23):
So, Alex, it's a little bit more technical than that. So today, the department is imposing sanctions on a number of entities that had been previously sanctioned pursuant to the protecting Europe's Energy Security Act as amended for the involvement in the construction of the Nord Stream II pipeline, as well as several new owners of vessels previously blocked pursuant to PISA. So really, Alex, this is a re-designation, if you will, and the reason is that we continue to maintain our longstanding opposition to Nord Stream
Vedant Patel (11:00):
… Stream 2 as a Russian geopolitical project and an effort to revive it. We're going to continue to work and ensure that Russia is never able to weaponize its energy resources and its energy positioning for political gain again.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Have you guys coordinated this one with the transition team?
Vedant Patel (11:18):
So, I'm sure we're talking a great deal with the transition team about the various policies and endeavors, but again, let's not forget that there is one Secretary of State at the time, there's one president at the time, and after 12:00 on January 20th, the next administration can speak to its viewpoints on a range of issues including sanctions on Nord Stream 2.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Thank you. I'll move to the South Caucasus.
Vedant Patel (11:43):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
As you know, Matt from the podium signaled your plans to impose sanctions on Georgian Dream officials. The narrative we keep hearing from Tbilisi is that at this point any sanctionable point is because you guys are leaving and they can just have a leeway if they can just wait you out. What is your response to that?
Vedant Patel (12:03):
Well, Alex, my viewpoint is that four to five weeks is a long time. A lot can happen in four to five weeks. There's still quite a bit of runway left in this administration. And what this is about ultimately is the fact that we stand in solidarity with the Georgian people and their Euro-Atlantic aspirations. And as Secretary Blinken previously said, we are preparing additional actions, including sanctions, to hold those to account for what we would view as undermining democracy in Georgia.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Is there any reason to why-
Vedant Patel (12:33):
Zayed's had his hand patiently… I'll come back to you.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Please come back to me later.
Vedant Patel (12:35):
Go ahead, Zayed.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Thank you, Vedant.
Vedant Patel (12:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
I want to ask about Gaza, but I have a quick question on Syria.
Vedant Patel (12:42):
Sure.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
I mean, why is all these attacks by Israel and basically coming so close to Damascus, and in fact they struck Tartus the other day with a bomb that measured three point something on the Richter scale. So why doesn't that raise an alarm? Why is it okay for Israel to keep doing what it's doing, occupy more land?
Vedant Patel (13:06):
Are you talking about something specific, Zayed? Are you talking about-
Speaker 4 (13:09):
I'm talking about what Israel is doing every day. They have occupied more territory every day. They send them their tanks. Now they are in Daraa. They are very close to Damascus, as a matter of fact. They struck the city of Tartus for no reason, for instance, a bomb that, like I said, measured something like three point something on the Richter scale.
Vedant Patel (13:30):
Ultimately, Zayed, what we want to see is lasting stability between Israel and Syria. Israel has said that these kinds of actions and the limited defense of its borders are temporary, and no nation, certainly not even the United States could tolerate terrorists and other armed militia groups becoming embedded right on their doorsteps. And so Israel, of course, as we've long said, has every right to its self-defense and its security. But what we are hoping for and what we're continuing to engage on is support for the critical mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force to uphold stability in the region. And that's something we'll continue to focus on.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
So these attacks on Syria are in self-defense?
Vedant Patel (14:14):
I will let the IDF speak to its own operations, Zayed. I'm not going to opine on those from here.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
Let me ask you about Gaza.
Vedant Patel (14:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Israeli defense minister said that they will continue to occupy Gaza after the war. Do you have any comment on that?
Vedant Patel (14:29):
I'm not-
Speaker 4 (14:29):
Or do you still expect the Israelis to pull out of Gaza once the war is over?
Vedant Patel (14:35):
Zayed, it's important to take a little bit of a step back. First, in terms of discussing the outcomes of a potential deal that are still being negotiated, I'm not going to get into that. In general. What ultimately, at the crux of this, at the crux of getting a ceasefire in Gaza, what we're talking about is a deal that would be implemented in phases and we're all currently focused on trying to get to that first phase, which is about hostages being released, a temporary ceasefire and a surge in humanitarian assistance. Of course, future phases would have details as it relates to security arrangements inside Gaza, IDF withdrawal and what the positions and numbers and all those specific details look like. However, as you've heard me say before, Zayed, that a long-term occupation of Gaza by Israeli military forces, IDF or otherwise, would be inconsistent with the principles that Secretary Blinken laid out in Tokyo about a year ago, which is something both myself, Matt, the secretary himself, have been clear about from the very beginning directly with counterparts in the region.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
Has there ever been any Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories that is not long-term?
Vedant Patel (15:44):
Zayed, I appreciate your question, what your question was about this comment that was made as it relates to Gaza. We want to see a ceasefire deal first. We're working tirelessly to get that across the finish line. I cannot predict what these phases may look like from here, but again, I will just stress that a long-term occupation of Gaza is inconsistent with the Tokyo principles that we have continued to view as north stars when we talk about our hope for the region.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Couple more question.
Vedant Patel (16:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
Now, can you update us on the status of the negotiations? We know that the director of the CIA, for instance, traveled to Qatar, I believe. Others, there's a lot of movements. Do you have any kind of feel for what's going on? And what are we likely to hear? Because there's also assessment that you guys are frustrated somewhat.
Vedant Patel (16:38):
I'm not going to get into these kinds of details, Zayed. We're working intensely to bring a ceasefire to the finish line so that, in our view, Palestinians and Israelis can live securely and perhaps most importantly, the hostages are returned home. We think a deal is both urgent. We think a deal is possible. I don't have anything new to announce, but we are certainly hopeful that the parties can come to an agreement soon. This is something that we know quite strongly that this is something that the majority of the world wants to see. They want to see this conflict come to an end. And we share that sentiment. And so we're working tirelessly to play our part in helping bring that about.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
Let me ask you about the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza that Israeli snipers have been using it for target practice for a long time, destroying everything in it. I want to ask you, is this something that the current administration, in its last 30 days, whatever it is, 30 days, can do something basically to ensure, I don't know how you would do it, to ensure that this hospital can actually get back on track in terms of functioning? Or must the Palestinians wait for the goodwill of the next administration?
Vedant Patel (17:47):
Zayed, I am not familiar with the specific incidents as it relates to this hospital, but what I can say is what we have said previously, which is that one-
Speaker 4 (17:54):
It's not just one incident. I'm sorry, but it's not one incident.
Vedant Patel (17:56):
… first, Zayed, that Israel must not only comply with international humanitarian law, but it needs to take every possible step to prevent civilian harm. Additionally, mitigating and preventing civilian harm is a moral and strategic imperative. The other challenge here side, which we have talked about before, is that Israel is in a unusual, even unprecedented burdened place in that Hamas has a long track record of using hospitals and schools and other facets of civilian infrastructure for military purposes and we know that. And they've built a vast military network of tunnels under civilian areas that put civilians and put civilian institutions like these in the crossfire. And so we've been clear about that as well as are clear about our concerns about such kind of kinetic fighting around hospitals as well.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
Right, but for the record, it was Al Shifa hospital and not Kamal Adwan hospital that accusations were made that there are tunnels underneath it, not this particular hospital.
Vedant Patel (18:55):
Zayed, we know that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure and they have a wide network of tunnels under civilian infrastructure. Certainly, I'm not going to get into a tit-for-tat as it relates to specific places within Gaza, but I needn't point any further than the long extraneous amounts of public information that's in public reporting as it relates to Hamas's use of civilian infrastructure and their tunnel network. Now Braim, go ahead. Or Matt. Sorry. Matt is [inaudible 00:19:23].
Speaker 5 (19:23):
No, I just, given the crisis that's going on in Gaza, the situation in Syria, situation in Ukraine, I'm just wondering what the calculation was behind the secretary going to the UN Security Council tomorrow to chair two meetings, one on artificial intelligence and one on Sudan. Not to suggest that these topics are not worthy of discussion, but why not in this Administration's last presidency of the council bring up these pressing issues of Ukraine and Syria, Gaza, and Lebanon as well?
Vedant Patel (20:06):
Well, Matt, first I would say that the secretary just came back from travel to the region where he talked about these very serious and very pressing issues. But secondly, you're absolutely right. This is a visit to New York, a visit to the UN Security Council as part of our presidency of the Security Council in this month of December. And we felt that it was important to, of course, talk about these very pressing priorities, which I have no doubt will come up in conversations and sidebars with counterparts and colleagues up at the UN. But it also was really imperative for us to use that time to talk about areas in which one, we believe have been affirmative priorities for the United States, and particularly affirmative priorities for this department and for our mission in New York. One of those, of course, is the responsible use of artificial intelligence. This is something that the secretary has prioritized a great deal over the course of his tenure as Secretary of State was really instrumental in the effort in getting the UN vote on this responsible use for artificial intelligence.
(21:15)
And then Sudan, Matt, you know better than anybody that we spend a lot of time talking about crises up here. We talk about a lot of time talking about very dire circumstances. Sudan, perhaps even in the list of Gaza and places like Ukraine and elsewhere, Sudan is facing one of the most dire humanitarian crises on the face of the planet. And so anything we can do to continue to work with partners at the UN and otherwise to shed light on that, figure out what ways we can continue to unearth and solidify humanitarian corridors and continue to push for a political solution, that's absolutely a priority for ours and we'll continue to use ways to elevate that. That's not to say Syria, Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine will not come up.
Vedant Patel (22:00):
I'm sure that they are. And as someone who travels with the secretary regularly, Matt, you know how much of his time he spends on all of these things, and --.
Matt (22:09):
Yeah, but I just want to note, I mean, is it incorrect? Is the assessment that is out there that some people have made that Russia and China will veto anything that you attempt to do on Ukraine and the security council, and inside the security council, you are an island of one when it comes to Gaza resolutions. So was the calculation that it would be basically a waste of time?
Vedant Patel (22:36):
This was not a calculation, Matt. This was about using our presidency, and using the Secretary's hallmark day for the presidency, when we often… You've covered a lot of secretaries, we often are able to commit one or two days to something like this, just given the other schedule constraints. Wanting to utilize that time on what we view as affirmative priorities for the department and the secretary.
(22:59)
Beyond that, we have used the UN as a mechanism to do important business, both as it relates to the conflict in Ukraine, but also to do important business as it relates to the ceasefire and ending the conflict in Gaza. Let's not forget that the ceasefire deal that Sayid was talking about, this was one that has been supported by the vast majority of countries in the United Nations, which honestly it's difficult to get them to agree on one thing. So it's just a testament to how we're going to continue to use bilateral channels, but also multilateral fora like this to do our foreign policy. Right. Go ahead.
Speaker 6 (23:36):
Thank you. Austin Tice, Prime Minister Netanyahu sent a letter to Austin Tice's mom saying that Israel is fully coordinated with the US, and that the IDF is not active where Austin is. But just the other day, the department had said they were not certain where Austin is. So how can the IDF in coordination with the US know they're not active where Austin is, if the US doesn't know for certain where Austin is?
Vedant Patel (23:57):
So I will let the Prime Minister's office and the IDF clarify any comments or letters, any engagements that they are having with the Tice family. What I can say from our perspective is that, again, making sure to locate and find Austin Tice is a priority for us. There are intensive efforts underway to find Austin. We've attempted to contact officials in the region for information. As you note, we have put out a $10 million reward for information about his location early last week. These kinds of lines of efforts are ongoing. I don't have any perspective to offer on what engagements the family may or may not have had with the Prime Minister's office.
Speaker 6 (24:41):
But so you don't also know, for instance, which US authorities Netanyahu is talking about that he's in coordination with to know where Austin is?
Vedant Patel (24:47):
You should reach out to the Prime Minister's office to clarify his comments. I'm not a spokesperson for him, which I know is sometimes frustrating for you all.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
Well, just citing because he mentioned US authorities, that's all. Okay.
Vedant Patel (24:57):
Don't have any other perspective to offer.
Speaker 6 (24:58):
Okay. On Israel's strikes in Syria, as you just mentioned, a justification for this has been that Israel's doing this with the vacuum of power, the possible instability, that fears of potential terror threats. How does more bombing, especially one after the fall of Assad, and one that has bombing, that registers a site says on the Rector scale, contribute at all to stability or peace?
Vedant Patel (25:22):
So we have long said and long believed… First, let's take a step back. Both before the Assad regime and afterwards, malign destabilizing actors continue to operate in the region and have presence. I'm not a military tactician, and certainly not going to get into the details of that. Perhaps colleagues of the Pentagon can do so, but there are malign proxy groups that operate in the region that are hostile to a variety of countries, including of course Israel. And so Israel has every right to defend itself, Israel has every right to its security, and as it relates to build up around the border, particularly as you heard me say, it's our view and our understanding that these operations are limited. But beyond that, I'll let the IDF speak to its own operations. We are continuing to remain focused on doing everything we can to maintain stability across the region. We're in constant contact with relevant regional partners and others. We know that this is a shared priority for a number of us.
Speaker 6 (26:28):
And to clarify, in response to Sayid's question, he asked if this was an exercise of Israel defending itself and you sort of deferred that question, but here you said that Israel has the right to defend itself.
Vedant Patel (26:37):
It certainly has the right to defend itself broadly, I just don't have enough information as it relates to this particular incident to offer context on the operation, which again, not a spokesperson for the IDF, which I'm sure they'd be happy to answer your questions.
Speaker 6 (26:51):
Okay. And then you say that these attacks are temporary and you refer to these groups. Do you know what Israel's strategic objective is with regards to these attacks? And I know that you've said you're not the spokesperson for them, but the US is providing military aid to Israel, and so these questions do seem relevant for the country, provided-
Vedant Patel (27:09):
Again, I'll leave it to Israel to speak to their military operations. Jenny, go ahead.
Jenny (27:13):
Any updates on engagement with HTS, has that been regular? When was the last time there was any US-
Vedant Patel (27:20):
I don't have any updates on that, Jenny, beyond what Matt briefed earlier in this week in that there have been engagements in communications, but I'm not in a place to get more specific beyond that.
Jenny (27:30):
Has that been at the level of Jelani or --
Vedant Patel (27:32):
I'm just not going to get into that level of specificity. Sean, go ahead.
Sean (27:38):
A few things, perhaps brief, perhaps not. The Chagos Islands and Mauritius. The new Prime Minister of Mauritius says that they're going to revisit the agreement with the UK on patrol, on the sovereignty over the Chagos Islands. Of course, this affects the United States insofar as Diego Garcia, the military base is there.
(27:56)
In the UK, Nigel Farage was saying that one factor here is US disquiet. I presume he's mean by the incoming administration and not the outgoing one. But do you have any comment on whether the US is comfortable with the deal as it stands, as I think it should go ahead rather than being renegotiated?
Vedant Patel (28:12):
So Sean, that's a great question. Secretary Blinken addressed this I think in October, and he said that we welcome the historic agreement between Mauritius and the UK on the status of Chagos. We've strongly supported negotiations between the two countries over the past couple of years, and we're pleased to see that this come to fruition through a diplomatic effort. And I will let both Mauritius and the UK speak to any other comments about the process and the current status and how they're thinking about timelines.
Sean (28:43):
As far as you're concerned, as far as the US is concerned, now you're comfortable with the deal-
Vedant Patel (28:47):
We continue to be supportive of this and we are again pleased about the diplomatic outcome. But on timelines, on implementation, on those kinds of specifics, I'd defer to the two parties to speak to it.
Sean (29:00):
Two separate ones. Do you have any update on Vanuatu? I know you had the statement yesterday, but do you have any update on the embassy operations on potential US assistance?
Vedant Patel (29:09):
So we stand ready to provide support in coordination with Australia and New Zealand and other partners in the region. We're continuing to monitor the situation, including from our embassy in Port Moresby where the ambassador is accredited to Vanuatu in residence. My understanding is that embassy operations continue to be operating from Port Moresby, but I'm happy to see if we have a specific update on operations or anything like that. The ambassador is set to travel to Vanuatu later this week as well.
Sean (29:45):
Is such trouble-
Vedant Patel (29:45):
Well, from Papua New Guinea to Vanuatu.
Sean (29:49):
Okay.
Vedant Patel (29:49):
Correct.
Sean (29:51):
And just a final thing, completely different, on Ghana. The anti-LGBTQ law, the Supreme Court essentially paved the way for it. So awaiting the signature, the president, but of course they had an election, a new president's coming. Has the US had any communication, does it have any message in terms of whether they wants the president to… Presumably the US opposes it, but has the US been communicating on its position?
Vedant Patel (30:10):
So we've previously stated our concerns about this bill, and we remain in close contact with Ghanaian government officials and with the incoming administration of President-elect Mohammed across a range of issues. We take note of the announced ruling, dismissing the two challenges of legislation. And ultimately, Sean, our primary concern is the safety and well-being of vulnerable populations and individuals. Nobody should be targeted, threatened, harmed, or marginalized on who they are.
Sean (30:38):
Just to put a… Can you just say that the US wants it to be stopped, this law?
Vedant Patel (30:42):
Look, I don't have anything further to say beyond what I offered. Boyle, go ahead.
Boyle (30:48):
Thank you, sir. Two questions please. Last meeting between Secretary Blinken and India's Foreign Minister Mr. Jaishankar took place in end of November in Italy at the G7. So what was the basic discussions between the two leaders, the future of U.S.-India relations from this building, and also if they had discussion as far as visas, backlogs are concerned or, and situation in Bangladesh as far as atrocities against the Hindus there.
Vedant Patel (31:17):
So we have of course a wide range of issues and that we have a close partnership with our counterparts in India with, of course a range of those are security issues, trade issues, of course consular issues as well, including visas. We read out that meeting with external affairs Minister Jaishankar, I don't have any other details to offer beyond just saying that over the course of our time in the Biden administration, India has been a key partner in the Indo-Pacific on a number of shared issues, and we continue to look forward to working with them in our time in this administration.
Boyle (31:53):
And second one, sir, why I brought this Bangladesh issue because thousands and thousands of Hindus are demonstrating around the US, and also in Washington DC recently last week, and in India and also in Bangladesh, atrocities have been committed against the Hindus in Bangladesh. Even Bangladeshis came from all over the US in Washington to demonstrate, asking the State Department Secretary Blinken, he's very famous in India, that to intervene.
(32:23)
At the same time they're calling now that it's not that atrocities against the Hindus, but also against minorities, and they are calling on the international criminal court, ICC or the United Nations and of course US to intervene and bring those to justice, including the interim Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus against those. What is happening, what message that we have for those who are really relying on the United States?
Vedant Patel (32:53):
So this is an area of, of course vital importance to us. Anywhere around the country we want
Vedant Patel (33:00):
… make sure first that protests are taking place peacefully and that the basic human rights and human dignities of all people are being respected. And that is something that we will continue to stress with counterparts and partners around the world, including in the case of Bangladesh, of course, the interim government as well. In the back, go ahead.
Speaker 7 (33:23):
Thank you, sir. Thank you.
Vedant Patel (33:23):
In the brown jacket. Yeah, you.
Speaker 8 (33:26):
Excuse me. Today in Egypt, Dr Yahya Al-Qazzaz, who was arrested for criticizing Mr. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, passed way in their custody. And many international human rights organizations, they stated that the political arresting is still going in Egypt. And we saw that Department of State this year assessed that the Egyptian regime has made progress in human rights while these unfair trails, political prisoners dying in custody for various reasons according to these organizations. Why you made this change in the assessment and you said for public a few months ago, a couple months ago or three months ago, you said that Egyptian regime made a good progress in human rights while it seems it's not yet? Is it because of a political reason? Because it's not seems like this assessment has changed for objective reasons. So how do you comment on this criticizing?
Vedant Patel (34:32):
So as it relates to that specific incident, I don't have a comment for you. I'm not familiar with it beyond just saying that our expectation is that anybody in detention needs to be affronted their basic human rights and treated with dignity. I think the second part of your question you were referring to is the announcement we made around FMF funding for Egypt. Is that correct?
Speaker 8 (35:00):
Not specifically about funding, but you said in this statement that Egypt made progress.
Vedant Patel (35:05):
Which it has-
Speaker 8 (35:06):
Has made progress for human rights while many incidents said no.
Vedant Patel (35:07):
We also said in that same time period that of course there continues to be work in progress that needs to be done and we continue to stand by that as well. But the FMF funding, there are designations and authorities that the Secretary of State has to offer waivers based on national security interest. And of course the secretary made the determination that it was the United States national security interest in some areas and then in some other areas we have seen that our partners in Egypt had made progress. I'm happy to get some specific language for you and share the breakdown of how we talked about it. That was from a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 8 (35:48):
Last question in Syria. United Europe and European partner, it seems like they're going to removing some sanction because of certain sectors for reconstructing Syria. Will USA is going to consider certain sectors like healthcare, like housing, like something areas for removing some sanctions that may be helping or accelerate the idea of rebuilding, reconstructing Syria? Or you are going to keep all sanctions in Syria until further notice?
Vedant Patel (36:29):
So I just don't have any news to announce or policies to share. As you heard Matt say earlier in this week, when it comes to the designation of groups or sanctions that may or may not remain in place, what we are looking at and what we are keeping an eye out on is actions. Actions that we see the regime take. And so that's what we'll continue to remain focused on. But I'm not going to opine any further beyond that. In the red in the back. Yeah.
Speaker 9 (36:58):
Yeah. Just moving back to Gaza for a really quick sec.
Vedant Patel (37:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (37:02):
The BBC reported yesterday, citing a Palestinian source, that Israel stopped air and drone operations on the Gaza Strip, or at least parts of it, for six hours on December 7th to allow Hamas to assess the condition and the whereabouts of hostages across the region, including US hostages. Can you confirm that? And have you received any updates from Hamas through mediators recently pertaining to the status of US hostages in Hamas [inaudible 00:37:37]?
Vedant Patel (37:36):
So to the first part of your question, I will let our partners in Israel and the IDF speak to any of their operational details and that would certainly fall into the bucket of that. Secondly, I don't have anything to get into from up here as it relates to hostages beyond just saying that we are working tirelessly to do everything we can to get a ceasefire deal. And of course, a key integral pillar of that is making sure that the remaining hostages can be returned home and we're going to work tirelessly as it relates to that. In the blue, go ahead. Yeah.
Speaker 10 (38:07):
Thanks. So the Bangladesh government has announced it will go for elections probably end of 2025 or early 2026. What's the US position on that?
Vedant Patel (38:17):
So we welcome steps that have been taken by this interim government of Bangladesh to prepare for elections that ultimately will allow the Bangladeshi people to choose their own government representatives. This is something that we're going to continue to monitor regarding the timing, and of course, we're going to encourage the respect of the rule of law over the course of this whole process as well as the respect for democratic principles should a transition come to fruition. And as we would throughout the world, we would advocate for free and fair elections conducted in a peaceful manner.
Speaker 10 (38:48):
Thanks. And a follow up question?
Vedant Patel (38:49):
Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 10 (38:50):
So the New York Times has published a finding of an inquiry commission in Bangladesh that was investigating the issues of enforced disappearances. The commission report is finding involvement of a former prime minister. The US previously imposed sanctions on the people involved in enforced disappearances. Do you have a comment on that?
Vedant Patel (39:08):
So we have been deeply troubled by the reports that hundreds of Bangladeshis were forcibly disappeared over the past two decades. Enforced disappearance is an egregious human rights violation that inflicts the trauma of indeterminate detention or disappearance on its victims. It also inflicts the trauma of uncertainty on the families. We welcome efforts by the interim government to investigate these crimes and encourage fair and transparent processes to provide justice for the victims and their family members. All right. Thanks everybody.