Daily Press Briefing
John Kirby
Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
March 4, 2016
Index for Today's Briefing
CUBA
UNITED NATIONS
CUBA
SYRIA/REGION
TURKEY
MEXICO
JAPAN
SECRETARY/DEPARTMENT
MIDDLE EAST PEACE
NORTH KOREA
JORDAN/REGION
TRANSCRIPT:
2:01 p.m. EST
MR KIRBY: Hey, everybody. Happy Friday to you. Got a couple things at the top then we'll get on going there.
First, a call readout: This morning, Secretary Kerry spoke by phone with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez about President Obama's upcoming trip to Cuba. Both ministers reiterated their commitment to making the visit a success and to ensuring that the path to normalization continues in the positive direction that it's already taken. The Secretary told the foreign minister that the President is very much looking forward to the trip and to meeting with a wide array of Cuban officials and citizens to include members of civil society. Secretary Kerry expressed his own disappointment, of course, that scheduling issues prevented him from making a trip ahead – a trip to Cuba ahead of the President, but that he expects to be accompanying President Obama on this very historic occasion.
Also today, the UN Security – I'm sorry, let me try that again – today, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released a disturbing report detailing instances of sexual exploitation and abuse in the UN system, including by UN peacekeepers. While we welcome the secretary's – the secretary-general's attention to this very serious problem, our first read – and I would iterate that this is just a first read; we've only just started going through this report – would reveal two clear realities: First, these outrageous incidents are persistent and widespread, and they demand immediate and effective action. Secondly, although the secretary-general has taken several important steps towards transparency and accountability for these crimes – and we applaud that effort – much more needs to be done by the leadership at all levels of the United Nations, as well as by troop and police-contributing countries.
To state it simply and bluntly, exploiting or abusing the very vulnerable people that the UN is supposed to be actually protecting and helping is absolutely inexcusable. It also undermines the credibility of peacekeepers and the utility of the peacekeeping missions that they're performing themselves. As we study this important report – and as I said, we're still working our way through it – we're going to be following up with the secretary-general and the UN as well as troop and police-contributing nations about next steps to better address this problem.
With that, we'll start. Pam.
QUESTION: Can we go back to Cuba? When the Secretary was on the Hill last month meeting with lawmakers and he referenced the possibly – the trip ahead of Obama possibly to meet with Cuban officials, saying that human rights issues would be a focal point, is there a dispute between the U.S. and Cuba on how to address human rights issues? And if so, is – did that play a role in the Secretary not being able to make a trip prior to Obama's visit?
MR KIRBY: Well, the Secretary said he expects to go to Cuba in the very near future, and he is going to do that. He's going to – he's chosen to go with President Obama. So he's still going to Cuba but he's going with President Obama. There were a number of factors that precluded him from being able to go any sooner – scheduling issues, not the least of which was the heavy demand that the visit would have taken on the embassy staff down there. To do two high-level visits in a given month, that was a lot to ask them.
On human rights, there's no question that we continue to have concerns about the human rights issue in Cuba, and we've been very candid and frank about that, publicly and privately. There still remains concerns that we have about it. And as I think you heard my colleagues at the White House talk about it a little earlier, the President has every expectation to meet with dissidents down there in Cuba, dissidents that they themselves have – will and choose to meet with.
So we're still going to highlight it as an issue of concern; we're still going to talk about it; we're still going to raise our concerns with Cuban officials about it going forward. Because that's what you do when you are working towards the full normalization of diplomatic relations in a country like Cuba.
QUESTION: Can I follow up on the issue of human rights? I just want to understand it. The human rights on Cuba – you said the issue of human rights --
MR KIRBY: Yeah.
QUESTION: -- is it any particular area of human rights or is it just the dissidents or prisoners, treatment of prisoners, or all of the above?
MR KIRBY: I think there's a full scope of issues. I mean, it's the way in which political dissent is not tolerated and the speed with which and the groundless nature with which people are arrested and detained in Cuba. I mean, there's a whole range of issues there. And again, Said, we've been very open and honest about our concerns. And look, you can go on our website and read our Human Rights Report and see it right there in black and white what our concerns are. And those concerns remain valid.
But it doesn't mean that we're not going to continue to work towards normalization or that we're not going to try, as I said in my opening statement, to keep that process on the positive path that it's already begun to take. There are issues where we don't see eye-to-eye, and I suspect that some of those issues will remain for a while going forward. But we continue to believe that opening up the relationship with Cuba, that normalizing a relationship through appropriate foreign relations, is a better way to have a discussion with everybody in Cuban society. And if you want to make a difference, we believe the way to make that difference is through dialogue and talking and conversation and interaction. And that's what we're going to continue to pursue.
QUESTION: Thank you.
QUESTION: John?
MR KIRBY: Yeah.
QUESTION: Syria?
MR KIRBY: Yeah.
QUESTION: President Putin said today that April vote in Syria does not interfere with the peace process. Do you share President Putin's view?
MR KIRBY: He said the April vote --
QUESTION: President Assad has called for elections in April, and the Russian president has said that this call does not interfere or this election does not interfere with the peace process.
MR KIRBY: I haven't seen the call for an April vote by President Assad. But let me just say very clearly that we are trying to get to a political process in Syria, a political solution to this conflict, that leads to elections in about 18 months' time, because we've already kind of started the – although they didn't get completed, there was a start to the political talks between the regime and the opposition. And the idea is to get to elections – a constitution that's drafted and then elections in 18 months' time. And that's the electoral process we're driving to. That's the one that will, if we're successful, make the difference that we want to see made in Syria in terms of putting a government in place that is responsible to the desperate needs of the Syrian people. And that's what we're driving at.
QUESTION: Can we --
QUESTION: On the same topic, today Staffan de Mistura said that whether Assad stays or goes is a Syrian decision, it should be left to the Syrian people. Do you agree with that?
MR KIRBY: We've been clear on what our position is on Assad. And I'll just restate it again: That we continue to believe that Assad cannot be part of the future of Syria and that we need a government in place in Syria that does not have Bashar al-Assad at its head. We've also said that whatever that government looks like and how it should – how it's formed has got to be – those have to be decisions made by the Syrian people, which is why we think it's so important to get the opposition together with the regime. We want to see these talks resume, and I understand that Mr. de Mistura continues to try to pin down a better date for that. We think that's really important. But – so yes, there has to be a Syrian voice in this, of course. That's – if you look at the two communiques – the three communiques, actually – it lays it right out there. But for the United States, our position is that future cannot include Bashar al-Assad.
QUESTION: But the implicit suggestion in the envoy's statement is that if the Syrian people choose Assad, so be it; he can be a part of that future.
MR KIRBY: Well, one of the --
QUESTION: So in the event that you have a transparent electoral process through which Assad is somehow – probably through the most hideous set of circumstances – is elected, you will accept that, right?
MR KIRBY: Let's go back a little bit, Said. First of all, I mean, I saw a press reporting today polling that the majority of Syrians still want Assad gone. And if you look at the Vienna communiques, you'll see that it very clearly states that in the electoral process that we are setting up through the Vienna process, that the diaspora must be able to cast a vote. And I think everybody realizes that if all Syrians – diaspora as well – have a chance to vote, there's very little chance that Mr. Assad is going to be able to stay in power.
Okay? Yeah.
QUESTION: John, on the future of Syria, the Syrian Kurds have recently repeatedly said that they want federalism for Syria. That's their option or their suggestion for Syria. Does the United States support that notion, that federalism is perhaps the best --
MR KIRBY: We've been – I've said it – I've said it quite a few times. I'll say it again today and it's all written down in the communiques that the United States as a member of the ISSG signed up to, which is we believe in a whole – whole, unified, nonsectarian Syria. And that's – continues to be our position today.
QUESTION: But federalism, like as a system of governance --
MR KIRBY: If you're asking me do we support some sort of semiautonomous areas for the Kurds, the answer is no. We support a whole, unified, nonsectarian Syria. It's right there in black and white.
QUESTION: So you wouldn't support a similar federalism that's in Iraq for Syria?
MR KIRBY: I think I've answered the question. I've answered the question.
Arshad.
QUESTION: Did you see the statements by Jaysh al-Islam saying that from their point of view the cessation of hostilities is not occurring and that they continue to be fighting with Syrian Government forces?
MR KIRBY: I haven't seen those exact remarks, Arshad, but certainly have seen similar statements by some other opposition groups. I think – I don't think that really is a surprise to anyone, I mean, that they continue to see what they believe are violations. As I've said from the podium the last few days, we continue to get reports of cessation violations and we want them all looked into. So I'm not at all surprised that some groups would still be doing it.
And frankly, I mean quite honestly, though we want to see the number of proposed or potential violations down to zero, of course, it's actually not unhelpful that groups are able and willing to come forward, whether it's through the various reporting mechanisms or in public statements, and say what they're seeing. I mean, that's actually healthy because it may help get us to where we need to go, which is to have the ceasefire be completely and uniformly applied.
So again, today we think it is still largely holding and the violence is absolutely down again for another straight day in Syria. And you know we continue to see reports of, again, markets being open, people being out and about, even in places like Aleppo. So I mean, all that's encouraging, but we're not, again, taking anything for granted and not at all surprised by some groups coming out and saying quite honestly and baldly their concerns about potential violations.
QUESTION: One other thing. You said that Staffan de Mistura is continuing to try to find a better date for the Syria – the Syrian peace talks.
MR KIRBY: Yeah.
QUESTION: Does that mean that, as you understand it, he's given up or you guys have given up on March 9th?
MR KIRBY: No, I didn't say that. I understand he's still working to pin it down. As far as I know – I haven't seen – I haven't seen any other date proposed. That doesn't mean that there isn't one in his head, but I mean, it's the 4th and so we still have a little less than a week to go. And I know that he's still working to work through the technical logistical issues to pin all this down. So we continue to support his efforts to do that. We obviously think it's important for them to resume these talks, would like to see that, obviously, sooner than later. But we want to respect the very real logistical challenges that he's facing in getting there.
QUESTION: Turkey?
QUESTION: A follow-up to the last question if I can.
QUESTION: Turkey? May I?
MR KIRBY: Okay, I'll come back to you. Yeah.
QUESTION: Dealing with the March 9th date, Riyad Hijab had a news conference in Paris today and voiced concern about what he saw as a continuation of the Syrian attacks against the opposition. And he said the current conditions may not allow for the resumption of political talks on the 9th. First, what's your response? And then secondly, has anyone on the U.S. side spoken to the opposition leader about these concerns?
MR KIRBY: Well, we're in the – we're in constant contact with Dr. Hijab and opposition leaders, so there's a – there is certainly a form of communication there. We remain in contact with them. I did see those comments. And again, I would let – I would let Mr. Hijab speak for his own views. We continue to believe, for our part, that it's important to get these talks back underway again. We want to respect Special Envoy de Mistura's ability to do that in the way he seems – or he deems most appropriate and most fitting. He has talked about logistical and technical issues that still need to be worked out, and we've made it clear that we're standing by and willing to help them in any way that we can. Nobody said even when these first started that this was going to be easy and that it was going to be linear, if I can use a mathematical term, that it's point A, point B, and you're just going to go straight at it, that there was going to be – there were going to be difficulties. There were going to be challenges. There were going to be setbacks and that it was going to be – that it was going to be hard. And it has – the process has lived up to those expectations. It has been difficult.
But it also has kept moving forward, and that's not insignificant. There was a meeting in Geneva. Yes, they didn't get to finish it. It got truncated, but there was one. And people said that would never happen. You'd never get the opposition and the regime to even come together to have – even through a proxy like Mr. de Mistura – to have a conversation. Well, they did.
And for the first time in now five years – I think next week is the fifth-year anniversary of the civil war – for the first time the violence is actually going down, and the cessation of hostilities is, for all practical purposes, holding. And people thought that would never happen. And now again for the first time in almost as many years, many communities and towns and villages that had gotten no relief are starting to get relief. And I think you've seen – we've seen some more humanitarian supplies get through this week. There's going to be, we hope, in the coming days another convoy or two to get to some besieged areas.
So that's happening. Is it fast enough? Of course not. I mean, obviously we'd like to see all the violence stop. We'd like to see no Daesh in Syria. We'd like to see a government that can actually take care of its people and look after its sovereignty rather than one that continues to victimize Syrian citizens. We'd like to see the refugees have homes to go back to and jobs and opportunities for them and their kids.
So it's – is it moving as fast as we'd like? No, of course it's not. But it is moving, Pam, and that's not insignificant. And I think sometimes in the discussions and the coverage that we're seeing of this, I think that's getting lost.
QUESTION: John --
MR KIRBY: I promised her I'd go to her and then we'll --
QUESTION: A quick follow-up on what Riyad Hijab. He also said there should be no role for Assad in the transitional period. You agree with that?
MR KIRBY: Said, we've talked about this many --
QUESTION: I mean, he – this is contrary to what you guys agreed on.
MR KIRBY: I'm not going to get into a tit-for-tat for every public comment that is made. Our position has not changed. Assad cannot be part of the future of Syria, and the how and the when in terms of his departure has got to be worked out through this political process, which we are still trying to get up and running.
QUESTION: And that includes the transitional period?
MR KIRBY: Yes. We've said all along that during the transition process there's going to have to be decisions made about Assad and his role in that transition process. And those questions haven't been answered yet.
Yeah, go ahead.
QUESTION: Can you condemn the Turkish court decision to replace the entire management and editorial board of Feza Media Group? One of its main publications, Zaman Daily, has been critical of the --
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
QUESTION: Yes. Excuse me, you had another one also?
QUESTION: Before we go to Turkey?
MR KIRBY: Is that okay with you?
QUESTION: Yes.
QUESTION: Okay, thank you.
MR KIRBY: Okay. She's yielding to you. That's --
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR KIRBY: I thought that's very nice.
QUESTION: On Dr. Hijab, he added too that the U.S. is offering a lot of concessions to the Russians in Syria. Do you share his view, too?
MR KIRBY: I haven't seen what exactly he's referring to there. I would not couch it that way at all. This isn't about yielding concessions; it's about working with the Russians to get at what we all want to see, which is a peaceful Syria and a political process to resolve this civil war. And I've been extremely honest and open about this, as has the Secretary. We don't see eye-to-eye with Russia on everything. And I'm not even talking about outside Syria – even inside what's going on in Syria. There have been and there will probably continue to be disagreements with Russia over various factors here as we move forward.
But Russia has taken a leadership role inside the ISSG, and they have been helpful, and they have been cooperative, and they have participated in the cessation of hostilities. We have seen reports of potential violations, and that concerns us, obviously. But we believe that all members of the ISSG can play a constructive role here, and Russia in some ways has been helpful and cooperative. And again, in other ways we still continue to have issues with them. But to characterize the American approach as one of just simply yielding concessions I think is inaccurate, and I absolutely would not associate myself with those comments.
QUESTION: One more. The Russian defense ministry has said today that columns of trucks carrying cargo and weapons for militants in Syria cross into the country from Turkey on a daily basis. Do you have any confirmation on this, and do you have any comment?
MR KIRBY: I haven't seen the comments. I don't – I don't have anything specific on that, and as I said, I try to avoid getting into operational discussions here from this podium. Obviously, there remains concerns about the borders with Syria. It's one of the reasons why we want to get the civil war resolved through a political process, so we can have a whole, unified Syria that's – whose sovereignty can be ensured by a responsible government that the Syrian people put in place in Damascus. It's why, as we work through the transitional process – and the Secretary has talked about this – we want to preserve some institutions of government, to include aspects of the security forces, so that border issues can be dealt with.
But if you're asking me have I got specific comments about this, I don't. But in general, yes, we continue to see issues with the border with respect to the ability for groups like Daesh to continue to sustain itself across the borders, and that remains a concern.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR KIRBY: Yeah, go ahead. You've been patient.
QUESTION: Can you condemn the Turkish court decision to replace the entire management and editorial board of Feza Media Group? One of its main publications, Zaman daily, has been sharply critical of the Erdogan government and they are now accused of helping terrorists. Can you condemn that decision?
MR KIRBY: We've seen the reports that an Istanbul court has placed Zaman newspaper in particular – I think that's what you're asking about – into trusteeship. And we see this as the latest in a series of troubling judicial and law enforcement actions taken by the Turkish Government targeting media outlets and others critical of it. In the wake of moves earlier this week by government-appointed trustees to shutter media outlets owned by the Koza Ipek Holding Company and the filing of insult charges against journalists representing other outlets, we call on the Turkish Government to ensure full respect for due process and equal treatment under the law. Court-ordered supervision of a media company's finances and operations should not prompt changes to the newsroom or editorial policy. As Turkey's friend and NATO ally – and we do count ourself as a friend of Turkey and we certainly are a NATO ally – we urge Turkish authorities to ensure their actions uphold the universal democratic values enshrined in their own constitution, including freedom of speech and especially freedom of the press. In a democratic society, as I've said many, many times, critical opinions should be encouraged, not silenced.
QUESTION: Well --
QUESTION: John, do they – when you complain to the Turks about the freedoms, do they answer back? I mean, what are they saying?
MR KIRBY: You'd have to talk to Turkish authorities about what --
QUESTION: Well --
MR KIRBY: But let me be clear: I'm standing up here at a podium in a very public way telling you what we believe --
QUESTION: Yes, I --
MR KIRBY: -- about this particular court case and freedom of the press in general. And I can assure you that we have the same conversations with Turkish leaders privately as well. And as for how they're reacting, I mean, I think you'd have to talk to them, but certainly actions in this case speak louder than words, right?
QUESTION: I know. I know.
MR KIRBY: So – but it doesn't mean we're going to stop talking about this. And we talked – earlier in the press conference we were talking about Cuba and how – and I said we're very open and honest about our concerns about human rights. Well, we're open and honest about it in places like Turkey too, which is a close friend and a NATO ally. We're not afraid to have these conversations, and they're important ones to have.
QUESTION: A different topic?
QUESTION: Same subject.
QUESTION: Okay.
MR KIRBY: Okay, let's stay on this for a while and then --
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR KIRBY: -- we'll move around. Go ahead.
QUESTION: Same subject – thank you. John, you said that Turkish administration should not do that. It has already been done. Right now it is taken over, so it's a past tense. Do you think – this has been going on, as you talk about. Do you think you can still say there is a healthy democracy in Turkey after this taking over, over and over again? This is not one single issue.
MR KIRBY: We don't think – as I said earlier, we don't think that these sorts of actions are in keeping with the healthy democratic values that are enshrined, again, in Turkey's own constitution. We don't think that they're in keeping with that. And as I've said many times, Turkish democracy – Turkey matters to us and their democracy matters to us. And that's why we speak out about these kinds of issues.
QUESTION: You get this message across in Ankara. This is the most often question I received: What else do you think the U.S. Government can do to convince that this road is not the road supposed to be taken by a democratic government?
MR KIRBY: Well, I'm not going to speculate about actions the United States might or might not take on issues like this, these specific ones in Turkey, except to say that as we have done before, we will continue to press our concerns – again, privately and publicly – and to continue, as we must stand up for these universal democratic values of freedom of speech and freedom of the press and freedom of dissent, and because, as I said at the end of my last answer, we really do believe that a democracy is strengthened when there's a free exchange of opinion and that the task of governing is actually improved when you are welcoming a wide set of views, even if they differ with the policies of this or that administration. I mean, that's a core democratic principle. And again, it's not just a core American democratic principle. It's a principle that is enshrined in Turkey's own constitution.
We want to see Turkey succeed. They are a friend and an ally. We want to see that nation and the Turkish people succeed. And we want to see them be able to enjoy the very fruits of the constitution that they've put in place for their own government. And so that's why this matters to us and that's why we're being honest about it.
QUESTION: John --
QUESTION: Final one is that many argue that because the U.S. needs Turkey for many reasons, including anti-Daesh operations and coalition, because of Incirlik base and other bases, U.S. simply does not want to take this human right issues to damage its own interest. Do you see this --
MR KIRBY: I completely disagree with that assessment. I don't know who's making it, but again, I'd point you to our human rights report. We've been honest about every country out there. You can go on our website and read it. We don't pull any punches on it, and we don't just put a report out on the web and then forget about it. We talk about it. We talk about it here in this room. The Secretary talks about it with his counterparts all over the world, including his Turkish counterparts, and we're not going to shy away from having those conversations.
But as I've also said many times – we just talked about this with Russia, so I'll say it again with Turkey. Turkey is a NATO ally, I mean, and we do have security commitments with them. And yet, we're still able to have conversations and discussions about things we don't agree and things that we don't see eye to eye on, and this is clearly one of them. And that is while we're – I don't want to take – I don't want to diminish anything about what I just said. We're very concerned about this particular case and the issue of press freedom in Turkey writ large. That's not going to change. But it is a sign, we believe, of a mature relationship and bilateral relationship when you can have these kinds of frank discussions and have disagreements over issues like this and yet still find ways to cooperate and coordinate on other issues, such as the fight against Daesh in Syria and other security issues there in the region.
So look, we're going to continue to work our way through all the issues with Turkey – and they're not all, by the way, at odds. I mean, we work together with Turkey on a wide range of things, and that's going to continue. And on the areas where we don't see eye to eye, well, we're going to keep working at that too, because that's what you do when you're a friend and a partner.
QUESTION: Different topic?
QUESTION: Same --
MR KIRBY: Same topic, go ahead.
QUESTION: Your position is clear that you're concerned about freedom of press in Turkey. Six months ago, Turkish Government took control of the one media group, two TV channels, two newspapers, and today Zaman. And do you think that Turkish Government takes yours concern seriously?
MR KIRBY: I think you would – you'd have to ask Turkish officials, as I said, their views. What matters is we take these issues seriously and we're not afraid to do so. We're not afraid to do so in a very public, transparent, open way, and we want to see Turkish authorities do the same thing in return with respect to press freedom. So I can only speak for the United States Government and for Secretary Kerry, and I can tell you we take it very, very seriously. If we didn't, I wouldn't be up here having this conversation – as, sadly, I've had to do on numerous occasions with respect to Turkey.
QUESTION: John --
QUESTION: Last one.
MR KIRBY: Go ahead.
QUESTION: Are you worried about --
MR KIRBY: We'll be fine, everybody. Just relax, everybody. Just – it's okay. We're going to get there.
QUESTION: Are you worried about Turkey losing its democratic character?
MR KIRBY: Democratic character?
QUESTION: Yeah.
MR KIRBY: Well, I think that's the same question I just got. I mean, we certainly don't want to see that happen, because, as I said, Turkey's democracy matters to us. More critically, it matters to the Turkish people, and it certainly matters in the region. And they've got these democratic principles enshrined in their constitution. We want to see them live up to – we want to see Turkey succeed. So that's absolutely not what we want to see.
If you're asking me to predict one way or the other, I wouldn't do that. But I can tell you what our hope and our expectation is: that Turkey will live up to, again, the democratic principles that they've enshrined in their very own constitution.
Okay, go ahead.
QUESTION: This is a question on Mexico. The Guardian newspaper just published today a report about Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who, as you know, until recently was the most sought-after criminal in the world. The Guardian's report says that Mr. Chapo Guzman was able to visit the U.S. late in 2015 to visit his family here in the Los Angeles area. Are you aware of any fraudulent use of the visa by Mr. Guzman and what do you think in general of this?
A second question on the same subject is Mr. Guzman is asking for an expedite extradition from Mexico to the U.S. Has the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City or U.S. State Department has had any contact with Guzman representatives regarding this?
MR KIRBY: I'm going to have – you're going to have to let me take your first question. I haven't seen this press report, so I'm not in a position to comment one way or the other. I'm not aware of the claims that are presented in this news article, so we'll have to take it.
QUESTION: They were made by his daughter, that he traveled twice after his Sean Penn --
MR KIRBY: I just don't have any information on that, and I wouldn't --
QUESTION: I emailed the question. No one is answering it.
MR KIRBY: Okay. I appreciate that. Thanks for letting us know. We'll get back – hang on a second. Hang on, hang on. We'll get back to you on that. On the second one, we don't talk about the specifics of extradition, and that's really a matter for law enforcement to speak to, not the Department of State.
Go ahead.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR KIRBY: Go ahead.
QUESTION: Oh, okay. Topic about Futenma. Japan's prime --
MR KIRBY: About what?
QUESTION: Futenma.
MR KIRBY: Oh, Futenma. Futenma, yeah.
QUESTION: Relocation plan – yeah. And Japan's Prime Minister Abe accepted a court-mediated settlement plan and also decided to suspend work on moving the United States Marine Corps base in Okinawa. Also he will begin a new round of talk with the Okinawa governor. How that – how do you think that this decision – also this – in respect to the Japanese prime minister decision?
MR KIRBY: So let me say a couple of things. We're in communication with the Government of Japan about this settlement. We understand the Japanese Government made its decision after careful consideration. We look forward to further discussions with them about this soon. We're going to refrain from commenting further on the legal process of another country. I think you can understand that.
But let me just say this, and it's – we've said this before: The United States and Japan remain committed to the plan to construct the Futenma replacement facility – and you might have seen President[i] Abe said so himself earlier today – to construct this facility at the Camp Schwab Henoko area and adjacent waters. It is the only solution that addresses operational, political, financial and strategic concerns that permits the operational readiness of our forward-positioned Marine forces and avoids the continued use of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. So nothing's changed about our commitment to that, and that's about as far as I can take it today.
QUESTION: At what level is the State Department communicating with Japan on this?
MR KIRBY: We don't talk about the details of diplomatic discussions, but I can tell you that at various levels here at the State Department, we're in communication with the Government of Japan, and that'll continue going forward.
QUESTION: Hold on. How far in advance were you notified about this decision?
MR KIRBY: I don't have additional details to speak to with respect to this. This is a legal settlement that you really need to speak to the Government of Japan about.
QUESTION: Do you have any concern that, I mean, this is going to further delay the completion of the FRF, given that it's already been delayed for so long, or even if – even to the extent that it might prevent work on it altogether?
MR KIRBY: We're going to have discussions, as I said, soon. We look forward to having discussions with the Japanese Government about the settlement. And I don't want to get ahead of those discussions or what implications might arise as a result of this and the settlement that they made.
QUESTION: Sir, a question about Massachusetts. Do you happen to know --
MR KIRBY: A question about Massachusetts. I don't get many of those. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: Do you happen to know if there's any testing going on tied with the National Institute of Health with air quality in Massachusetts? And has the Secretary made any visits to Massachusetts recently or frequently within the year?
MR KIRBY: I'm not aware of – I'm afraid I wasn't prepared in this binder for air quality questions on Massachusetts, so I don't have any information on that. You'd have to talk to NIH about whatever testing they're doing.
The Secretary, as you know, has a residence in Boston and frequently goes home to Boston when he can. So I – if you really need to know the numbers of times that he's been back to Boston, we can pull that for you, over a certain period of time. But it's going to take us a little while to do that math. I mean, it's – he goes fairly frequently because he lives there. So, yes, he has certainly visited Boston in the very recent past, as you might imagine. And again, if you have to – if you really need the numbers on that, we can see if we can pull that for you.
QUESTION: Okay. Thank you.
MR KIRBY: Okay.
QUESTION: Can you take one on North Korea?
MR KIRBY: Yeah.
QUESTION: Very quickly, today the White House announced that Vice President Biden will be going to Israel and the West Bank, meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. But they also said that there's no breakthrough. I mean, of course, he's the vice president and maybe you'll tell me – direct me to ask them, but is there anything maybe behind the scenes? Are we likely to see the process re-energized again, or is there something that the Vice President is coordinating with the Secretary of State on?
MR KIRBY: Well, I think it's safe to assume that the Secretary continues to speak with all members of the interagency, including the Vice President, about issues of priority to him and things that he's working on. He's certainly kept the Vice President informed of his recent travels to the region and the conversations that he has with leaders there, including Prime Minister Netanyahu. I won't speak for the Vice President. I am going to refer you to the White House for details about his travels and his objectives. I wouldn't get ahead of that.
But let me just say more broadly speaking that the United States Government remains committed to trying to see a path forward here to getting – to get to a two-state solution. Nothing's changed about that. We still want to see that outcome. And this notion that it's moribund, we've given it up, that it's something that needs to be kick-started would be – conveys this idea that we've just thrown up our hands or that we did at some point, and that's just not the way the Secretary looks at this. This is an issue that has remained important to him and he still believes that it's worth the effort to continue to have discussions to try to get at that two-state solution. We were just out there a week and a half ago to continue to have these kinds of conversations, and you know the Secretary better than I do. I think you can fully expect that we'll be heading out that way again in the future. There's no question about that.
QUESTION: Did he meet there with --
QUESTION: I don't think I know him as well as you do, but let me just remind you: The last time Vice President Biden went there, in 2010, right while he was there, the Israelis announced the expansion of settlements by 1,600 houses and so on. Would you counsel the Israelis not to do that? That would be considered a slight by Israel against the United States or --
MR KIRBY: I think you know I'm not going to talk about the details of private discussions that we have, diplomatic discussions we have with leaders anywhere in the world. We – our position on settlements has not changed. Our view of the demolitions have not changed. I mean, we've been very clear and consistent on that, and we've done that publicly, so I think you can imagine what our position has been in private settings as well.
QUESTION: Okay. And one last question. The Israelis are planning to tear down a Bedouin village – in fact, a number of Bedouin villages – and replace them with Israeli Jewish villages and so on. These are Israeli citizens and so on. Do you have any contact with the Israelis on this issue? Are you raising this issue with them? It's in the Negev – in the Negev desert.
MR KIRBY: On the --
QUESTION: In Hiran, the --
MR KIRBY: Yeah. Well, look, I mean, we're closely following, as I said, demolitions and evictions that are undertaken by Israeli authorities, leaving many Palestinians homeless. And as we've said before, Said, these actions are indicative of a damaging trend of demolition, displacement, and land confiscation, and alongside settlement-related activity and continued construction, work against the possibility of a two-state solution and call into question the Israeli Government's commitment to that two-state solution. So again, I would say the same thing we've said before about this.
QUESTION: But that's – that – those are Israeli citizens. I mean, that would amount to ethnic cleansing, because they are being moved because they're Bedouins and Muslim and so on, and they are being replaced by other citizens of Israel. Would you consider that to be some sort of an ethnic cleaning process?
MR KIRBY: I'm not going to characterize it any more than I already have. We've – our position on the demolitions and the – and continued construction in the settlements has been very clear and consistent, and that's not going to change.
QUESTION: John, did the Secretary meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu on his last trip to the region?
MR KIRBY: I don't have anything specific to read out with respect to the other meetings. I think we talked about what he was doing out there.
QUESTION: Some reports talked about a meeting between the two in Jordan in his last trip.
MR KIRBY: Yeah, I don't have any additional details other than what we talked --
QUESTION: No confirmation?
MR KIRBY: -- other than what we talked about on the trip.
QUESTION: You can't deny those reports?
MR KIRBY: I don't have anything more to add.
Yeah.
QUESTION: On North Korea, do you have any reaction to Kim Jong-un's statement that North Korea's nuclear warheads need to be ready for use at any time?
MR KIRBY: I've seen those comments – again, indicative of the kind of provocative rhetoric that is clearly unhelpful and disrespectful to any idea of trying to foster stability on the peninsula. What the North needs to do is focus less on this reckless pursuit of nuclear capabilities and more on the needs of the North Korean people, which are great.
Okay, I've got time for maybe one more and then I'm going to have to go. It looks like we might be out though, huh?
QUESTION: Jordan? How about Jordan? Can I ask you a question about Jordan? (Laughter.) Okay, because --
MR KIRBY: Let's do Jordan.
QUESTION: Sorry about that.
MR KIRBY: Let's do Jordan.
QUESTION: Sorry.
MR KIRBY: What do you want to talk about?
QUESTION: (Off-mike.) (Laughter.)
QUESTION: I've been meaning to ask this for two days now. There was – a couple of days ago there was a serious fight between Jordanian law enforcement authorities and ISIS cells. Are you aware of that? Are you coordinating with them? In the second largest city in Jordan, which is Irbid.
MR KIRBY: I'm not aware of that. I've not seen those reports, Said. But I mean, this is a group that remains – still remains a threat. And I think Jordanian authorities are well aware of that since – since they share a border with Syria in particular. So I can't speak to that specific thing, but Jordan's a member of this coalition and we're going to continue to work with them to try to improve the efforts, all the efforts of the coalition, to degrade and defeat this group.
But one thing I would add, though, about Daesh, and I think it sometimes gets lost out there, but – and I say it all the time, but I'm going to say it again today in the hopes that maybe one of you will pick up on it. This group is not behaving and not resourcing itself, not conducting operations, anywhere near the way it was a year and a half ago, when they were, as we talked about, when they had sort of quasi-military capabilities – riding around in convoys and stolen vehicles and doing donuts in tracked vehicles and soaking up all kinds of territory.
And what you're starting to see now is a group that is falling back on what – the kinds of behavior and attacks that a terrorist organization at its core would fall back on – isolated VBIED and suicide attacks and the recruitment of increasing numbers of child soldiers to do their bidding, small skirmishes here and there. They're not taking over vast swaths of territory and they're not driving around in convoys anymore because they know that they're vulnerable that way.
And so they have now resorted to – and you don't have to take it from me. You can look at your own press reporting. They have resorted to more common, no less dangerous but more common, terrorist type activity. And the quasi-military nature that they once boasted of is long since gone. They've lost territory in Iraq and Syria. They continue to lose territory in Iraq and Syria. Their resourcing is getting hit and dried up. And while they are still able to recruit through this poisonous ideology of theirs, it ain't like it used to be. And again, as I said, they're drawing more and more on child soldiers. We're also seeing increased numbers of defectors and fighters that are giving up. They're not getting paid. And this jihad that they were inspired to go on is turning out to be something quite different. And that isn't getting noticed enough, and I think it's important to state every now and then.
Thanks, everybody. Have a great weekend.
(The briefing was concluded at 2:47 p.m.)
# # #
[i] Prime Minister
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