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Daily Press Briefing

John Kirby
Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
May 6, 2016

Index for Today's Briefing

TURKEY
SYRIA
IRAQ
SYRIA
ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS
DEPARTMENT
UKRAINE

 

TRANSCRIPT:

.1:06 p.m. EDT

MR KIRBY: Good afternoon, everybody. I do not have any announcements at the top, so we can get right to questions.

QUESTION: Can we start with Turkey?

QUESTION: David, you had a --

QUESTION: I was just going to launch in halfway through, but --

MR KIRBY: You're going to what?

QUESTION: Going to Turkey, Turkey's (inaudible).

MR KIRBY: All right. You had your hand up. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you so much. Today, just this morning or a couple hours ago, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet daily, Turkish daily, attacked by a gunman. Do you have a comment, first of all, on this?

MR KIRBY: No, look, I'm just seeing press reports about this myself, and so it – I think we're just going to watch this as closely as we can, but I don't have an official comment on it right now.

QUESTION: But you have seen that the incident happened? Do you think that --

MR KIRBY: I have seen press reports about an incident. I don't have operational reports to speak to about it, so I'm going to refrain from specific comments until we have more information. I just don't have anything more for you.

QUESTION: Do you have operational reports on the fighting in Hama prison in Syria?

MR KIRBY: We've seen reports of that as well and we're certainly concerned about that. We would urge the regime to refrain from actions that could escalate the violence and the tension. And I understand that there's already been some violence here. I'm not saying there hasn't been. And as always, we call on Russia and other partners that have influence on the regime to press them for restraint.

And I might take this opportunity to simply say that we also call on the regime to treat appropriately those people that are being detained. There's a – you could easily have a fundamental debate about whether they should be detained or not, and certainly, we have concerns over the detentions. But separate and distinct from that, there's an obligation – if you're going to have people detained in a prison, there's an obligation that a government incurs upon itself in terms of assuring their well-being. And so we're – we certainly call on them to respect that obligation.

QUESTION: Do you have any update on the alleged bombing of the IDP camp in northern Syria? I gather the Syrians and the Russians have denied having anything to do with it, but it's apparently an airstrike.

MR KIRBY: Yeah. I would tell you that we're still processing information about that incident and there's the – we don't have perfect knowledge about what happened. So we're still doing the best we can to try to get more information and more accurate information about what happened.

QUESTION: Well, what is the status of the ceasefire – of the truce?

MR KIRBY: The cessation of hostilities in Aleppo – that's what you meant to ask, I think.

QUESTION: No, I meant to ask – I don't like the words "cessation of hostilities -- "

MR KIRBY: I know you don't. I know you don't.

QUESTION: -- because I'm not sure it doesn't – it doesn't – it apparently doesn't mean "cessation of hostilities." It means --

MR KIRBY: No --

QUESTION: But it doesn't mean (inaudible).

QUESTION: -- keep fighting.

MR KIRBY: It does – it does --

QUESTION: No, that's why I said "truce."

MR KIRBY: It does – well, it does mean that, though. It does mean that. And it --

QUESTION: But anyway – anyway --

MR KIRBY: And that's what we're trying to achieve. And so to answer your question --

QUESTION: So it's supposed to – so by your count if you – since yesterday, you guys accepted or Mark accepted that it was 48 hours that the Syrians had agreed to. And by your definition of when that started, it would have been over last night at midnight local time. By their definition, the Syrians' definition, it would be over tonight, midnight time.

Is it still, on according to you? Because according to you, it would have been over last night and it hasn't (inaudible).

MR KIRBY: Well, what we – right. So obviously, what we want and desire is for these cessations to be enduring. And what I can tell you is (a) we continue to watch the situation in Aleppo. It does appear as if the violence has decreased since it came into effect a couple of days ago and that seems to be the case today. I can't tell you that it's perfect in every neighborhood of Aleppo, of course not. And obviously, the right number of violations is zero. That's what we want. We're still concerned about reports of violations.

But in general, since the – it went into effect two days ago, we have seen a decreased level of violence in Aleppo, and we'd like to see that continue.

QUESTION: Okay, right. But are there active efforts underway now to extend it beyond what the Syrians say would be the end of it?

MR KIRBY: Well, I don't want to get ahead of diplomatic discussions. I can tell you that we very much – the United States very much would like to see it endure and go beyond what were – what were stated time limits.

QUESTION: Well, based on what you know, what are the chances of that?

MR KIRBY: I don't – I think I don't want to – I'm not going to speculate in terms of the chances of being able to go forward with it. I think – I don't know that would be useful to do. What I can tell you is we're committed to seeing it endure --

QUESTION: I understand that, but I'm --

MR KIRBY: -- and we're going to continue to have discussions with the partners in the ISSG to try to see that it can endure.

QUESTION: Okay, but I'm not asking you to speculate about it. I'm saying based on what you know --

MR KIRBY: Well, you said what are the chances.

QUESTION: Based on what you know, or what this building knows from people in Geneva and potential conversations that the Secretary or other officials may have had with the Russians, what are – are you optimistic that there will – that you'll be able to get an extension?

MR KIRBY: I would say that we're committed to making it endure and we're very focused on trying to see if that reduction in violence can be sustained.

QUESTION: Can I follow up?

QUESTION: Have the Russians said whether they're going to – it's going to endure? The Russians announced it as a 48-hour ceasefire.

MR KIRBY: I'm not aware of any additional comments out of Moscow. You'd have to talk to them about that.

QUESTION: They have – when was the last time Secretary Kerry spoke to Foreign Minister Lavrov?

MR KIRBY: Hang on a second. The last call I have on record was Monday, the 2nd of May, before it went into effect.

QUESTION: John?

MR KIRBY: Yes.

QUESTION: Can I just quickly follow up? Now, your counterpart at the Russian foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, said today that basically it was the terrorists, what she calls the terrorists, that time and again broke the ceasefire before. And she noted what happened on May 1 and May 3rd and so on, and she's saying basically it is Jabhat al-Nusrah and others who have been trying to frustrate or to break the hudna, the cessation of hostilities, since it went into effect on – last February. Do you have any comment on that? Because she has said --

MR KIRBY: Well, it's an interesting comment to make because they're not parties to the cessation of hostilities.

QUESTION: I understand that.

MR KIRBY: Designated terrorist groups are not parties to it.

QUESTION: So but --

MR KIRBY: So nobody ever expected them to observe it.

QUESTION: Okay. But so – then she says that that made them a fair target by government forces and so on. So when you say that they are not part of the cessation, then they are fair targets, then the government has or everybody else – much as like the coalition or the Russians and so on – has every right to go ahead and bomb them, right?

MR KIRBY: They're not a party to the cessation, so they are – they are fair targets for kinetic strikes, yeah.

QUESTION: Right, okay, okay. And that includes the areas that may not be delineated between this group or that group, and so on?

MR KIRBY: If – we've talked about this before, Said.

QUESTION: I understand. I'm trying to --

MR KIRBY: I mean, I --

QUESTION: -- to get a grasp of it.

MR KIRBY: I know. But I feel like sometimes we're retreading the same ground over and over again.

QUESTION: Right, right.

MR KIRBY: I'm not disputing the fact that in Aleppo these groups can be intermingled. In fact, sometimes it's by design, especially by groups like al-Nusrah that want to help try to protect themselves by being geographically close or intermixed with groups that – either civilians or opposition groups that they know are parties to the cessation of hostilities.

I'm also not saying and never have said that there haven't been violations of the cessation by certain members of the opposition. There has been. That said, by and large, the violations have been as a result of the regime. And what we've asked certainly in our conversations with Russia particularly is that if they are going to undertake strikes, which they have, against al-Nusrah and against Daesh, that they do so with as much precision as they can so that they are just hitting those groups and not anybody else. I can't say with certainty that that has always been the case, that there haven't been in these strikes also strikes against the opposition and against civilians. And on the regime side we can say definitively we know that the regime has not abided by the cessation particularly there in Aleppo and has deliberately, on purpose, gone out and struck civilian targets and opposition targets. But it's a very --

QUESTION: Now the --

MR KIRBY: It's a very fluid situation there, very dynamic, which is why, quite frankly, it was so important for us to get this reaffirmation in place a couple of days ago in Aleppo.

QUESTION: Now, I can do one quick follow-up on what – something that Mark said yesterday that it was unacceptable to have the regime retake Aleppo and so on, something to that effect. Does that mean there ought to be some sort of lines or demarcation between the different – between government troops and the other groups that ought to be recognized by those involved, like you, like the Russians, like whoever is involved in this process?

MR KIRBY: We're not looking at the cessation in terms of lines of demarcation, no.

QUESTION: Different --

QUESTION: John?

MR KIRBY: Yeah.

QUESTION: Can I ask you about the – so has this issue of the 48 hours been cleared up? If the military said that it was 48 hours and the State Department said it's open-ended, can we assume that this truce continues?

MR KIRBY: I think that was sort of the line of questioning that I just went through with Matt. We would like to see it endure. I understand what some of the understandings were at the outset, and again, I'd say over the last two days we have seen a reduction in the violence, and I think that gives us some reason to be encouraged that if it can endure, we may continue to see even more of a reduction in the violence. But I couldn't possibly predict that certainty or for how long that might be able to go. What we would like to see – and we've said it from the very beginning when the cessation was first put in place – that we – that our goal, our objective, our desire would be to see that it be enduring, that it be long-lasting, permanent, sustainable. I mean, obviously that's what you want. You want to see the violence come down.

QUESTION: So was this a lack of communication between you and the Russians?

MR KIRBY: I don't think it was a lack of communication. I mean, I think there were pretty serious discussions that went on between us and the Russians with respect to getting this latest reaffirmation of the hostilities, the restoration, if you will, in Aleppo – getting that in place and trying to get it to stick. And in the process of doing that, it's natural to – especially because you're looking at a specific geographic area, it's natural to want to – to try to bound that in some way so that you can get a deal in place that can be enforced. And we did. And there has been, as I said, a reduction in the violence.

But we – for our part, we – and we've said this from the beginning. I'm not saying something different to you that what we've said in the room – we want to see this be enduring. Ultimately, we don't want to see time limits on this.

QUESTION: So when we look at this as outsiders and we evaluate whether this truce is holding or not, we look at the levels of violence. Is that what you're saying we should do?

MR KIRBY: The levels of violence, yes. I mean --

QUESTION: Overall?

MR KIRBY: And when I – yeah, overall, but most specifically the – and I hate to put adjectives on it, but the organized violence that you would see from – where you see the cessation not happening or not succeeding. It's this – it's the regime against opposition or against civilians. It's – and it's violations of other groups that are causing these deaths and these injuries.

QUESTION: And can I ask one more question? With the task force and evaluating the violations, is – does the U.S. and Russia coordinate and – I mean, would you have to show your hand as where the opposition is based, and they would have to show their hand where the government is based? Is that not kind of --

MR KIRBY: Well, I don't think there's any question about where the government is operating out of. But – and I don't want to get into the tactical-level detail here of how – of the information flow. But it is true that the U.S. side and the Russian side are in direct communication around the clock now about the situation, particularly in Aleppo, and the purpose of that round-the-clock communication is to do exactly that – to make sure that violations don't occur and then when they appear to be or appear to maybe be in the future, to try to forestall that by sharing information as appropriate to keep it from happening.

QUESTION: If the 48-hour ceasefire or cessation of hostilities is not renewed at midnight Syrian time, so in a few hours, does that mark a failure for this policy and of the mechanism that you've chosen?

MR KIRBY: What I would say is, number one, we want to see it continue. We want to see it be sustainable and enduring. That it has led to, for the first time now in weeks, a reduction in the violence in Aleppo is a good thing, and again, we're encouraged by that.

QUESTION: But you'll be disappointed --

MR KIRBY: And it tells us – it tells us that it is possible to get to a better outcome in Aleppo. It tells us that it is in fact possible for Russia to exert the appropriate kind of influence on the Assad regime so that regime attacks can stop. So it certainly is an indicator that this approach can work, and I think what – I would say it gives us hope that it's worth continuing to try to pursue that and to keep it going.

QUESTION: But if the regime is listening to you now – I assume they are – they might see this as proof that they can string you along for 48 hours from time to time, and you continue to say that you believe the process has got potential.

MR KIRBY: Well, look, you do what you have to do to stop the bloodletting, particularly where you see it in places like Aleppo. But that doesn't mean that we're interested in some sort of long-term plan to do this piecemeal. What I've said from earlier is we want to see all of Syria to be a peaceful environment. We don't want to see any Syrians --

QUESTION: How long --

MR KIRBY: -- come under attack from their own government.

QUESTION: How long are you prepared to tolerate the piecemeal approach?

MR KIRBY: We are – we certainly are prepared to keep working this very hard for as long as it takes to try to get --

QUESTION: But you just you wouldn't tolerate a long-term – but now you say as long as it takes.

MR KIRBY: Hang on a second. Your question was how long are we going to work towards keeping the cessation in place, and we'll do that for as long as it takes. What we want to see is the cessation of hostilities endure nationwide and to be sustainable over the long term. I'm not going to speculate from here about what happens in another 12 or 18 hours if, in fact, the Syrian regime considers the timeframe started later than what we did. What I can tell you is --

QUESTION: I don't think it's 12 or 18; I think it's about six, isn't it?

MR KIRBY: What I can tell you – oh, whatever. What I can tell you is we're committed to keeping this in place as long as possible. That's the focus. And not just in Aleppo, but throughout the whole country.

QUESTION: John, I have three questions on Syria. On the IDP camp, Russian military official said that judging by destruction of the refugee camp, Nusrah Front militants could have deliberately or accidentally fired on it. Do you have any information that confirm this statement?

MR KIRBY: No.

QUESTION: And do you think that al-Nusrah was behind the – behind firing on the camp?

MR KIRBY: I don't have any information that indicates that. As I said at the outset, we're still gathering information right now and are not in a position to definitively say exactly what happened there.

QUESTION: Second question.

MR KIRBY: No, you already asked two.

QUESTION: No, this was one. (Laughter.)

MR KIRBY: No, that was two.

QUESTION: The first one was a question; the second was a follow-up. Now, the second question: The Syrian coalition issued a statement today saying that the massacre perpetrated by the Assad regime against civilians in the IDP Kamouna Camp in rural Idlib could have been prevented had U.S. President Barack Obama approved the establishment of a safe zone in northern Syria. What do you think about this statement?

MR KIRBY: Well, again, we're still trying to get better information about what happened in the Idlib camp. So I'm not going to go any further on the circumstances there. We just don't have perfect knowledge right now.

The issue of safe zones, buffer zones, whatever you want to call them – we've talked about that for quite some time, Michel. I don't have anything new to add to what we've said in the past, that we continue to examine and consider all manner of options and all alternatives. It would be irresponsible not to. But there's no change to our view at this time that safe zones or buffer zones are not the appropriate response to take right now. And there are risk and resource-intensive issues that must be considered before you enact an approach like that, and we have to be mindful of it.

QUESTION: My third question is: Will the Secretary participate in the meeting on Syria on – in Paris next Monday?

MR KIRBY: I don't have any updates to offer on his schedule for next week.

QUESTION: Because French – France foreign ministry has announced that United States will be part of the meeting, and Britain, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Jordan, and Turkey will be there too.

MR KIRBY: I don't have any updates to his schedule to announce right now.

Pam.

QUESTION: One on Syria and two on Iraq. Syria – this is a follow-up to David's question. I understand that the U.S. is interested in a broad nationwide ceasefire in Syria as a whole, but as you do these localized agreements such as what you have in place in Aleppo, the ones that were enacted last week in Latakia, is there a limit on how long you're willing to consider trying with these localized ceasefires? Is there are a point that you get to where these localized ceasefires with 48-hour deadlines just – it becomes futile and difficult or too difficult to maintain?

MR KIRBY: I think this gets – it's the same question that Dave asked, okay? I mean, I don't know how I can approach this any differently. We're – so let's back up just a little bit here. We want to see the entire country safe and secure for the Syrian people. We want to see the cessation of hostilities, which applied to the entire country, actually executed for the entire country – implemented across the entire country.

We knew the day after it was implemented that there were going to be violations, and there have been. We've been very open and honest about that. We've tried very hard to prevent them where we can, and there have been some that have been prevented. And where they occur, we try as best we can to analyze the information, share it, and then try to use influence – both on the opposition and on the regime – to keep them from happening again.

Now, you're right, there were some smaller reaffirmations of that or efforts to restore that over the last couple of weeks. And I'm not in a position now to say with any great certainty that that approach is going to be pursued in the future. I wouldn't rule it in, I wouldn't rule it out. What I can affirmatively tell you is that the Secretary is committed to keeping the cessation of hostilities in place as much as possible. Obviously, the goal here is zero violations – that's what we want. And he will continue to work this very, very hard, certainly with Foreign Minister Lavrov, but also with other leaders in the ISSG going forward. And if that means that we have to take a look at more localized efforts in order to do that, then we'll do that.

Obviously, the ideal approach is one that's nationwide and it's enduring and it's sustainable. And I appreciate the desire to get me to speculate about another 48 hours or another 72 hours or whatever it is, and I'm simply not prepared to do that. And I don't think it would be wise to try to hypothesize about the manner in which we might pursue additional efforts to keep the cessation in place. What matters – and I think – and I wish I had said this the first time you asked this question, but what --

QUESTION: Well, this is why we're asking again.

QUESTION: There you go. (Laughter.)

MR KIRBY: Okay, I can't argue with that. What matters is that we have seen a reduction in violence and that – and I'm not overstating this by any stretch, because Syria remains a dangerous place and there's still a lot of suffering – but that for some Syrians in some places, life has gotten better. Not perfect – they still have a government that is, obviously, showing a propensity to continue to kill them. But life has gotten measurably better for some Syrians in some places, and I don't think we should lose sight of that. There is more work to be done, but I can tell you the Secretary is committed to being as flexible as he needs to be to keep the cessation in place.

QUESTION: And then a couple on Iraq, if we can transition.

MR KIRBY: Go ahead.

QUESTION: Has the U.S. increased military personnel at the U.S. embassy as a result of security concerns – brought in additional Marines? Can you confirm those reports? And secondly, if this is the case, is this a permanent increase in the number of military personnel who will be there for security reasons or a temporary up-staffing?

MR KIRBY: Well, I think you know we don't talk about security posture at our embassies, and it's a dynamic situation. We constantly evaluate our security posture, and, frankly, we routinely and constantly change that posture as appropriate. That is what we expect the good people in Diplomatic Security to do. I won't talk about it one way or another. I will – I do think it's important to remind, however, that our embassy in Baghdad continues to operate normally.

QUESTION: John?

QUESTION: Is there – one more – is there ongoing – is there concern in this building concerning the ongoing friction between the Iraqi Government and Muqtada al-Sadr's followers? I know that you've said before that this is sort of inside baseball, an issue that Iraq has to work out, but is there concern that these tensions may be destabilizing to U.S. interests such as the overall fight against the Islamic State?

MR KIRBY: We want, obviously, to see the reforms that Prime Minister Abadi is putting into place – we want to see them succeed. And we know that he knows how important it is for him to continue pursuing these reforms in keeping with Iraq's constitution. And Iraq is an important partner in the region. They are certainly an important partner in this fight against Daesh. Our support inside the coalition remains and will continue. That support is being done by, with, and through the Abadi government in Baghdad.

But you're right. Look, these are political challenges that the Iraqi people have to work through and Prime Minister Abadi has to lead them through. And as I said earlier, a few days ago, we're confident that he can do that and that he's well aware of the significant challenges he's facing.

QUESTION: Kirby, can I have a follow-up on that, please?

MR KIRBY: Sure.

QUESTION: Are you concerned, though, about the security around that embassy?

MR KIRBY: We're concerned about the security of our embassies all over the world, everywhere.

Samir.

QUESTION: Yes. You said you talk daily to the Russians about Syria. Can you help us understand, how do you assess their behavior in Syria? Because it doesn't seem they are using their influence very much on Assad, because he keeps continuing bombing and violating ceasefires. I mean, can he keep doing this without an orange light from the Russians?

MR KIRBY: Without a what?

QUESTION: Orange light.

MR KIRBY: Orange light?

QUESTION: It's not a green – orange light at least.

MR KIRBY: I've never heard that phrase before. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Yellow light.

QUESTION: Yellow light.

MR KIRBY: Look, I talked about this the other day, that we know that Russia's influence can matter, that it does matter to the Assad regime. Because when we've seen them exert that influence, it has worked. And I think the reduction in violence in and around Aleppo over the last couple of days is yet another indication, another bit of evidence that – but when they exert their influence, it can have a meaningful impact.

The question that we've asked ourselves is how much – how willing are they – and how strongly are they using that influence at times, and whether or not Assad has developed any antibodies to some of that influence. That has not always been clear. But again, if you just take a look at the last 48 hours – and the fact, Samir, quite frankly, that in many other places around Syria the cessation has held. I mean, Aleppo gets a lot of attention, rightly so – no question about that. But there are a lot of other communities around Syria that we're not talking about, you're not asking me about, because the cessation has held and the violence has stopped. So we know they can have influence and that that influence can have an impact. We want to see that continue.

QUESTION: Idlib, for example. The firing on the camp. It's in Idlib province, not in Aleppo.

QUESTION: I asked about Hama.

MR KIRBY: Yeah. So --

QUESTION: So we are asking about other places.

MR KIRBY: Yeah. You're asking about other places where the cessation may not be holding. We're not talking about the places in Syria – which is what I was referring to – where it is holding. Because I recognize that's not necessarily newsworthy – at least maybe not to some members of the media – but it certainly is to us, because it shows that the cessation can in fact be put in place and held.

Now, your question about Idlib, in the question itself, you're calling it a firing. As I said, we're still trying to assess what happened, and I don't have great – we don't have any more specific knowledge about what happened there, and so I think it's just too soon to say.

QUESTION: Can we move on?

MR KIRBY: Yes.

QUESTION: Can we go to the Palestinian-Israeli issue?

MR KIRBY: To the what?

QUESTION: Palestinian-Israeli issue?

QUESTION: Guess. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Could I ask you --

MR KIRBY: Said asks about other stuff.

QUESTION: Madagascar.

QUESTION: I ask about other stuff.

MR KIRBY: He does, he does. You're not going to ask about --

QUESTION: I can ask about North Korea if you --

MR KIRBY: -- but you're not going to ask about Madagascar today, are you?

QUESTION: No.

MR KIRBY: Because I really don't have anything on that right now.

QUESTION: It's a big island. Anyway. I wanted to ask you for the third day straight – or confrontations along the Gaza border. Are you concerned that this may escalate out of hand? Hamas is saying that they don't want – or they don't want for these hostilities to accelerate in any way, but the Israelis are not holding off. Are you talking to them about the need to --

MR KIRBY: Well, we – look, we always talk to our Israeli counterparts about security there, and certainly --

QUESTION: I understand. But on this particular issue, have you spoken to them?

MR KIRBY: I'm not going to – I won't detail specific conversations that we're having with Israeli leaders. Let me just say a couple of things, and I think it's probably the same thing you've heard us say over the last couple of days. I mean, it is a developing situation. We obviously do not want to see it escalate. And certainly, we condemn mortar attacks and other attacks from Gaza into Israel. And I would also say, as we've said before, we support Israel's right to defend itself and to defend its citizens. And no country should have to be under threat that comes from attacks based on tunneling. So – and there's a legitimate security concern here for the Israeli Government. What we would like to obviously see is the tensions decrease and it doesn't get worse.

QUESTION: Is there a line beyond which you expect the Israelis not to go in affirming their self-defense?

MR KIRBY: All I will say to that, Said, and what we've said before is we want to see the violence come down, we want to see calm restored, we want to see both sides take affirmative steps and show some leadership to try to get us to a situation where you can have a meaningful discussion about a two-state solution, and that's really – that's really what this is about or needs to be about.

QUESTION: I have a couple more questions. The Israelis keep holding bodies of Palestinians that are killed at the checkpoints – really kind of macabre. I mean, the brother and sister, for instance, that were killed on the 27th, their bodies are held there, some – something like 14 or 15 others that are being held, and in a way, just to punish and torment the families. Do you have any comment on that? Is that a practice that should cease or should stop immediately? Because obviously, it doesn't seem to have any kind of investigative value.

MR KIRBY: Well, look, without talking to the specifics of any case here, what I would tell you is that we would welcome steps from the parties that would help to reduce the tensions and restore calm, and I just – I think I'll leave it at that.

QUESTION: Including the release of the bodies of dead people --

MR KIRBY: If a step like that --

QUESTION: -- to their families?

MR KIRBY: If a step like that could help reduce the tensions and restore calm, then obviously, we would welcome that.

QUESTION: Let me ask you one more question. Congresswoman Betty McCollum from Minnesota's Fourth District drafted a letter and she's trying to collect signatures and so on from her colleagues. It is addressed to President Obama, copied to Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Kerry. And she calls for the establishment of a special envoy for the protection of Palestinian children. Is that something – have you – first of all, have you seen this letter?

MR KIRBY: We have not received the letter. I'm aware of it.

QUESTION: You are aware of it?

MR KIRBY: But I have not – we've not received it here. I certainly wouldn't speak for the White House and the manner in which they would respond. Obviously, when the Secretary gets congressional correspondence, we try to respond appropriately and as expeditiously as possible. We don't talk about the specifics of that. And I'm not going to speculate about this particular proposal. I mean, I'm aware of what's in it. I'm – although I have not seen the letter, we haven't received it, I'm certainly aware of the purported contents of it. And I just wouldn't get ahead, speculate on a proposal like that at this time.

Broadly speaking, we don't want to see any children under any threat. Children should be allowed to live freely and grow up to live normal, productive, healthy, happy lives.

QUESTION: That's a very controversial policy. (Laughter.)

MR KIRBY: Yes. But it's true.

QUESTION: Going out on a limb.

MR KIRBY: It's true, it's true. And as I said, we want to see affirmative steps by all the parties to restore the calm and to move us forward here.

QUESTION: But she also suggests that this, of course, will be under your auspices, so to speak, the – whatever, special envoy and so on. And she cites reason for engagement, knowing exactly what's going on on the ground; she cites that generation after generation of Palestinian children have grown up under occupation, a sense of despair, no opportunities, all these things – things that you really agree with, it's things that you would sort of, in fact, fall in place or mesh with your outline and your policies and so on for anywhere, as a matter of fact.

Would that – so why – would you look sort of positively at such a suggestion?

MR KIRBY: Well, again, as far as I know, we haven't gotten this letter, and I've seen reports of it and reports of this proposal. So I really don't think it's wise to speculate about the specific proposal that is purportedly in this letter. We haven't gotten it. It's – as you said, it's not addressed to the Secretary; it's addressed to the President.

QUESTION: Right.

MR KIRBY: I'm not going to get ahead of how the White House would respond to this. But in general, obviously, we want to see the kinds of conditions there that can move us forward to a two-state solution, a productive path forward here and leadership on all sides to help us get there, so that children on all sides can live normal, happy, healthy lives. I mean, obviously, that's the whole reason why we still consider or still favor moving towards a two-state solution so that there can be a more peaceful future for kids.

QUESTION: Right. So now that we've nailed down that you're pro-child, which is always good to know, can we move on to something else?

MR KIRBY: Sure.

QUESTION: And that is: The Secretary has often, when asked about the current political campaigns, demurred or only made very brief comments related to what he has heard from foreign leaders. This morning he, in his commencement address, went a bit further than he has in the past. He made a joke about the diverse graduate – graduating class being Donald Trump's worst nightmare. He alluded to carnival barker-type campaigning. And I'm just wondering, has he decided that he is going to weigh in or – on the campaign, or in general on the season?

MR KIRBY: I think the Secretary was simply trying to enjoy a light moment with the graduates and it was really nothing more than that. He, as you know, has made it a point to stay out of the political fray as Secretary of State, and I don't see that changing.

QUESTION: So this was it? It was just a one-off kind of joke? Because he did get – it wasn't just the joke. It was – there was more serious --

QUESTION: Hiding behind a wall.

MR KIRBY: Well, in terms of – what's that?

QUESTION: A carnival barker hiding behind a wall.

QUESTION: But he only mentioned Trump's name once.

MR KIRBY: Well, look, I mean --

QUESTION: As a racist.

MR KIRBY: What's that?

QUESTION: He only mentioned him once to refer to him as a racist.

MR KIRBY: He has repeatedly talked about the concerns that he hears from foreign leaders when we're traveling around the world, the concerns that they have expressed about the rhetoric on the campaign and the anxiety that some of that rhetoric is causing foreign leaders around the world. I mean, he's talked about that quite a bit. I mean, he's not living in a bubble. He sees what's going on in there --

QUESTION: No, I understand that, but --

MR KIRBY: -- and he's obviously concerned about some of the tone --

QUESTION: Right.

MR KIRBY: -- and the effect that that's having on foreign leaders. But if you're asking me, is because he enjoyed a lighthearted moment with students today, is that going – has he changed his calculus now to more aggressively jump into active debates about what's going on on the campaign trail, the answer is no.

QUESTION: Okay, so we should not expect him to carry on with --

MR KIRBY: You should not expect him to change his view that as Secretary of State, he needs to stay --

QUESTION: Okay.

MR KIRBY: -- and will stay out of the political fray.

QUESTION: If that was a lighthearted moment, he thinks that Donald Trump's campaign is still a suitable subject for humor?

MR KIRBY: It was a joke intended to lighten up an audience of students that were graduating from college.

QUESTION: Let me follow up on Trump because he also said that England would be better off without being a member of the European Union. Does that complicate your policies or your efforts in this regard? Would the president of the United States --

MR KIRBY: I'm not going to respond to – no, as I --

QUESTION: Or is that just part of the campaign rhetoric?

MR KIRBY: I have and will continue to scrupulously avoid engaging in a tit-for-tat for every comment made by every candidate for political office. That's not appropriate discussion from this podium and I'm not going to engage in it. The Secretary has said himself he believes in a strong UK in Europe and in the European Union. President Obama has spoken very clearly about our views in that regard, and I don't have anything more to add.

Yeah, Janne.

QUESTION: John, thank you. Do you know that – UN Security Council press statement on North Korea, why they delayed it?

MR KIRBY: I don't have an update for you on that, Janne. I'm sorry.

QUESTION: Did you – can you take the question?

MR KIRBY: I'll take a look. I'm not aware of a specific delay, so you're going to have to let me get back to you on that.

QUESTION: All right, thank you.

MR KIRBY: Yeah.

QUESTION: Ukraine?

MR KIRBY: Yeah.

QUESTION: Today several dozen armed men raided a mosque in Crimea and captured almost a hundred Crimean Tatars. Later the Tatars were freed but they were told to come to police. Are you aware of that and do you have any reaction of such kind of religious persecution in Crimea?

MR KIRBY: I'm not aware of those reports. I think before I issue a comment here from the podium you're going to have to let me go back and get some more information on that. So I think I'm just – if you don't mind, I'm going to just take your question and we'll get back to you on that. I'm going to refrain for right now until we can get more information about what happened here.

Guys, I'm going to have to get going, I'm afraid. Thank you very much.

(The briefing was concluded at 1:46 p.m.)

DPB #78