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Military

Daily Press Briefing

Mark C. Toner
Deputy Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
September 8, 2016

Index for Today's Briefing

DEPARTMENT
SYRIA/RUSSIA/REGION
IRAQ
AFGHANISTAN
RUSSIA
PAKISTAN
RUSSIA/PALESTINIANS/ISRAEL
NORTH KOREA/JAPAN
GREECE
INDIA/REGION
PAKISTAN/INDIA/REGION
IRAN/SAUDI ARABIA/REGION

 

TRANSCRIPT:

2:07 p.m. EDT

MR TONER: Happy Thursday, everybody. Welcome to the State Department. A couple very quick items at the top, and then I'll take your questions.

This falls in the in-case-you-missed-it category, but just wanted to call attention to the fact yesterday in Laos – Laos, rather, President Obama announced a new State Department/Peace Corps initiative called English for All. English for All and its new website, which is englishforall.state.gov, will serve as a resource for foreign audiences interested in learning about the range of English programming offered by and supported by the U.S. Government. It will also be a helpful resource to those Americans who may be looking to serve their country by teaching English abroad. And worth noting that U.S. Government's English instruction programs provide opportunities to learn English to millions worldwide every year.

Also, I just wanted to make note of the fact that tomorrow on Friday, September 9th, the State Department will team up with foreign diplomats to clean beaches across the United States. This is part – or in recognition, rather, of International Coastal Cleanup Day. This initiative will support the goals of Our Ocean 2016 conference, which is coming up next week. In collaboration with the Ocean Conservancy and its local partners, State Department personnel from the Office of Foreign Missions, together with foreign consular corps – the foreign consular corps, rather, will clean beaches in Chicago, in Galveston, in Kahuku, in Key Biscayne, in New York, and in Santa Monica, as well as Seattle.

And that's it. Matt, over to you.

QUESTION: Where?

QUESTION: You said beaches --

MR TONER: All right. Sorry.

QUESTION: What was that?

MR TONER: Chicago. You know where that is --

QUESTION: Yeah.

MR TONER: -- Illinois; Galveston, Texas; Kahuku, Hawaii --

QUESTION: (Inaudible) the Great Lakes – the Great Lakes (inaudible) --

MR TONER: Yes, that's – exactly, yes. Which is – by the way, the Great Lakes have more coastal – more coastline than all of the – or either coast combined. I learned that. It's a fun fact.

QUESTION: Absolutely fascinating.

MR TONER: So I think I've answered all your questions with that. (Laughter).

QUESTION: I think it --

QUESTION: (Inaudible) Our Ocean (inaudible) summit.

QUESTION: It's a very worthy --

MR TONER: You got me.

QUESTION: Very – a very worthy endeavor.

MR TONER: Thank you.

QUESTION: Just on your first one, what is the last letter in the word of the – in the name of the country where this English --

MR TONER: Laos.

QUESTION: Yeah.

MR TONER: Did I mispronounce that? I apologize.

QUESTION: You can say either, but --

MR TONER: Okay.

QUESTION: -- you didn't need to correct yourself by dropping the "s."

MR TONER: Oh, okay. I didn't know. I learned the other day, again, that you're – that you were supposed to drop the "s," but --

QUESTION: It depends. You can.

MR TONER: Okay. Again, I --

QUESTION: All right. So can we move to matters of --

MR TONER: Yes.

QUESTION: -- perhaps more urgent substance?

MR TONER: Sure.

QUESTION: Syria – what is going on? Apparently, Foreign Minister Lavrov has arrived in Geneva already.

MR TONER: Well, I can't speak for the whereabouts of Foreign Minister Lavrov. All I can say is I don't have anything to update you on with regard to possible meetings. We continue to – and indeed, the Secretary spoke earlier today with Foreign Minister Lavrov, and we're continuing to work through some of the remaining issues that we have before we can reach an agreement on a way forward with regard to Syria. And those questions, those issues continue to be discussed. And until we get to a point where we can feel that we can reach a resolution of those issues, we'll continue to work through them.

QUESTION: Well, does that mean that those issues have to be resolved before there would be a meeting?

MR TONER: No. But I would also – and certainly not. And we've seen, obviously --

QUESTION: Because --

MR TONER: -- indicative of the meeting he had last week in China, that certainly Secretary Kerry's willing to meet with Foreign Minister Lavrov to discuss remaining issues. However, I think it's our belief that – or our – yes, our belief that the remaining issues are at a technical level that need to be addressed within our interagency and also by some of the working groups who have been working on these issues for some time now.

So I guess to sum it up, I mean, we're just not at a point where we believe it's – we can confirm, A, a meeting and, B, that it's worth his while to go have a meeting.

QUESTION: Wait, you just referred to interagency. So is some of the holdup here internal to the Administration, differences --

MR TONER: Well, I mean, look, I mean, any agreement that we reach would have to be reached though the interagency. I mean, that's obvious in some sense.

QUESTION: Right. But in the past, people have spoken – or the reason that there wasn't – the reason given by an official, perhaps more than one official, for there not being an agreement reached in China was that the Russians had walked back on some things that you all had thought had been previously agreed to. And now – maybe I'm just over-interpreting your comment.

MR TONER: Look, I don't want to --

QUESTION: It seems as though not only is there a problem with the Russians, there's also a problem in the interagency in the United States.

MR TONER: I just think, Matt, it's – these are difficult processes. The Russians have conditions they want to see met and addressed; we have our own. And in reaching our own consensus with regard to a text or a way forward that we can agree on, we continue to have those conversations. We're just not there yet. I don't want to put the onus on any one – either side at this point. I just want to – I would just say that when we get there, when we have a reason that we believe a meeting would be – rather, when we've reached a point where we believe a meeting would be useful, then we'll announce that.

QUESTION: Mark, this almost going to happen kind of meeting, I mean, this kind of feeling – does that indicate that you guys are getting closer or farther apart?

MR TONER: I just – I don't --

QUESTION: Because the Secretary spoke to --

MR TONER: Yeah. I mean, it's a fair question. I just – it indicates that these are complicated discussions --

QUESTION: Right, right.

MR TONER: -- and that – and they're detailed discussions.

QUESTION: Okay.

MR TONER: And rather than rush to an agreement, we want to make sure that it meets and addresses all our concerns and all of our goals and objectives going into it. And so it's painstaking to some degree, but it's part of the process. I --

QUESTION: What --

MR TONER: So I don't want to say we're going back or we're stepping away. I think that overall we wouldn't still be in it if we didn't believe that it was still possible.

QUESTION: I have a couple more.

MR TONER: Yeah, please.

QUESTION: What are some of these technical issues that the Russians may have walked away from or walked back from?

MR TONER: We've been fairly circumspect about talking about those in detail, partly to protect the confidential discussions that we're having with Russia. Once we reach an agreement, we'll talk about the – all the aspects of that agreement. But until we get there – we've been very broad, and that's deliberate.

QUESTION: And two points if I could have your comment on. One, the Syrian army retook a neighborhood of Ramouseh in Aleppo earlier today. It gives them a broader sort of base from which to attack. And second, the Turks are saying that they veto basically any participation by Kurdish forces to liberate Raqqa. Your comment on those issues.

MR TONER: The second question again. I'm sorry.

QUESTION: The second question – the Turks --

MR TONER: About the Turks.

QUESTION: The Turks want to have some sort of a veto power over the participation of any Kurdish forces in the upcoming effort, whenever it happens, to liberate Raqqa.

MR TONER: Raqqa. Okay. First – and the first part of question. See, I've already forgotten what that is. (Laughter.) So sorry, Said. It's been a long week.

QUESTION: The Syrian army retook the neighborhood of Ramouseh.

MR TONER: Oh, right. Exactly. Look, I mean, it's not for me to really talk about, at a tactical level. We've seen those reports. I would just broadly state that we don't see any kind of military solution to the situation in Syria. And that also pertains to the situation in Aleppo. It's why we're pushing so hard for a political resolution. And we've seen tactical shifts from day to day. We've seen these latest reports. It only raises our concern that the civilians within Aleppo continue to suffer.

QUESTION: But doesn't that (inaudible) the agreement?

QUESTION: The reason I asked this was because they had --

MR TONER: I'll let you and then I --

QUESTION: No, no, finish.

MR TONER: It's okay.

QUESTION: They – it was the opposition that basically, through a sort of a blitz attack about a couple weeks, three weeks, four weeks ago, took this area, including --

MR TONER: Exactly.

QUESTION: --a military academy and so on.

MR TONER: And I think --

QUESTION: And at the time, you did not express a great deal of concern that there was an attack by the opposition.

MR TONER: Well, I just think there's a – again, it's just – it's a complex battlespace. We've said that many times. And it's also a very intense battlespace and there's a give and take. And so I'm also not going to say that this is somehow some sea change tactically. I just don't know, for one. And two, it just – we've seen these shifts take place over a period of months now.

Please, Barbara.

QUESTION: Yeah. Just because this whole area, Ramouseh area, is part of the ceasefire talks in terms of how you would get aid into Aleppo --

MR TONER: Right.

QUESTION: -- does this not affect the negotiations? It surely must have some ramifications there.

MR TONER: Without getting into specifics, not necessarily, because if we were to reach an agreement, there would obviously be – and we've talked about this in broad terms – certainly a pause in the conflict or in the fighting before a cessation could take place, and we've – so I mean, no in the sense that there – the fighting would cease, if that's what you're talking about. If your broader question or your question is whether this complicates that Syria or the regime, rather, would think that it can somehow take Aleppo, that's really some – a question I can't answer. We've seen the regime continue to press the fight to take Aleppo. What we would say to that is there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria, and it's up to Russia to convince the regime that that's the case.

QUESTION: Just a quick question on the --

MR TONER: Sure.

QUESTION: -- interagency. Is that objections from the Pentagon with regards to --

MR TONER: I'm not going to characterize it.

QUESTION: -- joint operations with Russians given how --

MR TONER: All I'm trying to say is --

QUESTION: -- Carter talked to the Russians the other day?

MR TONER: And I also don't want to say that there's – sorry, I don't mean to talk over you, Barbara. I don't want to say that there's some kind of interagency battle. All I'm saying is as we look at the remaining issues, that's going to be a discussion that we have with the interagency. And that just makes sense because it touches on the equities of the interagency.

QUESTION: Mark, how much --

MR TONER: Please.

QUESTION: -- of a complicating factor is the comment today by the Turkish foreign minister that for a deal, Turkey will not accept under any conditions any transition deal that leaves Assad in power?

MR TONER: Well, again, I think we've – and our own position is that we don't believe that Assad can be a legitimate leader in the long term for Syria. I think ultimately that – sorry – I think ultimately this is a question that Syrians needs to answer and – through the negotiation process that we want to see restarted in Geneva. And ultimately how that transition takes place, how long Assad steps in – stays in power before a government can – or a transitional government can take power – those are all questions that need to be answered.

Our own belief is that he doesn't – he lacks all legitimacy to be the leader of Syria. But ultimately that's a question that the Syrians themselves are going to have to address.

QUESTION: Could you --

QUESTION: I have a follow-up on Syria.

MR TONER: Please.

QUESTION: If the reports are true that Lavrov is in Geneva, is this in any case – does the U.S. feel that this could be a propaganda issue by the Russians to kind of have one up on what the U.S. – and show that the U.S. maybe is not trying to get a deal on this?

MR TONER: I just – again, I won't speak to Foreign Minister Lavrov's travel, his schedule, his itinerary. All I can say – speak for is our own goal and our – and that is to try to settle the remaining issues that we have in reaching an agreement. And once we feel like we're closer to a settlement and a meeting would be valuable, then we'll have that meeting.

QUESTION: And are there issues – John Kerry, when he was in China, spoke about a couple of tough issues. Are these the same issues that – that are preventing this deal right now? Or is it something else?

MR TONER: I think, broadly speaking, they're the same issues.

QUESTION: Mark, can I ask you about the Turkish foreign defense minister? Fikri Isik said that --

MR TONER: Oh, about Raqqa?

QUESTION: Yeah, yeah.

MR TONER: I mean --

QUESTION: They want to work with you to liberate Raqqa, but they will not accept the popular defense committee, Kurdish committee. So do you have a position on that?

MR TONER: Yeah I haven't seen those comments. We've been supportive of those Kurdish groups in northern Syria who have been really effective in taking the fight to Daesh. We're going to continue that support. But I don't – I haven't seen his comments.

QUESTION: But in principle, you do reject any kind of veto by the Turks on the liberation of Raqqa?

MR TONER: Look, we continue to have discussions, a regular dialogue with Turkey. We are working closely with Turkey, and indeed we're supporting its recent offensive around – to secure its own border with Syria. We'll continue those discussions going forward.

QUESTION: Iraq?

MR TONER: Yeah.

QUESTION: The KRG prime minister led a delegation to Baghdad last week. And among the topics that he discussed with the Iraqi prime minister was the KRG's intent to hold a referendum on independence, and reportedly the Iraqi prime minister didn't object. So if the Iraqi Government accepts that the KRG will hold a referendum on independence, does the United States also concur in that view that that is acceptable?

MR TONER: I have not seen those remarks. I'm unaware of that meeting. Certainly these are discussions at the core that need to take place between the Kurdish regional authorities and the Government of Iraq, but our position hasn't changed.

QUESTION: Is your position that if the Iraqi Government accepts a Kurdish – a referendum on Kurdish independence, that that's also acceptable to the United States contingent on the approval of Baghdad?

MR TONER: Again, I think these are – what our emphasis is on is the sovereignty, territorial integrity of Iraq. These are discussions that are ongoing, but we don't have any comment.

Please.

QUESTION: Afghanistan?

MR TONER: Yep.

QUESTION: Do you have any word on the fate of the American professor kidnapped near the American University in Kabul last month?

MR TONER: Unfortunately I don't have a lot to say. You're talking about the U.S. citizen who was kidnapped in Kabul? Yeah. We're limited in what we can say because we don't have a Privacy Act waiver in this case. Obviously the safety and protection of U.S. citizens overseas is our top priority and we're going to continue to monitor this incident very closely, but I can't really speak further to it.

QUESTION: Has next of kin been notified? Can you tell us that?

MR TONER: Again, speaking broadly, certainly – and I'm legally bound not to speak specifically to this case, but that would normally be – standard operating procedure is we would reach out to the family of missing Americans and work with them in – and provide any support we could and answer their questions, et cetera.

QUESTION: And then have any U.S. diplomats participated in any decision-making councils relating to a possible rescue attempt of the professor?

MR TONER: So there I would not speak to any possible efforts that might be taken to secure his release. That's not something I would address.

Please, Michael. Hey.

QUESTION: One on Russia.

MR TONER: Yeah.

QUESTION: According to foreign ministry – Russian foreign ministry – Foreign Minister Lavrov in his phone call with Senator Kerry, or Secretary Kerry, the other day --

MR TONER: (Laughter.) Sure.

QUESTION: -- brought to Secretary Kerry's attention an open letter from pilot Yaroshenko's mother that she had sent to the – to President Obama, actually. But Lavrov said he brought this to Kerry's attention during their talks and expressed hope that it would be resolved in a positive manner. Do you know – has Secretary Kerry read the letter?

MR TONER: One more time – the letter pertaining to --

QUESTION: Yaroshenko's mother sent an email to President Obama expressing concerns about her child imprisoned. And then --

MR TONER: Right. I – I'd have to look into it.

QUESTION: -- Lavrov --

MR TONER: I wasn't aware of the letter or that it was raised in the bilat, so I – I'll have to take the question.

Please, in the back.

QUESTION: My name is Kausan Javid, Dunya News (inaudible) in Washington, Pakistan.

MR TONER: Okay. Welcome.

QUESTION: The relation of Pakistan and United States is at lowest level. What really are the challenges?

MR TONER: Well, I would refute the premise of the question. I don't believe they're at their lowest level. I would say that our relationship with Pakistan is strong and in our mutual interest, and also in the interest of the region. It's not to say it's not sometimes a challenging relationship, but we have a range of issues, including counterterrorism, that we work quite closely with Pakistan on. And we believe, again, our relationship is strong.

QUESTION: Sir, Secretary Kerry recently visited South Asia. He went to Bangladesh and India, but skipped Pakistan. It clearly indicates the interest of United States in that region. Sir, what really was the reason for skipping Pakistan in that important visit?

MR TONER: Look, I mean, it doesn't clearly indicate any – anything about our relationship with Pakistan. The Secretary has, I think we would all agree in this room, a very intense travel schedule. He's been to Pakistan recently; he speaks often to senior Pakistani leadership. Specifically, he was in India for the Strategic and Commercial Dialogue and took the opportunity to also visit Bangladesh – I think the first time he's been there.

But as we've said many times, there's no zero-sum game here. We need to have a very strong and robust relationship with India and we do – the world's largest democracy. And we also want to have a strong relationship with Pakistan. It's in the interests of the region to do so.

QUESTION: Sir, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee today rejected the proposal of putting sanctions on Pakistan for not taking actions against Haqqani Network, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Lashkar-e Tayyiba. Sir, what kind of discussions are being – are going on with Pakistan regarding these terror groups?

MR TONER: Well, our discussions continue to focus on the fact that we're urging the Government of Pakistan to take concerted action against safe havens and terrorist groups that threaten other countries in the region and we've been very clear about that. And we have seen them attempt to address it. We want to see more action taken, but it continues to be a topic of conversation with them.

Please, sir.

QUESTION: I want to go back to --

MR TONER: Yeah.

QUESTION: -- Russia – well, kind of Russia.

MR TONER: Kind of Russia.

QUESTION: You will have seen probably that the Russians say that both the Israelis and the Palestinians have agreed in principle to have a meeting to try to get things started again in Moscow.

MR TONER: Yeah.

QUESTION: What – what's your take on this?

MR TONER: Well, my – our take, not my take – our take is --

QUESTION: Well, "your" meaning the royal you.

MR TONER: That's right. That's exactly right, thank you. Look, it's obviously up to the parties to decide if – if they want to do a meeting and when and where that meeting takes place. So obviously, I'd refer you to them for comment. As we made clear in the Quartet report, we continue to call on both sides to demonstrate their commitment to a two-state solution and to lay the groundwork for a successful negotiation.

I think we're concerned that things might be moving in the opposite direction given, on the one hand – and we've expressed our concern about this – ongoing Israeli settlement activity. But equally, we've been troubled by the fact that – or by the incitement to violence – I think most recently the Fatah Facebook post that glorified the terrorist attacks on the Munich Olympics where 11 innocent Israelis – athletes were killed.

So we are concerned and remain focused on encouraging all sides to take the necessary actions and steps that will allow for a meaningful progress toward a two-state solution. So, I mean, we welcome talks. It's up for the – both sides to decide if those take place. But it's also about laying the groundwork so that any talks would be successful and be able to lead to negotiations.

QUESTION: Yeah, but basically, since the Clinton Administration – Bill Clinton – the U.S. has had a monopoly on hosting, mediating, getting involved in the peace process. And you have successfully beaten back attempts by other countries, Russia included, to – and then France to have – to host their own meeting. So I'm just wondering if you're – you don't have the same opposition to this? You're not concerned at all that you're --

MR TONER: Look, I don't --

QUESTION: -- that the U.S. might be losing its primacy and --

MR TONER: Not at all, and the Secretary remains fully engaged in this effort. He speaks to Prime Minister Netanyahu frequently. We speak to the Palestinian Authority frequently. He speaks to leadership in the region, which is also vital to any eventual peace effort. But I think it's – again, it's up to the parties to decide when and where they meet.

I just would reiterate that we think there needs to be groundwork laid before effective and fruitful negotiations can take place.

QUESTION: In other words, you think that this is not – this is going to go nowhere?

MR TONER: I'm not going to say that. I'm just saying what I said.

QUESTION: Well, it sounds like it because you say that --

MR TONER: Well, I said --

QUESTION: -- one, that you say that the groundwork needs to be laid before you can have a meeting that amounts to anything. And at the same time, you say that things are looking – moving in the opposite direction, which this all suggests to me – maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I don't think I am – that you don't think that this is – this Moscow meeting is necessarily a good idea.

MR TONER: I won't --

QUESTION: It's not ripe.

MR TONER: (Laughter.) I'll leave it where I just left it.

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

QUESTION: (Inaudible) as a Quartet member or – and when you say "we," you're referring to the United States in your previous answer.

MR TONER: Right, right.

QUESTION: So Russia is a Quartet member, but it's hosting --

MR TONER: They are.

QUESTION: And it's hosting this thing, but not in its role as a Quartet member.

MR TONER: Don't believe so. If that's wrong, I'll correct it.

QUESTION: And would you be observers at this meeting?

MR TONER: I'm not sure what our level of participation would be. I'm – so I'll hesitate – and again, it's not set in stone yet, that I understand, but obviously we'll be following it closely.

QUESTION: And does taking this decision to host the conference that wasn't premised in the Quartet report in any way call into question Russia's role within the Quartet, if it's having an independent initiative on the same topic?

MR TONER: I wouldn't say that, and I don't want to cast too much aspersion on this effort, not at all. I just – all I was saying in my response to Matt was we need to make sure that any talks – face-to-face talks – have the right climate in which to succeed in.

QUESTION: So what are the – what is the groundwork that needs to be done? Like what?

MR TONER: Well, again, I mean, I gave two examples of actions that are having the opposite effect. So we want to see de-escalation by both sides in the process, and there's any number of things that they can – steps they can take that would lead to that. I'm not going to give them a step-by-step roadmap to that. That's up for them to decide to do and undertake. But it's our belief that – and this speaks broadly to any peace negotiations, but certainly in this case – if you're not – if you don't have the right climate for them to be successful, then it's not worth having them.

QUESTION: I have a couple more questions on the issue.

MR TONER: Please.

QUESTION: First of all, do you have any comment on the reports suggesting that the president of the Palestinian Authority may have been a KGB agent?

MR TONER: None whatsoever.

QUESTION: I mean --

MR TONER: I mean, we --

QUESTION: -- in all fairness, he was the head of the Palestinian-Soviet friendship for a long, long time.

MR TONER: I think those are questions you can ask him or the Palestinian Authority.

QUESTION: Okay. All right. Let me ask you a couple of other things. The Palestinian supreme court in Ramallah postponed a municipal election. Is that something that you encourage or frown upon? What is your position on this?

MR TONER: Our position – and you're right; I mean, they froze preparatory work for the municipal elections. I think they have to – two or three election-related issues to decide on. Look, we're monitoring it; we're following it closely. It's not for us to litigate this matter on behalf of the courts. In general, we support democratic process and we've been active in supporting the development of Palestinian democratic institutions, but this is a matter for them to resolve.

QUESTION: And finally, the IMF issued a very abysmal report on the situation of Palestinian development, saying that growth has been stalled because of settlement activities and closures and all these things, and Israeli practices in the West Bank. Do you have any – have you seen their report, first of all?

MR TONER: I have not read the report. I'm aware of it.

QUESTION: Okay. You're aware of it.

MR TONER: But I mean, look, we highlighted our same concerns in the Quartet report, and those concerns specifically relate to constraints on Palestinian economic development and growth. And generally speaking, we remain committed to seeing strong economic development in the West Bank and Gaza.

QUESTION: And will these – these English schools will also cover places like Gaza and the West Bank and so on that you started --

MR TONER: Oh, that I started off – I would assume so, yeah.

QUESTION: Okay.

QUESTION: Mark, you just said --

MR TONER: Please. What did I say?

QUESTION: -- about the Russian initiative – you said you didn't – excuse me – you said you didn't want to cast too much aspersion on it. Does that mean that you only want – you want – only want to cast some aspersion on it?

MR TONER: I just – fair point.

QUESTION: I'm trying to figure out your level of unhappiness with what --

MR TONER: No, I'm not – aspersion, yes – no, I'm not trying to – I – look, I don't want to – all I'm simply saying is that we want to see any negotiations, any talks going forward, begin on the right footing in the right climate. That's all I'm saying.

QUESTION: Okay. And then --

QUESTION: And that footing does not yet exist.

MR TONER: We've seen --

QUESTION: So these talks are inopportune.

MR TONER: Again, I'll stop where I said – stopped.

QUESTION: And then just the Israelis have started building this underground barrier to prevent tunneling from Gaza. Do you have anything to say about that?

MR TONER: I don't. This is to stop what --

QUESTION: Tunnels.

MR TONER: What's that? Tunnels, right. I mean, look – I mean, we've said before that obviously Israel has a right to take steps to protect its citizens, and we respect that right. And as long as these tunnels exist and are used to carry out attacks on innocent Israelis, we support efforts to address those concerns.

QUESTION: Yeah, but – I mean, on the same issue, Mark, the Israelis, in the last just few days, they killed an unarmed Palestinian who did not threaten them. In fact, they said they killed him by mistake. They shot today someone who was coming back from school in a refugee camp outside Ramallah. They shot someone in Gaza who was also walking – a teenager and so on. So it's – Israel is taking some – almost on a daily basis an unprovoked attack, committing unprovoked attacks against the Palestinians and so on.

MR TONER: So Said, I don't – yeah --

QUESTION: And I understood that you began by pointing to the Fatah post, for instance.

MR TONER: But I also spoke about ongoing settlement activity.

QUESTION: Right.

MR TONER: I think with respect to these incidents that you mention, I don't know the particulars. We've always said that while we understand and respect the right of Israeli security forces to take action to protect Israeli citizens, we would always call on them to exercise restraint as they carry out their duties. That said, I think it also speaks to something I referred to as well, which is that we don't want to see escalating tensions. And right now, I think we've got an atmosphere of tension, and that obviously exacerbates the situation.

Please, sir.

QUESTION: Yes. On North Korea.

MR TONER: Yes.

QUESTION: A quick one on Israel, please.

MR TONER: Oh, sure. Go ahead and then I'll get to you. I promise.

QUESTION: Have you seen – sorry, have you seen --

MR TONER: It's okay.

QUESTION: -- any change in – I mean, there have been a couple of major issues that have prevented Netanyahu and Abbas from meeting, and one of them is this issue of no preconditions and the stopping of settlement building. Have you seen any change in – I mean, you're talking about other – I think slightly other issues in terms of laying the groundwork. But have you seen any change in their positions that would make it seem like this meeting would actually happen?

MR TONER: Certainly with regard to settlement activity, it's been frankly to the contrary. In terms of no preconditions, I think – at least I've seen from the Israeli Government their continued commitment to that. So I would refer you to them to speak to whether there's any change in that.

Please. Oh, North Korea, right.

QUESTION: Yes. Several Japanese lawmakers arrived in North Korea today under the premise of conducting sports exchanges. Given sort of the tensions in the region and with North Korea, do you think this is inappropriate?

MR TONER: They arrived where? I apologize.

QUESTION: In North Korea.

MR TONER: Japanese --

QUESTION: Japanese lawmakers.

MR TONER: Okay. And this is – these are sports exchanges?

QUESTION: So they arrived with the intent of conducting sports exchanges and – but they might be meeting with higher-level officials.

MR TONER: I'm not aware of these meetings. Certainly it's up for the – up to the Japanese Government to decide its level of engagement with North Korea. Our only concern is that this is a pretty opaque regime that has showed no effort to address in any way, shape, or form the international community's ongoing concerns about its nuclear program. And while we don't discount the effect of people-to-people exchanges, which it sounds like this falls under that category, it certainly doesn't address the broader concerns we continue to have about North Korea. And we continue to work closely with Japan, with other allies and partners in the region, to address those concerns.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR TONER: Yes, Tejinder.

QUESTION: Sir, at a press conference in Athens, Greece, the EU has announced that there'll be an EU-Arab summit on November 3 and 4. They have already said 35 participants confirmed. Will there be a U.S. presence, and at what level?

MR TONER: Nothing to announce in terms of U.S. presence. And I'd have to refer you to the Greeks. I just don't have any details or any reaction to it thus far. I'll have to look into it.

QUESTION: Now, have you received the invitation to participate?

MR TONER: I'm not aware that we have.

QUESTION: Nothing? Okay. And the other on India?

MR TONER: Sure, of course.

QUESTION: Have you got any update on the trilateral summit that was announced soon – India, Afghanistan – during Secretary Kerry's visit in India?

MR TONER: It's tentatively scheduled, I think, for September 21st on the margins of the UN General Assembly. But I don't have any further details.

Yes, sir. Oh, go ahead, Matt, and then I'll get to you.

QUESTION: No, you can go first.

MR TONER: Oh.

QUESTION: All right.

MR TONER: He ceded to the floor to you, sir.

QUESTION: Thank you very much. Sir, I was talking about the Foreign Relations Committee meeting today chaired by the Senator Bob Corker. Sir, the committee observed that Pakistan is expanding its nuclear program just to deal with the Indian aggression and there's a threat of nuclear war between two countries and U.S. Government should play its role of mediation to normalize the tensions between the two countries.

Sir, what really is troubling the United States to act as a mediator?

MR TONER: Well, again, I mean, I don't know what kind of formal – if he's talking about some kind of formal mediation role. I mean, we act as --

QUESTION: Sir, the senators were observed in that meeting today. The U.S. senators --

MR TONER: Yeah. I mean --

QUESTION: -- said U.S. should play the role of mediator between the Pakistan and India.

MR TONER: I mean, we strongly encourage in all of our dealings with either India and/or Pakistan stronger relations between the two countries. It's clearly in the security interests of the region that they work to de-escalate tensions and that they have dialogue. And that's something we constantly encourage for just that – or out of just that concern, which is that we don't want to see tensions escalate, spiral out of control, and lead to some kind of incident. Again, it's important for the two countries, the two governments to maintain strong, cordial, and productive relations.

Yes, sir. You were --

QUESTION: Can we go to Iran?

MR TONER: Yes. I'm sorry. (Laughter.) Do I have to consent or --

QUESTION: Yeah, but --

MR TONER: What's up?

QUESTION: The IAEA's latest report on Iran is out today.

MR TONER: Its confidential report, you mean? Its --

QUESTION: Well, it's not so confidential.

MR TONER: No, I --

QUESTION: I just read it, so it's not particularly confidential.

MR TONER: Yes, but – go ahead.

QUESTION: And I'm sure that you have read it, or if you haven't read it, the people in this building have read it and know what it says. And it basically says that, in general, they're sticking to the terms of the agreement. But it also points out a potential problem, and that is that the Iranians have begun manufacturing rotors that can be used in centrifuges, which they are allowed to do, but within limits. And I'm just wondering if this – the report points this out as a area of potential concern. Is this a concern for the United States too?

MR TONER: So the report does remain confidential until the IAEA releases it.

QUESTION: Well, it can't remain confidential if I'm --

MR TONER: Let me continue – which I think is – will be during the Board of Governors meeting September 19th to the 23rd. So I don't want to get into the details. As you note, though, it accurately portrays the status of Iran's nuclear program, we believe, and including the fact that, as you note, Iran continues to meet its commitments under the JCPOA.

As for the specific concern that you raise, I'll try to speak to it in greater detail. At this point, we're still looking at the report, assessing it. As you said, it's not prohibited, so I can't say to this point, without having looked at the report, whether we're concerned about it and to what degree we're concerned about it. So I will ask for your patience on that.

QUESTION: Okay. Yeah.

MR TONER: Is that it?

QUESTION: Could I – on Iran? Just a follow-up on Iran?

MR TONER: Yes, please.

QUESTION: Today in Cairo, the secretary-general of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, accused Iran of meddling in Arab affairs and destabilizing the region and so on. I wonder if you saw the comments and I wonder if you would comment on that. Do you think that Iran does play that kind of meddling role that destabilizes the region?

MR TONER: I mean, I haven't seen the specific comments he made. I know there's been a bit of a war of words between Saudi Arabia and Iran --

QUESTION: Right.

MR TONER: -- this past week regarding – well, stemming from concerns over the Hajj.

QUESTION: Yeah, the Hajj, yeah.

MR TONER: And we've spoken to that. I think broadly speaking – and we've been very clear about this in the wake of the JCPOA, the nuclear agreement – while that agreement addressed a very serious but specific concern about Iran's behavior, one that would have caused, without doubt, greater tension in the region and posed a real risk to the region, we haven't seen any kind of sea change in Iran's broader behavior in the region. We would hope that it would play a more constructive role, but to this point, we haven't seen any indication that it is pursuing that path.

That's it? Thanks, guys.

QUESTION: Thank you.

(The briefing was concluded at 2:46 p.m.)

DPB # 156



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