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Military

Daily Press Briefing

John Kirby
Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
October 24, 2016

Index for Today's Briefing

PHILIPPINES/REGION
NORTH KOREA/REGION
SYRIA/RUSSIA/IRAQ/TURKEY/REGION
CHINA/PHILIPPINES/REGION/DEPARTMENT
VENEZUELA
TURKEY/IRAQ/REGION
YEMEN
IRAN
YEMEN
IRAN
EGYPT

 

TRANSCRIPT:

2:19 p.m. EDT

MR KIRBY: Hello, everybody.

QUESTION: Hi.

MR KIRBY: What's so funny? (Laughter.)

Just a couple things at the top related to the Philippines. I want to let you know that the Secretary did call Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Perfecto Yasay, on the 23rd to consult on bilateral and regional matters of mutual concern as we do regularly with our Philippine allies. The two foreign ministers discussed recent challenges affecting the relationship and noted that the strong and stable relations that we have enjoyed are important for sustaining our rich people-to-people ties and our enduring security and economic interests. The Secretary also discussed the benefits of increased cooperation between our two governments to improve mutual security, promote prosperity, and to uphold our shared democratic values.

I think as you also know, Assistant Secretary Russel arrived in Manila on Saturday on the 22nd, and he will depart Manila tomorrow – tomorrow morning their time. Yesterday, he had lunch with young Southeast Asian leaders in – that are part of the Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative and a productive dinner with the secretary of finance, Carlos Dominguez. Today, he held a constructive set of meetings with government officials, including Secretary of Foreign Affairs Yasay and the Secretary of National Defense Lorenzana. Secretary Kerry also called – as I said, he also called the foreign secretary.

In all of these engagements, which I'll emphasize were part of our regular interactions with our Philippine allies, officials discussed again recent challenges affecting the relationship. These discussions noted that strong and stable relations are important for sustaining this – the strong ties that we have and our enduring shared security, economic, political, and social ties.

With that, Matt.

QUESTION: Okay. Well, let's start there, then, with the Philippines. When you talk about recent challenges to the relationship, what are you talking about?

MR KIRBY: I think it's self-evident, Matt, that some of the --

QUESTION: It is? Well, why didn't you say what they were?

MR KIRBY: Because I thought they were self-evident.

QUESTION: Oh, okay.

MR KIRBY: I mean – look, I mean, obviously – and Danny was very, I think, candid about this, about the uncomfortable rhetoric that we continue to hear coming out of leaders in the Philippines and the confusion that that is causing. In fact, I think the word Danny used was "consternation." I think that's – again, I think that was self-evident.

QUESTION: Okay. So the recent challenges, then, are entire – what you're referring to is Duterte's statements and nothing else?

MR KIRBY: The change in tone in rhetoric coming out of the Philippines, not to mention, I mean, the normal, everyday challenges that we face in that part of the world and the tensions in particular in the East Asia Pacific region, but I think I was specifically referring to the rhetoric.

QUESTION: Right. So did – and did either the Secretary or Assistant Secretary Russel come away from their conversations with any sense that the recent challenges can be overcome?

MR KIRBY: I think they both came away from the discussions realizing that the relationship remains stable and solid, and that we obviously are both going to have to work to sustain it and to keep it going. But they both came away from their discussions feeling that we were going to be able to work through this period and to continue to be able to meet our mutual requirements to one another. Certainly, from a U.S. perspective, both Assistant Secretary Russel and the Secretary made it very clear that we have every intention of continuing to meet all our security commitments in the Mutual Defense Treaty.

QUESTION: Can you be specific in any way at all as to why they came away thinking that this would – you'd be able to work through these? I mean, were they told oh, don't listen to him, that's not the thrust of this thing?

MR KIRBY: Well, I don't want to characterize their side of the conversation --

QUESTION: I understand that you don't – yeah, but can --

MR KIRBY: -- but I can tell you that --

QUESTION: But what backs up your or their understanding coming away from these meetings that things aren't as bad as they look to everybody else?

MR KIRBY: I think the tone and tenor of the discussions that they had and the assurances that the Philippine side gave to their commitment to keeping the relationship going was enough to lead the Secretary and the assistant secretary to believe that we're going to be able to work through this. But make no mistakes – make no mistake that both the assistant secretary and Secretary Kerry made it clear that we're concerned about this, about the rhetoric, that it is causing confusion and consternation, and that we did not find it necessarily helpful to the relationship writ large. But again, without speaking to what was said on the other end of the phone or at the other side of the table, I can just tell you that both of them came away feeling that these were useful discussions.

QUESTION: The reason I'm pushing so hard on this is that because when we were there shortly after his election, both the Secretary and Assistant Secretary Russel were – had sit-down meetings in Manila with these officials, to include the president --

MR KIRBY: Yes.

QUESTION: -- and came away thinking that everything was running on course and that there wouldn't be any problems, and then kind of blew up in their faces. So what are they hearing now that convinces them that --

MR KIRBY: Well, I think I just – I don't know that I can say it any better than I just did. I mean, there was a – again, a sense that we're going to be able to work through this. But I also – I'm not – I don't want you to come away from my answer thinking that I'm sugarcoating this in any way. Again, both Secretary Kerry and Assistant Secretary Russel made clear that we're confused and concerned about the shift in tone and some of the things that have been said, that we do need to try to continue to work to get a better explanation of what's behind all this and where it's really going. But both of them also made clear that our commitment to the Philippines and to the people of the Philippines remains rock-solid and we're going to move forward with that expectation in mind.

QUESTION: Did they request to meet with the president at all? Are you aware of that?

MR KIRBY: I'm not aware of any such request. You mean President Obama?

QUESTION: No, with Duterte.

MR KIRBY: Did who request?

QUESTION: Russel.

QUESTION: Russel and --

MR KIRBY: I don't know. I don't if that was part of his agenda or not, but he didn't.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Are you satisfied that there is not going to be a separation? I mean, because I think the intent was to go and clarify those specific comments (inaudible).

MR KIRBY: Well, look, I mean, Danny's still there. I'm not going to get ahead of final readouts of his meetings. I can tell you, as I said, we expressed our very strong commitment to the relationship and to moving it forward, and I would remind, as I said last week, there's been no practical applications of those comments felt in the actual relationship. And I think you saw that President Duterte himself after saying that there would be a separation walked that back later on. So as you and I discuss here today, we still have a very strong relationship with the Philippines. We have every intention of working to keep it strong.

QUESTION: Was there any indication – sorry – that this rhetoric will be sort of curtailed in the future?

MR KIRBY: I don't know. I don't know if they had a specific discussion about that. And again, I'd – I would point you to the Philippine side to talk about and to characterize their tone and tenor going forward. That's really not for us to speak to, it's for them to speak to.

QUESTION: Kirby, was it necessary for the Secretary and for Danny Russel to talk and to go there because they were afraid that – I mean, can you spell out what the concerns were about this rhetoric? That it would actually be made – that they would move from just rhetoric into action? You wanted to prevent that?

MR KIRBY: Well, so – couple of things. First of all, Danny – this trip was long scheduled, months in planning. It was not a reaction to recent events and recent comments by leaders in the Philippine Government. This was a trip that he'd been long been planning to make. Obviously, recent events certainly shaped the context of the discussions. But the Secretary's call was very much timed to – because of recent events and recent comments.

QUESTION: Well, has there been any application made by – has the Philippines actually made an application to start withdrawing those military ties?

MR KIRBY: Not that I'm aware of.

QUESTION: Not that you're aware of.

MR KIRBY: Not that I'm aware of. As I said I think just a few minutes ago, I mean, we've not seen any practical application of these comments actually bearing fruit in terms of physical, tangible changes in the relationship.

QUESTION: But you figured that it had gone on long enough to really be concerned? Because initially you were – you just kept repeating that you were allies, and you seemed to kind of think that this was something that might blow over, but it hasn't.

MR KIRBY: Well, I tried to address that on Friday, I mean, at the briefing. In fact, I led the briefing with this because the comments about separation obviously were significant comments and we paid attention to that. And so I spoke to this on Friday, that they – that those kinds of comments were certainly giving us pause for concern and some measure of confusion about where things were going and that Danny was going to take advantage of this preplanned trip to try to get a better understanding of what it meant.

Now, since the comments were made about separation, as you saw, President Duterte sort of clarified. But that doesn't that it wasn't still incumbent upon Danny in his conversations to raise our concerns, and he did, as did Secretary Kerry. But the relationship remains strong and close. It's our intention across the board as a government, not just here at the State Department, to keep that alliance strong and that relationship strong whether it's through people-to-people ties or military-to-military ties, and we're going to – and government-to-government communications, and we're going to do that. And we've seen nothing on their side that would tell us that – other than the comments – we've seen no practical application of the comments that would tell us that the Philippine Government is moving away from that right now. But we're going to stay in close touch, obviously, going forward.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Can we stay in Asia?

MR KIRBY: Sure.

QUESTION: North Korea. What could you tell us about this so-called track two, unofficial talks who were held in Malaysia over the weekend between North Korean officials and former U.S. officials?

MR KIRBY: The track two meetings, I think you know, are routinely held on a variety of topics. They're held around the world. They occur independent of the United States Government and the government's involvement, and we don't speak about the details of these private conversations. They're not government-sponsored and there's no government representation at them, so I'm really not at liberty to discuss the conversations in any more detail.

QUESTION: So you just said that it happens independent of U.S. Government. Does it mean that the two former U.S. officials who led the talks will not report to the U.S. Government?

MR KIRBY: I'm not aware of a readout. I can check on that. Whether we – how and to what degree we're informed, I'll check on that. That doesn't – but being informed of the discussions doesn't speak to U.S. Government involvement in them. So I'll check on that. I'm not aware that we have any readouts, and even if we did, I don't think it's the kind of thing that we would share publicly. But these are – this is not – these are not – this isn't a new idea. These track two discussions do happen on a fairly routine basis.

QUESTION: John?

QUESTION: Follow-up. Why didn't informal dialogue in confidence?

MR KIRBY: Because, as I said, there's no U.S. Government involvement here. This is done by private citizens, and it's – typically they discuss a range of issues. But the United States Government isn't sponsoring them. We're not – there's no government involvement in it. So it wouldn't be appropriate for me to get up here and read them out.

QUESTION: Yesterday Chinese Government remarked that there was progress in talks. Has there been any progress in detail?

MR KIRBY: Any progress in what?

QUESTION: Details.

MR KIRBY: In what?

QUESTION: Detail.

MR KIRBY: In detail? I'm not – again, if the comment made by the Chinese is about track two discussions, I'm not going to get into that. What I can tell you is – and what we said before – is that we remain open to dialogue with the DPRK with the aim of returning to credible and authentic negotiations about the denuclearization of the peninsula. But as we've also said, the onus is on the North to prove that they're able, willing, and ready to join in those discussions through the Six-Party process, and they have not.

QUESTION: Why – how Chinese Government knew that, but this is informal talks between U.S. and North Korea? But why Chinese involve this that they knew the details about?

MR KIRBY: Your question assumes that that's what they're referring to, that they're reading out these discussions. I don't know that that's true. And even if it is true, you'd have to talk to the Chinese about that, not me.

QUESTION: What will be the official dialogue in the new – the administration's progress for going forward?

MR KIRBY: I'm sorry?

QUESTION: If a new president in United States --

MR KIRBY: Well, there will be a new president.

QUESTION: Yeah, will be.

MR KIRBY: Yeah.

QUESTION: Yes, will be. Is going forward, this issue? I mean --

MR KIRBY: Will the new president move forward with --

QUESTION: Yeah.

MR KIRBY: I have no idea. I --

QUESTION: Well, because --

MR KIRBY: I couldn't begin to possibly answer that question.

QUESTION: This is unofficial dialogue, but --

MR KIRBY: The track two stuff is unofficial.

QUESTION: Yes.

MR KIRBY: It's private citizens, and they talk about a range of issues, and there – as I said, there's – they do this independent of any U.S. Government involvement. That's why I'm not going to talk about the discussions. If your question is will track two kinds of discussions continue under a new administration, that's for the new administration to speak to. I simply couldn't answer that.

QUESTION: But the North Korean representative is official members their government, as I know, but this is civilian, but the Gallucci, former in the embassy, the Gallucci, those are civilian. But looks like, seems like that North Korea is planning to next step to going to officials.

MR KIRBY: I think you have to call Pyongyang about that. I can't possibly know the answer to that question and I can't speak to DPRK representation at these discussions. I can only tell you what they are from our perspective.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Syria?

MR KIRBY: Syria? Go ahead.

QUESTION: Secretary Kerry has talked to Foreign Minister Lavrov today. Any details?

MR KIRBY: He did speak to the foreign minister today, and they did talk about the situation in Aleppo. And the Secretary expressed his concern about the renewal of airstrikes and ground attacks on Aleppo by the regime and by Russia. They talked about the importance of the continued multilateral discussions in Geneva and how to try to continue to find a way to get a meaningful cessation of hostilities.

QUESTION: And any update from the --

MR KIRBY: And the delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance to the desperate people of Aleppo, which by the way, even throughout these temporary pauses over the last several days, has yet to happen.

QUESTION: Any update on the talks in Geneva? Any progress?

MR KIRBY: I don't have anything additional to read out to you. They are ongoing.

QUESTION: And the Security Council, will discuss this afternoon a new resolution on the situation in Aleppo. Are you aware of that, and do you expect any resolution?

MR KIRBY: I don't have – I'd have to point you to the UN to speak to that. I don't have an update or additional information about any discussions up there in New York.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR KIRBY: Yeah.

QUESTION: On Syria? Your tweet yesterday --

MR KIRBY: So you noticed? Somebody's reading them.

QUESTION: It was very widely reported in the Kurdish press, so people really did see it.

MR KIRBY: I'm glad. I'm glad. I don't think Matt looked at it, though.

QUESTION: Huh?

MR KIRBY: See? "Huh?" (Laughter.)

QUESTION: I was watching a football game yesterday, not --

MR KIRBY: I can tweet and watch football at the same time.

QUESTION: Really?

QUESTION: So you tweeted about the civilian casualties and air – and our – civilian casualties and air and artillery strikes in northern Syria causing concern. And could you provide further details on that?

MR KIRBY: I don't know that I have additional tactical details if that's what you mean. I mean, obviously we're always concerned about reports of civilian casualties and the damage to civilian infrastructure as a result of military activity, particularly if that military activity is uncoordinated with other military – coalition efforts to go after Daesh.

QUESTION: These were Turkish air and artillery strikes that caused the casualties you're talking about?

MR KIRBY: I've seen reports of it being from Turkey. I'd let the Turkish military speak to their operations. What I was referring to was the reports of civilian casualties and damage, and that was obviously of concern to us.

QUESTION: Have you seen more today or you think you --

MR KIRBY: I would just – anyway, I just did this last night. I would say we're continuing to watch it as closely as we can and we continue to be concerned about it – particularly, as I said last week several times, uncoordinated activity in this particular area is counterproductive to what should be our joint efforts, and that's to go after Daesh. And that's what we want to see everybody as part of the coalition effort do.

QUESTION: Yeah, on that subject, going after Daesh, could you – on the Kurds in Iraq – could you give us a readout on Brett McGurk's meetings with President Barzani and other KRG officials that he's had over the weekend?

MR KIRBY: So Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk arrived in Erbil on Friday for a series of meetings with senior officials from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and Nineveh provincial leadership, and to receive a firsthand update on the Mosul operation and to discuss next steps. He met with IKR President Barzani on Saturday in a bilateral meeting and then he joined Secretary Carter's meeting on Sunday. In his meeting with President Barzani, Brett noted that the progress in the campaign to date – he – I'm sorry, he noted the progress in the campaign to date and he praised the extensive cooperation between Iraqi Security Forces and the Peshmerga in liberating numerous villages since the operation began. And they obviously discussed the way ahead for the Mosul campaign.

On Sunday, Special Envoy McGurk met with the Nineveh Governor Agoob, where they focused heavily on the humanitarian and the stabilization aspects of the campaign, especially returning life back to the streets of Mosul once that city is liberated. He emphasized that the coalition will support the governor and the provincial council of Nineveh Province as they work together to stabilize and rebuild Nineveh going forward. He also highlighted that working with the local authorities, the Government of Iraq, and the UN, the training that is ongoing to clear landmines left by Daesh in homes and streets, and also to ensure that equipment and supplies are prepositioned to return electricity and water to the city as soon as possible.

So again, pretty constructive and extensive meetings over the last couple of days over the weekend. In every one of those meetings he emphasized that there's still a lot of work to do to defeat Daesh in Iraq. These have – the progress is notable, and it's important, but it's not enough until we actually kick them out of Mosul and then make sure we have in place proper humanitarian and stabilization efforts. He did reiterate that the United States and the coalition will continue to provide support to Iraq as we work together to defeat this common enemy, and to the Iraqi people as they work to rebuild the communities once they're liberated.

QUESTION: Both Kurdish and UN officials have said there's a problem with humanitarian aid. Is that an issue that came up and that the U.S. is --

MR KIRBY: I just mentioned the fact that they did, in fact, talk about the need for proper humanitarian assistance. And I think you've probably seen information that we've put out about USAID and the contributions that we're making on behalf of the United States Government to provide for humanitarian assistance. This was – as I said I think a week ago, this is not something that we weren't already thinking of well in advance of the Mosul campaign, that there would be internally displaced people – people in need of humanitarian assistance, and that we continue to work with the Iraqi Government to make sure that those types of facilities and that kind of assistance is available to them.

But absolutely, Brett spoke about that with Iraqi leaders, yeah. And again, this is not something that we hadn't already been talking to them for quite some time.

QUESTION: A Turkish delegation is coming to town this week to discuss the extradition of Mr. Gulen. Do you expect any breakthrough in this regard?

MR KIRBY: I don't have any update for you on that and that's not a matter for the State Department in any event, so I don't have anything for you on that.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Can we go back to Syria and Syrian talks? So do you feel like there is – I mean, you've said that they continue to talk, but has there been any progress, do you feel, or do you think it's kind of still stuck?

MR KIRBY: I think it's safe to say that there's still work to be done in Geneva to close some of the gaps and seams. It is a multilateral discussion. It's not just the U.S. and Russia.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) U.S. talks at the moment.

MR KIRBY: Well, other regional players are represented. I think I'll let them speak for their participation. Obviously, the Russians are represented and so are we, but there are other regional partners and powers represented in Geneva. But I think it's safe to say that we're not there yet. I mean, if we were, we would have – we'd have an agreement coming out of there in terms of a cessation of hostilities, and we don't here on Monday the 24th of October. So we're going to keep at it.

QUESTION: Is Iran there?

MR KIRBY: Again, I'm going to let individual nations speak to their participation.

Yeah.

QUESTION: China? So last Friday, a U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near Xisha Island, and also U.S. authority recently said they supported direct dialogue and negotiation between the Philippines and China. So – and the other saying is they will love to see the improvement of the relationship between the Philippines and China. So was the saying from U.S. Government contradicted with what they have done in Xisha Island?

MR KIRBY: The Paracel Islands, is that what you're referring to?

QUESTION: Yeah.

MR KIRBY: And is your question that the ship --

QUESTION: The question? So --

MR KIRBY: -- sailing near the Paracels is somehow --

QUESTION: Yeah.

MR KIRBY: -- contradictory to what we said last week about China and the Philippines having a bilateral relationship?

QUESTION: So – yes, because recently, including Daniel Russel, he said he supported the improvement of relationship between the Philippines and China --

MR KIRBY: Right.

QUESTION: -- and support their direct dialogue and negotiation between those two countries. However, last Friday, we saw the U.S. Navy destroyer sail into Xisha Island. I mean, was the saying this contradicted with what the U.S. have done in Xisha Island?

MR KIRBY: No, absolutely not, absolutely not. As I said last week, we welcome an improved bilateral relationship between the Philippines and China. And we've said all along that we're not going to take a position on these disputed maritime claims. We want them resolved through peaceful dialogue, international law, and of course, bilateral discussions. So we welcome that – those kinds of discussions.

And I won't speak for naval operations, but I think my Pentagon colleagues did talk about this last week, that they did have a U.S. Navy destroyer conduct what we call freedom of navigation operations in international waters, which is exactly one of the reasons you have a navy. And I think, as Secretary Carter has said eloquently and many times, that the United States military will fly, sail, and operate in international waters as appropriate, and that that particular passage of that particular ship was totally in keeping with that not just mandate, but requirement.

QUESTION: The second one: Deputy Secretary of State Blinken will travel to Beijing on October 29th to meet with Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui on continuing discussion, including maritime issues. Could you share more information about that discussion? Will South China Sea issue will be discussed?

MR KIRBY: I'm not going to get ahead of a meeting that hasn't happened yet, but you're right, the deputy secretary is heading over and he's very much looking forward to his stop in Beijing. And I think as has been the case in virtually every discussion that we've had with Chinese leaders of late, of course tensions in the South China Sea will come up. I have no question at all that that will be discussed, but it won't be the only thing discussed. I mean, there is – our bilateral relationship with China is deep and it's expansive and there are plenty of issues to speak about. But yes, I can assure you that that will be one of the topics discussed.

Steve.

QUESTION: Can I move to Venezuela? The opposition-controlled congress yesterday declared that President Maduro's actions are – recent actions – tantamount to a coup and they plan to put him on trial. Does the United States agree with that assessment that the president has effectively been – has carried out a coup and --

MR KIRBY: Well, I think I'm going to refrain from reacting to, again, every bit of rhetoric. What I can tell you is – and we talked about this, I think, a little bit last week, although not this specific issue – that we remain, obviously, very concerned by the political, economic, and humanitarian situation in Venezuela. We joined with countries in the region on the 21st of this month to call on the Venezuelan Government to engage in actions – I'm sorry, in serious dialogue that leads to peaceful solutions to the challenges facing the Venezuelan people.

And now is the time, in our view, to listen to all Venezuelan voices and to work together to find solutions, and that's what we're focused on. We've seen the comments, but again, our larger concerns are ones we're going to continue to voice.

Yeah.

QUESTION: The rise in tensions between Turkey and Iraq. After --

MR KIRBY: Between Turkey and?

QUESTION: And Iraq.

MR KIRBY: Okay.

QUESTION: After Secretary Carter's visit both Iraq and Syria, what's the status of the – with tensions? Do you see a potential ultimate agreement?

MR KIRBY: Well, I'd let – I think I'd let each side speak for themselves in terms of where they see the tensions. What's been important is that there has been dialogue and we've said all along, many months ago when tensions over a Turkish military footprint came up, that we wanted to see Turkey and Iraq talk through this and work through this bilaterally.

QUESTION: But did Secretary Carter ease any rise in tensions between them in this visit in particular?

MR KIRBY: You'd have to talk to Secretary Carter and his staff. I don't do a good job speaking for the Defense Department anymore, so you'd have to talk to them about that.

All right?

QUESTION: Oh, no. I got – they're very brief.

MR KIRBY: Okay.

QUESTION: But there's three – there are three different subjects. (Laughter.) I guarantee they'll be brief. One, on Yemen, the Secretary seemed to hint last week in one of his events that there might be another kind of broad meeting coming up soon to talk about the situation in Yemen? Is anything happening with that, or did I mishear or misunderstand something that you said?

MR KIRBY: I don't know that – I don't know that you misunderstood. I can go back and look and see what he said. Obviously, we continue to watch the situation there very closely. I don't have any additional meetings to read out or to announce.

QUESTION: Okay. Secondly, on Iran, two things. One, I don't know if you saw the comments that President Rouhani made about the election here.

MR KIRBY: I did not.

QUESTION: He said that it was a choice between bad and worse, and asked Iranians if they wanted the kind of democracy that the United States has that has produced this current election. Do you have anything to say about that?

MR KIRBY: No, I don't. But back on – if I could, on Yemen, I do want to make a point. I know this wasn't your question, but I do want to make a point that, again, we're watching the situation very, very closely. We want to – we continue to urge all sides to abide by and extend the renewable 72-hour cessation of hostilities and to refrain from acts that will further escalate the situation in Yemen. This extension, we believe, will create the space necessary for progress toward a political settlement in Yemen. And we call upon all parties to renew and adhere to their publicly stated commitments. This cessation, if it's given time to hold, will allow urgently needed humanitarian aid to be delivered to all Yemenis, including in difficult places like Taiz and Sa'dah. So I know that wasn't what you asked, but I thought it was important to lay out there that we are watching this closely and want to see this cessation of hostilities renewed.

I'm sorry. And you had a third?

QUESTION: No, this is still part of my second. It also has to do with Iran.

MR KIRBY: So it's question two, part c or part d?

QUESTION: Yeah. You got an issue with that?

MR KIRBY: No, no, no.

QUESTION: Yeah. I just wondered if you had seen --

MR KIRBY: They're not quick, though. You said they were quick.

QUESTION: I'm going quickly. You're the one who keeps making them longer.

Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Zarif have been awarded the Chatham House Prize for concluding the Iran nuclear deal.

MR KIRBY: Yes.

QUESTION: Do you have any comment about that?

MR KIRBY: Well , the – yes, they have been. And as you know, after almost two years of negotiation we were able to conclude this Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran. The Secretary is grateful for being selected to – for this prize, and I think he'd be the first to tell you that it was very much a team effort, a team effort internationally with the other members of the P5+1 as well as the EU – the EU is one of the five – and then inside the interagency a real team effort, particularly with the Secretary of Energy. So lots of hard work all the way around. And again, I think the Secretary would be the first to say that it absolutely was a team approach.

QUESTION: Right. But I was getting more to the – my question is more about whether it's – does the Secretary think that it is appropriate now at this stage, where the deal is still being implemented, where there's still complaints that from the Iranian side that it hasn't been implemented, and still criticism in the United States that you guys – that you gave away so – too much for too little, that whether that it's – the timing of such an – this award is appropriate.

MR KIRBY: Well, I mean, neither the Secretary nor Foreign Minister Zarif had any control over the timing of it. And --

QUESTION: No, I know. I'm not saying that they did.

MR KIRBY: And I think --

QUESTION: I'm just wondering if he's – if he's comfortable accepting this award given where we are with the --

MR KIRBY: I think he's comfortable accepting it on behalf of the whole team that was involved in it, and I think the Secretary would take issue with the continued criticism about the fact – about the degree to which the deal makes the region and the United States safer – he believes it does; about the degree to which Iran is complying with their commitments – thus far they have been and so have we; and that while the relationship with Iran is far from perfect and they still continue to be a state sponsor of terrorism and conduct provocative and destabilizing activities in the region, that doesn't take away from the fact that the deal itself removes one significant destabilizer in the region, which would be an Iran with nuclear weapons. So look, the Secretary wasn't seeking this award. He's grateful and thankful that he's been selected for it.

More critically, he will accept it on behalf of everybody who worked on this in the United States Government. And number two, he's much more focused on making sure that we continue to meet our commitments to the deal going forward because he earnestly believes that the JCPOA does make the region safer and does make the American people safer.

QUESTION: And then the third issue is Egypt, and I had asked last week when Mark was up there about this American citizen, Aya Hijazi, who's been held now for 900 days, I believe. Mark, when he spoke to my question, called for due process and a speedy trial, but – and my response to him was that it's been 900 days, it doesn't seem so speedy; why aren't you calling for her immediate release? Is that something that you would care to revisit?

MR KIRBY: Well, I would say, one, we certainly remain very, very concerned about Aya Hijazi's continued detention in Egypt. As you rightly pointed out, more than two years after she was first arrested she has neither been convicted nor set free. And while we have repeatedly called, I think as Mark alluded to, an appropriate judicial process, we believe the case has been delayed way too long, and so we join in others – we join others in calling for a prompt resolution to her case and for her immediate release. I'd also note that we're providing all consular – all possible consular assistance to Ms. Hijazi. We meet with her frequently. The most recent visit was on the 11th of October, where we attended her last court hearing, and we have every intention of attending upcoming hearings as well.

QUESTION: Okay. Well, so can you – do you know – how long have you been telling the Egyptians that she should be released immediately and that they should stop the – what you seem to say is a pretense of – you seem to say the – you say the delay in her legal hearings are – is not good and it's --

MR KIRBY: Right.

QUESTION: -- unacceptable. So when did that – when did you reach the determination that --

MR KIRBY: I think we've been from the outset conveying our concerns about the appropriate judicial process in her case. And I don't have a date certain to tell you when on the calendar we said okay, well, the delay now has gone on too long. We – from the very beginning we've expressed concern to Egyptian authorities about her case and continue to do that as the delays have continued to mount up.

Okay. Thanks, everybody.

QUESTION: Thank you.

(The briefing was concluded at 2:56 p.m.)



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