Matthew Miller (00:00):
… to use this moment to regroup and relaunch terrorist attacks that threaten the interests of the United States. And with that, Matt.
Matt (00:07):
Okay. Well, it only took 12 years, but I guess Assad's days finally were numbered actually, right? 4,430 days since the Obama administration first trotted out that raise.
Matthew Miller (00:21):
I will take your math for it. I'm a spokesman for the Biden administration.
Matt (00:25):
Fair enough. So in terms of what Roger Parsons is doing in Beirut, what exactly is he doing?
Matthew Miller (00:37):
So I'm not going to get into the exact details of the conversations he's having, but I'll talk a little bit about what Roger's approach is, and you can probably draw some conclusions from that.
(00:49)
So Roger's approach when it comes to returning home Americans who are unjustly detained has always been to really do everything possible to leave no stone unturned, to gather information from wherever he can, and press anyone who is willing to take action to get American citizens home.
(01:15)
And he is in Beirut to talk with people in the region, to talk with parties in the region, to collect information, and to try to find out where Austin Tice is and get him home as soon as possible. The president has emphasized that as a priority. Secretary Blinken has emphasized it is a priority and Roger is there to carry out that important work.
Matt (01:33):
Okay, and where are under Secretary Bass and assistant secretary-
Matthew Miller (01:41):
And Barbara, they're in Amman today. They were in Doha meeting with partners over the weekend and today are in Amman.
Matt (01:48):
Okay.
Matthew Miller (01:48):
Sorry.
Matt (01:49):
Now there's been a lot of speculation now that HTS was at the vanguard of this group, that there should be, or maybe, could be some kind of consideration of removing them from the FTO list. And I think that's been roundly denied by a bunch of people. I just want to see if you can put a nail on the coffin on it.
Matthew Miller (02:13):
So I don't have any immediate actions to announce with respect to any of the sanctions that we have imposed either the designation on HTS or other sanctions that we have imposed over the past decade plus in Syria. I don't have any announcements to make with respect to those sanctions today.
(02:30)
What I will say is all of our sanctions are imposed in response to actions that parties take, and they're designed to be an incentive to different courses of actions. And that is true for organizations, it is true for countries, and so we always want to see groups that we have sanctioned take a different path moving forward. That is true here.
(02:58)
As you heard the president say, we have heard some hopeful statements out of HTS. We have heard them saying the right things about inclusion and a political process forward, but ultimately we're going to judge them by their actions and our policy response will be determined by the actions they take.
Matt (03:17):
Okay. So there is no review, quote, unquote, "specifically to HTS" underway right now as it relates to what happened over the weekend?
Matthew Miller (03:28):
There is no specific review related to what happened over the… That said, we are always reviewing our sanctions posture with entities based on their actions. So when entities take different actions, of course, there can be a change in our sanctions posture, but we have nothing new to announce today.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
I guess, a few follow-ups on that, but actually could I ask you first about some of the other countries involved there? Russia, Russia of course, et cetera, have given asylum to the Assad family.
(03:56)
The status of Russian military, Russian military bases in Syria, does the US have any information about whether the current authorities in Syria will allow those to continue? Does the US actually have the stats? Is the US comfortable with those remaining there?
Matthew Miller (04:10):
We don't have any information about the status of those bases and what the incoming Syrian regime may or may not do with respect to them. What I would say is that certainly Russia has a lot to answer for when it comes to the Syrian people.
(04:28)
You have seen Russia prop up a brutal regime that has murdered hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrian civilians that has gassed its own people. You have seen the Russian government launch strikes targeting civilians inside Syria, and now most recently you see Russia giving safe haven to the brutal tyrant responsible for those attacks.
(04:51)
So they certainly have a lot to answer for with individuals across Syria about their history of supporting Assad and their own pattern of behavior inside Russia. And it would not surprise me at all if people in Syria are asking those questions when it comes to the Russian facilities that remain inside Syria.
(05:14)
Now with respect to the United States position on those facilities, it is ultimately a decision for the Syrian people to make, not for the people of the United States, but I don't think you can look at the influence that Russia has had through those bases inside Syria and determine that they have been anything other than disastrous for the Syrian people over the past 10 to 12 years.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Okay. I mean, I realize you obviously suffer in the US to say that they're not there, but you just said they're disastrous with Syrian people. Would you be looking… As you said, you're judging them by actions, the new authorities. Is that one of the actions you would be judging them by, what the relationship they keep with [inaudible 00:05:55]-
Matthew Miller (05:54):
We are going to be judging them by the whole range of their actions, but when we talk about the actions that they're taking, ultimately what we want to see and what we are judging them by are the kinds of ideals that are laid out in UN Security Council resolution 2254.
(06:08)
So an inclusive political process moving forward, respect for minority groups, either religious minorities or ethnic minorities inside Syria, an ultimate transition towards elections, the cessation of hostilities. Those are the types of things to which we're referring.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Can I just ask you about another neighbor, Israel? Israel has said that, for instance, since the first time since the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War has openly gone across the Golan Heights and said it's creating, what I call, is a temporary barbarism. How do you feel about this? The UN has said it's a violation. Does United States agree? First of all, does the US agree that it's a violation?
Matthew Miller (06:47):
So let me say a few things about it. Number one, I think it's important to put in context why what happened that led up to this event. First of all, the Syrian army abandoned its positions in the area around the negotiated Israeli-Syrian buffer zone, which potentially creates a vacuum that could have been filled by terrorist organizations that would threaten the state of Israel and would threaten civilians inside Israel.
(07:10)
Every country has the right to take action against terrorist organizations and every country I think would be worried about a possible vacuum that could be filled by terrorist organizations on its border, especially in volatile times as we obviously are in right now in Syria.
(07:28)
The second thing that is important is that Israel has said that these actions are temporary, to defend its borders. These are not permanent actions, and so ultimately what we want to see is lasting stability between Israel and security… sorry, Israel and Syria, and that means we support all sides upholding the 1974 disengagement agreement.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Do you feel that they're holding up that disengagement agreements?
Matthew Miller (07:51):
Well, look, this is a temporary action that they have taken in response to actions by the Syrian military to withdraw from that area. Now, what we want to see ultimately is that agreement fully upheld and we'll watch to see that Israel does that. They have said that this is a temporary action and we're going to be watching what steps they take in the coming weeks.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
You're saying watching what steps they'll take, I mean, do you want them to take those steps?
Matthew Miller (08:15):
Of course, we will be engaging with them as well, but ultimately it's important that there is security along that border. Right now there was potentially a vacuum created by the withdrawal of Syrian forces.
(08:27)
We don't want to see a vacuum there either. That could be filled by terrorist organizations. That's not good for, not just for Israel's security, it wouldn't be helpful potentially to the people of Syria.
(08:37)
If you see a terrorist group move into the area that was vacated by Syrian forces and could lead to an outbreak of hostilities across that border; something that we don't want to see either.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
I mean, just to make sure I'm understanding correctly, you're saying basically that the US wants this Israeli move to be temporary, that you want permanent?
Matthew Miller (08:55):
So look, as I said, we want to see the 1974 disengagement agreement upheld, and that include the terms of the buffer zones, which includes Israel withdrawing to its previous position. Yeah.
Hümeyra (09:09):
Just on that quickly, did Israel give you a heads-up before doing that?
Matthew Miller (09:14):
We have been consulting with them about the situation. I'm not going to speak to the contents of those private diplomatic conversations.
Hümeyra (09:18):
Right. Did they describe what temporary would look like? Is it six months, one year, or 30 years?
Matthew Miller (09:24):
I'm not going to get into those diplomatic conversations.
Hümeyra (09:26):
Okay. Going back to going back to US engagement with some of these Syrian rebel groups. Yesterday, a senior administration official talking to reporters, that US is in touch with some of them.
(09:41)
Can you explain which ones, and given that HTS is designated and there is a bounty on Jolani's head, is that a 100% impediment for you guys to even indirectly engage with them or not really?
Matthew Miller (09:57):
So as a legal matter, no, it is not. We do have the ability to engage with organizations that have been designated. You might remember that the previous administration engaged with the Taliban while it was a designated terrorist organization and struck an agreement to withdraw from Afghanistan with the Taliban while the Taliban was a designated terrorist organization.
(10:16)
So we do have the ability when it is in our interest legally to communicate with a designated terrorist organization. There are things you can't do under the law, but talking with people is not one of them/.
(10:28)
When it comes to engagement with groups on the ground in Syria, so we have a number of ways of communicating. Sometimes directly with various groups, sometimes with intermediaries either inside Syria or outside Syria. We have been engaging in those conversations over the past few days.
(10:43)
Secretary himself has been engaged in conversations with countries that have influence inside Syria and we'll continue to do that, but I'm not going to get into the details of those conversations.
Hümeyra (10:51):
Can you-
Matthew Miller (10:52):
I will say that there are a couple of key points that we are emphasizing in all of those conversations. One is that we want to see de-escalation moving forward. We don't want to see any organization take advantage of this situation to try and improve their own position, to try and prove their own standing inside Syria.
(11:15)
We want to see ultimately a political reconciliation and a political path forward that answers the interest of the Syrian people, not the narrow interests of any one of the various organizations that are active militarily inside Syria.
Hümeyra (11:27):
Right. Is the US government trying to engage with Jolani himself?
Matthew Miller (11:33):
I'm not going… I'm going to make it a rule: while we are in this period of somewhat uncertainty, to not try to read out all the conversations that we have one by one with various actors inside Syria.
(11:47)
But I can tell you that we believe we have the ability to communicate one way or the other, directly or indirectly, with all the relevant parties. And we will make clear… The interest that I just outlined both in the top of my remarks and in response to your previous question, we will be making clear that those are the interests of the United States and what we believe are the interest of the Syrian people that we want to see upheld.
Hümeyra (12:11):
I have one final broad thing. Over the last four years, we didn't hear a whole lot about Syria from this podium or in the briefings. This was clearly an issue that was on the back burner.
(12:24)
I'm sure you're going to disagree with the premise of this question, but that is simply a fact based on observation and our experiences here. Do you feel that that's undercutting your efforts right now? How much of an influence do you think you have in the waning days of this administration?
Matthew Miller (12:44):
Well, first of all, let me say most of what I talk about from this podium is not my choice. It's yours, except for my various opening remarks.
Hümeyra (12:52):
But our-
Matthew Miller (12:52):
I get up… Let me just say I get up.
Hümeyra (12:54):
Our questions are-
Matthew Miller (12:54):
Hold on. Let me just say-
Hümeyra (12:55):
Our questions are based on US foreign policy [inaudible 00:12:58].
Matthew Miller (12:58):
Hümeyra, let me… I didn't interrupt the question.
Hümeyra (13:00):
Sorry. Go ahead.
Matthew Miller (13:01):
Please let me finish the answer. I get up here and I respond to the questions from the reporters in this room, and I don't think it's fair to judge my lack of responding to the lack of questions about Syria as a indication of the work that has been going on inside the department and inside the administration.
(13:20)
I will tell you that, of course, you will see a lot of the public work around matters that become new flashpoints, matters that require serious political engagement from the senior leaders of this department.
(13:40)
But the Syria policy that was developed during the latter stages of the Obama administration, to go back to the point that Matt started this briefing with, that has largely carried through to this day. Ultimately, I would say has led to the situation we're in today.
Matthew Miller (14:00):
And I would combine that with the policies this administration has pursued to weaken Bashar Assad's main backers, Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, which of course is itself backed by Iran.
(14:13)
So, it is the sanctions that we imposed on the Syrian regime that weakened the Syrian regime. It is the international coalition that we marshaled to hold Assad accountable. And then, the fact that when Assad found himself at a moment of weakness in the past 10 days, the fact that his biggest backers had been weakened by diplomatic and military efforts supported by the United States, that had a role in what happened too. It had a major role in what happened too.
(14:47)
So, I would say despite the oftentimes lack of public conversation about Syria in this briefing room or elsewhere in the United States government, when you look at the policies that we have pursued to take on Iran and to take on Russia, and you combine them with Assad's lack of any meaningful political engagement with his own people, that's what got us to where we are today.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Maybe we can have a whole separate Syria briefing now that this is a flashpoint and then-
Matthew Miller (15:15):
It sounds like we.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
We do have the back and forth, but I'm going to let that rest.
Matthew Miller (15:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (15:20):
The Taliban were never designated an FTO. In fact, the guy who the president-elect has nominated to take over this building-
Matthew Miller (15:28):
Fair enough.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
… introduced a bill just a little over a year ago that would require this-
Matthew Miller (15:33):
Fair enough. I take it back. An organization-
Speaker 4 (15:33):
… but they are an SDGT, but there are different requirements under that.
Matthew Miller (15:39):
So, you're right, not an FTO, an SDGT. I often get that distinction wrong. That said, the rule about engagement, the ability to have conversations is the same for both of those designations.
Speaker 4 (15:53):
Can you check that?
Matthew Miller (15:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
All right. Thanks.
Matthew Miller (15:55):
Go ahead.
Speaker 5 (15:56):
It's clear that you have the ability to engage with all these different groups, but you can't say with a bit more clarity whether you intend to or not engage directly with the person who arguably led this operation to depose of Assad?
Matthew Miller (16:07):
So, I just don't think it's productive for me to do that today. We want to have conversations with the key groups inside Syria, either directly or indirectly. It's obvious that HTS is one of them. We want to make clear to them the same points that you have heard the president make publicly. We also want to engage with any organization that might have information about the whereabouts of Austin Tice, so we can try and bring Austin home. But I'm just not going to get into the details of those conversations publicly.
Speaker 5 (16:33):
I wanted to follow up on Tice. Why wouldn't Carstens go to Beirut now that the border's wide open, people are flowing in, it would seem that he could go right to the source and engage with people?
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Syria, you mean.
Speaker 5 (16:42):
Sorry, what did I say?
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Beirut.
Matthew Miller (16:44):
I think you meant Syria. Beirut.
Speaker 5 (16:45):
Right. He's in Beirut.
Matthew Miller (16:47):
We all misspeak sometimes.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
Why wouldn't he go across the border into Damascus?
Matthew Miller (16:52):
I'm not going to talk about what travels Roger may or may not make in the coming days. He's in Beirut today. He's working to get Austin Tice out, and I'll leave it at that for today.
Speaker 5 (17:01):
He went in 2020 and he met with the Syrians. And from what we understand there was no proof-of-life offered. Can you say whether or not there has been any kind of proof-of-life since that 2012 video that was believed to have been-
Matthew Miller (17:15):
So, I think where I'll leave it, where it's appropriate for me to leave it, and I should back up and say that this is a matter that we discuss directly with Austin's family, secretary talked to Austin's family on Friday. We believe, we assess that he is alive and we are working to try and get him home. And I think the details that lead us to that conclusion, I think I ought to not speak to publicly.
Speaker 5 (17:40):
And just last thing, they did say on Friday that they have a new source, they have new information that he's alive and being treated well. Is there anything new as far as you understand it?
Matthew Miller (17:50):
I'm just going to leave it with my previous answer, which is we have reason to believe that he is alive. We are working to bring him home. And when it comes to the details that lead us to believe that, we ought to keep those discussions private with his family and not air them publicly here, I think.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
Thank you, Matt. You talked about Austin Tice. Are there any circumstances in which the US would send a team in regardless of American detainees, to assist with helping any of the prisoners come out of Assad's prisons? There's lots of reports about how they're not able to access a lot of the cells in some of these prisons, that some of these prisons' locations are secret. Is there a scenario where the US could help with that at all?
Matthew Miller (18:34):
I just don't want to get into hypotheticals. Obviously, we want to see those who have been unjustly detained, not just Austin Tice, but Syrians who have been unjustly detained for their political views, it is important that they be released, but I don't want to get into hypotheticals about what, if any, assistance the US might offer at this stage.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
And one on Israel. There's been reports that they've been striking suspected chemical weapons sites within Syria. What's the US stance on that?
Matthew Miller (19:01):
Look, we believe it is important that the chemical weapons stockpiles that we know the Assad regime was maintaining be locked down and that they be destroyed. And we will continue to work with our partners in the region to that effect and we will continue to make clear to the incoming government, the incoming regime that that is important.
(19:29)
Now, look, we have seen the public statements from HTS that they do not want to use chemical weapons, they have no interest in using chemical weapons. That's a productive statement. But we want to see those chemical weapons stockpile secured and we want to see them ultimately destroyed. Sayeed.
Speaker 6 (19:50):
I want to move to Gaza.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Can we stay on Syria?
Matthew Miller (19:50):
Why don't we stay on Syria? Tom, go ahead.
Press (19:54):
Did the administration foresee the fall of Assad?
Matthew Miller (19:57):
We didn't directly see the fall of Assad, but we certainly saw that his regime was incredibly weak. Look, this is what I said a minute ago. We have been very clear going back to 2014 that the path forward was through the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254. And the most relevant portion of that Security Council Resolution for this question is for Assad to do something to engage with his own public, his own people, about a political path forward. And we saw him do nothing. We saw him not only do nothing but to continue to brutally oppress his people.
(20:40)
And so, when you have a dictator who engages in that type of behavior, their regime is going to be weak, it's going to be brittle. And that's true not just for Assad, it is true for other authoritarian regimes around the world. And so, you take that and you combine it with the weakening of Russia's military capabilities and the weakening of Iran's military capabilities and Hezbollah's military capabilities, ultimately, which we played a part in, that gets you to where we are today.
(21:11)
But now, it's not to say we foresaw the launch of an offensive 10 or so days ago, but we certainly saw how weak the Assad regime was. And I will note it was about a year or so ago that we had a conversation in here about other countries in the region readmitting Syria to the Arab League. And what you heard me say at the time is the position of the United States is Assad has done none of the things that the international community collectively asked him to do. And every country has to make their own decisions about how to respond to that refusal on his part. But we, the United States, decided that we were not ready to restore relations with him as usual. We were not ready to lift the sanctions on him. We were not ready to lift the pressure on him because we had seen him take none of those steps. And I think it's the combination of his refusal to engage with his own public and the pressure that we and other countries around the world put on him that ultimately got us to where we are today.
Press (22:18):
I mean, I asked the question-
Matthew Miller (22:19):
Sorry for the long-winded answer to the question.
Press (22:22):
No. No. No. But I asked the question because there has been, you hint to it there, a lot of the US administration in the last 24 hours who were taking the credit for its foreign policy decisions that in part created the conditions for this to happen in terms of the weakening of Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia. And therefore, there's a sort of, if you kind of break it, you own it part of the foreign policy element, which is what now? Is both, has been your planning for this eventuality and therefore, what leverage do you have? What influence do you have on the players now that are in control in Damascus? What can you say now that will influence them to do the kind of things you want them to do?
Matthew Miller (23:03):
So, I don't want to totally reject the premise of the question, Tom, because I do respect the question. But I do think that at a time like this, that really is the wrong way to look at the question. It is not a question of what leverage or influence the United States has, because ultimately this is a process that needs to be led by Syrians, not by the United States, not by any other country in the region. And so, what we can do is make clear that we will support the Syrian people on this path towards a better future.
(23:35)
We're going to protect our own interests while we do that. We're going to make sure that ISIS doesn't reemerge, but it is not for the United States to try to use its influence or leverage to dictate any path forward for them. We want to see them make those decisions on their own. Now, we're going to be clear in engaging with all of the relevant parties inside Syria and elsewhere in the region, that there are a few core fundamental principles that we want to see respected as that moves forward. But ultimately, these are decisions for the Syrian people to make. Not for us.
Press (24:10):
But I mean, if you're HTS and you're thinking about the way ahead and clearly there is a direction you want them to take and one you don't want them to take. And so, I'm asking about what you can do.
Matthew Miller (24:24):
Yeah, fair question. Look, fair question. So, there are sanctions that the United States has imposed on Syria. There are various forms of diplomatic relations that we hold with countries and that we suspend with others. All of those things are the tools that the United States has in its toolbox when it comes to responding to this situation. And so, when I say that we will judge HTS by their actions and we will respond through our own policies, that is the kind of thing that I am talking about when I make that sort of statement and when the secretary and the president make those sort of statements.
Press (25:00):
And just finally on that point. I mean, for Syrian people who endured just utter brutality under Assad and then the ravages of this civil war for many years now. I asked the question about what trust they should have in the US when it comes to this because the moderate opposition groups that they desperately wanted more US support for years, there was this funding program that was pulled. There was the chemical weapons being used by Assad and people wanted to see American planes in the sky at some points during that. They didn't see them. They wanted air defenses against Russia's bombardment of Aleppo and hospitals and homes in parts of Syria. And there are people who feel abandoned, that feel the US didn't come to their aid at that point. So, what can you say now to sort of-
Matthew Miller (25:54):
Let me say that first of all, we stand with the Syrian people and we have always stood with the Syrian people and stood against the brutal tyranny of Bashar Assad.
(26:05)
Now, we have to make difficult decisions when it comes to direct military intervention because we know that oftentimes the consequences of direct US military intervention, either in the short term or the long term, outweigh the benefits that that intervention can provide. And so, those are the kinds of difficult decisions that we have to make. I know I stand in this briefing room all the time and asked very hard questions about the result of the US supplying weapons to parties in the Middle East. So, they're difficult decisions that we have to make, but I will say we have always stood by the Syrian people and we have taken actions to hold Assad accountable and to put pressure on the regime. And it is those actions in combination with some of the other factors I've gone through today that ultimately led to the events of the past 48, 72 hours. Yeah. Nadia.
Speaker 7 (27:07):
Thank you. I have a follow-up and a couple of questions. Is this a timeframe that you want to give Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to assist their behavior? Because today there was a meeting between Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, formerly known as Jolani, with the former prime minister of the regime. They're securing the central bank, doing certain things for the people of Syria because if we're talking about weeks or months, that will take us to the next administration. It will be really under this administration to assist them, to take them out or to keep them on the list.
Matthew Miller (27:39):
So, I can't give you a timeframe today. I do think we all ought to take a beat and just recognize that we are not even 48 hours now since the Assad regime fell. So, we are in the very early days of seeing what's going to happen next and seeing what actions are taken by HTS and other parties inside
Matthew Miller (28:00):
… Inside Syria.
(28:02)
So we're going to make ongoing assessments based on their actions, and we will respond based on those actions, but I can't give you any kind of timetable for how that will unfold going forward.
Press (28:14):
Okay, the president said yesterday that the Assad regime, or Assad himself, should be held accountable. Would you support his application to stand in front of the ICC as a war criminal who committed crimes against humanities?
Matthew Miller (28:25):
So we support the work of the ICC. I know that, obviously, we have disagreed with their-
Press (28:30):
Except for Israel.
(28:30)
[inaudible 00:28:32]
Matthew Miller (28:32):
Hold on. Hold on. Let me address it. We did support-
Press (28:34):
No, you support the work of the ICC until they do something about Israel.
Matthew Miller (28:37):
So we have had a-
Press (28:38):
[inaudible 00:28:38]
Matthew Miller (28:38):
Let me just answer the question.
Press (28:39):
[inaudible 00:28:40] you don't [inaudible 00:28:40] the US.
Matthew Miller (28:41):
Let me answer the question, because I was addressing that before you interrupted me.
(28:44)
We obviously have had a jurisdictional dispute with them as it relates to cases against Israel. That is a longstanding jurisdictional dispute. But that said, we have also made clear that we support broadly their work, and we have supported their work in other cases despite our jurisdictional dispute when it comes to Israel. But that said, when it comes to Assad, I suspect that before you ever get to the ICC, the people of Syria are probably going to want him to return home and stand judgment for his crimes in Syria.
Press (29:17):
[inaudible 00:29:18] not going to return home. I mean, he's under the Russians' protection.
Matthew Miller (29:21):
I doubt that he's going to … I mean, if he's not going to return home from Russia, I doubt he's going to transfer himself to The Hague, leaving Russian protection. Yeah.
Press (29:30):
Sure. But [inaudible 00:29:31].
Matthew Miller (29:31):
My point being, should he ever decide he's willing to face accountability, or should the Russians decide that they don't want to continue to harbor a war criminal, there may be a whole range of people in line to hold him accountable for his actions.
Press (29:47):
Okay. I'm going to ask you about [inaudible 00:29:49], but do you think that the US is undermining the trust of the international community and organizations like the ICC and ICJ by making an exception for Israel when trying to convince us that Assad and the like of Assad should be brought in front of the International Criminal Court?
Matthew Miller (30:07):
So, again, I think it takes too narrow a view of the ways in which he could be held accountable for his crimes by just focusing on the ICC. Because I do suspect that whatever comes out of the wake of the past 48 hours, you will see a demand by the Syrian people that he return to Syria and face justice for his crimes, and that that would be the court of first jurisdiction before you even get to the ICC.
Press (30:32):
Okay. And [inaudible 00:30:33]-
Matthew Miller (30:33):
So that's true, but when it comes to the overall question, I know we have a disagreement with other countries around the world, but this has been a longstanding, good faith disagreement about where the ICC has jurisdiction and where it does not based on the fact that there is no recognized Palestinian state.
Press (30:57):
Okay. But that was the norm because this is what happened with Rwanda, this is what happened with ex- Yugoslavia, et cetera.
(31:01)
Final question. The Caesar Act sanctions is going to expire on December 28th, I believe. Do you think that this should be expired now that the regime is no longer there?
Matthew Miller (31:13):
I don't have any announcements on that act today. We're going to continue to watch what happens and make our decisions moving forward.
(31:28)
Okay, so … Syria?
Press (31:28):
[inaudible 00:31:29].
(31:28)
Yeah.
Matthew Miller (31:28):
Yeah, go ahead.
Press (31:28):
[inaudible 00:31:29].
(31:28)
[inaudible 00:31:29]
Matthew Miller (31:28):
Yeah.
(31:28)
[inaudible 00:31:29]. Sorry.
Press (31:29):
Yeah, can you talk about the US alliance with Kurdish forces in Syria? And how does the US support for SDF look like after the fall of the Assad regime?
Matthew Miller (31:38):
There has been no change in our posture with respect to support for the SDF. They continue to be a vital partner in the fight against ISIS and they will continue to be so.
Press (31:49):
How about the US military troops deployment in Syria? Is that [inaudible 00:31:55] there's no change?
Matthew Miller (31:55):
So there has been no change with respect to anything forward-looking. I'll defer to my colleagues at the Pentagon for that question.
Press (32:01):
[inaudible 00:32:02] I'm not asking you to give a prediction or not, but has anyone checked in on the status of the embassy?
Matthew Miller (32:08):
Oh yeah.
Press (32:10):
Are the Chechs still your protecting power?
Matthew Miller (32:11):
So-
Press (32:11):
It's been a long time since we've talked about that. Are the Chechs still there?
Matthew Miller (32:13):
So a couple things with respect to that question.
(32:17)
The Chechs are, or maybe were, still our protecting power, but the Chechs have left their embassy in Damascus. So there's-
Press (32:25):
[inaudible 00:32:26] protecting power for the protecting [inaudible 00:32:27].
Matthew Miller (32:27):
Yeah, that is beyond my grasp, unfortunately. That said, we have taken steps to secure our embassy, and we believe that our embassy, which of course we're not staffing at the time, that out embassy is still secure.
Press (32:44):
Well, what steps?
Matthew Miller (32:46):
I don't think I should … It's a security matter, so I don't think I should get into it from here. But obviously-
Press (32:53):
Are there US …
Matthew Miller (32:53):
No, there are no US personnel, there are no US forces there, but we are at times able to engage with local parties to maintain the security of our embassy and make sure that it's not breached, and we have taken those steps.
Press (33:05):
[inaudible 00:33:06] Syria.
Matthew Miller (33:06):
Michelle.
Press (33:07):
On Syria, on Manbij, how do you view the fights between SDF and SNA, and are you coordinating between the SDF and Turkey to escort SDF militants from Manbij?
Matthew Miller (33:21):
So out stance on this with all of the relevant parties has been clear, that we don't want to see an escalation, we don't want to see anyone take advantage of this period of instability to try and further their own position inside Syria. We are making that clear to all of the concerned parties in the region.
(33:45)
When you look at the important work that the SDF does to prosecute the fight against ISIS, to secure prisons where ISIS fighters are held, we don't want to see them distracted from that important duty in any way possible. So we'll continue to make that clear to the relevant parties in the region.
Press (34:08):
SDF militants are besieged in Manbij. Are you working on this to escort them and to take them out, or …
Matthew Miller (34:14):
I don't have anything to announce from here beyond what I just said.
Press (34:19):
Another one too. Was the HTS able to control whole Syria in seven days without any international support in your view, and who was or will support them?
Matthew Miller (34:31):
Well, the United States wasn't supporting them, and I think I'll let other countries speak for themselves.
Press (34:34):
And finally on Iran, what extent are you concerned that Iran, after losing Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria will move forward to get a nuclear bomb?
Matthew Miller (34:46):
So, look, that is obviously an issue that we have been concerned about for some time and something that we have been watching for some time, and something we coordinate with our allies and partners. And without making an assessment, I will just repeat what we have always made clear, which is that President Biden will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, period, full stop.
Press (35:08):
Thank you.
(35:08)
[inaudible 00:35:09]
Matthew Miller (35:08):
Yeah.
Press (35:10):
On the Russia angle of this topic, [inaudible 00:35:16] granting political asylum to Assad, is it legal, does he have a case here, do you think? And if it comes to holding Assad accountable, if Russia refuses to hand him over, does it make Russia complicit?
Matthew Miller (35:28):
So I think Russia is already complicit in Assad's crimes against the Syrian people. I don't think you need any further actions by Russia to prove their complicity.
(35:39)
And then with respect to the question of international law, I'm just not qualified to opine on that.
Press (35:43):
And back to Tom's question. He mentioned that you guys are taking credit for your past decisions on this. Ukraine angle; [inaudible 00:35:50] president [inaudible 00:35:50] secretary mentioned that Ukraine fighting back Russia weakened Russia and that has actually contributed to this victory. Does that further signify support for Ukraine among [inaudible 00:36:03]?
Matthew Miller (36:03):
So I can't speak for years ahead obviously. I'm the spokesperson for an administration that will be in office for a little over one month. I can tell you that as long as President Biden is in office, we will continue to support Ukraine. And I would point to the broad support for Ukraine in the United States Congress and among the American public. But of course, I can't speak to decisions that the next administration will make.
(36:24)
Si, finally.
Press (36:26):
[inaudible 00:36:26].
(36:26)
I move on to Gaza, but the first … I wanted to-
Matthew Miller (36:30):
Well, the rest of the room might get angry again, but it's fine with me.
Press (36:33):
Yeah. I want to ask you very quickly on Syria regarding Julani. Is the bounty on his head still operative? If somebody were to turn him in today, he would [inaudible 00:36:45]?
Matthew Miller (36:45):
I would have to take that back [inaudible 00:36:46].
Press (36:46):
Okay, let me move on to Gaza.
Matthew Miller (36:46):
It's just a factual question I don't know the answer to.
Press (36:50):
Okay. All right. I'll move on to Gaza.
(36:51)
UNWRA just issued a situation report, report number 150, that really [inaudible 00:36:56] situation that happened. It was updated between November 26th and 3rd of December. And I was wondering, what is the aid situation? What has … I mean, since the 12th of November when [inaudible 00:37:13] said that Israel was allowing so many in, can you update us in figures and term and so on, what is happening with aid to Gaza?
Matthew Miller (37:20):
With respective to actual figures, I'll have to take that back and get you … But I can speak to the broad pattern.
(37:25)
So after Secretary Austin sent that latter, we did see Israel take a number of steps. Now the actual delivery of aid inside Gaza continues to be incredibly challenging because of the security situation there. The primary impediment continues to be the looting of convoys that try to deliver the aid that makes it to Gaza, actually to that last mile so it can be distributed to people. And it continues to be something that we work on with our United Nations partners and with the government of Israel.
Press (37:56):
So can you update us on what efforts have you taken to ensure that whatever level you want to see going into Gaza, what measures have you taken in the last week, the last two weeks, the last three weeks?
Matthew Miller (38:07):
So I can tell you that Secretary Blinken met with the Foreign Minister of Israel in Malta on Thursday of last week and made very clear to him that though Israel has taken important steps to improve the humanitarian situation, they continue to need to do more. We want to see more provision of aid to the Palestinian people and we want to see that aid get distributed everywhere inside Gaza.
Press (38:32):
Mm-hmm. Let me ask you a couple more questions.
(38:35)
On UNWRA, is there any likelihood that this president, before he departs office, could take any kind of emergency measure to [inaudible 00:38:45] aid to UNWRA?
Matthew Miller (38:46):
So we don't have the ability under the law to do that. I think, as you know, the Congress barred the provision of humanitarian assistance to UNWRA, and we are bound by that law. It ends until March 25th of next year, which is of course past the president's time in office.
(38:59)
But I will say that despite that ban on funding to UNWRA, the United States is programming nearly 1.2 billion dollars in humanitarian assistance to assist Palestinian refugees and others in Gaza, West Bank and neighboring countries through other UN organizations.
Press (39:18):
And couple more questions.
(39:20)
A US senator, Senator Tom Cotton, introduced a bill last week in the senate, I guess, to ban the use of the term West Bank and revert to Judea and Samaria. Do you have any comment on that?
Matthew Miller (39:34):
I don't have any comment on the legislation, but we will continue to refer to the West Bank as the West Bank because that's what it is.
Press (39:41):
Okay.
(39:41)
Now finally, I know that we spoke last week with [inaudible 00:39:48] about the Amnesty International report, and you refused to acknowledge that what Israel is doing is basically genocide in Gaza. You're saying that it does not rise to the level of genocide and so on.
(40:01)
I mean, I don't know what is the threshold for destruction and killing and so on that would qualify for a genocide. But let me bring your attention to … A historian, an Israeli historian, has documented, I mean, voluminous document and so on, that basically says that Israel had intent and carried out those genocidal intents.
Matthew Miller (40:27):
So we've-
Press (40:27):
Do you have a comment on that?
Matthew Miller (40:28):
Yeah, we have seen that report. As you know, we have not concurred with past findings regarding genocide and we don't again with this report.
(40:39)
We do remain deeply concerned by the reports of civilian harm in this conflict, and we continue to emphasize that all parties must comply with international humanitarian law.
(40:46)
Yeah.
Press (40:47):
Thanks so much. [inaudible 00:40:48] Syria.
(40:49)
Regarding the Israel strikes on Damascus, you mentioned the importance of, you know, destroying chemical weapons stockpiles. But is the US certain that Israel actually is really targeting the chemical weapons-
Matthew Miller (41:06):
I don't have-
Press (41:06):
… And nothing else?
Matthew Miller (41:06):
Sorry.
Press (41:07):
Because there are some reports saying that in the buildings Israel targeted in Damascus was Assad's intelligence office, for instance.
(41:15)
Is the US aware of this?
Matthew Miller (41:16):
I don't have any assessment of their strikes. They'll have to speak to them.
Press (41:21):
And one more on this.
(41:21)
Regional countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Qatar condemned Israel's seizure of Golan Heights. Actually they just had a fragile ceasefire agreement recently in Lebanon. Are you not concerned about Israel's actions like occupation of Golan Heights and these attacks on Damascus, which regional countries also perceive as a provocation?
Matthew Miller (41:50):
So I already spoke to the situation on the border. I don't have any further comment on that. But of course, if you look at what we are trying to achieve here, we are
Matthew Miller (42:00):
… trying to achieve de-escalation and stability. And we do-
Speaker 8 (42:03):
But does Israel share that purpose?
Matthew Miller (42:04):
I know, but I'm just saying ultimately we believe it is in the interests of all the countries in the region, including Israel, that you have stability in Syria, stability in Lebanon, that will help produce stability in the broader region. And that is what we are trying to accomplish and what we try to encourage all these parties when discussing their actions with them.
(42:25)
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (42:26):
Thank you, Matt.
Matthew Miller (42:26):
I'll come to you next, Hiba.
Speaker 9 (42:29):
Yeah. On Manbij and also SDF. As you mentioned that the SDF is a vital partner in fighting against ISIS, but this partner, the US partner in the region are distracted because of the Syrian National Army attacks in Manbij and Kobani. Even as we are speaking there are reports about attacks in Qamishli. So have you tried to reach Turkiye, as they're backing these groups, to stop these attacks on SDF in the region?
Matthew Miller (42:51):
We have discussed this with Turkey and with a number of other countries in the region, and we have made clear what you heard me say in response to a previous question, which is that we want to see de-escalation. We don't want to see any party try and take advantage of the situation.
Speaker 9 (43:04):
There are a number of US senators, including Senator Chris Van Hollen and also Senator Lindsey Graham. They said that the US should not guard down and also they should-
Matthew Miller (43:13):
Should not what?
Speaker 9 (43:15):
Guard down. They should not rest. And they should-
Matthew Miller (43:16):
Oh, yeah.
Speaker 9 (43:18):
Yeah, they should support the Kurds in fighting against ISIS and also protect them from the attacks from other groups. So are you calling, stop these attacks from Syrian National Army?
Matthew Miller (43:28):
As I just said, we want to see a de-escalation across the board.
(43:32)
Hiba, go ahead.
Hiba (43:34):
Matt, I just wanted to-
Matthew Miller (43:35):
You got to sit closer. I've never seen you so far back, Hiba. I couldn't find you back there.
Hiba (43:40):
[inaudible 00:43:39]. Just to follow-up on Humeyra's question because I want to… Usually, I don't like to do that, but I want to argue with something. When you are trying to take a little bit of credit regarding what happened in Syria, I mean, for four years, before… The Secretary, before becoming the Secretary of State, he said he will… You will address this crisis when you are back in power. But the thing is, for four years nothing changed. And also, two weeks ago you were a little bit open to engage again with Assad. We know that there was negotiations, some regional partners reached out to you to maybe ease the sanctions. Nothing led to that. But when you say that your policies led to this moment, is it accurate, Matt?
Matthew Miller (44:35):
First of all, it a little bit puts words in my mouth to say that's what I claimed. I said our policies in combination with decisions by Assad himself not to engage in the political process that was outlined in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254. That's the primary driver of all of this, is the dissatisfaction of the Syrian public, which is driven by Assad's actions. But that said, absolutely the international pressure that the United States put on Assad and, critically, the weakening of his biggest backers, which we were the primary, in many cases, force behind, also had an impact. So yes, of course, it did play a role. I think there were-
Hiba (45:20):
Okay. No, I want to follow up.
Matthew Miller (45:24):
I felt like I forgot part of the question, but maybe not. Maybe I answered it all.
Hiba (45:27):
No. Yeah. The second question is: Yesterday in a briefing, a senior US official said that Assad asked Hezbollah for help for support in Syria, and they didn't step up. In your assessment, they didn't step up because they were degraded or because the Iranian didn't want to help?
Matthew Miller (45:46):
It's probably a combination of both. Primarily, they were degraded. If you look at what's happened to Hezbollah's military capabilities over the past, where are we, three months, they have been significantly degraded from where they were before Israel launched kind of full-scale military operations against them. And so they didn't have the capabilities to come to Assad's defense as they had in previous years.
Hiba (46:11):
And regarding the negotiations or US envoy visit to Beirut now, we know from your past engagement in Lebanon that Abbas Ibrahim was the one, the figure who led the negotiations with the Syrian regime, the former Syrian regime. So who are you talking to in Lebanon now?
Matthew Miller (46:34):
I'm not going to read out specific conversations. As I said, we have the ability to communicate with any number of people in the region. That's what our officials who are there on the ground have been doing over the past few days. That's what those of us here have been doing by phone, and we'll continue to do it, but with rare exceptions, I'm just not going to read out specific conversations.
Hiba (46:52):
And one final question.
Matthew Miller (46:54):
Yeah.
Hiba (46:55):
Is it fair to say today that we are going out of this room and you don't rule out that you are engaging with HTS in Syria currently?
Matthew Miller (47:06):
I'm not ruling anything in or out either way.
Hiba (47:09):
Thank you.
Matthew Miller (47:09):
Go ahead. Yeah, Janne. Sorry.
Janne (47:15):
Thank you, Matt. A few questions on South Korea and the US. The impeachment vote against South Korean President Yoon failed. As an ally, how does the United States view the state of confusion caused by the constant impeachment and the abuse of certain political parties in South Korea?
Matthew Miller (47:38):
So I'm certainly not going to comment on political parties inside South Korea. What we want to see and what we have been pleased to see over the past few days is the democratic resilience of the Republic of Korea during a period of testing and uncertainty. And what we expect going forward is that political disagreements continue to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law.
Janne (48:04):
Will this chaotic situation in South Korea affect official meeting or event between US and South Korea?
Matthew Miller (48:14):
The alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea remains ironclad. We are committed to the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula, and we will continue to be.
Janne (48:24):
Last, the high-level consultation meeting between the US, South Korea, and Japan held in Tokyo for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, do you have anything? Or also, in the US-South Korean nuclear consultative group meeting was canceled. Will it be had again before Biden administration leaves?
Matthew Miller (48:55):
I don't have anything to say with regards to the rescheduling of that meeting. I can tell you that when it comes to the trilateral meetings between our three countries, something that we thought was important to establish, Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink is in Tokyo now or either is in there now or will be there tomorrow to hold meetings with his counterparts from the Republic of Korea and Japan. We believe the strengthening of that trilateral alliance has been an important engagement under this administration, and we'll continue to pursue it during our final days in office.
Janne (49:30):
Thank you.
Speaker 10 (49:31):
Follow-up on Korea?
Speaker 11 (49:34):
Thanks, Matt. So just overall, what is the current US view of HTS? Is Syria now a terrorist state?
Matthew Miller (49:40):
HTS continues to be a designated terrorist organization by the United States, but as the President said, we are going to judge them by their actions moving forward.
Speaker 11 (49:48):
But is Syria a terrorist state now?
Matthew Miller (49:50):
Syria is very much a state in a period of transition right now, and I think it would behoove all of us not to be hasty in pronouncing judgments during an unstable time.
Speaker 11 (50:01):
And do we have any updates on the undersea cables that were cut?
Matthew Miller (50:04):
I do not.
Speaker 11 (50:05):
And then has the administration urged the Ukrainian government to expand its military draft pool?
Matthew Miller (50:12):
So we have had conversations with the government of Ukraine about the security situation it faces in the East. You heard the secretary speak to this somewhat when we were in Brussels last week. Ultimately, the decisions about the composition of its military force, those are decisions that the Ukrainians have to make for themselves.
(50:32)
What we have made clear is that if they produce additional forces to join the fight, we and our allies will be ready to equip those forces and train those forces to enter battle.
Speaker 11 (50:45):
Thank you.
Matthew Miller (50:45):
Big question on Korea in the back. Go ahead.
Speaker 13 (50:45):
Oh, yeah. So US continues to express support and solidarity with Korean people, not specifically the ROK government. So do you have any message for the Korean public who, despite impeachment votes being blocked by boycott of ruling party are… Keep calling for President Yoon's immediate departure to uphold democracy and rule of law?
(51:07)
In addition to that, who do you regard the counterpart in ROK as to President Biden? Because President Yoon, who is remaining in power, despite his illegitimate act of declaring martial law, is now under prosecution and travel ban.
Matthew Miller (51:23):
So first of all, when it comes to our relationship with the Korean people, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the Korean people. And that is, of course, most true in times of testing and uncertainty, as we have seen over the past week. But what we believe is important, and what we have seen over that past week is the democratic resilience of Korea, democratic resilience that was hard won over a period of several decades.
(51:51)
So we will keep lines of communication open with all relevant parties in the Republic of Korea. The legal process and the political process should play out there consistent with the rule of law. President Yoon is the president of Korea, and the political process in Korea will play out as it should under Korea's laws and Korea's constitution.
Speaker 13 (52:12):
But we can assume that President Biden will probably not directly engage President Yoon because of the political volatility?
Matthew Miller (52:18):
I don't have any engagements by the president to announce. I never do that from here anyway. It's a matter for the White House to do.
(52:24)
Why don't we go there and then we'll wrap for today? Yeah.
Speaker 12 (52:26):
Matthew, good afternoon. Christians in Syria, other religious minorities there, with HTS now in control, how will their religious freedom be monitored by the US?
Matthew Miller (52:37):
Well, this goes to exactly what I was speaking of when I said we're going to judge HTS by its actions, as we will judge every group inside Syria by their actions. And one of the foremost things that we want to see protected in Syria are the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.
Speaker 12 (52:57):
If I may ask another, the head of the Latin church in Syria, the apostolic vicar there in Aleppo, is calling for the lifting of economic sanctions on Syria, saying, quote, "They have devastated ordinary people," end quote. Your reaction?
Matthew Miller (53:10):
So I spoke to sanctions a number of times over the briefing. I don't have anything new to say on it.
Speaker 12 (53:14):
And on a separate subject, on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception yesterday, Pope Francis urging for a ceasefire on all war fronts across the globe by Christmas. Does the State Department support that urging?
Matthew Miller (53:26):
So there are a number of conflicts where we are trying to get a ceasefire, of course, the conflict in Gaza, the conflict of Sudan. But when you look at, say, for example, the war between Russia and Ukraine, that's ultimately a decision for Ukraine to make. Ukraine has the right to defend itself. I don't think you're going to see Russia heed the Pope's calls and unilaterally disarm. So as long as Ukraine is under attack, we'll continue to support their right to defend themselves.
(53:57)
But of course, speaking broadly, of course we want to see the end to conflict. So we want to see conflicts resolved. That doesn't mean in every case an immediate ceasefire if it would cause parties to give up their duly held rights. But we do want to see wars resolved and peace brought to the world.
(54:17)
Thanks very much.
Speaker 12 (54:18):
Thank you.