U.S. Department of State Weekly Digest Bulletin

Skip to content
Using Gmail with screen readers

Search

Compose

Labels

Inbox

1

Starred

Snoozed

Important

Sent

Drafts

10

Categories

Social

3

Updates

3

Forums

Promotions

4

INBOX/old

Travel

More

 

Hangouts

 

 

 

More

1 of 3

U.S. Department of State Weekly Digest Bulletin Inbox x U.S. Department of State <usstatebpa@public.govdelivery.com> 7:11 AM (5 hours ago)  to me Secretary Pompeo to Deliver Remarks to the Media in the Press Briefing Room 07/07/2019 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Pompeo to Deliver Remarks to the Media in the Press Briefing Room 07/07/2019 03:24 PM EDT U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo will deliver remarks to the media on Monday, July 8 at 9:15 a.m. in the Press Briefing Room at the Department of State. This event is open press coverage. Journalists who plan to cover this event in person must be seated in the Press Briefing Room by 9:00 a.m. The Press Briefing Room is accessible from the 23rd Street entrance of the Department. Media representatives may attend this event upon presentation of one of the following: (1) a U.S. Government-issued photo media credential (e.g., Department of State, White House, Congress, Department of Defense or Foreign Press Center), or (2) an official photo identification card issued by their news organization, or (3) a letter from their employer on official letterhead verifying their current employment as a journalist. Additionally, they must present an official government photo identification card (i.e., U.S. driver's license or passport). The event will be streamed live on www.state.gov. The post Secretary Pompeo to Deliver Remarks to the Media in the Press Briefing Room appeared first on United States Department of State. Acting Assistant Secretary Reeker Travels to Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and the United Kingdom 07/07/2019 You are subscribed to Europe and Eurasia for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Acting Assistant Secretary Reeker Travels to Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and the United Kingdom 07/07/2019 07:00 PM EDT Acting Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip T. Reeker will travel between July 8 to 13 to Vienna, Austria; Strbske Pleso, Slovakia; Budapest, Hungary; and London, United Kingdom; to engage with European government representatives and civil society. In Vienna, Ambassador Reeker will meet with government of Austria officials and non-governmental policy experts. He will serve as the Head of the United States Delegation to the informal OSCE ministerial, "Past Action to Future Prevention: OSCE's Niche in Fostering Stability in Europe and Beyond," which will take place July 8-9 in Strbske Pleso, Slovakia. Ambassador Reeker will be in Budapest July 9-10 for bilateral meetings and engagement with civil society. Finally, he will travel to London July 10-12 to lead the U.S. delegation to the Ministerial on Media Freedom hosted by the United Kingdom, and for meetings with U.K. officials. The post Acting Assistant Secretary Reeker Travels to Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and the United Kingdom appeared first on United States Department of State. Bahamian Independence Day 07/08/2019 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Bahamian Independence Day 07/08/2019 11:08 AM EDT On behalf of the people of the United States, allow me to extend my warmest wishes to the people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas on the 46th anniversary of your independence on July 10, 2019. The Bahamas and the United States share a long history of close cultural, social, and economic ties, as well as a firm commitment to democratic and free market principles. Our partnership continues to deepen, notably through the recently launched U.S.-Caribbean Resilience Partnership; our close cooperation on trade, investment, and national security; and enduring people-to-people relationships. We remain firmly committed to working closely with The Bahamas to increase the safety, prosperity, and security of all of our citizens. On this joyous occasion, the United States wishes the people of The Bahamas many years of peace and prosperity. The post Bahamian Independence Day appeared first on United States Department of State. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo Remarks to the Press 07/08/2019 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo Remarks to the Press 07/08/2019 11:25 AM EDT [bc_video video_id="6056559760001" account_id="1705665025" player_id="3f15cba6-e7d7-41df-af91-94d5d1843aa1" embed="in-page" padding_top="56%" autoplay="" min_width="0px" max_width="640px" mute="" width="100%" height="100%" ] SECRETARY POMPEO: Good morning, everyone. In my address at the Claremont Institute back in May, called “A Foreign Policy from the Founding,” I made clear that the Trump administration has embarked on a foreign policy that takes seriously the founders’ ideas of individual liberty and constitutional government. Those principles have long played a prominent role in our country’s foreign policy, and rightly so. But as that great admirer of the American experiment Alex de Tocqueville noted, democracies have a tendency to lose sight of the big picture in the hurly-burly of everyday affairs. Every once in a while, we need to step back and reflect seriously on where we are, where we’ve been, and whether we’re headed in the right direction, and that’s why I’m pleased to announce today the formation of a Commission on Unalienable Rights. The commission is composed of human rights experts, philosophers, and activists, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents of varied background and beliefs, who will provide me with advice on human rights grounded in our nation’s founding principles and the principles of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. An American commitment to uphold human rights played a major role in transforming the moral landscape of the international relations after World War II, something all Americans can rightly be proud of. Under the leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt, the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights ended forever the notion that nations could abuse their citizens without attracting notice or repercussions. With the indispensable support of President Ronald Reagan, a human rights revolution toppled the totalitarian regimes of the former Soviet Union. Today the language of human rights has become the common vernacular for discussions of human freedom and dignity all around the world, and these are truly great achievements. But we should never lose sight of the warnings of Vaclav Havel, a hero of the late-20th-century human rights movement, that words like “rights” can be used for good or evil; “they can be rays of light in a realm of darkness ... [but] they can also be lethal arrows.” And as Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has observed, the evils of any time and place will be justified in whatever is the dominant discourse of that time and of that place. We must, therefore, be vigilant that human rights discourse not be corrupted or hijacked or used for dubious or malignant purposes. It’s a sad commentary on our times that more than 70 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, gross violations continue throughout the world, sometimes even in the name of human rights. International institutions designed and built to protect human rights have drifted from their original mission. As human rights claims have proliferated, some claims have come into tension with one another, provoking questions and clashes about which rights are entitled to gain respect. Nation-states and international institutions remain confused about their respective responsibilities concerning human rights. With that as background and with all of this in mind, the time is right for an informed review of the role of human rights in American foreign policy. And I’m pleased to introduce to you today the chair of the commission, Professor Mary Ann Glendon, the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Mary Ann is a world-renowned author, beloved professor, an expert in the field of human rights, comparative law, and political theory. She’s the perfect person to chair this effort. I’m also proud to announce today the other members of the commission. They include Russell Berman, Peter Berkowitz, Paolo Carozza, Hamza Yusuf Hanson, Jacqueline Rivers, Meir Soloveichik, Katrina Lantos Swett, Christopher Tollefsen, and David Tse-Chien Pan. These individuals will provide the intellectual grist for what I hope will be one of the most profound reexaminations of the unalienable rights in the world since the 1948 Universal Declaration. Our own Kiron Skinner will serve as the head of the executive secretary of the committee, and Cartright Weiland will serve as Rapporteur. I hope that the commission will revisit the most basic of questions: What does it mean to say or claim that something is, in fact, a human right? How do we know or how do we determine whether that claim that this or that is a human right, is it true, and therefore, ought it to be honored? How can there be human rights, rights we possess not as privileges we are granted or even earn, but simply by virtue of our humanity belong to us? Is it, in fact, true, as our Declaration of Independence asserts, that as human beings, we – all of us, every member of our human family – are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights? Each of these is an important question, and the mission of the commission is to provide advice on them and others not as purely abstract academic matters, but in a manner deeply informed by the timeless truths embedded in the American founding with a view to guiding our nation’s foreign policy. Or to put it another way, the commission’s charge is to point the way toward that more perfect fidelity to our nation’s founding principles to which President Lincoln called us at Gettysburg and to which Dr. King called us while standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the mall in Washington, D.C., not so very far from where we are here today. Thank you. With that, I’d like to introduce Professor Mary Ann Glendon to say a few words. PROFESSOR GLENDON: Mr. Secretary, I am deeply grateful for the honor of chairing this new commission, and I wanted to thank you especially for giving a priority to human rights at this moment when basic human rights are being misunderstood by many, manipulated by many, and ignored by the world’s worst human rights violators. At the same time, I understand that the mission that you have set us is a challenging one. You’ve asked us to work at the level of principle, not policy, and you’ve asked us to take our bearings from the distinctive rights tradition of the United States of America, a tradition that is grounded in the institutions without which rights would not be possible: constitutional government and the rule of law. I want to assure you, Mr. Secretary, that we will do our very best to carry out your marching orders and to do so in a way that will assist you in your difficult task of transmuting principle into policy. Thank you very much. SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you, Professor. The post Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo Remarks to the Press appeared first on United States Department of State. The U.S. and Israel: A Friendship for Freedom 07/08/2019 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. The U.S. and Israel: A Friendship for Freedom 07/08/2019 05:48 PM EDT [bc_video video_id="6056696106001" account_id="1705665025" player_id="3f15cba6-e7d7-41df-af91-94d5d1843aa1" embed="in-page" padding_top="56%" autoplay="" min_width="0px" max_width="640px" mute="" width="100%" height="100%" ] SECRETARY POMPEO:  Good afternoon, everyone.  Thank you.  (Applause.) AUDIENCE:  USA, USA, USA, USA, USA.  (Cheers.) SECRETARY POMPEO:  Good afternoon.  Good afternoon, everyone.  They told me there would be a lot of you here.  This is what is must have looked like to be part of the crowd for the fishes and the loaves.  (Laughter.)  What a miracle that was. And today, I want to talk to you about serious matters and tell some important stories about our path forward.  First of all, I want thank Pastor John Hagee for inviting me to be with you.  (Applause.)  It is truly heartening as Secretary of State to know that there are so many Americans cheering President Trump’s mission to make our relationship with Israel the strongest that it has ever been.  (Applause.) You all know Israel is an important partner.  It’s an ally.  Israel is a friend.  Can I get an amen? AUDIENCE:  Amen. SECRETARY POMPEO:  I want to kick off my remarks by telling you something that you already know, but a lot of folks truly don’t: Christians in America are among Israel’s greatest friends.  (Applause.) This isn’t a new development.  Christian support in America for Zion – for a Jewish homeland ‒ runs back to the early Puritan settlers, and it has endured for centuries.  Indeed, our second president, a couple years back, said, quote, “I really wish the Jews again in Judea an independent nation,” end of quote. And then a little more recently, now just over a hundred years ago, 1916, a prominent American evangelist named William Blackstone helped to convince President Woodrow Wilson to support the Balfour Declaration.  That was the United Kingdom’s own statement of support for, quote, “a national home for the Jewish people.” That document, that document helped lay the groundwork for what happened in 1948, when a Missouri Baptist displayed an incredible act of political courage.  We have to remember these times.  It was a world that was recovering from the fury of World War II, people of all nations returning to their homelands.  And President Truman wondered aloud to one of his aides.  He said, “Everyone else who’s been dragged away from his country has someplace to get back to.  But the Jews have no place to go.” So President Truman, incredibly, courageously, decided to recognize this new state.  He did so on the very same day its first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, read aloud its declaration of independence in Tel Aviv.  We take this for granted sometimes, but this wasn’t an easy decision for the president.  Nearly every one of his advisors, military and diplomatic, had counseled against that decision. But he knew – that president knew – it was the right thing to do.  He later said, “I wonder how far Moses would have gone if he had taken a poll in Egypt?”  (Laughter.)  He continued.  He continued.  He said, “What would Jesus Christ have preached if he had taken a poll in Israel?”  (Laughter.)  And, “Where would the Reformation had gone if Martin Luther had taken a poll?  It isn’t the polls or public opinion of the moment that counts.  It’s [doing what’s] right and wrong, and leadership.”  (Applause.) You have a president like that today, too.  (Applause.)  No one – no one was more grateful for Truman’s brave decision than the Jewish people themselves.  In 1949, Israel’s Chief Rabbi came to see President Truman.  He told him, he said, “God put you in your mother’s womb so that you could be the instrument to bring about the rebirth of Israel after two thousand years.”  And as the story goes, tears filled the president’s eyes. The Rabbi then opened the Bible and read the words of King Cyrus – a real friend to Israel.  It was from the Book of Ezra.  He read that “The Lord God of Heaven hath given me all the kindness of the earth; and he hath charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” It fills me with unending pride to know that American hands helped build the modern house of Israel.  (Applause.) Our welcoming, the American welcoming, of the new Jewish state into the family of nations was one of the most consequential diplomatic decisions of the 20th century – not just in terms of the world map, but as a statement to the world of who we are as Americans.  (Applause.)  It proved, as we continue to prove, that we stand for human dignity, that we stand for justice, that we stand for independence. We are now some 70 years on from that moment.  America has an incredibly unique and important relationship with Israel, and it’s one that I personally treasure and am proud to work every day to maintain.  (Applause.) In May, I had a chance to speak at Israel’s Independence Day celebration.  It was right here in Washington.  Ambassador Dermer was kind to invite me and give me a chance to say just a few words.  I talked about the unbreakable bonds that stem from our shared love of freedom. Modern Israel is the only truly free nation throughout the entire Middle East.  It has an enormous respect for religious freedom, a subject of many of our hearts these days.  Here too – here too Israel’s commitment lights the way for the rest of the Middle East and indeed for the entire world.  No country is perfect, but Israel, like America, holds itself to an incredibly high standard. Israel is a majority Jewish nation, but the government doesn’t force Jewish beliefs on others. Indeed to the contrary, its Declaration of Independence guarantees the “full freedom of conscience, worship, education, and culture.” Israel permits the conversion of its citizens away from Judaism, the majority religion. Indeed last year, the Knesset – their parliament there in Israel ‒ passed a law prohibiting hiring discrimination against workers who refuse to work on their day of rest. Compare this to many places in the world.  Compare Israel’s reverence for liberty with the restrictions on religious freedom facing Christians and people of all faiths throughout the rest of the Middle East: In many countries, if a Muslim leaves Islam it is considered an apostasy, and it is punishable indeed by death. In Iraq, Syria, and other countries in the region, the last remnants of ancient Christian communities are at near-extinction because of persecution from ISIS and other malign actors.  And just one example: before 2003, there were an estimated 1.5 million Christians living in Iraq.  Today, sadly, almost a quarter of a million. This administration has made a real effort to protect Christians and other threatened religious minorities in Iraq and elsewhere, and we’re making real progress.  (Applause.)  The flame of existence of Christians must not be snuffed out.  Their unalienable rights – Christians’ unalienable rights in the Middle East – their right to worship must not be taken away.  (Applause.) Persecution of the faithful is especially intense inside the Islamic Republic of Iran.  The regime’s militant adherence to the noxious tenets of the Islamic Revolution dictates all elements of life – and especially the suppression of other faiths. In Iran, if Muslims try to convert non-Muslims, the penal code calls for a death sentence. The government does not recognize converts to Christianity.  It levies beatings and solitary confinement on Christians caught worshiping in violation of government dictates. Last year, an Iranian court upheld a 10-year prison sentences on four Iranian Christians who were “acting against national security” by, quote, “promoting Zionist Christianity,” end of quote, and running house churches.  This is something we know in America. Instead, instead of following the normal summons procedure, authorities raided their homes, beat them, and used electroshock weapons on them.  They then threw them into Evin Prison – a regime dungeon inside of Tehran. Every day I pray, and I’d ask you too, to pray for our brothers and sisters in Iran – and not just for them, but people of all faiths who are persecuted there in Iran.  (Applause.) I’m from Kansas, and there are – yeah, I love it, we’ve got Kansans out there.  I’m sure there’s more and you’re just quiet people.  (Laughter.)  A lot of people get spun up with the wrong ideas that American evangelicals want to impose a theocracy on America.  I wish they would be concerned about the real theocratic takeover that has been happening in Iran for the last four decades.  (Applause.)  The ayatollahs have grievously deprived the Iranian people of that most basic, simple, fundamental right, their right to worship. That same twisted, intolerant doctrine that fuels persecution inside Iran has also led the ayatollah and his cronies to cry out, quote, “death to Israel” for four decades now.  This is similar to a cry that came out of Iran – then called Persia ‒ many, many years ago.  The Book of Esther teaches us about this.  It was in the 5th century B.C.  There was a wicked advisor named King Xerxes.  A fellow named Haman hatched a plot to kill all the Jews in the Persian Empire.  He secretly wrote letters with the king’s seal to all the provincial governors, ordering the people to rise up and attack the Jews.  This edict, once issued, could not be revoked.  But thanks to the courageous intervention of Queen Esther, who begged the king to show mercy to her people, Haman’s plot was exposed and the Jews were ultimately spared.  Today this marks the Jewish holiday of Purim and it commemorates this amazing miracle.  (Applause.) I wanted to tell this story today for a couple of reasons, because similar threats to the Jewish people have marked other eras as well – think of the Roman devastation of Jerusalem, the vicious pogroms throughout European history, and the Holocaust.   The Jews have had a target on their back in every era of history.  And as the Book of Ecclesiastes says, “There is [indeed] nothing new under the sun.” But thank God.  Thank God we have a leader in President Trump – an immovable friend of Israel.  (Applause.)  His commitment, his commitment – President Trump’s commitment is the strongest in history, and it’s been one of the best parts of my job to turn that commitment into real action.  (Applause.) You know the stories, but we’ve implemented the strongest pressure campaign in history against the Iranian regime, and we are not done.  (Applause.) We’ve cut off billions in funds that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s leadership would have used for various nefarious purposes, not the least of which would have been their efforts to destroy the state of Israel. It is also the case that under President Trump, the Israel haters such as Hamas and Hizballah and Islamic Jihad receive far less blood money from Iran to pursue their terrorism than ever in recent history.  (Applause.) President Trump has, too, maintained the $4 billion annual security assistance to Israel. And we’ve honored Israel’s decision to claim the Golan Heights as its own.  (Applause.)  The Lord did smile on me.  It was in Israel the very day that that announcement was made.  I was with Prime Minister Netanyahu – my wife Susan and I were able to have dinner with he and his wife – the very day of that announcement.  It was truly remarkable to be there with this prime minister on that day when our president made that historic proclamation.  (Applause.) Within the State Department, too, we’ve elevated the fight against anti-Semitism.  It’s a conversation I have all the time.  Indeed, I had one with the Archbishop of Canterbury last May.  I was indeed the first American Secretary of State to ever meet a holder of that office that’s existed since the 6th century.  I kept thinking during our meeting that the Secretary of State is an old, historic office – and then I realized he had about 1200 years on me.  (Laughter.) We’ve – we, too, at the State Department have advanced religious freedom in our foreign policy.  This is something that had been missing for too long.  Last year, I hosted the first-ever gathering of foreign ministers from all across the world devoted solely to advancing religious freedom.  And we’ll do it again in the middle of July.  (Applause.) And I think we’ve put the UN on notice, too, that its anti-Israel bias will no longer be tolerated.  (Applause.) And while I wasn’t there on the day that it happened, I was able to travel now twice to see our embassy, the State Department’s embassy, that was moved to Jerusalem to recognize the simple reality of Jerusalem, Israel’s capital – now and forever.  (Applause.) The other great thing about this administration is we live in a very real world, and for that reason I was able last March to declare a simple truth, that anti-Zionism is indeed anti-Semitism.  Period.  Full stop.  (Applause.) It is also a blessing to stand with other countries like Israel that themselves stand for freedom – because indeed that’s what it’s all about here in America. I’ll close here today.  I want to go back to that president, President Truman, one more time.  He said this about America in his memoirs.  He wrote the following: “Our country is intended to do all it can, in cooperating with other nations, to help create peace and preserve peace [throughout] the world.  It is given to defend the spiritual values – the moral code – against the vast forces of evil that seek to destroy them.” That’s what America does when it stands with Israel each and every day.  That’s what (inaudible) of State each and every single day. Please know as this administration works, that I covet your prayers as I do this work. May God bless you. May God bless Israel. And may God bless the United States of America. Thank you all so much.  (Applause.) The post The U.S. and Israel: A Friendship for Freedom appeared first on United States Department of State. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale Travel to Finland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Moldova, and the UK 07/09/2019 You are subscribed to Europe and Eurasia for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale Travel to Finland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Moldova, and the UK 07/09/2019 09:00 AM EDT On July 9, Under Secretary Hale will arrive in Helsinki, where he will meet with Finnish officials and the Political Directors of the 28 EU Member States to discuss, among other shared interests, Transatlantic security. Under Secretary Hale will also see Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov for a preliminary meeting to launch a broad strategic political dialogue on the U.S.-Russia bilateral relationship. We thank the government of Finland for hosting this meeting. In Tallinn on July 11, Under Secretary Hale will meet with Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu and officials from the Office of the President and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss cooperation as Estonia prepares to take a seat on the UN Security Council 2020-2021. Under Secretary Hale will travel to Prague July 11-12, where he will have meetings with Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek, and Defense Minister Lubomir Metnar. While in Prague, Under Secretary Hale will also visit Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in support of RFE/RL’s mission to report the news in countries without a free press, including Radio Farda’s efforts to deliver informed discussion to audiences in Iran. On July 13-14, Under Secretary Hale will be in Chisinau. He will meet with Prime Minister Maia Sandu and other officials to discuss the efforts of the new government in Moldova to implement constructive reforms, and U.S. support for the government’s focus on anti-corruption measures. Finally, on July 15, Under Secretary Hale will be in London to meet UK Political Director Richard Moore and Deputy National Security Advisor David Quarrey to discuss our collaboration in the Middle East and Russia. The post Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale Travel to Finland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Moldova, and the UK appeared first on United States Department of State. Assistant Secretary Kirsten D. Madison Travel to the United Kingdom to Advance Partnership Against Shared Synthetic Drugs Threat 07/09/2019 You are subscribed to Europe and Eurasia for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Assistant Secretary Kirsten D. Madison Travel to the United Kingdom to Advance Partnership Against Shared Synthetic Drugs Threat 07/09/2019 10:44 AM EDT Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Kirsten D. Madison will travel to London, United Kingdom, July 9-12. Discussions will focus on coordinated efforts to combat transnational criminal threats, particularly illicit synthetic drugs like fentanyl, the deadly opioid driving America’s drug crisis and spreading globally. She will meet with the Home Office, National Crime Agency, Metropolitan Police, Royal Foundation, Border Force, Public Health England, and other government agencies. The United Kingdom is a steadfast U.S. partner in combating shared narcotics threats and is one of the 130 UN member states that joined the Global Call to Action on the World Drug Problem launched in 2018 by President Trump. As part of the Administration’s engagement in Europe, the United States supports the region’s fight against transnational crime, including the illicit trade in synthetic drugs, and looks forward to furthering this partnership. For further information, please contact INL-PAPD@state.gov and follow the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs on Twitter @StateINL and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/StateINL. The post Assistant Secretary Kirsten D. Madison Travel to the United Kingdom to Advance Partnership Against Shared Synthetic Drugs Threat appeared first on United States Department of State. Mongolia National Day 07/09/2019 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Mongolia National Day 07/09/2019 03:20 PM EDT On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I send my warm regards to the Mongolian people as you gather for the opening of this year’s Naadam Festival on July 11. The United States and Mongolia have built a strong partnership rooted in our shared commitment to societies respectful of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. We look back over thirty-two years of diplomatic ties with pride, and look forward to deepened relations as third neighbors and Indo-Pacific partners. On this occasion for celebration, may the people of Mongolia enjoy a wonderful Naadam. The post Mongolia National Day appeared first on United States Department of State. Sanctioning of Three Senior Hizballah Officials 07/09/2019 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Sanctioning of Three Senior Hizballah Officials 07/09/2019 04:40 PM EDT The United States designated three senior Hizballah political and security officials today who leverage their positions to facilitate Hizballah and the Iranian regime’s malign efforts to undermine Lebanese sovereignty. These officials have exploited their positions to smuggle illicit goods into Lebanon, pressure Lebanese financial institutions to assist Hizballah, undermine Lebanese institutions, and evade U.S. sanctions against Hizballah facilitators and financiers. Today’s designations are part of the United States’ efforts to counter Hizballah’s corrupting influence in Lebanon, and to support Lebanon’s stability, prosperity, and sovereignty. The United States’ maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian regime – the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism – and its proxies has already succeeded in limiting the financial support Hizballah receives. As a result, this designated terrorist organization has been forced to take unprecedented austerity measures. For example, in March 2019, for the first time ever, Hizballah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah made a public appeal for financial support. As these designations demonstrate, any distinction between Hizballah’s political and military wings is artificial – a fact Hizballah itself acknowledges. We call on our allies and partners to designate Hizballah in its entirety as a terrorist organization. For more information on today’s action, please refer to the U.S. Department of the Treasury: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm724 The post Sanctioning of Three Senior Hizballah Officials appeared first on United States Department of State. Turkish Drilling in Cypriot Claimed Waters 07/09/2019 You are subscribed to Europe and Eurasia for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Turkish Drilling in Cypriot Claimed Waters 07/09/2019 06:44 PM EDT The United States remains deeply concerned by Turkey’s repeated attempts to conduct drilling operations in the waters off Cyprus and its most recent dispatch of the drillship Yavuz off the Karpas Peninsula. This provocative step raises tensions in the region. We urge Turkish authorities to halt these operations and encourage all parties to act with restraint and refrain from actions that increase tensions in the region. Energy resource development in the Eastern Mediterranean should foster cooperation, increase dialogue between the two communities and among regional neighbors, and provide a foundation for durable energy security and economic prosperity. We continue to believe the island’s oil and gas resources, like all of its resources, should be equitably shared between both communities in the context of an overall settlement. The post Turkish Drilling in Cypriot Claimed Waters appeared first on United States Department of State. Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale Meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov 07/10/2019 You are subscribed to Europe and Eurasia for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale Meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov 07/10/2019 10:56 AM EDT The following is attributable to Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus: Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on July 10 in Helsinki. They discussed U.S. – Russia relations and the impact of regional challenges in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The Under Secretary stressed that while the United States seeks to narrow differences and foster cooperation with Russia on a number of global challenges, Russia’s negative actions continue to be a barrier for progress in our bilateral relationship. The post Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale Meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov appeared first on United States Department of State. Kiribati National Day 07/10/2019 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Kiribati National Day 07/10/2019 02:12 PM EDT On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I offer congratulations to the people of the Republic of Kiribati as you celebrate the 40th year of your nation’s independence this July 12. The deep ties our two nations forged during the Battle of Tarawa have developed into a longstanding partnership. Together, we are committed to tackling the region’s most pressing issues, such as natural disaster preparedness and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, while advancing economic development, strengthening the rule of law, and supporting the resiliency of the Pacific islands environment. We welcome your commitment to advancing our shared vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific region with other democracies in the Pacific region including Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Japan. I am confident our relationship will further our abiding mutual interests and remain a source of regional security, stability, and prosperity. Congratulations and warmest wishes for peace and prosperity in the year to come. The post Kiribati National Day appeared first on United States Department of State. 24th Anniversary of Srebrenica Genocide 07/11/2019 You are subscribed to Europe and Eurasia for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. 24th Anniversary of Srebrenica Genocide 07/11/2019 06:44 AM EDT Today marks the passage of 24 years since the genocide in Srebrenica. The American people join with the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina to honor the memory of more than 8,000 innocent victims. This painful chapter in European history must never be denied nor forgotten. We stand with those who continue to seek justice. We reaffirm our sustained support for those working to honor the dignity of all of the victims, including those who still await their final resting places. The tragic events of the past remind us of the need to work in unity for a better future, one that is stable, prosperous, and inclusive of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United States remains a steadfast partner of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, as we remember the fallen, we reaffirm our commitment to building peace and prosperity throughout the region and to ensuring such a tragedy can never happen again. The post 24th Anniversary of Srebrenica Genocide appeared first on United States Department of State. Montenegro National Day 07/12/2019 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Montenegro National Day 07/11/2019 04:48 PM EDT On behalf of the United States of America, I extend my warmest wishes to the people of Montenegro as you celebrate your Statehood Day on July 13, 2019. The United States and Montenegro have long been friends, partners, and Allies. Montenegro’s contributions to NATO have bolstered regional and global security. I commend the Montenegrin soldiers serving side by side with us in Afghanistan and Europe and welcome your country’s commitment to send troops to Iraq by year’s end. We strongly support Montenegro’s reform efforts necessary for EU membership. The United States will continue to work with you to strengthen media freedom, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. Our shared values and commitment to peace and security ensure the bond between our countries will continue to deepen. The post Montenegro National Day appeared first on United States Department of State. Montenegro National Day 07/12/2019 You are subscribed to Europe and Eurasia for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Montenegro National Day 07/11/2019 04:48 PM EDT On behalf of the United States of America, I extend my warmest wishes to the people of Montenegro as you celebrate your Statehood Day on July 13, 2019. The United States and Montenegro have long been friends, partners, and Allies. Montenegro’s contributions to NATO have bolstered regional and global security. I commend the Montenegrin soldiers serving side by side with us in Afghanistan and Europe and welcome your country’s commitment to send troops to Iraq by year’s end. We strongly support Montenegro’s reform efforts necessary for EU membership. The United States will continue to work with you to strengthen media freedom, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. Our shared values and commitment to peace and security ensure the bond between our countries will continue to deepen. The post Montenegro National Day appeared first on United States Department of State. Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the Terrorist Bombing of the AMIA in Buenos Aires 07/12/2019 You are subscribed to Speeches, Remarks, Testimony (other than by the Secretary) for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the Terrorist Bombing of the AMIA in Buenos Aires 07/12/2019 02:58 PM EDT Thank you to the Wilson Center and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies for hosting this important event and for inviting me to speak in honor of this sad and solemn occasion.  I’m pleased that we’re joined by my good friends Fernando Oris de Roa, Argentina’s Ambassador to the U.S., and Benji Kransna, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington.  And thank you as well to Miguel Bronfman, AMIA’s chief lawyer, for traveling here for the event today. Next Thursday, July 18, will mark 25 years since the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina – or AMIA – was bombed in Buenos Aires.  I’m here today to speak about the victims and to honor their memory.  I’m also here to speak about the perpetrators, and to tell you what we’re doing to prevent future atrocities like this. This bombing was carried out by the Lebanese terrorist group Hizballah, with Iranian support and direction.  In attacking AMIA, these terrorists targeted not just Argentina, but all of us who call the Western Hemisphere home.  We will never forget this attack.  And every day we work to ensure that no further such attacks occur.  That’s why Argentina, in cooperation with the United States, will host a ministerial meeting next week to bolster our collective efforts to protect this hemisphere from the scourge of terrorism. The victims of this horrific attack – 85 people were killed, and hundreds more were injured – were both native-born Argentines and immigrants.  They were Catholic and Jewish, religious and secular.  They were intellectuals and workers,doctors and janitors, lawyers and students.  They had names.  They had families, they had children, they had friends.  They had plans for the future, which for them never came. Let us honor the memories of those tragically lost.  The youngest AMIA victim, Sebastian Barreiro, was five – he died holding his mother’s hand as they walked in front of the building.  The oldest victim, Faiwel “Pablo” Dyjament, was 73 and a tailor. Let us remember Martin Figuero.  He was a contractor.  He planned to use the money he made working on the AMIA building to take his family on vacation.  He left behind a wife and six children. Twenty-one year old Paola Czyzewski was a law student.  She was visiting the AMIA for the first time, to meet up with her mother. Fifty-six year-old Jacobo Chemanuel was buried in the rubble for 36 hours alongside Martin Cano.  Jacobo encouraged Martin to hold on, despite the incredible pain he felt.  Martin survived; Jacobo did not. The body of 19-year-old Augusto Daniel Jesus was not identified until 2016, the last victim to be named.  His mother, Maria Lourdes Jesus, also died in the blast. Let us pause for a moment of silence as we remember all the victims of this cowardly attack. The AMIA bombing wasn’t Hizballah’s first attack on Argentina.  In 1992, Hizballah bombed the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, killing 29 people and wounding 242 more.  Besides the Embassy, a Catholic church, a school, and a home for the elderly were destroyed.  Most of the victims were Argentinian citizens, and many of them were children.  Among the dead was Father Juan Carlos Brumana, who died in the rubble of his church. As Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri emphasized two years ago, on the 25th anniversary of the Embassy bombing, “It is necessary to understand that it was not an attack on the Embassy or Jews, but against Argentina.”  Indeed it was. The evidence in both cases points clearly at Hizballah.  But why would a Lebanon-based terror group, which purports to be a defender of Lebanon, attack targets in South America, particularly Argentina?  Argentina hadn’t taken any actions against Hizballah.  Argentina hadn’t taken any actions that harmed Lebanon. The reason, of course, is that the group’s patron – Iran – wanted to attack Argentina.  And that was all that was needed. Secretary Pompeo recently emphasized that “Iran is the world’s largest state sponsor of terror.”  It was true in 1994 and it’s true now.  The leaders in Tehran endorsed the attack.  The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, provided funding and logistical support.  And Hizballah, long the IRGC’s most capable proxy, carried out the operation. We have joined President Macri and the Argentine government in seeking justice for the victims of the AMIA attack and their families.  Iran has a responsibility to repudiate terrorism and cooperate fully with Argentine authorities in this investigation. Twenty-five years later, we’re still waiting.  There are still six INTERPOL Red Notices outstanding – based on criminal charges in Argentina – for the arrest of Iranians and Hizballah members suspected of participating in the AMIA attack.  These include several senior Iranian officials: Ahmad Vahidi, the former IRGC-Qods Force commander and defense minister; Mohsen Rezai, the former commander of the IRGC; and Ali Fallahian, the former Minister of Intelligence. There are also INTERPOL Red Notices for Mohsen Rabbani and Ahmad Asghari, who served at Iran’s embassy in Buenos Aires, and for Hizballah operative Samuel Salman El-Reda. It’s also appropriate today to reflect on prosecutor Alberto Nisman’s heroic efforts to investigate the AMIA bombing.  In 2004, Nisman took over an investigation that had been plagued by mismanagement and corruption.  He pursued the case doggedly and tenaciously over the next 11 years, in an effort to get to the bottom of this deadly attack.  Nisman faced obstacles at every turn – he received death threats against himself and his children.  He was undaunted in his pursuit of the truth up to the very day he was murdered in 2015.  We continue to stress the importance of resolving the circumstances of his tragic death and bringing to justice the perpetrators of the AMIA bombing he so assiduously investigated. It’s been a quarter century since the AMIA bombing, yet the threats from Iran, the IRGC, and Hizballah remain undiminished.  The regime in Tehran continues to provide hundreds of millions of dollars every year to terrorists across the world.  It has provided Hizballah alone some $700 million a year.  It does this despite ongoing economic turmoil that’s impoverishing many of its people.  Tehran’s priorities are clear.  It doesn’t seek to boost economic growth at home, or to reduce Iran’s growing unemployment.  What the regime prioritizes is buying guns and bombs to export terror. We’ve talked about Hizballah plots in Argentina in the 1990s.  This is far from a historical matter, however, as Hizballah continues to have our hemisphere squarely in its sights today. One of Hizballah’s highest placed collaborators in the region has been Tareck El Aissami, former Vice President under the Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.  When he was head of Venezuela’s passport agency, he was suspected of providing Venezuelan passports to Hizballah operatives.  Hizballah’s propaganda machine now touts him as a possible successor to Maduro, calling him “a strong man in the shadows and a close friend of the Lebanese resistance and the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad.” Apparently that’s supposed to be a compliment. This Administration doesn’t see it that way.  In 2017, the Treasury Department listed El Aissami as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker under the Kingpin Act. Another example is Mohammed Hamdar, an alleged Hizballah member who was arrested in 2014 and is currently on trial in Peru on terrorism charges.  Assad Ahmad Barakat, a key Hizballah financier, is now sitting in jail in Brazil, awaiting extradition to Paraguay on several criminal charges.  Then there’s Nader Farhat, a Hizballah supporter who was recently extradited from Paraguay to the U.S. to face federal money laundering charges in Florida.    More broadly, the Tri-Border-Area of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil continues to be a node of Hizballah activity.  For decades, Hizballah has taken advantage of the loosely regulated region to raise money and plan possible attacks.  We assess that some of the planning for the AMIA bombing took place there. Hizballah is also active right here in the United States.  In 2017, the FBI arrested two Hizballah operatives – Samir el-Debek and Ali Kourani – in Michigan and New York, respectively.  El-Debek allegedly was surveilling potential targets at Hizballah’s direction in Panama, including the Panama Canal.  Kourani spent years surveilling U.S. military and law enforcement facilities.  He was just convicted by a jury in New York for his crimes. Indeed, Hizballah and its Iranian patron spread terrorism across the globe.  From attacks against our diplomatic facilities in Iraq, to planning terror in African countries such as Kenya and Nigeria – from plots against its Gulf neighbors, to planning bombings and assassinations in Europe – no place is safe from Iran’s malevolent reach. Hizballah has operatives, financiers, front companies, and other assets in Lebanon, in the Gulf, in Africa, in Asia, in Europe, and here in the Western Hemisphere.  In recent years, Hizballah operatives have been caught preparing attacks as far afield as Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Cyprus, Egypt, Peru, and Thailand.  Its weapons caches have been discovered in the Gulf, in Europe, in Asia, and in Africa.  Hizballah likes to masquerade as a defender of the Lebanese people, but these actions reveal its true agenda: global terrorism. In 2012, Hizballah bombed a bus in Bulgaria, killing five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian citizen.  That attack also took pla ... [Message clipped]  View entire message ReplyForward