Department of State Daily Press Briefing - March 21, 2023

join NATO, as I understand it? MR PATEL: We remain fully committed to the accession of Finland and Sweden. The strength of that support can be made clear by our overwhelming bipartisan vote in the Senate, as well as the speed with which President Biden signed those protocols, as well as the State Department's acceptance of them as well. This is something we are deeply committed to. Go ahead, yes. QUESTION: Thank you very much. I would like to follow up on the Japanese Prime Minister's visit to Ukraine, which began just after Chinese leader Xi Jinping's meeting with Putin in Russia.

During Prime Minister Kishida's visit to Ukraine, what kind of message and support does the United States expect Japan to offer? Also, did the United States offer any help to make Prime Minister Kishida's visit to Ukraine safe? MR PATEL: I am not aware of any such commitment. But what I will say broadly and reiterate again is that we strongly support Prime Minister Kishida's decision to make this historic visit to Ukraine. Japan has been an incredible partner in holding the Russian Federation accountable and supporting our Ukrainian partners. They have done this since this conflict began and I know they will continue to do so, especially this year when they will assume the presidency of the G7.

And the G7 body as a whole has also played an incredible role not only in supporting our Ukrainian partners but also in holding the Russian Federation accountable. Isabel. QUESTION: If we could go back to Saudi Arabia. MR PATEL: Sure. QUESTION: Are there currently any cases of American citizens being unjustly detained in the kingdom? MR PATEL: I do not understand that there are any cases of wrongful detention in the kingdom at the moment. QUESTION: And then can you provide any updates on the handful of Americans who are under a travel ban in the kingdom? Has the administration made any progress toward securing his release?

MR. PATEL: Generally speaking, we have no higher priority than the well-being and fair treatment of all American citizens detained abroad. Our consular officers abroad seek to ensure that detained U.S. citizens are treated humanely and that all fair trial guarantees are respected. And as we would do with any country, we continue to push for regular and consistent consular access. But I have no details on specific cases to offer. QUESTION: Well, can you talk about the general issue of the travel bans themselves? Do you think they're okay if that's the law of the land? Or do you think foreign countries should not be allowed to prohibit a US citizen, even if he is a dual citizen, from leaving that country?

MR PATEL: Matt, of course, each country will have its own sovereign laws and each case is different, so I am not going to talk about this in general terms. QUESTION: So you don't have any... there's nothing in your guidance on the issue of the Saudi travel ban specifically, even if it doesn't address specific details. MR PATEL: What I would say is that the well-being and safety of American citizens abroad is the highest priority. QUESTION: Yes, you have said that it is four times now, but. MR PATEL: And we continue for US citizens who are detained or subject to travel bans, we continue.

Work directly with them through our consular officials to try to find ways to rectify those circumstances if we can and ensure that detained U.S. nationals are treated humanely and that all relevant fair trial guarantees are respected. Final question, we'll go to Alex and Nike and then we'll wrap up. QUESTION: Thank you very much, Vedant. About Armenia-Azerbaijan. MR PATEL: Sure. QUESTION: I was hoping you would help us better understand the first line of your reading of the Secretary's calls with both Yerevan and Baku. You said you called them to offer continued US assistance to facilitate peace talks.

I was... I thought that's what you guys were doing. Last week a senior advisor from the region interacted with the parties. Why would the Secretary make that call to request US facilitation? MR PATEL: You were offering your continued support for US assistance in these engagements, which, as you know, Alex, you have watched this issue very closely, is something that we have remained quite committed to. Obviously, through Secretary Blinken's commitment to this issue, when Ambassador Reeker led this portfolio through his work, and now also through Lou Bono's work. QUESTION: And there's a line that I noticed right now in the call to Azerbaijan, which was about human rights.

Yesterday, when it was discussed in this room, you mentioned that you are raising all these cases. Did the Secretary raise human rights issues? MR PATEL: I have no specific details about the diplomatic engagements, Alex, beyond what was in the reading. But of course human rights are something we raise regularly with all our partners, including those in the South Caucasus. QUESTION: Would you be surprised if he didn't? MR PATEL: Alex, again, I'm just not going to go into detail about your specific diplomatic engagements. Nike and then we'll be done. QUESTION: Yes, about Taiwan. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, stopping in New York and California before heading to Central America, does she have anything on this?

Given that they are presidents and that all of Taiwan's democratically elected presidents have transited through the United States during their terms, should this be a pretext for any military escalation in the Taiwan Strait? And do you know if anyone in this building was planning to meet or talk to her, physically or virtually? Thank you. MR PATEL: Let me say a couple of things, Nike. This transit is consistent, as you said, with longstanding U.S. practice, the unofficial nature of our relations with Taiwan, and U.S. policy, which remains unchanged. Transits are taken taking into account the safety, comfort, convenience and dignity of the passenger and are consistent with our "one China" policy, which also does not change.

Transits are private   and official (and unofficial). And every president of Taiwan has transits in the United States. President Tsai has toured the United States six times since taking office in 2016, and senior officials have typically met with members of Congress, which is a separate and co-equal branch of government, and engaged in other public activities and private during these transits. QUESTION: Anyone in the building will meet him during... MR PATEL: Again, this transit is private and unofficial, so at this point I am not aware of any plans for any meeting with the

department

. QUESTION: Vedante, Vedante. QUESTION: Vedant, I'm sorry, but could I ask you about the convenience of this?

MR PATEL: Sure. QUESTION: Correct. Transits are conducted (or approved based on) the safety, comfort, convenience and dignity of the passenger. How exactly is it convenient to fly from Taipei to Guatemala via New York? MR PATEL: Matt, I'm not going to try to pretend that I understand flight patterns or anything like that. QUESTION: I just looked up: I looked up the flight plans. It is about a 15-hour flight from Taipei to New York City. It's just an 11-hour flight from Taipei to Los Angeles. In other words, it is not particularly convenient for her to fly through New York to get to Guatemala and Belize.

MR PATEL: Again, Matt, this transit is consistent with long-standing American practice. And in fact, they are taken with safety, comfort and convenience in mind, and also the dignity of the passenger. Final question, he said. QUESTION: I wanted to ask about Iraq, since no one has. MR PATEL: Sure. Forward. QUESTION: I mean, yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq by American forces. And I wonder if this administration or this State Department will reevaluate this whole episode and this whole tragedy. About 4,600 American soldiers died there; perhaps more than 300,000 Iraqis. I know; I worked at the UN.

In Iraq we count those numbers and so on. The country is still destroyed. It's dysfunctional. There is more influence from Iran than at any other time. I wonder if you guys pause and take a look at this whole thing, and how do you evaluate it? MR PATEL: You said that our administration, our intention, as far as our relationship with Iraq is concerned, is to look to the future. Today, Said – and I'm sure you're familiar with this – 50 percent of Iraq's population is 20 years old, and a lot of our work is focused on them and looking forward. Our focus is on expanding the US-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement beyond security and achieving a 360-degree relationship that produces results for the Iraqi people.

We have been through a lot in the last 20 years: conflict and reconstruction, the fight to defeat ISIS and terrorism, the COVID-19 pandemic, a global financial crisis, the challenges of climate change and water scarcity. Twenty years later, the United States and Iraq continue to strengthen our strategic partnership. This means that we are expanding areas of cooperation to include all facets of our bilateral relationship. Secretary Blinken had the opportunity to meet with Prime Minister Sudani on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, and we agree on the need to ensure a lasting defeat of ISIS, establish Iraq's energy independence, support the growth of the sector private sector and improve public services. , also expand educational and cultural programming.

Our ultimate goal is to strengthen Iraqi stability, security and sovereignty. Thank you all.