We – just as we did when we were in the region, as we’ve done since that travel, we’ve urged all armed groups to cease hostilities. We’ve called for a swift and thorough investigation of and accountability for those responsible for these reports of atrocities. And we support the African‑led mediation efforts to address the regional tensions in eastern DRC. The East African Community, Kenya, Angola have played an important role in all of this. We spoke to that role when we were in the region in the late summer, but all three have continued to engage with Rwanda and the DRC.
MR PRICE: We meet with a range of Afghan stakeholders, with a range of voices. It was not only Hamid Karzai that Tom West met with, but he met with another representative of the Afghan people while he was there. This is something that he does regularly, that Rina Amiri does regularly, that others here do regularly as well.
This morning, Secretary Blinken, Administrator Power, and White House Gender Policy Council Director Klein announced the release of the updated 2022 United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally. The updated strategy will direct an inclusive, locally led, and survivor-centered approach to prevent and respond to gender‑based violence through U.S. foreign policy and assistance.
MR PRICE: When it comes to the New York Police Department, I’ll need to refer you to them to – for anything they may be undertaking. But I would note that NYPD has had a liaison officer in Qatar as a normal course of business.
QUESTION: I have a question about the president of Turkey. I’m sure you may know that he threatened, again, Greek – people in Greece. He said that his missiles will attack Athens. And I wanted to know if you have any comment since this is the worst threat ever coming from Erdoğan against Greece.
And second, he also said during some – a parliamentarian session that there’s all kinds of talks between Syria and Turkey on issues of terrorism and other issues. So just your comment.
When it comes to Brittney Griner, we’re not going to be in a position to offer much in the way of updates going forward. You heard from Ambassador Carstens and Brittney Griner’s representatives that she is indeed at Fort Sam Houston at the Joint Army Medical Center. It is both not for us to speak to updates from here out, but in a way, we’re not in a position to do so. The broader point is that the course of treatment that any returnee undergoes at Fort Sam Houston or elsewhere, it is not a preset prescribed set of steps. It is a conversation that experts will have with Brittney, with Cherelle, with other members and interested parties to determine what’s in her best interests. And so whether that course of treatment lasts days or longer, that is not a question for us. That is up to Brittney Griner and to her, I’m sure, loved ones.
QUESTION: Last one. Last one, excuse me. Why doesn’t the United States impose sanctions on China and Russian individual entities to help North Korea?
Anything else on this before we move on? Sure.
MR PRICE: Yes, Janne.
MR PRICE: Thank you for the opportunity to clarify.
MR PRICE: Anything else on this before we —
Yes.
Take a couple final questions. Yes, in – go ahead.
And we hope COP15 is an opportunity for countries to come with ambitious targets and commitments in hand, and potentially even to leave COP15 with even more ambitious commitments in hand. But we’ll have more to say about all of this as it gets underway.
MR PRICE: Sure.
QUESTION: Afternoon.
MR PRICE: Then Alex, and then I’ll go to —
MR PRICE: Then Alex, and then I’ll go to —
To the second part of your question, Alex, we have a range of authorities. We have exercised many of those authorities already in the context of the violent crackdown on the protests on the part of the Iranian people, the efforts of the Iranian regime to suppress these peaceful protests, to cut off the Iranian people’s access to the outside world, their ability to communicate with one another. We’ve used our human rights authorities, including in the tranche of sanctions that we spoke to last week, on – in advance of Human Rights Day, to hold accountable those who are responsible for this brutal crackdown.
QUESTION: Recognizing you don’t do a play-by-play, I just want to make sure I – to get you to clarify your comment from a little while ago when you said, a plane will be dispatched to Russia to get Paul Whelan.
QUESTION: Of course.
MR PRICE: Of course.
He’s continued to be personally engaged with counterparts in both countries, this week, of course, and we’ve continued to see levels of violence that are of concern. We remain deeply concerned by developments in the eastern DRC, particularly the renewed M23/FARDC hostilities. These hostilities really resumed in earnest in October and they’ve continued since. We’ve been deeply troubled by reports of killings of civilian areas under M23 control.
QUESTION: Thank you. Can I follow up Chinese issues there? Chinese’s President Xi Jinping declared that crude oil purchase will be made in the Chinese money, yuan. What is the U.S. position of the hegemonic competition with the dollar as China declared internationalization of the yuan?
QUESTION: So President Biden said this, and you guys have said this as well, that Russia is unfortunately treating Paul Whelan differently. So I understand you wouldn’t speak to like what you guys do on this on a daily basis. But what are you guys going to do differently? What is the U.S. Government going to do differently to secure his release?
QUESTION: Today, the Turkish foreign minister, Çavuşoğlu, acknowledged that there are talks between Syrian intelligence and Turkish intelligence to discuss ways and means to returning Syrian refugees. So my question to you: Do you feel that the conditions are there for the Syrian refugees to go back? That’s one.
MR PRICE: Yeah, there are a number of opportunities that the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit will present in the coming days. Some of them have to do with peace and security on the continent. That, of course, will be a topic of discussion in many different fora over the next few days. As you know, this is a conflict and a set of tensions that Secretary Blinken has become personally invested in – traveled to Rwanda and the DRC in August as tensions were flaring in an effort to engage the leaders of both countries, to urge a de-escalation and to urge steps that would put an end to these hostilities.
QUESTION: Thank you, Ned. A couple of questions on the region, starting from Iran. May I get a reaction to Iran today executing second prisoner detained during the protests? His name was Majidreza Rahnavard. Do you have any leverage on Iran to prevent them from conducting these executions?
QUESTION: Thank you, Ned. A couple of questions on the region, starting from Iran. May I get a reaction to Iran today executing second prisoner detained during the protests? His name was Majidreza Rahnavard. Do you have any leverage on Iran to prevent them from conducting these executions?
MR PRICE: Did they discuss recent arms sales to Taiwan?
MR PRICE: We are always looking at what more we can potentially do when it comes to COP15. Of course, it does present an opportunity to advance international efforts to save nature, to reverse and potentially even restore unprecedented global loss of biodiversity, and to protect nature for generations to come. We look at COP15 as the potential to be a turning point when it comes to these important issues.
