During a press briefing on Thursday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce was asked about diplomatic meetings between the Trump administration and the new Syrian government.
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00:00All right. All right. Go. Yes, sir.
00:01Thank you, Tammy. Two questions for you.
00:03Number one, Trump administration, first term and second term, is a foundational part of foreign policy.
00:09We'll talk to anybody, whether inviting the Taliban to Camp David or King Jamun or Putin or whoever.
00:15It's no secret the Syrians are here in the States for talks with a lot of people.
00:20Why is the Trump admin kind of tiptoeing around the subject of meeting with the Syrians this week?
00:26I don't think it's about tiptoeing.
00:28I think it's about, you know, what's what's appropriate.
00:33I can tell you that Department of State officials met on April 29th with the Syrian interim authorities in New York.
00:42But just like any meeting with anyone, we're not going to tell you the details of that.
00:47As a general matter, we as you some of you might not know, but we don't comment on private diplomatic conversations.
00:54That would kind of ruin the point of them.
00:55We continue, though, we can tell you to urge the interim authorities to choose policies that reinforce stability for Syria's citizens,
01:04assure peace with Syria's neighbors, develop Syria's economy, and result in good faith cooperation with the international community.
01:12And any future normalization of relations or lifting of sanctions, as an example, which we are asked a lot at this podium,
01:20will depend on the interim authorities' actions and positive response to the specific confidence-building measures we have communicated.
01:29And those are that they should fully renounce and suppress terrorism, exclude and remove foreign terrorist fighters from any official roles,
01:38prevent Iran and its proxies from exploiting Syrian territory, continue taking steps to verifiably destroy Assad's chemical weapons,
01:48assist in the recovery of U.S. and other citizens who have been disappeared in Syria,
01:54and ensure the security and freedoms of Syria's religious and ethnic minorities.
01:59I appreciate you coming to the meeting.
02:01That's it. Humara.
02:01Humara. Yes.