On Tuesday, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott held a press briefing.
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00:00Hi there.
00:01MR.
00:02Hi, everybody.
00:03All right, so for those that don't know me, my name is Tommy Pigott, Principal Deputy
00:12Spokesperson, stepping in for the day for Spokesperson Bruce, who is traveling with
00:17the Secretary and the President.
00:20So to start, a few remarks up top, and then I'll be happy to take some questions.
00:24So the American people can be proud that their leaders are putting their safety and security
00:29and prosperity first.
00:32This week's developments show an administration delivering boldly on its promises, and the
00:36results speak for themselves.
00:39When President Trump says he will never leave an American behind, he means it.
00:43Edan Alexander has been released from Hamas' captivity and reunited with his family in
00:47Israel.
00:49This is the result of unwavering American leadership.
00:52President Trump and Secretary Rubio are also strengthening strategic ties in the Middle East,
00:57delivering security and economic wins in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
01:02Earlier today, President Trump announced Saudi Arabia's $600 billion commitment to invest
01:07in the United States, building economic ties that will translate into jobs and opportunities
01:12for the American people and the region.
01:15Secretary Rubio will next travel to Turkey to attend the NATO and formal foreign ministers
01:20meeting.
01:21Since the November election, 20 NATO allies have announced increases in defense spending,
01:25a direct result of President Trump's leadership, and a renewed commitment to peace through strength.
01:32We also welcome the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and commend Prime Ministers Modi
01:36and Sharif for choosing the path of peace.
01:39As President Trump said, their decision reflects strength, wisdom, and fortitude.
01:44We urge both sides to maintain direct communication to preserve regional stability.
01:49Regarding Iran, negotiations continue to show progress.
01:53This administration remains clear, Iran will never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.
01:58As President Trump has said, Iran could have a much brighter future.
02:02The time is right now for them to choose.
02:05And finally, the President has secured another win for American workers, an initial agreement
02:10with China to reduce China's tariffs and set a path for future discussions to open market
02:13access for American exports.
02:16As President Trump has said, the U.S. will continue to prioritize fairness, reciprocity,
02:20and results.
02:22The American people are already seeing the benefits.
02:25Inflation is down.
02:27Grocery and gas prices are falling.
02:29And optimism is returning across the country.
02:32President Trump is once again delivering on his promise to make America great again.
02:37And before I take questions, I would like to thank Spokesperson Tammy Bruce and the entire
02:41team for its unwavering support.
02:43It is an honor to be here, and I look forward to answering your questions for the American
02:47people.
02:48And with that, I'll take some questions.
02:49Tommy.
02:50Yeah.
02:52Welcome to the briefing room.
02:53Trump said today that he's ordering the cessation of sanctions on Syria.
02:57How quickly will the U.S. lift these sanctions?
03:00Is this something we could expect as soon as coming days?
03:02I have nothing additional to preview.
03:04The President obviously spoke to this.
03:06And the President has been clear he wants to see prosperity for the entire region.
03:10That's part of the purpose of this trip.
03:11So nothing to further preview in terms of a timeline.
03:14And is the U.S. pressing the U.N. Security Council to lift sanctions on HTS?
03:17Again, nothing to preview on that front.
03:19But as the President said, this is about making sure we can have a region with peace and prosperity,
03:24long-term prosperity.
03:26And as Caroline Levitt said before the trip, this is about a golden age both for the American
03:30people and for the Middle East.
03:32And we're seeing that dedication with the many different announcements that the President
03:35made today.
03:36Can you give us an update on the talks between Russia and Ukraine later this week?
03:43Will Secretary Rubio be participating in those talks?
03:46What are the expectations from the U.S. side?
03:49And there's been talk about a face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Putin.
03:54Can you tell us anything about that or talks to prepare for those talks?
04:00Well, the President has spoken to this as well.
04:03He has been clear that the meeting in Istanbul is a critical opportunity for direct talks between
04:08Russia and Ukraine.
04:10That has been clear.
04:11The President has also been clear that he wants to see those talks happen.
04:14And he's been dedicated to trying to first get that ceasefire and then an enduring peace.
04:19In terms of specifics, nothing further to preview.
04:21The President also spoke to this during his speech just a short while ago.
04:24I'd refer you to his comments there.
04:26But this is a critical opportunity to, again, have those direct talks to try to achieve
04:31that ceasefire and then that long and enduring peace.
04:34Yes.
04:35Thank you, Tom.
04:36Good to see you behind the podium.
04:38A very quick question.
04:40On Sunday, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the ethnic cleansing of
04:47Gaza is inevitable and that they were targeting every house in Gaza for that purpose.
04:52So is the United States, are they okay with that kind of language or would there be a rebuke
04:59in the future of such a thing that is clearly, you know, speaks of a war crime?
05:04What is the position of the U.S.?
05:05Well, first, I don't accept the characterization of your question.
05:08And second, I'd say that Hamas bears sole responsibility for the war and for the resumption
05:12of hostilities.
05:13We want peace and the immediate release of all hostages.
05:16And we've also been clear from this podium and elsewhere that any departure from Gaza must
05:20be voluntary.
05:21But you – I mean, as far as what he said, I mean, that's what came out of the cabinet
05:25meeting.
05:26I mean, independent of what we hear about Hamas and so on, and they are responsible for this.
05:32But do you have a position on the forcible removal of the Palestinians from Gaza?
05:37Look, I just answered that question.
05:38I stand by what I just said.
05:39And ultimately, Hamas bears sole responsibility for this war.
05:43Yes.
05:44To follow up on Gaza, the spokeswoman, the spokesperson last week, Tammy, mentioned that a foundation
05:54would be set up – at that time, it was very shortly, it was last week, last week – to
06:01distribute aid into Gaza.
06:04Where does that stand now?
06:06Is this still a project?
06:09It's still in the works?
06:10Is it going to happen?
06:11And the – the Israeli prime minister also said that in the coming days he would go in
06:16full force into Gaza.
06:20Does – would that disrupt those plans, or is it calculated and being prepared together?
06:25Or how does that work?
06:26MR.
06:27Well, look, we won't speak on behalf of the foundation, and we'll defer to the foundation
06:31in terms of any announcement that they may or may not make.
06:34But bottom line is we welcome moves to get aid quickly into Gaza.
06:38And we also welcome creative solutions that make sure that that aid actually gets to the
06:41people that need it and is not falling into the hands of terrorists such as Hamas.
06:47So we support creative solutions to get that aid in there.
06:49We want to make sure it's done in a way where it's not falling into the hands of Hamas that
06:53is actually reaching the people that need it.
06:55And what is as clear as day is that the people of Gaza have suffered tremendously under Hamas.
07:00So we support those creative solutions to get aid in there, and the President has been
07:02very clear, as has Secretary Rubio.
07:05Yes.
07:06I wanted to ask your response of reports that there were back-channel talks that led
07:14to the release of Idhan Alexander with a Hamas official reaching out to the former leader
07:19of Arab Americans for Trump.
07:22Can you speak to that report and any details about how the release came to be?
07:28So I'm not going to comment on private diplomatic conversations.
07:31But what I will say and reiterate is that this shows that when President Trump says he will
07:35never leave an American behind, he means it.
07:38This is the direct result of American leadership, as I said earlier.
07:42And again, shows the fact that President Trump is forever working for the safety and security
07:47of the American people as is Secretary Rubio.
07:49But I'm not going to discuss or – good details of private diplomatic conversations.
07:53Yeah, I'm denying it.
07:54MR.
07:55Again, whether or not that or did not happen, I'm not going to talk about private
07:58diplomatic conversations, whether or not they did or did not happen.
08:01MR.
08:02Yeah.
08:03Hi.
08:05Thanks, Ali.
08:06MR.
08:07And then a follow-up on Gaza.
08:08Yesterday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the temporary protected status for Afghanistan
08:13would expire on May the 20th.
08:17She said the conditions in Afghanistan have improved enough for Afghans to return there.
08:21Does the State Department think that Afghanistan is now a safe destination for women and girls?
08:27MR.
08:28Well, ultimately, when it comes to the temporary protected status, I refer you to DHS.
08:32It was always meant as a temporary measure or temporary benefit.
08:36This is the – when that temporary benefit would expire.
08:40So for further questions on that, I refer you to DHS.
08:42MR.
08:43And then just to follow up on Gaza, you said you support efforts to get food – to
08:46get aid quickly into Gaza.
08:48Here we are more than two months later.
08:51How soon is quickly?
08:52When can we start to see food actually getting in?
08:53MR.
08:54Well, look, I think it's important to understand, again, that we're looking for
08:57those creative solutions to get that aid in there.
08:59We're fully supportive of those measures.
09:01It's also important to reiterate that Hamas bears sole responsibility for this conflict,
09:06as well as sole responsibility for the condition under which the people of Gaza are living.
09:10So I'm not going to put a timeline on it from here.
09:12I'm not going to speak on behalf of the Foundation.
09:14But what I will reiterate is that we are supportive of creative solutions to get aid in there,
09:18but also in a way that the aid is not falling into the hands of Hamas, that it actually reaches
09:22the people that need it.
09:24Yes.
09:25Yes, Tommy.
09:27I wanted to ask you about the President's trip to the Middle East.
09:31He had some comments today in terms of talking about the way that the U.S. approaches countries in the Middle East and the criticism of past policy,
09:41saying that for too long many American presidents have been afflicted with the notion that it's our job to look into the souls of foreign leaders and use U.S. policy to dispense justice for their sins.
09:51There's been a critique of the State Department, I think, externally by some analysts about the changes to areas of the Department that deal with issues of human rights
10:03and kind of what had been traditionally seen as U.S. values issues.
10:06Do you – is this the President endorsing that shift in terms of the State Department's focus?
10:14Do you think that that criticism that we've seen from civil society is accurate?
10:18Look, I think the results speak for themselves in terms of what President Trump and Secretary Rubio have been able to deliver for the American people,
10:25the results they've been able to deliver.
10:26President Trump is a peacemaker.
10:28He is a dealmaker, and he is constantly putting Americans first.
10:31And when we approach foreign policy in a standard where we're approaching that American first perspective,
10:36that allows opportunities to pursue common interests, that allows deals to be made,
10:40that allows us to have stronger bilateral relationships where we're finding those common areas to work together on and advance those common interests.
10:47As spokesperson Bruce has said many times from this podium, just because a framework changes does not mean that the priority necessarily changes as well.
10:56Oftentimes, what we're seeing in terms of how we're approaching the State Department and other aspects are a way to deliver on our priorities better, more effectively,
11:04in a way that actually delivers results for the American people.
11:07We are making sure every single dollar that we spend from the State Department under Secretary Rubio is advancing the American interest.
11:14Does it make us safer, stronger, more prosperous?
11:16And I think that's a standard that the American people expect us to have here at the State Department.
11:20They're happy to see that.
11:21And the results, again, speak for themselves with perhaps the most successful,
11:24I would argue the most successful 100 plus days in history in this past week.
11:28The results we have seen from President Trump speak for themselves.
11:31Thank you, Tommy.
11:33A question about the new arrivals from South Africa that landed in Dulles yesterday.
11:38The UN's International Organization for Migration has told ABC that they were not involved in administering any loans.
11:45So typically, they would be the ones to run loans funded by the State Department to pay for refugees to come to the United States to cover those travel costs.
11:53I'm wondering, can you speak to how that travel was funded or say anything more about whether the State Department is giving out any loans in this case?
12:01Well, look, I'm not going to talk about specific relationships we have with organizations.
12:04I'm also not going to talk about operational details in terms of how we're implementing the priorities laid out by the President and Secretary Rubio.
12:12The main bottom line, though, is that we are implementing those priorities.
12:15We are seeing the President's executive orders being delivered upon here at the State Department.
12:20And this is an example of that, of course, collaborating across different agencies.
12:23So we're going to continue seeing those priorities fulfilled, but I'm not going to comment here on internal operational details or specifics of that nature.
12:32Yeah, thank you, Tommy.
12:35A question on Turkey, and I have a question on Iran, too.
12:38Yesterday, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, declared its dissolution an end to its armed struggle against Turkey.
12:47There were reports talking about that the U.S. played a positive role in this process as well.
12:52And even yesterday, Secretary Rubio spoke with his Turkish counterpart, and he spoke about this, too.
12:58Have you played any role?
12:59Have you been involved in this?
13:01And what's your comment on that?
13:02Are you considering removing this group from the FTO?
13:06Well, I'm not going to speak about private diplomatic conversations nor preview decisions of that nature that may or may not be made.
13:12What I can say is that we welcome the recent announcement from the Kurdistan Workers' Party on its intent to disband.
13:18The United States designated the PKK, a foreign terrorist organization, in 1997.
13:22Tens of thousands of people lost their lives as a result of armed conflict in the decades since the organization was founded,
13:27and the terrorist group laying down its arms is a victory for civilization.
13:31It is the United States' hope that this announcement will lead to increased stability for the region.
13:34And a question on Iran. You said that regarding Iran, negotiations continue to show progress.
13:40What progress have you made so far with Iran and the next round of talks being scheduled with Iran?
13:46Can you tell us what time or...?
13:47Nothing to preview on that front. What I can say is the President spoke to this just in his speech a few hours ago.
13:53Talking about the time for choosing for them is right now. There is a path to prosperity for Iran.
13:57He wants to see the entire region be prosperous. He's also been clear that there are two options for Iran.
14:02Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, but there are two options in regards to that, a good option and a bad option.
14:07So the President has spoken to this. He's made our priorities clear. He's made the goal clear.
14:12And I don't have anything additional to add beyond his comments there.
14:18Thank you. How does the U.S. State Department view the Bangladesh Interim Government's
14:22ordinance banning all activities of the largest political party, Awa Milig, one of the largest
14:30political parties effectively erasing its political identity and bearing its prompt future election?
14:38I just wanted to mention here in previous briefing, Tammy stressed the importance of election and
14:44democracy in Bangladesh, especially inclusive election. Now they banned this political party
14:50from the activities. What is your concern on that?
14:52So what I can say on this is that we are aware that the interim government has banned the Uwami
14:57League from all political activities until a special tribunal for the party and its leaders
15:01concludes. We do not support any one political party in Bangladesh over another. We support a free
15:06and democratic process as well as fair and transparent legal processes for all individuals. We urge all
15:12countries, including Bangladesh, to respect the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association
15:17for all.
15:18Thank you. How does the U.S. State Department view the interim Bangladeshi government role in the
15:25fostering radical ideologies and enabling terrorism following reports of the law advisor Dr. Asif
15:32Nozrul meeting with Loshker Taiba operative Harun Izzar and growing support of violence in Kashmir by
15:39political and religious leader, the meeting in the ministry in Bangladesh?
15:44MR. So again, taking a step back, I'll reiterate what has been reiterated from this podium before.
15:48We value our partnership with the people of Bangladesh spanning more than 50 years.
15:51We remain committed to deepening our partnership by working with the interim government.
15:55And I already commented on your other question there, but nothing further to add.
15:58MR. Yes.
15:59Thank you very much, Tommy. Two questions, one on the North Korea and then the second
16:05question about the Russia for us. As you know that the North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles
16:13into the East Coast last week for the second time since the second term of the Trump administration.
16:23How do you view the fact that North Korea is receiving missile technology support from Russia,
16:30which is further escalating the threat to the Korean Peninsula?
16:35MR. So we've spoken on this in the past. I'll refer to those comments and take back your question for
16:42further details if we can get there.
16:43Thank you. Second question on Russia. Russia has claiming that it will pay for the North Korean
16:50soldiers who died in Khrushka during the war in Ukraine and that Putin is preparing a new mission
17:00with the North Korean military. How will the United States react to the fact that North Korean troops
17:08will continue to be stationed in Russia and help Russia, even if Russia and Ukraine reach a ceasefire
17:18and the war?
17:20MR. Well, as spokesperson Bruce has said from this podium, third countries like the DPRK that
17:26have perpetrated the Russia-Ukraine war bear responsibility. The DPRK's military deployment to
17:31Russia and any support provided by the Russian Federation, the DPRK, in return, must end.
17:36Thank you. A couple of questions from South Asia. During his calls with Pakistani prime minister,
17:43foreign minister, and the army chief when Secretary Mende called, did he receive any commitment or
17:48assurance from the Pakistani leadership that they will dismantle all the terrorist infrastructure
17:52and they will no longer support terrorist groups within the country?
17:56MR. I'm not going to talk about private diplomatic conversations. What I can say is reiterate
18:00what we've been saying for a couple days now, is that we welcome the ceasefire reach between India
18:06and Pakistan this weekend. And we commend both prime ministers for choosing the path of peace. The
18:10president truthed about this. He was very clear in terms of that. We also want to encourage direct
18:16communication between the parties. That is something we've also been clear about as well.
18:20India has refused any U.S. effort to mediate between India and Pakistan.
18:25How hopeful you are that you will be able to bring them together in the same room for talks?
18:29MR. Well, I'm not going to speculate on that. What I can say is that we encourage direct
18:32communication. We have been clear on that. We continue to encourage that direct communication.
18:36The president has been clear on that. And the president, as I said, has also been clear in
18:40praising both prime ministers for choosing the path towards peace and the wisdom and fortitude that
18:44that shows. Has U.S. sent a team to Islamabad of Pakistan following the reports that there have
18:51been leaks of nuclear radiation in some of the secure Pakistani sites? MR. I have nothing to preview on
18:56that at this time. MR. I have one more question. Thank you, Tommy.
19:02Thank you, Tommy. And beautiful style you have, by the way. I hope you continue to do that more often,
19:08these briefings. My question is about, Pakistan welcomed President Trump's efforts for bringing
19:17the ceasefire between Pakistan and India. And they believe that President Trump could win a Nobel
19:24peace prize if he were to bring peace between Pakistan and India on Kashmir issue. But Prime
19:31Minister Modi did not welcome this effort. And he's the same gentleman that was not allowed to come
19:37to the U.S. till 10 years ago. Does that disappoint this building at all, the attitude of Narenda Modi
19:45of not welcoming this peace deal? MR. Well, what we are happy to see is a ceasefire.
19:50That is what we are happy to see. That's where our focus remains. And we want to see
19:54ceasefire be maintained. And we want to encourage direct communication. That is our focus here.
19:58Our focus is the ceasefire. Our focus is on encouraging direct communication. That's where
20:04our focus is going to remain. The President has spoken on this. And just to take the first
20:08part of your question, kind of focusing on a more global foreign policy front,
20:12talking about issues around the world, the President, President Trump is a peacemaker. He's a
20:17peacemaker. He values peace. He's also a dealmaker. And he has shown that again and again and again
20:22in terms of both pursuing an America first agenda, but also pursuing peace and wanting to see peace
20:27and conflicts come to an end. Thank you very much. One more question about,
20:30excuse me, one more question. The drones which India used against Pakistan were Israeli-made drones.
20:38President Trump, one initiative that has been globally recognized and talked about is his Abraham Accord idea.
20:45Do you think this landing of Israeli drones in Pakistan would create hurdles in the President's vision,
20:53his whole thought about this Abraham Accord where he wants to bring these three religions close to each
20:58other? These Israeli drones will further complicate the relations between Pakistan and Israel or no?
21:06Well, I'll reiterate what we are focused on here and happy to see is a ceasefire. We want to see
21:11direct communication between the parties. And when it comes to, again, solving conflicts that have
21:15existed in regions around the world, the President wants to solve those conflicts when he can. He's
21:22often said that he stands ready to aid in the pursuit of peace. He stands ready to help. And the President
21:27is a dealmaker. He is a peacemaker. He has shown that again and again. And we're seeing the results of
21:31that from the past hundred days and even just this last week. So the President's a dealmaker. He's a
21:36peacemaker. But nothing to comment further beyond that.
21:39Thank you so much.
21:40Can we follow up?
21:41MR. Yeah.
21:41Yeah.
21:42Thank you. I want to follow up on Syria. President Trump, in addition to lifting
21:47the sanctions, also said that he wants to create a fresh start with Syria. I wonder what does this
21:55mean for the U.S.-U.S.-Syria relations going forward? Does this move indicate a broader policy shift towards
22:04full normalization? I also wonder, President Trump also said today that Secretary Rubio will meet
22:10Syrian Foreign Minister Al-Shaiban in Turkey later this week. What are your expectations from this
22:16meeting?
22:16MR. Well, the President spoke to this. He spoke to his reasoning. He spoke to the fact that he
22:20wants to see the entire region thrive. We want to see peace and prosperity. When it comes to Syrian
22:25interim authorities, from this podium and elsewhere, we've communicated with them some of the actions that
22:30they should take for peace and prosperity. And we hope that they do take those actions. But the
22:33President has spoken to this in that speech a few hours ago, saying that this is about making sure
22:38we have a region that can thrive, a region for long-term peace and prosperity. Yes.
22:43Yeah. I want to follow up about the Secretary Rubio's trip as well to the Middle East. So the importance,
22:54if you can elaborate a little more, although you did some, about the relationship between the US and
23:00the Middle East and how important this relationship will be also to succeed through those countries like
23:08Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, to the peace talk between Gaza and Israel, but also to stop Iran from nuclear
23:19weapons. The President has spoken to this issue as well just a few hours ago. And he was talking
23:24about the fact that we can have great partnership with the Middle East. And we have in many ways
23:29already pursuing those common interests. And we want to see those common interests continue. I mentioned
23:34at the top here the $600 billion investment commitment from Saudi Arabia that was announced today.
23:39So that's just one example of the many ways that we have partnership with the Middle East pursuing common
23:44interests. And the President has been clear, both from the time of the last administration,
23:49his first visit to the region, talking about the things that we want to see. So there's a lot of
23:53opportunities in the Middle East. And again, like I said earlier, this is about a golden age for
23:58America. But we also have an opportunity to see a golden age for the Middle East and the benefits
24:02that would bring both the American people and the people in the Middle East. Thank you. Yes.
24:07Sorry, in front of you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Two quick questions,
24:10if I may. The first on Secretary Rubio's trip to the Middle East and the second one in Latin America.
24:16In a recent past, Secretary Rubio said that the U.S. will not engage anymore with Russians and
24:22Ukrainians if both countries do not show real commitment with a permanent ceasefire. How do U.S.
24:28diplomacy describe this momentum when both sides are ready to meet in Turkey alongside Secretary Rubio?
24:38Well, as the President has said, this is a critical opportunity to try to achieve that ceasefire and
24:43try to achieve that long peace. The President has been clear he wants to see those direct talks happen.
24:48And I think it's also important to remember that the President has brought us closer to peace when it
24:53comes to this conflict than in the years preceding him taking office. And that's a great credit to his
24:59leadership. So he wants to see those direct talks happen. This is a critical opportunity to achieve that
25:04ceasefire and then potentially achieve that long peace. Ultimately, with the goal of ending this
25:09conflict, as has been said so many times by President Trump, so many times by spokesperson Bruce,
25:14we want to see this conflict come to an end. That's what we want to see.
25:17On Latin America, very quickly, officials from the U.S. and Brazil, they convene here in Washington, D.C.