Department Press Briefing – November 7, 2024

Article Index

• DEPARTMENT
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES / LEBANON
• DEPARTMENT
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
• RUSSIA / UKRAINE / NORTH KOREA
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
• RUSSIA / UKRAINE
• GERMANY
• ISRAEL / PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
• RUSSIA / UKRAINE
• BANGLADESH
• INDIA

1:17 p.m. EST

MR MILLER: Don't let me interrupt you, Janne.

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

MR MILLER: It's quite all right. Let me start with some opening comments. Over the past two days, Secretary Blinken has been meeting with people from across the department to discuss the work ahead of us over the next 74 days between now and January 20th. In those meetings, he has emphasized two points:

First, the peaceful transfer of power is an essential element of our democracy that is vital to our nation's security. That's why it's so important for us to conduct a smooth, efficient, and professional transition process. To that end, the Secretary has appointed Ambassador Stephen Mull - a distinguished member of the State Department family - to coordinate these efforts on behalf of the department. Ambassador Mull will work with the President-elect's team to ensure as successful a transition as possible.

Second, the Secretary has made clear that he intends to use his remaining time in office to make tangible progress on a number of critical issues:

Cementing our working in maintaining a free, open, prosperous Indo-Pacific and ensuring we continue to win the competition we're engaged in with China while responsibly managing the relationship between our two countries;

Ensuring that Ukraine is in the best position possible for success;

And bringing an end to the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza, while improving the delivery of humanitarian assistance, securing the release of all hostages, and preventing the further spread of the conflict.

We have no shortage of work to do over the next 74 days, and we are determined to make the most of the time left. As the President said today, "let's make every day count. That's the responsibility we have to the American people."

And with that, Matt.

QUESTION: Hi.

MR MILLER: You're up.

QUESTION: Okay. So to that end, has Ambassador Mull started work as -

MR MILLER: Ambassador Mull has started his work on behalf of the department. He's here. He's been attending meetings, getting ready to coordinate the process. We have not yet had contact made by the Trump transition team. There's a process that they go through writ large that's run by the GSA. And then I think as you know, they appoint agency review teams that interface with each agency. They have not yet done that with respect to the State Department. I can't speak to other agencies. But as soon as they do, we are ready to go in working with them.

QUESTION: Okay. I - because I just - I took a stroll through the transition area, and it was - there was nobody there.

MR MILLER: Maybe he was at lunch. (Laughter.) I don't know. He's here. I was in a meeting with -

QUESTION: Okay.

MR MILLER: I was in a meeting with him this morning, so I can assure you he is here hard at work.

QUESTION: Okay. But what exactly is he doing, if there's been no contact with the incoming transition team?

MR MILLER: So we have been working on transition activities for some time now, even before he was appointed. What we do before the team is appointed - and we are doing this to get ready for either a Trump transition or a Harris transition - is to put together briefing materials, both on policy and procedures, and to get them ready and to try to anticipate questions that the incoming transition team will have and be ready to answer those as soon as they have an agency review team that comes into the building.

QUESTION: Okay. And - but there's no deadline for them to show up, is there? I mean, this is not the first time - this is like the seventh transition that I've witnessed and -

MR MILLER: There's not a deadline. I suppose January 20th would be a deadline.

QUESTION: No, no.

MR MILLER: But they can - we are ready to go.

QUESTION: I -

MR MILLER: They can proceed with the process as soon as they're ready. And we are -

QUESTION: Okay.

MR MILLER: That's up to them. That's up for them to decide. We're ready on our end.

QUESTION: But - well, what I'm saying - what I'm saying is that - like I said, I've done this, been through this multiple times, so - and it's been my experience in the past that the incoming transition team never usually shows up this early after an election. And you're saying that that's exactly this - was the case.

MR MILLER: Yeah, they have not. I won't speak to past precedent, but it's - they haven't at this point.

QUESTION: Okay. I - I'm sure people have questions about this, but I want to go to the Middle East here.

MR MILLER: Yeah.

QUESTION: But I'll wait until the transition questions -

MR MILLER: Transition stuff before we go? Other transition things? Well, take us - well, go ahead.

QUESTION: How is the State Department and the - I guess, how is the State Department planning to handle conflicting policy goals in the Middle East between the current and the incoming administration? Meaning the incoming president has said that he's not - he doesn't necessarily feel that a ceasefire deal in Gaza is the best way to resolve the war. We obviously know Secretary Blinken, President Biden are like a hundred million percent committed to that. Is it something where there's room for sort of talking about it in negotiations or do you continue a hundred percent on -

MR MILLER: I think it's very important to remember with respect to our policy in the Middle East and with respect to all of our policies that there is one president at a time. And Joe Biden is the President, and we will continue to pursue the policies that he has set forward. When it comes to the Middle East, we will continue to pursue an end to the war in Gaza, an end to the war in Lebanon, a surge of humanitarian assistance. And that is our duty to pursue those policies right up until noon on January 20th. And when the President-elect takes office and becomes the President of the United States, it is, of course, his right to pursue different policies, but it's still incumbent upon us that we think - to pursue the policies that we believe are best situated to bring peace and stability to the region and advance the national security interests of the United States, and that's what we're going to do.

QUESTION: Do you anticipate on the other side of the equation that the Israelis, the Palestinians, Hamas might change their calculations based on that expectation that we're about to have an incoming President who might veer 180 degrees on policy from the current administration?

MR MILLER: So I certainly can't speak for another government or another entity, and I wouldn't want to speculate about how they might approach this period. Obviously, foreign governments have been through transitions before. We had one four years ago; we had one before that, four years before that; we had one eight years before that. And so they're used to dealing with transitions and I think they understand that you have one president at a time.

So I won't try to speculate about how they might deal with the various issues that we have before us. I do believe and the Secretary continues to believe that an end to the conflict in Gaza is not just in the interests of the Palestinian people, but it is in Israel's interest, and finding a way forward that provides not just short-term security but lasting security for Israelis and Palestinians alike is in the interest of the Government of Israel. And so we will continue to have those conversations with them, but as you have always heard us say, they're a sovereign country and they will make their own decisions, and that's true in the transition as it was true before Election Day.

QUESTION: I guess, so how can you - not you personally but the State Department, the Biden administration - continue to reassure allies, particularly Israel, of long-term stability measures when you really only have a say for another however many - eight weeks, whatever we've got left?

MR MILLER: We can make clear to them the policies that we will pursue over the time that we have remaining in office, and we can make clear to them what we believe is in the best interests of the United States, what we believe is in the best interests of the countries in the region. But of course an incoming president can make his own policy changes, his own policy decisions. Every president has the right to do that. And I think foreign governments are well aware of that, as the American people are well aware of that.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Yeah, can you give some insight if the Secretary has given any calls or spoken to any of his counterparts around the world as to either reassure them on the transition or how the U.S. policy is going to change or be impacted? Could you give us some - or any information you have on the calls, conversations?

MR MILLER: Yeah, he has had a - he has had a number of calls over the past 24 hours, and without reading out any of those specifically, I will say generally the message he has had to them has been the same message that you've heard me deliver just in the past five or 10 minutes, however long I've been up here, and that's that we are going to pursue the policies that we are advancing when it comes to the Middle East, when it comes to the Indo-Pacific, when it comes to supporting Ukraine, and of course the many other policies when it comes to trying to advance stability in Haiti and trying to reach a ceasefire in Sudan, many of the other hotspots we're dealing with around the world. And I think they all have heard from us privately what they see publicly, what you saw from the President of the United States today, that we are committed to a peaceful, successful transition. That is a commitment that we take seriously; it's part of our oath of - it's part of how we interpret our oath of office; it's part of how we interpret our duty to the American people.

When it comes to how you framed the question about making reassurances to allies or partners about the policies of a future administration, that's not something we can do, it's not something we would do. We would never presume to speak for an incoming administration because the President-elect was elected by the American public; he has the right to make his own decisions; he will make his own decisions. So we will speak on what we believe are the right policies that we have set, and we'll make clear what we believe is in the long-term interests of the United States. But the incoming president will make his own decisions.

And here's the thing: As I said in response to the previous question, these countries are used to dealing with the United States. They understand that we have elections every four years and they understand that there are changes in policy that flow as a result of those elections. There were significant changes in policy four years ago when President Biden took office. And without speaking to what those may be - because it wouldn't be appropriate for me to do that; I couldn't possibly speak for another administration - I think everyone well understands that's how democracies work.

QUESTION: Yeah, you don't care to share any of these particular readouts?

MR MILLER: We may have calls that we read out over the coming -

QUESTION: But I mean the calls -

MR MILLER: We may have calls that we read out over the coming hours through our normal process, but I just meant when I speak to the - this kind of general conversation. I didn't want to say with respect to any particular foreign minister.

QUESTION: Specific?

MR MILLER: Yeah.

QUESTION: But are we talking - just to have a sense - really working the phones or is it just a couple of calls -

MR MILLER: He's had a number - a number of calls. I would look for us to be reading out calls over the coming days.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Thanks. On these calls, can you say who the Secretary is now liaising with in terms of who his counterpart is with Israel given that there is a new Israeli defense minister? Does he have any communication yet with Israel Katz? And can you give a bit more details on whether he's had a conversation with the Israeli defense minister since he switched roles?

MR MILLER: He has not yet spoken with the new defense minister since he assumed his current role two days ago. As you know, the - Israel Katz was the foreign minister; before that he met with the foreign minister on one of our previous trips to Israel. The Secretary has conversations with a - with not a fairly wide range but an extensive range of Israeli counterparts. Of course he meets with the prime minister when we're in the region, and he talks at times with the minister for strategic affairs. He talked to the previous defense minister; I'm sure he will talk to the current defense minister in the coming days, but he hasn't in the two days since he took the job.

QUESTION: Okay. And we're I think a little under a week away from this deadline with Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin's letter to the Israelis. Can you give any updates, beyond what you've already said in previous briefings, on any things that Israel has ticked off that list ahead of next week? And also as well in the letter, can you give an update on the channel that the U.S. is hoping to establish with Israel on the civilian harm?

MR MILLER: Let me take the second question first. With respect to the channel, we have had conversations with them in the past week or so about establishing the first meeting of that channel. The first meeting has not yet taken place, but we're hoping to land that meeting and have it take place in the coming days, in the next week or two. It's something that continues to be a priority for us.

When it comes to progress on the other steps that the Secretary laid out in the letter to improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance, we have seen Israel take a number of important steps over the past several weeks, including in just the past few days. They reopened Erez Crossing, as you heard me report before, but they have also informed us that in the coming days, in the next few days, they plan to open an additional new crossing at Kissufim. They have approved additional delivery routes inside Gaza, which is something that is critical because, as you know, the problem has not only been getting humanitarian assistance to the crossings but then getting it out the crossings and getting it delivered to the people who need them. So routes such as the Bani Suheila road in southern Gaza, they have approved expanded use the Israeli fence road and are currently repairing the coastal road to get that road operational for the delivery of assistance.

They are now allowing convoys into areas in the north that have been closed for weeks and that you have heard us say needed to be open to allow humanitarian assistance in. The first convoy today went through Jabalia into Beit Hanoun, the first convoy in several weeks. That is something that we have emphasized is critical. The people who have been in those areas have - had not had access to sufficient food and water, and we have made clear that that needed to change, and we saw the first convoy go to Beit Hanoun today.

We have seen them take increased efforts to stop looting. They've paved new routes to try and bypass some of the areas where trucks have been looted repeatedly. And we've seen some initial expansion of the Mawasi area, which, as you know, is something the Secretary specifically called for in the letter.

So of course, what's important when you see all of these steps taken is what that means for the results, because it's not just sufficient to open new roads if more humanitarian assistance isn't going through those roads. So what we want to see over the coming days and coming weeks is to see these new routes actually have more humanitarian assistance delivered over them.

So we have seen a bit of an uptick in the number of trucks. For example, two days ago we saw 229 enter various crossings and saw 115 of them that were collected, which is a bit of an increase over where we had been.

Now, as always when we give a metric like this, we want to see that number continue to increase. But the most important thing is that - we see an increase is that it be sustained, and that is one of the critical metrics that we are looking at

QUESTION: Yeah, sorry. Just before Simon. goes -

MR MILLER: Yeah.

QUESTION: The channel. Remind me, when did you give a deadline for that to be set up?

MR MILLER: We said we wanted to see the first meeting take place by the end of October. It didn't take place by the end of October, but we're working to land the meeting and expect it to happen in the coming days or a week or two.

QUESTION: Well, okay. If and when it happens, does that mean that they're essentially off the hook for not meeting the October 31st deadline?

MR MILLER: So the two things about the - there's two things about the - I want to say about that. First of all, when you look at the - that portion of the letter, it's important to note that that was not tied to the humanitarian assistance piece. That was a separate deadline, right? It was a -

QUESTION: Right.

MR MILLER: I know you didn't say it. I'm just making clear because I think a lot of people have kind of conflated the two.

What we made clear in the letter is that we wanted to see that meeting take place. We've had a lot of communication with them about the appropriate level at which that -

QUESTION: Yeah, but -

MR MILLER: - hold on - at which that meeting should take place, the appropriate way for that meeting to take place. We asked for a virtual - virtually, and what I think we're going to land on is an actual in-person meeting and are working on exactly who attends that meeting. And when it happens - and hope to get that finalized in the next few days and be able to announce when it will happen, but we're not there yet.

QUESTION: I get the - I - understood. But does that mean that they get - they move from a failing grade to a passing grade if and when -

MR MILLER: So -

QUESTION: - if and when it comes up?

MR MILLER: That's not - it's not -

QUESTION: Which I realize is -

MR MILLER: That isn't - hold on. That's not the way we're looking at it. We said we want to have the meeting. It didn't happen by when we wanted it to happen. We want to have it happen as soon as possible.

QUESTION: So there's no penalty for not meeting -

MR MILLER: We want to see the meeting take place. Ultimately, what we care about it getting a result and get that channel established so we can start to get information -

QUESTION: Right. Fair enough. I just want to know because, I mean, if they're - if you're going to say oh, it's okay to blow through this deadline but you still have the meeting but it might not be for another two weeks, but then it's okay and you don't regard it as them ignoring your demand?

MR MILLER: We want to see it - we want to see it happen as soon possible. We're continuing to press for it.

QUESTION: All right. Sorry, Simon.

MR MILLER: Yeah, Simon.

QUESTION: Just following on from that, with the 30-day deadline in the letter it lays out - well, it suggests there will be implications for U.S. policy and law. And given now that this administration is - only has a couple of months left, what is the downside for Israel if they - if they don't follow your - these demands?

MR MILLER: I don't want to speculate about what may or may not happen. We have made clear that there are potential legal and policy considerations from failure to improve the humanitarian assistance situation in Gaza and implement a number of the steps that we outlined in the letter. We are in active discussion with them - including in the past several days - about steps that they have taken and what more that they need to do. And we'll make an assessment when we get to the end of the period. And beyond that, I wouldn't want to speculate about what may or may not happen.

QUESTION: And in the last, I guess, two days, do you have any sense that your pressure is being taken less seriously as a result of anything that you do in the next few months would be able to be reversed?

MR MILLER: So we have seen them take - so I would just note that what we have seen, including over the last few days, in response to the letter that we sent them - and not just the letter, but in response to the repeated engagements we have had with them both at the Secretary's level - as you know, he talked to the then-defense minister on Monday, he talked to the minister of strategic affairs on Friday, to make clear that we wanted to see further progress beyond that what we had already seen - and engagements at other levels, including through our ambassador, Jack Lew, and through our special envoy, Lise Grande.

We have continued to press them, and we have seen them - including in the past few days since the election - take additional steps. So I'm not going to try to judge why - I'm not going to try to make a judgment that's connected to the election one way or the other. We're just going to look at the facts, and we're looking at the facts as - we're looking at the facts as they develop, and we'll make our assessments based on those facts.

QUESTION: And you mentioned you would - the administration is going to do everything it can to get a ceasefire both in Gaza and Lebanon before - before the end of the administration. Particularly on Gaza, I think you had - there obviously has been months of ceasefire talks, then around Sinwar's death there was this effort to restart the talks. That hasn't been successful. What is the state at this moment? Are there talks? Is there any prospect for a ceasefire? Are the sides engaging?

MR MILLER: We continue to talk to the mediators, to our fellow mediators, and continue to talk about whether there may be appropriate formulations that could advance the ball and get us off the kind of stalemate that we've been in for some time. And it's been publicly reported that one of the proposals that we put forward with the other mediators, Hamas rejected last weekend. So that doesn't mean that we'll stop. We're going to continue to try to push to get a ceasefire and find a way to end the war, but it takes the parties being willing to engage on those efforts.

Said.

QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. On the - does the letter envision a number of trucks - I mean, I can't recall - that should go in on any particular day? Does that include any figure?

MR MILLER: It does; I'll have to go back to the letter.

QUESTION: Okay, all right.

MR MILLER: I'll refer you back to the letter to look at the details.

QUESTION: Okay, thank you. I want to ask you about reports on Beit Lahia that it is being ethnically cleansed. Are you aware of these reports? And are you in a position - this administration, does it have a plan or could it have a plan to prevent this from happening? Do you know?

MR MILLER: So I think that you were referring, again, to the so-called "generals' plan."

QUESTION: Yes.

MR MILLER: And I will just make clear that we have engaged directly with the Government of Israel on this question.

QUESTION: All right.

MR MILLER: The Secretary raised it directly with the prime minister when we were there two weeks ago. The prime minister said that is not our plan, it's not what we're implementing. They can speak for themselves; I'm just reporting what they said to us. And the Secretary made clear both privately and publicly that we would firmly reject any such plan. And you have seen us push for expanded humanitarian access into the areas where fighting is going on, including into these restricted areas. And as I just noted a moment ago, today we saw for the first time in several weeks a convoy of humanitarian assistance actually go into Beit Hanoun. And it's important that that delivery of humanitarian assistance continue to those civilians that are in an - even in an area where fighting is occurring.

QUESTION: So - but you don't - you don't observe yourself that what is happening is basically - I mean, I don't know if you want to term it that way, but it is like ethnic cleansing, it is like driving people out or trying to drive them out.

MR MILLER: So I am not going to characterize. I will - the Government of Israel can speak for itself -

QUESTION: Right.

MR MILLER: - what it is doing. What we are making clear to the Government of Israel is we don't want to see people displaced from their homes. Now, look, if there is fighting in an area, evacuation is an appropriate thing to occur. This has long been the policy of the United States, long been the policy of other governments, that if a government is operating militarily in an area where civilians are sheltering, that you want to see civilians have the ability to evacuate their homes so they can move to safety. At the end of the fighting, however, we want to see them move back to their homes, and want to see them move back to their neighborhoods, and have the ability to rebuild their homes - knowing that, of course, in many of these areas, their homes have been destroyed, their entire neighborhoods have been destroyed.

In the meantime, while people are still in areas where fighting is going on, we want to make sure they get humanitarian access. And that's what we're going to continue to push for.

QUESTION: But in this case, they have been moved back and forth many times, and they have been - let me ask you about UNRWA. Now, UNRWA has told the Israelis that replacing UNRWA relief agency would be your responsibility, whatever that means. Now I - we know that the President-elect back in 2018 basically cut off aid to UNRWA, so we know where they stand. I want to ask you: Is there anything that could possibly be done over the next few weeks to make sure that UNRWA stays, that - I don't mean to be snarky or flippant - to make it Trump-proof in any way, that the organization can continue to -

MR MILLER: So we will continue to make clear that we support the work that UNRWA does. As you know, we are banned by an act of Congress from funding UNRWA. That - that law is not going to change before President Biden leaves office, but we support the work that UNRWA does.

But as to what decisions will be made by the future president, I obviously can't speak to those. There will be a new president on January 20th. They'll have their own - well, I assume they'll have their own - press briefings, and you can show up and ask them the questions about that, Said.

QUESTION: Can I ask you a question on the tonnage of bombs dropped on Gaza? It is said that 85,000 tons of bombs has dropped. Do you have a - do you have a figure? Can you confirm that or deny it?

MR MILLER: I don't have a figure. But I can tell you obviously the destruction of Gaza has been widespread, and the civilian harm that has emanated from that destruction has been widespread. We've seen over 40,000 people die, many of them civilians. And Said, it just goes to illustrate again why we are trying to reach an end to this conflict - and not just a temporary end to this conflict, which is always important to emphasize, but an end to this conflict that is durable and won't just lead to further conflict between Israel and Hamas or Israel and other terrorist groups. We want to see Hamas replaced by a different governing authority in Gaza, and that's what we're trying to achieve.

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. One of the updates you highlighted in your opening statement was Ukraine. You said we're going to make sure Ukraine is in the best position for success. Can you give a sense of how you're going to spend next two months to ensure just - do just that, anything different than you have said?

MR MILLER: So I don't have any new -

QUESTION: More specifically -

MR MILLER: Sorry, were you still going with the question? (Laughter.)

QUESTION: More specifically - yeah, on foreign assistance funding. Will you be -

MR MILLER: With what?

QUESTION: Funding issues. Will you be working with the Congress on new supplemental? And also do you ensure that seized Russian assets, all of them, are transferred to Ukraine?

MR MILLER: So I don't have any new announcements to make today, but I can tell you that the President has already made clear that the funding that Congress has - been made available, we are working to get all of it out of the door, all of the drawdown authority out of the door to Ukraine, before the end of his term. And when it comes to the sovereign assets, we have also made clear that we're trying to operationalize that money as well before the end of the term. And for the details of that, I'd refer you to the Department of Treasury, which of course is the primary agency for that particular aspect.

QUESTION: Thank you. Sure. In terms of capabilities, you made some change -

MR MILLER: What?

QUESTION: Capabilities. In May you changed some capabilities. You allowed them to use your American weapons to hit back inside Russia. That was in response to a Kharkiv operation. And now, given the fact that North Koreans are already fighting in different zone, will you be willing to let them use those weapons in Kursk area?

MR MILLER: We are consulting with our allies and partners about the appropriate response to the deployment of North Korean soldiers inside Kursk to potentially engage in combat with - or I should say against Ukrainian soldiers, but I don't have any announcements to make today.

QUESTION: I'm just having a hard time to understand what is the -

MR MILLER: I don't think you are. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: I mean, when they train, started training, you said you were concerned.

MR MILLER: I'm sorry?

QUESTION: When they started training North Koreans, you said you were concerned. When they move them to the zone, fighting - deployed to fighting zone, you said you were deeply concerned. At what point you will stop being concerned and act actually?

MR MILLER: So Alex, I appreciate the fact that you ignored the answer that I just gave you, but if you would listen again to the answer I said, we are consulting with our allies and partners about what the response should be right now. And I'm not going to preview what that response will be, because it's appropriate that we have those conversations with our allies and partners.

I think it's important to remember that the response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine has not been just a United States response. It's especially important to remember this in the context of some of the other questions I'm getting today. It is a response that we have organized on behalf of more than 50 countries, and so we are going to consult with them about what the appropriate response should be, whether it be from the United States, whether it be from other countries, whether it be a joint response like we have undertaken today.

QUESTION: On that line, Matt, there's a report -

MR MILLER: One more, and then I'll go to Janne.

QUESTION: Thanks so much. The report said that the U.S. Government is preventing Sweden from sending badly needed AWACS aircrafts to Ukraine. Why would you do that?

MR MILLER: I haven't seen that report, Alex. I can't comment on the veracity of it.

Janne.

QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. I have a few questions on Russia and North Korea and China. Russia recently conducted new strategic nuclear exercises, and North Korea's Kim Jong-un announced that they had - the preparations had been completed at the Punggye-ri nuclear site. Meanwhile, the vice chairman of Russia's national security council warned that the United States was mistakenly thinking that it would not use nuclear weapons and said that Russia's use of nuclear weapons was inevitable. What concerns do you have about the nuclear alliance between North Korea and Russia?

MR MILLER: So we continue to have concerns about the deepening security partnership between Russia and North Korea. And with respect to those comments, I'd say the reckless - as always, we would urge Russian Government officials to making - against making such reckless statements.

QUESTION: The North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui met with Russian President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov and pledged to work together until Russia wins the war in Ukraine. Do you think that North Korea's actual involvement in the Ukraine war will prolong the war?

MR MILLER: I don't want to speculate. I can tell you that on behalf of the United States, we are going to continue to support Ukraine. We are going to continue to support them on the battlefield, and we are going to continue to work to maintain the alliance that we have put together to back Ukraine, to respond to Russia's aggression.

QUESTION: Lastly -

MR MILLER: Yeah.

QUESTION: - in China, a spokesperson for Chinese foreign minister said that dispatching North Korean troops and the North Korea-Russia military alliance is something North Korea and Russia can do as a sovereign nation. What is your assessment of this?

MR MILLER: You've heard us speak to this before. We think that the deepening security partnership between Russia and North Korea - and certainly the deployment of North Korean troops to engage in combat against Ukrainian soldiers - is something that ought to be of concern to everyone in the region. We've raised those concerns directly with China, said to them that we believe this should be a concern of theirs, and it's something that they should raise with both countries.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR MILLER: Shannon.

QUESTION: Thank you. Following up on Simon's question on the negotiations post-Sinwar, afterwards the immediate question on the State Department's mind was is Hamas going to be willing to negotiate in good faith, are they actually interested in reaching a deal. I know you said that they rejected the proposal that was put on the table over the weekend, but have you made a determination on whether they are willing to actually accept any proposal?

MR MILLER: So it's not an assessment we make sort of across the board. It's an assessment we make based on their actual responses to proposals that are put on the table. And what we have seen since the death of Sinwar so far is they're not willing to engage in - on those proposals. Now, that doesn't mean it won't change, doesn't mean we shouldn't go back and work with our allies and partners to try and find a way to bridge the divides and get a ceasefire that would get all of the hostages home and would set the table for a broader end to the conflict. That, of course, is what we're trying to do. But just when you look at their - just judging on initial actions by the Hamas leadership in the several weeks since Sinwar died, they rejected the first proposal that was put on the table.

QUESTION: So when Secretary Blinken went to the Middle East in the wake of Sinwar's killing, he said that there was a clear moment and the effort was to try to seize it. Is it fair to say that optimism has dwindled?

MR MILLER: We still believe that that there's a moment that we ought to capitalize on and that we ought to seize, and we continue to look to try and see if there are other proposals that can get us to yes, and whether there are different ways to put things forward that would, as I said, bridge the divide and kind of break through this logjam that we've been in.

We're not going to give up on this effort because it's too important to the Palestinian civilians who are suffering. It's too important to the hostages that are suffering. It's too important to the long-term peace and stability of the region. So we're going to continue to push forward, despite the obstacles.

Yeah, Rabia.

QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. Türkiye, along with 52 countries, submitted a letter to the United Nations urging for a halt arms transfers to Israel. And there are increasing calls on this issue. Is there any possibility that the Biden administration might consider halting weapons shipments to Israel, if Israel does not meet the demands outlined in the letter?

MR MILLER: So we made clear in the letter and I've made clear from the podium that there are potential policy and legal ramifications that flow from Israel not being in compliance with U.S. law, and we're going to follow the law. I won't - don't - do not want to speculate about where that's going to land. We're going to continue to look at the progress that they have made and make our assessments based on those - on that progress.

QUESTION: Can you elaborate more on what do you mean by following the law?

MR MILLER: It means that we're going to follow the law. If you look at 620I, which is the - thank you for the laugh, Matt. If you look at - if you look at -

QUESTION: Well -

MR MILLER: Well, I -

QUESTION: Follow the law means follow the law.

MR MILLER: It means we're going to follow the law, and I'm about to elaborate on it.

QUESTION: But I think - oh, you are? I'm sorry.

MR MILLER: If you look at - yeah, if you look at -

QUESTION: I thought that was the extent of your answer.

MR MILLER: If you - no. If you look at 620I, which is the version of the Foreign Assistance Act, it makes clear that countries need to not take any steps to impede the delivery of foreign assistance. That's the exact statute that the letter references, and so we're going to look at their compliance with that statute and make the appropriate judgments under it.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Thank you. I don't know how many briefings you are going to address before the transition, but I just wanted to say we will miss you and Vedant -

MR MILLER: That's -

QUESTION: - because you guys are - you guys are true image of the values this country stands for, the way you deal with the foreign journalists. I really appreciate that.

MR MILLER: That's kind of you.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR MILLER: I wish I could believe you spoke for all of your colleagues.

QUESTION: (Laughter.) No, I'm just -

MR MILLER: But - I will miss all of you as well, but I'm -

QUESTION: Just my personal opinion.

MR MILLER: As they say in Monty Python, I'm not dead yet. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: So people are celebrating in different parts of the world, like in Pakistan, India, North Korea, Russia. The majority of the Pakistani people believe that Trump will get Imran Khan out of prison. I was talking to a Russian diplomat this morning, and he told me that Russia is getting prepared to negotiate ongoing war with the upcoming Trump administration. A lot of Americans also hope that Trump will bring peace in the Middle East. Sir, do you really think that the current foreign policy is one of the issues your administration lost the election?

MR MILLER: I am not in any way going to speculate on the outcome of the elections. It - there are - if you turn on cable news, there are any number of pundits who will give you all sorts of different reasons on how the election was decided, but it's certainly not appropriate for me to speculate from a U.S. Government podium about what those reasons might have been.

QUESTION: A few media reports claim that White House plans to rush billions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine before President Joe Biden leaves office in January, as Trump has been critical of Biden's assistance for Ukraine. Is it true, rushing billions of dollars to Ukraine before the transition?

MR MILLER: Yeah, we have been quite open about that. The money that was appropriate in the supplemental - that we intend to do everything in our power to get all of that deployed to Ukraine before the end of the year - I'm sorry, before the end of the term. Excuse me.

Yeah, go ahead. I'll come back to you. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir. My name is (inaudible). Thank you (inaudible) my question. And I want to ask about the collapse in German Government that we see in the last days. Can you make any remarks about the implications that may have on the U.S. and on U.S. foreign policy? And also let me join the gentlemen to thank you for your cooperation with foreign press.

MR MILLER: Thank you. That's nice of you. So Germany, of course, is a valued NATO Ally and an indispensable partner of the United States. We have full confidence in the strength of Germany's democratic process and will continue to work with Germany on our shared priorities.

Go ahead. I'll come to you next.

QUESTION: Excuse me, Matt, the Knesset just has passed a final law to expand that families of Palestinians who carry out, like, attacks against Israel, and this law is aiming to imprison children as young as 14. Do you support these measures, like, which some - like activists and legal experts consider it as a collective punishment?

MR MILLER: Let me take the question back. Only - I saw just before I came in here that Israel had passed the law, but I want to look into it more. I want to look into it a little deeper before I get you a full answer.

QUESTION: Okay, okay. The second question is, like, do Palestinians have right to full sovereignty in making their own decision without interference from you or Israel? For instance, like, if they choose any group you and Israel doesn't like to rule their lands and something like that, are you going to impose any sanction on them or not? Because, like, you don't impose any sanction on Israel when they don't, like, follow your, like, decision, or like they don't apply your ideas or something like that. Like -

MR MILLER: So I'm not -

QUESTION: Like, do Palestinian, they have the same rights, the same?

MR MILLER: I'm not - so I'm not sure what you mean by choosing a group to rule their own land. I would say that we - I would say we -

QUESTION: Like 2006 -

MR MILLER: Let me just say we absolutely support the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, to fulfill their legitimate aspirations, and that's why it has been the policy of the United States and it is one that we have actively pursued to try to establish an independent Palestinian state. And we continue to believe that is in the best interests of the Palestinian people and also in the interests of the Government of Israel, and that is what we are pursuing.

QUESTION: Sure, like for - like concrete example, like Palestinian in 2006, they choose Hamas to rule Gaza in this time. Like, so it means -

MR MILLER: And we see how that has worked out for everyone in the region - quite terribly.

QUESTION: Yeah, yeah. Like this is, like, Palestinian decision. I'm Egyptian, not Palestinian.

MR MILLER: Right.

QUESTION: But, like, I'm just saying, like, this - still, it's like an Palestinian issue. Like, we see China, like, hosting them for negotiations, so, like, I mean Palestinian themself is still recognize Hamas about the part of Palestinians, and they go China, go Russia, go Global South, and it seems, like, complicated. Like, how you, say, look at this complicated choosing people - at end of the day, all of them are Palestinian?

MR MILLER: So we reject a terrorist organization controlling any government anywhere in the world - the bottom-line policy of the United States, something that we reject, something that we do not support - and we believe that most Palestinians don't want to see a terrorist organization govern the Palestinian people. If you look at the results of a terrorist organization governing - Hamas - it has been a war that has wreaked widespread destruction on Gaza and led to the death of more than 40,000 Palestinians. So now -

QUESTION: They told that to -

MR MILLER: Well, no, I'll just say - but what we want to see is a pathway to two states, the state of Israel and an independent Palestinian state, and that's what we're going to continue to try to pursue. There's just no other way to put it than that.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir. A few questions. Number one: Today was actually Yoav Gallant's final day as defense minister to support that Israeli law. He held a farewell call with Secretary Austin today. Considering he's one of the addressees on that 30-day letter, did Secretary Blinken hold any last-minute call with Minister Gallant?

MR MILLER: He hasn't talked to him today. Obviously he's talked to him a number of times, both in person and over the phone, talked to him as recently as Monday. We saw Yoav Gallant as a valuable partner that we have worked with on a number of issues, and we will continue to work with his replacement as the defense minister. Ultimately, the letter was addressed to him in his capacity as defense minister, not his personal capacity, so the function will carry over to his replacement.

QUESTION: In terms of the talks that are ongoing up until, I would presume, January 20th on a potential hostage and ceasefire deal, President Trump has famously not wanted his political rivals to get any kind of wins, as he called it, or usurp any achievements that he may have. Is there any concern Egypt, Qatar, based on their reliance on the next administration, may lessen their cooperation here down the home stretch with the U.S.?

MR MILLER: I cannot speak for any other government or what they will do or what they might not do. I would just point out that an end to the war in Gaza is not a win for Joe Biden. An end to the war in Gaza is a win for the region and ultimately it is a win for the Israeli and Palestinian people. And I think everyone in the region understands that this is a war we want to bring to an end as soon as possible, and no one should be waiting for 74 days to - and letting this suffering go on any longer than it should have if there's a path to bringing it to an end before then.

QUESTION: Last question for you. President Obama famously in his final days approved an abstention at the UN Security Council on a key vote involving Israel. Most analysts say it's as a result of personal animosity between Obama and then-Prime Minister Netanyahu. Are there any promises, any guarantees about these final days at the UN and whether President Biden will continue to support Israel as he has?

MR MILLER: So you should not read this - into this answer I'm about to give anything. You shouldn't read in one way or the other. I cannot speculate on how we will vote on resolutions that are not yet even before the Security Council. Obviously, we will look at any resolution that comes up before the Security Council and make the - make our judgements based on the interests of the United States, as we always do.

Yeah.

QUESTION: It sounds like - well, in practical terms, what will happen to the incidents that are being investigated and assessed by this building - some 500 incidents about what Israel has done in Gaza? Will any conclusions from those investigations see the light of day before there is a transition? How might that process be impacted? I know there's CHIRG. I know there's lawyer's working this in this building.

MR MILLER: Yeah.

QUESTION: Can you say whether there will be any - how do you make sure that this administration's work on those incidents will see light of day and be part of what you guys have done so that that's public?

MR MILLER: So I can't put a timetable on when we will reach a conclusion to any of those investigations, but I can say that the obligation to follow the law is not an obligation that stops when there is a change in government, a change in power. Every administration has the obligation to follow the law and to look into potential misuse of weapons that have been provided by the United States or potential violations of international humanitarian law. That's just the law.

QUESTION: Are you worried, though that that could be impacted at all? Like, again, like, that's why I'm asking whether there could be any conclusions. Are there any conclusions that this administration would want to reach on any of those incidents before -

MR MILLER: We want - so we want to reach those conclusions as soon as we can separate and apart from January 20th and separate and apart from any change in government. And that's true whether Vice President Harris had been elected. It's true now that Donald Trump has been elected. It's something that we are working to bring to a conclusion as soon as we can. But any work that is midstream in a change of government, if it's work that's required under the law, that's work that's supposed to continue.

Simon.

QUESTION: I want to -

QUESTION: Can I just -

QUESTION: - just come back to your -

MR MILLER: You're next.

QUESTION: You mentioned on - that you're going to try to deploy all the appropriated aid for Ukraine before the end of the administration. Is there anything beyond just sort of deploying what's already been appropriated by Congress that this administration can do to, as you said, put Ukraine in the strongest possible position?

MR MILLER: Nothing that I'm ready to announce today, but we will continue to consult with our allies and partners. We have a number of upcoming multilateral meetings where we will be talking about the issue of Ukraine with the coalition of countries that we have put together, and we'll be talking about work that we can do and we'll be talking about work that they can do to continue to ensure Ukraine's success.

QUESTION: And if the President-elect has spoken about solving the conflict in the first 24 hours in office, obviously, I'm interested in whether in the last two months of the administration, would you facilitate talks on ending the war in Ukraine if both parties sort of express a willingness to start talking towards that?

MR MILLER: So if President Zelenskyy decides that he wants to enter negotiations, of course that's something that we would support. That has been our policy - our longstanding policy that it is up for President Zelenskyy to decide when it's time for negotiations. It's not something that it is appropriate for us or for any other country to push him into. And we would support him in any process to try and ensure a just and lasting peace, but that is ultimately his decision, not ours.

But as always - and you can just look at the statements that he continues to make - we have seen no indication from Vladimir Putin that he is willing to drop his demand to continue to gobble up Ukrainian territory. I'm sure there's a negotiation that Putin would accept where he gets everything that he wants and Ukraine gets nothing that it is entitled to under the law, but that is not a negotiation that President Zelenskyy has been interested in nor should it be.

QUESTION: Under what law?

MR MILLER: Under - well, under the UN Charter that Ukraine should maintain its own borders and maintain its territorial integrity, sovereignty.

Goyal, and then we'll wrap for today.

QUESTION: Thank you. Thank you, sir. Two questions please. I just came back from a short trip to India, and in India, all India people are talking about that there are attacks going on in Indian American community and also especially Hindus in Bangladesh, in Pakistan, in Afghanistan, and also a few incidents in the U.S. and also in Canada. My question is now even President-elect Mr. Trump - President Trump also spoke about atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh, and during his campaigning. So what the U.S. is doing as far as this atrocities going on against Hindus in Bangladesh? Because after the departure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina - and interim prime minister Mr. Muhammad Yunus said if these attacks continues he will resign the post. But the attacks are still going on. He's still on his post as prime minister.

MR MILLER: So we discussed this in the past. We have, in our discussions with Bangladeshi officials, made clear that we want to see freedom of religion respected, and any attacks, we want to see people held accountable as is appropriate under Bangladeshi law. And that's true of our position in Bangladesh; it's true anywhere in the world.

QUESTION: And second, sir -

MR MILLER: Yeah.

QUESTION: - as far as this election is concerned, four years of U.S.-India relations under Biden administration, of course Secretary of State has been many times to India and back-and-forth visits. So do we see any changes as far as diplomatic relations, people-to-people relations, visa, or even diplomacy and among others under the new administration, especially people-to-people? Because they are talking in India; all the people are talking about that visa is the main concern between the two countries over there in India.

MR MILLER: So I'll repeat myself in a way that I'll probably have to repeat myself a number of times between now and January 20th, in that I can't speak, of course, for the new administration. But I will say that the strengthening of our ties with India is something that this administration is incredibly proud of, both through our increased alliances through the Quad, through our work on a number of shared priorities. It's something that we focused on from day one and something that we see as a great success as we prepare to leave office.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir.

MR MILLER: And with that, we'll wrap for today.

QUESTION: Thanks.

MR MILLER: Thanks, everyone.

(The briefing was concluded at 2:07 p.m.)

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