Department Press Briefing – June 29, 2021

You are subscribed to Collected Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Department Press Briefing – June 29, 2021 06/29/2021 05:04 PM EDT Jalina Porter, Principal Deputy Spokesperson 2:01 p.m. EDT MS PORTER: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining today's briefing. I have one quick update at the top for you. The United States is donating 2 million Pfizer vaccine doses to Peru as a part of our ongoing solidarity with the people of Peru as they recover from this devastating pandemic. The United States has a strong bilateral – is a strong bilateral partner of Peru, and we have stood side by side with the Peruvian people. Since this pandemic began, we have provided lifesaving medical equipment, field hospitals, personal protective equipment, and economic recovery assistance. In accordance with the President's previously announced vaccine sharing framework, we will continue donating vaccine doses in the coming months as supplies become available, working with U.S. vaccine manufacturers to increase vaccine supply for the rest of the world, and with partners to create the global vaccine production and manufacturing capacity that will beat the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare the world response to future public health threats. With that, let's go to Kristina Anderson. OPERATOR: And as a reminder, everyone, if you do wish to ask a question, it's 1 then 0. Ms. Anderson, your line is open. Please, go ahead. QUESTION: Hi, thank you for taking my question. So I was wondering, on the JCPOA we just finished the sixth round of negotiations with our – through our partners. Is there any update? And will there be a seventh round, and when will that be? Is there any look ahead on this? Thank you. MS PORTER: Thank you for your question. So our Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley, he is currently in Washington in consultations, of course, after returning back from the sixth round of talks. We haven't had any announcement for the seventh round of talks; those haven't been announced. But just to reiterate, as Secretary Blinken has noted, we are committed to seeking a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA by both the United States and Iran. Let's go to Michel (inaudible) Ghandour. OPERATOR: One moment, please. Go ahead, your line is – one moment. Your line is open. Please, go ahead. QUESTION: Okay, thank you. Thank you, Jalina. Secretary Blinken has met today with the Spanish foreign minister and Saudi foreign minister, and they discussed Lebanon. Do you have any readout for the meeting? Was there any plan or any initiative towards Lebanon? MS PORTER: I don't have any readout to share at this time. But if we have any updates, that will come from our website, and we'd be happy to share at that time. Thank you. Let's go to Said Arikat. OPERATOR: Go ahead, your line is open. QUESTION: Jalina, can you hear me? MS PORTER: Yes, I can hear you. QUESTION: Okay, thank you so much. Jalina, last Thursday there was a brutal murder of a Palestinian activist by the Palestinian security forces. And are you in contact or have you contacted the Palestinian Authority on this to raise your concern or your outrage that journalists and activists need to be protected? And if you have, what was their response? And second, dozens of settlers and Jewish extremists have been storming the al-Aqsa Mosque lately. I wonder also if you had contacted the Israeli Government to urge them to stop such a storming. Thank you. MS PORTER: So for your last question, we'll have to take that back for you. We don't have any updates to share from here. But to your first question, I'll just say that we're deeply disturbed by the reports that non-uniformed members of the Palestinian Authority security forces both harassed and used force against protesters and journalists over the weekend during public demonstrations that were calling for accountability of the death of activist Nizar Banat. We strongly urge security forces to conduct themselves in a professional manner and authorities to respect freedom of expression, the work of journalists, as well as the rights of Palestinians to protest peacefully. We'd also note that the Palestinian Authority announced the establishment of a commission to investigate Mr. Banat's death. And as previously – as we've previously stated, it's very important that the Palestinian Authority conduct both a thorough and transparent investigation and ensure full accountability in this case. Let's go to Luis Rojas's line. OPERATOR: One moment. Okay, Mr. Rojas, your line is open. Please, go ahead. QUESTION: Hello? Can you hear me? MS PORTER: Yes, I can hear you. QUESTION: Hi, Jalina. The government of Daniel Ortega has intensified repression against opponents in Nicaragua. Experts anticipate there will be more sanctions for the European Union. There is a (inaudible) or renewal aid for the United States to Latino American on health and immigration matters. What is the attitude the Biden administration in the face of the threat to individual liberty in Central America? Hello? MS PORTER: Yes. So if I understood part of your question, from what I can hear, the Biden administration certainly supports the freedom of expression of the people of Central America. If you can repeat a portion of your question; I'm afraid I didn't hear all of it. QUESTION: Okay. Thanks. MS PORTER: Let's go to Anas Elsabbar. OPERATOR: And your line is open. Please, go ahead. QUESTION: Thank you so much for doing this. According to the Italian Le Repubblica newspaper, Secretary Blinken has expected that foreign troops will leave Libya soon. However, he said that the process will take some time. Would you please confirm that the U.S. is in contact with foreign troop sponsors in Libya? And if you can confirm that, has any of the sponsors committed to withdrawing its troops from Libya? And if they did, how and when? Thank you. Hello? MS PORTER: We'll have to take that question back for you today. And that looks like that's all we have in the conference line queue today, so that concludes today's daily press briefing. (The briefing was concluded at 2:10 p.m.) Stay connected with the State Department: External links found in this content or on Department of State websites that go to other non-Department websites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.    Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com. This email was sent to ignoble.experiment@arconati.us using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: U.S. Department of State · 2201 C Street NW · Washington, DC 20520