Department Press Briefing – November 03, 2021

NED PRICE, DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON

** Excerpt  

QUESTION: Ned, Secretary Blinken has met in Glasgow with the Lebanese prime minister and with the UAE foreign minister on Lebanon to reconcile between Lebanon and the UAE countries. What did he – was he able to achieve anything on this? And what are you working on specifically?

MR PRICE: Well, when it comes to Lebanon and its relations with its Gulf neighbors, we urge that all diplomatic channels remain open between the parties to ensure meaningful dialogue on the pressing issues facing Lebanon. You're right that we had an opportunity yesterday in Glasgow to meet with Prime Minister Mikati. We had an opportunity yesterday to meet with the Emirati foreign minister. We had an opportunity the day before that to meet with the Saudi foreign minister. And in each and every one of those discussions, as indicated by the readouts and the tweets that we released, there was a discussion of Lebanon, and the crux of that discussion was the challenges, the significant challenges, including the economic challenges and hardships that Lebanon faces. And the United States continues to work with our partners, including our Saudi partners, our Emirati partners, in this case our French partners who have also played a significant role here, and in close coordination with Prime Minister Mikati and the Lebanese Government to see to it that we can do all we can to support the Lebanese people, to support their humanitarian needs and their growing humanitarian needs in light of the economic challenges that Lebanon faces. So again, we'd refer you to these – to our Gulf partners to explain and to speak to their positions, but our position is that diplomatic channels should remain open if we are to seek to improve the humanitarian conditions of the Lebanese people, seek to improve the economic and broader challenges that Lebanon faces today.

QUESTION: Just a quick follow-up on this. You know how this crisis exploded. There was basically a statement by the minister of information before he became minister where he said that the war in Yemen was nihilistic or futile, or something like that, and the Houthis were defending themselves. Do you agree or disagree with the premise of his statement? Do you call for his resignation, and do you feel that this was blown way out of proportion, for instance?

MR PRICE: We aren't going to offer a position on his employment. What we can say – what I can say – is that the notion that the Houthis have been anything but a destabilizing force and a force that has inflicted additional hardship on the people of Yemen – that is not an idea that we recognize. We have been very clear in condemning the Houthis' assault, including their ongoing assault on Marib, other parts of Yemen as well. The Houthis, despite their claims to the contrary, have been a primary cause of the hardship that the people of Yemen face today. There have been credible proposals put on the table, proposals that the Republic of Yemen Government, proposals that Saudi authorities have also been behind that – on which the Houthis have so far been unwilling to engage.

So I will leave it to the Lebanese Government to speak to the status of any ministers that may or may not be within the coalition, but when it comes to Houthi activity, when it comes to Houthi conduct, we've been very clear about where the United States stands.

Kylie.

QUESTION: Can I just follow up —

QUESTION: Do you call for his resignation or do you support his resignation to solve the problem?

MR PRICE: We believe that diplomatic relations, that channels of communication between Lebanon and its partners should remain open. We support steps that help advance that.