SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good evening. Less than a week ago, Bashar al-Assad fled Syria, ending more than five decades of dictatorship. Syria has changed more in less than a week than in any week this last half-century. Shortly after Assad's fall, I set out a set of principles essential to delivering on the aspirations of the Syrian people - who, for the for the first time in most of their lives, now have the prospect of shaping their own future. I returned to the region this week to build consensus around these principles with key partners.
Today, the United States and our partners in the region have agreed on a set of shared principles to guide our support for Syria and its people going forward. America and our partners have an important stake in helping the Syrian people chart this new path. We know that what happens inside of Syria can have powerful consequences well beyond its borders, from mass displacement to terrorism. And we know that we can't underestimate the challenges of this moment and in the weeks and months ahead.
The Syrian population has been traumatized by decades of repression. Throughout its rule, the Assad regime stoked tensions among ethnic and religious lines to divide the Syrian people. After more than a decade of conflict and many decades of corruption, humanitarian needs of the people are massive. ISIS and other terrorist groups still maintain presence in Syria, and want to use this period of uncertainty to try to regain a foothold. No one understands these challenges better than Syrian people themselves. And Syrians know they are going to need support from their neighbors and from the international community to meet these challenges.
In this region and elsewhere, we've seen how the fall of a repressive regime can swiftly give way to more conflict and chaos, how the shoes of one dictator can be filled by another, or how interference by an outside country can be thrown off only to be replaced by another. That's why it's so important that we and our partners came together today to agree on principles that will guide our efforts to help the Syrian people meet these challenges and build the inclusive, non-sectarian, peaceful and sovereign state they want.
Our message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed - and we're prepared to help them do so.
Today's agreement sends a unified message to the new interim authority and parties in Syria on the principles crucial to securing much-needed support and recognition - which we've reflected in a joint communique that should be issued very shortly.
We agreed that: the transition process should Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, and produce an inclusive and representative government; the rights of all Syrians - including minorities and women - should be respected; humanitarian aid should be able reach people who need it; state institutions should deliver essential services to the Syrian people; Syria should not be used as base for terrorist groups or others who threaten Syria's people, its neighbors, or the world; chemical weapons stockpiles should be secured and safely destroyed; Syria should have peaceful relations with its neighbors; relevant organizations should have access to facilities that can help determine the fate of missing Syrians and foreign nationals - and eventually hold abusers accountable.
On this point, let me just add that the United States continues our own dogged, determined efforts to find American journalist Austin Tice and bring him home safely.
Now, no one has any illusions about how challenging this time will be, but there's also something incredibly powerful at work: a Syrian people determined to break with the past and shape a better future. Look at what we've seen over the past few days, what the world has seen - so many demonstrations of Syrians' commitment to build a different kind of nation, to embrace their newfound freedom, to choose national unity over narrow sectarian or ethnic interests.
We see it in people who came out to mosques and public squares around Syria for Victory Day celebrations, including the thousands who packed into Damascus' Umayyad Mosque. We see it in the thousands of Syrian families of disappeared people trying to help one another find missing loved ones. We see it in SDF raising the flag of the Syrian revolution. We see it in the local volunteer groups that have sprung up all throughout Syria to clean streets, to deliver bread and medicine to those in need. We hear it in Syrians in the street singing, "Hold your head high, you are a free Syrian!"
All of this was unthinkable just a week ago - and it does speak to the promise of this moment. We're determined to work with Syrian people to shape a future that lives up to that promise. Today's agreement produced real progress toward that shared goal.
I also used the meetings that we've had over recent days with our counterparts in Qatar and in Egypt to press forward on an agreement for the release of hostages from Gaza and a ceasefire, as I did earlier this week in Türkiye. We continue to work relentlessly toward that goal.
With that, I'm happy to take some questions.
MR MILLER: The first question goes to Jenny Hansler with CNN.
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Has the U.S. made direct contact with HTS, and if so, when did that contact place - take place? Has it been sustained, and what has been the message conveyed and received back from the group? Has the U.S. confirmed any Russian military withdrawal from Syria at this point, and do you believe they should fully withdraw from the country?
And then if I may, on news of the day, do you have any reaction to President Yoon's impeachment today in South Korea? Thank you.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good. Thank you. Good, we got through three questions. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: Classic (inaudible). (Laughter.)
SECRETARY BLINKEN: So first, yes, we've been in contact with HTS and with other parties. We have impressed upon everyone we've been in contact with the importance of helping find Austin Tice and bringing him home. And we've also shared the principles that I just laid out for our ongoing support - principles, again, that have now been adopted by countries throughout the region and well beyond. And we've communicated those.
QUESTION: That's direct contact?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: That's direct contact, yes.
With regard to Russian withdrawals, I can't comment on anything beyond what I've seen in - reported in the media. So, certainly, seen stories showing withdrawals - beyond that, I'd refer you to others in the administration.
And on events in South Korea and President Yoon, look, I think the most important thing is that the Republic of Korea has demonstrated its democratic resilience. We've seen it follow, peacefully, a process laid out in its constitution, and we're ready to work with President Han as he assumes office. Most important, we strongly support the Korean people. We strongly support the ironclad alliance that joins our two countries together and that's done so much over the last few years.
MR MILLER: For the next question, Maen Abu Dalo with Jordan TV.
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Closing statement called for the necessity of standing by the Syrian people, and providing them with the assistant (inaudible). What will the United States offer for the Syrians?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. As I mentioned, the needs are very significant in Syria, and they've built up over a long period of time. And in fact, it's gotten even more complicated now for reasons I'll get to. But essentially this: The United States is already the leading supplier of humanitarian assistance to Syria and to its people, but all of us are going to need to do more to strengthen the ability to get humanitarian assistance to people and to provide more. So, we'll be working with the United Nations, we'll be working with other countries to do that.
There are some immediate needs that I think have to be addressed - for example, a shortage of fuel - so that the lights can be turned on, so that stores can be opened, so people can get around. That's something we talked about today. We'll be focused on that near-term need. Wheat - also in urgent need. So those are some of the immediate tasks. But I think what's so important is that we have a whole collective of countries that are prepared to provide that support and provide other forms of support going forward, as we see the evolution of this transition in Syria.
MR MILLER: Tom Bateman with BBC.
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. You mentioned the SDF raising the flag of Syrian independence, and clearly it seems from the fact you mentioned it this is something you welcome. But I just wanted to press you on how far you expect your Kurdish allies to go. Is it your expectation that they should fully cede authority to a future government in Damascus, or is any kind of autonomy for the Kurds still acceptable to you?
And then on Gaza, if I may, in Türkiye yesterday you expressed optimism for a ceasefire and hostage deal. But while the war goes on, so does its devastating daily toll. We hear reports today of 18 people killed, 55 people reportedly killed yesterday. Now back in May, you said after a major airstrike that Israel was making what you described as incremental gains. I mean, that was seven months ago. So as the U.S. arms this military action, what is your assessment of this strategy now? What is going on? Is it anything beyond applying pressure to Hamas to get them to the negotiating table? And if it is that, are we simply not seeing ordinary Palestinians have to pay the price for that?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you, Tom. So, on the SDF, first, we have the urgency of now. And the urgency of now is to make sure that the success that we've had over the last years in ending - excuse me - ending the territorial caliphate of ISIS, making sure that ISIS was in a box, and stays there - that remains a critical mission. And the SDF is playing a critical role in pursuing that mission, a critical role, among other things, in securing the detention facilities that hold 10,000 or so foreign terrorist fighters and also helping to repatriate to their countries of origin. So as I've discussed with our colleagues in Türkiye and discussed with others, it's very important in this moment that it be able to continue in that role, because this is a moment of vulnerability in whish ISIS will seek to regroup, taking advantage of the transition in Syria.
Over time, of course we hope to see a Syrian state emerge, one that is fully representative, that's non-sectarian, that's inclusive, that can bring together all parts of the Syrian community, including, for example, in its - in security forces. That's a goal. That's, I think, what everyone in Syria would want to see happen is a country that comes together. How that happens, how the country's organized, that's - those are obviously decisions for Syrians to make, for all communities to participate in making those decisions. But that's going to be a process that unfolds over time.
With regard to Gaza, as I said, I think the single most important thing that can happen to change the reality on the ground for children, women, and men who remain caught in this crossfire that Hamas initiated so many months ago, would be to conclude a ceasefire and hostage return. That's the single thing that can fundamentally change what's going on in Gaza, and that's why all of us are working intensely to bring it over the finish line. It's been the focus of my efforts, the efforts of my colleagues over the course of the last few days - Jake Sullivan, Brett McGurk, Bill Burns, and others. And that's what will make the biggest difference. And this is moment to finally conclude that agreement.
For Hamas, as I said before, the cavalry is not coming to the rescue. They are not going to get the wider war that they've long sought - whether it's with Hizballah attacking Israel, whether it's Iran, whether it's many Iranian-aligned proxy groups, that's not going to happen. And I suspect that one of the reasons they've re-engaged in a more positive way the last couple of weeks reflects that. And Israel, as I've said, some time ago achieved its core military objectives necessary to helping ensure that October 7th never happens again: dismantling the military organization of Hamas and dealing with the leaders who were responsible for October 7th.
So, this is a moment to bring this to an end, and bring this to an end in a way that gets the hostages home and finally brings relief to people who suffered and continue to suffer every single day. Meanwhile, we continue to re-double and re-triple efforts to get assistance in to people who need it. And while much more needs to be done, we've seen in recent days, again, the number of trucks go - trucks of assistance go up significantly into the hundreds. We got a UN mission into northern Gaza, which is very important so that we can have eyes on understanding what was going on there. So even as we're trying to get the ceasefire/hostage deal completed, we're pressing, pushing, driving on getting assistance to people who need it.
MR MILLER: And for the final question, Haydar Al Abdali with Al Hurra TV.
QUESTION: Secretary Blinken, what transitional Syrian government should do to earn the trust of United States? And will the United States utilize the *Act of Caesar after the fall of Assad regime? Thank you.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. What we hope and expect to see is exactly now what many countries hope and expect to see, as laid out in the statement that we'll put out very shortly. This is what we agreed on today. The principles that I shared just a few minutes ago are exactly what we're looking for - and again, not just us - what all virtually all of Syria's neighbors are looking for, major countries in the region, and major countries well beyond the region. And as we see Syria move in that direction and, in a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process, take these steps, we in turn will look at various sanctions and other measures that we've taken and respond in kind.
But the most important thing is this action. We appreciate some of the positive words that we've heard in recent days, but what really counts is action and sustained action. This can't be the decision or the event of one day. It has to really be sustained over time.
So, we're watching this very closely. As I said earlier, we're also communicating directly with those in positions of authority in Syria. And I hope that today's agreement, the collective word of so many countries who will be important to Syria's future, carries weight and helps communicate clearly to the Syrian people that we're there to support them, but communicates also what we expect and hope to see going forward.
Thank you very much.
