Foreign Affairs

Statement by NSC Spokesperson Emily Horne on National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's Meeting with National Security Council

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with National Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan of Armenia today. Mr. Sullivan conveyed the commitment of the United States to peace, security, and prosperity in Armenia and the South Caucasus region. He expressed concern over ongoing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and emphasized that military movements near un-demarcated borders are irresponsible and...

Updated: Thu Dec 16 2021

Statement from President Biden on the Build Back Better Act

I had a productive call with Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer earlier today. I briefed them on the most recent discussions that my staff and I have held with Senator Manchin about Build Back Better. In these discussions, Senator Manchin has reiterated his support for Build Back Better funding at the level of the...

Updated: Thu Dec 16 2021

Nominations Sent to the Senate

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE: Errol Rajesh Arthur, of the District of Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for the term of fifteen years, vice Jose M. Lopez, retiring. Jessica G. L. Clarke, of New York, to be United States District Judge for the...

Updated: Wed Dec 15 2021

President Biden Announces Key Diplomatic and Agency Nominees

WASHINGTON - Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve in key roles: Caroline Kennedy, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Commonwealth of Australia Michelle Kwan, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Belize Robert Wood, Nominee for Alternate Representative of the United States of America for...

Updated: Wed Dec 15 2021

President Biden Announces Key Nominees and an Appointee to Board and Commission Roles

WASHINGTON - Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve in key roles: Chris Saunders, Nominee for Federal Co-Chair of the Northern Border Regional Commission Corey Wiggins, Nominee for Federal Co-Chair of the Delta Regional Authority Summer Mersinger, Nominee for Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Caroline Pham,...

Updated: Wed Dec 15 2021

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Amends Kentucky Disaster Declaration

Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. made additional disaster assistance available to the Commonwealth of Kentucky by authorizing an increase in the level of Federal funding for emergency work undertaken in the Commonwealth of Kentucky as a result of severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, and tornadoes beginning on December 10, 2021, and continuing. Under the...

Updated: Wed Dec 15 2021

Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials

Via Teleconference 11:20 A.M. EST MR. ZIENTS: Good morning, and thanks for joining us. Today, we'll start with an update from Dr. Walensky on Omicron cases in the U.S. and around the world. Over to you, Dr. Walensky. DR. WALENSKY: Good morning. Thank you, Jeff. I'd like to start by walking you through today's data....

Updated: Wed Dec 15 2021

Remarks by President Biden After Surveying Storm Damage During Tour of Mayfield, Kentucky

Downtown MayfieldMayfield, Kentucky 12:25 P.M. CST Q Can you tell us your impressions of what you've seen so far? THE PRESIDENT: What I've seen so far is a group of incredible people pulling together, helping each other. And they're hopeful. And we're going to stay until this gets finished and totally reconstructed. A lot of people are going...

Updated: Wed Dec 15 2021

Remarks by President Biden in Dawson Springs on the Response to the Tornadoes

Dawson SpringsDawson Springs, Kentucky 3:06 P.M. CST THE PRESIDENT: Gov, thank you. I want to introduce you to a new friend of mine. This is Dane. Dane lived down the street. And Dane and all his - he has cousins who are all together. And one cousin, I don't know where she is. There she is. Come...

Updated: Wed Dec 15 2021

Remarks by President Biden in Press Gaggle

Local NeighborhoodDawson Springs, Kentucky 3:27 P.M. CST Q Mr. President, should congressional Democrats move on to working on voting rights legislation this year and put off your Build Back Better plan until 2022? THE PRESIDENT: If we can get the congressional voting rights done, we should do it. If we can't, we got to keep going. There's...

Updated: Wed Dec 15 2021

Statement by President Joe Biden on 800,000 American Deaths from COVID-?19

As we mark the tragic milestone of 800,000 American deaths due to COVID-19, we remember each person and the lives they lived, and we pray for the loved ones left behind. I know what it's like to stare at an empty chair around the kitchen table, especially during the holiday season, and my heart aches...

Updated: Wed Dec 15 2021

Statement by Press Secretary Jen Psaki on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

The President welcomes the agreement by Congress on the bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. We agree with Congress that action can and must be taken to hold the People's Republic of China accountable for genocide and human rights abuses and to address forced labor in Xinjiang. That is why the Administration has already taken...

Updated: Wed Dec 15 2021

Taiwan - Q&A - (15 Dec. 2021)

Q: With regard to the visit by a delegation of French lawmakers to Taiwan, is France's representative on the ground taking part in their meetings? A: Under the separation of powers, French legislators make independent decisions on their travel plans and contacts. They were therefore free to develop their own program, which includes a meeting with the head of the French Office in (...)

Updated: Wed Dec 15 2021

United Arab Emirates - Q&A - (15 Dec. 2021)

Q: A new report by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) reveals war crimes committed by the United Arab Emirates in Yemen. Does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has a seat on the Interministerial Commission for the Study of Military Equipment Exports (CIEEMG), support all French arms exports to the UAE, even though they may be used in conflicts in which civilian populations are targeted, in violation of the Arms Trade Treaty, or in violation of embargos (as in the case (...)

Updated: Wed Dec 15 2021

Vietnam - France deplores the sentencing of Pham Doan Trang (Dec. 15)

France deplores the conviction and sentencing to nine year's imprisonment of Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang, one of the country's most prominent human rights defenders and one of three recipients of the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Award in 2019. France calls for Ms. Pham Doan Trang's release and reaffirms its commitment to the freedom of speech and opinion. These rights and liberties are guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which (...)

Updated: Wed Dec 15 2021

A Proclamation on Bill of Rights Day, 2021

More than two centuries ago, our Founders drafted the Constitution in order to create an American Government that could act with urgency on national issues without compromising individual rights and freedoms. They had the genius not only to craft such a Government but to foresee their own fallibility as well. In their foresight, they made the charter...

Updated: Tue Dec 14 2021

Assembly of French Nationals Abroad - Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne attending the 35th Session of the Assembly of French Nationals Ab

Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister Delegate for Tourism, French Nationals Abroad and Francophonie, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Minister Delegate for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, attached to the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, is opening the 35th session of the Assembly of French Nationals Abroad (AFE) meeting from December 14 to 17 both virtually and at the Ministerial Conference Center in Paris. During this first session of the AFE term (...)

Updated: Tue Dec 14 2021

Cuba - Participation of Franck Riester in the 6th Session of the France-Cuba Economic and Commercial Commission and the 6th M

This morning Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, Cuba's Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, co-chaired the 6th Session of the France-Cuba Economic and Commercial Commission and the Sixth Meeting of the Strategic Orientation Committee that manages the French-Cuban Counterpart Fund. Established under the French-Cuban debt restructuring agreement (...)

Updated: Tue Dec 14 2021

EU - Jean-Yves Le Drian attending Foreign Affairs Council (13 Dec. 21)

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian is attending today's EU council of foreign ministers in Brussels. On the subject of Ukraine, he will reaffirm France's support for that country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and its wish, shared by Germany, to revive discussions in the Normandy Format. Concerning Belarus, the minister will underscore the EU's firmness and unity in the face of the regime's unacceptable instrumentalization of migratory flows. As for the (...)

Updated: Tue Dec 14 2021

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, December 14, 2021

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room 2:08 P.M. EST MS. PSAKI: Hi, everyone. Okay. Two updates for all of you at the top. Today, a new study from the Commonwealth Fund found that vaccinations, which President Biden has prioritized and taken bold steps to expand, have saved over 1 million lives, prevented more than 10...

Updated: Tue Dec 14 2021