Secretary Remarks

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Cabinet Exit Memo Washington, DC January 5, 2017     Introduction When President Obama took office in 2009, the United States was engaged in two costly wars, faced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and had a diminished standing with many of our allies and partners around the world. The starting point for this Presidency was one of the toughest I have ever seen in my decades of public service. Over the past eight years, President Ob...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Antarctica, Argentina, Canada , Chad , Chile, China, Cuba , France , India , Iran , Iraq , Israel , Italy , Korea, North , Libya , Nigeria , Russia , Saudi Arabia , Somalia , Sudan , Syria , Thailand , Ukraine , United Kingdom , United States , Western Hemisphere, Yemen

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation, The Ocean and Polar Affairs, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State The Ritz Carlton Washington, DC November 29, 2016 SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very, very much, Karen. “Under the weather” is a polite word for the crud. (Laughter.) Anyway, thank you, Karen, for a wonderful introduction. And it’s with great pride that I accept the nomination. (Laughter.) Shh. It’s a little dangerous right now. (Laughter.) I am suffering from a bunch of grandchildren, all of whom are sniveling at...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Antarctica, China, Colombia , Cuba , Germany , Honduras , Iran , Japan , Korea, North , Lebanon , Libya , Russia , Saudi Arabia , Syria , Ukraine , United Kingdom , United States , Yemen

Topics: Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Global Women's Issues, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation, The Ocean and Polar Affairs

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Chicago, Illinois October 26, 2016 MODERATOR: It is an honor to welcome a Secretary of State to the University of Chicago. It is part of the mission of the Institute of Politics to facilitate these kinds of opportunities for you to interact with practitioners and leaders, and so we’re really pleased on that account. But I – our other mission is somewhat larger than that, which is: We live in a somewhat dispirited time in our politics. I don’t know ...

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Regions: Afghanistan, China, France , Georgia , Germany , Iran , Iraq , Israel , Japan , Korea, North , Lebanon , Nigeria , Philippines , Qatar , Russia , Saudi Arabia , Somalia , Syria , Turkey , United Kingdom , United States , Vietnam , Yemen

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Science, Technology, and Innovation, The Ocean and Polar Affairs, Treaties and International Agreements

Press Availability John Kerry Secretary of State Revere Hotel Boston, Massachusetts October 13, 2015 SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good afternoon. I’m delighted to welcome Secretary Carter and our friends from Australia, Foreign Minister Bishop and Defense Minister Payne. Julie and Marise, I’m really happy to have you here in Boston. We’ve been delighted to be able to give you a slight taste of this great city, which I have the privilege of calling home. And I think it’s been a very con...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Australia , China, India , Iran , Iraq , Israel , Philippines , Russia , Saudi Arabia , Syria , United Kingdom , United States , Vietnam

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation, The Ocean and Polar Affairs

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Paris, France November 20, 2014 SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good afternoon, everybody. As you know, I’ve spent the last couple of days in Europe, in London, and now in Paris. And during the course of that time, I’ve had very worthwhile meetings with Foreign Secretary Hammond of Great Britain, Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal here in Paris today, and of course, with Foreign Minister Fabius, and other meetings that I have had during that time. During these meeti...

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Regions: France , Iran , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Energy

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State U.S. Embassy Baghdad Baghdad, Iraq June 23, 2014 SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good afternoon. I have a quick comment I want to make on a topic other than the visit here to Iraq, and then I’ll proceed to make some comments about the visit here. And then I look forward to taking some questions. Today, the International Maritime Task Force completed the extraordinary mission of removing the final 8 percent of declared chemical weapon precursors from Syria. So I want to...

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Regions: Egypt , Iran , Iraq , Israel , Syria , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Countering Terrorism, Energy, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, The Ocean and Polar Affairs, Treaties and International Agreements

Press Statement John Kerry Secretary of State Washington, DC June 23, 2014 Today, the international maritime task force completed the critical mission of removing the last 8 percent of declared chemical weapons precursors from Syria. With this step, 100 percent of the declared chemicals are out of war-torn Syria. We congratulate the OPCW-UN Joint Mission and the entire international coalition, which operated under dangerous conditions to remove more than 1,000 tons of declared chemical weapons materials...

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Regions: Italy , Norway , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Energy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC December 11, 2013 SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you, David, very, very much. Thank you, Foreign Policy Magazine. And thank you, all of you, for not singing. I really appreciate it. (Laughter.) The – I understand that you’ve had a terrific session today talking about transformational trends with a lot of speakers. I guess Danny Russel was just here, who’s doing a superb job on Asia. And I have just come from the Hill...

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Regions: China, Egypt , Iran , Israel , Jordan , Malaysia , South Africa , Syria , United Kingdom , United States , Vietnam , West Bank

Topics: Climate and Environment, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Testimony John Kerry Secretary of State Opening Remarks Before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Washington, DC December 10, 2013 SECRETARY KERRY: Well, Mr. Chairman, thank you very, very much. Ranking Member Engel, Members of the Committee, thanks very much for welcoming me back, and I am happy to be back here. There’s no more important issue in American foreign policy than the question of the one we’re focused on here today. And obviously, from the Chairman’s introduction, you know...

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Regions: China, France , Iran , Israel , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Countering Terrorism, Energy, Human Rights and Democracy

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State The Willard Hotel Washington, DC December 7, 2013 SECRETARY KERRY: (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Tamara, for a very, very generous introduction, and thank you for the great work that you are now doing at the Saban Center at Brookings. And good afternoon to everybody. Welcome to a rather remarkable – I’ve been noticing the numbers of people. I don’t know if you can get the President of the United States as an opening act, but I’...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Iran , Israel , Jordan , Syria , United Kingdom , United States , West Bank

Topics: Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Washington, DC November 26, 2013 SECRETARY KERRY: You'll be hearing a lot about what the United States and our partners just achieved in Geneva so I wanted to take a minute to share with you an inside view of what we really accomplished here and to explain very clearly what it is and what it isn't. First of all, this is a beginning. It's a first step. Over the coming months, we're going to roll up our sleeves and keep working with the parties at the ...

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Regions: Iran , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Energy

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Geneva, Switzerland November 24, 2013 QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us. My first question: A lot of people say Iran is just going to be North Korea, a country that agrees to stop its nuclear ambitions in order to get sanctions lifted and then secretly goes ahead and continues with its program. Why do you think Iran is not North Korea? SECRETARY KERRY: Well, there are many reasons why it’s not. First of all, it’s a member of the NPT. Seco...

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Regions: Iran , Israel , Korea, North , Switzerland , United Kingdom

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Countering Terrorism, Energy

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Geneva, Switzerland November 24, 2013 QUESTION: What does this actually do to prevent building a bomb? SECRETARY KERRY: Well, a whole bunch of things. Number one, they don’t have enough enriched material to be able to build a bomb. QUESTION: Yet. SECRETARY KERRY: They will destroy – correct, as of now. They will have to destroy the higher-enriched uranium they have, which is critical to being able to build a bomb. Once they’ve destroyed that, they ...

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Regions: Iran , Israel , Saudi Arabia , Switzerland , United Kingdom

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Countering Terrorism

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Geneva, Switzerland November 24, 2013 SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good very early morning to all of you. It’s been a long day and a long night, and I’m delighted to be here to share some thoughts with you about the recent negotiations. I particularly want to thank the Swiss Government. I want to thank the United Nations. It’s been a (inaudible) and we’re honored to be here, even at this very early hour of the morning. I particularly want to thank my colleagues from the U...

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Regions: Afghanistan, China, France , Iran , Israel , Switzerland , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Energy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Winfield House London, United Kingdom November 24, 2013 FOREIGN SECRETARY HAGUE: Good afternoon, everybody. Clearly, it’s only 12 hours or so since we were in Geneva, and I particularly want to pay tribute to the work of Secretary Kerry, who has been so determined throughout the negotiations with Iran to make sure that this is a robust deal, that everything that should be covered is covered, and that every commitment that we wanted from Iran is as strong as it...

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Regions: Iran , Libya , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates November 11, 2013 FOREIGN MINISTER ABDALLAH: (Via interpreter) Good morning. May peace be upon you. I’d like to start by welcoming His Excellency, U.S. Secretary of State and close friend John Kerry. There’s no doubt that the visit of the U.S. Secretary of State to the United Arab Emirates at this time and under these conditions, especially following the meetings in Geneva, was a very strong message to the extent of the cl...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Egypt , France , Iran , Iraq , Israel , Pakistan , Saudi Arabia , Somalia , Syria , United Arab Emirates , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Countering Terrorism, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State U.S. Institute of Peace Washington, DC October 28, 2013 Well, good evening, everybody. And Michael, thank you so much for a very, very generous introduction. I think everybody here wants to join me in thanking you for your remarkable efforts through all the years. You said a moment ago that you’ve been doing this for 40 years. You’ve really not only been involved in these humanitarian causes for a long time and the effort to make our world safer, but I t...

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Regions: China, Iran , Korea, North , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Energy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Bali, Indonesia October 7, 2013 The video is also available with closed captioning on YouTube.  SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good morning, everybody. I want to thank Foreign Minister Lavrov for joining me here today to sign this important agreement. Amending the NRRC agreement is another important step towards reducing risks associated with nuclear weapons, and I think both of us are cognizant of the fact that 26 years ago our predecessors from the United States and ...

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Regions: France , Indonesia , Iran , Libya , Russia , Syria , Tanzania , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Countering Terrorism, Energy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State New York City September 27, 2013 The video is available with closed captioning on YouTube. Thank you very much, and thank you, Mr. Secretary General, distinguished minister members of the Security Council. Five weeks ago, the world saw rows upon rows of murdered children lying on a hospital floor alone or beside slain parents, all wrapped in un-bloodied burial shrouds. And the world’s conscience was shocked, but our collective resolved hardened. Tonight, ...

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Regions: Syria

Topics: Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Washington, DC September 20, 2013 The video is also available with closed captioning on YouTube. SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning, everybody. It’s my privilege to welcome to Washington and to the State Department His Excellency, the President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Actually, I’m welcoming him back to Washington, and we have met previously and I’m very pleased to be able to welcome him here. The United States, obviously, has been engaged in ...

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Regions: Somalia , United States

Topics: Human Rights and Democracy

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Quai d'Orsay Paris, France September 16, 2013 The video is also available with closed captioning on YouTube. FOREIGN MINISTER FABIUS: (Via interpreter) (In progress) discuss the situation in Syria as well as the decisions to be taken over the next few days. And further to that meeting at the Elysee Palace, we held the first working meeting with my two colleagues. And we will be meeting in a minute after this press conference our colleague, the Mr. Davutoglu, Ministe...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Canada , France , Iraq , Lebanon , Russia , Syria , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Countering Terrorism, Energy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Prime Minister's Office Jerusalem September 15, 2013 The video is also available with closed captioning on YouTube. PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Mr. Secretary, John, a pleasure to welcome you again in Jerusalem. I very much appreciate the fact that you’re here today. You’ve got a lot on your plate. Despite that busy schedule of yours, you took the time to come to Jerusalem. It’s deeply appreciated. I appreciate the fact that you’re making a grea...

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Regions: Iran , Israel , Korea, North , Russia , Saudi Arabia , Syria , Turkey , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Intercontinental Hotel Geneva, Switzerland September 14, 2013 SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you very much for your patience, not just this morning, but over the last couple of days. We’re very appreciative and particularly grateful to Sergey Lavrov, who stayed extra time from what he had originally planned, hoping we’d finish sooner, and this gave us additional opportunity to be able to work through some of the issue...

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Regions: France , Iran , Korea, North , Russia , Switzerland , Syria , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Combating Drugs and Crime, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Intercontinental Hotel Geneva, Switzerland September 12, 2013 The video is also available with closed captioning on YouTube. FOREIGN MINISTER LAVROV: (Via interpreter) (In progress) – delegations that accompany us. Of course, we would like you to have unbiased ideas about what we are going to do. But I think that you understand well before we start to tell you what we are going to do, we should get down to a very serious work, the work which is dedicated to a ...

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Regions: Russia , Switzerland , Syria , United States

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Countering Terrorism, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State White House Washington, DC May 17, 2013 The video is available with closed captioning on YouTube . MS. JARRETT: Good morning, everyone. I’m Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls. I’d like to welcome you all to the White House. This is the second time that we have held the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons here at the White House, and in ...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Burma , Cameroon , Haiti , Iraq , Jersey , Mexico , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Ambassador Gutman's Residence Brussels, Belgium April 22, 2013 AMBASSADOR GUTMAN: Good afternoon. Michelle and I would like to welcome you to our home, which is America’s home here in Brussels. Today, it’s another huge thrill. First of all, it’s always a special day when I join Ambassadors Kennard and Daalder. I will skip the usual joke about the smart one, the wise one, and the good-looking one. (Laughter.) Besides, both Ambassadors Daalder and Ke...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Belgium , Egypt , France , Iraq , Korea, North , Pakistan , Turkey , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Human Rights and Democracy, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Berlaymont Building Brussels, Belgium April 22, 2013 The video is available with closed captioning on YouTube. MS. HANSEN: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this event, where you, the trainees of the European Commission, will have the opportunity to hear some words from President Barroso and from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. And then you will have an informal chat with them, I hope, for a few minutes. So I give the floor immediately to Presiden...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Belgium , China, Egypt , Iran , Japan , Jordan , Korea, North , Russia , Syria , United Kingdom , United States , West Bank

Topics: Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Remarks John Kerry Secretary of State Ciragan Palace Istanbul, Turkey April 7, 2013 The video below is available with closed captioning on YouTube . FOREIGN MINISTER DAVUTOGLU: I will speak in Turkish. (Via interpreter) Distinguished members of the press, U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, is once again with us, while second time in a row in a period of a month, and it gives me great pleasure and an honor to be (inaudible) again. And I would like to welcome him once again, along with his (inaudibl...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan , Cyprus , Iran , Iraq , Israel , Qatar , Syria , Turkey , United Kingdom , United States , West Bank

Topics: Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

Remarks John Kerry    Secretary of State Victoria Nuland    Department Spokesperson , Office of the Spokesperson Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal Ministry of Foreign Affairs Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 4, 2013 FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD: (In Arabic.) SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much, Your Royal Highness. Assalamu alaikum . I am very honored to be here and very, very grateful for His Royal Highness, Prince Saud Al-Faisal’s very generous welcome here. We had a sup...

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Regions: Iran , Saudi Arabia , Syria , United States

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Treaties and International Agreements

Address John Kerry Secretary of State University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA February 20, 2013 Video is available with closed captioning on YouTube . Thank you. Thank you very, very much. Thank you. Good morning. Thank you for an extraordinarily warm welcome, Charlottesville. I am really honored to be here. Senator Tim Kaine, thank you very, very much for your generous words of introduction. Tim, as he mentioned, has only been on the Foreign Relations Committee, I guess now for a total of a few week...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Brazil , Cameroon , Canada , China, France , Germany , Indonesia , Iran , Japan , Kyrgyzstan , Mali , Mozambique , Pakistan , Sudan , United Kingdom , United States , Vietnam

Topics: Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Science, Technology, and Innovation

Press Statement Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Washington, DC January 29, 2013 On behalf of the men and women of the Department of State, I wish to express our sadness at the passing of Max Kampelman, whose contributions to American diplomacy remain a force for freedom and peace in our world. As our premier Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (or Helsinki process) during the Cold War and its aftermath, and as Counselor of State and Chief Negotiator to the Nuc...

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Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Human Rights and Democracy

Testimony Statement Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Washington, DC January 24, 2013 Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Corker, Members of the Committee: I am enormously appreciative for the very generous comments of the Chair and Ranking Member. I will tell you that I have enjoyed Chairing this Committee and working with all of you as much as anything I have been privileged to do in my career. I think this is one of the great Committees of the Senate and it is the only major Committee I have ...

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Regions: Afghanistan, China, Egypt , Iran , Korea, North , Tunisia , United Kingdom , United States , Vietnam

Topics: Climate and Environment, Countering Terrorism, Energy, Global Health, Human Rights and Democracy, Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance, Science, Technology, and Innovation, The Ocean and Polar Affairs

Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State LitExpo Conference Center Vilnius, Lithuania December 6, 2011 Thank you and the president of the Republic of Lithuania and the government and people of your country for hosting this year’s for hosting this year’s OSCE Ministerial and for your steadfast global leadership in support and defense of human dignity and democracy. I appreciated your reference to the continuing importance of human rights – not simply as a moral imperative, but ...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Armenia , Azerbaijan , Belarus , France , Georgia , Lithuania , Russia , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Human Rights and Democracy, Treaties and International Agreements

Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State James S. Brady Press Briefing Room Washington, DC December 16, 2010 12:00 P.M. EST SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, good morning. I appreciate very much the President’s words about Ambassador Holbrooke. It was a week ago this morning that he and I and members of our team were meeting about this review and the conclusions to be drawn. As many have observed, he was certainly a giant of diplomacy, but he understood how difficult the mission that he’d be...

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Regions: Afghanistan, Iraq , Pakistan , Russia , United Kingdom , United States

Topics: Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Countering Terrorism, Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy, Energy, Human Rights and Democracy, Treaties and International Agreements