.Secretary Antony Blinken spoke with President Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic to congratulate him on his re-election to the presidency and reaffirmed the strength of our partnership on democratic governance, security, prosperity, and addressing the crisis in Haiti.

.Secretary Antony Blinken spoke with Minister בני גנץ - Benny Gantz on our efforts to secure the release of hostages with an immediate ceasefire. They discussed our commitment to Israel’s security and the imperative to ensure more humanitarian aid reaches civilians throughout Gaza.

Russia is now sowing confusion on NATO/EU borders. We stand in solidarity with our Allies in the Baltic states and Baltic Sea in the face of recent provocations and call on Russia to explain its actions. We are watching the situation closely with our Allies.

.Secretary Antony Blinken spoke today with German Foreign Minister Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock to discuss support for Ukraine, efforts toward a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal in Gaza, and concerns over the PRC’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base.

.Secretary Antony Blinken will travel to Moldova and Czechia May 28-31 to highlight our robust bilateral relationships. In Prague, he will also participate in an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers to discuss priorities for the NATO Washington Summit in July.

.Secretary Antony Blinken called Présidence RDC 🇨🇩 Tshisekedi to condemn the attack on political leaders and institutions in Kinshasa and to discuss next steps to restore peace and stability in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

We are following disturbing reports of violence and forced conscription of Rohingya in Burma’s Rakhine state. We call on the military regime and armed actors to cease violence against civilians and allow humanitarian access.

Today's announcement that former Bangladeshi General Aziz Ahmed is generally ineligible for entry into the United States reaffirms the U.S. commitment to work with our Bangladeshi partners to promote accountability for corrupt public officials.

The United States applauds the people of the Dominican Republic for exercising their right to vote and congratulates President-elect Luis Abinader. We look forward to working with his administration to continue strengthening our vital partnership.

We fundamentally reject the announcement from the Int'l Criminal Court Prosecutor that he is applying for arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials together with warrants for Hamas terrorists.

There should be no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.

Watch the Daily Press Briefing from the State Department. youtube.com/watch?v=FJ_jww…

.Secretary Antony Blinken spoke with Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Cho today and discussed our growing cooperation on global issues. They affirmed the ironclad US-ROK Alliance in promoting peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.

.Secretary Antony Blinken spoke to Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly today to discuss the urgent need to modernize the Columbia River Treaty, as well as our collaboration on pressing global issues, including Ukraine, the Middle East, and a Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti.

On the 29th anniversary of the Panchen Lama’s abduction at just six years old, we urge PRC authorities to immediately account for his whereabouts and well-being. The United States supports Tibetans’ human rights and their distinct religious, cultural, and linguistic identity.

The United States is concerned about reports that PRC citizen journalist Zhang Zhan disappeared after her expected release date from prison on May 13. We reiterate our call for the PRC to respect the human rights of all journalists, who should be able to report freely.

Chad’s May 5-6 presidential election was an important milestone. However, 10 of 20 candidates were excluded, voter registration was incomplete, and limits were imposed on observation of the vote. We encourage Chad to strengthen its institutional framework for future elections.

.Secretary Antony Blinken spoke with Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár to express our solidarity and wishes for a speedy recovery after the shooting of Prime Minister Fico. We strongly condemn this senseless act of violence.

The United States is sanctioning five Russia-based individuals and entities connected to military equipment transfers between the DPRK and Russia. We are concerned by the DPRK-Russia relationship due to its threat to global security and the international non-proliferation regime.

Ukrainian workers and business owners, like the team at Esper Bionics, have kept the economy running in the face of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

They are the new recipient of a USAID grant that will allow them to purchase new equipment and grow their revenue.