Excerpts From the Daily Press Briefing Pertaining to Western Hemisphere Affairs Full Briefing
QUESTION: What about Venezuela? She asked --
MR. KELLY: Oh, Venezuela, yeah, sorry. I think I have something on Venezuela. Yes.
Since Secretary Clinton and President Chavez spoke during the Summit of the Americas, both our governments have worked toward the goal of returning ambassadors to our respective capitals. We are currently taking the necessary measures to accomplish this goal. And we think that exchanging ambassadors is in the best interests of both countries. But I don’t have any names for you right now or dates.
QUESTION: So the decision is taken? It means --
MR. KELLY: The decision has been taken to – there was a – what happened was there was a – Assistant Secretary Shannon spoke to Foreign Minister Maduro, and we agreed to move forward. This was on June 22
nd, on Monday.
QUESTION: There’s no timetable and no --
MR. KELLY: No. I mean, this is a process that --
QUESTION: Does this mean Ambassador Duddy’s going to return?
MR. KELLY: -- depends on a number of factors. It depends on personnel factors and, of course, it depends on the Senate of the United States, too. So there is a process that needs to be followed, and so we can’t really put a timeframe on it.
QUESTION: So Ambassador Duddy wouldn’t return? It would be someone new you --
MR. KELLY: Oh, I don’t know if it’ll be Ambassador Duddy returning or somebody new. Frankly, I really don’t know.
QUESTION: The Senate has already confirmed Patrick Duddy --
MR. KELLY: That’s a good point.
QUESTION: -- so it wouldn’t involve the Senate.
MR. KELLY: That’s a good point. That’s a good point. That would change the timeline. Yeah, you’re right.
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QUESTION: A quick question for you on Argentina.
MR. KELLY: Yeah.
QUESTION: Did Governor Sanford of South Carolina talk to the State Department or your Embassy in Buenos Aires before or after his trip, or during his trip? Did he contact you guys at all?
MR. KELLY: Again, let me get you information on that. I don’t want to shoot from the hip on a question like that.
QUESTION: If you could, please.
MR. KELLY: So, yeah, sure.
