Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation Christopher A. Ford travels to Ottawa, Canada, January 30-31, to participate in the G7 Nonproliferation Directors Group (NPDG) meeting and in joint sessions with the G7 Nuclear Safety and Security Group (NSSG) and the Global Partnership Against Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (GP). While there he will discuss a range of nonproliferation issues.

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At the U.S.-Qatar Strategic Dialogue held today, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Foreign Minister Mohammed Al Thani welcomed the outcome of recent discussions on civil aviation aimed at ensuring a level playing field in the global aviation sector while maintaining the Open Skies framework of U.S. international aviation policy.

On January 29, U.S. and Qatari delegations reached a set of Understandings to address concerns that U.S. carriers have raised with respect to government support of Qatar’s flagship carrier, Qatar Airways. Anchored in our two countries’ close bilateral economic and strategic relationship, the Understandings represent a set of important, high-level political commitments. They affirm both governments’ intention to promote best practices for marketplace participation by their airlines providing scheduled passenger service under the 2001 U.S.-Qatar Air Transport Agreement. On the vital issue of financial transparency, in the coming year, those airlines should issue public annual reports with financial statements audited externally in accordance with internationally-recognized accounting standards, to the extent they are not already doing so. Within two years, those airlines should publicly disclose significant new transactions with state-owned enterprises and take steps to ensure that such transactions are based on commercial terms. Officials plan to meet again bilaterally in one year to discuss progress.

The above outcome is a result of the effort led by the Department of State to address concerns about subsidized competition and a lack of transparency. We are maintaining the Open Skies framework, which continues to yield real benefits for U.S. airlines, airports, labor, the travel industry, and consumers, among others. Our goal is to provide beneficial results for as many U.S. stakeholders as possible.

Information on U.S. international aviation policy and Open Skies agreements currently in force is available on the Department of State’s website here: https://www.state.gov/e/eb/tra/ata/.

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Special Representative for North Korea Policy and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Korea and Japan Joseph Yun will travel to Japan and the Republic of Korea February 1-6. In Tokyo he will participate in the International Colloquium on Building Stable Peace in Northeast Asia organized by the Toda Peace Institute, The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, and The National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies University of Otago. While in Tokyo and Seoul, Ambassador Yun will also meet with senior government officials to discuss coordination on the DPRK and other alliance and bilateral issues.

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The United States notes with the highest level of concern the latest incident of unsafe Russian military practices, over the Black Sea on January 29. As confirmed by U.S. Naval Forces Europe, a Russian SU-27 engaged in an unsafe interaction with a U.S. EP-3 in international airspace, with the Russia pilot closing to within 5 feet and crossing directly in front of the EP-3’s flight path. While the U.S. aircraft was operating under international law, the Russian side was flagrantly violating existing agreements and international law, in this case the 1972 Agreement for the Prevention of Incidents On and Over the High Seas (INCSEA). This is but the latest example of Russian military activities disregarding international norms and agreements. We call on Russia to cease these unsafe actions that increase the risk of miscalculation, danger to aircrew on both sides, and midair collisions.

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SECRETARY TILLERSON: Good afternoon, all. I want to welcome Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen from Denmark to the State Department. It’s a pleasure to have you, Anders.

FOREIGN MINISTER SAMUELSEN: Thank you, and likewise. I’ve really been looking forward to this meeting.

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Thank you. We’ve – we were just commenting we’ve been spending a lot of time together, between Vancouver and the chemical weapons accord, and now Washington. So clearly, a lot of common interest between Denmark and the United States, and we appreciate the strong support that Denmark’s given us on the campaign to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula as well as the chemical weapons accord last week in Paris. So delighted to have you here, Anders. Thanks for coming over.

FOREIGN MINISTER SAMUELSEN: Thank you once again. Thank you so much.

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Thank you.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, what does a small country like Denmark mean to the U.S.?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Well, Denmark’s an important partner in the Nordic countries. Obviously, they are very close to Russia, and so they are important to the security network and architecture. But they also play an important role at the UN. They bring a lot to our discussions in terms of considering alternative means to engage in difficult problems like North Korea. So Denmark brings a lot to our conversations. Thank you.

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