Press Releases: Remarks With German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel Before Their Meeting 


Remarks

Rex W. Tillerson

Secretary of State

Treaty Room

Washington, DC

August 29, 2017


SECRETARY TILLERSON: Mr. Minister, welcome. Welcome to the State Department. It’s always a pleasure.

FOREIGN MINISTER GABRIEL: Always my pleasure. Thank you.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, how —

SECRETARY TILLERSON: I wanted to just make a quick statement about the situation down in the Texas Gulf Coast and now Louisiana. Again, being a native Texan, my wife and I still make our home in Texas, and we have a lot of family and friends that have been directly impacted and – but also just millions and millions of Texans are really, really suffering right now. So I’d simply ask that all Americans keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

I think the state of Texas is doing a remarkable, remarkable job dealing with what is an extraordinarily difficult situation of historic proportions. As you know, the President is on his way down today. I think he has plans to go back a second time, I think, indicating the seriousness of the situation, but also the commitment of the federal government to provide all the assets that the state of Texas needs to respond to what’s going to be a very, very, very long rebuilding process.

So we’d ask that all Americans keep them in your prayers, please. Thank you.

QUESTION: How provocative or dangerous do you see the latest launch by North Korea?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: We’ll have more to say about it later.