Ned Price's Final In-Person Press Briefing

Washington D.C./14.03.23/Turan:    Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise visit to the Department's briefing room to thank outgoing press secretary Ned Price for his service in restoring daily briefings and for conducting more than 200 of them during his tenure. "I could not have asked for a better traveling companion, a better advisor, or a better friend over these last two years," Blinken said of Price.

On Monday, Price held his final in-person press briefing. "Thanks to my colleagues for the teamwork and to the reporters who ask tough and necessary questions every day. I’m grateful to have had this opportunity," he said.

Addressing the press corps, Price said, "There’s always going to be, of course, an inherent tension between the person in my job and those of you in your jobs.  If there weren’t, one of us wouldn’t be doing our job."

Through it all, though, he added, "we’ve never doubted each other’s intentions or our integrity, and we’ve recognized that we have ultimately the same objective: providing audiences around the world with accurate and timely information."

Reporters, including TURAN's Washington correspondent Alex Raufoglu, highlighted the fact that the State Department has restored daily briefings.

"As one of the beneficiaries of these daily briefings — not only on behalf of colleagues, also on behalf of my audience — I do want to subscribe to everything that has been said... After 200 and plus briefings, I have two more questions to ask," Raufoglu said before moving to questions on the issues of the day, such as the latest Iran-Azerbaijan tension, Belarus President's Tehran trip.

Price, who has served as the State Department’s top spokesperson since January 2021, will soon assume a new role working directly for Blinken. The State Department is yet to announce a successor, while Vedant Patel, the principal deputy spokesperson, will be serving as the interim spokesperson taking over from Price.

Alex Raufoglu