State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the U.S. hopes to maintain a strong relationship with Bahrain, despite their recent expulsion of U.S. diplomat Tom Malinowski.
Malinowski, who serves as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, was asked to leave Bahrain after he met with a Shiite opposition group this weekend. Bahrain, which has a Sunni monarchy, complained that this action ran "counter to conventional diplomatic norms."
Malinowski stated on Twitter that his expulsion was "not about me but about undermining dialogue. Those committed to reconciliation should not be deterred."
Although the State Department retweeted that comment, Psaki said it was not necessarily meant as an endorsement of his stance.
Bahrain had also requested that they have a representative present at all of Malinowsk's private meetings. Psaki said of this request, "That's not typical, it's not appropriate, in our view, and it contravenes international diplomatic norms."
Citing the strong relationship between Bahrain and the United States, Psaki said they are "considering a range of options with that in mind."
When asked if that range of options could include not maintaing a strong relationship with Bahrain, and possibly moving the Fifth Fleet which is stationed there, Psaki replied, "I was actually trying to convey quite the opposite, that our strong relationship with Bahrain is, of course, something that we consider and something we want to maintain. And that's one of the reasons that we're having these conversations through diplomatic channels."
AP reporter Matt Lee pressed, "So in other words, maintaining your strong relationship with the government of Bahrain is equal to or more important than them respecting human rights and working towards national reconciliation?"
"It's all a factor, Matt," Psaki answered. "Obviously we raise human rights issues at every opportunity. And certainly we've expressed our strong concern about the events of the last 24 hours."
When reporters questioned the State Department's use of the term "deeply concerned" in their statement, rather than stronger language, Psaki merely said, "I would also point you to the fact that I just said that their requests were inappropriate and contravene international norms."