Question raised in US State Dept briefing on situation of Hindus in Bangladesh following Tulsi's remarks

Questions were raised regarding the situation of Hindus in Bangladesh during a US State Department briefing on Monday (17 March).  

The question stated, "A few days before the elections, President Trump then as a candidate has – had spoken about – expressed concern about attacks on the Hindus in Bangladesh. Now that the [US] secretary [of State Marco Rubio] has been here for about 60 days, what is his assessment about the situation of Hindus in Bangladesh and what steps he is taking to address..."

US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce then responded, "Well, again, we have – you're talking about President Trump in certain aspects about how the nation and how his administration views the nature of what's happening in another country."

At this point, the questioner said, "In Bangladesh."

Bruce continued, "And Secretary Rubio, of course, follows through with his vision in the nature of the choices that are made in that regard. But when it comes to, again, negotiations, diplomatic considerations, and the conversations that those involve and what might happen, I don't want to have a – I don't want to presume here what the outcome will be. You don't want me to either. I think that the best thing to do would be to..."

Bruce further said she was not going to answer diplomatic considerations from government to government or attitudes and approaches when it comes to what's happening in a certain country "that belongs within a diplomatic kind of conversation that clearly I can't speak on in – or would I hypothesise about what might happen."

The discussion at the US State Department's briefing comes just a day after US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard's remarks on the alleged persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh. 

In an interview with India's NDTV World, Gabbard, the director of US National Intelligence, said, "The long-time unfortunate persecution, killing, and abuse of religious minorities like Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and others has been a major area of concern for the US government and President Donald Trump and his administration."

She added that the new cabinet under Trump has begun talks with the interim government of Bangladesh.

"The talks are just beginning between President Trump's new cabinet and the government of Bangladesh, but this continues to remain a central focus area of concern [for the US]," she said.