Briefing Skipper: Gbagbo, Qaddafi, Syria, China, South Korea

In which we scour the transcript of the State Department’s daily presser so you don’t have to. These are the highlights of Monday’s briefing by spokesman Mark Toner:

• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb at the State Department Monday, after which she commended the international community for creating the conditions which led to the arrest of former Ivory Coast former President Laurent Gbagbo. "This transition sends a strong signal to dictators and tyrants throughout the region and around the world: They may not disregard the voice of their own people in free and fair elections, and there will be consequences for those who cling to power," Clinton said.
• Clinton also talked about Libya and said there were several "non-negotiable" terms for any settlement there, including a ceasefire, a pullback of Qaddafi forces from occupied cities, the resumption of basic services and access for humanitarian assistance. Clinton said it is also the policy to seek the ouster of Muammar al Qaddafi from power. In the briefing, Toner said Qaddafi’s removal was also "a non-negotiable demand."
• The unofficial U.S. envoy to the opposition Chris Stevens remains in Benghazi, where he has been now for about a week. "He continues to talk to the TNC leadership. He’s talking about the political structure, as well as what other needs they might have," Toner said. The opposition is making progress, according to Toner. "Now this group is coming together. They’re evolving. And, you know, we’re still assessing," he said.
• The Turks are helping the U.S. government get information on two American journalists who have been detained in Libya, James Foley and Clare Morgana Gillis, but Toner had no progress to report. "We’re limited in what we can do in Libya right now except to make public appeals," he said.
• As for Syria, Toner said the State Department does not have a clear picture of what’s happening on the ground in terms of protests and government violence due to restrictions on the media, after dozens were reportedly killed over the weekend. "We call on Syrian authorities to refrain from any further violence against peaceful protesters, as well as arbitrary arrests. And we also urge them to allow this free flow of information that will allow — that will permit the international community to better follow in fact what’s going on on the ground there.
• Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong is in Washington this week leading a high level delegation for discussions at the State Department. The timing is a little awkward because the State Department last Friday released its country reports on human rights that spoke of the worsening behavior of the Chinese government. But Toner defended the report. "We are candid in our exchanges with China about human rights concerns both from the podium and in our private meetings with them. And certainly we don’t regard it as an interference in our internal affairs when any foreign government or individual organization monitors our human rights practices," he said.
• South Korean chief nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac is coming to the State Department Tuesday and will meet with both Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, Deputy Secretary Jim Steinberg, Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, and Special Envoy Sung Kim.
• Clinton will leave Wednesday for Berlin where she will attend an information NATO foreign minister’s meeting and a memorial service for Richard Holbrooke at the American Academy in Berlin. She’ll go on to Seoul April 16 and 17 and meet with President Lee Myung-Bak and then travel to Tokyo for one day and meet with Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto.