NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday continued to raise the alarm about religious freedoms around the world, receiving a warm welcome in Tennessee as his department faced heightened scrutiny amid the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
The top U.S. diplomat said in a speech to a Christian group in Nashville that 80% of the world lives in areas where people are denied religious freedom.
“This is not a popular conversation to raise sometimes, but the world needs to hear this truth,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo delivered the remarks the same day a former special envoy for Ukraine was set to be interviewed in the impeachment probe. Pompeo did not refer to the impeachment inquiry directly, but joked at the start of his speech that it was “a heck of a day to be out of Washington.”
Pompeo also made no mention of this week’s Turkish offensive against U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters in northern Syria. Nashville has the largest Kurd population in the U.S. and Trump’s recent decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria, leaving Kurds there vulnerable to Turkish attack, has sparked protests among Kurds in places including Nashville.