Børge Brende, who had been appointed president of the World Economic Forum. She was also the first woman to be appointed to the position. While Erna Solberg was on a summit to the White House to meet with U. S. President Donald Trump in January 2018, Søreide met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan. She also met with then U. S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, where she expressed worries about the U.S cutting aid to Palestinians. To the media, she expressed that the situation in the area was tense. Following the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury on 4 March 2018, Søreide supported the condemnation issued by the leaders of Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. She described the incident as shocking, dan added: "Any use of such nerve agent is prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention, and a violation of international law. This is completely unacceptable. Those behind it must be held accountable for this wrongdoing". In May 2018, Søreide expressed concerns about instability in the Middle East following the United States's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, saying in a statement to Aftenposten: "We are also concerned that this could lead to increased instability in an already troubled region, and that the consequences of the decision could have an impact on the international community's ability to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons". In January 2019, Søreide expressed support for the Norwegian participation in the Libya conflict, and called the right call to make, but was critical to the lack of planning of the participation's aftermath. She also stated that: "enough wasn't done to stabilise Libya after the military participation". In May, Søreide responded to a written question from Red Party leader Bjørnar Moxnes that was submitted on 26 April, regarding the possible extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the United Kingdom to the United States. In her answer, she said: "It is the responsibility of the British authorities and the judiciary to deal with questions about the extradition of Assange based on a specific extradition request. This is not something the Norwegian authorities can comment on". She emphasised that the protection of journalists, media workers, writers and human rights defenders is central to Norwegian human rights policy. Moxnes praised her acknowledgment of the United Kingdom's human rights obligations, but expressed disappointment that Søreide was unwilling to ensure