1 00:00:01,450 --> 00:00:03,506 technically I'm only 10 minutes late 2 00:00:03,506 --> 00:00:05,672 because I moved the briefing time , to 3 00:00:05,672 --> 00:00:04,660 to 4 00:00:09,100 --> 00:00:12,050 the Myers disapproval . 5 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:16,250 Yeah , evident as always . Welcome back . 6 00:00:17,140 --> 00:00:20,150 Okay , so a couple of things at the top 7 00:00:20,150 --> 00:00:21,983 here if I can get this to work . 8 00:00:24,540 --> 00:00:27,770 Alright , so far so good . I think you 9 00:00:27,770 --> 00:00:29,770 know this morning the secretary met 10 00:00:29,770 --> 00:00:31,992 with the Colombian Minister of National 11 00:00:31,992 --> 00:00:34,103 Defense , Diego Milano and reaffirmed 12 00:00:34,103 --> 00:00:36,159 the importance of the strong defense 13 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:38,437 relationship between our two countries . 14 00:00:38,437 --> 00:00:40,659 He congratulated Colombia on its recent 15 00:00:40,659 --> 00:00:42,659 designation by President biden as a 16 00:00:42,659 --> 00:00:44,437 major non NATO ally and praised 17 00:00:44,437 --> 00:00:46,492 Colombia's progress as a NATO global 18 00:00:46,492 --> 00:00:48,603 partner . The leaders discussed their 19 00:00:48,603 --> 00:00:50,214 shared interest in deepening 20 00:00:50,214 --> 00:00:52,103 cooperation on range of strategic 21 00:00:52,103 --> 00:00:54,326 issues . Secretary Austin expressed his 22 00:00:54,326 --> 00:00:56,159 appreciation for Colombia's many 23 00:00:56,159 --> 00:00:57,826 contributions to regional and 24 00:00:57,826 --> 00:00:59,881 international security based on that 25 00:00:59,881 --> 00:01:02,048 strong defense partnership . Switching 26 00:01:02,048 --> 00:01:04,326 to other business later this afternoon , 27 00:01:04,326 --> 00:01:06,326 the Secretary will have a chance to 28 00:01:06,326 --> 00:01:08,548 speak again with the Ukrainian Minister 29 00:01:08,548 --> 00:01:10,890 of Defense Defense alexei Reznikoff to 30 00:01:10,890 --> 00:01:13,190 discuss Ukraine's military requirements 31 00:01:13,190 --> 00:01:15,590 in advance of the US hosted that that 32 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:17,544 the first iteration and the second 33 00:01:17,544 --> 00:01:20,170 meeting of the Ukraine defense Contact 34 00:01:20,170 --> 00:01:22,430 group that will be held on monday . 35 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:24,384 It's gonna be held virtually . The 36 00:01:24,384 --> 00:01:26,607 secretary will participate from uh from 37 00:01:26,607 --> 00:01:28,829 the pentagon . The secretary also had a 38 00:01:28,829 --> 00:01:30,662 chance to highlight for Minister 39 00:01:30,662 --> 00:01:32,218 Reznikoff . The president's 40 00:01:32,218 --> 00:01:33,996 authorization yesterday of that 41 00:01:33,996 --> 00:01:35,940 additional $100 million dollars in 42 00:01:35,940 --> 00:01:37,662 security assistance to provide 43 00:01:37,662 --> 00:01:39,829 Ukraine's armed forces with additional 44 00:01:39,829 --> 00:01:42,051 capabilities as they continue the fight 45 00:01:42,051 --> 00:01:44,107 in the eastern part of the country . 46 00:01:44,107 --> 00:01:46,273 The contact group meeting will include 47 00:01:46,273 --> 00:01:48,218 over 40 countries will have a more 48 00:01:48,218 --> 00:01:50,551 comprehensive list for you on on Monday . 49 00:01:50,551 --> 00:01:52,662 Uh we're still working all that out . 50 00:01:52,662 --> 00:01:54,773 But more than 40 countries which will 51 00:01:54,773 --> 00:01:56,662 be coming together as they did in 52 00:01:56,662 --> 00:01:58,440 ramstein a month ago to provide 53 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:00,551 security assistance to Ukraine uh and 54 00:02:00,551 --> 00:02:02,496 to discuss the future of what that 55 00:02:02,496 --> 00:02:04,329 could look like . Um And again , 56 00:02:04,329 --> 00:02:06,440 Secretary is proud to be hosting this 57 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,040 and and we'll have more information on 58 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:11,373 that monday morning . Also this morning , 59 00:02:11,373 --> 00:02:13,373 the secretary had a chance to speak 60 00:02:13,373 --> 00:02:15,484 with the french Minister of of of the 61 00:02:15,484 --> 00:02:17,596 Armed Forces Florence parlay over the 62 00:02:17,596 --> 00:02:19,318 phone . He bid farewell to his 63 00:02:19,318 --> 00:02:21,640 colleague . Minister parlay who is 64 00:02:21,640 --> 00:02:23,640 leaving her position now after five 65 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:25,918 years in the role , they've had a very , 66 00:02:25,918 --> 00:02:28,029 very good relationship In the last 18 67 00:02:28,029 --> 00:02:30,251 months . He thanked Minister Parley for 68 00:02:30,251 --> 00:02:31,807 the close cooperation , the 69 00:02:31,807 --> 00:02:33,862 collegiality friendship during their 70 00:02:33,862 --> 00:02:36,029 time as counterparts and of course all 71 00:02:36,029 --> 00:02:38,084 the the work that our two militaries 72 00:02:38,084 --> 00:02:40,307 between the United States and France do 73 00:02:40,307 --> 00:02:42,640 together routinely throughout the world . 74 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:44,700 Moving to some upcoming travel , the 75 00:02:44,700 --> 00:02:47,440 Deputy Secretary dr Hicks will depart 76 00:02:47,450 --> 00:02:50,460 for an overseas trip on sunday to meet 77 00:02:50,460 --> 00:02:52,460 with senior military and government 78 00:02:52,460 --> 00:02:54,627 leaders in Norway , the United Kingdom 79 00:02:54,627 --> 00:02:56,849 as well as the U . S . European command 80 00:02:56,849 --> 00:02:58,960 and U . S . Africa command leaders in 81 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:01,127 Germany throughout her travel . Deputy 82 00:03:01,127 --> 00:03:03,127 Secretary Hicks will work to deepen 83 00:03:03,127 --> 00:03:04,904 relationships and reinforce the 84 00:03:04,904 --> 00:03:06,960 importance of allies and partners to 85 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:08,904 counter strategic competitors like 86 00:03:08,904 --> 00:03:11,071 Russia and china while also countering 87 00:03:11,071 --> 00:03:13,238 the threats of transnational terrorism 88 00:03:13,238 --> 00:03:13,040 that emanate from the African continent . 89 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,151 So busy trip for the Deputy , we look 90 00:03:15,151 --> 00:03:17,840 forward to seeing her accomplish those 91 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:19,951 objectives . And with that we'll take 92 00:03:19,951 --> 00:03:22,118 questions . I think leader you're up . 93 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,318 Hey , it's john to really quick things . 94 00:03:25,318 --> 00:03:27,910 And then I have one broader question on 95 00:03:27,910 --> 00:03:31,460 Ukraine . But um has there been any 96 00:03:31,460 --> 00:03:34,400 resolution to the flights of the 97 00:03:34,410 --> 00:03:36,299 Formulas that definitely gonna be 98 00:03:36,299 --> 00:03:38,466 contract aircraft ? And my second very 99 00:03:38,466 --> 00:03:41,850 short one is um I just wanted to check 100 00:03:41,860 --> 00:03:44,530 back again whether or not the U . S . 101 00:03:44,540 --> 00:03:47,350 Has seen any evidence of any laser 102 00:03:47,350 --> 00:03:50,170 weapons used by Russia in Ukraine . And 103 00:03:50,170 --> 00:03:52,750 then I have to follow on the lasers . 104 00:03:52,750 --> 00:03:54,472 No , we have we don't have any 105 00:03:54,472 --> 00:03:56,417 indication of the use of lasers at 106 00:03:56,417 --> 00:03:59,900 least weaponized lasers um in Ukraine . 107 00:03:59,910 --> 00:04:02,300 Nothing to confirm on that on the 108 00:04:02,310 --> 00:04:05,220 operation fly formula we are as I think 109 00:04:05,220 --> 00:04:07,331 you saw , we put a statement out last 110 00:04:07,331 --> 00:04:09,442 night , We're doing the sourcing work 111 00:04:09,442 --> 00:04:11,276 and the sourcing right now to to 112 00:04:11,276 --> 00:04:15,090 arrange for the first uh flight to 113 00:04:15,090 --> 00:04:18,150 get to get Formula from Zurich 114 00:04:18,150 --> 00:04:20,261 Switzerland to the United States . It 115 00:04:20,261 --> 00:04:22,539 would be going to a Plainfield indiana . 116 00:04:22,539 --> 00:04:24,610 This this first flight . Um So we're 117 00:04:24,610 --> 00:04:26,610 working on the sourcing on that . I 118 00:04:26,610 --> 00:04:28,832 don't have a specific update for you in 119 00:04:28,832 --> 00:04:31,054 terms of exactly what carrier it's it's 120 00:04:31,054 --> 00:04:33,200 going to be . Um and you know exactly 121 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:35,350 what what time and date . But uh 122 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:37,218 obviously this isn't this isn't 123 00:04:37,218 --> 00:04:39,440 classified information . And as soon as 124 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:41,662 we have it properly sourced and all the 125 00:04:41,662 --> 00:04:43,829 details worked out , we'll get that to 126 00:04:43,829 --> 00:04:45,884 you , I would add that we're working 127 00:04:45,884 --> 00:04:47,996 this very , very hard have since last 128 00:04:47,996 --> 00:04:50,107 night and I don't think it's gonna be 129 00:04:50,107 --> 00:04:53,120 very long before a , there's a sourcing 130 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:55,200 solution and be um , you know , that 131 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,820 flight is actually in the air . Um , my 132 00:04:58,820 --> 00:05:02,660 follow up , um , just on Ukraine 133 00:05:02,660 --> 00:05:05,930 as a whole show , goose has said , I 134 00:05:05,930 --> 00:05:08,290 think today that the liberation of 135 00:05:08,290 --> 00:05:11,320 Luhansk is nearing completion . Um , do 136 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:13,420 you have sort of a broad sense about 137 00:05:13,430 --> 00:05:16,770 how much of Ukraine Russia now controls 138 00:05:16,770 --> 00:05:18,881 and what that says about the state of 139 00:05:18,881 --> 00:05:20,826 the war right now ? I don't have a 140 00:05:20,826 --> 00:05:23,860 percentage estimate of geography . Um , 141 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:27,207 and I'm not sure that it would be much 142 00:05:27,207 --> 00:05:29,318 of a helpful metric anyway , leader , 143 00:05:29,318 --> 00:05:32,720 because literally territory um , is 144 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:34,831 changing hands every single day , for 145 00:05:34,831 --> 00:05:38,330 instance , um , two weeks ago . Um , if 146 00:05:38,330 --> 00:05:40,163 you'd asked me about Luhan , not 147 00:05:40,163 --> 00:05:43,020 Luhansk , Hark Eve , while we never 148 00:05:43,020 --> 00:05:45,298 assessed that the Russians held Harkey . 149 00:05:45,298 --> 00:05:47,409 If they were surrounding and circling 150 00:05:47,409 --> 00:05:49,353 Harkey , if there was only a small 151 00:05:49,353 --> 00:05:51,770 corridor toward the , to the southeast 152 00:05:51,770 --> 00:05:54,500 of the city that the , the Ukrainians 153 00:05:54,500 --> 00:05:56,600 could continue to supply themselves 154 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,700 through . And now they have literally 155 00:05:59,700 --> 00:06:02,000 pushed the Russians well away from 156 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:03,944 Kharkiv all the way up to near the 157 00:06:03,944 --> 00:06:07,630 border . Uh , with , with Belarus um , 158 00:06:07,630 --> 00:06:10,510 with Russia . And um , and then even to 159 00:06:10,510 --> 00:06:13,570 the East well into the Northern Donbas 160 00:06:13,570 --> 00:06:16,330 region , they have pushed the Russians 161 00:06:16,330 --> 00:06:19,150 out . Um , in the Donbas region . 162 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:23,710 Um , mm hmm . Almost every day , there 163 00:06:23,710 --> 00:06:25,821 are Hamlets , towns and villages that 164 00:06:25,821 --> 00:06:28,099 are that are , that are changing hands . 165 00:06:28,099 --> 00:06:30,043 The Russians are still well behind 166 00:06:30,043 --> 00:06:32,266 where we believe they wanted to be when 167 00:06:32,266 --> 00:06:34,488 they started this revitalized effort in 168 00:06:34,488 --> 00:06:36,543 the eastern part of the country . Um 169 00:06:36,543 --> 00:06:39,290 and um and while they have made and we 170 00:06:39,290 --> 00:06:41,512 have been very honest about this , they 171 00:06:41,512 --> 00:06:43,679 have made some incremental progress in 172 00:06:43,679 --> 00:06:45,846 the Donbas . It is incremental , it is 173 00:06:45,846 --> 00:06:47,957 slow , it's uneven and the Ukrainians 174 00:06:47,957 --> 00:06:50,123 continue to push back . So it's a long 175 00:06:50,123 --> 00:06:52,290 answer to what was a simple question . 176 00:06:52,290 --> 00:06:54,346 I don't have a percentage of of land 177 00:06:54,346 --> 00:06:56,568 held for you . And again , I don't know 178 00:06:56,568 --> 00:06:58,623 that we would consider that a useful 179 00:06:58,623 --> 00:07:00,734 metric given how dynamic the fighting 180 00:07:00,734 --> 00:07:04,300 actually is in the east . Okay . Travis 181 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:06,696 thanks . Um just to follow up on the 182 00:07:06,696 --> 00:07:08,862 baby formula so that the president has 183 00:07:08,862 --> 00:07:11,029 invoked the Defense Production act and 184 00:07:11,029 --> 00:07:13,084 Transcom is working on getting these 185 00:07:13,084 --> 00:07:15,251 flights to bring the formula over . Is 186 00:07:15,251 --> 00:07:17,418 the military involved in any other way 187 00:07:17,418 --> 00:07:19,584 in this kind of baby formula crisis or 188 00:07:19,584 --> 00:07:21,640 for now , is that the extent of it ? 189 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:23,860 Right right now the extent of it is 190 00:07:23,940 --> 00:07:27,180 using D . O . D . Really . 191 00:07:27,180 --> 00:07:29,180 Transportation commands contracting 192 00:07:29,180 --> 00:07:32,990 vehicles to find commercial aircraft 193 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:36,590 to fly this formula . Um And as I said 194 00:07:36,590 --> 00:07:39,180 yesterday , that's that's a cheaper and 195 00:07:39,180 --> 00:07:41,440 usually more efficient way to do it 196 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:43,880 because we have a contract , we we fly 197 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:46,610 contract air every day . Much of the 198 00:07:46,610 --> 00:07:48,443 security assistance that goes to 199 00:07:48,443 --> 00:07:50,388 Ukraine goes on contract air quite 200 00:07:50,388 --> 00:07:52,610 frankly not not great tales . I do want 201 00:07:52,610 --> 00:07:54,832 to stipulate I said it yesterday but um 202 00:07:54,832 --> 00:07:56,832 I want to make sure I make it clear 203 00:07:56,832 --> 00:07:59,054 again today it is possible that through 204 00:07:59,054 --> 00:08:01,340 operation fly formula that we would 205 00:08:01,340 --> 00:08:03,451 determine that the most efficient way 206 00:08:03,451 --> 00:08:06,340 to do it would be on a great tale a US 207 00:08:06,340 --> 00:08:08,590 military aircraft . And so we are 208 00:08:08,590 --> 00:08:10,812 working the sourcing right now for this 209 00:08:10,812 --> 00:08:12,950 first flight . And I don't have a 210 00:08:12,950 --> 00:08:15,172 sourcing solution for you right now but 211 00:08:15,172 --> 00:08:17,117 I don't want to leave you with the 212 00:08:17,117 --> 00:08:19,283 impression that it's definitely one or 213 00:08:19,283 --> 00:08:21,228 the other . U . S . Transportation 214 00:08:21,228 --> 00:08:21,050 Command knows how to do this . In fact 215 00:08:21,050 --> 00:08:22,994 they know how to do it better than 216 00:08:22,994 --> 00:08:24,939 anybody in the world . Um And they 217 00:08:24,939 --> 00:08:26,939 understand the tasking . Uh they'll 218 00:08:26,939 --> 00:08:28,994 find the right sourcing solution and 219 00:08:28,994 --> 00:08:30,994 then as soon as we have that I will 220 00:08:30,994 --> 00:08:32,939 absolutely make that transparent . 221 00:08:32,939 --> 00:08:34,772 Everybody . We'll we'll walk you 222 00:08:34,772 --> 00:08:36,883 through it . Thanks . If I could just 223 00:08:36,883 --> 00:08:36,860 follow up on a separate issue . The 224 00:08:36,860 --> 00:08:39,070 secretary met yesterday with these 225 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:41,710 suicide prevention committee committee . 226 00:08:42,110 --> 00:08:44,221 Um Is there any update from that ? Is 227 00:08:44,221 --> 00:08:46,221 there anything that any impressions 228 00:08:46,221 --> 00:08:48,054 that he had or is there a better 229 00:08:48,054 --> 00:08:50,054 timeline for their work ? Um He was 230 00:08:50,054 --> 00:08:52,110 grateful for the opportunity to meet 231 00:08:52,110 --> 00:08:54,221 with them . This was their first week 232 00:08:54,221 --> 00:08:56,443 sort of as a group . So it was really a 233 00:08:56,443 --> 00:08:58,666 chance for him to simply thank them for 234 00:08:58,666 --> 00:09:00,832 their service because this is a public 235 00:09:00,832 --> 00:09:02,777 service that they're rendering the 236 00:09:02,777 --> 00:09:04,832 department and frankly the country . 237 00:09:04,832 --> 00:09:07,110 And , uh , he wanted to thank them for , 238 00:09:07,110 --> 00:09:09,277 for their willingness to serve on this 239 00:09:09,277 --> 00:09:11,443 committee and to devote their valuable 240 00:09:11,443 --> 00:09:13,499 time and incredible expertise to the 241 00:09:13,499 --> 00:09:16,660 effort . There's no changes to , 242 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:19,390 Uh , they're , they're schedule . I 243 00:09:19,390 --> 00:09:21,557 think we've already walked you through 244 00:09:21,557 --> 00:09:23,779 what that's going to be , they're going 245 00:09:23,779 --> 00:09:23,770 to be working well into 2020 . Well , 246 00:09:23,780 --> 00:09:27,240 the report out in the early 2023 247 00:09:27,250 --> 00:09:29,361 final report due to him at the end of 248 00:09:29,361 --> 00:09:32,260 this year , they've got some scheduled 249 00:09:32,260 --> 00:09:34,260 installation visits . I think we've 250 00:09:34,260 --> 00:09:36,482 made public that that's , that's all on 251 00:09:36,482 --> 00:09:38,649 track , that's going to go . So I have 252 00:09:38,649 --> 00:09:40,704 no changes to the schedule , uh , to 253 00:09:40,704 --> 00:09:42,871 read out to you , but he's , um , he's 254 00:09:42,871 --> 00:09:45,038 very grateful . And I think really for 255 00:09:45,038 --> 00:09:47,204 any most , the biggest purpose for him 256 00:09:47,204 --> 00:09:49,371 wanting to talk to them was to just to 257 00:09:49,371 --> 00:09:51,316 thank them and make sure that they 258 00:09:51,316 --> 00:09:53,538 heard directly from him . Not that they 259 00:09:53,538 --> 00:09:52,470 needed to , but that they heard 260 00:09:52,470 --> 00:09:54,526 directly from him how seriously he's 261 00:09:54,526 --> 00:09:56,692 taken this issue of suicide prevention 262 00:09:56,692 --> 00:09:58,748 and , and , and , uh , and treatment 263 00:09:58,748 --> 00:10:00,914 and , and , you know , with respect to 264 00:10:00,914 --> 00:10:03,026 mental health . I mean , it is , uh , 265 00:10:03,026 --> 00:10:05,000 clearly an issue we've got to get 266 00:10:05,010 --> 00:10:07,010 better at . And we still have these 267 00:10:07,010 --> 00:10:09,200 issues of stigma in the military , you 268 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:11,422 know , that the can do attitude that we 269 00:10:11,422 --> 00:10:13,644 have , which is so commendable also can 270 00:10:13,644 --> 00:10:15,867 lead to making people feel like they're 271 00:10:15,867 --> 00:10:17,978 not not able to , or , uh , will be , 272 00:10:17,978 --> 00:10:19,978 will somehow be held to account and 273 00:10:19,978 --> 00:10:22,144 punished for for seeking mental health 274 00:10:22,144 --> 00:10:24,311 and we want to we want to get our arms 275 00:10:24,311 --> 00:10:26,533 around that and reduce that stigma . So 276 00:10:26,533 --> 00:10:26,100 good discussion . Secretary was very 277 00:10:26,100 --> 00:10:28,322 grateful to have it . Very grateful for 278 00:10:28,322 --> 00:10:30,489 their service . And again , we'll keep 279 00:10:30,489 --> 00:10:32,544 you posted as things go go forward . 280 00:10:32,544 --> 00:10:34,711 Yeah , of course . On the baby formula 281 00:10:34,711 --> 00:10:36,878 thing , I just wanna be clear when you 282 00:10:36,878 --> 00:10:36,520 say that there's no sourcing solution 283 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:38,687 that it's still not determined whether 284 00:10:38,687 --> 00:10:40,742 it's gonna be a civilian or military 285 00:10:40,742 --> 00:10:42,798 aircraft still working that out , is 286 00:10:42,798 --> 00:10:44,853 there ? Will the military wants it ? 287 00:10:44,853 --> 00:10:44,660 But I don't think it's going to take 288 00:10:44,660 --> 00:10:46,980 very long . Okay . Is there even like a 289 00:10:46,990 --> 00:10:48,934 date set for when it's supposed to 290 00:10:48,934 --> 00:10:50,879 leave and or arrive in indiana ? I 291 00:10:50,879 --> 00:10:52,768 would refer you to Transportation 292 00:10:52,768 --> 00:10:54,823 Command . I don't have that level of 293 00:10:54,823 --> 00:10:56,990 granularity . My understanding is that 294 00:10:56,990 --> 00:10:56,920 it's not gonna take long . I mean , 295 00:10:56,920 --> 00:11:00,360 we're talking days at most and then 296 00:11:00,370 --> 00:11:02,610 is the military going to have any role 297 00:11:02,610 --> 00:11:04,610 in the distribution once it arrives 298 00:11:04,610 --> 00:11:06,840 here ? That's not part of that's not 299 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:08,951 part of the mandate right now . And I 300 00:11:08,951 --> 00:11:11,229 assume you mean like trucking it to No , 301 00:11:11,229 --> 00:11:13,284 that's not part of the mandate . The 302 00:11:13,284 --> 00:11:15,173 mandate right now is to work with 303 00:11:15,173 --> 00:11:17,173 Transportation command to to fly it 304 00:11:17,173 --> 00:11:19,396 from europe to the United States , then 305 00:11:19,396 --> 00:11:21,451 it's going to have to go through and 306 00:11:21,451 --> 00:11:23,562 I'm not gonna be careful because it's 307 00:11:23,562 --> 00:11:23,530 outside our lane , but I understand , 308 00:11:23,530 --> 00:11:25,752 you know , HHS and FDA have a role here 309 00:11:25,752 --> 00:11:27,808 in terms of , you know , making sure 310 00:11:27,808 --> 00:11:29,974 that that everything is safe and ready 311 00:11:29,974 --> 00:11:32,141 for distribution and how that how that 312 00:11:32,141 --> 00:11:34,308 gets onto store shelves . That's not a 313 00:11:34,308 --> 00:11:36,530 task that the Department of Defense has 314 00:11:36,530 --> 00:11:38,586 been given . So D . O D won't have a 315 00:11:38,586 --> 00:11:40,697 role in any of the quality control of 316 00:11:40,697 --> 00:11:42,752 it or the distribution as far as you 317 00:11:42,752 --> 00:11:44,919 know . And then finally , are you , is 318 00:11:44,919 --> 00:11:44,740 there anything else on the flight that 319 00:11:44,740 --> 00:11:46,851 you're expecting other than Formula ? 320 00:11:46,851 --> 00:11:48,962 Is there any other kind of , well the 321 00:11:48,962 --> 00:11:51,073 flight hasn't been sourced yet , so I 322 00:11:51,073 --> 00:11:54,630 don't know . My guess would be and I 323 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:56,529 should never be guessing from the 324 00:11:56,529 --> 00:11:58,529 podium , but my guess would be that 325 00:11:58,529 --> 00:12:00,640 that's , it's just going to be to get 326 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:02,751 Formula and that's all there is . And 327 00:12:02,751 --> 00:12:04,973 then also speaking of guessing from the 328 00:12:04,973 --> 00:12:04,250 podium I guess is this the podium 329 00:12:04,250 --> 00:12:06,528 you're going to continue to guess from ? 330 00:12:06,528 --> 00:12:08,694 Or should we expect you to be guessing 331 00:12:08,694 --> 00:12:10,972 from another podium in the near future ? 332 00:12:10,972 --> 00:12:13,083 I am very proud to be here and that's 333 00:12:13,083 --> 00:12:15,306 what my focus is on . That was far from 334 00:12:15,306 --> 00:12:17,194 an answer . So would you say that 335 00:12:17,194 --> 00:12:19,306 you're gonna be in this job in like a 336 00:12:19,306 --> 00:12:18,860 couple of weeks ? Are you moving to the 337 00:12:18,860 --> 00:12:21,280 White House ? I don't have any , I mean , 338 00:12:21,290 --> 00:12:23,290 I've seen the stories out there , I 339 00:12:23,290 --> 00:12:25,457 don't have any personnel announcements 340 00:12:25,457 --> 00:12:28,160 to make , certainly not about me . Um 341 00:12:28,170 --> 00:12:30,170 we all serve at the pleasure of the 342 00:12:30,170 --> 00:12:33,050 president . I will tell you that I am 343 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,120 just so proud to be able to come back 344 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:38,231 into public service uh and to be back 345 00:12:38,231 --> 00:12:40,342 here with you guys and I'm focused on 346 00:12:40,342 --> 00:12:44,100 that . So if you had to guess , do you 347 00:12:44,100 --> 00:12:46,322 think you'll be at this podium or maybe 348 00:12:46,322 --> 00:12:48,544 another podium ? I think the only guest 349 00:12:48,544 --> 00:12:50,656 I'm going to make today is the guests 350 00:12:50,656 --> 00:12:52,544 that I made to Courtney , which I 351 00:12:52,544 --> 00:12:51,940 probably should have done in the first 352 00:12:51,940 --> 00:12:54,162 place . I'm assuming it's just gonna be 353 00:12:54,162 --> 00:12:56,162 formula on that plane . But I don't 354 00:12:56,162 --> 00:12:58,218 have anything personnel wise to talk 355 00:12:58,218 --> 00:12:59,996 about today . Following up on a 356 00:12:59,996 --> 00:13:02,162 different topic on the Ukraine contact 357 00:13:02,162 --> 00:13:04,384 group . Can you talk a little bit about 358 00:13:04,384 --> 00:13:06,607 like what will this next discussion , b 359 00:13:06,607 --> 00:13:08,718 is it more formalized on what kind of 360 00:13:08,718 --> 00:13:08,530 funds they might send to Ukraine or is 361 00:13:08,530 --> 00:13:10,697 it more weapons or ? Yeah , I mean , I 362 00:13:10,697 --> 00:13:12,863 think the main focus is going to be as 363 00:13:12,863 --> 00:13:16,080 it was in the first meeting . I think 364 00:13:16,090 --> 00:13:19,950 we're gonna want um to reorient all the 365 00:13:19,950 --> 00:13:22,460 leaders on the on a battlefield , 366 00:13:22,460 --> 00:13:24,627 update what's going on on the ground . 367 00:13:24,627 --> 00:13:26,860 And Minister Reznikoff will be a key 368 00:13:26,860 --> 00:13:28,971 contributor to that discussion as you 369 00:13:28,971 --> 00:13:31,600 might expect . Uh and then there will 370 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,490 be uh a discussion up front and 371 00:13:34,500 --> 00:13:36,556 certainly they're gonna want to hear 372 00:13:36,556 --> 00:13:38,444 from Minister Reznikoff about the 373 00:13:38,444 --> 00:13:40,556 capabilities ? They continue to knead 374 00:13:40,556 --> 00:13:42,556 and then there will be a discussion 375 00:13:42,556 --> 00:13:44,667 about that among the partners about , 376 00:13:44,667 --> 00:13:46,611 sorry , partners is not good . The 377 00:13:46,611 --> 00:13:48,778 members of the contact group about how 378 00:13:48,778 --> 00:13:51,000 they can best fill those capabilities . 379 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:53,670 So , you know , we've been Very open in 380 00:13:53,670 --> 00:13:55,892 just the last 24 hours about additional 381 00:13:55,892 --> 00:13:57,948 capabilities that we're sending . We 382 00:13:57,948 --> 00:13:59,892 look forward to hearing what other 383 00:13:59,892 --> 00:14:02,003 countries might be willing to provide 384 00:14:02,003 --> 00:14:04,059 as well . So it'll be , I think dual 385 00:14:04,059 --> 00:14:06,320 purpose battlefield up , they get a 386 00:14:06,330 --> 00:14:08,920 direct sense from the Ukrainians what 387 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:12,000 their capabilities are that they need 388 00:14:12,010 --> 00:14:14,180 and then a discussion with the , with 389 00:14:14,180 --> 00:14:16,069 the members about how we can best 390 00:14:16,069 --> 00:14:18,013 fulfill that . Obviously we're not 391 00:14:18,013 --> 00:14:20,180 going to speak for other nations if in 392 00:14:20,180 --> 00:14:22,236 fact they have announcements to make 393 00:14:22,236 --> 00:14:21,920 their , They'll be able to make that on 394 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,198 their own . How many members are there ? 395 00:14:24,198 --> 00:14:26,364 And has grown since the last meeting . 396 00:14:26,364 --> 00:14:28,531 We know over 40 RSVPs are still coming 397 00:14:28,531 --> 00:14:30,587 in . So I'm going to be a little bit 398 00:14:30,587 --> 00:14:32,809 careful here on the numbers , but we'll 399 00:14:32,809 --> 00:14:35,031 have a more robust , more accurate list 400 00:14:35,031 --> 00:14:36,976 for you monday morning , but we're 401 00:14:36,976 --> 00:14:39,142 still talking to people even today and 402 00:14:39,142 --> 00:14:40,976 I suspect over the course of the 403 00:14:40,976 --> 00:14:44,600 weekend . Sure . So this is , this is a 404 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:47,600 living growing group . This contact . 405 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:50,330 That's right . You expect , I guess you 406 00:14:50,330 --> 00:14:52,497 had 30 , some odd the last time you're 407 00:14:52,497 --> 00:14:54,663 up to more than 40 last time as well . 408 00:14:56,140 --> 00:14:58,380 Um , and again , I don't want to get 409 00:14:58,380 --> 00:15:01,160 ahead of where we are , but uh , but 410 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:03,420 there's some , there are some countries 411 00:15:03,430 --> 00:15:05,152 that have shown an interest in 412 00:15:05,152 --> 00:15:07,208 participating that , that weren't in 413 00:15:07,208 --> 00:15:09,208 the first in the first meeting . So 414 00:15:09,208 --> 00:15:12,560 we'll have an update monday morning but 415 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,600 there's not a cap on it . We would love 416 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:19,530 to have as many people , many , many 417 00:15:19,530 --> 00:15:21,752 countries participate as possible . And 418 00:15:21,752 --> 00:15:23,808 what was really noteworthy about the 419 00:15:23,808 --> 00:15:25,863 group in its first iteration was you 420 00:15:25,863 --> 00:15:27,919 had countries from the Middle East , 421 00:15:27,919 --> 00:15:30,252 you had countries from the indo pacific , 422 00:15:30,252 --> 00:15:32,419 it wasn't just europe and it certainly 423 00:15:32,419 --> 00:15:35,220 wasn't just NATO . Uh there there was a 424 00:15:35,220 --> 00:15:37,320 true global community there of 425 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:39,209 countries that were interested in 426 00:15:39,209 --> 00:15:41,320 what's going on in Ukraine . And more 427 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:43,487 than that , as the secretary said very 428 00:15:43,487 --> 00:15:45,487 eloquently , you wouldn't have been 429 00:15:45,487 --> 00:15:47,653 there if you didn't care about Ukraine 430 00:15:47,653 --> 00:15:47,300 and care about helping Ukraine and 431 00:15:47,300 --> 00:15:49,078 every country has to decide for 432 00:15:49,078 --> 00:15:51,133 themselves how they do that . But it 433 00:15:51,133 --> 00:15:53,500 was very clear that that every member 434 00:15:53,500 --> 00:15:56,150 came with ideas and ways that they can 435 00:15:56,150 --> 00:15:58,420 contribute . So we're looking forward 436 00:15:58,420 --> 00:16:00,753 to a good discussion . This one will be , 437 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:03,930 this one will be virtual . Uh And then 438 00:16:03,940 --> 00:16:06,162 the secretary said he wants to do is is 439 00:16:06,162 --> 00:16:08,980 have one every month . And so . Well 440 00:16:09,030 --> 00:16:11,086 we'll see what it looks like in june 441 00:16:11,086 --> 00:16:13,820 and july Barbe ask you about North 442 00:16:13,820 --> 00:16:15,931 Korea with the president traveling in 443 00:16:15,931 --> 00:16:18,153 the region And jake Sullivan openly now 444 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,780 publicly discussing the intelligence 445 00:16:20,780 --> 00:16:23,750 that the US has that North Korea could 446 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:25,982 be headed towards an I . C . B . M . Or 447 00:16:25,982 --> 00:16:28,093 even an underground nuclear test . So 448 00:16:28,093 --> 00:16:30,427 with that on the table by jake Sullivan , 449 00:16:30,740 --> 00:16:33,780 what is the assessment here about the 450 00:16:33,780 --> 00:16:36,870 risk posed by another North korean I . 451 00:16:36,870 --> 00:16:39,530 C . B . M . Test possible underground 452 00:16:39,530 --> 00:16:41,870 nuclear test . And he said that you had 453 00:16:41,870 --> 00:16:43,981 contingencies . Can you talk a little 454 00:16:43,981 --> 00:16:46,570 bit about the potential risk to the 455 00:16:46,570 --> 00:16:49,470 region of another test and what you 456 00:16:49,470 --> 00:16:52,260 might be able to do about it every time 457 00:16:53,820 --> 00:16:56,970 the regime in pyongyang tests 458 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,990 whether it's a a nuclear test or a 459 00:17:01,990 --> 00:17:04,157 missile test every time they test they 460 00:17:04,157 --> 00:17:06,500 learn sometimes the tests are less 461 00:17:06,500 --> 00:17:08,620 successful than others . But each one 462 00:17:08,620 --> 00:17:11,090 is a learning experience . Which means 463 00:17:11,100 --> 00:17:14,090 with each test they are trying to 464 00:17:14,090 --> 00:17:15,868 advance their program and their 465 00:17:15,868 --> 00:17:18,460 capabilities and that's worrisome 466 00:17:18,460 --> 00:17:21,680 because those capabilities pose a 467 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:23,791 threat a very real threat to security 468 00:17:23,791 --> 00:17:25,920 and stability on the peninsula let 469 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,920 alone the region . Um and even beyond 470 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,087 the region . So we obviously take this 471 00:17:31,087 --> 00:17:33,630 very very seriously . You also heard Mr 472 00:17:33,630 --> 00:17:36,260 Sullivan say more than once that 473 00:17:37,340 --> 00:17:40,370 we maintain an open invitation to 474 00:17:40,370 --> 00:17:42,410 Pyongyang to sit down with no 475 00:17:42,410 --> 00:17:44,890 preconditions mind you to sit down and 476 00:17:44,890 --> 00:17:46,860 talk about how we get to a 477 00:17:46,860 --> 00:17:49,510 denuclearized peninsula and a 478 00:17:49,510 --> 00:17:52,040 denuclearized North Korea . And there 479 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,380 has been no indication and quite quite 480 00:17:54,380 --> 00:17:56,213 the contrary . No no not only no 481 00:17:56,213 --> 00:17:58,436 indication that they're willing but but 482 00:17:58,436 --> 00:18:00,602 every indication so far that they want 483 00:18:00,602 --> 00:18:02,713 to continue to develop this program . 484 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:06,360 These provocations again are clearly 485 00:18:06,540 --> 00:18:09,370 destabilizing to the region the 486 00:18:09,380 --> 00:18:11,640 ballistic missile test . They are 487 00:18:11,650 --> 00:18:14,120 violations of of existing U . N . 488 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:16,231 Security Council resolutions . And so 489 00:18:16,231 --> 00:18:18,287 you also heard Mr Sullivan say we're 490 00:18:18,287 --> 00:18:20,176 going to continue to consult with 491 00:18:20,176 --> 00:18:22,287 allies and partners to make sure that 492 00:18:22,287 --> 00:18:26,230 that that absent any kind of diplomatic 493 00:18:26,230 --> 00:18:29,130 progress . We because we have treaties 494 00:18:29,140 --> 00:18:31,570 requirements certainly with South Korea 495 00:18:31,570 --> 00:18:33,737 and also with Japan that we the United 496 00:18:33,737 --> 00:18:35,890 States can maintain our readiness to 497 00:18:35,890 --> 00:18:38,001 defend ourselves and our interests if 498 00:18:38,001 --> 00:18:40,223 need be . You mentioned risk beyond the 499 00:18:40,223 --> 00:18:43,310 region from testing . Can you give us 500 00:18:43,310 --> 00:18:47,190 any current view um about 501 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:50,480 how close you believe North Korea maybe 502 00:18:50,490 --> 00:18:53,840 to a missile that could successfully 503 00:18:53,850 --> 00:18:57,610 fly beyond the immediate region that 504 00:18:57,610 --> 00:18:59,790 could reach successfully reach 505 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,680 intercontinental range . And can you 506 00:19:02,690 --> 00:19:06,600 let that happen ? Not going to get into 507 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:08,860 specific intelligence assessments of 508 00:19:08,950 --> 00:19:12,040 the North Korea's missile capabilities . 509 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:14,151 Barb I think you I can understand why 510 00:19:14,151 --> 00:19:16,207 we wouldn't do that . Were obviously 511 00:19:16,207 --> 00:19:18,373 watching this very very closely and as 512 00:19:18,373 --> 00:19:20,600 I said with every test they learn um 513 00:19:20,870 --> 00:19:24,190 what we need to make sure is that we 514 00:19:24,190 --> 00:19:26,357 are properly postured that we have the 515 00:19:26,357 --> 00:19:28,580 right capabilities in the region to 516 00:19:28,580 --> 00:19:30,302 defend ourselves to defend our 517 00:19:30,302 --> 00:19:32,350 interests and defend our allies and 518 00:19:32,350 --> 00:19:34,350 partners . Five of our seven treaty 519 00:19:34,350 --> 00:19:36,572 alliances are in the pacific region and 520 00:19:36,572 --> 00:19:38,880 I think that people forget that we have 521 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:41,240 real commitments there . And that's one 522 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:43,462 of the reasons the president's going to 523 00:19:43,462 --> 00:19:45,629 meet with two of our staunchest allies 524 00:19:45,629 --> 00:19:47,629 Right there in the Indo Pacific one 525 00:19:47,629 --> 00:19:50,580 last time . Can the United States what 526 00:19:50,590 --> 00:19:53,170 North can the U . S . Military let 527 00:19:53,180 --> 00:19:55,600 North Korea have a missile of 528 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:57,933 intercontinental range . What the U . S . 529 00:19:57,933 --> 00:20:00,530 Military has to be able to do is defend 530 00:20:00,530 --> 00:20:02,363 our interests and our allies and 531 00:20:02,363 --> 00:20:04,650 partners in the region and I think I'll 532 00:20:04,650 --> 00:20:07,960 leave it at that . Yeah go ahead . You 533 00:20:07,970 --> 00:20:10,081 can find the reports that the U . S . 534 00:20:10,081 --> 00:20:13,270 And L . A . Is quoted indication that 535 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:16,220 North Korea is now fueling fueling in 536 00:20:16,220 --> 00:20:18,350 the I . C . B . I don't have any 537 00:20:18,350 --> 00:20:20,517 specific information on that . I would 538 00:20:20,517 --> 00:20:22,739 point you back to what Mr Sullivan said 539 00:20:22,739 --> 00:20:24,461 just yesterday that we do have 540 00:20:24,461 --> 00:20:26,572 indications that they are potentially 541 00:20:26,572 --> 00:20:29,740 preparing for either another launch or 542 00:20:29,740 --> 00:20:32,100 perhaps even a nuclear test . Um I 543 00:20:32,100 --> 00:20:33,989 won't go beyond what the national 544 00:20:33,989 --> 00:20:36,211 security advisor said publicly in terms 545 00:20:36,211 --> 00:20:38,267 of what the indications are . Okay , 546 00:20:38,267 --> 00:20:40,322 one more question is there have been 547 00:20:40,322 --> 00:20:42,570 the aircraft carriers in and out of the 548 00:20:42,580 --> 00:20:46,260 Yokosuka harbor in Japan . So are they 549 00:20:46,270 --> 00:20:48,250 kind of temporarily moving the 550 00:20:48,250 --> 00:20:50,440 development of aircraft carrier in 551 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,800 response to the President's visit to 552 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,980 the region or the North Korea move I 553 00:20:56,980 --> 00:20:58,980 would freeze to the navy to talk to 554 00:20:58,980 --> 00:21:00,980 their ship schedules . I don't have 555 00:21:00,980 --> 00:21:03,036 visibility on when the when aircraft 556 00:21:03,036 --> 00:21:05,202 carriers or ships in uh in the pacific 557 00:21:05,202 --> 00:21:07,424 leaders are coming in and out . I would 558 00:21:07,424 --> 00:21:10,020 just remind that we routinely operate 559 00:21:10,020 --> 00:21:12,290 at sea in international waters in 560 00:21:12,290 --> 00:21:14,179 accordance with international law 561 00:21:14,179 --> 00:21:16,290 whether that's training or or whether 562 00:21:16,290 --> 00:21:19,610 it's steaming exercises or or freedom 563 00:21:19,610 --> 00:21:22,790 of navigation operations . Um but we 564 00:21:22,790 --> 00:21:26,130 are constantly uh putting to sea and uh 565 00:21:26,130 --> 00:21:28,130 and exercising our capabilities and 566 00:21:28,130 --> 00:21:30,030 that's not unusual . That's not a 567 00:21:30,030 --> 00:21:33,270 typical and I would walk you away from 568 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:35,650 connecting any of that activity which 569 00:21:35,650 --> 00:21:37,850 is ongoing to the president's visit . 570 00:21:38,540 --> 00:21:41,390 The question is , what do you expect to 571 00:21:41,390 --> 00:21:43,279 the , you know , the presidential 572 00:21:43,279 --> 00:21:45,057 meeting with the south , korean 573 00:21:45,057 --> 00:21:46,946 President moon and Japanese Prime 574 00:21:46,946 --> 00:21:49,670 Minister times the podium here . 575 00:21:50,990 --> 00:21:53,780 Yeah , I'm gonna refer you to my White 576 00:21:53,780 --> 00:21:55,891 House colleagues on that . That's not 577 00:21:55,891 --> 00:21:58,002 for me to , that's not my place , not 578 00:21:58,002 --> 00:22:00,690 my place . Um , I'm just on Ukraine . 579 00:22:00,700 --> 00:22:02,867 Can you give us a status update on the 580 00:22:02,867 --> 00:22:05,089 maritime situation ? There's been a lot 581 00:22:05,089 --> 00:22:06,978 of reporting today about Russia's 582 00:22:06,978 --> 00:22:09,200 blockade in the Black Sea , threatening 583 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:10,978 food supplies . And a Ukrainian 584 00:22:10,978 --> 00:22:13,144 official tweeted this morning that the 585 00:22:13,144 --> 00:22:15,256 US is preparing a plan to destroy the 586 00:22:15,256 --> 00:22:17,550 Black the Black Sea . Say that one last 587 00:22:17,550 --> 00:22:19,383 one again , A Ukrainian official 588 00:22:19,383 --> 00:22:21,383 tweeted this morning that the US is 589 00:22:21,383 --> 00:22:23,494 preparing a plan to destroy the Black 590 00:22:23,494 --> 00:22:25,328 Sea food . Okay , I can tell you 591 00:22:25,328 --> 00:22:28,710 definitively that that's not true . I'm 592 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:32,600 just looking here no 593 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,950 changes that we observed in the 594 00:22:35,950 --> 00:22:39,530 maritime posture in the Black Sea . The 595 00:22:39,530 --> 00:22:42,590 Russians still obviously have vessels 596 00:22:42,590 --> 00:22:45,820 there , most of them surface vessels 597 00:22:45,820 --> 00:22:49,020 but but submarines as well . They 598 00:22:49,020 --> 00:22:52,640 continue to , although they are not as 599 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:55,000 close to the coast as they were a few 600 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,111 weeks ago , they continued to be able 601 00:22:57,111 --> 00:22:59,560 to from a maritime perspective blockade , 602 00:22:59,990 --> 00:23:03,120 major Ukrainian ports like Odessa . So 603 00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:04,953 there's still nothing getting in 604 00:23:04,953 --> 00:23:07,009 economically . Um , but I don't have 605 00:23:07,009 --> 00:23:08,842 any other updates for you in the 606 00:23:08,842 --> 00:23:09,842 maritime domain . 607 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:14,140 We are , we are talking to the 608 00:23:14,140 --> 00:23:16,251 Ukrainians every day as you know . In 609 00:23:16,251 --> 00:23:18,307 fact , today is another one of those 610 00:23:18,307 --> 00:23:20,307 days when the secretary is going to 611 00:23:20,307 --> 00:23:22,473 talk to Minister Reznikoff . How about 612 00:23:22,473 --> 00:23:24,584 we talk to them about their needs and 613 00:23:24,584 --> 00:23:26,584 their capabilities and when we have 614 00:23:26,584 --> 00:23:28,751 decisions , we come right out here and 615 00:23:28,751 --> 00:23:28,500 we issue a press release and we'll tell 616 00:23:28,500 --> 00:23:30,556 you about that . So I'm not going to 617 00:23:30,556 --> 00:23:32,667 get ahead of decisions that have been 618 00:23:32,667 --> 00:23:34,889 made . Uh , we're doing the best we can 619 00:23:34,889 --> 00:23:34,870 to meet the their capabilities in as 620 00:23:34,870 --> 00:23:37,380 near real time as we can . And we keep 621 00:23:37,380 --> 00:23:39,670 trying to make those capabilities match 622 00:23:40,140 --> 00:23:42,029 what's going on on the ground and 623 00:23:42,029 --> 00:23:44,251 what's going on the ground right now is 624 00:23:44,251 --> 00:23:46,700 is a very uh artillery , heavy long 625 00:23:46,700 --> 00:23:48,922 range fire , heavy fighting in the down 626 00:23:48,922 --> 00:23:52,400 bus . Yeah , they're going back to 627 00:23:52,410 --> 00:23:55,490 the pacific questions . Uh President 628 00:23:55,490 --> 00:23:57,601 biden's not meeting with President XI 629 00:23:57,601 --> 00:23:59,712 well , when he's over there , China's 630 00:23:59,712 --> 00:24:01,760 holding military drills um for four 631 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,380 days exactly over this weekend . Does 632 00:24:04,380 --> 00:24:06,740 that how does that affect us relations 633 00:24:06,740 --> 00:24:09,490 with china at the military level ? The 634 00:24:09,500 --> 00:24:11,630 second again , I want to be careful 635 00:24:11,630 --> 00:24:13,852 here . It's it's the President's trip . 636 00:24:13,852 --> 00:24:16,660 I I mean I'm not enough a position to 637 00:24:16,670 --> 00:24:18,892 speak for the White House on this . But 638 00:24:18,892 --> 00:24:21,520 clearly the president wants to show our 639 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,300 deep commitment to two very staunch 640 00:24:24,300 --> 00:24:26,411 treaty allies , Japan and South Korea 641 00:24:26,411 --> 00:24:28,840 on this trip . And , and uh , and so 642 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:31,540 he's prioritized those stops and 643 00:24:31,540 --> 00:24:33,762 they're important stops . In fact , the 644 00:24:33,762 --> 00:24:35,929 Secretary's first overseas trip was to 645 00:24:35,929 --> 00:24:38,820 South Korea and to Japan . So um so 646 00:24:38,820 --> 00:24:40,360 we're grateful for that . 647 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:45,450 Obviously china and the 648 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,860 coercive activities , the um uh 649 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,910 the the illegitimate maritime claims 650 00:24:53,910 --> 00:24:55,966 that they're making and the pressure 651 00:24:55,966 --> 00:24:58,500 they're putting on allies and partners 652 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:03,030 uh will will be a backdrop to his visit 653 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:05,150 and visits and to his discussions . 654 00:25:05,150 --> 00:25:07,800 There's no doubt about that . Um I'm 655 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,900 not sure it says anything about China's 656 00:25:10,900 --> 00:25:13,860 military in particular . What it says 657 00:25:13,870 --> 00:25:16,160 is how much we prioritize alliances and 658 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:18,216 partnerships in the pacific region . 659 00:25:18,216 --> 00:25:20,438 They needed the indo pacific region and 660 00:25:20,438 --> 00:25:22,382 how we're trying to make sure that 661 00:25:22,382 --> 00:25:24,604 those alliances and partnerships remain 662 00:25:24,604 --> 00:25:26,960 viable and relevant to the myriad of 663 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:29,127 threats that exists in the region . We 664 00:25:29,127 --> 00:25:31,127 just talked a few minutes ago about 665 00:25:31,127 --> 00:25:33,238 another one coming from North Korea . 666 00:25:33,238 --> 00:25:35,293 The other thing that that we've been 667 00:25:35,293 --> 00:25:37,930 interested in for a long time is not 668 00:25:37,930 --> 00:25:41,540 just us bilateral relations 669 00:25:41,540 --> 00:25:44,350 with these two treaty allies , but with 670 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:46,840 trilateral multilateral cooperation 671 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,440 between the United States and and uh 672 00:25:49,450 --> 00:25:51,520 and our allies in the indo pacific , 673 00:25:51,530 --> 00:25:54,810 including encouraging nations like 674 00:25:54,810 --> 00:25:57,032 Japan and South Korea to to continue to 675 00:25:57,032 --> 00:25:59,143 look for ways to work closer together 676 00:25:59,143 --> 00:26:01,143 as well . So it's a it's a terrific 677 00:26:01,143 --> 00:26:03,254 opportunity for the president to show 678 00:26:03,254 --> 00:26:05,366 how much we're prioritizing those two 679 00:26:05,366 --> 00:26:07,477 relationships , those two alliances , 680 00:26:07,477 --> 00:26:09,699 but also to encourage more multilateral 681 00:26:09,699 --> 00:26:09,450 cooperation going forward all with an 682 00:26:09,450 --> 00:26:13,180 eye of course , uh to uh to China's 683 00:26:13,180 --> 00:26:16,170 course of an intimidation in the in the 684 00:26:16,180 --> 00:26:18,860 in the region . Yeah , I wanted to 685 00:26:18,860 --> 00:26:20,860 follow up on some comments you made 686 00:26:20,860 --> 00:26:22,971 yesterday about the secretary's visit 687 00:26:22,971 --> 00:26:24,916 with his Israeli counterpart . You 688 00:26:24,916 --> 00:26:26,860 mentioned um that serena blacklist 689 00:26:26,860 --> 00:26:28,360 death came up during those 690 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:30,360 conversations given that this is an 691 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:32,620 american citizen who was killed by um 692 00:26:32,620 --> 00:26:34,787 potentially by an allied partner using 693 00:26:34,787 --> 00:26:36,842 american munitions . Can you give us 694 00:26:36,842 --> 00:26:39,009 any more details on what precisely was 695 00:26:39,009 --> 00:26:40,842 said to the secretary ? Make any 696 00:26:40,842 --> 00:26:42,731 requests on behalf of the U . S . 697 00:26:42,731 --> 00:26:45,530 Government um regarding her death nancy , 698 00:26:45,530 --> 00:26:47,586 I'm not going to go into more detail 699 00:26:47,586 --> 00:26:49,808 today than I did yesterday . The issues 700 00:26:49,808 --> 00:26:51,586 the issue came up and as I said 701 00:26:51,586 --> 00:26:54,290 yesterday , the secretary welcome the 702 00:26:54,290 --> 00:26:56,346 fact that the Israeli government has 703 00:26:56,346 --> 00:26:58,346 indicated that they will conduct an 704 00:26:58,346 --> 00:27:00,290 investigation on this . And you've 705 00:27:00,290 --> 00:27:02,123 heard my colleagues at the State 706 00:27:02,123 --> 00:27:04,290 Department talk about our expectations 707 00:27:04,290 --> 00:27:06,401 for the thoroughness and transparency 708 00:27:06,401 --> 00:27:08,512 of that investigation . But the issue 709 00:27:08,512 --> 00:27:10,679 came up , I think as far as I can go , 710 00:27:10,679 --> 00:27:12,780 did the secretary offer any like any 711 00:27:12,790 --> 00:27:14,790 military assets or anything to help 712 00:27:14,790 --> 00:27:17,012 with the investigation or any kind of , 713 00:27:17,012 --> 00:27:19,234 there's been no request for us military 714 00:27:19,234 --> 00:27:21,457 support to the investigation . We offer 715 00:27:21,457 --> 00:27:23,512 it in the meeting . I'm not gonna go 716 00:27:23,512 --> 00:27:25,734 any further than what I've done there . 717 00:27:25,734 --> 00:27:27,457 There was , there's there's no 718 00:27:27,457 --> 00:27:29,568 indication that there's going to be a 719 00:27:29,568 --> 00:27:29,440 need for us military participation in 720 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:33,060 this . Okay . Um 721 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:36,310 nobody else in the room , Jeff Seldin 722 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:39,807 john thanks very much for doing this . 723 00:27:39,807 --> 00:27:42,140 Um couple few questions given the very 724 00:27:42,140 --> 00:27:44,290 public , very transparent and ongoing 725 00:27:44,290 --> 00:27:46,290 military support by the U . S . For 726 00:27:46,290 --> 00:27:48,620 Ukraine . Is there still any concern 727 00:27:48,620 --> 00:27:50,731 that providing the Ukrainian military 728 00:27:50,731 --> 00:27:52,842 with certain weapons systems is going 729 00:27:52,842 --> 00:27:55,860 to cause Russia to escalate ? And if so , 730 00:27:55,860 --> 00:27:57,990 is there any sense of how far Russia 731 00:27:57,990 --> 00:28:00,212 realistically would go if it decided to 732 00:28:00,212 --> 00:28:02,268 escalate and and then also two quick 733 00:28:02,268 --> 00:28:04,379 ones . Any update on Russia's current 734 00:28:04,379 --> 00:28:06,546 nuclear posture in the U . S . Posture 735 00:28:06,546 --> 00:28:08,323 in response and anything new on 736 00:28:08,323 --> 00:28:10,323 Russia's use of mercenary forces or 737 00:28:10,323 --> 00:28:12,770 efforts to recruit foreign fighters ? I 738 00:28:12,770 --> 00:28:15,150 probably will forget as I get into this 739 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:17,510 uh half of those questions , so we may 740 00:28:17,510 --> 00:28:19,454 have to come back there Jeff uh no 741 00:28:19,454 --> 00:28:21,540 update or changes to our strategic 742 00:28:21,540 --> 00:28:23,429 nuclear deterrent posture and the 743 00:28:23,429 --> 00:28:25,540 secretary remains comfortable that we 744 00:28:25,540 --> 00:28:27,596 can defend the homeland , our allies 745 00:28:27,596 --> 00:28:29,818 and our partners . And we're monitoring 746 00:28:29,818 --> 00:28:31,762 this very very closely . I have no 747 00:28:31,762 --> 00:28:33,818 update on use of foreign fighters by 748 00:28:33,818 --> 00:28:35,984 the Russians . Uh we we know that they 749 00:28:35,984 --> 00:28:38,210 have have tried to enlist and recruit 750 00:28:38,220 --> 00:28:40,387 foreign fighters but we don't know how 751 00:28:40,387 --> 00:28:42,387 successful they've been . They have 752 00:28:42,387 --> 00:28:44,609 more than 100 battalion tactical groups 753 00:28:44,609 --> 00:28:46,620 in Ukraine right now . Um and we do 754 00:28:46,620 --> 00:28:48,787 know like groups like the Wagner group 755 00:28:48,787 --> 00:28:51,650 are still in the Donbas region and that 756 00:28:51,650 --> 00:28:53,372 is a group of private military 757 00:28:53,372 --> 00:28:55,372 contractor if you will that we know 758 00:28:55,372 --> 00:28:59,170 relies on foreign employees if you will 759 00:28:59,180 --> 00:29:01,402 but I couldn't tell you what the makeup 760 00:29:01,402 --> 00:29:03,830 looks like . I knew I was going to 761 00:29:03,830 --> 00:29:06,410 forget the first question , what was it ? 762 00:29:06,660 --> 00:29:09,920 It was given the U . S . Public support 763 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:12,087 for Ukraine . Is there still a concern 764 00:29:12,087 --> 00:29:14,031 that providing the Ukrainians with 765 00:29:14,031 --> 00:29:16,253 specific weapons systems could cause an 766 00:29:16,253 --> 00:29:18,364 escalation ? We we have been thinking 767 00:29:18,364 --> 00:29:22,130 about Escalation management since the 768 00:29:22,130 --> 00:29:24,186 very beginning more than 80 days ago 769 00:29:24,186 --> 00:29:26,490 when this invasion kicked off . And 770 00:29:26,490 --> 00:29:28,712 we've talked about it many , many times 771 00:29:28,712 --> 00:29:31,130 here uh in the briefing room . Uh 772 00:29:31,140 --> 00:29:33,310 nobody wants to see this will go on 773 00:29:33,310 --> 00:29:35,532 another day . Certainly nobody wants to 774 00:29:35,532 --> 00:29:37,643 see it escalate beyond the incredibly 775 00:29:37,810 --> 00:29:39,870 brutal violence that has already 776 00:29:39,870 --> 00:29:41,960 visited upon the Ukrainian people . 777 00:29:43,740 --> 00:29:47,250 But we also as we because we don't want 778 00:29:47,250 --> 00:29:49,361 to see that we don't think escalation 779 00:29:49,361 --> 00:29:51,417 would be good for certainly not good 780 00:29:51,417 --> 00:29:53,472 for the people of Ukraine . Not good 781 00:29:53,472 --> 00:29:53,470 for the region , not good for our 782 00:29:53,470 --> 00:29:55,526 interests and certainly not good for 783 00:29:55,526 --> 00:29:57,192 the Russian people . So we're 784 00:29:57,192 --> 00:29:59,270 constantly mhm 785 00:30:00,540 --> 00:30:04,330 monitoring the threat environment with 786 00:30:04,330 --> 00:30:06,610 escalation management Clearly in mind 787 00:30:06,610 --> 00:30:08,777 it would be irresponsible if we didn't 788 00:30:08,777 --> 00:30:11,740 do that . But as we work these packages , 789 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:14,660 these uh weapons and systems that were 790 00:30:14,660 --> 00:30:16,882 sent to Ukraine . I mean we're doing it 791 00:30:16,882 --> 00:30:19,810 uh mostly with an eye towards what does 792 00:30:19,810 --> 00:30:21,977 Ukraine need in the fight that they're 793 00:30:21,977 --> 00:30:24,360 in right now and the and the consistent 794 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:26,510 answer that we get back is they need 795 00:30:26,510 --> 00:30:28,570 long range fires . But because the 796 00:30:28,580 --> 00:30:30,802 terrain in the Donbas region , the kind 797 00:30:30,802 --> 00:30:32,691 of fighting that they're doing is 798 00:30:32,691 --> 00:30:34,747 heavily reliant on that . We've seen 799 00:30:34,747 --> 00:30:36,691 that play out now in just the last 800 00:30:36,691 --> 00:30:38,802 couple of weeks . Um and so our focus 801 00:30:38,802 --> 00:30:41,024 is on making sure that we can advantage 802 00:30:41,024 --> 00:30:42,747 Ukraine on the battlefield and 803 00:30:42,747 --> 00:30:44,969 therefore hopefully advantage them when 804 00:30:44,969 --> 00:30:46,969 it comes to uh to uh to an ultimate 805 00:30:46,969 --> 00:30:48,969 piece there in Ukraine . And that's 806 00:30:48,969 --> 00:30:51,024 again that's what the focus is . But 807 00:30:51,024 --> 00:30:53,136 yes , clearly look we nobody wants to 808 00:30:53,136 --> 00:30:55,500 see this war escalate . And uh and you 809 00:30:55,500 --> 00:30:58,170 know , we can do both . We can we can 810 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:02,400 we can watch for signs of 811 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:04,890 escalation as at the same time 812 00:31:04,890 --> 00:31:07,112 providing Ukraine with the capabilities 813 00:31:07,112 --> 00:31:09,223 that they need to defend themselves . 814 00:31:09,223 --> 00:31:11,446 Yeah , Louis , we haven't heard this in 815 00:31:11,446 --> 00:31:14,620 quite a while but the effort to get 816 00:31:14,620 --> 00:31:18,360 soviet made errors , weapons to 817 00:31:19,140 --> 00:31:21,460 the Ukrainian . I mean there was so 818 00:31:21,460 --> 00:31:24,580 much focus on these 3,000,000 so much 819 00:31:24,580 --> 00:31:27,870 focus on tanks and planes . I know that 820 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:30,970 the US was distancing itself from being 821 00:31:30,970 --> 00:31:33,081 the intermediary and all that . But I 822 00:31:33,081 --> 00:31:34,970 mean is the U . S . Still working 823 00:31:34,970 --> 00:31:37,192 around the world to get that kind of Um 824 00:31:37,192 --> 00:31:39,137 weaponry and we just haven't heard 825 00:31:39,137 --> 00:31:41,303 anything on it . And I don't know that 826 00:31:41,303 --> 00:31:43,470 we ever distanced ourselves from being 827 00:31:43,470 --> 00:31:45,526 the intermediary . Well , the MiG 29 828 00:31:45,526 --> 00:31:47,748 thing , but that was a different deal . 829 00:31:47,748 --> 00:31:49,748 I mean we have been working closely 830 00:31:49,748 --> 00:31:51,970 with allies and partners who have these 831 00:31:51,970 --> 00:31:54,137 other systems that the Ukrainians need 832 00:31:54,137 --> 00:31:56,303 to help get them there right now Louis 833 00:31:56,303 --> 00:31:58,359 um because of what's going on in the 834 00:31:58,359 --> 00:32:00,359 Donbas . I think one of the reasons 835 00:32:00,359 --> 00:32:02,414 you're not hearing a lot about it is 836 00:32:02,414 --> 00:32:04,637 because the bus is a long range fires , 837 00:32:04,637 --> 00:32:06,637 artillery fight . And so one of the 838 00:32:06,637 --> 00:32:05,890 things that we have been talking to 839 00:32:05,890 --> 00:32:08,001 allies and partners about our , our , 840 00:32:08,001 --> 00:32:10,168 their artillery systems , um , some of 841 00:32:10,168 --> 00:32:12,260 which are more familiar to the 842 00:32:12,260 --> 00:32:15,130 Ukrainians , uh , some of them are not 843 00:32:15,130 --> 00:32:17,019 as familiar like our own M triple 844 00:32:17,019 --> 00:32:19,360 sevens , but , but we are still , we're 845 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:21,416 still talking to allies and partners 846 00:32:21,416 --> 00:32:23,638 about those kinds of capabilities . The 847 00:32:23,638 --> 00:32:25,693 reason you're not hearing about like 848 00:32:25,693 --> 00:32:27,693 tanks and airplanes is , is because 849 00:32:27,693 --> 00:32:29,916 that's I'm not saying they're not being 850 00:32:29,916 --> 00:32:29,730 used . Don't get me wrong . It's just 851 00:32:29,730 --> 00:32:32,530 that the main need that Ukrainians 852 00:32:32,540 --> 00:32:34,600 continue to stress is for long range 853 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:37,600 fires . And so we've been working on 854 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:39,711 helping them get , you know , systems 855 00:32:39,711 --> 00:32:41,878 that help them with long range fires . 856 00:32:41,878 --> 00:32:44,044 But that's still happening . And , and 857 00:32:44,044 --> 00:32:46,100 tomorrow , tomorrow monday's contact 858 00:32:46,100 --> 00:32:48,322 group is another good example of , of , 859 00:32:48,322 --> 00:32:50,322 of a forum now that we've created , 860 00:32:50,322 --> 00:32:52,378 we've convened that will allow us to 861 00:32:52,378 --> 00:32:55,100 continue to dip into a process to get 862 00:32:55,110 --> 00:32:57,290 Ukraine or at least to make other 863 00:32:57,290 --> 00:32:59,470 nations available available and and 864 00:32:59,470 --> 00:33:01,637 knowledgeable about what Ukraine needs 865 00:33:01,637 --> 00:33:03,859 as the fight on is ongoing . And that's 866 00:33:03,859 --> 00:33:05,859 why the secretary wants to do these 867 00:33:05,859 --> 00:33:07,970 every month . So that there's a , you 868 00:33:07,970 --> 00:33:07,910 know , you're dipping your toe into the 869 00:33:07,910 --> 00:33:10,710 stream now every month , uh , across 870 00:33:10,710 --> 00:33:13,260 the global community , uh , people who 871 00:33:13,260 --> 00:33:15,316 can hear directly from Ukraine about 872 00:33:15,316 --> 00:33:17,482 what they need and we can adjust fires 873 00:33:17,482 --> 00:33:19,704 as we go on . Another thing that's been 874 00:33:19,704 --> 00:33:22,110 what we've heard about is that you need 875 00:33:22,110 --> 00:33:24,166 to stop right now on the battlefield 876 00:33:24,166 --> 00:33:26,221 and you need to , and they carry out 877 00:33:26,221 --> 00:33:28,277 short term training so that they can 878 00:33:28,277 --> 00:33:31,120 rush back to the battlefield as this 879 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:33,520 contact troop evolves month to month to 880 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:35,631 month into something more long term . 881 00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:38,170 Can this administration now consider 882 00:33:38,540 --> 00:33:40,490 requests from the Ukrainians for 883 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:42,856 equipment that may require long term 884 00:33:42,856 --> 00:33:44,911 training , such as potentially these 885 00:33:44,911 --> 00:33:48,680 aircraft , the F sixteen's or that they 886 00:33:48,690 --> 00:33:51,520 are requesting . Uh , we're not there 887 00:33:51,530 --> 00:33:54,450 yet . Uh , and I don't think we're 888 00:33:54,460 --> 00:33:56,349 shutting anything off . We're not 889 00:33:56,349 --> 00:33:58,571 taking anything off the table . We have 890 00:33:58,571 --> 00:34:00,516 been focused on trying to get them 891 00:34:00,516 --> 00:34:02,738 systems that they can use as quickly as 892 00:34:02,738 --> 00:34:04,793 possible . And the original , as you 893 00:34:04,793 --> 00:34:07,370 know , early on , we were really trying 894 00:34:07,370 --> 00:34:09,880 to get them exactly the kind of systems 895 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:12,070 that they trained on which were all ex 896 00:34:12,070 --> 00:34:15,920 soviet systems and they're in a fight 897 00:34:15,940 --> 00:34:17,773 and they're losing some of these 898 00:34:17,773 --> 00:34:19,940 systems in combat . And so there was a 899 00:34:19,940 --> 00:34:22,051 greater need to replenish and after a 900 00:34:22,051 --> 00:34:24,162 while the ability to replenish out of 901 00:34:24,162 --> 00:34:26,162 what exists in europe of old soviet 902 00:34:26,162 --> 00:34:28,500 stocks is just starting to dwindle and 903 00:34:28,500 --> 00:34:30,667 not just because there's not that much 904 00:34:30,667 --> 00:34:32,556 of it left , but because a lot of 905 00:34:32,556 --> 00:34:34,833 countries needed for their own defense . 906 00:34:34,833 --> 00:34:37,056 So that led us to look at some american 907 00:34:37,056 --> 00:34:39,222 made systems and so as we talked about 908 00:34:39,222 --> 00:34:41,333 before , we wanted to try to get them 909 00:34:41,333 --> 00:34:41,190 the systems that meant the most of them 910 00:34:41,190 --> 00:34:43,190 in the fight ? But that also wasn't 911 00:34:43,190 --> 00:34:45,301 going to require an onerous amount of 912 00:34:45,301 --> 00:34:47,412 training or upkeep and supply chain . 913 00:34:47,412 --> 00:34:49,579 Now could that change over time ? It's 914 00:34:49,579 --> 00:34:51,801 going to depend on where the fight goes 915 00:34:51,801 --> 00:34:54,023 and what the needs are ? But we haven't 916 00:34:54,023 --> 00:34:56,190 closed anything off . We haven't , you 917 00:34:56,190 --> 00:34:58,301 know , put an X through something and 918 00:34:58,301 --> 00:34:58,210 say , well that's never gonna go , 919 00:34:58,210 --> 00:35:00,370 we're we're working with them in real 920 00:35:00,370 --> 00:35:03,680 time and you've seen us already change 921 00:35:03,690 --> 00:35:05,746 our approach , you know , from small 922 00:35:05,746 --> 00:35:07,968 arms and ammunition and U . A . S . S . 923 00:35:07,968 --> 00:35:10,079 And javelins and stingers . We're not 924 00:35:10,079 --> 00:35:12,301 talking much about javelin and stingers 925 00:35:12,301 --> 00:35:14,523 anymore , but we are sure talking about 926 00:35:14,523 --> 00:35:16,523 M triple sevens , I've learned more 927 00:35:16,523 --> 00:35:16,320 about how it is now in the last couple 928 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:18,542 of weeks than I ever thought . I know , 929 00:35:18,542 --> 00:35:21,960 thanks to Mike Glenn um uh and so it 930 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:24,127 could very well evolve going forward . 931 00:35:24,127 --> 00:35:26,560 We'll just have to see Yeah uh 932 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:29,784 Hey Jon , two quick questions just 933 00:35:29,784 --> 00:35:31,896 going on Sharon scaling when you said 934 00:35:31,896 --> 00:35:35,560 it came up when Austin talked to his 935 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:37,671 Israeli counterpart , when you say it 936 00:35:37,671 --> 00:35:39,893 was discussed , is that like it came up 937 00:35:39,893 --> 00:35:42,116 for a minute or was there actually like 938 00:35:42,116 --> 00:35:44,282 a discussion about it which lasted for 939 00:35:44,282 --> 00:35:43,560 several minutes , just like , you know , 940 00:35:43,570 --> 00:35:45,570 it's just something that came up in 941 00:35:45,570 --> 00:35:47,626 passing or was it actually an agenda 942 00:35:47,626 --> 00:35:49,737 item and secondly , could you give us 943 00:35:49,737 --> 00:35:51,737 an update on Mario pole and sort of 944 00:35:51,737 --> 00:35:53,626 where things stand , Do you still 945 00:35:53,626 --> 00:35:55,737 believe the Ukrainians are in control 946 00:35:55,737 --> 00:35:58,470 of the city idris ? Uh the secretary 947 00:35:58,470 --> 00:36:01,060 brought up the issue and they discussed 948 00:36:01,060 --> 00:36:04,730 it and he welcomed uh the 949 00:36:04,740 --> 00:36:06,740 Israeli government's willingness to 950 00:36:06,740 --> 00:36:08,740 investigate and I'm not going to go 951 00:36:08,740 --> 00:36:12,480 beyond that on Mario paul , you've 952 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:14,702 heard the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense 953 00:36:14,702 --> 00:36:16,536 themselves talk about the combat 954 00:36:16,536 --> 00:36:18,850 mission and ending there . And I can't 955 00:36:19,530 --> 00:36:23,100 I wouldn't go any further or or dispute 956 00:36:23,110 --> 00:36:25,080 the the Ukrainian government's 957 00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:27,136 assessment of Mario pole . They have 958 00:36:27,136 --> 00:36:29,302 said that they have publicly said that 959 00:36:29,302 --> 00:36:31,469 their combat mission has ended there , 960 00:36:31,469 --> 00:36:33,691 Sylvie and then I'm going to have to go 961 00:36:33,691 --> 00:36:36,620 guys done . I would like to go back to 962 00:36:36,620 --> 00:36:39,240 the Ukraine contact group . You said 963 00:36:39,240 --> 00:36:41,296 that this you are going to discuss , 964 00:36:41,296 --> 00:36:43,920 they are going to discuss what the what 965 00:36:43,930 --> 00:36:47,450 the future could look like . So I 966 00:36:47,450 --> 00:36:49,561 wanted to know if it means that there 967 00:36:49,561 --> 00:36:52,850 is an effort to achieve a consensus 968 00:36:53,230 --> 00:36:57,060 on what victory for Ukraine would 969 00:36:57,060 --> 00:36:59,640 mean . And I have a photo up Sylvie . 970 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:01,807 The contact group is not about setting 971 00:37:01,807 --> 00:37:04,560 diplomatic conditions for the end of 972 00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:08,470 the war . The contact group is 973 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:10,313 an extension of the consultative 974 00:37:10,313 --> 00:37:12,369 meeting that we had in Ramstein last 975 00:37:12,369 --> 00:37:15,040 month and it is designed to bring 976 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:17,570 together a community of nations who 977 00:37:17,570 --> 00:37:19,840 have a shared interest in Ukraine's 978 00:37:19,840 --> 00:37:22,150 ability to defend itself and to explore 979 00:37:22,630 --> 00:37:24,852 opportunities and capabilities that can 980 00:37:24,852 --> 00:37:26,741 be provided to them to that end ? 981 00:37:26,741 --> 00:37:28,908 That's the goal of the contact group . 982 00:37:28,908 --> 00:37:30,797 Not to not to get involved in the 983 00:37:30,797 --> 00:37:32,519 geopolitical end states here . 984 00:37:32,519 --> 00:37:34,630 Obviously every nation involved wants 985 00:37:34,630 --> 00:37:36,908 to see this war end today as it should . 986 00:37:36,908 --> 00:37:39,130 But that's not the focus of the contact 987 00:37:39,130 --> 00:37:41,230 group . What's your follow up , The 988 00:37:41,230 --> 00:37:43,790 head of the Ukrainian intelligence said 989 00:37:43,790 --> 00:37:47,140 that success for Ukraine would be 990 00:37:47,150 --> 00:37:50,600 pushing back the all the Russians from 991 00:37:50,610 --> 00:37:54,350 all the country to the pre-2014 992 00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:57,850 borders . Is it something that us 993 00:37:57,860 --> 00:38:01,490 agree with ? I agree that Ukraine 994 00:38:01,490 --> 00:38:04,020 should determine for itself what 995 00:38:04,020 --> 00:38:06,930 victory is gonna look like . Um and 996 00:38:06,930 --> 00:38:08,819 that Ukraine should determine for 997 00:38:08,819 --> 00:38:11,940 itself . Um what it means to win this 998 00:38:11,940 --> 00:38:14,790 war , What we're focused on is making 999 00:38:14,790 --> 00:38:17,130 sure that we give them the tools and 1000 00:38:17,130 --> 00:38:19,280 the capabilities to better defend 1001 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:21,447 themselves and to be successful on the 1002 00:38:21,447 --> 00:38:23,336 battlefield . That is not for the 1003 00:38:23,336 --> 00:38:25,002 United States to to to make a 1004 00:38:25,002 --> 00:38:27,460 determination of yeah , get back there . 1005 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:30,390 If you can confirm um , back in the 1006 00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:32,400 Black Sea region , are the Russians 1007 00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:35,000 using civilian cargo vessels to 1008 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:37,222 resupply their forces there ? And would 1009 00:38:37,222 --> 00:38:39,167 that be a violation if so , of the 1010 00:38:39,167 --> 00:38:41,389 Montreal ? I've seen no indication that 1011 00:38:41,389 --> 00:38:43,556 they're using civilian cargo vessels . 1012 00:38:43,556 --> 00:38:46,090 In fact , what what we've seen clearly 1013 00:38:46,090 --> 00:38:49,310 is their use of L . S . T . S basically 1014 00:38:49,310 --> 00:38:52,270 small amphibious landing ships to do 1015 00:38:52,270 --> 00:38:53,826 resupply and that's what we 1016 00:38:53,826 --> 00:38:55,714 predominantly seen . I've seen no 1017 00:38:55,714 --> 00:38:57,714 indication that they're using cargo 1018 00:38:57,714 --> 00:38:59,826 vessels , vessels that were purchased 1019 00:38:59,826 --> 00:39:01,992 as civilian vessels . I haven't seen , 1020 00:39:01,992 --> 00:39:03,881 I haven't seen anything uh in the 1021 00:39:03,881 --> 00:39:03,780 information that I get that would be 1022 00:39:03,780 --> 00:39:05,836 able to confirm that . Okay , thanks 1023 00:39:05,836 --> 00:39:08,058 everybody . Happy friday to you . We'll 1024 00:39:08,058 --> 00:39:08,340 see you next week .