WEBVTT 00:07.960 --> 00:10.000 Good afternoon . 00:12.189 --> 00:15.210 Start with some opening comments over 00:15.220 --> 00:17.331 the past several days . The world has 00:17.331 --> 00:19.442 seen broad expressions of support for 00:19.442 --> 00:21.331 the proposal that President Biden 00:21.331 --> 00:23.331 outlined on Friday for an immediate 00:23.331 --> 00:25.331 ceasefire in Gaza . I'd like to run 00:25.331 --> 00:27.387 through just a few of the statements 00:27.387 --> 00:27.180 that we have seen over the past few 00:27.190 --> 00:29.549 days . The United Arab Emirates said 00:29.559 --> 00:31.392 the proposals are constructive , 00:31.392 --> 00:33.709 realistic and achievable and both sides 00:33.720 --> 00:35.387 must seize them . Is there an 00:35.387 --> 00:37.498 opportunity to stop the war , prevent 00:37.498 --> 00:39.276 further loss of life , stop the 00:39.276 --> 00:41.220 escalation , release prisoners and 00:41.220 --> 00:43.442 hostages and alleviate the catastrophic 00:43.442 --> 00:45.609 and dangerous situation that civilians 00:45.609 --> 00:48.110 are experiencing in Gaza Morocco said 00:48.119 --> 00:50.175 it welcomed the initiative and hopes 00:50.175 --> 00:52.119 the various parties concerned will 00:52.119 --> 00:54.341 adhere to it and commit to implementing 00:54.341 --> 00:56.341 its various phases . Jordan said it 00:56.341 --> 00:58.397 supported efforts to reach a deal as 00:58.397 --> 01:00.230 quickly as possible . In a joint 01:00.230 --> 01:02.286 statement , the Foreign Ministers of 01:02.286 --> 01:04.508 the Quint Saudi Arabia Jordan , the UAE 01:04.508 --> 01:06.730 Qatar and Egypt stressed the importance 01:06.730 --> 01:08.730 of dealing seriously and positively 01:08.730 --> 01:10.786 with the proposal highlighted by the 01:10.786 --> 01:13.008 president on May 31st , with the aim of 01:13.008 --> 01:14.897 agreeing on a deal that ensures a 01:14.897 --> 01:16.952 permanent ceasefire and the adequate 01:16.952 --> 01:18.952 delivery of aid to all parts of the 01:18.952 --> 01:21.008 Gaza Strip in a manner that ends the 01:21.008 --> 01:23.119 suffering of the people in Gaza . The 01:23.119 --> 01:25.286 European Union member states said that 01:25.286 --> 01:27.008 they wholeheartedly agree with 01:27.008 --> 01:29.008 President Biden and that the latest 01:29.008 --> 01:31.119 proposal is a significant opportunity 01:31.119 --> 01:33.008 to move towards an end to war and 01:33.008 --> 01:35.119 civilian suffering . Last night . The 01:35.119 --> 01:37.286 G7 said it too fully endorses and will 01:37.286 --> 01:39.397 stand behind the deal . And it called 01:39.397 --> 01:41.175 on Hamas to accept it and urged 01:41.175 --> 01:43.341 countries with influence over Hamas to 01:43.341 --> 01:46.110 help ensure that it does so . Over the 01:46.120 --> 01:48.231 past 24 hours , Secretary Blinken has 01:48.231 --> 01:50.453 continued his diplomatic engagements to 01:50.453 --> 01:52.453 stress the importance of finalizing 01:52.453 --> 01:54.676 this deal . He spoke yesterday with the 01:54.676 --> 01:56.898 Foreign Minister of Morocco and earlier 01:56.898 --> 01:56.480 today with the Foreign Minister 01:56.489 --> 01:59.360 Ministers of Algeria and Saudi Arabia . 01:59.370 --> 02:01.537 His second conversation with the Saudi 02:01.537 --> 02:03.759 Foreign Minister since Friday . He also 02:03.759 --> 02:05.648 met earlier today with the United 02:05.648 --> 02:07.759 Nations Secretary General Guterres in 02:07.759 --> 02:09.759 all of these conversations . He has 02:09.759 --> 02:11.314 continued to echo the broad 02:11.314 --> 02:13.259 international view that Hamas must 02:13.259 --> 02:15.889 accept this deal that we must finalize 02:15.899 --> 02:18.066 this cease fire agreement and begin to 02:18.066 --> 02:19.788 alleviate the suffering of the 02:19.788 --> 02:21.955 Palestinian people . In addition , the 02:21.955 --> 02:23.843 secretary has been emphasizing to 02:23.843 --> 02:25.677 partners , the importance of the 02:25.677 --> 02:27.899 Security Council . Speaking out to call 02:27.899 --> 02:30.121 for implementation of this deal without 02:30.121 --> 02:32.288 delay and without further conditions . 02:32.288 --> 02:33.955 Yesterday , the United States 02:33.955 --> 02:36.177 circulated a new draft Security Council 02:36.177 --> 02:35.940 resolution supporting the proposal to 02:35.949 --> 02:38.080 end the fighting in Gaza and we urge 02:38.089 --> 02:40.200 all members of the Council to support 02:40.200 --> 02:42.380 that resolution . The international 02:42.389 --> 02:44.690 community must continue to insist that 02:44.699 --> 02:47.259 Hamas accept this deal . The proposal 02:47.270 --> 02:49.320 on the table is nearly identical to 02:49.330 --> 02:51.497 what Hamas said it would accept just a 02:51.497 --> 02:53.639 few weeks ago . Israel has said it is 02:53.649 --> 02:55.760 ready to implement it . It is time to 02:55.760 --> 02:57.982 finalize this agreement , put an end to 02:57.982 --> 02:59.927 the violence and to build a better 02:59.927 --> 03:01.760 future for both Palestinians and 03:01.760 --> 03:03.816 Israelis alike . That , that so , uh 03:03.816 --> 03:07.130 you know , along those lines , um the 03:07.639 --> 03:11.330 very intense focus , your very intense 03:11.339 --> 03:13.800 focus since Friday has been on or 03:13.809 --> 03:15.587 appears to be at least from the 03:15.587 --> 03:17.309 readouts that you've just been 03:17.309 --> 03:19.729 outlining , um on getting Hamas to 03:19.740 --> 03:22.679 accept this deal . And you keep saying 03:22.690 --> 03:25.570 that the Israelis have already , it was 03:25.580 --> 03:27.630 their idea of their proposal and 03:27.639 --> 03:29.917 they've already agreed to it . And yet , 03:30.529 --> 03:32.699 are you really convinced that that's 03:32.710 --> 03:35.750 the case ? And is , uh are you 03:35.759 --> 03:38.080 convinced that the focus should be 03:38.089 --> 03:42.009 entirely um on a loss ? So we 03:42.020 --> 03:43.909 are convinced it is the case that 03:43.909 --> 03:46.187 Israel is ready to implement this deal . 03:46.187 --> 03:47.964 As I said , it's their proposal 03:47.964 --> 03:47.830 proposal put forward by the government 03:47.839 --> 03:49.950 and they have maintained to us , they 03:49.950 --> 03:51.950 are ready to implement . It doesn't 03:51.950 --> 03:54.117 mean there aren't voices inside Israel 03:54.117 --> 03:53.710 and voices even inside the Israeli 03:53.720 --> 03:55.887 government are opposed to it . But the 03:55.887 --> 03:57.942 government speaking on behalf of the 03:57.942 --> 04:00.053 government has said they support this 04:00.053 --> 04:02.276 proposal and ready to stand behind that 04:02.276 --> 04:04.498 and we uh take them at their word . The 04:04.498 --> 04:07.080 deal is in front of Hamas . It is to 04:07.089 --> 04:09.256 Hamas to accept or reject or come back 04:09.256 --> 04:11.422 and say they want to further negotiate 04:11.422 --> 04:11.330 the deal . But it is just the facts of 04:11.339 --> 04:13.228 it that Israel has agreed to this 04:13.228 --> 04:15.339 proposal and it now stands with Hamas 04:15.339 --> 04:17.799 and what has been other than all these 04:17.809 --> 04:20.339 statements of support , what has been 04:20.350 --> 04:22.869 the impact that you've seen from Hamas ? 04:23.549 --> 04:25.660 We haven't seen any response yet from 04:25.660 --> 04:28.200 Hamas , but we do think it is important 04:28.209 --> 04:30.519 that the international community and I 04:30.529 --> 04:32.760 think quite importantly , countries in 04:32.769 --> 04:35.119 the Arab world have spoken out to call 04:35.130 --> 04:37.459 on this deal to be finalized for Hamas 04:37.470 --> 04:39.829 to accept it . Um It's important , I 04:39.839 --> 04:42.006 think the world , you know , you never 04:42.006 --> 04:43.950 say the world is speaking with one 04:43.950 --> 04:43.589 voice because there's always a 04:43.600 --> 04:45.711 dissident country here or there . But 04:45.711 --> 04:49.019 when you see the the broad support from 04:49.299 --> 04:51.299 Europe , from the Arab world , from 04:51.299 --> 04:53.521 countries in the global South , I think 04:53.521 --> 04:55.688 it's a significant statement of how of 04:55.688 --> 04:57.799 the opportunity that we have here and 04:57.799 --> 04:59.799 how it's important that we not miss 04:59.799 --> 05:01.910 this opportunity . OK , sorry . Which 05:01.910 --> 05:04.132 countries from the global South ? I get 05:04.132 --> 05:04.059 your list . We have other list as well . 05:04.070 --> 05:06.292 Saudi Arabia is often considered global 05:06.292 --> 05:09.279 South country signed on the I know it , 05:09.290 --> 05:11.290 I have seen them consider as a gold 05:11.290 --> 05:13.346 South country . Yeah , and we have a 05:13.346 --> 05:13.059 full list . I have a full , I have a , 05:13.149 --> 05:16.059 I have a , I have a so 05:16.070 --> 05:19.540 IIII I share that . It is not 05:20.329 --> 05:23.829 about me . I have a , I have a long 05:24.109 --> 05:26.420 list of countries in South Africa . I 05:26.429 --> 05:28.596 have a long list of countries in . Let 05:28.596 --> 05:30.762 me just finish . I have a long list of 05:30.762 --> 05:32.873 countries in my back in my office . I 05:32.873 --> 05:34.929 can send you statements of support , 05:34.929 --> 05:34.714 including a number from the global 05:34.725 --> 05:37.058 South , but specific to those countries , 05:37.058 --> 05:38.947 I will tell you our dip diplomacy 05:38.947 --> 05:41.003 continues to try to . India is often 05:41.003 --> 05:43.169 considered part of the global South to 05:43.169 --> 05:45.225 try to push . There you go . There's 05:45.225 --> 05:47.225 another one North of the equation , 05:47.225 --> 05:49.392 right ? But are they on your list ? So 05:49.392 --> 05:51.669 I have not seen a statement from India , 05:51.669 --> 05:53.614 but look , we continue to push for 05:53.614 --> 05:55.836 every country in the world . So none of 05:55.836 --> 05:58.549 the bricks uh I I do not have to , 06:00.309 --> 06:02.649 they're not all the no I know but , but 06:02.660 --> 06:04.716 you know , they often referred to as 06:04.716 --> 06:06.938 speaking for but , but none of them , I 06:06.938 --> 06:09.104 have not seen a statement from India . 06:09.104 --> 06:08.970 They have been in election in the last 06:08.980 --> 06:11.089 few days doing that . A few other 06:11.100 --> 06:14.369 things . Let me just , I will , I will 06:14.380 --> 06:16.436 definitely come to India . I suspect 06:16.436 --> 06:18.158 there will be more Middle East 06:18.158 --> 06:20.380 questions . So let me , I think it goes 06:20.380 --> 06:22.547 along the lines of what I was asking . 06:22.547 --> 06:24.602 But uh the , the Qataris of course , 06:24.602 --> 06:24.089 who were playing a key role in this , 06:24.100 --> 06:26.267 they said basically , they don't see a 06:26.267 --> 06:28.378 unified position from Israel . I know 06:28.378 --> 06:30.378 you're saying that the honest is on 06:30.378 --> 06:32.433 Hamas but , but the fact that you do 06:32.433 --> 06:32.279 have dissonant voices within the 06:32.290 --> 06:34.457 Israeli government . Do you think that 06:34.457 --> 06:36.568 complicates things at all in terms of 06:36.568 --> 06:36.489 getting a response from , from Hamas or 06:36.500 --> 06:38.556 moving this forward ? Look , I think 06:38.556 --> 06:40.829 some of the , the when you talk about , 06:40.839 --> 06:43.239 let me separate . First of all , there 06:43.250 --> 06:45.306 are clearly people inside Israel and 06:45.306 --> 06:47.417 inside the Israeli government who are 06:47.417 --> 06:49.472 opposed to any kind of cease fire at 06:49.472 --> 06:51.528 all and want the war to continue and 06:51.528 --> 06:53.750 have not seen to make the return of the 06:53.750 --> 06:55.917 hostages a priority . Um But that said 06:55.917 --> 06:57.861 there is also debate inside Israel 06:57.861 --> 06:59.861 about how you get from phase one to 06:59.861 --> 07:02.083 phase two . So I think it's fair to say 07:02.083 --> 07:04.028 there are people who would support 07:04.028 --> 07:06.250 acceptance of the cease fire that is on 07:06.250 --> 07:05.579 the table and they're gonna have 07:05.589 --> 07:07.645 significant things that they want to 07:07.645 --> 07:09.645 negotiate in phase two and we fully 07:09.645 --> 07:11.589 expect that that's natural . Um We 07:11.589 --> 07:13.756 understand that the negotiation to get 07:13.756 --> 07:13.670 from phase one to phase two is gonna be 07:13.679 --> 07:15.679 something that will require a great 07:15.679 --> 07:17.970 deal of work . But here's the point , 07:18.510 --> 07:20.621 you're not even at that point , if we 07:20.621 --> 07:22.788 don't get a phase one , we need to get 07:22.788 --> 07:24.788 a cease fire . So we can get to the 07:24.788 --> 07:26.899 point where we're having negotiations 07:26.899 --> 07:29.121 about how to bring a durable end of the 07:29.121 --> 07:28.839 end of the war because without a cease 07:28.850 --> 07:30.961 fire , we're not even at that point , 07:30.961 --> 07:32.850 we just have a continued military 07:32.850 --> 07:34.683 campaign and continued death and 07:34.683 --> 07:36.739 destruction inside Gaza and hostages 07:36.739 --> 07:38.739 continue to be held away from their 07:38.739 --> 07:40.906 loved ones . So our focus is trying to 07:40.906 --> 07:44.130 get Hamas signed up to this deal so we 07:44.140 --> 07:46.700 can get phase one underway . And in 16 07:46.709 --> 07:48.709 days into phase one , we will begin 07:48.709 --> 07:50.765 negotiations about how to take phase 07:50.765 --> 07:52.987 one to phase two . And we are committed 07:52.987 --> 07:54.987 to trying to get it over the line . 07:54.987 --> 07:57.209 Qatar and Egypt are committed to trying 07:57.209 --> 07:56.970 to get it over the line . And Israel 07:56.980 --> 07:59.390 has said that if it's Israel's proposal , 07:59.399 --> 08:01.288 so while there be , there will be 08:01.288 --> 08:03.510 details that have to be negotiated . Um 08:03.510 --> 08:05.399 We believe Israel is committed to 08:05.399 --> 08:08.679 negotiating that as well . Matt uh US 08:08.690 --> 08:10.912 House of Representatives is due to vote 08:10.912 --> 08:13.134 on this legislation that would sanction 08:13.134 --> 08:16.250 IC C um after its prosecutor applied 08:16.260 --> 08:19.510 for us or Netanyahu and others , um the 08:19.519 --> 08:21.686 US State Department supports this . So 08:21.686 --> 08:23.908 we have made clear that while we oppose 08:23.908 --> 08:26.720 the decision taken by the prosecutor of 08:26.730 --> 08:28.563 the IC C , we don't think it was 08:28.563 --> 08:30.619 appropriate , especially while there 08:30.619 --> 08:32.508 are ongoing investigations inside 08:32.508 --> 08:34.563 Israel looking at some of these very 08:34.563 --> 08:36.619 same questions and we are willing to 08:36.619 --> 08:38.730 work with Congress on what a response 08:38.730 --> 08:38.489 might look like . We don't support 08:38.500 --> 08:41.140 sanctions , right ? And what would that 08:41.150 --> 08:43.206 response look like then if you don't 08:43.206 --> 08:45.039 support sanctions ? So that is a 08:45.039 --> 08:47.039 consultation that we will have with 08:47.039 --> 08:46.820 Congress . I'm not going to preview it 08:46.830 --> 08:48.886 from here . Those are discussions we 08:48.886 --> 08:51.108 have with members of Congress . But our 08:51.108 --> 08:53.274 position as the administration is that 08:53.274 --> 08:55.219 we don't support sanctions , don't 08:55.219 --> 08:54.640 believe they're appropriate at this 08:54.650 --> 08:57.130 time . Right ? One other thing is this 08:57.140 --> 09:00.419 time interview with President Biden 09:01.000 --> 09:04.140 in there , he says when he was asked if 09:04.150 --> 09:06.039 Israeli forces have committed war 09:06.039 --> 09:08.700 crimes in Gaza , he says it's uncertain . 09:09.640 --> 09:13.460 Um The fact that he did 09:13.469 --> 09:16.950 not say an outright no . Um 09:17.969 --> 09:20.750 Don't you think that's something that 09:20.760 --> 09:23.150 the State Department should consider 09:23.159 --> 09:25.719 launching an atrocity determination on , 09:25.729 --> 09:29.659 given that you've also said in your NSM 09:29.669 --> 09:33.500 report that it is possible that there 09:33.510 --> 09:36.039 may have been violations . So we do 09:36.049 --> 09:39.440 have processes ongoing to look at 09:39.500 --> 09:41.611 whether there have been violations of 09:41.611 --> 09:43.833 international Humanitarian law . One of 09:43.833 --> 09:45.944 them , I'm not going to speak to that 09:45.944 --> 09:45.710 in specific , but that's why the 09:45.719 --> 09:47.608 president says the answer to that 09:47.608 --> 09:49.775 question is uncertain because we don't 09:49.775 --> 09:51.886 know the answer . It's something that 09:51.886 --> 09:53.997 we have an ongoing process to look at 09:53.997 --> 09:53.554 and to try to get in answer to . But at 09:53.565 --> 09:55.732 this time , we don't know the answer . 09:55.732 --> 09:57.565 That's what we made clear in the 09:57.565 --> 09:59.565 National Security memo 20 report is 09:59.565 --> 10:01.621 that we are looking at those various 10:01.621 --> 10:01.544 questions and making those assessments 10:01.554 --> 10:03.924 now , right ? So you're just saying 10:03.934 --> 10:07.005 that we don't know if Israeli forces 10:07.015 --> 10:09.455 have committed war crimes in or not . I 10:09.465 --> 10:11.576 was that you said , we don't know , I 10:11.576 --> 10:13.743 would go a bit further and say that we 10:13.743 --> 10:15.521 said in the , we don't know the 10:15.521 --> 10:17.687 definitive answer to it . But the M 20 10:17.687 --> 10:19.687 report said it's reasonable to , to 10:19.687 --> 10:21.798 conclude that they may have given the 10:21.798 --> 10:24.021 sheer number of incidents , but we need 10:24.021 --> 10:23.640 to finish these processes to have 10:23.650 --> 10:25.872 definitive answers to the question . So 10:25.872 --> 10:28.400 despite these assessments , you think 10:28.409 --> 10:31.340 there is no change in the US policy to 10:31.349 --> 10:33.979 continue providing arms to Israel , 10:33.989 --> 10:36.100 there is no change in our policy . As 10:36.100 --> 10:38.267 you know , we've paused one shipment . 10:38.267 --> 10:40.378 We have not , but we have not changed 10:40.378 --> 10:42.600 our overall policy and we will continue 10:42.600 --> 10:45.760 to support Israel's security . Thank 10:45.770 --> 10:47.992 you , Matt . There are reports that you 10:47.992 --> 10:50.250 didn't have your hand going along the 10:50.260 --> 10:52.739 front row . There are reports that the 10:52.750 --> 10:54.639 CIA director and Brett mcgurk are 10:54.639 --> 10:56.306 heading back to the region in 10:56.306 --> 10:58.361 furtherance of potential hostage and 10:58.361 --> 11:00.472 cease fire talks . Do you expect that 11:00.472 --> 11:02.639 the secretary will engage in diplomacy 11:02.639 --> 11:04.361 in the region as well ? So the 11:04.361 --> 11:06.306 secretary has been engaged as I've 11:06.306 --> 11:08.528 discussed it in my opening comments and 11:08.528 --> 11:10.630 discussed yesterday in a number of 11:10.640 --> 11:12.696 phone conversations with partners in 11:12.696 --> 11:14.696 the region over the past now , four 11:14.696 --> 11:16.918 days since Friday's uh announcement and 11:16.918 --> 11:19.084 he will be traveling to Europe leaving 11:19.084 --> 11:21.196 tonight to join the president for his 11:21.196 --> 11:23.196 trip to Normandy and then bilateral 11:23.196 --> 11:25.362 visit with France and I don't have any 11:25.362 --> 11:27.640 further travel to announce beyond that . 11:27.640 --> 11:29.807 Ok . Um And I know you said that there 11:29.807 --> 11:31.862 has been no response received as yet 11:31.862 --> 11:33.918 from Hamas . Is it known from either 11:33.918 --> 11:35.862 Egyptian or Qatari interlocutors , 11:35.862 --> 11:37.751 whether the proposal has actually 11:37.751 --> 11:39.862 reached tar for his evaluation , even 11:39.862 --> 11:41.807 if a response hasn't come back , I 11:41.807 --> 11:44.029 don't know an answer to that question . 11:44.029 --> 11:46.029 OK , have we ? I just , I , I don't 11:46.029 --> 11:48.150 believe we know . OK . On aid , you 11:48.159 --> 11:50.510 mentioned yesterday that there were 11:50.520 --> 11:52.464 constructive discussions that took 11:52.464 --> 11:54.576 place in Cairo , obviously , a number 11:54.576 --> 11:56.687 of international aid groups have been 11:56.687 --> 11:58.742 raising alarms that the situation is 11:58.742 --> 12:00.909 dire and getting worse by the day . So 12:00.909 --> 12:03.187 where do efforts to reopen Rafah stand ? 12:03.187 --> 12:05.353 And what is the broader aid picture in 12:05.353 --> 12:07.576 terms of what the US is facilitating on 12:07.576 --> 12:09.742 a daily basis ? So with respect to the 12:09.742 --> 12:11.409 opening of Rafah , there were 12:11.409 --> 12:13.631 conversations over the weekend in Cairo 12:13.631 --> 12:16.039 between the United States , Israel and 12:16.299 --> 12:18.243 uh the government uh government of 12:18.243 --> 12:20.355 Egypt that focused on how to get Rafa 12:20.355 --> 12:22.577 open . We found them to be constructive 12:22.577 --> 12:24.632 decision uh discussions . There were 12:24.632 --> 12:26.799 detailed proposals that were put forth 12:26.799 --> 12:26.570 by the various parties and then as 12:26.580 --> 12:28.358 often happens in these sorts of 12:28.358 --> 12:30.880 negotiations , uh the negotiators had 12:30.890 --> 12:33.112 to go back to their countries , consult 12:33.112 --> 12:34.946 with their capitals and continue 12:34.946 --> 12:34.710 discussions . So we have there are a 12:34.719 --> 12:36.719 number of proposals that are on the 12:36.719 --> 12:39.052 table that need to be fleshed out there . 12:39.052 --> 12:41.108 Um Different ways you could go about 12:41.108 --> 12:43.275 reopening Rafa that we are are working 12:43.275 --> 12:45.275 through separate from that though . 12:45.275 --> 12:47.441 It's of course related the question of 12:47.441 --> 12:49.330 humanitarian assistance . We have 12:49.330 --> 12:51.441 continued to work to get Karem to get 12:51.441 --> 12:53.497 humanitarian assistance back flowing 12:53.497 --> 12:55.830 through Karem Shalom after the decision , 12:55.830 --> 12:57.886 uh , about 1011 days or so go , uh , 12:57.886 --> 12:59.997 made by Egypt to allow trucks to move 12:59.997 --> 13:01.941 through Cams Shaam . Yesterday , I 13:01.941 --> 13:03.830 think it was somewhere around 250 13:03.830 --> 13:05.941 trucks that went in through CAM . I'm 13:05.941 --> 13:07.941 probably off by a dozen or so . I'm 13:07.941 --> 13:10.052 doing this from memory . Other trucks 13:10.052 --> 13:09.460 that went in through one of the 13:09.469 --> 13:11.358 crossings in the north . Uh , the 13:11.358 --> 13:13.358 majority of those were humanitarian 13:13.358 --> 13:15.580 assistance trucks . So trucks by the UN 13:15.580 --> 13:17.691 and partner agencies , not commercial 13:17.691 --> 13:19.747 trucks . Generally over the past few 13:19.747 --> 13:21.913 days , we've continued to see a mix of 13:21.913 --> 13:23.858 commercial trucks and humanitarian 13:23.858 --> 13:23.789 assistance . We want to see both . We 13:23.799 --> 13:26.021 think it's important that there be both 13:26.021 --> 13:28.132 and we're looking to maximize as many 13:29.299 --> 13:31.440 maximize as many as possible coming 13:31.450 --> 13:33.450 through all the various crossings . 13:33.489 --> 13:35.545 Third thing I'll say , maybe , maybe 13:35.545 --> 13:37.600 I've lost count is that the Pentagon 13:37.600 --> 13:39.156 continues to work to try to 13:39.156 --> 13:41.378 reestablished the maritime option , get 13:41.378 --> 13:43.600 that pier up and running so we can flow 13:43.600 --> 13:45.767 assistance to there . But then the big 13:45.767 --> 13:47.989 question overhanging all of this is the 13:47.989 --> 13:50.211 status of the cease fire proposal which 13:50.211 --> 13:52.267 would alleviate all of these various 13:52.267 --> 13:54.267 logistical problems that make it so 13:54.267 --> 13:56.489 hard to move humanitarian assistance in 13:56.489 --> 13:58.545 through a conflict would make all of 13:58.545 --> 14:00.656 those not 100% go away but would make 14:00.656 --> 14:02.767 them in many cases evaporate or be at 14:02.767 --> 14:06.039 least significantly lessened . So the 14:06.090 --> 14:09.409 push for a ceasefire deal is inherently 14:09.419 --> 14:11.086 related to the push to try to 14:11.086 --> 14:13.030 dramatically increase the level of 14:13.030 --> 14:15.141 humanitarian assistance that makes it 14:15.141 --> 14:17.359 to the people of Gaza one more . Just 14:17.369 --> 14:19.369 to tag on to him . Mayer's question 14:19.369 --> 14:21.591 about President Biden's remarks in this 14:21.591 --> 14:23.647 recent interview is the Secretary of 14:23.647 --> 14:23.289 the view that Prime Minister Netanyahu 14:23.299 --> 14:25.355 may be prolonging the conflict in an 14:25.355 --> 14:27.299 effort to stay in office . I don't 14:27.299 --> 14:29.521 think that's exactly what the President 14:29.521 --> 14:29.090 said . I think he said that some people 14:29.099 --> 14:32.210 could conclude that look , the 14:32.219 --> 14:33.941 president's comments speak for 14:33.941 --> 14:35.830 themselves . I'm not going to add 14:35.830 --> 14:37.997 anything to that , but I will just say 14:37.997 --> 14:39.997 we have been engaged with the Prime 14:39.997 --> 14:39.520 Minister on this question and the Prime 14:39.530 --> 14:41.697 Minister has put forward a proposal on 14:41.697 --> 14:43.419 behalf of the US , the Israeli 14:43.419 --> 14:45.530 government that would lead to a cease 14:45.530 --> 14:47.719 fire and ultimately could lead to the 14:47.729 --> 14:49.840 end of the , of the war pending other 14:49.840 --> 14:52.007 negotiations . And we're trying to get 14:52.007 --> 14:51.830 that cease fire . The president said 14:51.840 --> 14:54.062 there's every reason for people to draw 14:54.062 --> 14:55.840 that conclusion that commenting 14:55.840 --> 14:58.007 permanently . So just 11 follow up . I 14:58.007 --> 15:00.173 mean , so the proposal is on the table 15:00.173 --> 15:02.173 as a contingency . Have you had any 15:02.173 --> 15:04.284 indication that the Israelis are also 15:04.284 --> 15:06.340 planning for a day after scenario as 15:06.340 --> 15:08.507 you have urged them to do , we've seen 15:08.507 --> 15:10.673 the Defense minister come out and make 15:10.673 --> 15:12.729 public statements about possible day 15:12.729 --> 15:14.951 after scenarios . You've seen obviously 15:14.951 --> 15:17.690 statements from Mr Gantz member of the 15:17.700 --> 15:19.756 war cabinet about the need to do day 15:19.756 --> 15:21.900 after planning . Um we have not , we 15:21.909 --> 15:24.109 have still not seen the kind of 15:24.200 --> 15:26.710 rigorous planning for the end of , of 15:26.719 --> 15:29.052 the conflict that we think is essential . 15:29.052 --> 15:31.489 Um And as you've heard us say , this 15:31.500 --> 15:33.750 isn't just about the end of the 15:33.760 --> 15:35.927 conflict because in our view , without 15:35.927 --> 15:38.093 a plan for the day after , there won't 15:38.093 --> 15:40.260 be a day after without a plan for post 15:40.260 --> 15:42.316 conflict governance and some kind of 15:42.316 --> 15:44.538 political transition . You're not going 15:44.538 --> 15:43.890 to have an end of the conflict . You're 15:43.900 --> 15:45.622 just going to have a continued 15:45.622 --> 15:47.844 insurgency and Israel being bogged down 15:47.844 --> 15:49.622 fighting against Hamas or Hamas 15:49.622 --> 15:52.140 successors for years and years to come . 15:52.650 --> 15:55.260 I have another on Ukraine . Thank you 15:55.270 --> 15:58.400 just to follow up on Olivia about the 15:58.409 --> 16:01.229 interview in in Time magazine . I 16:01.239 --> 16:03.295 thought the president was very clear 16:03.295 --> 16:05.960 that , you know , it is Mr Netanyahu's 16:05.969 --> 16:07.979 desire to keep this war going . So 16:07.989 --> 16:11.630 because he sees his political future or 16:11.640 --> 16:13.529 the continuation of his political 16:13.529 --> 16:15.807 future and the continuation of the war . 16:15.807 --> 16:18.029 But also that comes along the statement 16:18.029 --> 16:19.918 by the Prime Minister himself who 16:19.918 --> 16:22.369 called the uh proposal incomplete , you 16:22.380 --> 16:24.809 know , um making remarks that seemed 16:25.309 --> 16:28.530 aimed at sabotaging uh the uh the deal 16:28.539 --> 16:30.880 and so on . So , but you are , you know , 16:30.890 --> 16:33.112 I don't know how that meshed with the , 16:33.112 --> 16:35.334 the fact with what you said that Israel 16:35.334 --> 16:37.334 would agree if Hamas agrees to this 16:37.334 --> 16:40.200 proposal . Israel is going to , there's 16:40.210 --> 16:42.377 an element of certainty in what you're 16:42.377 --> 16:44.154 saying . So a good deal of that 16:44.154 --> 16:46.321 certainty say comes from the fact that 16:46.321 --> 16:48.488 this is Israel's proposal . It's not a 16:48.488 --> 16:50.488 United States proposal . This is to 16:50.488 --> 16:52.543 make that very clear . The president 16:52.543 --> 16:52.229 outlined it publicly . But this was a 16:52.239 --> 16:54.461 proposal , the government of Israel put 16:54.461 --> 16:57.340 forward . So look , I understand why 16:57.349 --> 17:01.020 some people um are 17:01.030 --> 17:04.010 cynical or have questions or look for 17:04.020 --> 17:05.853 for ways that this deal might be 17:05.853 --> 17:07.742 completed . It doesn't change the 17:07.742 --> 17:09.909 bottom line right now , which is there 17:09.909 --> 17:12.076 is a proposal on the table that Israel 17:12.076 --> 17:14.187 put forward that the United States is 17:14.187 --> 17:16.353 backing , that Egypt is backing , that 17:16.353 --> 17:16.250 Qatar is backing , but not just those 17:16.260 --> 17:18.482 three countries who are mediators , but 17:18.482 --> 17:20.649 also a good number of countries around 17:20.649 --> 17:22.760 the world . And it is only Hamas that 17:22.760 --> 17:22.180 is saying no . Now if you want to talk 17:22.189 --> 17:24.133 about how we get from phase one to 17:24.133 --> 17:26.359 phase two , that is a fair question to 17:26.369 --> 17:28.536 ask because there will be a great deal 17:28.536 --> 17:30.702 of negotiation that has to go on . But 17:30.702 --> 17:32.536 we can't even get there if Hamas 17:32.536 --> 17:34.591 doesn't say yes . OK . So you know , 17:34.591 --> 17:34.579 Hamas is supposed to say something 17:34.589 --> 17:37.119 today , I guess the spokesperson is 17:37.130 --> 17:39.380 going to hold a press conference in 17:39.390 --> 17:41.969 Beirut or somewhere else and you know , 17:41.979 --> 17:44.130 say they say whatever it is . So if 17:44.140 --> 17:46.307 they agree , how do you see what , you 17:46.307 --> 17:48.473 know , what kind of time frame we have 17:48.473 --> 17:51.890 to begin the cease fire to start , you 17:51.900 --> 17:54.067 know , to actually seize the guns from 17:54.067 --> 17:56.520 firing . So I don't want to get ahead 17:56.530 --> 17:58.697 of what Hamas would say . But we would 17:58.697 --> 18:00.880 expect a degree as soon as to begin , 18:00.890 --> 18:03.112 as soon as possible . We want , we want 18:03.112 --> 18:05.334 to cease fire start , we want to see it 18:05.334 --> 18:07.668 start immediately . So that is our goal . 18:07.668 --> 18:09.557 That's what we're working towards 18:09.557 --> 18:09.305 because you always take time to 18:09.314 --> 18:11.147 implement the various provisions 18:11.147 --> 18:13.314 because you also as soon as possible . 18:13.314 --> 18:15.370 So you also said yesterday that this 18:15.370 --> 18:17.314 was very close or identical to the 18:17.314 --> 18:19.824 proposal that signed on to on May 6th 18:19.834 --> 18:22.444 and so on . And now suppose this falls 18:22.454 --> 18:25.364 apart or falls , it doesn't , doesn't 18:25.375 --> 18:28.625 come to to be uh how will that impact 18:28.635 --> 18:31.290 your plans for aid ? We will continue 18:31.300 --> 18:35.119 to work to try to surge aid into to 18:35.260 --> 18:38.270 to Gaza . We've been doing that when 18:38.280 --> 18:40.502 cease fire negotiations have been going 18:40.502 --> 18:42.502 well , we have been doing that when 18:42.502 --> 18:42.219 cease fire negotiations completely 18:42.229 --> 18:44.340 broken down because our commitment to 18:44.340 --> 18:46.007 trying to get aid to innocent 18:46.007 --> 18:48.229 Palestinians has nothing to do with the 18:48.229 --> 18:50.229 status of cease fire negotiations , 18:50.229 --> 18:51.951 including the reopening of the 18:51.951 --> 18:55.699 reopening of Iraq . France . Can 18:55.890 --> 18:59.869 any one region related to Israel ? How 18:59.880 --> 19:02.439 do you view the escalation of fighting 19:02.449 --> 19:06.359 between Hezbollah and Israel ? And do 19:06.369 --> 19:08.920 you expect a total war , especially 19:08.930 --> 19:11.420 that there are calls from the left and 19:11.430 --> 19:14.780 the right in Israel for a full blown 19:14.790 --> 19:17.189 war against Hezbollah . The situation 19:17.199 --> 19:19.599 along the Israeli Hezbollah border 19:19.609 --> 19:21.720 continues to be extremely dangerous . 19:21.720 --> 19:23.442 Escalation of that conflict is 19:23.442 --> 19:25.550 something that we have been worried 19:25.560 --> 19:27.504 about and working to contain since 19:27.504 --> 19:30.260 October 7th when uh you didn't have to 19:30.270 --> 19:32.492 be a genius to figure out that this was 19:32.492 --> 19:35.030 a possible significant area of conflict 19:35.040 --> 19:38.719 and of expanded conflict . And so that 19:38.729 --> 19:40.785 has been our focus trying to keep it 19:40.785 --> 19:43.510 from moving from shelling across the 19:43.520 --> 19:46.260 border and airstrikes border across the 19:46.270 --> 19:49.079 border to a full fledged conflagration . 19:49.089 --> 19:51.280 I will say it is our assessment that 19:52.040 --> 19:55.140 the acceptance of a ceasefire by Hamas 19:55.150 --> 19:57.261 in the beginning of a calm would help 19:57.261 --> 20:00.699 us reach calm in northern Israel and 20:00.709 --> 20:02.931 southern Lebanon and would be the thing 20:02.931 --> 20:05.153 that would help us reach both temporary 20:05.153 --> 20:06.987 calm and potentially a long term 20:06.987 --> 20:09.209 agreement to resolve the situation that 20:09.209 --> 20:11.431 would allow Israelis to return to their 20:11.431 --> 20:13.487 homes in northern Israel . There are 20:13.487 --> 20:15.653 tens of thousands of Israelis who have 20:15.653 --> 20:15.400 been forced to move from their homes , 20:15.410 --> 20:17.354 it's not safe to live there . They 20:17.354 --> 20:19.243 could return home and a number of 20:19.243 --> 20:21.354 Lebanese who have been forced to flee 20:21.354 --> 20:23.354 their homes in southern Lebanon who 20:23.354 --> 20:25.466 would be able to return home too . So 20:25.466 --> 20:27.521 it's something that we're pursuing , 20:27.521 --> 20:29.521 but it is really difficult to do as 20:29.521 --> 20:31.688 long as there is continued fighting in 20:31.688 --> 20:33.910 Gaza . So it's not the , it's obviously 20:33.910 --> 20:36.077 not the sole reason or the main reason 20:36.077 --> 20:38.188 we're pursuing an end to the fighting 20:38.188 --> 20:37.819 in Gaza , but it's something that we 20:37.829 --> 20:41.449 think would be a significant by product 20:41.459 --> 20:43.619 of achieving a ceasefire there . Any 20:43.630 --> 20:46.180 comments on the Israeli calls for a 20:46.189 --> 20:49.119 full blown war with Hezbollah . So we 20:49.130 --> 20:50.852 do not support a full war with 20:50.852 --> 20:52.963 Hezbollah . We don't want to see that 20:52.963 --> 20:55.074 happen . Now that said Israel has the 20:55.074 --> 20:57.297 right to defend itself from Hezbollah's 20:57.297 --> 20:56.530 attacks . Hezbollah is a terrorist 20:56.540 --> 20:58.651 organization that is committed to the 20:58.651 --> 21:00.818 destruction of Israel and has launched 21:00.818 --> 21:02.984 attacks against Israel for years . And 21:02.984 --> 21:04.873 so Israel has the right to defend 21:04.873 --> 21:06.984 itself and has the right to deal with 21:06.984 --> 21:06.734 that threat . You can understand why 21:06.944 --> 21:09.166 it's not a tenable situation for Israel 21:09.166 --> 21:10.944 to see tens of thousands of its 21:10.944 --> 21:13.111 citizens continue to be displaced from 21:13.111 --> 21:15.277 their homes and why they would want to 21:15.277 --> 21:17.555 do something about it . But ultimately , 21:17.555 --> 21:19.555 we've heard Israeli leaders say the 21:19.555 --> 21:21.277 solution that they prefer is a 21:21.277 --> 21:21.219 diplomatic solution and obviously that 21:21.229 --> 21:23.340 is the solution that we prefer to and 21:23.340 --> 21:25.451 that we're trying to pursue . And one 21:25.451 --> 21:27.340 more if you don't mind , the Iran 21:27.340 --> 21:29.800 Supreme leader has said in a speech 21:29.810 --> 21:33.459 yesterday that October 7th attack came 21:33.469 --> 21:36.239 at the right at the right time and the 21:36.250 --> 21:38.959 action thwarted the the grand plan of 21:38.969 --> 21:41.191 the Middle East region . Uh Do you have 21:41.191 --> 21:43.247 any comments on that ? So it goes to 21:43.247 --> 21:45.302 something you've heard the secretary 21:45.302 --> 21:47.247 say before , which is there is a , 21:47.369 --> 21:49.650 there are two paths for this region . 21:49.660 --> 21:51.920 One is a path to greater integration , 21:51.989 --> 21:53.989 greater peace , greater stability , 21:53.989 --> 21:56.100 greater commonality among the peoples 21:56.100 --> 21:58.520 of the region . And the other path is 21:58.640 --> 22:00.959 continued conflict and death and 22:00.969 --> 22:03.719 destruction and despair . And 22:05.520 --> 22:09.119 the we obviously support the first path . 22:09.880 --> 22:11.824 But it's also quite clear that the 22:11.824 --> 22:13.436 biggest opponents to further 22:13.436 --> 22:15.436 integration in the region , further 22:15.436 --> 22:17.436 peace in the region , stability are 22:17.436 --> 22:19.729 Iran , Hamas , Hezbollah , the other 22:19.739 --> 22:23.130 proxy groups that Iran funds . So when 22:23.140 --> 22:26.479 you look at um the possibilities that 22:26.489 --> 22:29.219 lie in front of the region in the long 22:29.229 --> 22:31.396 term , if we can achieve a ceasefire , 22:31.396 --> 22:33.285 the pa the possibility of greater 22:33.285 --> 22:35.469 integration that would bring peace to 22:35.479 --> 22:37.699 Israelis and peace to Palestinians and 22:37.709 --> 22:40.150 and further stability in the region . 22:40.160 --> 22:43.910 It's why we believe the greatest rebuke 22:43.989 --> 22:46.500 to Hamas and its sponsor and the 22:46.510 --> 22:48.566 greatest rebuke to those who support 22:48.566 --> 22:51.020 the attacks of October 7th would be not 22:51.030 --> 22:54.589 just this initial ceasefire but long 22:54.599 --> 22:56.655 term peace and stability that leaves 22:56.655 --> 22:58.599 Israel further integrated with its 22:58.599 --> 23:00.599 neighbors . Thank you . Thanks just 23:00.599 --> 23:02.766 quickly circling back to Qatar and the 23:02.766 --> 23:04.766 statement from his Foreign Ministry 23:04.766 --> 23:06.988 questioning Israel's position . Are you 23:06.988 --> 23:09.099 fully confident that Qatar is putting 23:09.099 --> 23:08.920 as much pressure as it possibly can on 23:08.930 --> 23:11.280 Hamas to accept the deal ? Given that 23:11.290 --> 23:13.234 the US and Qatar apparently are on 23:13.234 --> 23:15.012 different pages . We are not on 23:15.012 --> 23:17.346 different pages and I will say that yes , 23:17.346 --> 23:19.234 I am confident that we have had a 23:19.234 --> 23:21.068 number of conversations with the 23:21.068 --> 23:23.123 government of Qatar about this exact 23:23.123 --> 23:25.346 question going back without giving away 23:25.346 --> 23:27.401 too much to the immediate days right 23:27.401 --> 23:30.069 after October 7th . Um and have always 23:30.079 --> 23:32.349 made clear that there can't be any more 23:32.359 --> 23:34.989 business as usual with Hamas for 23:35.000 --> 23:37.056 countries in the region . But at the 23:37.056 --> 23:39.056 same time , we have valued the role 23:39.056 --> 23:40.889 that Qatar has played in being a 23:40.889 --> 23:44.310 channel Tomas and being able to mediate 23:44.319 --> 23:46.486 this potential hostage deal as well as 23:46.486 --> 23:48.652 the last uh pause , the one week pause 23:48.652 --> 23:50.652 that they were able to mediate that 23:50.652 --> 23:52.597 happened last November . And so we 23:52.597 --> 23:52.489 greatly value the role that Qatar has 23:52.500 --> 23:55.310 played including on um sending the 23:55.319 --> 23:57.597 appropriate level of messages to Hamas . 23:59.140 --> 24:02.890 Yeah , I know this is 24:02.900 --> 24:06.810 slightly the ie a um Could you explain 24:06.819 --> 24:08.986 what's , what's going on there ? The , 24:08.986 --> 24:10.986 the the European powers have talked 24:10.986 --> 24:14.300 about a reprimand censure Iran , of 24:14.310 --> 24:16.421 course , is sit back of this . What's 24:16.421 --> 24:18.588 the US position ? I mean , it has been 24:18.588 --> 24:18.319 widely reported that the US doesn't 24:18.329 --> 24:20.385 think that it's the right time for a 24:20.385 --> 24:22.496 censure . So I'm not going to preview 24:22.496 --> 24:24.607 any of the actions that we might take 24:24.607 --> 24:26.718 at the IE a Board of Governors . I'll 24:26.718 --> 24:28.940 just say that we have taken significant 24:28.940 --> 24:31.229 actions at the IA IA in the past , we 24:31.239 --> 24:33.183 are prepared to do so again in the 24:33.183 --> 24:35.406 future and we continue to talk with our 24:35.406 --> 24:37.572 partners , including the E three about 24:37.572 --> 24:39.795 exactly what those might look like in a 24:39.795 --> 24:39.020 essential . Do you think it's all 24:39.030 --> 24:41.141 productive at this time ? Again , I'm 24:41.141 --> 24:43.030 going to keep those conversations 24:43.030 --> 24:42.760 private for now . There are 24:42.770 --> 24:44.937 conversations that are ongoing as part 24:44.937 --> 24:46.992 of the Board of Governors meetings . 24:46.992 --> 24:49.214 But as I said , we've taken significant 24:49.214 --> 24:51.437 actions in the past and are prepared to 24:51.437 --> 24:51.390 do so in the future . I don't think 24:51.400 --> 24:53.567 he's asking you for the details of the 24:53.567 --> 24:55.733 actual conversations . He's asking you 24:55.733 --> 24:57.844 what the administration's position is 24:57.844 --> 25:01.339 and he is and those are positions . As 25:01.349 --> 25:03.459 I said , it's an issue that we have 25:03.469 --> 25:05.636 anything to do with your conversations 25:05.636 --> 25:07.747 with anybody else . It does have , it 25:07.747 --> 25:07.530 does have something to do with our 25:07.540 --> 25:10.869 conversations with the , the 25:11.209 --> 25:13.229 content of a resolution at the 25:13.239 --> 25:15.183 potential resolution is absolutely 25:15.183 --> 25:17.072 something that would be the we be 25:17.072 --> 25:19.406 talking about with our partners , right ? 25:19.406 --> 25:21.517 But what's your should , should there 25:21.517 --> 25:24.030 be a resolution ? You will see the 25:24.040 --> 25:25.873 United States position when that 25:25.873 --> 25:28.040 resolution comes forward ? But I think 25:28.040 --> 25:30.151 you should not expect us to be acting 25:30.151 --> 25:32.207 in any sort of disharmony with our E 25:32.207 --> 25:34.373 three partners . We've prize our unity 25:34.373 --> 25:36.596 with them and I expect that to continue 25:36.596 --> 25:38.818 another on Iran sort of separate . Does 25:38.818 --> 25:40.873 the US have clarity on these Israeli 25:40.873 --> 25:42.873 air strikes in Syria that appear to 25:42.873 --> 25:44.929 have killed an Iranian general asked 25:44.929 --> 25:47.096 for information as to their target and 25:47.096 --> 25:49.207 intent to ? We do not , I've seen the 25:49.207 --> 25:48.599 reports but don't have any further 25:48.609 --> 25:50.776 information on it . Have you consulted 25:50.776 --> 25:52.831 with the Israeli government ? I just 25:52.831 --> 25:54.942 don't have any information other than 25:54.942 --> 25:54.849 that we've seen the reports given the 25:54.859 --> 25:57.670 background of it rising to a almost 25:57.680 --> 25:59.902 global conflagration when this happened 25:59.902 --> 26:02.069 last time in April . Shouldn't it kind 26:02.069 --> 26:04.236 of top the list ? I may have something 26:04.236 --> 26:06.291 to say later . But as I said for now 26:06.291 --> 26:06.265 just reports that we've seen don't have 26:06.275 --> 26:09.844 anything further . So my 26:10.295 --> 26:12.351 questions , but before that , let me 26:12.351 --> 26:14.573 follow up on this second schedule , you 26:14.573 --> 26:16.684 said he's leaving tonight more on his 26:16.684 --> 26:18.739 schedule . And by that in Norman and 26:18.739 --> 26:21.073 many time to help me to show up in this . 26:21.824 --> 26:25.505 So what was the last part in ? So with 26:25.515 --> 26:27.515 respect to the initial part of this 26:27.515 --> 26:29.237 trip , he's traveling with the 26:29.237 --> 26:31.404 President , he is going to be in um in 26:31.404 --> 26:33.237 Normandy and then in Paris , his 26:33.237 --> 26:35.071 schedule will largely follow the 26:35.071 --> 26:37.182 president's schedule . If we have any 26:37.182 --> 26:39.348 separate programming meetings or uh or 26:39.348 --> 26:39.170 such to announce , we will make those 26:39.180 --> 26:41.550 public in in the coming days . Um With 26:41.560 --> 26:45.060 respect to dates beyond that , I think 26:45.069 --> 26:47.180 a week beyond that , I don't have any 26:47.180 --> 26:48.958 further to announce a couple of 26:48.958 --> 26:51.125 questions on the eu elections . Uh You 26:51.125 --> 26:53.291 know , there , there are reports about 26:53.291 --> 26:55.180 increasing Russian disinformation 26:55.180 --> 26:57.347 campaign in Europe . What's your level 26:57.347 --> 26:59.513 of concern about uh those reports ? So 26:59.513 --> 27:01.736 we have been incredibly concerned about 27:01.736 --> 27:03.902 uh Russian disinformation . This was a 27:03.902 --> 27:06.069 significant subject of conversation at 27:06.069 --> 27:08.291 the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting last 27:08.291 --> 27:10.458 week in Prague something the secretary 27:10.458 --> 27:12.680 raised and and not only raised but then 27:12.680 --> 27:14.736 heard significant concern about from 27:14.736 --> 27:16.791 our European partners . We have seen 27:16.791 --> 27:16.069 the Russian government use 27:16.079 --> 27:18.510 disinformation against its own people . 27:18.520 --> 27:20.742 We have seen the Russian government use 27:20.742 --> 27:23.599 disinformation to spread lies and 27:23.609 --> 27:27.569 rumors across Europe and across the 27:27.579 --> 27:29.690 world and we continue to consult with 27:29.690 --> 27:31.635 our partners about the best way to 27:31.635 --> 27:33.523 respond to that . Kremlin is also 27:33.523 --> 27:35.190 echoing Georgian government's 27:35.190 --> 27:37.412 propaganda . Today we heard from Deputy 27:37.412 --> 27:40.069 for are saying that the US is planning 27:40.079 --> 27:43.280 to implement a new Maidan in October in 27:43.290 --> 27:45.457 Georgia . You have any response . So I 27:45.457 --> 27:47.623 look you continue to see . I think the 27:47.623 --> 27:49.846 answer I just gave about disinformation 27:49.846 --> 27:52.012 that you see from the Kremlin probably 27:52.012 --> 27:54.012 applies here pretty well . What you 27:54.012 --> 27:56.123 have seen in Georgia is over the past 27:56.123 --> 27:58.068 few weeks is the Georgian people's 27:58.068 --> 28:00.930 expression of their will and their 28:00.939 --> 28:03.050 opposition to this Kremlin backed law 28:03.050 --> 28:05.383 that the Georgian government has passed , 28:05.383 --> 28:07.272 has nothing to do with the United 28:07.272 --> 28:09.161 States . It has to do with uh the 28:09.161 --> 28:11.328 people of Georgia expressing their own 28:11.328 --> 28:13.439 views . Thank you . And finally on uh 28:13.439 --> 28:15.661 on Ukraine , we have seen a letter came 28:15.661 --> 28:17.383 from the House Foreign Affairs 28:17.383 --> 28:19.495 Committee urging the Secretary of the 28:19.495 --> 28:21.439 Secretary of State and Treasury to 28:21.439 --> 28:23.661 speed up in terms of implemented report 28:23.661 --> 28:25.939 act . Where are you at this and why is , 28:25.939 --> 28:27.995 what is the delay ? So the secretary 28:27.995 --> 28:30.161 has made quite clear that we have been 28:30.161 --> 28:29.589 given those authorities and we plan to 28:29.599 --> 28:31.821 use them , but it's also important that 28:31.821 --> 28:34.199 we use them in concert with uh our 28:34.219 --> 28:37.099 European and other allies . Um As I 28:37.109 --> 28:39.949 think , you know , the vast majority of 28:39.959 --> 28:42.126 the frozen Russian assets are not held 28:42.126 --> 28:44.292 in the United States , they're held in 28:44.292 --> 28:46.515 European countries . So uh for the this 28:46.515 --> 28:48.737 action to be as effective as possible . 28:48.800 --> 28:50.911 It's important that we act in concert 28:50.911 --> 28:52.578 with our allies and we are in 28:52.578 --> 28:54.467 consultation with uh our European 28:54.467 --> 28:56.522 allies about the best way to do that 28:56.522 --> 28:58.467 possible . But we are committed to 28:58.467 --> 29:00.522 ensuring that Russians frozen assets 29:01.069 --> 29:03.125 remain immobilized and that they are 29:03.125 --> 29:05.013 put to use for the benefit of the 29:05.013 --> 29:07.125 Ukrainian people . Yeah , I wanted to 29:07.125 --> 29:09.347 ask you about India's elections . After 29:09.347 --> 29:11.569 three months , the people of India have 29:11.569 --> 29:13.959 voted the results are out . Now . Prime 29:14.160 --> 29:16.382 Modi's ruling coalition has crossed the 29:16.382 --> 29:18.271 halfway mark . How do you see the 29:18.271 --> 29:20.438 election result from the election ? So 29:20.438 --> 29:22.660 first of all , I understand is that the 29:22.660 --> 29:22.189 election results have not been 29:22.199 --> 29:24.199 finalized . So we will wait for the 29:24.199 --> 29:26.366 finalization of those election results 29:26.366 --> 29:28.643 before we offer any definitive comment . 29:28.643 --> 29:30.477 I'm also not going to comment on 29:30.477 --> 29:32.588 winners and losers in election is our 29:32.588 --> 29:34.366 case around the world . What is 29:34.366 --> 29:36.532 important for us and what we have seen 29:36.532 --> 29:38.421 uh over the past six weeks is the 29:38.421 --> 29:40.421 largest uh exercise of democracy in 29:40.421 --> 29:42.477 history as the Indian people came to 29:42.477 --> 29:44.569 the polls . And uh on behalf of the 29:44.579 --> 29:46.746 United States , we want to commend the 29:46.746 --> 29:48.912 governor of India and voters there for 29:48.912 --> 29:50.468 successfully completing and 29:50.468 --> 29:52.246 participating in such a massive 29:52.859 --> 29:54.859 electoral undertaking . And we look 29:54.859 --> 29:56.859 forward to seeing the final results 29:56.859 --> 29:59.026 during the election campaign . India's 29:59.026 --> 30:00.970 External Affairs Minister Jenk and 30:00.970 --> 30:03.137 Prime Minister also indicated multiple 30:03.137 --> 30:03.099 times that there have been attempts to 30:03.109 --> 30:05.165 influence the India's elections from 30:05.165 --> 30:07.719 Western side us and other countries to 30:07.729 --> 30:09.673 a statement that came out from the 30:09.673 --> 30:11.673 podium about you expressed concerns 30:11.673 --> 30:14.760 about a of Indian Chief minister and 30:14.770 --> 30:16.881 the freezing of banks of the Congress 30:16.881 --> 30:19.048 Party were also not taken . How do you 30:19.048 --> 30:21.103 see that ? So we always will express 30:21.103 --> 30:22.992 our views clearly and openly . We 30:22.992 --> 30:25.103 express them with foreign governments 30:25.103 --> 30:25.030 privately and when we have things that 30:25.040 --> 30:26.873 we are concerned about , we also 30:26.873 --> 30:28.929 express them publicly including from 30:28.929 --> 30:31.040 this podium . That's what I've done . 30:31.040 --> 30:30.839 But that in no way is an attempt to 30:30.849 --> 30:32.738 influence an election in India or 30:32.738 --> 30:36.209 anywhere else . Thank you . Thank you , 30:36.219 --> 30:39.859 sir . Two questions . One , how do you 30:39.900 --> 30:42.180 put relations between us India 30:42.189 --> 30:45.119 relations today and tomorrow ? Modi 30:45.130 --> 30:47.219 three , how the relations will be 30:47.229 --> 30:49.451 between the two countries . So I expect 30:49.451 --> 30:51.562 a continued close partnership between 30:51.562 --> 30:53.729 the United States and India . There is 30:53.729 --> 30:55.618 a a great partnership both at the 30:55.618 --> 30:57.673 government level , at the and at the 30:57.673 --> 30:59.729 people to people level . And I fully 30:59.729 --> 31:01.785 expect that to continue . And second 31:01.785 --> 31:03.840 sir , there are a few actors against 31:03.840 --> 31:06.007 the United States working these days , 31:06.007 --> 31:08.062 including Russia and China , maybe a 31:08.062 --> 31:10.599 few others who are the worst as far as 31:10.609 --> 31:13.140 the US national security is concerned , 31:13.150 --> 31:16.010 Russia or China . Look , it is clear 31:16.020 --> 31:19.290 that it is Russia that is , has invaded 31:19.300 --> 31:21.467 a country right now is actively trying 31:21.467 --> 31:23.578 to overthrow a democratically elected 31:23.578 --> 31:26.010 government and require the United 31:26.020 --> 31:28.349 States to mobilize international 31:28.359 --> 31:30.470 coalition to respond to that . But we 31:30.470 --> 31:32.581 also have concerns about actions that 31:32.581 --> 31:34.692 China has taken . But it's clear that 31:34.692 --> 31:36.970 Russia and China are the two countries , 31:36.970 --> 31:40.280 both with the size and 31:40.290 --> 31:43.290 ability and motivation to offer a 31:43.300 --> 31:45.633 different vision of the world than that , 31:45.633 --> 31:47.578 that is put forward uh from by the 31:47.578 --> 31:49.467 United States and a number of our 31:49.467 --> 31:51.467 allies . And so we will continue to 31:51.467 --> 31:51.459 offer our vision of the world and 31:51.469 --> 31:53.691 continue to stand up to either of those 31:53.691 --> 31:55.636 countries when we see actions that 31:55.636 --> 31:57.636 contradict that . Thank you , sir . 31:59.709 --> 32:02.869 Go ahead . Can I 32:03.930 --> 32:06.489 Yes , sir . Thank you very much . So 27 32:06.500 --> 32:08.722 members so far Muslim members have been 32:08.722 --> 32:12.390 winning in the elections in India . You 32:12.400 --> 32:14.689 really think that India is becoming 32:14.699 --> 32:16.755 secular because when President Biden 32:16.755 --> 32:18.921 was running for elections , one of the 32:18.921 --> 32:21.032 issue was that Prime Minister Modi is 32:21.032 --> 32:23.709 turning in India into a Hindu state 32:23.739 --> 32:26.199 where there are more than 300 Muslims 32:26.599 --> 32:29.010 27 seats there . So far winning Modi is 32:29.020 --> 32:31.187 winning the election . But you have to 32:31.187 --> 32:33.300 admit that under President Biden , a 32:33.329 --> 32:35.920 leader is coming , who is turning a 32:35.930 --> 32:38.890 country into a one religion , a Hindu 32:38.900 --> 32:40.900 state basically , right ? Would you 32:40.900 --> 32:42.956 agree with that ? So I will say that 32:42.956 --> 32:44.844 when we have concerns about human 32:44.844 --> 32:47.067 rights as we have in India , we express 32:47.067 --> 32:47.040 those openly , we express them directly 32:47.050 --> 32:49.106 to the government of India . We have 32:49.106 --> 32:51.217 done that and we'll continue to do it 32:51.217 --> 32:50.739 as we do with countries all around the 32:50.750 --> 32:52.917 world . Thank you so much . Can I just 32:52.917 --> 32:54.972 ask one more . The Pakistan Military 32:54.972 --> 32:57.410 83rd Corps Commander conference met 32:57.420 --> 33:00.030 just a couple of days ago and they came 33:00.040 --> 33:01.873 up with this term called digital 33:01.873 --> 33:03.651 terrorism where they think that 33:03.651 --> 33:06.734 official public in the US and Canada 33:06.744 --> 33:09.875 and UK mostly through digital platforms , 33:09.885 --> 33:11.718 they are spreading terrorism and 33:11.718 --> 33:14.074 creating anarchy sort of situation . Do 33:14.084 --> 33:16.140 you have any comments about that ? I 33:16.140 --> 33:18.251 have not seen that specific report of 33:18.251 --> 33:20.195 that allegation , but obviously we 33:20.195 --> 33:22.195 oppose terrorism or any attempts to 33:22.195 --> 33:24.785 recruit people to terrorism or digital . 33:25.055 --> 33:27.277 I'm saying I haven't seen that report , 33:27.277 --> 33:30.449 but thank you so much . Yeah , go ahead . 33:31.180 --> 33:33.347 India has the world's largest , second 33:33.347 --> 33:35.402 largest number of Hindu population , 33:35.402 --> 33:37.402 Muslim population after Indonesia . 33:37.402 --> 33:39.624 None of the other Muslim countries have 33:39.624 --> 33:41.680 that much Muslim population as India 33:41.680 --> 33:43.791 has . Why do you think Hindi India is 33:43.791 --> 33:45.958 converting into a Hindu ? I'm just not 33:45.958 --> 33:48.069 going to speak to you that question , 33:48.459 --> 33:50.819 Matt just to go back to Hezbollah a 33:50.859 --> 33:53.619 minute ago . I just want to make sure I 33:53.630 --> 33:55.741 heard what you said , I heard right , 33:55.741 --> 33:58.410 what you said . So you said us does not 33:58.420 --> 34:02.020 support a full blown war and the border . 34:02.030 --> 34:04.252 It's not what we want to see . We don't 34:04.252 --> 34:06.419 want to see a full blown war . We want 34:06.419 --> 34:08.474 to see this resolved by a diplomatic 34:08.474 --> 34:08.399 resolution . Sure . So are you saying 34:08.409 --> 34:11.659 that us is against the possible 34:11.669 --> 34:14.050 offensive that Israel is talking about 34:14.060 --> 34:15.893 carrying out ? We want to see it 34:15.893 --> 34:18.004 resolved through diplomatic means and 34:18.004 --> 34:20.116 that's what we have been pursuing . I 34:20.116 --> 34:22.171 also said that Israel has a right to 34:22.171 --> 34:24.282 defend itself and it is not a tenable 34:24.282 --> 34:26.227 situation for tens of thousands of 34:26.227 --> 34:29.300 people to continue to be displaced from 34:29.310 --> 34:31.254 their homes . But what we've heard 34:31.254 --> 34:33.199 Israel say is that their preferred 34:33.199 --> 34:35.310 resolution is a diplomatic one and we 34:35.310 --> 34:37.477 agree with that , right ? But they are 34:37.477 --> 34:37.459 also saying today , Military Chief of 34:37.469 --> 34:39.636 General Staff , Harzi Halevi is saying 34:39.636 --> 34:41.358 Israel is ready for a military 34:41.358 --> 34:43.525 offensive along the border and that it 34:43.525 --> 34:45.691 was nearing a decision point . So what 34:45.691 --> 34:47.858 is your comment for that ? Our comment 34:47.858 --> 34:49.969 is that we want to see it resolved by 34:49.969 --> 34:52.191 diplomatic means . We want to see cease 34:52.191 --> 34:54.413 fire agreed to in Gaza that would allow 34:54.413 --> 34:57.625 us to pursue a diplomatic resolution in 34:57.635 --> 35:00.034 the North . This could all be solved by 35:00.044 --> 35:02.100 a cease fire . And have you told the 35:02.100 --> 35:04.266 Israelis in the past couple of days or 35:04.266 --> 35:06.266 today specifically about these like 35:06.266 --> 35:08.488 advice ? I don't want to do it . So I I 35:08.488 --> 35:10.211 don't know of any , any recent 35:10.211 --> 35:12.433 conversations with them , but we have , 35:12.433 --> 35:14.655 we have had this conversation with them 35:14.655 --> 35:16.979 for a long time and Israel has made 35:16.989 --> 35:18.933 clear they don't want a war in the 35:18.933 --> 35:20.989 North . A war in the North would tax 35:20.989 --> 35:23.211 their resources which have already been 35:23.211 --> 35:25.267 taxed by the conflict in Gaza . This 35:25.267 --> 35:27.322 goes to the thing that the secretary 35:27.322 --> 35:26.469 has talked about and I talked about a 35:26.479 --> 35:28.479 little bit about yesterday where we 35:28.479 --> 35:30.201 look all of it and you see the 35:30.201 --> 35:32.312 potential of Israel being bogged down 35:32.312 --> 35:34.479 in Gaza fighting a war in the North if 35:34.479 --> 35:36.479 you have further instability in the 35:36.479 --> 35:38.701 West Bank . And as the president said , 35:38.701 --> 35:40.590 that drains them diplomatically , 35:40.590 --> 35:42.757 economically militarily and it's not a 35:42.757 --> 35:44.979 strategic success for them . So we have 35:44.979 --> 35:47.201 heard Israel say publicly and privately 35:47.201 --> 35:49.257 that their preferred resolution is a 35:49.257 --> 35:51.449 diplomatic one . Now , should we not 35:51.459 --> 35:53.626 get a cease fire in Gaza ? Should they 35:53.626 --> 35:55.792 continue to see strikes in the North ? 35:55.792 --> 35:57.959 I don't know what will happen , but we 35:57.959 --> 35:59.959 will continue to focus on trying to 35:59.959 --> 36:02.181 achieve a diplomatic resolution to this 36:02.181 --> 36:04.015 conflict . It is not in anyone's 36:04.015 --> 36:06.070 interest to see escalation along the 36:06.070 --> 36:08.292 border between Israel and Lebanon . And 36:08.292 --> 36:10.292 from us point of view , would it be 36:10.292 --> 36:12.520 unacceptable for Israel to start this 36:12.530 --> 36:14.697 offensive in the North in the event of 36:14.697 --> 36:16.752 a cease firing ? So I'm not going to 36:16.752 --> 36:18.697 get into hypotheticals as we don't 36:18.697 --> 36:20.863 believe it is in their interest . They 36:20.863 --> 36:20.810 have , they have said that it is 36:20.820 --> 36:22.876 different than launching . They have 36:22.876 --> 36:24.931 said it is not , it is not something 36:24.931 --> 36:27.098 they want to pursue either if they can 36:27.098 --> 36:29.320 pursue a diplomatic resolution . At the 36:29.320 --> 36:29.110 same time , the situation we do 36:29.120 --> 36:31.176 understand is untenable . So it does 36:31.176 --> 36:33.169 give urgency to the diplomatic 36:33.179 --> 36:35.600 negotiations to resolve that problem 36:35.719 --> 36:38.159 and connect to that for Hamas to reach 36:38.169 --> 36:42.070 a cease fire . Are you confident 36:42.080 --> 36:44.110 that you will be able to find a 36:44.120 --> 36:46.669 diplomatic solution for the fighting ? 36:46.689 --> 36:48.745 And for the crisis between Hezbollah 36:48.745 --> 36:50.689 and Israel . Look , obviously , we 36:50.689 --> 36:52.800 can't make any predictions about what 36:52.800 --> 36:52.270 would happen that would involve , of 36:52.280 --> 36:54.502 course Hezbollah being willing to agree 36:54.502 --> 36:56.870 to a resolution as well . But we are , 36:56.879 --> 36:59.820 we do believe that if we can get calm 36:59.830 --> 37:01.699 in Gaza , that it dramatically 37:01.709 --> 37:03.820 increases our chance . It unlocks the 37:03.820 --> 37:05.669 real possibility of calming the 37:05.679 --> 37:08.370 situation in the North , which does not 37:08.379 --> 37:11.790 need to be at the level . It is today , 37:11.800 --> 37:13.967 it wasn't at this level before October 37:13.967 --> 37:15.967 7th . It was the fight . You know , 37:15.967 --> 37:15.659 there's always been obviously tension 37:15.669 --> 37:17.836 along that border and strikes and even 37:17.836 --> 37:19.891 wars that have been fought over that 37:19.891 --> 37:22.002 border . But we have seen an increase 37:22.002 --> 37:23.947 in strikes across the border after 37:23.947 --> 37:26.169 October 7th and should we reach a cease 37:26.169 --> 37:26.080 fire in Gaza ? We think it's something 37:26.090 --> 37:28.146 we have a good chance of resolving . 37:28.550 --> 37:31.889 Yeah , go ahead . Oh , thank uh thank 37:31.899 --> 37:35.239 you , Matthew . So I'm really 37:35.250 --> 37:37.360 confused by this proposal that the 37:37.370 --> 37:39.592 president said Israel put forth . There 37:39.592 --> 37:41.759 seems to be a misunderstanding between 37:41.759 --> 37:43.759 the sides and there are conflicting 37:43.759 --> 37:45.814 reports . Israel says its objectives 37:45.814 --> 37:47.981 have not changed yet . This deal would 37:47.981 --> 37:50.259 not say result in elimination of Hamas . 37:50.259 --> 37:52.370 Prime Minister Netanyahu said some of 37:52.370 --> 37:54.592 what President Biden said in his speech 37:54.592 --> 37:54.479 on Friday is inaccurate . Can you 37:54.489 --> 37:56.790 please clarify ? So I think some of 37:56.800 --> 37:59.429 this goes to what has to be negotiated 37:59.439 --> 38:01.772 in getting into phase one and phase two . 38:01.772 --> 38:03.939 Israel has agreed to the proposal that 38:03.939 --> 38:03.889 includes all of the elements of the 38:03.899 --> 38:05.843 proposal , phase one , phase two , 38:05.843 --> 38:08.066 phase three . But as the president said 38:08.066 --> 38:10.232 in his remarks , uh the details of how 38:10.232 --> 38:12.399 you get to phase two are gonna have to 38:12.399 --> 38:15.800 be negotiated . And uh that's what we 38:15.810 --> 38:18.032 we were prepared to do , but it doesn't 38:18.250 --> 38:21.840 require Hamas to be gone . Right . So 38:21.850 --> 38:25.360 we have made clear that Hamas cannot 38:25.370 --> 38:27.719 continue to govern Gaza . We also don't 38:27.729 --> 38:29.785 believe that you can eliminate Hamas 38:29.785 --> 38:31.949 just with a military campaign that a 38:31.959 --> 38:34.500 military campaign can kill . Fighters 38:34.510 --> 38:36.621 can detain , traders support violence 38:36.621 --> 38:38.454 in the West Bank and we will not 38:38.454 --> 38:40.454 hesitate to continue to do so . And 38:40.454 --> 38:42.870 finally , Samantha power , the Israeli , 38:42.879 --> 38:45.260 I mean , I'm sorry , the Samantha power 38:45.270 --> 38:46.937 said that Israel is the chief 38:47.250 --> 38:50.030 impediment to Gaza aid . How do you 38:50.040 --> 38:52.399 assess what she said ? So I won't speak 38:52.409 --> 38:55.310 to her comments , my USA I colleagues 38:55.449 --> 38:57.616 speak to them . I think if you look at 38:57.616 --> 38:59.727 the full substance , she was speaking 38:59.727 --> 39:01.671 to the conflict on being the chief 39:01.671 --> 39:03.893 impediment to getting aid in . And that 39:03.893 --> 39:03.840 is that is manifestly the case , you 39:03.850 --> 39:05.961 can get aid even when you get can get 39:05.961 --> 39:07.906 aid to Karem Shaam . It it's often 39:07.906 --> 39:10.072 difficult to get it distributed inside 39:10.072 --> 39:12.183 Gaza because people are moving to new 39:12.183 --> 39:14.017 places and there's uh uh ongoing 39:14.017 --> 39:16.017 conflict that's been a challenge um 39:16.017 --> 39:18.017 throughout that we will continue to 39:18.017 --> 39:20.128 work through . But two things with uh 39:20.128 --> 39:22.294 in that regard . Number one . so there 39:22.294 --> 39:24.072 were just officials from the US 39:24.072 --> 39:26.294 government who met in Cairo yesterday , 39:26.294 --> 39:29.340 um uh with uh officials from uh Egypt 39:29.489 --> 39:31.489 and from Israel to try to work on a 39:31.489 --> 39:34.020 solution to reopen uh Rafah Gate . They 39:34.030 --> 39:35.974 were constructive discussions , uh 39:35.974 --> 39:38.360 professional . Um They will continue to 39:38.370 --> 39:40.537 pursue them in the coming days because 39:40.537 --> 39:42.648 we want to see Rafa open because that 39:42.648 --> 39:42.199 would be another gate to allow 39:42.209 --> 39:44.320 humanitarian assistance in . And then 39:44.320 --> 39:47.370 second back to the bigger point , if we 39:47.379 --> 39:49.546 could get a ceasefire , if Hamas would 39:49.546 --> 39:51.712 agree to this cease fire proposal , we 39:51.712 --> 39:53.768 could get 600 trucks a day coming in 39:53.768 --> 39:55.879 and not just coming in , but it would 39:55.879 --> 39:58.046 be much , much easier for them to move 39:58.046 --> 40:00.268 safely around Gaza and get humanitarian 40:00.268 --> 40:02.435 aid in the hands of the people that we 40:02.435 --> 40:04.546 need , who need it . Thank you , Matt 40:04.729 --> 40:06.840 Prime Minister Netanyahu said neither 40:06.840 --> 40:08.840 Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority 40:08.840 --> 40:11.790 will play a role in the day after in 40:11.800 --> 40:13.459 Gaza . Do you agree that the 40:13.469 --> 40:15.280 Palestinian authority should be 40:16.610 --> 40:18.830 excluded from playing any role ? No , 40:18.840 --> 40:21.007 we do not . We made quite clear we see 40:21.007 --> 40:23.229 a role for the Palestinian authority in 40:23.229 --> 40:25.118 the governance of Gaza after this 40:25.118 --> 40:27.229 conflict . You see this as a point of 40:27.229 --> 40:29.451 that might be not acceptable for Israel 40:29.451 --> 40:31.673 in terms of this that the president put 40:31.673 --> 40:33.729 forward . So when it comes to all of 40:33.729 --> 40:35.729 those issues about who would govern 40:35.729 --> 40:37.951 Gaza at the end of this conflict , I'll 40:37.951 --> 40:40.118 say two things . One , it is something 40:40.118 --> 40:42.173 that we have been as you know , well 40:42.429 --> 40:44.489 discussing with Arab partners in the 40:44.500 --> 40:47.209 region . It's been good subject of the 40:47.219 --> 40:49.350 work that we have done and as well as 40:49.360 --> 40:51.582 the work that we have done to encourage 40:51.582 --> 40:53.804 the Palestinian authority to take steps 40:53.804 --> 40:56.260 to reform itself . So not just Israelis 40:56.270 --> 40:58.270 could have faith in the Palestinian 40:58.270 --> 41:00.214 authority , but so the Palestinian 41:00.214 --> 40:59.620 people could have faith in the 40:59.629 --> 41:02.439 Palestinian authority uh uh governing 41:02.449 --> 41:04.616 as a non corrupt faithful actor in the 41:04.616 --> 41:06.671 interest of the , of the Palestinian 41:06.671 --> 41:08.727 people . So that's the first thing I 41:08.727 --> 41:10.949 would say . The second thing is I would 41:10.949 --> 41:10.459 say is that we are going to continue to 41:10.469 --> 41:12.413 engage with the Israeli government 41:12.413 --> 41:14.780 about this . And there are diversity of 41:14.790 --> 41:16.790 views inside the Israeli government 41:16.790 --> 41:19.123 about the Palestinian authority and the , 41:19.123 --> 41:19.100 the role that they ought to play and 41:19.110 --> 41:21.221 the future that they ought to play in 41:21.221 --> 41:23.221 governance in , in Gaza . And we're 41:23.221 --> 41:25.443 going to continue to make clear to them 41:25.443 --> 41:27.830 that we think a revitalized reformed 41:27.840 --> 41:30.669 fully functional Palestinian authority 41:30.770 --> 41:32.492 is in the best interest of the 41:32.492 --> 41:34.603 Palestinian people . It's in the best 41:34.603 --> 41:36.603 interests of Israel and it's , it's 41:36.603 --> 41:38.603 especially in the best interests of 41:38.603 --> 41:40.826 Israel's security . Ok . I want to have 41:40.826 --> 41:43.048 another go at the previous questions on 41:43.048 --> 41:45.350 Hamas . Um You know , the president 41:45.360 --> 41:47.527 said that Hamas capabilities have been 41:47.527 --> 41:49.693 degraded to the degree that they don't 41:49.693 --> 41:51.916 pose a threat equivalent to the October 41:51.916 --> 41:54.600 7th . Um Would you entertain or accept 41:54.610 --> 41:56.610 some kind of political presence for 41:56.610 --> 41:59.139 Hamas or do you think that it is going 41:59.149 --> 42:01.439 to be a situation analogous to the de 42:01.489 --> 42:03.489 baathification that we have seen in 42:03.489 --> 42:05.156 Iraq after the war ? Just the 42:05.156 --> 42:07.211 harmonization if I don't know if the 42:07.211 --> 42:09.100 term applies , but basically that 42:09.100 --> 42:12.334 nobody will be allowed to take part in 42:12.344 --> 42:15.814 any kind of shape or form of a civil 42:15.824 --> 42:17.925 authority of , you know , local 42:17.935 --> 42:19.768 authority , whatever , we're not 42:19.768 --> 42:21.991 talking about a definition brigade . So 42:22.350 --> 42:24.517 I'm not going to get into any level of 42:24.517 --> 42:26.628 detail because we're just not at that 42:26.628 --> 42:28.739 point in the process . But I will say 42:28.739 --> 42:30.794 at a high level , it is the strongly 42:30.794 --> 42:32.961 held view of the United States that we 42:32.961 --> 42:35.750 will continue to push the Hamas can 42:35.760 --> 42:38.038 play no role in the governance of Gaza . 42:38.038 --> 42:40.399 It has lost any legitimate claim it 42:40.409 --> 42:42.631 ever had and we didn't think it had one 42:42.631 --> 42:44.631 to begin with , but it has lost any 42:44.631 --> 42:46.798 legitimate claim to participate in the 42:46.798 --> 42:46.179 governance of Gaza by virtue of 42:46.189 --> 42:49.070 launching a brutal massacre of 1200 42:49.080 --> 42:52.300 Israelis on October 7th . And 42:52.310 --> 42:54.699 finally , Saudis and Qataris has 42:54.709 --> 42:58.659 condemned an Israeli knesset attempt 42:58.669 --> 43:02.020 for rebel actually to label Unrwa as a 43:02.030 --> 43:04.510 terrorist organization . Do you condemn 43:04.639 --> 43:06.989 this attempt by the Israeli knesset to 43:07.000 --> 43:09.409 do that ? So I am not , I was not aware 43:09.419 --> 43:11.475 of that vote . Obviously , we do not 43:11.475 --> 43:13.086 believe Unrwa is a terrorist 43:13.086 --> 43:15.459 organization . There were members of 43:15.469 --> 43:19.175 Unrwa who Unrwa provided evidence 43:19.185 --> 43:21.655 had participated in some way in the 43:21.665 --> 43:23.985 attacks of October 7th but that is not 43:23.995 --> 43:26.245 the , but that is not , that is not 43:26.254 --> 43:28.985 actions by unrwa the body itself . So 43:28.995 --> 43:30.995 that's our general position , but I 43:30.995 --> 43:33.162 can't speak to the specific vote . I'm 43:33.162 --> 43:35.051 not familiar with . I want you to 43:35.051 --> 43:36.884 clarify this UN R A has provided 43:36.884 --> 43:40.149 evidence that some members were . Yeah . 43:40.510 --> 43:43.050 Well , so I should say they briefed us 43:43.060 --> 43:45.282 on evidence that they found . Yeah , at 43:45.282 --> 43:47.338 the beginning of this , um I've gone 43:47.338 --> 43:46.860 through this a few times at the 43:46.870 --> 43:48.870 beginning of this entire issue with 43:48.870 --> 43:52.060 regard to Unrwa . Um A lot of people 43:52.070 --> 43:54.237 think it was , we took the action that 43:54.237 --> 43:56.237 we took to suspend Un R A's funding 43:56.237 --> 43:56.149 because of something the Israeli 43:56.159 --> 43:58.270 government told us and that's not the 43:58.270 --> 44:00.326 case . It was UN R A that came to us 44:00.326 --> 44:02.215 and said they were aware of these 44:02.215 --> 44:04.548 allegations . They had looked into them , 44:04.548 --> 44:06.715 found evidence that certain members of 44:06.715 --> 44:06.310 Unrwa had participated in the attacks 44:06.320 --> 44:08.542 of October 7th and so had suspended and 44:08.542 --> 44:10.653 fired for 1314 . I don't remember the 44:10.653 --> 44:12.876 exact number now and that's why we took 44:12.876 --> 44:15.098 the action we did and you can update us 44:15.098 --> 44:17.264 on the investigation because it's been 44:17.264 --> 44:19.153 what , a few months now , I can't 44:19.153 --> 44:18.375 because it's not a US government 44:18.385 --> 44:20.496 investigation . It's a United Nations 44:20.496 --> 44:22.552 investigation . I would refer you to 44:22.552 --> 44:24.774 them to speak to that . Could , could I 44:24.774 --> 44:26.885 have clarification on your engagement 44:26.885 --> 44:29.218 with the P A ? Are you engaged with the , 44:29.218 --> 44:29.129 with the Palestinian authority right 44:29.139 --> 44:31.600 now ? We have conversations with , what 44:31.610 --> 44:34.320 are the whereabouts of Mr had , for 44:34.649 --> 44:36.927 instance ? Is he engaged ? He has been , 44:36.927 --> 44:39.093 he travels back and forth between here 44:39.093 --> 44:41.038 and the region quite regularly . I 44:41.038 --> 44:40.550 don't know if he's here in the region 44:40.560 --> 44:42.560 today . But , um , yeah , he's , he 44:42.560 --> 44:44.727 engages regularly with the Palestinian 44:44.727 --> 44:46.560 authority as do officials in our 44:46.560 --> 44:49.169 embassy in Jerusalem . Um Stay in the 44:49.179 --> 44:51.346 region more . Yeah . Yeah . Go ahead . 44:53.159 --> 44:55.103 Did you hear back from the Israeli 44:55.103 --> 44:57.048 regarding the investigation on the 44:57.048 --> 45:00.510 strike last weekend ? We have , 45:00.919 --> 45:03.419 we have not number one , I don't know 45:03.429 --> 45:05.596 if the investigation has concluded but 45:05.596 --> 45:07.762 in the event , we haven't been briefed 45:07.762 --> 45:09.818 at this point . And on this proposed 45:09.818 --> 45:12.040 deal , the president also the secretary 45:12.040 --> 45:14.129 yesterday in his call with guns , he 45:14.139 --> 45:16.899 mentioned that this proposed deal will 45:16.909 --> 45:20.620 unlock a calm on the northern borders . 45:20.629 --> 45:22.851 Do you have something substantial ? Did 45:22.851 --> 45:25.820 you , is there a progress made here 45:25.830 --> 45:29.639 with Hezbollah ? So we have had ongoing 45:29.649 --> 45:32.580 conversations for some time to try to 45:32.689 --> 45:35.399 reach a political solution to the cross 45:35.409 --> 45:37.298 border strikes between Israel and 45:37.320 --> 45:39.487 Hezbollah and we have made progress in 45:39.487 --> 45:41.653 those conversations . But ultimately , 45:41.653 --> 45:43.653 it is our assessment that it's very 45:43.653 --> 45:45.780 difficult to reach a solution to that 45:45.790 --> 45:47.512 problem without calm in Gaza . 45:47.512 --> 45:49.679 Ultimately , all of these problems are 45:49.679 --> 45:51.879 interconnected . And as long as there 45:51.889 --> 45:54.111 is intense fighting in Gaza , it's very 45:54.111 --> 45:56.167 difficult to reach a solution in the 45:56.167 --> 45:58.350 North . And that intense fighting also 45:58.360 --> 46:00.459 poses other security challenges for 46:00.469 --> 46:02.709 Israel . And so we do believe that 46:03.120 --> 46:05.560 should we get a cease fire in Gaza ? 46:05.570 --> 46:07.403 Especially if we can make that a 46:07.403 --> 46:09.570 durable cease fire that ends the war . 46:09.570 --> 46:11.737 That , that is a challenge that we can 46:11.737 --> 46:14.030 resolve . Thank you 46:16.560 --> 46:19.020 or diplomatic resolution for the 46:19.030 --> 46:21.141 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah 46:21.149 --> 46:24.800 with Hezbollah and Iran . So I'm not 46:24.810 --> 46:27.032 going to get into any conversation . We 46:27.032 --> 46:29.143 don't have direct communications with 46:29.143 --> 46:29.080 Hezbollah , obviously , but we have 46:29.090 --> 46:31.830 been pursuing diplomatic , a diplomatic 46:31.840 --> 46:34.699 resolution to this issue for some time . 46:35.080 --> 46:38.729 And one more on Iran , Iran's 46:38.739 --> 46:41.209 Acting Foreign Minister said today that 46:41.219 --> 46:44.790 the process of negotiations between us 46:44.800 --> 46:47.560 and Iran are currently underway and the 46:47.570 --> 46:50.110 exchange of messages and consultations 46:50.120 --> 46:52.620 continue . Can you confirm that I 46:52.629 --> 46:54.740 cannot , I will just say that we have 46:54.740 --> 46:56.851 always made clear we have the ability 46:56.851 --> 46:59.018 to get messages to Iran when it is our 46:59.018 --> 47:01.129 interest to do so , but I'm not going 47:01.129 --> 47:03.129 to confirm or read out any specific 47:03.129 --> 47:05.240 conversations . Did you mean that his 47:05.240 --> 47:07.462 statement is not accurate ? No , I mean 47:07.462 --> 47:09.629 exactly what I said , thank you . Just 47:09.629 --> 47:09.550 a question on the framework that's 47:09.560 --> 47:11.782 currently on the table . Can you say if 47:11.782 --> 47:13.782 it's the US expectation that during 47:13.782 --> 47:15.838 phase two and three of the deal , if 47:15.838 --> 47:17.782 it's implemented , if Israel would 47:17.782 --> 47:19.782 still be able to carry out specific 47:19.782 --> 47:21.838 targeted military strikes , should a 47:21.838 --> 47:24.004 threat emanate from within Gaza . So I 47:24.004 --> 47:26.116 don't want to speak to , I don't want 47:26.116 --> 47:25.629 to speak to that in terms of tying it 47:25.639 --> 47:27.695 to phase two and phase three because 47:27.695 --> 47:29.917 those are things that are going to have 47:29.917 --> 47:32.083 to be negotiated in the exact , um the 47:32.083 --> 47:34.250 exact parameters of that negotiation . 47:34.250 --> 47:33.899 We're not , we don't have a deal for 47:33.909 --> 47:35.909 phase one yet . So I think I should 47:35.909 --> 47:38.020 refrain from commenting on that , but 47:38.020 --> 47:40.242 the president made clear we will always 47:40.242 --> 47:42.298 back Israel's right to defend itself 47:42.298 --> 47:44.465 and that remains true . All right . Go 47:44.465 --> 47:46.576 ahead , Jenny . Thank you . Uh uh Two 47:46.576 --> 47:49.270 CS . I will follow up again on the last 47:49.280 --> 47:52.399 North Korean garbage balloon c 47:52.850 --> 47:55.969 last time China sent spy balloons to 47:55.979 --> 47:59.070 the United States . But North Korea 47:59.080 --> 48:02.409 sent over uh thousands garbage balloons 48:02.419 --> 48:05.860 to South Korea . Over the past few days , 48:06.060 --> 48:08.429 these garbage balloons contain all 48:08.439 --> 48:12.189 kinds of uh unsanitary germs . 48:12.860 --> 48:15.949 There could also be a damage to us 48:15.959 --> 48:19.389 troops in station uh in South 48:19.429 --> 48:22.739 Korea . What measures do you think the 48:22.750 --> 48:26.020 US and South Korea to take in this 48:26.030 --> 48:29.020 regard ? So I will just say that it's 48:29.030 --> 48:31.141 obviously quite a disgusting tactic , 48:31.141 --> 48:34.580 tactic , irresponsible childish and it 48:34.590 --> 48:36.701 should come to an end . I'll leave it 48:36.701 --> 48:38.590 at that . You not condemning . Of 48:38.590 --> 48:40.646 course , I condemn it in any country 48:40.646 --> 48:42.590 that sends trash to its neighbor , 48:42.590 --> 48:44.812 floats , trash over in a balloon to its 48:44.812 --> 48:48.750 neighbors . Yeah . If it is 48:48.760 --> 48:50.816 an agreement between two countries , 48:50.816 --> 48:52.760 that is , that is a very different 48:52.760 --> 48:55.340 thing . Do you think ? Do you think 48:55.350 --> 48:57.959 that this is a violation of the UN 48:57.969 --> 49:00.939 Security Council ? Uh I would have to 49:00.949 --> 49:02.949 consult with people here whether um 49:03.050 --> 49:05.649 trash carrying balloons . Uh uh I'm not 49:05.659 --> 49:07.826 trying to be flippant . I just have to 49:07.826 --> 49:09.826 consult with some people here about 49:09.826 --> 49:09.300 whether that's the case . Also . Do you 49:09.310 --> 49:11.870 think that this action has anything to 49:11.879 --> 49:14.110 do with China ? China in 49:15.270 --> 49:17.939 the , the trash balloons ? Do I have 49:17.949 --> 49:20.116 not seen any assessment that it does ? 49:20.116 --> 49:23.969 No , thank you . Thank you , Ukraine . 49:24.110 --> 49:25.888 Move to Georgia . The secretary 49:26.070 --> 49:27.800 intended to accompany the vice 49:27.810 --> 49:31.310 president in Switzerland . I don't have 49:31.320 --> 49:33.376 any scheduling announcements to make 49:33.376 --> 49:35.542 with that peace summit . You heard the 49:35.542 --> 49:35.330 secretary say a number of times in the 49:35.340 --> 49:37.507 past few weeks , you heard us say that 49:37.507 --> 49:39.729 um we would be well represented at that 49:39.729 --> 49:42.010 summit and uh uh that's uh clearly saw 49:42.020 --> 49:44.131 that today with the announcement that 49:44.131 --> 49:46.298 the vice president will be attending . 49:46.298 --> 49:48.353 President Zs called out at China for 49:48.353 --> 49:50.409 sabotaging that event . Do you share 49:50.409 --> 49:53.129 his concerns ? Um So I will just say 49:53.139 --> 49:55.417 that when it comes to the peace summit , 49:55.417 --> 49:57.528 I'm gonna speak for the United States 49:57.528 --> 49:57.020 that we support the peace Summit . Um 49:57.030 --> 49:59.197 We want it to be successful and that's 49:59.197 --> 50:01.252 why you see uh the vice president of 50:01.252 --> 50:03.586 the United States attending that summit , 50:03.586 --> 50:05.530 we support uh Ukraine's diplomatic 50:05.530 --> 50:07.586 efforts . That's it . We have always 50:07.586 --> 50:09.530 been clear that China could play a 50:09.530 --> 50:11.419 useful diplomatic role in helping 50:11.419 --> 50:13.752 resolve this conflict if they wanted to . 50:13.752 --> 50:16.219 Um But that said right now , it's hard 50:16.229 --> 50:18.396 to see how they could play that role , 50:18.396 --> 50:20.618 given the actions that we've seen Ta uh 50:20.618 --> 50:22.618 China take over recent months to uh 50:22.618 --> 50:24.840 rebuild reconstitute Russia's defense 50:24.850 --> 50:26.850 industrial base . So we're going to 50:26.850 --> 50:29.072 continue to make clear to China that we 50:29.072 --> 50:31.239 object to those actions , that we will 50:31.239 --> 50:33.239 hold entities responsible for those 50:33.239 --> 50:33.149 actions . And uh we've heard our , our 50:33.159 --> 50:35.629 Russian , I'm sorry , our European 50:35.639 --> 50:37.695 counterparts uh say the same thing . 50:37.695 --> 50:39.917 Thank you . Uh Let's head to Georgia if 50:39.917 --> 50:42.083 I may where the Kremlin inspired draft 50:42.083 --> 50:44.139 already became the law of the land . 50:44.139 --> 50:46.139 The speaker who signed it today was 50:46.139 --> 50:48.250 quoted as saying that and the Western 50:48.250 --> 50:50.028 Foundation are courting him are 50:50.028 --> 50:51.861 financing organizations that are 50:51.861 --> 50:54.083 financing terror violence , et cetera . 50:54.083 --> 50:55.917 Um There are other officials are 50:55.917 --> 50:57.861 talking about , you know , clearly 50:57.861 --> 50:59.861 shutting down this is civil society 50:59.861 --> 51:02.083 organizations clear departure from what 51:02.083 --> 51:04.195 they told us intention , the original 51:04.195 --> 51:06.429 intention was uh moving forward . How 51:06.439 --> 51:08.550 do you expect them to apply the law ? 51:08.550 --> 51:10.661 So I'm not going to speak to that . I 51:10.661 --> 51:12.772 will say we have been quite concerned 51:12.772 --> 51:14.828 about exactly the point you raised , 51:14.828 --> 51:17.050 which is that this uh law moves Georgia 51:17.050 --> 51:19.272 away from its democratic trajectory and 51:19.272 --> 51:19.229 could stigmatize civil society and 51:19.239 --> 51:22.280 stifle the freedoms of association and 51:22.290 --> 51:24.330 expression and that the actions 51:24.340 --> 51:26.562 fundamentally alter the US relationship 51:26.562 --> 51:28.562 with Georgia . And so that's why we 51:28.562 --> 51:30.639 have uh launched a review of our 51:30.649 --> 51:32.800 relationship and we consider our 51:32.820 --> 51:34.653 response to the actions that the 51:34.679 --> 51:36.790 Governor of Georgia has taken on that 51:36.790 --> 51:38.957 point . The mayor of Tbilisi is quoted 51:38.957 --> 51:41.235 as saying that we have quote , unquote , 51:41.235 --> 51:43.346 done nothing to be sanctioned . Is he 51:43.346 --> 51:45.290 mistaken ? We have announced a new 51:45.290 --> 51:47.235 sanctions policy . We have not yet 51:47.235 --> 51:49.457 announced individual sanctions and I'll 51:49.457 --> 51:51.457 leave it at that , but we have made 51:51.457 --> 51:53.735 clear that we would not hesitate to um , 51:53.735 --> 51:55.679 to impose them fair enough . Given 51:55.679 --> 51:57.623 what's at stake here . Why did the 51:57.623 --> 51:59.679 secretary make no mention of Georgia 51:59.679 --> 52:01.846 during his Eastern European trip ? The 52:01.846 --> 52:03.790 secretary just put out a statement 52:03.790 --> 52:03.639 announcing an entire comprehensive 52:03.649 --> 52:05.709 review of our policy with respect to 52:05.719 --> 52:08.310 Georgia that could jeopardize hundreds 52:08.320 --> 52:10.399 of millions of dollars of assistance 52:10.409 --> 52:13.219 that we provide to Georgia . Um And as 52:13.229 --> 52:15.340 well announced a new visa restriction 52:15.340 --> 52:18.360 policy that you should fully expect to 52:18.370 --> 52:20.537 see the United States take action on . 52:20.537 --> 52:22.537 I think I'll leave it at that . His 52:22.537 --> 52:21.830 commitment to this issue has been quite 52:21.840 --> 52:25.540 clear . Let me go ahead . That was , 52:25.550 --> 52:29.209 that was like three or four . Sorry , I 52:29.219 --> 52:31.052 thought you had your hand before 52:33.310 --> 52:35.532 the Middle East but staying in Europe , 52:35.532 --> 52:37.532 I don't know how many times you get 52:37.532 --> 52:39.754 asked about Slovenia . Uh The um so the 52:39.754 --> 52:42.429 parliament is debating recognition of 52:42.439 --> 52:44.606 uh of a Palestinian state of the state 52:44.606 --> 52:46.828 of Palestine . It's been put on hold by 52:46.828 --> 52:49.050 the opposition . I know in the previous 52:49.050 --> 52:48.870 three years as European countries , the 52:48.879 --> 52:51.101 reaction you had a reaction coming up . 52:51.101 --> 52:53.268 But as it's actually in process , does 52:53.268 --> 52:55.379 the US want to tip the scales one way 52:55.379 --> 52:55.179 or another ? Or do you have a , a 52:55.189 --> 52:57.189 position whether Slovenia should go 52:57.189 --> 52:59.356 ahead and recognize a Palestinian . So 52:59.356 --> 53:01.522 look , ultimately , we see those steps 53:01.522 --> 53:03.689 as not helpful or productive . At this 53:03.689 --> 53:03.590 time , we have been quite clear that we 53:03.600 --> 53:05.378 support the establishment of an 53:05.378 --> 53:07.600 independent Palestinian state . And the 53:07.600 --> 53:09.656 secretary has been working on actual 53:09.656 --> 53:11.822 path to get us there through diplomacy 53:11.822 --> 53:13.933 in the region . But that ultimately , 53:13.933 --> 53:16.044 that is a step that needs to come not 53:16.044 --> 53:18.156 through uh unilateral recognition but 53:18.156 --> 53:20.378 through direct negotiations between the 53:20.378 --> 53:22.544 two parties . So in particular , is it 53:22.544 --> 53:24.322 uh that that comment applies to 53:24.322 --> 53:26.433 everyone ? Can I just ask you briefly 53:26.433 --> 53:28.156 about two elections and as you 53:28.156 --> 53:30.378 statements on them already ? But uh two 53:30.378 --> 53:29.870 major countries , Mexico and South 53:29.879 --> 53:33.030 Africa , um I know that the same issue 53:33.040 --> 53:35.262 in both but particularly in the case of 53:35.262 --> 53:37.262 South Africa seems the A NC for the 53:37.262 --> 53:39.373 first time since the end of apartheid 53:39.373 --> 53:41.596 is going to lose a majority . Um The US 53:41.596 --> 53:43.651 has a relationship with South Africa 53:43.651 --> 53:45.818 but obviously there have been some ups 53:45.818 --> 53:45.719 and downs recently but with regard to 53:45.729 --> 53:48.260 Russia , with regard to um uh with 53:48.270 --> 53:50.270 regards to the uh the issues in the 53:50.270 --> 53:51.992 Hague , does the United States 53:51.992 --> 53:53.800 anticipate any changes in the 53:53.810 --> 53:55.921 relationship with South Africa coming 53:55.921 --> 53:58.143 out of this ? I think more to the US is 53:58.143 --> 54:00.310 like and potentially . So I'd say that 54:00.310 --> 54:00.219 we remain committed to deepening our 54:00.229 --> 54:02.669 cooper with South Africa . We 54:02.679 --> 54:04.568 cooperated with South Africa on a 54:04.568 --> 54:06.679 number of areas , a number of areas , 54:06.679 --> 54:08.901 even places where we have differences . 54:08.901 --> 54:10.735 There are um other areas such as 54:10.735 --> 54:12.790 expanding economic pros prosperity , 54:12.790 --> 54:14.623 fighting the climate crisis , uh 54:14.623 --> 54:14.389 ensuring that democracy delivers where 54:14.399 --> 54:16.429 we work quite closely with uh South 54:16.439 --> 54:18.550 Africa . And we would fully expect to 54:18.550 --> 54:20.772 do that with the new government . And I 54:20.772 --> 54:22.661 do also want to take a note to um 54:22.661 --> 54:24.772 congratulate the South African people 54:24.772 --> 54:26.828 on successful national and political 54:26.828 --> 54:28.772 elections . And um uh this won't , 54:28.772 --> 54:30.995 maybe won't have resonance for everyone 54:30.995 --> 54:33.161 in the room , for the younger crowd in 54:33.161 --> 54:35.272 the room . But for some of us , older 54:35.272 --> 54:37.328 folks , this is now three decades of 54:37.328 --> 54:37.020 South Africans having the opportunity 54:37.030 --> 54:39.086 to exercise the fundamental right to 54:39.086 --> 54:41.550 vote . Something that seemed um uh 54:41.570 --> 54:44.639 difficult and far beyond reach . Uh 54:44.649 --> 54:46.816 When I was a kid has been achieved and 54:46.816 --> 54:48.816 now has we have seen entrenched for 54:48.816 --> 54:50.538 three decades and it's I think 54:50.538 --> 54:52.760 important to highlight um that positive 54:52.760 --> 54:54.427 development . Sure , positive 54:54.427 --> 54:56.538 development . And in Mexico again , I 54:56.538 --> 54:58.538 know there's a certain issue but uh 54:58.538 --> 55:00.538 with alo , there are quite a few um 55:00.538 --> 55:00.110 arrangements of migration that have 55:00.120 --> 55:02.231 taken place . Is it the understanding 55:02.231 --> 55:04.398 that these will continue on with the , 55:04.398 --> 55:06.176 the new , do you think , do you 55:06.176 --> 55:05.820 anticipate any type of shake up in 55:05.830 --> 55:08.163 terms of the immigration protocols with ? 55:08.163 --> 55:10.441 So I think we'll let the new president , 55:10.441 --> 55:12.608 the president elect take office before 55:12.608 --> 55:12.580 we start talking about specific 55:12.590 --> 55:14.812 policies , but we do expect to continue 55:14.812 --> 55:17.919 our close working relationship with the 55:17.929 --> 55:19.929 government of Mexico . We value the 55:19.929 --> 55:22.096 special relationship we have with them 55:22.096 --> 55:23.985 and are made committed to working 55:23.985 --> 55:26.207 together to advance our mutual economic 55:26.207 --> 55:28.810 and security interests . The White 55:28.939 --> 55:32.120 House undermining peace , security and 55:32.129 --> 55:34.185 stability in the West Bank . I'm not 55:34.185 --> 55:36.407 sure if you saw , but Senator Chris Van 55:36.407 --> 55:38.360 Hollen just suggested that those 55:38.370 --> 55:40.537 sanctions ought to apply to Smotrich , 55:40.810 --> 55:42.921 who you mentioned earlier today as an 55:42.921 --> 55:45.143 obstacle to the peace deal . Uh Is that 55:45.143 --> 55:47.143 something that the State department 55:47.143 --> 55:49.429 would consider ? So I'm never go , I 55:49.439 --> 55:51.830 make this a rule never to make 55:51.840 --> 55:53.951 sanctions announcements or talk about 55:53.951 --> 55:55.951 what we're considering uh before we 55:55.951 --> 55:58.062 impose any in the sanction and before 55:58.062 --> 56:00.979 anyone um reads anything into that 56:00.989 --> 56:03.100 comment , you shouldn't read that one 56:03.100 --> 56:04.933 way or the other . It's just our 56:04.933 --> 56:06.878 blanket rule and not talking about 56:06.878 --> 56:06.699 possible sanctions . Quick Pakistan 56:06.709 --> 56:08.820 question , I'm not sure if you saw uh 56:08.820 --> 56:11.600 Imran Khan was acquitted of his uh of 56:11.610 --> 56:13.721 his previous conviction on this , the 56:13.721 --> 56:16.149 cipher case . So the only case that 56:16.159 --> 56:18.770 he's currently jailed for is what's 56:18.780 --> 56:20.879 known as this Un Islamic marriage 56:20.889 --> 56:23.060 charge . So the the most popular 56:23.070 --> 56:26.070 politician in Pakistan is currently in 56:26.080 --> 56:30.030 jail uh because the Pakistani court 56:30.290 --> 56:32.068 says that there were not enough 56:32.068 --> 56:34.320 menstrual cycles between his wife's 56:34.330 --> 56:38.100 divorce and his marriage . So you , you 56:38.110 --> 56:41.020 talked earlier about the Georgia law 56:41.469 --> 56:43.250 and that , that was undermining 56:43.260 --> 56:45.620 Georgian democracy . Now , why does the , 56:45.629 --> 56:47.629 why is the States aren't willing to 56:47.629 --> 56:49.407 weigh in on a law passed to the 56:49.407 --> 56:51.462 Georgian legislature ? But something 56:51.462 --> 56:53.685 insane like this , that that's a matter 56:53.685 --> 56:55.740 for the Pakistani courts . So I just 56:55.740 --> 56:57.851 don't have any further comment on the 56:57.851 --> 56:59.851 case . We look at , when we look at 56:59.851 --> 56:59.479 different countries , we take into 56:59.489 --> 57:01.520 account uh appropriate context 57:01.530 --> 57:03.752 circumstances and our judgments , we've 57:03.752 --> 57:05.752 addressed the question of Iran many 57:05.752 --> 57:07.974 times the legal proceedings against him 57:07.974 --> 57:10.086 or something for the Pakistani courts 57:10.086 --> 57:12.308 to decide that that really be in a with 57:12.308 --> 57:14.530 their laws and constitution ? But could 57:14.530 --> 57:14.520 that really be a matter for the 57:14.530 --> 57:16.697 Pakistani courts ? Could that possibly 57:16.697 --> 57:18.919 be the State Department's position ? It 57:18.919 --> 57:21.379 is our position that it , when you come 57:21.389 --> 57:23.860 to these laws in Pakistan and this 57:23.870 --> 57:26.080 court case , it is something for the 57:26.090 --> 57:28.146 Pakistani courts to decide . And you 57:28.146 --> 57:30.146 just saw to this question , charges 57:30.146 --> 57:32.312 against him thrown out by the courts . 57:32.312 --> 57:33.959 So uh go ahead 57:37.459 --> 57:39.626 deal between the United States , Saudi 57:39.626 --> 57:42.729 Arabia and Israel that included uh deal 57:42.739 --> 57:44.906 between United States and Saudi Arabia 57:44.906 --> 57:46.461 and Saudi Arabia and Israel 57:46.461 --> 57:48.350 normalization . We have seen that 57:48.350 --> 57:51.040 Secretary Lincoln in a Senate hearing 57:51.330 --> 57:53.386 mentioned that the United States and 57:53.386 --> 57:55.840 Saudi Arabia are very near a different 57:55.850 --> 57:58.540 deal . It seems like us is uh 57:59.070 --> 58:01.126 prioritizing its different deal with 58:01.126 --> 58:03.409 Saudi Arabia but not the ties with the 58:03.520 --> 58:06.649 Israel . The basic effort that us led 58:06.699 --> 58:08.830 from uh for the medication between 58:08.840 --> 58:12.139 Saudi Arabia and Israel . So uh with 58:12.149 --> 58:14.790 this , with this uh simony in the 58:14.800 --> 58:17.209 Senate hearing , is it like , 58:17.699 --> 58:19.919 understood that it will be a bilateral 58:19.929 --> 58:23.010 deal only with the defense deal between 58:23.020 --> 58:25.187 Saudi Arabia and the United States and 58:25.187 --> 58:27.242 the normalization between Israel and 58:27.242 --> 58:29.649 Saudi Arabia sideline . The arrangement 58:29.659 --> 58:31.826 that we have contemplated that we have 58:31.826 --> 58:34.280 been working on is a agreement that 58:34.290 --> 58:36.457 encompasses three parties , the United 58:36.457 --> 58:38.401 States , Saudi Arabia and Israel . 58:38.401 --> 58:40.568 There are bilateral pieces between the 58:40.568 --> 58:42.568 United States and Saudi Arabia that 58:42.568 --> 58:42.070 would be part of that deal and that's 58:42.080 --> 58:44.302 what we have been working on . And then 58:44.302 --> 58:46.469 there are other components that are um 58:46.469 --> 58:48.358 uh that ultimately involve a path 58:48.358 --> 58:50.358 towards a Palestinian state . But I 58:50.358 --> 58:52.469 will just say as all of uh as part of 58:52.469 --> 58:54.191 all of this , you've heard the 58:54.191 --> 58:53.889 secretary say this before . There are 58:53.899 --> 58:55.955 two , there is one thing that has to 58:55.955 --> 58:57.899 happen . Two things . One , I just 58:57.899 --> 58:59.510 refer to the , the path to a 58:59.510 --> 59:01.732 Palestinian state . But the other thing 59:01.732 --> 59:01.030 that has to happen before any such 59:01.040 --> 59:03.151 arrangement can go forward is calm in 59:03.151 --> 59:05.151 Gaza . We don't have common in Gaza 59:05.151 --> 59:07.262 today . We're trying to get to Cal in 59:07.262 --> 59:09.484 Gaza through the ceasefire proposal and 59:09.484 --> 59:08.639 you heard the president speak too 59:09.050 --> 59:11.272 normalization of Saudi Arabia being one 59:11.272 --> 59:13.494 of the benefit that it ultimately could 59:13.494 --> 59:15.383 unlock . Then secondly , from the 59:15.383 --> 59:17.995 second time in 21 years , United States 59:18.425 --> 59:21.895 allowed a jailed Pakistani 59:21.905 --> 59:25.084 lady who is facing 86 years of like 59:25.094 --> 59:27.145 sentence in a Texas jail with the 59:27.155 --> 59:29.695 allegations of alleged attacks on us 59:29.705 --> 59:31.995 troops in Afghanistan that is Dr 59:32.284 --> 59:35.290 Siddiqui . So a former Pakistani 59:35.300 --> 59:37.244 caretaker government official in a 59:37.244 --> 59:39.530 private conversation told he revealed 59:39.540 --> 59:41.760 that us and Pakistan were very close 59:41.770 --> 59:43.959 for a deal , a possible deal between 59:43.969 --> 59:46.080 United States and Pakistan that might 59:46.080 --> 59:50.020 be a swap deal basically . So you 59:50.030 --> 59:52.489 have any information on that or is 59:52.500 --> 59:54.667 there something behind us and Pakistan 59:54.667 --> 59:56.778 are considering that ? So let me take 59:56.778 --> 59:58.833 the question . I'm just not familiar 59:58.833 --> 01:00:01.000 with the full details of the case that 01:00:01.000 --> 01:00:04.199 you mentioned . Go ahead today , Turk 01:00:04.439 --> 01:00:07.969 Interior Ministry , a recently elected 01:00:08.090 --> 01:00:10.860 Pro Kurdish party and mayor of Hakkari 01:00:10.959 --> 01:00:13.015 and replaced him with a trustee . Do 01:00:13.015 --> 01:00:15.015 you have any reaction to comment on 01:00:15.015 --> 01:00:17.229 that ? So the , our position on the 01:00:17.239 --> 01:00:19.461 Kurdistan workers Party is well known . 01:00:19.461 --> 01:00:21.239 It hasn't changed . The PKK was 01:00:21.239 --> 01:00:23.128 designated as a foreign terrorist 01:00:23.128 --> 01:00:25.350 organization by the Department of State 01:00:25.350 --> 01:00:27.406 in 1997 . And regarding the specific 01:00:27.406 --> 01:00:29.461 case , you mentioned , I would refer 01:00:29.461 --> 01:00:29.060 you to the government of Turkey for , 01:00:29.340 --> 01:00:31.507 did you say that he was naked with the 01:00:31.507 --> 01:00:33.709 P ? What was that ? Do you say that he 01:00:33.719 --> 01:00:35.719 was linked with the pica ? I'm just 01:00:35.719 --> 01:00:37.830 speaking to our assessment of the P . 01:00:37.830 --> 01:00:40.163 And what's your assessment on that case ? 01:00:40.163 --> 01:00:42.275 As I said , I don't have any specific 01:00:42.275 --> 01:00:42.050 comment on it . And what's your 01:00:42.060 --> 01:00:44.393 approach to the Kurdish issue in Turkey ? 01:00:44.393 --> 01:00:46.449 It's been a long time , the issue in 01:00:46.449 --> 01:00:48.560 Turkey . What's the US approach ? And 01:00:48.560 --> 01:00:50.393 we have made clear our long stay 01:00:50.393 --> 01:00:52.504 position on that many times . I don't 01:00:52.504 --> 01:00:52.209 have anything to go ahead here and we 01:00:52.469 --> 01:00:56.370 have to uh you said 01:00:56.379 --> 01:00:59.219 that uh you would hope that the Israeli 01:00:59.229 --> 01:01:01.989 law enforcement would , would follow 01:01:02.000 --> 01:01:04.560 through in , uh , curtailing violence 01:01:04.570 --> 01:01:06.870 from settlers in the West Bank . Uh , 01:01:06.879 --> 01:01:09.139 however , on Thursday , last , last 01:01:09.149 --> 01:01:12.439 Thursday , the Israeli military raided 01:01:12.449 --> 01:01:15.689 a vegetable market in Ramallah in Vira 01:01:15.699 --> 01:01:17.699 to be specific . But for one of the 01:01:17.699 --> 01:01:19.921 largest , uh , vegetable markets in the 01:01:19.921 --> 01:01:22.560 West Bank and , uh , which lit on fire 01:01:22.570 --> 01:01:26.530 and , uh , uh , who , who is , who is 01:01:26.540 --> 01:01:28.689 going to hold Israel accountable and 01:01:28.699 --> 01:01:30.755 the Israeli military in this sense , 01:01:30.755 --> 01:01:32.977 which , which law enforcement authority 01:01:32.977 --> 01:01:34.921 should . So a few things first , I 01:01:34.921 --> 01:01:37.088 can't speak to that specific raid . Um 01:01:37.088 --> 01:01:38.977 Obviously Israel has the right to 01:01:38.977 --> 01:01:40.866 conduct legitimate anti-terrorism 01:01:40.866 --> 01:01:42.977 activities in the West Bank . We have 01:01:42.977 --> 01:01:45.143 seen them do so , but those need to be 01:01:45.143 --> 01:01:45.030 legitimate , they need to comply with 01:01:45.040 --> 01:01:47.340 their national humanitarian law . Um uh 01:01:47.419 --> 01:01:50.449 But as regards this particular incident , 01:01:50.459 --> 01:01:52.689 I can't speak to it at all , but that 01:01:52.699 --> 01:01:54.889 said when it comes to holding people 01:01:54.899 --> 01:01:57.066 accountable , we have seen the Israeli 01:01:57.066 --> 01:01:59.232 government take some actions to police 01:01:59.232 --> 01:02:01.232 settler violence in the West Bank . 01:02:01.232 --> 01:02:01.080 We've seen them make arrests , we've 01:02:01.090 --> 01:02:03.312 seen them hold people accountable . But 01:02:03.312 --> 01:02:05.257 in our assessment , it hasn't been 01:02:05.257 --> 01:02:07.479 enough . And so that's why , but I know 01:02:07.479 --> 01:02:09.590 that's why I , I'm separating out the 01:02:09.590 --> 01:02:11.757 two . I can't because I can't speak to 01:02:11.757 --> 01:02:11.590 this one without knowing the details . 01:02:11.600 --> 01:02:13.378 But when it comes to what I was 01:02:13.378 --> 01:02:15.760 speaking to settler violence , um they 01:02:15.770 --> 01:02:17.937 need to do more and if they don't , we 01:02:17.937 --> 01:02:20.103 will is that clear and that what we're 01:02:20.103 --> 01:02:22.969 after today . Thanks everyone . Ok .