WEBVTT 00:00.040 --> 00:02.262 thanks for coming this afternoon . In a 00:02.262 --> 00:04.429 moment . I'm gonna turn the microphone 00:04.429 --> 00:06.540 over to Secretary Austin . But just a 00:06.540 --> 00:08.484 couple of administrative remarks . 00:08.484 --> 00:10.318 Secretary will have some opening 00:10.318 --> 00:12.484 comments . Uh and then we'll have time 00:12.484 --> 00:14.596 for a few questions . I will moderate 00:14.596 --> 00:16.651 those questions from here . I will I 00:16.651 --> 00:18.873 will call on the journalists and if you 00:18.873 --> 00:21.040 could limit your your follow ups uh if 00:21.040 --> 00:24.020 possible . So we've got we got a bit of 00:24.020 --> 00:26.076 a tight timeline this afternoon . So 00:26.076 --> 00:28.300 with that Mr Secretary , Well , thanks 00:28.300 --> 00:31.750 john , good afternoon everybody . It's 00:31.750 --> 00:33.860 been an important day in a highly 00:33.860 --> 00:37.020 constructive one . We've had some great 00:37.030 --> 00:39.086 discussions in the hall and a lot of 00:39.086 --> 00:41.080 rich interactions among leaders 00:41.090 --> 00:44.640 throughout the day . So let me 00:44.650 --> 00:46.970 again thank thank all of the Ministers 00:46.970 --> 00:49.650 and the Chiefs of Defense and your 00:49.650 --> 00:52.460 teams for joining us today . Especially 00:52.940 --> 00:55.980 my good friend , Ukraine's Minister of 00:55.980 --> 00:59.470 Defense Minister Reznikoff and his 00:59.470 --> 01:01.526 delegation . It's great to see him . 01:04.040 --> 01:05.651 We're all coming away with a 01:05.651 --> 01:09.000 transparent and shared understanding of 01:09.000 --> 01:11.167 the challenge that the Ukrainians face 01:12.140 --> 01:14.640 and I know that we're all determined to 01:14.640 --> 01:18.190 help Ukraine win today and build 01:18.190 --> 01:21.430 strength for tomorrow . The work that 01:21.430 --> 01:23.597 we've done together in record time has 01:23.597 --> 01:25.750 made a huge difference on the 01:25.750 --> 01:28.800 battlefield . President Zelensky made 01:28.800 --> 01:32.360 that clear when we met sunday in Kiev 01:33.940 --> 01:36.162 and countries all around the world have 01:36.162 --> 01:38.500 been stepping up to meet Ukraine's 01:38.510 --> 01:42.060 urgent needs and I wanted to especially 01:42.070 --> 01:44.310 welcome a major decision by our german 01:44.310 --> 01:47.660 host as Minister Lambrecht 01:48.040 --> 01:50.207 announced just today that Germany will 01:50.207 --> 01:54.140 send Ukraine some 50 cheetah anti 01:54.140 --> 01:57.760 aircraft systems . And yesterday , of 01:57.760 --> 01:59.982 course the british government announced 01:59.982 --> 02:01.927 that it would provide Ukraine with 02:01.927 --> 02:04.320 additional anti aircraft capabilities 02:04.320 --> 02:08.130 as well . And today Canada announced 02:08.130 --> 02:09.960 that it will send Ukraine eight 02:09.970 --> 02:12.710 armoured vehicles and so that's 02:12.710 --> 02:15.510 important progress . We're seeing more 02:15.510 --> 02:18.020 every day and I applaud all the 02:18.020 --> 02:21.200 countries that have risen in a rising 02:21.840 --> 02:24.700 to meet this demand . But we don't have 02:24.700 --> 02:28.030 any time to waste the briefings today 02:28.030 --> 02:30.141 laid out clearly why the coming weeks 02:30.141 --> 02:33.920 will be so crucial for Ukraine . So 02:33.920 --> 02:36.142 we've got to move at the speed of war . 02:36.940 --> 02:39.870 And I know that all the leaders leave 02:39.870 --> 02:42.790 today more resolved than ever to 02:42.790 --> 02:45.840 support Ukraine in his fight against 02:45.850 --> 02:49.110 Russian aggression and atrocities . 02:50.440 --> 02:53.140 And I know that we're all determined to 02:53.140 --> 02:56.920 do even more to better coordinate 02:56.930 --> 02:59.930 our efforts . So I was especially glad 02:59.930 --> 03:01.986 to hear general Walters encourage us 03:01.986 --> 03:04.860 all to make more determined use of you 03:04.860 --> 03:07.550 comment coordination mechanism 03:09.240 --> 03:11.660 now that to ensure that we continue to 03:11.670 --> 03:13.837 build on our progress , we're going to 03:13.837 --> 03:16.580 extend this forum beyond today . I'm 03:16.580 --> 03:18.302 proud to announce that today's 03:18.302 --> 03:21.610 gathering will become a monthly contact 03:21.610 --> 03:25.550 group on Ukraine's self defense And 03:25.550 --> 03:27.870 the contact group will be a vehicle for 03:27.870 --> 03:30.890 nations of goodwill to intensify our 03:30.900 --> 03:33.760 efforts and coordinate our assistance 03:34.240 --> 03:37.280 and focus on winning today's fight and 03:37.280 --> 03:40.050 the struggles to come . The monthly 03:40.050 --> 03:42.900 meetings maybe in person , virtual or 03:42.900 --> 03:45.420 mixed and they all extend the 03:45.420 --> 03:48.520 transparency the integration and the 03:48.520 --> 03:52.210 dialogue that we saw today and let 03:52.210 --> 03:54.360 me underscore another key point . 03:56.040 --> 03:58.151 We have an important session today on 03:58.151 --> 04:00.151 the long term support for Ukraine's 04:00.151 --> 04:04.060 defenses , including what 04:04.060 --> 04:06.300 that will take from our defense 04:06.310 --> 04:09.510 industrial basis . And that means 04:09.510 --> 04:11.920 dealing with the tremendous demand that 04:11.920 --> 04:14.920 we're facing for munitions in weapons 04:14.920 --> 04:18.890 platforms and giving our stunt support 04:18.890 --> 04:22.040 to Ukraine while also meeting our own 04:22.040 --> 04:24.870 requirements and those of our allies 04:24.870 --> 04:27.720 and partners . But it also means 04:27.720 --> 04:29.580 redoubling our common efforts to 04:29.580 --> 04:31.900 strengthen Ukraine's military for the 04:31.900 --> 04:35.530 long haul . And I look forward to to 04:35.530 --> 04:37.586 our discussions in the contact group 04:38.340 --> 04:40.340 and elsewhere about how to get that 04:40.340 --> 04:44.030 done right . Let me again , thank all 04:44.030 --> 04:45.974 of the countries who came together 04:45.974 --> 04:49.660 today . They've done crucial work 04:50.530 --> 04:53.570 and they sent a powerful signal . We're 04:53.570 --> 04:56.710 going to build on today's progress and 04:56.710 --> 04:58.710 continue to reach out to nations of 04:58.710 --> 05:01.360 goodwill to help Ukraine defend itself 05:02.440 --> 05:03.940 and we'll continue working 05:03.940 --> 05:06.920 transparently and urgently with our 05:06.920 --> 05:10.220 allies and partners and we'll continue 05:10.220 --> 05:13.670 pushing to support and strengthen the 05:13.670 --> 05:15.614 Ukrainian military for the battles 05:15.614 --> 05:17.940 ahead . So we leave tonight , 05:17.940 --> 05:21.060 strengthen and so does Ukraine . 05:22.140 --> 05:24.362 Thank you And I'll be glad to take your 05:24.362 --> 05:26.529 questions . Thank you . Mr Secretary . 05:26.529 --> 05:28.751 Our first question today will come from 05:28.751 --> 05:30.862 Sylvia went home a F . P . You have a 05:30.862 --> 05:34.360 microphone . Thank you 05:34.630 --> 05:37.250 Mr Secretary . Actually , I have a 05:37.260 --> 05:41.190 double question for you . Um Moldova is 05:41.200 --> 05:44.620 stepping up its security measures after 05:44.620 --> 05:48.140 a series of explosions in a separatist 05:48.150 --> 05:51.740 region of Transnistria ? Do you think 05:51.740 --> 05:53.740 there is a risk of spillover of the 05:53.740 --> 05:57.190 conflict to Moldova ? And my second 05:57.190 --> 05:59.520 question is after this big meeting 05:59.520 --> 06:02.960 about arming Ukraine ? Are you aren't 06:02.960 --> 06:06.780 you concerned that Putin may 06:06.780 --> 06:09.800 become restless 06:09.810 --> 06:13.380 and threatened again to use a 06:13.380 --> 06:14.350 nuclear weapon ? 06:17.240 --> 06:20.180 Well , on the issue of spillover to 06:20.190 --> 06:22.760 Moldova because of what we've seen here , 06:23.270 --> 06:27.150 the reporting of recent violence , 06:27.160 --> 06:29.340 we're still looking to the cause of 06:29.340 --> 06:31.507 that . That's still , you know , still 06:31.507 --> 06:33.890 doing an analysis there . So I'm not 06:33.890 --> 06:36.640 really sure what what that's all about , 06:36.640 --> 06:38.862 but well , that's something that will , 06:38.862 --> 06:40.690 will stay focused on . Uh , and 06:40.690 --> 06:43.950 certainly we don't want to see any 06:43.950 --> 06:46.860 stole over . And , and uh , and again , 06:47.340 --> 06:50.250 um , it's important to make sure that 06:50.250 --> 06:52.930 we do everything that we can to ensure 06:52.930 --> 06:55.380 that Ukraine is successful and that's 06:55.380 --> 06:58.680 the best way to to address that . And 06:58.680 --> 07:00.958 your second part of the question there , 07:00.958 --> 07:01.958 Sylvie was , 07:08.940 --> 07:11.220 well , you know , you you heard uh us 07:11.220 --> 07:13.870 say a number of times that that kind of 07:13.870 --> 07:16.280 rhetoric is very dangerous and 07:16.280 --> 07:20.210 unhelpful . Um , nobody wants 07:20.210 --> 07:22.266 to see a nuclear war happen happen . 07:22.266 --> 07:24.530 It's a war that , you know , or all 07:24.530 --> 07:27.750 sides lose . And so , uh , rattling of 07:27.750 --> 07:31.430 sabers , sabers and and uh , you know , 07:31.440 --> 07:34.820 dangerous rhetoric is clearly unhelpful 07:34.830 --> 07:37.560 and something that we won't engage in . 07:39.040 --> 07:42.430 Our next question goes to Susan gale 07:42.430 --> 07:43.860 hard from zdf , 07:47.440 --> 07:50.960 you love . MR Secretary , what military 07:50.970 --> 07:53.081 aid do you now expect from the german 07:53.081 --> 07:54.970 government ? And do you think the 07:54.970 --> 07:56.860 delivery of jeopardy tanks is 07:56.860 --> 07:58.960 sufficient , in your opinion . 08:01.340 --> 08:03.618 You mean cheetahs , which is what Yeah , 08:04.340 --> 08:07.390 um let me just say that And I think 08:07.400 --> 08:09.289 you've probably heard me say this 08:09.289 --> 08:11.150 before as I visited Germany , I 08:11.150 --> 08:13.880 consider Germany to be a great friend 08:13.890 --> 08:16.600 and an ally . Uh and uh you know , 08:16.600 --> 08:18.711 we've served , I've served in Germany 08:18.711 --> 08:21.190 as a as an officer and and worked with 08:21.190 --> 08:23.780 german forces and and i it's it's 08:23.780 --> 08:26.740 always been a real pleasure to uh to 08:26.740 --> 08:29.160 work alongside our german partners here . 08:29.740 --> 08:31.850 Now . I think it's it's significant 08:31.850 --> 08:34.600 that , You know , Germany announced 08:34.600 --> 08:37.100 that it was gonna provide 50 cheetah 08:37.100 --> 08:39.300 systems . I think that those systems 08:39.300 --> 08:41.810 will provide real capability to for 08:41.810 --> 08:44.590 Ukraine . And in terms of what else 08:44.590 --> 08:47.020 Germany will do going forward again , 08:47.020 --> 08:49.187 that's a that's a sovereign decision . 08:49.187 --> 08:51.076 One that you're , that the german 08:51.076 --> 08:53.298 leadership will make . And I don't want 08:53.298 --> 08:55.409 to speculate on that . I just believe 08:55.409 --> 08:57.464 that just based upon everything that 08:57.464 --> 09:00.080 I've seen in my interaction with the 09:00.080 --> 09:02.480 Minister of Defense and how intently 09:02.480 --> 09:04.647 she's been focused on making sure that 09:04.647 --> 09:06.758 she can do everything that she can to 09:06.758 --> 09:09.100 help and work alongside her partners 09:09.100 --> 09:11.580 and allies , that she will continue to 09:11.580 --> 09:15.370 look for ways to be uh to be relevant 09:15.380 --> 09:19.030 and and provide good capability to the 09:19.030 --> 09:20.970 Ukrainians as they continue to 09:21.210 --> 09:24.380 prosecute this fight . The next 09:24.380 --> 09:26.436 question goes to john Ismay new york 09:26.436 --> 09:30.220 times Mr Secretary 09:30.230 --> 09:32.341 yesterday , you mentioned that one of 09:32.341 --> 09:34.508 the United States has goals in Ukraine 09:34.508 --> 09:37.110 now was to see Russia weakened ? Can 09:37.110 --> 09:39.280 you explain more fully what that means 09:39.290 --> 09:41.457 and specifically , what do you want to 09:41.457 --> 09:43.290 weaken and how you would measure 09:43.290 --> 09:47.000 success in that regard ? Yeah , john , 09:47.000 --> 09:49.700 so I think we've been pretty clear from , 09:49.710 --> 09:53.640 from the outset , um , we do wanna 09:53.650 --> 09:56.540 make it harder for Russia to threatened 09:56.540 --> 09:59.280 his neighbors and and leave them less 09:59.290 --> 10:01.457 able to do that . Now . If you look at 10:01.457 --> 10:04.590 what's transpired here in this 62 days 10:04.590 --> 10:08.480 or so that that Ukraine and Russia 10:08.490 --> 10:10.670 have been have been involved in this 10:10.670 --> 10:13.940 struggle here . Russia has , in terms 10:13.940 --> 10:16.400 of its land forces , land forces have 10:16.400 --> 10:18.750 been a treated in a very significant 10:18.750 --> 10:21.310 way , casualties are , are are pretty 10:21.310 --> 10:23.850 substantial . They've lost a lot of a 10:23.860 --> 10:26.600 lot of equipment . Um , they've used a 10:26.600 --> 10:29.500 lot of precision guided munitions . Um , 10:29.510 --> 10:32.200 they've lost a major surface combatant . 10:32.210 --> 10:34.740 And so they are in fact , in terms of 10:34.740 --> 10:37.300 military capability weaker than when it 10:37.300 --> 10:39.522 started . And , you know , john , it'll 10:39.522 --> 10:41.689 be harder for them for them to replace 10:41.689 --> 10:43.633 some of this capability as they go 10:43.633 --> 10:45.690 forward because of the sanctions and 10:45.690 --> 10:47.801 the trade restrictions that have been 10:47.801 --> 10:50.110 placed on them . And , and so we would 10:50.110 --> 10:52.670 like to make sure again that they don't 10:52.670 --> 10:56.190 have the same type of capability to 10:56.190 --> 10:58.412 bully their neighbors that we , that we 10:58.412 --> 11:00.301 saw at the outset of this of this 11:00.301 --> 11:03.820 conflict . Next question goes to 11:03.830 --> 11:06.550 uh , what's spongy burger from a . R . 11:06.550 --> 11:06.860 D . 11:11.560 --> 11:14.890 Hello , how can we guarantee a safe and 11:14.890 --> 11:17.770 secure Ukraine in future ? Is it 11:17.780 --> 11:20.120 possible that Ukraine becomes a member 11:20.120 --> 11:24.000 of NATO ? That's a again that'll 11:24.000 --> 11:27.260 be a sovereign decision . I think that 11:28.100 --> 11:31.470 NATO , I will always stand by his 11:31.470 --> 11:33.748 principles of maintaining an open door . 11:33.748 --> 11:37.140 So , uh I don't want to speculate on 11:37.140 --> 11:39.740 what what could come . I do believe 11:39.740 --> 11:43.110 that , you know , in the 11:43.110 --> 11:45.640 future , if the possibility exists , I 11:45.640 --> 11:48.860 think Ukraine will will seek to uh once 11:48.860 --> 11:51.380 again apply to become a member of NATO . 11:51.380 --> 11:54.250 But but again , that's that's probably 11:54.250 --> 11:55.917 a bit down the road . And and 11:55.917 --> 11:58.070 speculation at this point is not very 11:58.070 --> 12:01.630 helpful . I think the first step is to 12:01.640 --> 12:04.960 is to end this conflict . And I think 12:06.540 --> 12:09.030 the you know , what needs to happen to 12:09.030 --> 12:11.550 cause the conflict to come to an end is 12:11.560 --> 12:14.200 Mr Putin needs to make a decision to 12:14.200 --> 12:16.250 end this conflict . He's the person 12:16.250 --> 12:18.840 that started it , It was unjustified . 12:19.010 --> 12:22.680 And uh and of course uh it'll be his 12:22.680 --> 12:25.610 decision to deescalate and then uh and 12:25.610 --> 12:27.721 then go back to the negotiating table 12:27.721 --> 12:29.721 and we really all would like to see 12:29.721 --> 12:31.832 that house . Okay , the last question 12:31.832 --> 12:34.740 today , mindful of our time is goes to 12:34.750 --> 12:37.460 you've addressing from TV two , Denmark . 12:39.240 --> 12:42.660 Thanks Mr Secretary , the Russian 12:42.670 --> 12:44.750 foreign Minister has warned that 12:44.750 --> 12:47.330 there's a danger of of the third World 12:47.330 --> 12:49.430 War and there's a real danger of 12:49.630 --> 12:52.060 nuclear weapons being used in the 12:52.060 --> 12:54.227 present situation ? Are you not afraid 12:54.227 --> 12:57.100 that the conflict will somehow spin out 12:57.100 --> 12:59.160 of control and we will have this 12:59.170 --> 13:02.850 nuclear confrontation ? Well , 13:03.070 --> 13:06.330 we I certainly will do everything 13:06.340 --> 13:09.910 within our power . And within Ukraine , 13:09.920 --> 13:12.087 Ukraine will have the same approach to 13:12.087 --> 13:14.198 everything within their power to make 13:14.198 --> 13:16.198 sure it doesn't spin out of control 13:16.198 --> 13:18.253 international communities focused on 13:18.253 --> 13:20.476 that as well . Again , I think this any 13:20.476 --> 13:22.309 bluster about the use of nuclear 13:22.309 --> 13:24.420 possibility of use of nuclear weapons 13:24.460 --> 13:26.460 is very dangerous and unhelpful , 13:26.840 --> 13:28.840 nobody wants to see a nuclear war , 13:28.840 --> 13:31.140 nobody can win that . Uh and as we do 13:31.140 --> 13:34.180 things and as we uh , you know , take 13:34.180 --> 13:37.180 actions were always mindful of making 13:37.180 --> 13:39.402 sure that we have the right balance and 13:39.402 --> 13:41.569 we're taking the right approach . So , 13:41.569 --> 13:43.520 um there's always a , you know , a 13:43.520 --> 13:45.742 possibility that a number of things can 13:45.742 --> 13:48.490 happen . But but , you know , again , I 13:48.490 --> 13:50.510 think it's uh it's unhelpful and 13:50.510 --> 13:53.660 dangerous uh for to rattle 13:53.660 --> 13:57.540 sabers and speculate about the use 13:57.540 --> 14:00.480 of nuclear weapons . Thanks , thank you 14:00.480 --> 14:02.591 all . That's all the time we have for 14:02.591 --> 14:04.647 today's press conference . We really 14:04.647 --> 14:04.460 appreciate you all coming . Thank you . 14:10.440 --> 14:11.080 Thanks guys .