1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 2 00:00:07,250 --> 00:00:09,810 Ok , everyone . Good afternoon . Thank 3 00:00:09,819 --> 00:00:11,819 you for being here today . It is my 4 00:00:11,819 --> 00:00:13,763 pleasure to introduce Secretary of 5 00:00:13,763 --> 00:00:15,819 Defense Lloyd Austin . The secretary 6 00:00:15,819 --> 00:00:17,930 will deliver some opening remarks and 7 00:00:17,930 --> 00:00:19,986 then we will have time to take a few 8 00:00:19,986 --> 00:00:21,875 questions . I will moderate those 9 00:00:21,875 --> 00:00:24,041 questions and call on journalists that 10 00:00:24,041 --> 00:00:26,097 Mr Secretary uh thanks Serena . Good 11 00:00:26,097 --> 00:00:28,319 afternoon , everyone . It's great to be 12 00:00:28,319 --> 00:00:30,750 back at NATO . But I wanted to start 13 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:32,939 with just a few words about the Middle 14 00:00:32,950 --> 00:00:35,479 East . As you all know 15 00:00:36,770 --> 00:00:39,909 Israel yesterday killed Sinar , the 16 00:00:39,919 --> 00:00:43,159 leader of Hamas . That's a major 17 00:00:43,169 --> 00:00:46,069 achievement and it opens a major 18 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:50,009 opportunity for progress . Sin was 19 00:00:50,020 --> 00:00:52,409 the architect of the October 7th 20 00:00:52,419 --> 00:00:55,029 terrorist assault on Israel . 21 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,529 His plot left 1200 people dead , 22 00:01:00,490 --> 00:01:02,830 including civilians from more than 30 23 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,739 other countries that includes the 24 00:01:05,750 --> 00:01:09,019 United States . He was responsible for 25 00:01:09,029 --> 00:01:11,140 the deaths of many Americans over the 26 00:01:11,140 --> 00:01:13,190 years , including more than 40 27 00:01:13,199 --> 00:01:16,500 Americans murdered on October 7th and 28 00:01:16,510 --> 00:01:19,330 four murdered American hostages . 29 00:01:21,769 --> 00:01:23,936 Sinar devoted his life to wrecking the 30 00:01:23,936 --> 00:01:27,080 chances of peace between the Israelis 31 00:01:27,089 --> 00:01:30,860 and the Palestinians . He's finally 32 00:01:30,870 --> 00:01:34,330 been brought to justice and that 33 00:01:34,339 --> 00:01:37,790 removes a huge obstacle . Our 34 00:01:37,849 --> 00:01:41,319 top priority is the 101 hostages still 35 00:01:41,330 --> 00:01:44,599 kidnapped in Gaza including our own 36 00:01:44,610 --> 00:01:47,989 American hostages . They have been 37 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:51,949 through hell and so 38 00:01:51,959 --> 00:01:55,449 have their families and the 39 00:01:55,459 --> 00:01:57,720 hostages should not have to suffer one 40 00:01:57,730 --> 00:02:01,709 more hour in captivity . Those 41 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,690 who are holding hostages should release 42 00:02:04,699 --> 00:02:06,279 them immediately . 43 00:02:09,708 --> 00:02:11,319 Sar's death also provides an 44 00:02:11,319 --> 00:02:13,529 extraordinary opportunity to achieve a 45 00:02:13,539 --> 00:02:17,399 lasting ceasefire to end this awful 46 00:02:17,410 --> 00:02:21,380 war and to rush humanitarian aid into 47 00:02:21,389 --> 00:02:25,250 Gaza . Our forces in the region stand 48 00:02:25,259 --> 00:02:28,559 ready to assist in Israel's defense to 49 00:02:28,570 --> 00:02:32,479 deter aggression and to reduce the risk 50 00:02:32,490 --> 00:02:36,419 of all out war . And we will continue 51 00:02:36,429 --> 00:02:39,029 to drive hard to bring home to bring 52 00:02:39,039 --> 00:02:41,619 all of the hostages home and to end the 53 00:02:41,630 --> 00:02:44,800 conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon 54 00:02:44,809 --> 00:02:46,740 through principled diplomacy . 55 00:02:48,199 --> 00:02:50,850 Now let me turn back to our work here 56 00:02:50,860 --> 00:02:54,350 at NATO . This has been an historic 57 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:56,639 defense ministerial for three reasons . 58 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,220 First , this is our new Secretary 59 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,440 General's inaugural ministerial meeting . 60 00:03:04,300 --> 00:03:06,411 So I want to thank Mark Rutte for and 61 00:03:06,411 --> 00:03:09,679 his staff for convening us . And I also 62 00:03:09,690 --> 00:03:11,746 look forward to working very closely 63 00:03:11,746 --> 00:03:15,020 with Mark and his team . Second , 64 00:03:15,740 --> 00:03:17,851 this is our first defense ministerial 65 00:03:17,851 --> 00:03:20,220 with nato's Indo Pacific partners , 66 00:03:21,059 --> 00:03:24,649 Australia , Japan , New uh New 67 00:03:24,660 --> 00:03:28,309 Zealand and the Republic of Korea . And 68 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:30,542 that just underscores the importance of 69 00:03:30,542 --> 00:03:32,653 working with our partners in the Indo 70 00:03:32,653 --> 00:03:34,889 Pacific on boosting industrial based 71 00:03:34,899 --> 00:03:37,320 resilience , combating disinformation 72 00:03:37,330 --> 00:03:41,000 and much much more . And third , 73 00:03:41,020 --> 00:03:42,964 this ministerial is the first high 74 00:03:43,029 --> 00:03:45,240 level NATO gathering since our 75th 75 00:03:45,250 --> 00:03:48,559 anniversary summit in Washington back 76 00:03:48,570 --> 00:03:52,110 in July . The summit was a major 77 00:03:52,119 --> 00:03:55,850 success . We welcome Sweden as a 78 00:03:55,860 --> 00:03:59,710 NATO ally , we endorsed a NATO 79 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,860 industrial capacity expansion pledge 80 00:04:04,089 --> 00:04:06,145 and that will strengthen the defense 81 00:04:06,145 --> 00:04:08,200 industrial base on both sides of the 82 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:10,380 Atlantic and increase large scale 83 00:04:10,389 --> 00:04:13,160 multinational procurement and help 84 00:04:13,169 --> 00:04:15,179 deliver capabilities swiftly and 85 00:04:15,190 --> 00:04:19,130 securely . We also launched the 86 00:04:19,350 --> 00:04:22,739 security assistance and training for 87 00:04:22,750 --> 00:04:25,970 Ukraine or in Satu . 88 00:04:27,170 --> 00:04:29,170 Now , that's our military effort to 89 00:04:29,170 --> 00:04:31,429 plan , coordinate and arrange delivery 90 00:04:32,209 --> 00:04:34,809 of the security assistance that Ukraine 91 00:04:34,820 --> 00:04:37,329 needs to prevail against Russian 92 00:04:37,339 --> 00:04:40,730 aggression . We strengthen nato's 93 00:04:40,739 --> 00:04:44,670 deterrence and defense . We deepen ties 94 00:04:44,679 --> 00:04:47,339 with our global partners , especially 95 00:04:47,350 --> 00:04:50,470 in the Indo Pacific and we celebrated 96 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,869 75 years of the strongest , most 97 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:55,820 successful defensive alliance in 98 00:04:55,829 --> 00:04:59,059 history . I'm proud of all this 99 00:04:59,070 --> 00:05:02,450 progress but we still got work to do . 100 00:05:04,019 --> 00:05:05,852 Our priority is implementing the 101 00:05:05,859 --> 00:05:08,081 important agreements from nato's recent 102 00:05:08,081 --> 00:05:11,109 summits and today we continued our 103 00:05:11,119 --> 00:05:14,890 progress . We're forging nato's most 104 00:05:14,899 --> 00:05:17,929 robust defense plans since the end of 105 00:05:17,940 --> 00:05:20,820 the Cold War and that will help ensure 106 00:05:20,829 --> 00:05:22,579 that we have the forces and 107 00:05:22,589 --> 00:05:24,959 capabilities to meet any contingency 108 00:05:26,100 --> 00:05:28,211 that includes air and missile defense 109 00:05:28,410 --> 00:05:31,029 which are crucial for defending the 110 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,739 allied airspace . And earlier this 111 00:05:33,750 --> 00:05:35,639 month , General Cavoli directed a 112 00:05:35,639 --> 00:05:38,000 reinforcement of NATO air surveillance 113 00:05:38,010 --> 00:05:41,290 in Romania to monitor Russian military 114 00:05:41,299 --> 00:05:45,119 activity . NATO allies continue to 115 00:05:45,130 --> 00:05:47,200 make robust investments in air and 116 00:05:47,209 --> 00:05:50,510 missile defense , but we must invest in 117 00:05:50,519 --> 00:05:52,130 many other areas to meet our 118 00:05:52,130 --> 00:05:54,297 requirements . So I'm glad to say that 119 00:05:54,297 --> 00:05:56,463 we're sharing the burden of collective 120 00:05:56,463 --> 00:06:00,109 defense more than ever . This year , a 121 00:06:00,119 --> 00:06:03,839 record 2323 NATO 122 00:06:03,850 --> 00:06:06,589 allies are hitting or topping our 123 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:09,200 shared commitment to spend at least 2% 124 00:06:09,209 --> 00:06:13,160 of GDP on defense . But we still need 125 00:06:13,170 --> 00:06:15,540 each and every single ally to meet this 126 00:06:15,549 --> 00:06:18,549 mutually agreed upon obligation as soon 127 00:06:18,559 --> 00:06:21,179 as possible . And that will let us 128 00:06:21,190 --> 00:06:23,190 fulfill the requirements of our new 129 00:06:23,190 --> 00:06:25,820 plans and hit our capability targets . 130 00:06:27,059 --> 00:06:29,170 And by investing in our transatlantic 131 00:06:29,170 --> 00:06:31,970 defense , industrial base and scaling 132 00:06:31,980 --> 00:06:34,850 up military production , we can send a 133 00:06:34,859 --> 00:06:37,230 long term demand signal to industry . 134 00:06:39,609 --> 00:06:41,720 You know , we also met yesterday with 135 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:43,887 our Indo Pacific partners and with the 136 00:06:43,887 --> 00:06:46,369 European Union , it was a very 137 00:06:46,380 --> 00:06:48,491 productive meeting and it underscored 138 00:06:48,491 --> 00:06:51,190 the profound links among Euro Atlantic 139 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:53,720 security and Indo Pacific security . 140 00:06:55,109 --> 00:06:56,720 We're concerned by the Pr CS 141 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:58,831 increasingly coercive behavior in the 142 00:06:58,831 --> 00:07:01,369 Indo Pacific which has profound 143 00:07:01,380 --> 00:07:03,929 implications for the whole world . 144 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:06,944 We're also troubled by the growing 145 00:07:06,944 --> 00:07:08,850 alignment between Russia and the 146 00:07:08,859 --> 00:07:11,026 People's Republic of China , including 147 00:07:11,179 --> 00:07:13,970 the Pr CS report , uh support for 148 00:07:14,019 --> 00:07:16,209 Putin's indefensible war of choice 149 00:07:16,220 --> 00:07:19,420 against Ukraine and that makes our 150 00:07:19,429 --> 00:07:21,262 close co-operation with our Indo 151 00:07:21,262 --> 00:07:23,429 Pacific friends more vital than ever . 152 00:07:24,059 --> 00:07:26,179 We also held a NATO Ukraine council 153 00:07:26,190 --> 00:07:29,809 meeting yesterday , Minister Umarov uh 154 00:07:29,820 --> 00:07:33,049 gave us some great insights and we made 155 00:07:33,059 --> 00:07:35,839 clear , made clear our enduring 156 00:07:35,850 --> 00:07:38,619 commitment to a free and sovereign 157 00:07:38,649 --> 00:07:41,980 Ukraine like countries of goodwill 158 00:07:41,989 --> 00:07:44,089 around the world . Our NATO allies 159 00:07:44,100 --> 00:07:46,044 continue to stand up for Ukraine's 160 00:07:46,044 --> 00:07:48,859 sovereignty and self defense and the 161 00:07:48,869 --> 00:07:50,702 United States and our allies and 162 00:07:50,702 --> 00:07:52,702 partners are determined to stand by 163 00:07:52,702 --> 00:07:55,709 Ukraine for the long haul and we'll 164 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,239 stand by one another . The foundation 165 00:07:59,250 --> 00:08:01,028 of NATO is a collective defense 166 00:08:01,028 --> 00:08:03,339 commitment in article five of the North 167 00:08:03,350 --> 00:08:06,459 Atlantic Treaty , the US commitment to 168 00:08:06,470 --> 00:08:09,459 Article five remains ironclad and we 169 00:08:09,470 --> 00:08:11,750 will defend the sovereignty and the 170 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:13,970 territory of every member of this 171 00:08:13,980 --> 00:08:17,750 alliance , whatever changes lie 172 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:20,700 ahead , we will tackle them together . 173 00:08:22,190 --> 00:08:24,670 And that solidarity is the reason why 174 00:08:24,679 --> 00:08:26,959 NATO is the greatest defensive alliance 175 00:08:26,980 --> 00:08:30,070 in history . And thanks again and with 176 00:08:30,079 --> 00:08:31,912 that , I'll be glad to take some 177 00:08:31,912 --> 00:08:33,912 questions . Great . Thank you . Our 178 00:08:33,912 --> 00:08:36,079 first question will go to Phil Stewart 179 00:08:36,079 --> 00:08:40,020 from Reuters right here in the 180 00:08:40,030 --> 00:08:41,697 middle . Yeah , you're fine . 181 00:08:45,929 --> 00:08:48,890 Ok , thank you . So you are saying that 182 00:08:48,900 --> 00:08:50,989 Israel has an opportunity to end the 183 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:52,869 war in Gaza . But Israel's Prime 184 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:55,580 Minister is vowing today to keep 185 00:08:55,590 --> 00:08:57,940 fighting . Do you support Israel's new 186 00:08:57,950 --> 00:09:01,080 campaign to quote , stop the axis of 187 00:09:01,090 --> 00:09:03,590 evil and quote , has Netanyahu put it 188 00:09:03,849 --> 00:09:05,849 or is Israel missing an opportunity 189 00:09:05,849 --> 00:09:09,000 here and on . Ukraine , President 190 00:09:09,090 --> 00:09:11,270 Zelensky told the Financial Times that 191 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:13,789 a formal invitation to join NATO is the 192 00:09:13,799 --> 00:09:16,270 only way Ukraine can survive Russia's 193 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:18,169 invasion . Do you agree with that 194 00:09:18,169 --> 00:09:20,299 assessment and more broadly , do you 195 00:09:20,309 --> 00:09:22,969 endorse his victory plan ? Thank you . 196 00:09:24,059 --> 00:09:26,226 So which one of those questions do you 197 00:09:26,226 --> 00:09:28,392 want me to answer , Phil ? All right , 198 00:09:28,392 --> 00:09:31,260 let's start with uh um 199 00:09:33,429 --> 00:09:35,729 the question as to whether or not there 200 00:09:35,739 --> 00:09:38,590 is an opportunity available uh with 201 00:09:38,599 --> 00:09:40,877 respect to Gaza , of course , there is . 202 00:09:41,409 --> 00:09:44,409 Uh and we would hope that uh we can 203 00:09:44,419 --> 00:09:47,409 work together to uh take advantage of 204 00:09:47,419 --> 00:09:49,799 that opportunity . The first thing Phil 205 00:09:49,809 --> 00:09:51,976 that we need to focus on is the return 206 00:09:51,976 --> 00:09:55,140 of the hostages . Uh Again , you heard 207 00:09:55,150 --> 00:09:59,049 the Prime Minister uh uh publicly uh 208 00:09:59,059 --> 00:10:01,900 state yesterday that anyone who has uh 209 00:10:01,909 --> 00:10:04,840 uh control of hostages , uh He would 210 00:10:04,849 --> 00:10:07,320 encourage them to return them . And uh 211 00:10:07,330 --> 00:10:09,274 and again , I would hope that they 212 00:10:09,274 --> 00:10:13,190 would do so . Uh beyond that , uh you 213 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:14,922 know , I think there are other 214 00:10:14,922 --> 00:10:17,089 opportunities and we'll see how things 215 00:10:17,089 --> 00:10:18,840 evolve , but clearly there are 216 00:10:18,849 --> 00:10:21,071 opportunities for a change in direction 217 00:10:21,309 --> 00:10:23,365 and we would hope that uh you know , 218 00:10:23,419 --> 00:10:25,900 parties would uh would take advantage 219 00:10:25,909 --> 00:10:29,169 of that both in Lebanon , in Gaza and 220 00:10:29,179 --> 00:10:32,419 in Lebanon . The second question was , 221 00:10:32,429 --> 00:10:35,130 as I recall , Phil was about uh the 222 00:10:35,140 --> 00:10:37,960 victory plan and whether or not uh we 223 00:10:37,969 --> 00:10:41,020 endorse the victory plan . Again , the 224 00:10:41,030 --> 00:10:43,086 victory plan is President Zelensky s 225 00:10:43,086 --> 00:10:45,049 plan . Uh And we're going to do 226 00:10:45,059 --> 00:10:47,170 everything that we can to provide the 227 00:10:47,170 --> 00:10:49,115 security assistance to support the 228 00:10:49,115 --> 00:10:51,500 president uh as he uh tries to 229 00:10:51,510 --> 00:10:53,859 accomplish his objectives . Now , what 230 00:10:53,869 --> 00:10:56,179 we , we all want to make sure that we 231 00:10:56,190 --> 00:10:58,859 continue to do is to link uh military 232 00:10:58,869 --> 00:11:02,140 objectives to uh strategic uh 233 00:11:02,150 --> 00:11:05,150 objectives and , and you know , that 234 00:11:05,159 --> 00:11:07,359 dialogue continues and you know , I 235 00:11:07,369 --> 00:11:10,869 just met with Minister Umarov today we 236 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:12,880 talked through a number of those uh 237 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,150 those things . Again , our focus is 238 00:11:15,159 --> 00:11:16,992 going to continue to be on doing 239 00:11:16,992 --> 00:11:19,103 everything that we can to support the 240 00:11:19,103 --> 00:11:20,937 victory plan . Uh It's , it's or 241 00:11:20,937 --> 00:11:24,460 support President Censky . Uh It's not 242 00:11:24,469 --> 00:11:28,340 my position to evaluate publicly his 243 00:11:28,349 --> 00:11:30,880 plan . We have been supporting him by 244 00:11:30,890 --> 00:11:33,549 providing security assistance in a 245 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:35,890 major way for over 2.5 years . We're 246 00:11:35,900 --> 00:11:38,409 going to continue to do that . Thank 247 00:11:38,419 --> 00:11:40,475 you . Our second question will go to 248 00:11:40,475 --> 00:11:43,549 Andrei Smo Yakov , Novaya GTA Europa 249 00:11:43,609 --> 00:11:45,776 right here in the back in the middle . 250 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:50,369 Thank you , Mr Secretary Ukrainian 251 00:11:50,380 --> 00:11:52,380 military has been able to carry out 252 00:11:52,380 --> 00:11:54,469 some effective UAV strikes deep into 253 00:11:54,479 --> 00:11:56,701 Russian territory . But there have been 254 00:11:56,701 --> 00:11:58,590 reports especially in Russian and 255 00:11:58,590 --> 00:12:00,646 Ukrainian language media that the US 256 00:12:00,646 --> 00:12:02,812 has discouraged those attacks . And is 257 00:12:02,812 --> 00:12:04,979 there any substance to those reports ? 258 00:12:04,979 --> 00:12:07,146 And if so is the US willing to support 259 00:12:07,146 --> 00:12:09,090 such operations in the future ? Uh 260 00:12:09,090 --> 00:12:10,757 Actually , Andre , we've seen 261 00:12:10,757 --> 00:12:14,359 Ukrainians use their long range uh 262 00:12:14,369 --> 00:12:17,179 UAV strike capability to great effect 263 00:12:17,190 --> 00:12:20,109 and we saw uh recently that they were 264 00:12:20,119 --> 00:12:23,219 able to take out uh a number of uh 265 00:12:23,229 --> 00:12:26,169 strategic level ammunition supply 266 00:12:26,179 --> 00:12:28,900 points which has had an impact on the , 267 00:12:28,909 --> 00:12:31,929 on the battlefield . Uh I think what's 268 00:12:31,940 --> 00:12:34,119 important to , to point out here , 269 00:12:34,130 --> 00:12:37,140 Andre is that uh they're able to 270 00:12:37,150 --> 00:12:40,109 produce these UAVS in Ukraine , uh 271 00:12:40,119 --> 00:12:43,130 they're able to scale that production 272 00:12:43,140 --> 00:12:46,989 rapidly . Uh The UAVS have proven to be 273 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,909 very effective and accurate . And again , 274 00:12:51,309 --> 00:12:53,476 when you consider the fact that uh one 275 00:12:53,476 --> 00:12:57,150 precision guided missile cost , uh 276 00:12:57,390 --> 00:12:59,390 in some cases close to a million 277 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:02,599 dollars depending on what it is . Uh in 278 00:13:03,010 --> 00:13:06,479 these uh these UAVS they can produce in 279 00:13:06,489 --> 00:13:08,880 great numbers at a fraction of the cost . 280 00:13:08,890 --> 00:13:11,112 So when you look at the balance sheet , 281 00:13:11,112 --> 00:13:13,334 uh and the effects that are , are being 282 00:13:13,334 --> 00:13:15,557 created on the , on the battlefield , I 283 00:13:15,557 --> 00:13:17,723 think this is a great capability . How 284 00:13:17,723 --> 00:13:19,779 they use the capability that they're 285 00:13:19,779 --> 00:13:21,919 producing is going to be their call 286 00:13:21,940 --> 00:13:23,809 Andre . So thank you . Our next 287 00:13:23,820 --> 00:13:25,931 question will go to Phil Gordon right 288 00:13:25,931 --> 00:13:27,931 here , Air and Space Magazine right 289 00:13:27,931 --> 00:13:30,042 here in the blue . Thank you , Mister 290 00:13:30,042 --> 00:13:32,320 Secretary Chris Gordon . I said , Phil , 291 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:32,299 sorry , sorry . Thank you , Sabrina . 292 00:13:32,770 --> 00:13:36,770 Thank you . I know you . 293 00:13:38,969 --> 00:13:41,479 Good to hear , sir . The world is in a 294 00:13:41,489 --> 00:13:43,840 very difficult situation and I have two 295 00:13:43,849 --> 00:13:45,905 questions regarding that situation . 296 00:13:45,905 --> 00:13:47,905 First , if there is a settlement in 297 00:13:47,905 --> 00:13:49,849 Gaza , is the Pentagon prepared to 298 00:13:49,849 --> 00:13:52,679 provide logistical support and military 299 00:13:52,690 --> 00:13:55,349 advice to an Arab led stabilization 300 00:13:55,359 --> 00:13:58,039 force if there are no US boots on the 301 00:13:58,049 --> 00:14:01,570 ground . And then secondly , to put a 302 00:14:01,580 --> 00:14:03,747 finer point on my colleague's question 303 00:14:03,747 --> 00:14:05,580 earlier , President Zelinski has 304 00:14:05,580 --> 00:14:07,636 repeatedly appealed to the US to use 305 00:14:07,636 --> 00:14:09,802 attack on to strike a broader range of 306 00:14:09,802 --> 00:14:12,000 targets inside of Russia and to do so 307 00:14:12,010 --> 00:14:14,340 more quickly than drones . The Biden 308 00:14:14,349 --> 00:14:16,349 administration has not allowed this 309 00:14:16,349 --> 00:14:18,760 have Putin's nuclear threats worked 310 00:14:22,849 --> 00:14:26,010 regarding Putin's nuclear threats . 311 00:14:26,630 --> 00:14:29,429 Again , you've heard me say a number of 312 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:31,570 times that I think any kind of uh 313 00:14:31,580 --> 00:14:34,169 nuclear saber saber rattling is 314 00:14:34,570 --> 00:14:37,429 reckless and dangerous and uh we would 315 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:40,950 call upon Putin and others to uh 316 00:14:41,270 --> 00:14:44,710 to not employ that kind of language 317 00:14:45,330 --> 00:14:49,309 um in terms of whether 318 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:52,150 or not we would participate in any kind 319 00:14:52,159 --> 00:14:55,719 of stabilization efforts in Gaza . I 320 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:57,969 think that that's going to require the 321 00:14:57,979 --> 00:14:59,979 uh the contributions of a number of 322 00:14:59,979 --> 00:15:02,035 countries . Hopefully , countries in 323 00:15:02,035 --> 00:15:04,729 the region will , will step up there 324 00:15:04,739 --> 00:15:07,440 quite possibly is a can be a part for 325 00:15:07,450 --> 00:15:09,849 the United States to play in that as 326 00:15:09,859 --> 00:15:12,140 well . What part that would be and what 327 00:15:12,150 --> 00:15:14,969 that would look like . Uh , Chris , we , 328 00:15:14,979 --> 00:15:17,035 we're going to have to work with our 329 00:15:17,035 --> 00:15:19,201 allies and partners to , to scope that 330 00:15:19,201 --> 00:15:21,257 out . And I certainly would not have 331 00:15:21,257 --> 00:15:23,146 any announcements to make on , on 332 00:15:23,146 --> 00:15:25,146 anything like that . The first step 333 00:15:25,146 --> 00:15:27,368 though is we got to get to some sort of 334 00:15:27,368 --> 00:15:29,590 cease fire . And , uh , and then , uh , 335 00:15:29,590 --> 00:15:32,859 we , we need to make sure that we have 336 00:15:32,869 --> 00:15:35,036 that we're putting the right things in 337 00:15:35,036 --> 00:15:37,359 place to , uh , to stabilize the , uh , 338 00:15:37,369 --> 00:15:40,000 the area and provide for some sort of 339 00:15:40,010 --> 00:15:42,880 security going forward , but that's 340 00:15:42,890 --> 00:15:45,223 left to be defined yet . So , thank you . 341 00:15:45,223 --> 00:15:47,223 And our last question , we'll go to 342 00:15:47,223 --> 00:15:50,210 Terry Schultz Deutsche Valet . Thank 343 00:15:50,219 --> 00:15:53,099 you , Secretary Austin . Um , I'm , I'm 344 00:15:53,109 --> 00:15:55,165 very interested in the future of the 345 00:15:55,165 --> 00:15:57,520 Ukraine defense contact group , a group 346 00:15:57,530 --> 00:15:59,630 that you yourself created . I mean , 347 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:01,751 what is the future of this given that 348 00:16:01,751 --> 00:16:03,751 nobody knows what's going to happen 349 00:16:03,751 --> 00:16:05,429 after November under either 350 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:07,510 administration that would take over 351 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:09,687 what will happen with this group . How 352 00:16:09,687 --> 00:16:13,119 do you consult what you have done , 353 00:16:13,130 --> 00:16:14,797 what has been done under your 354 00:16:14,797 --> 00:16:16,963 leadership , but even more of interest 355 00:16:16,963 --> 00:16:19,539 to the Ukrainians . Do you have a sense 356 00:16:19,549 --> 00:16:22,599 after this last meeting that there's , 357 00:16:22,690 --> 00:16:25,440 there's enough momentum to provide 358 00:16:25,450 --> 00:16:27,672 enough to help Ukraine tilt the balance 359 00:16:27,672 --> 00:16:29,561 on the , on the battlefield as is 360 00:16:29,561 --> 00:16:32,369 necessary . You yourself say to someday 361 00:16:32,380 --> 00:16:34,547 move into discussions about ending the 362 00:16:34,547 --> 00:16:37,549 war ? Um Yeah , thanks Terry . So we're , 363 00:16:37,559 --> 00:16:39,780 we've been doing two things 364 00:16:39,789 --> 00:16:42,700 simultaneously . We're providing 365 00:16:42,710 --> 00:16:44,766 focused on providing Ukraine what it 366 00:16:44,766 --> 00:16:47,140 needs to be successful on a battlefield 367 00:16:47,539 --> 00:16:50,950 uh today as it tries to defend its 368 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:52,960 sovereign territory . And it's been 369 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:55,071 very successful at that . And I would 370 00:16:55,071 --> 00:16:57,293 remind everybody that Ukraine has taken 371 00:16:57,293 --> 00:16:59,404 on the largest military in Europe and 372 00:16:59,404 --> 00:17:01,409 for 2.5 years , it has successfully 373 00:17:01,419 --> 00:17:03,799 defended his territory and Putin has 374 00:17:03,809 --> 00:17:06,609 not achieved not one strategic 375 00:17:06,619 --> 00:17:08,786 objective that he set out to achieve . 376 00:17:09,369 --> 00:17:12,599 Kiev is still uh still 377 00:17:12,609 --> 00:17:15,479 stands . The Ukrainian government did 378 00:17:15,489 --> 00:17:17,849 not fold and I could name a number of 379 00:17:17,859 --> 00:17:20,449 other things , but they have been very , 380 00:17:20,459 --> 00:17:22,380 very successful . So helping them 381 00:17:22,390 --> 00:17:26,359 defend uh uh in the current fight is uh 382 00:17:26,369 --> 00:17:28,536 is one objective . The other objective 383 00:17:28,536 --> 00:17:31,079 is making sure that we uh we help them 384 00:17:31,089 --> 00:17:33,420 get what's necessary to be able to 385 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,390 defend against aggression in the future 386 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:38,849 and deter aggression as well . And 387 00:17:38,859 --> 00:17:40,526 that's what the uh cape Billy 388 00:17:40,526 --> 00:17:42,803 coalitions uh have been designed to do . 389 00:17:42,803 --> 00:17:45,109 As you know , we uh we have an air 390 00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:47,930 force cape Bill coalition . Uh it was 391 00:17:47,959 --> 00:17:49,848 uh focused initially and still is 392 00:17:49,848 --> 00:17:53,150 focused on helping Ukraine um get a 393 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:55,760 fighter aircraft capability . And you , 394 00:17:55,770 --> 00:17:58,969 as you know , Ukraine now has an F-16 395 00:17:58,979 --> 00:18:01,201 capability . It will , we will continue 396 00:18:01,201 --> 00:18:03,035 to build upon that . There's a , 397 00:18:03,035 --> 00:18:04,812 there's an artillery capability 398 00:18:04,812 --> 00:18:06,646 coalition that's also being very 399 00:18:06,646 --> 00:18:08,812 successful and it's helping Ukraine uh 400 00:18:08,812 --> 00:18:10,839 acquire the artillery systems and 401 00:18:10,849 --> 00:18:13,119 ammunitions and that it needs not only 402 00:18:13,130 --> 00:18:15,680 for today but for the long haul as well . 403 00:18:16,010 --> 00:18:18,010 There's an it coalition that , that 404 00:18:18,010 --> 00:18:21,319 helps make sure that Ukraine has what 405 00:18:21,329 --> 00:18:24,560 it needs to be able to function in the 406 00:18:24,569 --> 00:18:26,569 uh in the information space in 407 00:18:26,579 --> 00:18:28,635 information domain and , and , and , 408 00:18:28,635 --> 00:18:30,801 and be effective that it coalition has 409 00:18:30,810 --> 00:18:32,699 been very , very effective , very 410 00:18:32,699 --> 00:18:34,866 impressive . There's a drone coalition 411 00:18:34,866 --> 00:18:37,479 and uh and so these coalitions are 412 00:18:37,489 --> 00:18:39,719 designed to ensure that at the end of 413 00:18:39,729 --> 00:18:42,619 the day , Ukraine has what it needs to 414 00:18:42,630 --> 00:18:44,797 be able to deter aggression and defend 415 00:18:44,797 --> 00:18:47,729 itself going forward . And I thank you 416 00:18:47,739 --> 00:18:49,961 for bringing it up because it's a thing 417 00:18:49,961 --> 00:18:52,183 that not many people pay attention to . 418 00:18:52,183 --> 00:18:55,479 But every day , every , every day , we 419 00:18:55,489 --> 00:18:57,600 are building long term capability for 420 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:00,250 Ukraine . And , and you know , I have 421 00:19:00,260 --> 00:19:02,329 to applaud the work of our , of our 422 00:19:02,339 --> 00:19:04,450 allies and partners who are , who are 423 00:19:04,450 --> 00:19:06,949 leading some of these coalitions and uh 424 00:19:07,319 --> 00:19:10,229 and , and rallying support for Ukraine 425 00:19:10,569 --> 00:19:12,736 and , and , you know , digging deep to 426 00:19:12,736 --> 00:19:14,958 provide them what we think they'll need 427 00:19:14,958 --> 00:19:17,180 going forward . So So I think that will 428 00:19:17,180 --> 00:19:19,510 help to spell success for Ukraine in 429 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:21,576 the long haul , but I appreciate you 430 00:19:21,576 --> 00:19:23,631 bringing it up , Jerry . Thank you , 431 00:19:23,631 --> 00:19:25,742 everyone that concludes today's press 432 00:19:25,742 --> 00:19:24,479 conference .