FULL Post US-GCC Briefing: Marco Rubio Speaks On Iran, JD Vance And Trump Relations In Bahrain — AC1F

[0:10] you guys ready just a couple points i want to make at the outset because i know it's been in [0:15] the news this morning about this earthquake in venezuela i had an opportunity to talk earlier [0:19] this morning with dulcie rodriguez the acting president we're obviously awaiting the we're [0:24] already deploying search and rescue teams from fairfax county virginia and los angeles [0:30] there'll be some others we'll add that's their most immediate need right now is search and rescue [0:33] efforts they have a much of collapsed buildings and so they'll need a lot of help in terms of [0:38] digging through that the airport there is badly damaged so we'll have to rely on the department [0:42] of war to deploy assets there and then we're also helping them with some overhead imagery [0:47] especially in coastal areas where they don't have full visibility over what the damage has been and [0:51] what the impact has been those are the acute like short-term needs over the next 48 to 72 hours [0:56] because in search and rescue you're trying to get to people while you can still save their lives they're [1:00] buried under rubble and other countries are responding as well the qataris are have already [1:05] offered assistance as we spoke to them earlier today as well el salvador has stepped up and [1:10] multiple countries around the region including chile and others have reached out to us to communicate [1:14] and get that happening as we move forward with that response with the sort of the short-term phase of [1:19] response recovery the second phase of course will be identifying their more longer term and acute needs [1:24] what are the things over the long term they're going to need help with we'll have a better assessment of [1:28] that after the next 48 hours when we're on the ground and as the venezuelan authorities get more [1:33] visibility as to the level of damage in terms of housing where do you put all these people that [1:37] don't have anywhere to go live what we can do to help restore or help them restore their communications [1:43] their internet their telecom and so forth we'll also have to manage what we expect is going to be a surge [1:47] of private donation i can imagine that there's going to be a lot of people from the united states and [1:52] entities in the united states we've already been in touch with some of the leading charities but i know [1:57] at the local level particularly in places like where i call home in south florida there'll be a lot of people [2:02] that are going to want to step forward and help and provide assistance and we just need to find [2:06] the way that we can step in and provide logistical support from that in addition of course our we've [2:10] already stood up our disaster response teams at the department of state and our humanitarian efforts [2:16] it's something we did very well in jamaica uh after that storm and it's something we're really [2:21] prepared to do now so i've already spoken to secretary hex f the department of war is going to have to play [2:26] a logistical big logistical role here because they they have the ability to land in challenging places right [2:30] now the airport in caracas is damaged one of the runways is cracked and so but the department [2:36] of war has the capability to land in situations like that so we'll need that so we have an awful [2:43] whole of government response it'll be big it'll be fast and it'll be effective and of course obviously [2:49] we're in touch through our embassy on the ground where i believe we have almost full accountability of [2:53] all our personnel there and of course americans are safe the last point is we've also you know we [3:01] know there are american citizens that are inside of venezuela now so we've also gone through the [3:05] normal processes that we set up for them to be able to communicate with us in case they need [3:09] assistance or help on this visit here we had a very productive meeting a very good meeting i know you [3:14] hear that all the time so let me just say it was a really really good meeting with the the gulf countries [3:19] they've shared with us some very concrete concerns ideas and and when i say concerns like the biggest [3:25] concern is that they really just want to be informed every step along the way as we enter these negotiations [3:30] at both the technical and political levels and we want them to be involved and we want their [3:35] it's helpful that qatar is there as a mediator but we want the views of all these countries to be [3:39] reflected we don't want to be we don't we want and will not be making any decisions or commitments [3:44] that in any way undermines the prosperity stability or security of our gulf partners so every step of the [3:50] way we'll create a system where we are always in communication with them and they're not reading about [3:55] it in the media no no uh disrespect to all of you but they really should be hearing directly from us [4:00] and engaged as much as possible in this process as we move forward and that was something that [4:06] we talked about today they have some other specific things so one thing that came across very clear [4:11] is there is zero support zero support among the gulf countries for any sort of toll or fees or anything [4:17] that charges for the use of international waters the president's made it clear that's not going to happen [4:22] it's not going to be a part of this it cannot be a part of this he made that clear again yesterday [4:26] in the oval office uh in in a press availability that he had and i reiterated that point uh which [4:32] i think was a welcome message from our partners here to hear that as well so all right let's go [4:40] your remarks this morning you mentioned that no agreement with iran it would be an expense of [4:45] can you back because yes sure he wants to see my face yes i'm sorry go ahead i'm sorry and [4:50] you remarked this morning sir you said there is no agreement with iran it will like come with an [4:56] expense of a gulf state interest does that mean you're in your negotiation with iran it will address [5:03] proxy and also all the threats from iran coming to hormones even if they don't close it but still [5:08] the threats affect the martin traffic and also proxies yeah if you look at the mou it talks for peace in [5:14] the region it talks for no interference in the in the in the sovereignty or interest of independent [5:19] countries of sovereign countries well that's what proxies are they're interfering in the sovereignty [5:23] of a country when you're giving money for example to hezbollah to act as a rival to the sovereign [5:29] government of lebanon you're interfering in their politics when you're sponsoring militias in iraq [5:34] you're interfering in iraq when you're sponsoring you know hamas or the houthis or whoever it may be [5:40] you're interfering in the sovereignty of these countries so that it's covered the mou contemplates [5:45] a conversation about these things because it's critical and it's important so there's no doubt [5:51] that that will be a topic that has to be discussed because ultimately you're not going to have peace [5:54] and stability in this region as long as there are non-state actors operating within the boundaries and [5:59] borders of sovereign countries and being funded by iran thank you what is your comment on the [6:06] uh uh iranian umani disputes regarding the safe passage um uh in the in the state of hormones yeah [6:14] so we've reached a point now in this where you're hearing for example the iranians will say one thing [6:19] but then something else is actually happening so here's what i would tell everybody it's now obvious [6:24] to us and i think should be obvious to all of you that the iranian system is going to continue to [6:28] produce all sorts of maximalist rhetoric they're going to have people going on their tv on their official [6:33] media and making all kinds of pronouncements and but what we're interested in is not their press [6:38] conferences what we're interested in is whether or not ships are moving if ships are moving as they [6:43] should be moving then that's what we're going to judge and that's what we're going to react to [6:46] if on the other hand this rhetoric is backed up by actual ships being threatened and ships are not [6:51] moving that's a violation of the agreement and we're going to have a problem with it so what we [6:56] are watching is we see the continued flow of ships in this particular case that that lane is the one [7:00] that's being used for this evacuation effort that's being led by the international maritime [7:04] organization and that must continue and as long as it continues they can have all the press conferences [7:09] they want if that stops then we're going to have a problem mr secretary that there would be no fee [7:16] or tolling system imposed including after a specific commitment from oman that there was zero interest [7:21] in a tolling or fee system including after the 60-day negotiation i don't know if it's been issued yet but [7:25] we have a joint statement that's coming from our meeting and it makes it abundantly clear [7:29] and so i would just reiterate the point that i made earlier and i said this i don't know if you [7:33] guys were there in the open portion of it i said fees and tolls are the same thing to me okay if [7:38] you're paying someone to go there i don't care if you call it a fee or a toll or a donation it's a [7:43] toll that's how we're going to define it that's international waterway there isn't a nation on earth [7:48] that supports having to pay money to go through the straits and think about it this way if you have [7:53] it's not even workable let's suppose that we went crazy for and lost our minds completely and decided to [7:58] agree to have a tolling or a fee mechanism how would that work it's not doable because what's the [8:04] consequence for not paying let's say a ship says well i'm not going to pay the fee it's not like a [8:08] toll on a road you don't get a ticket in the mail they get shot at you shoot at one ship you sink one [8:13] ship no other ship is going to move so that sort of system is not only unwise it can't happen it's not [8:19] even workable so you might as well abandon the fantasy now so i think we've been clear you can call [8:23] it a fee you can cut a toll call it whatever you want if you are charging money to use the straits [8:28] we won't support it we won't we won't tolerate it we won't allow it and i think there was unanimity in [8:33] that room on that point two things one on venezuela do you have a dollar amount of assistance yet or is [8:40] it too early well it's too early i mean we don't right now we know they need remember unfortunately living [8:45] in south florida living through both hurricanes but other things that have impacted the caribbean basin [8:50] what often happens is you have to wait and see what the needs are the most immediate need the [8:54] one they need right now is search and rescue that's the one they need immediately because you got to [8:57] get people out of that rubble within 48 hours or they won't survive and so that's the first thing [9:02] we're going to respond to in the process of that response we'll begin to assess what else they need [9:06] it is my guess you know based on you know what i know about these sorts of things that they're going [9:10] to need a place how how do you house all of these people in the short term so we'll have a better [9:16] understanding of that it's not even 12 hours yet right so we don't have a number on it yet but i [9:20] know the president's made a full commitment to being supportive of venezuela and then secondly are [9:24] are you aware has any or are you aware of any of the frozen money that cutter holds being transferred [9:33] already to iran well i'm not aware of that i don't think anyone in our system has said that so [9:38] i i don't know if you're responding to some news or anything that's out there but as of right now we're [9:43] not aware of any money nor have we agreed for any money to be transferred okay so that all that money [9:48] is still there as far as that's our understanding and there's no agreement on that point so that [9:53] better be the case could you speak to the king today please it was very positive look again we just [9:58] came first of all to this is a long-term relationship we've been here for decades [10:02] so this is not a new relationship between our countries uh so obviously as always just express [10:08] gratitude for all the support they gave us during this conflict uh and the second is just to [10:13] reiterate the points i made with you and that is that we obviously are the president the united [10:19] states if we can make a deal with iran that that's good for everybody we want to do it we're going [10:23] to get every we're going to give it every chance to succeed but also to make the point that we're [10:27] not going to do anything or agree to anything uh that they're not aware of that they're not that [10:32] our partners in the area are not aware of that our partners in the area are not uh aligned with [10:37] and that in any way could undermine their security and and and and their stability so [10:42] to reassure him of these points the same points we made in the gcc meeting mr secretary in in the [10:47] meeting with the gcc allies did any of them make any commitments to pay into this 300 billion dollar [10:52] reconstruction no it was not discussed i mean the reconstruction cut that's way down the road and [10:57] that's something you know that'll be dealt with at the appropriate time in this process [11:00] um i there were but that was not discussed by anybody you say you're throwing your red lines [11:05] on both hormones and also nuclear program if iran rejects one of those terms what would washington's [11:12] next move well i look the president has multiple options at his disposal if iran goes back on their [11:17] word or if iran decides they don't want to make a deal let's hope that's not the case we don't want [11:21] that to be the case we're going to give diplomacy every chance to work uh we've got a good team working [11:26] on it and um so if if it doesn't work out the president knows what his options are and but you [11:32] know i'm not going to discuss what those options are with you but the president has a lot of options [11:36] at his disposal i don't mind i'm on very long terms to describe iranians iran's leadership you [11:41] used to call them you did you used to call them religious the theocratic lunatics do you still [11:46] believe that language applies to the leadership today well it's not that i believe it it's the fact [11:51] of the matter i mean the the the iranian system is led by clerics radical clerics [11:57] that's what it's always been led by and that's what it continues to be led by [12:00] that said we also have to manage the geopolitics of the situation and there's an opera if they've [12:05] changed their mindset or if they've changed their approach to their relations with the united states [12:10] and their neighbors then we're going to give this thing a chance to work maybe this changed i'm not [12:14] saying it has i'm saying the president wants to explore whether that's the case and if it has we're [12:18] going to find out but we're not going to find out because of what they say we're going to find out [12:22] because of what they do we're going to judge them by their actions and um we'll test that proposition [12:27] and see and no one says it's going to be easy because i think at the end you know we know that [12:32] people that are still at the top levels of that government are people that adhere to the same [12:37] theology and the same mentality as the people that have led it in the past they've got some people in [12:41] the political branches that seem more flexible and more willing to work with us those are the ones we're [12:45] negotiating with we'll see how it works out last uh last uh last uh last uh last month uh president [12:50] trump threatened to bomb oman if they uh impose tolls on the straight and just today you you mentioned [12:56] that no two nations uh which should be able to impose tolls on on a natural straight what are you [13:02] satisfied is the current bilateral relationship with oman now in a good place and are you convinced [13:08] they're not playing games with respect to that issue i mean our relationship with oman is fine i mean [13:13] ultimately there's not going to be any fees or tolls so it's not going to be any and they've signed you [13:17] know they were there in the meeting today and they said it that they're not in favor of a tolling [13:21] system so um that's good i'm glad to hear you say that i do have to ask because just a few weeks ago [13:27] there was the the hypothetical threat to to bomb oman so it didn't seem to be okay a few weeks ago so [13:33] i can only talk to you about today and today they said in the meeting and they signed on to the [13:37] statement that said there isn't going to be any fees or tolls and so uh i think that's good news that they [13:42] signed on to that mr secretary back to venezuela if i may uh there was a stabilization process [13:47] ongoing yeah uh obviously played a huge role in that are you worried that this earthquake could [13:53] upend that process um right now i'm not worried about them right now we're worried that there are [13:58] people trapped in rubble we want to help them get out some of those people have relatives that live [14:02] in the united states but no matter what the united states has always responded to humanitarian crisis [14:06] especially in our own hemisphere that's what we're focused on now obviously you know earthquakes were not [14:11] part of the stabilization process but these are things you don't plan for but we're faced with [14:15] this and now we have to respond to it and we will in a very positive way uh and and we're glad to see [14:20] that other countries in the region are stepping up i mean el salvador for example and president bukele [14:24] has not had a relationship or a positive one with venezuela and he was one of the first to step up and [14:29] offer assistance with the search and rescue team from el salvador so right now we're just going to focus [14:33] on the human aspect of this there are human beings that have been harmed that have been hurt some have been [14:37] killed some have been severely injured and some are still trapped in rubble we're going to focus on [14:42] that how that fits into the broader stabilization process you know i don't think we're analyzing it [14:47] through that lens obviously it's it's it's an you know it's it's a setback in that regard but we're [14:52] going to get through it and i think venezuela is going to emerge stronger from it despite the tragedy [14:56] that it's confronting right now mr mr secretary the mou did not include a specific number of years during [15:02] which iran could not develop nuclear weapons should a final agreement have a specific number and is [15:07] the u.s pushing for that no that's why would mou would not have that because the mou is not a final [15:12] agreement and mou just creates the construct and the outlines for a negotiation and there's no doubt [15:16] that as part of that negotiation very specific terms like years and limits will be discussed [15:22] and that includes the mechanisms by which is verified and enforced this morning there is [15:27] negotiation will take place between gcc and iran and iraq regards almost do you support this [15:32] kind of this now i'm sorry we just here this morning there is negotiation will take place [15:35] between gcc and iran and iraq regards hormones do you i'm not aware of that i'm not seeing that [15:40] report that wasn't discussed with me today so but i've not seen that report so i can't comment on it [15:45] mr go ahead is the gcc um working on some direct agreement with iran in order to ease tensions [15:52] well i can't speak for the communication family these countries on a bilateral level i imagine [15:56] i've always had communication and for example qatar has been a key mediator in this regard [16:01] but as far as our mou process that we're going to be involved in what we discussed today is that [16:06] there will be a i hate using this term mechanism because it's now been used for everything but [16:10] there will be a system set up where every step of the way as developments occur in both the technical [16:15] and political talks surrounding the mou they will be included we're going to make sure they're up to [16:21] date on everything that's being discussed on everything that's being considered and we can get their [16:24] points of view and their interests aligned with ours in that regard so many of you coming here you're [16:29] italian the missile strikes yeah during the reason yes but there's there was no mention uh for that [16:36] in the uh us iran memorandum of understanding uh what would you comment well look i think there's a [16:43] misunderstanding a memorandum of understanding is not supposed to be like an all-encompassing document [16:48] it basically just creates the outlines for a negotiation process and that's what the mou did i mean it [16:53] had some specific things about immediately reopening the straits and so forth but what it ultimately does is [16:58] create the outlines for a process of negotiation within that process i imagine there'll be many [17:02] things discussed and on the specifics about the gcc one of the things that was mentioned today which [17:07] is of great interest to them is they want some sort of funding for reconstruction they suffer [17:12] damages they want to be compensated for those damages so i would imagine that as part of the mou [17:17] process and as part of their engagement with us in that process that items such as that are going [17:21] to come up okay let me and counterpart cancelled an engagement prior to your coming here because of the spike in tensions between president trump and prime minister [17:27] maloney have you addressed that tension have you spoken to your account i spoke to him last friday when [17:33] he made it was a friday or saturday whatever day they decided not to come we have a number of agreements on [17:37] critical minerals and other things that we are lined up and those will be signed in due course and you [17:41] know we'll get through it as well i talked to him i have you know a good relationship with him he called me [17:46] told me he wasn't going to come to miami i was headed here anyway so it worked out fine i guess i mean it was [17:51] unfortunate that an event like that got interrupted i thought they should have still come but that said we had some [17:56] agreements ready to sign we're still going to get them signed soon we'll just find a place to do it [18:00] can you last one just found a page and uh rebuild trust between two allies yeah i looked our relations [18:07] with italy continue unimpeded at the you know at every level military level other levels obviously [18:12] the president's very upset you know he feels like not just italy but other countries at in a time in [18:16] which we were confronting a threat not just to us but more particularly to europe many european countries [18:21] did not step up and do enough they weren't there italy unfortunately among that but you know we'll [18:27] have to we'll work through that and and but but his points of view on this have been very clear should [18:31] not be surprising to anybody he's been repeatedly he said it again yesterday he has and i'm sure those [18:36] points will come up again during the nato summit in a couple weeks last week last week last week uh [18:41] vice president vance said in the situation room um that sometimes president trump is frustration because [18:47] every time not in the situation room sorry no the briefing briefing what are you doing okay he he [18:54] said that uh president trump's was sometimes frustrated because every time a deal between [18:58] israel and lebanon was close um uh israel would launch some sort of bomb that would kill a number [19:04] of civilians in beirut and it didn't seem to be productive a lot of republicans thought that [19:08] those comments were inappropriate um in congress i mean what do you think of those comments so we [19:13] like one of the things that was happening we we actually have been able to do this last [19:16] friday we restarted uh this monitoring mechanism that had gone dormant for a while and what it [19:22] does is centcom is now sitting not just with the israeli military command but the lebanese command [19:26] and anytime an incident happens they we're not taking anybody else's word for it we can see the [19:31] incident and we can qualify quantify what actually happened so as an example yesterday two individuals [19:37] in some sort of vehicle armed clearly lebanese hezbollah fighters approached an israeli checkpoint and the [19:43] israelis action that item a week ago if that had happened you would just have a [19:46] news report the two people in lebanon have been killed by the israelis now we have fidelity that [19:51] we actually know not because they told us but because we saw it and we saw the footage that these [19:56] were two armed individuals that were not a part of the lebanese armed forces who approached the [20:00] checkpoint and as a result posed the threat so that's a big difference from what we were getting [20:04] just a week ago beyond that i would say that today is the you know we're a few hours ahead here but [20:09] today will be the third day of three days of talks between the lebanese authorities and the israeli [20:14] authorities i think we had a very good day yesterday i think we are very close in our hopes [20:18] of getting a commitment of of of interest between of intent between the two countries that i think [20:25] begin to outline a promising future it'll be a process it'll take some time it'll take a lot of work [20:30] but i can tell you that for the first time in 30 years the sovereign government of lebanon is [20:34] speaking to the government israel directly that's who we're going to be negotiating with that's [20:38] who we're going to be working with not hezbollah hezbollah is not the government of lebanon [20:42] lebanon has a government it has democratically elected leaders they are they have the sovereign [20:47] right to speak and defend the interests of the lebanese people and what we want for lebanon is [20:51] a peaceful future that's what everyone wants here and frankly i think we're going to have a very [20:55] positive commitment of interest whether it's of intent whether it's today or in the days to come [21:00] we're working very hard at that hopefully today will be a day that can build on some of the things we [21:05] we were able to make progress on yesterday did you agree with the did you agree with the vice president's [21:09] uh no i already told you the process that we're doing right now and that is we're going to know [21:13] what's actually happening and uh and we're going to be able to make an honest assessment as to what's [21:17] happening and what isn't happening unfortunately over the last few weeks there's just been the fog of [21:21] not knowing exactly who struck what and where and why i think that's now been confronted and solved and [21:26] so i think that's going to give us a lot of fidelity about this about this process let's just put a fine [21:31] point on this question how wide is the divide between you and the vice president on what issue on any [21:37] issue this administration let me tell you everyone here is a line behind the president of the united [21:41] states every single one of us the president of the united states makes the foreign policy of our [21:45] country and our job we obviously give advice we give counsel we give opinions but when the president [21:50] of the united states is the one who is elected by the people of our country to conduct our foreign policy [21:54] the president makes these decisions and all of us on his team every single one of us works in lockstep [21:59] very closely with one another to execute on the president's foreign policy everything we do is because [22:04] the president's made a decision that it's going to be done and one of the things i'm very proud of i [22:08] can't speak for every element of our government because i'm not involved in other aspects of our [22:12] government but one of the things that i'm the proudest of is that when it comes to foreign policy [22:16] and national security we have no drama we have no games we have a group of people that work very well [22:21] together and closely to execute on the president's directives which is why i think we've had good [22:26] outcomes and good achievements and we're going to continue to have good outcomes and good achievements [22:30] everyone has an important role to play and everyone is playing that role and doing it in a [22:34] collaborative process and i think that serves the president well and i think that serves the [22:37] country well of course as the country's top diplomat do you not want more of a direct role [22:45] in these talks which have been until now really led by the vice president and well but i think like [22:50] any uh i i think that's just a silly analysis so the vice president is the second ranking person in [22:55] our government it just shows you how seriously we take that endeavor and we have a team of people [22:59] that do work i mean i'm here today because they were overseas last week we all have a role to play in this [23:03] regard so i mean i'm here i've been here for three days this is a key component of that so but that [23:08] i think that's a really silly question the vice president united states other than the president [23:12] is the second most powerful person in our government the fact that he's directly involved in this tells [23:16] you the importance that our administration has given to this topic so i think it's a very positive [23:20] thing that he's involved in it you know that all the threats coming from iran regard for most it's affect [23:27] martin traffic how we can end this even if they tend to close but still affect navigation there well it [23:34] affects it because they've been blowing up ships and they put mines that has to be dealt with directly [23:38] we want to more a lot of ships are moving now but those we need to get back to what the straits [23:43] looked like before this conflict because it's an international waterway and that's what it's going to [23:47] be one way or the other mr secretary what are your concerns that oil sanctions relief for iran could [23:53] lead tehran to use that funds to rebuild its army to fund proxy groups and what leverage does u.s have [24:00] if any to stop that if iran uses funds to fund proxies and missiles and all of that then this the [24:05] deal is not going to work right we know that but let's hope that's not the case right now the only [24:08] thing they have is a very short-term waiver for 60 days and to give an opportunity for these [24:14] negotiations to see where they can lead i said it and i'll say it again if iran is interested in making [24:19] a good deal and a real deal the united states was open to doing it if they're not then the [24:23] president will know that and he'll have options available to him yes they will learn that a [24:30] nato chief said in washington that actually some allies did indeed help the u.s like italy and [24:35] others did open up their bases to american you know jets um iran today responded and they called nato [24:43] complicit they are asking for they they should they are accountable for you know this u.s [24:50] you know so do you have any reaction to first of all the fact that we've always made the point that [24:56] iran poses an even graver threat to europe than it does to the united states iran already possesses [25:00] missiles that can reach parts of europe which is part of the president's frustration everyone likes [25:05] to go around saying iran can never have a nuclear weapon iran can never have a nuclear weapons capability [25:10] but the only one who was willing to do something about it was the president and uh and when when he did [25:15] something about it he found allies that gave us a hard time about using our bases and so again if [25:21] you speak about the nato alliance one of the reasons why i've been a strong supporter of our presence in [25:25] nato is because allows us these basing rights that allow us to project power and protect our interests [25:30] but if you're not going to be allowed the use of those bases uh by these countries then it puts into [25:35] question the entire alliance and as far as the president's concerned he thinks you know and he's [25:40] rightfully thinks that iran poses as grave if not more of great threat to parts of europe than it [25:45] does to the continental united states and when he actually stepped forward and actually tried to [25:49] do something about it he didn't ask these countries to send their military to join us we didn't need [25:53] their help but he asked if we could use the basis and some of them said no or gave us a hard time [25:58] which i think is what not only what he's annoyed about and upset about but i think frankly you know it [26:03] creates a real cloud over over the nato alliance that i hope can be fixed all right i got to run let's go on [26:10] iraq i'm just curious how concerned you are about iran being able to consolidate control over a lot of [26:16] its proxy militias in iraq and even as these talks are ongoing um what type of threat future threat that [26:22] poses to some of well again that's an example of iranian interference in the sovereign affairs of [26:27] another country in iraq that said they have a new prime minister he's forming a government uh we have good [26:33] signals coming from him he'll be visiting washington soon to meet with the president and our hope is that [26:39] you know we can we will continue to stand on behalf of the sovereignty respect for the sovereignty of [26:43] the people of iraq and not interference from iran so that'll be a topic of conversation we've engaged [26:48] the new prime minister he's spoken to the president on the phone already once uh we're watching the so [26:53] far there's been good signals and some good actions that he's taken in the formation of his [26:57] government but obviously some challenges remain but it's something we're going to watch very closely [27:01] all right last one guys we got to get ready to go gcc states wanting compensation for the damage [27:07] how would that maybe look like could it come from the unfrozen funds well i don't know i'm not going [27:12] to speculate right now as to how that will actually be worked out i just pointed out to you that is [27:15] one of the things they raised in our meeting today uh it's one of the things they're interested in [27:19] and one of the things that i think we're going to have to address at some point but we haven't [27:23] really worked through any of the particulars of that yet okay about russia before you go about who russia is [27:29] accusing the u.s of failing to deliver on quote unquote agreements that uh understanding that we [27:36] had in in alaska there was no agreement in alaska there was a proposal in alaska but there was no [27:42] agreement in alaska if there had been an agreement we would have had an end of the war so as i said [27:47] the president has is prepared as the united states remains prepared to play whatever constructive role we [27:51] can to bring about you know an enduring end to this war uh in ukraine and which has been bloody you [27:57] know 25 20 000 soldiers killed every month 5 000 a week most of them russian so it's been debilitating [28:03] for europe for the but especially for ukraine and for russia increasingly so if we are prepared to [28:08] step forward and play a constructive role if there's one for us to play and bringing the parties together [28:13] and bringing that war to an end that's what the president's tried to do now for a year and a half [28:17] but uh but there was no agreement in alaska there was a proposal made in alaska but uh but but it was never an [28:23] agreement had there was i mean it's the same thing you've seen publicly