Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters at the G7 Summit in Quebec, Canada.
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NewsTranscript
00:00We should have used the real backdrop, not the...
00:20Well, I mean, I just had a couple of points and we'll answer your questions and I'm sure
00:24you're dying to get home.
00:26So first I want to thank Canada, they did a great job of hosting this, and Foreign Minister
00:30Jolie who had to leave here, she's going to go be sworn in, remain in her post and she's
00:36become a friend in the last few weeks as we've worked together.
00:38I knew her a little bit before, but gotten to know her now obviously in this role.
00:41They did a great job of hosting at a beautiful place and so we're grateful to them.
00:45I think we have a very strong statement from the G7, hopefully you've gotten that by now
00:49and have been able to see it.
00:51Very strong statement on a number of issues of mutual concern.
00:53We touched those topics, it was a really good engagement and obviously there'll be
00:56some follow-up.
00:57And it sort of sets up for the leaders meeting later on this year and we hope that'll be
01:03equally productive.
01:04But we felt really good about the statement, worked hard on it.
01:07I think it reflects our points on a number of topics.
01:11And I would just say the one takeaway, you're going to ask me questions about things that
01:14are going on in different bilateral relationships and so forth, but I think what's important
01:19and something I said at the outset which everybody agreed with is that we're not going
01:24to allow the things we disagree on, and we'll disagree on things, to keep us from working
01:28closely on the things we agree on.
01:30And there are a lot of those.
01:32And hopefully the statement reflects that and our actions will reflect that.
01:35And so we feel really good about it.
01:39The other announcement, and I think this is already reflected in the President's statements,
01:43there was a, what we felt was a very positive and productive engagement yesterday with the
01:49President Putin and Special Envoy Whitkoff.
01:51Obviously, he is on his way back.
01:53He should be back and hopefully we'll convene this weekend, we'll examine the Russian position
01:59more closely, and determine – the President will then determine what the next steps are.
02:04Suffice it to say, I think there is reason to be cautiously optimistic.
02:09But by the same token, we continue to recognize this is a difficult and complex situation.
02:14It will not be easy.
02:15It will not be simple.
02:17We certainly feel like we're at least some steps closer to ending this war and bringing
02:22peace, but it's still a long journey.
02:24It's a journey of many steps.
02:26So – but this is positive momentum.
02:28Obviously, we'll see what Russia and others are willing to do.
02:34It's not just Russia, obviously.
02:35It has to be things acceptable to Ukraine.
02:37But it's been a good week on that front, but there's a lot of work that remains to
02:40be done.
02:41But there's reason to be cautiously optimistic.
02:45But we'll know more once Special Envoy Woodcock, Ambassador Woodcock returns, and
02:49we have a chance to all convene and talk about it.
02:52And obviously, the President is the ultimate decider on next steps for the United States.
02:56Okay.
02:57QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
02:58QUESTIONER 2
02:59Mr. Secretary, do you trust Putin?
03:00SECRETARY POMPEO I think it's an irrelevant question.
03:01I think in foreign policy, you really – it's not about trusting, it's about actions,
03:04about things that you do.
03:06So in the end, on something like this, you can't just say you want peace, you have
03:10to do peace.
03:11And that's true for both sides in any conflict.
03:13So – in any war and in any engagement.
03:15So I think ultimately, all these things – I would just encourage you guys, if we're going
03:19to be serious about foreign policy, to sort of navigate away from some of the – this
03:24is not a reality show, this is not about personalities, this is very simple.
03:27You either do things or you don't.
03:28There are things you are doing and things you're not doing.
03:31And that's what foreign policy is driven by, and that's how our decisions should
03:34be driven by.
03:35So unfortunately, in foreign policy, oftentimes you will have to work with – I'm not talking
03:41about President Putin in particular, I'm talking about generally – you will have
03:44to work with people you don't like in foreign policy.
03:46And oftentimes, you will have disagreements with people you like.
03:50Sometimes you will have to figure out how to work together with nations that are not
03:53aligned with you on most issues.
03:55And in other cases, you may find yourself unaligned on an issue with a nation that you
04:00work with very closely on a bunch of other things.
04:02That's not just now true today.
04:05That has been true throughout the history of mankind and certainly the relations between
04:09nation-states.
04:10So I think it's important – I get there's this temptation to cover foreign policy the
04:13way we cover domestic policy and the way we cover other things in our society, but foreign
04:19policy about nation-states pursuing what they have interpreted to be in their national interests
04:23and balancing that is what the art of diplomacy and the work of foreign policy is all about.
04:28So we need to sort of be mature and open-eyed and realistic without losing our idealism,
04:34without losing what we hope the world will look like and want to shape it and be a part
04:38of.
04:39So on the same token, we have to make pragmatic decisions every single day, and that's not
04:43true today.
04:44That's always been true.
04:45Always.
04:46QUESTIONER Do you have any top lines from Mr. Whitecoff?
04:48I know this was a late meeting.
04:50It went hours long.
04:51Is there anything that he shared?
04:53And then when you do examine the Russian position, that the comments by President Putin were
04:57quite convoluted and tough to decipher.
04:59I wonder if you think that he's playing for time.
05:02AMBASSADOR ROOS I think you're not going to – this is
05:05not something that's going to play out in press conferences, as I stand at a press
05:09conference.
05:10But this is – these – again, I go back to the point I just made.
05:13When you want – if you think about the most recent example of ceasefire negotiations with
05:18– which was what happened in Gaza and with Israel and so forth, yeah, there were newspaper
05:23and there were articles and there was news stories about it, but ultimately you found
05:26out what the results were after the fact.
05:29And in the meantime, you saw public statements from different sides in regards to what they
05:32were going to do.
05:33I think this will be no different.
05:34So certainly I – we're not going to make our foreign policy decisions on the basis
05:39of what a leader says – simply says at a press conference if somebody puts up on social
05:45media posts because you're some blogger close to the Kremlin or something like that.
05:48And likewise, I don't think they're going to do that either.
05:50So I would just say that this is going to play out the way things of this nature and
05:55caliber have traditionally and normally play out, and that is with the leaders of the countries
06:01involved speaking not in front of the cameras, not in front of the media, but in these negotiations
06:06that happen and in these talks that happen.
06:08So I don't want to – I'm not going to comment on what President Putin said other
06:11than he said he agreed with it in concept.
06:14So –
06:15QUESTIONER 2
06:15There's lots of conversations.
06:17MR.
06:18RATHKE Well, again, he said that at a press conference.
06:19As I said, and I go back to the phrase I used earlier, I think there is reason for cautious
06:24optimism that something good could come of this.
06:26Obviously, we're going to wait for Ambassador Woodcock to return.
06:29He's not back yet.
06:30We're going to reconvene.
06:31Obviously, he – I spoke to him late last night, and he spoke to the President well
06:34before that.
06:35He may have spoken to other members of our team.
06:37I've been here.
06:38But ultimately, we're going to get – we're going to reconvene, and the President will
06:41have options available to him, and decisions will be made after that.
06:45But I don't want to speculate or characterize anything beyond what I've just said until
06:49we have had a chance to sit down with Ambassador Woodcock, who's still overseas and in travel.
06:54QUESTIONER 3
06:55Can I just follow up on that point there, Mr. Secretary?
06:56Because when – on the way here, you said you were seeking an unconditional acceptance.
07:00I mean, clearly, Mr. Putin is adding a whole series of conditions, and also the President
07:06says there should be an —
07:07MR.
07:08PALLADINO Well, how do you know he's adding conditions?
07:09QUESTIONER 3
07:10From what he said publicly.
07:11MR.
07:12PALLADINO Well, I go back to the point I made.
07:13Let's let this thing play through, okay?
07:14And then let's figure out what – let me at least talk to – let's the team get
07:17together on the State side of this and talk to Ambassador Woodcock and go through some
07:21of this.
07:22Again, we're not going to be involved in this process where I'm being asked to stake
07:28a position of U.S. policy on the basis of what someone said at a press conference yesterday.
07:33So let's – we're going to work through this thing in a normal, sane fashion.
07:37We'll figure out where we are.
07:39Based on what I know at this moment with my conversation with Ambassador Woodcock – he's
07:44not here yet – is we're going to – I feel like there's reason for cautious optimism.
07:48I think the President shared that today in his True Social post.
07:52But there's a lot of work – no, I have never told anybody that this is going to be
07:55easy, fast, simple, slam-dunk.
07:58It'll be hard, but it's important work.
07:59We have – we are a better place today, I hope, I believe – we have reason to believe
08:03– than we were a week ago, but we still have a long ways to go.
08:06It could come together pretty quickly if everyone aligns, but I don't know how aligned we
08:11are yet.
08:12That's what we're going to – about to find out.
08:13So cautious optimism is about the best phraseology I could use at this moment.
08:18Based on what we know, we're going to keep working on it.
08:20MR.
08:21RATHKE.
08:22Mr. Secretary, the statement that you –
08:23MR.
08:24STERN.
08:25Mr. Secretary, hold on.
08:26I'll get to everybody.
08:27MR.
08:28RATHKE.
08:29But it's just the – the fundamental element of the President's proposal was it should
08:30be an immediate ceasefire.
08:31MR.
08:32STERN.
08:33Sure.
08:34And that's the proposal.
08:35MR.
08:36STERN.
08:37So the question is how long does Putin have?
08:38MR.
08:39STERN.
08:40Well, in terms of long for what?
08:41MR.
08:42STERN.
08:43How long does – because there are those who say he's playing for time, but this
08:44is adding conditions, adding pressure.
08:45MR.
08:46STERN.
08:47Well, this war's been going on for three years, so I think the question – and with
08:48that, the question is – is – the fundamental question really is not how long.
08:52I think the question is are we actually moving towards a ceasefire or is this a delay tactic.
08:56I'm not going to answer that because I can't characterize that for you right now.
08:59I think we'll know sooner rather than later, and a lot of that will be based on the conversation
09:03Ambassador Whitkoff had yesterday and other factors that are in play.
09:07But we're not there yet, but we will get there.
09:09We want it to be – the President wanted it to be yesterday and the day before.
09:13But we're certainly at least talking about peace for the first time in three years.
09:16So now we'll have to figure out how close we truly are, and that's going to take some
09:20time.
09:21And Whitkoff's not here yet, so – here meaning stateside.
09:25QUESTION.
09:26Mr. Secretary, the joint statement says that there is a need for robust and credible security
09:31arrangements for Ukraine.
09:32How would you define that based on your conversations here at the G7?
09:36What are robust and credible security arrangements?
09:38MR.
09:39STERN.
09:40Well, that's to be determined by the negotiations.
09:41Here's what I want to encourage everybody to do – bifurcate two things, okay?
09:44The ceasefire and the conditions for everybody to stop shooting at each other – what will
09:48it take to get everybody to stop shooting at each other?
09:51And then moving to a negotiating table on settling the war with finality.
09:54Two separate processes.
09:56Process number one is what do we need from both sides in order to stop the shooting and
10:00the fighting, so that you can get to a negotiating table.
10:04That's the second phase.
10:05As part of that second phase, there will obviously – every country in the world has a right
10:09to security, has a right to defend itself, has a right to protect its territory.
10:13That will have to be part of that conversation, and it will have to be something that involves
10:17not simply the views of the United States but other countries that are involved in that.
10:21I've repeated this over and over again.
10:23The European Union has imposed significant sanctions on the Russian Federation and on
10:27individuals inside of Russia, so they will have to be consulted and they'll have to
10:31be engaged in this process and so forth.
10:33So let's not predetermine or start putting everything ahead of itself here.
10:40The process of what long-term security means for Ukraine, that will be something that Ukraine
10:45will obviously have to agree with and that will have to be worked through as part of
10:48that second phase.
10:49But let's – we can't get to the second phase until we get through the first phase.
10:52We think it's very difficult, very difficult to negotiate lasting peace and security in
10:58the midst of an all-out war.
11:00And so we have to try to lower that so that it makes it possible to move to phase two
11:04of this.
11:05QUESTION.
11:06Mr. Secretary, the statement that you issued a little while ago also notes that the G7
11:11discussed ways to impose costs on Russia should that become necessary to include caps on oil
11:16prices, additional support for Ukraine using seized sovereign Russian assets.
11:23Was there – but it said it discussed them.
11:25You didn't agree on them.
11:26Is there any agreement within the G7 on these particular measures, just what they should
11:33be, in what order, and what might trigger them?
11:35And why did you discuss them if you're so cautiously optimistic?
11:38MR.
11:39POMPEO.
11:40Well, first of all, it was – they were raised because the Europeans have their own set of
11:41sanctions and new ones they would like to impose.
11:43And certainly, the United States is not a member of the EU.
11:46We don't have a vote at the EU.
11:47And so whatever they determine and decide to do, we can't control it.
11:52They ask us for our input, we'll give it to them, but that's not what's happening
11:55right now.
11:56So yes, it was discussed.
11:57As far as U.S. sanctions are concerned, the President's made clear – the President
12:00on two occasions in the past week has reminded everybody that the U.S. has these options
12:04available to it, but he doesn't want to do that right now because he's in the hopes
12:08of attracting people both sides to a process where we can negotiate peace.
12:12And I'll leave it at that.
12:13There really is nothing to add to that at this point.
12:14MR.
12:15POMPEO.
12:16Mr. Secretary, on the –
12:17MR.
12:18POMPEO.
12:19Go ahead.
12:20Hold on one second.
12:21Yes.
12:22QUESTIONER 2.
12:23The Secretary General's statement reaffirms unwavering support for Ukraine's territorial
12:24integrity, which has been largely absent in various U.S. statements since January 20th.
12:25What led you to subscribe to it this time?
12:28MR.
12:29CROWLEY.
12:30Well, I don't – that's not a change in public policy.
12:31The United States has never said that Russia – I've never heard President Trump say
12:35that Russia has a right to take all of Ukraine and do whatever they want there.
12:38So that's not inconsistent with that statement.
12:40That is separate from the issue we face today, and that is that as it stands today, there
12:45is a war going on that has no military solution to it.
12:49Neither Russia nor Ukraine can achieve its maximalist military aims.
12:53The only way to end this war is through a process of negotiations – negotiations,
12:57be it in business, in commerce, or in geopolitics, involves both sides giving something, both
13:03sides making concessions.
13:04That's just obvious.
13:05I'm not saying – I don't think that should be sort of a newsmaking statement.
13:10That's the reality of any conversations that exist in order to end wars, is that there
13:15has to be some level of concessions.
13:17What those concessions are remains to be seen.
13:19That'll have to be part of the negotiation.
13:21But it's not going to be helpful to enter into those negotiations making blanket statements
13:27that may give an excuse for one side or the other not to participate in it.
13:31So we'll have to get to that stage where these things are discussed.
13:34And ultimately, both sides – whatever happens, both sides will have to agree to it.
13:37And that's true of any negotiation when you're trying to end a war.
13:41Mr. Secretary.
13:42QUESTION.
13:43Mr. Secretary, I'm understanding your point about this not being a reality show or personalities.
13:47Ukraine, or anything else for that matter, your boss has, shall we say, a rather strong
13:53personality.
13:54And I'm wondering, in light of that and his repeated comments about Canada becoming
14:00– or should be the 51st state, the whole tariff situation, which intensified as we
14:07were on our way here after your big announcement in Jeddah, did that complicate your discussions
14:15at all?
14:16Was it –
14:17SECRETARY POMPEO.
14:18It never came up once in our – I mean, obviously, with the foreign minister, Canada has, but
14:20it was not a topic.
14:21It was not on our agenda.
14:22I told you that would not be discussed.
14:54What happened was, he wants to reset the baseline of international trade, which he believes,
14:58and I agree, is unfair to the United States.
15:01This is not meant as a hostile move against Japan or Germany or anybody else.
15:05This is not about – this is about balancing and fairness in trade.
15:09So he wants to reset the baseline, and once that baseline is reset, then you can enter
15:15into bilateral negotiations with individual countries about changes that can be made to
15:20our trade, our bilateral trade, so that it's fair for both sides.
15:25That's his goal.
15:26In his first administration, the President did tariffs as well.
15:29What he was disturbed by, in hindsight, is the fact that they included a bunch of exemptions
15:33that basically made them meaningless.
15:35And so what he wants to get back to is basically fairness in trade.
15:38It's as simple as that.
15:40We want to charge other countries, but they charge us.
15:42And then ultimately, once the baseline is reset, and then in addition to that, there
15:47are industries that are critical to the United States and to our domestic security and our
15:50future.
15:51And he's identified them.
15:52Steel, aluminum, semiconductors, automobiles.
15:55These are things that we believe are in our interest to have a domestic capacity, and
16:00we have to protect these industries from what we feel is subsidization and unfair competition
16:05from abroad.
16:06This is not meant to be hostile towards anybody.
16:08It is meant to be friendly and supportive of our national interest as a country.
16:14Once the baseline of trade is reset in a way that's fair and equitable, then we can
16:20engage in the process of bilateral negotiations with individual countries, including our allies,
16:27to set up a more sustainable and fair long-term trade arrangement between our respective countries.
16:33Mr. Secretary, the President.
16:35At your meeting with Foreign Minister Chodi, do you understand why the Canadians are taking
16:41such umbrage at these comments coming from the President?
16:45Is that something that you think?
16:48The Canadian Government has made their position, how they feel about it, clear.
16:52The President has made his argument as to why he thinks Canada would be better off joining
16:55the United States for economic purposes.
16:58There's a disagreement between the President's position and the position of the Canadian
17:01Government.
17:02There's a lot of mystery coming in.
17:03And it wasn't a topic of conversation because that's not what the summit was about.
17:06Mr. Secretary, you said that the terror policy was not hostile.
17:11However, President Trump yesterday, in his social media post, said that the EU previously
17:16had been hostile and abusive towards the United States.
17:19How do you square that?
17:20And secondly, is he serious when he's talking about the 51st state being Canada?
17:25Well, I've already answered the question about Canada.
17:28Is he serious?
17:29Do you take him seriously?
17:30We're not discussing that here today because that's not what the purpose of this meeting
17:33was about.
17:34As far as the question that you're asking me about hostility, yeah, look at the EU.
17:38The EU has a GDP basically comparable to that of the United States.
17:42The composition of their economy is similar to ours.
17:45These are not developing countries.
17:46These are developed countries.
17:47And yet they have a significant trade surplus with the United States, even though our economies
17:51are pretty much the same.
17:52These are not low-wage countries.
17:54That's a problem.
17:55All the President is saying is we need to equalize treatment.
17:59Whatever they do to us, we need to do to them, in addition to pointing to certain sectors
18:03that we have to protect.
18:05Who can argue against the idea that if some country charges us X to export our products,
18:10we should charge them the same?
18:12I get it.
18:13If you're a country or the EU that's benefiting from the status quo, you feel it is hostile
18:17to change the status quo because it's to your benefit.
18:19The problem is the President of the United States is looking out for the United States,
18:23both in national security and in economic relations.
18:26We will reset the basis of our trade relationship, and then we can enter into negotiations for
18:31something that's enduring and fair to both sides.
18:34That's what the President seeks to do, and that's what begins by resetting, at a reciprocal
18:39way, the amount of tariffs we charge one another in our trade relations.
18:43Mr. Secretary, if I could follow up, Mr. Secretary, I know that we're not speaking about Canada
18:50becoming the 51st state at this meeting, but I'm asking you now, do you consider what
18:56the President has said about Canada becoming the 51st state, is he serious?
19:00You know, I'll tell you how that came about, okay?
19:02He's in a meeting with Trudeau, and Trudeau basically says that if the U.S. imposes tariffs
19:07on Canada, Canada couldn't survive as a nation-state, at which point the President said, well, then
19:12you should become a state.
19:13And that's where this began.
19:14That said, the President has made an argument for why.
19:17He says he loves Canada.
19:19He says he made an argument for why Canada would be better off joining the United States
19:23from an economic perspective and the like.
19:25He's made that argument repeatedly, and I think it stands for itself.
19:29All right.
19:30Is it counterproductive?
19:31The President – the Trump administration is expected to invoke the Alien Enemies Act
19:35of 1798.
19:36We have to dust that off.
19:38A lot of people not familiar with it.
19:40Can you help us understand how the Trump administration plans to use these powers?
19:44Well, those are – that's a question for DHS.
19:47It's not a question for us.
19:49What I can tell you is, from our perspective unrelated to that, is that we will continue
19:54to look for people that we would never have allowed into this country on student visas
19:58had we known they were going to do what they've done.
20:00But now that they've done it, we're going to get rid of them.
20:02And we are continuing to look for that.
20:04And so in the days to come, you should expect more visas will be revoked as we identify
20:08people that we should never have allowed in because they lied to us.
20:12When they said they were coming here to be students, they didn't say they were coming
20:14here to occupy university buildings and vandalize them and tear them apart and hold campuses
20:21hostage.
20:22And if they had told us that, we would never have given them a student visa.
20:25Now that they've done it, we will revoke those visas.
20:27And as the days go on, every time we have a chance to revoke them, we will because it's
20:30not in the national interest of the United States for them to be here.
20:33Let's wrap up, guys, so we can get on.
20:35Yeah.
20:36The 27th Joint Statement has some very strong language on China.
20:40Could you please describe the sentiment of the discussion behind closed door?
20:45And also, do you have anything on a potential meeting between President Trump and CCP Secretary
20:51General Xi Jinping?
20:52Will that be in China or in the United States?
20:56Well, I have no – I know – I think the President at some point will meet.
21:00They will meet.
21:01I don't know when that'll be.
21:02I don't know if there – I don't believe there are any plans currently for that to
21:05happen, but I'm sure it will happen at some point.
21:07The President engaged with him in his first term, and I expect he will do so again, and
21:11he should.
21:12These are the leaders of two big, important, powerful countries.
21:15And the leaders of powerful countries, whether they agree on things or not, should communicate
21:19for the safety and well-being of the world.
21:21As far as the statement is concerned, I think it reflects a growing acknowledgment that
21:26the Chinese Communist Party has pursued both economic and foreign policies that allow them
21:33to benefit from all the good things about the global order but ignore all of its responsibilities
21:38in ways that leave us in danger of being – not just us, but the broader world – of being
21:44overly dependent on China for critical supply chains, for rare earth minerals, for key technologies.
21:51In the case of Europe, you'll continue to hear a lot of frustration on their part that
21:55over – Chinese overproduction, for example, of electric vehicles are dumped on – into
21:59their economies.
22:00And so guess what they have done?
22:02They have imposed tariffs.
22:04You know what Canada did?
22:05They've imposed tariffs on China as well, because that's what countries do when they
22:09feel like they're being treated unfairly in trade, in commerce.
22:12And we support them in doing that.
22:14We think that was the right choice in their regard.
22:16And we've imposed tariffs on China as well.
22:18All right.
22:19Is there an alternative?
22:20Who had a question?
22:21Yes, sir.
22:22Would the U.S. be open to an agreement with Hamas to get American hostages released, separate
22:23from the Israeli hostages, like including those non-Americans?
22:29Well, I think our priority always as the U.S. government is always that we care about all
22:34the hostages.
22:35We want all the hostages released.
22:36We believe they should all be released, okay?
22:38And that – by the way, we talk about hostages, we're also talking about bodies, okay?
22:42And these trades are being made, and they're ridiculous trades.
22:44I'm talking about 400 people for three.
22:46These are nuts.
22:47And on top of that, you see the condition these people are being released in.
22:51This is a – think about what we're talking about here.
22:53I mean, we're sitting around as the world sort of accepting that it's normal and okay
22:57for you to go into a place, kidnap babies, kidnap teenagers, kidnap people that have
23:02nothing to do with any wars, that are not soldiers, that are not anything, and taking
23:06them and putting them in tunnels for almost a year and a half.
23:08And we're acting like if this is a normal exchange, this is a normal thing that happens,
23:12this is an outrage.
23:13So they should all be released.
23:15So I'm not going to comment on what we're going to accept or not accept.
23:18Other than all of us, the whole world should continue to say that what Hamas has done is
23:22outrageous, it's ridiculous, it's sick, it's disgusting, it should never have happened,
23:28and we shouldn't accept it as normal, as a normal negotiation.
23:30We're just dealing with some savages.
23:32That's it.
23:33These are bad people, terrible people, and we need to treat them as such.
23:37But that said, we want all the hostages out.
23:39Is there an off-ramp for this trade war?
23:41Mr. Secretary, there was a report that was required of the State Department as one of
23:45the first executive orders asking for countries to be identified that had insufficient vetting.
23:51Has that report gone over to the White House yet?
23:54I'm sure – you mean we had a deadline to meet that?
23:57I'm sure we've met the deadline, but I'll have to take that back and we can get you
24:00an answer for that specifically.
24:01Is there an off-ramp for the trade war, Mr. Secretary?
24:02Can I follow up about territorial integrity?
24:03About what?
24:04Territorial integrity.
24:05Yeah, you already asked that.
24:06Yeah.
24:07So you said that Ukraine would have to make concessions both sides.
24:12So will Russia.
24:13Right.
24:14What is your description of territorial integrity when it comes to Ukraine?
24:17Is it free trade?
24:18Guys, again, that's what – we're going to have – please, I get it, but let me just
24:22put it to you this way.
24:23There's two processes here.
24:25Process number one is how can we get shooting to stop, because we think it's very difficult
24:29to negotiate peace while there's still shooting going on and attacks.
24:33What can we do to get that to stop to the extent possible?
24:36How can we get as much hostility as possible to stop so we can get to phase two of this
24:40process, which is negotiating these things that you're asking me about?
24:43I'm just stating the obvious.
24:45When people sit down and negotiate an end to wars, there's usually a give-and-take.
24:50What that give-and-take is depends on the parties that are at the table.
24:53We're not going to predetermine anything, but that's what it's going to take to
24:56end the war.
24:57If there's an off-ramp on the trade – it's not about an off-ramp on the trade.
25:00There's not a trade war.
25:01This is – the United States is resetting its trade relations globally, okay, and resetting
25:06relations globally to a level of equilibrium, to a level of reciprocity.
25:13And then once that's reset, we can then engage in the process of bilateral talks with
25:19Japan, with the UK, with France, with Germany, with the EU, whoever, to figure out, okay,
25:24how do we reset our trade relations so that it's fair, because right now it's not
25:28fair.
25:29It's as simple as that.
25:30And Japan has stated that repeatedly.
25:32And so these are the steps that it takes to get us to that point.
25:35You can't – if you do it the other way, which is let's renegotiate our – why would
25:40they renegotiate their trade relationship with the United States if the status quo was
25:43beneficial to them?
25:44Why would they – why would someone give up something that's good for them?
25:47You have to make it fair, and then you can negotiate out how do we get to a place that's
25:51mutually beneficial, because the current piece of it is just not sustainable.
25:54All right?
25:55Thank you, guys.
26:00Thank you, sir.