Press Release
☷On the Record Press Gaggle by NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby
White House ( By Press Release office)
Feb 08,2024
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Well , in general terms , they will definitely talk about the war in Ukraine and how to push back against Putin ' s aggression . I ' m sure they ' ll also discuss the situation on the battlefront . Before I wrap up , I want to address a statement I made yesterday regarding pre - notification to Iraqi officials before the strikes on Iran - backed militia groups . I apologize for the error and any confusion it caused . The information I had at the time turned out to be incorrect , and I deeply regret the mistake . Now , let ' s move on to some questions . I ' m pretty confident that they ' ll talk about the work that Republicans and Democrats have put into getting a bill passed on the Senate side , which would provide funding for Ukraine . The President will definitely share his thoughts on that with the American people soon . They ' ll probably also discuss the situation in the Middle East , particularly the conflict between Israel and Hamas , and express our support for Israel ' s right to defend itself . They might touch on the upcoming NATO Summit as well . As for the U . S . - Qatar proposal to release hostages , negotiations are still ongoing and there ' s no final deal yet . We ' re hoping for closure on that soon . In terms of President Biden ' s meeting with Chancellor Scholz , he ' ll likely assure Germany and Europe that they won ' t be alone in helping Ukraine and emphasize the bipartisan support in Congress for this cause . MR . KIRBY: No , these are two different things . We ' re working really hard , like I mentioned to Steve , to try to finalize another hostage deal and an extended pause that will allow us to bring the remaining hostages home with their families , provide more assistance , and minimize harm to civilians . Obviously , we ' d like to have a longer duration than just a week , like we achieved back in November , to ensure we ' re thorough in bringing those hostages home . And once that ' s in place , we ' ll have to see where it goes from there , assuming both sides fulfill their commitments . At the same time , we were , before October 7th , and still are now , having discussions with Israel and Saudi Arabia about moving forward with a normalization agreement between the two . So those discussions are ongoing . We ' ve received positive feedback from both sides that they ' re willing to continue those discussions . But that ' s a separate matter and not directly related to the efforts to establish an extended humanitarian pause . Both are really important though . Thank you so much . MODERATOR: Thank you . Next question is from Nathan with Israel KAN . Hi . Thanks for taking my question . I want to know about the supplemental assistance . How crucial is it for Israel right now? How long can Israel wait before it gets approved? Are there any measures that the U . S . can pass to help with that? MR . KIRBY: Yeah , I gotta be careful here not to talk about operational security matters for the Israeli Defense Forces . But the amount we came up with in October and the one in this bill are roughly the same: over $10 billion . We worked closely with our Israeli counterparts to determine their expectations and needs . So , we ' re glad to see this bipartisan Senate bill providing security assistance for Israel . Just one thing , though . I ' ll let the Israelis speak on how much longer they have to go and the munition , but we know that air defense capabilities are crucial for them as rockets continue to be launched against them . They have used a significant amount of air defense munitions , and we know that it ' s a critical need . So , we acknowledge that we need to do more to replenish their stocks . Thank you . MODERATOR: Thank you . Next question is from Nick with PBS . Hey , Sam . Thanks very much . Hey , John . I have two questions on Ukraine . Given the response so far by Speaker Johnson , is the White House interested in and/or pursuing an alternative , like combining the Israel bill from the House with the Ukraine funding that would have to be created by the Senate and then sent back to the House? And then , on air defense for Ukraine , I know you can ' t provide specifics , but if there ' s no supplemental , can you say anything about how critical air defense levels would be? Thanks . MR . KIRBY: Thanks , Nick . On the first one , you ' ll hear more from the President soon , so I won ' t get ahead of him . Our focus is on the negotiated bill from the Senate side , where Democrats and Republicans worked hard to come up with a proposal that we support and believe will address our emergency supplemental requests . That ' s our focus . As we have said , if it gets to the President ' s desk , he ' ll sign it . So , that ' s what we ' re focusing on . And , you know , we really hope that the House Republicans can just focus on the Senate bill without all the political games and stuff . There ' s a lot of good stuff in there for Ukraine , Israel , and our Border Patrol agents down south . The ambassador in the Indo - Pacific also says it ' s good for national security . We really want the members of Congress in the House to take it seriously , that ' s the main thing . As for your second question , air defense is super important for Ukraine right now , especially in the winter . Russia keeps sending drones , some of which are from Iran , and missiles to target their military and defense industry . They really need air defense , whether it ' s short , medium , or long range . It ' s going to be even more important as Putin keeps attacking their defense industry . Sorry , but I can ' t give you much on the servicemembers in Jordan or the hostage negotiations . The Pentagon might have some info on the militants killed or wounded , and as for the hostages , that ' s in the hands of Hamas . I can ' t really say who ' s causing the holdup . We think there ' s a serious proposal on the table and we ' re still working on getting it approved and started . I don ' t want to say anything that could negatively affect the sensitive negotiation process . As for Ukraine , if we don ' t get additional funding , we won ' t be able to continue providing security assistance . It ' s important for other nations to also support Ukraine . The United States is seen as a leader in this area and people look to us for support . If we can ' t provide that support , it will be felt by Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield . We ' re trying to avoid that . KIRBY: So , again , without going into too much detail about what they ' re doing , we know for sure that some of their commanders on the ground are making tough decisions about how much ammunition to use each day and how much they need to save . They ' re making strategic decisions based on their ability to support the troops in the field . So they ' re in a difficult position . They ' re also having to defend against a heavy barrage from drones , missiles , and cruise missiles . They ' re using a lot of air defense , mostly medium to long - range , and they ' re worried about running out . The Russians know this too . They ' re basically trying to force the Ukrainians to use up their resources by launching attacks , knowing that the Ukrainians will have to respond . We know that the soldiers on the front lines are running low on certain types of ammunition . We know that air defense is a crucial resource for them . And we know that the commanders are making tough decisions about how to operate with what they have in order to preserve some capability for the future . And just one more thing , the fighting hasn ' t stopped during the winter months . Both sides are still fighting in the air and on the ground . They can ' t just wait for spring to come . They need help now . MODERATOR: Thank you . Our next question is from Kevin at CNN . Q Thank you , John . On Friday , you said that there had been no communication with Iran since the soldiers died in Jordan . Has that changed in the past few days? And then I have another question about the hostage negotiations . In the past , there were difficulties in contacting Hamas due to communication blackouts and bombings in Gaza . Is that affecting the ongoing negotiations for the hostage deal? MR . KIRBY: I haven ' t heard of any communication with Iran since the soldiers died in Jordan over a week ago . As for your second question , I don ' t want to interfere with the negotiations , but communication with Hamas is done through Qatar . And that whole communication process , you know , because whatever they ' re negotiating has to reach those Hamas leaders in Gaza too , not just the ones in Qatar , well , sometimes it can be a bit of a hassle . But that doesn ' t mean it ' s not working or reliable or anything like that . It ' s just , you know , sometimes it can be a hassle . But we ' ve managed to work through it before . And I have no doubt that we can still effectively communicate with Hamas leaders through the Qataris . MODERATOR: Thanks . Our next question is from Aurelia with AFP . Q: Hey , thanks for taking my question . I just wanted to quickly ask about the impact on the battlefield . If the US assistance is withdrawn , what do you think will happen in Ukraine? Do you think their forces will collapse? Do you see the conflict dragging on? What ' s your take on this? MR . KIRBY: Well , I ' m not really good at predicting the future when it comes to military stuff . But I can tell you that American security assistance , along with the support from other countries , is really important for Ukraine . They ' ll be the first to tell you that . President Zelenskyy himself has said that without foreign support , they wouldn ' t be able to fight this war and regain more than 50 percent of the territory that the Russians took . It ' s super important . The President is gonna keep focusing on getting them that security assistance . But , you know , I can ' t predict what ' s gonna happen . But I can say that the commanders on the battlefield are having to make some tough decisions just to defend themselves and their troops . MODERATOR: Thanks . And like Kirby said , we ' re gonna hear from the President soon , so we ' ll let you go . If you have any more questions , just email us and we ' ll get back to you . Oh wait , Kirby has one more thing . MR . KIRBY: Yeah , I just wanna say again , I ' m really sorry about the mistake I made on Friday night . I messed up and I ' ll do better in the future to not spread false information . So yeah , sorry about that . Thanks . MODERATOR: Great . If there ' s anything else we can do , just email us and we ' ll get back to you as soon as we can . Thanks . 11:33 A . M . EST .
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