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00:00 Straight to the French Foreign Ministry where Antony Blinken has just arrived.
00:04 He's speaking with his French counterpart, Stéphane Sergionet, at the Foreign Ministry.
00:10 They're due to hold a press conference.
00:11 Let's see if we can bring those pictures up for you
00:13 and listen to what it is that they have to say.
00:15 If we turn to the United States through NATO,
00:19 for which we're actually celebrating the 75th anniversary this year.
00:27 For nearly two centuries now, we have always stood side by side, no matter the fighter.
00:34 We have fought for freedom and liberty.
00:37 The United States knows just how much it owes to France, but we too, here in France,
00:42 we know how much we owe to you, to the United States.
00:48 This year we are celebrating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings,
00:56 and I think that is yet another milestone in the history that ties our nations together.
01:02 It is that spirit of freedom that ties our two nations together,
01:08 and it is that spirit that has seen us stand in support of Ukraine.
01:15 As ladies and gentlemen, you know Russia is attacking Ukraine.
01:23 Ukraine has been under attack for the past two years.
01:26 And we stand to support the Ukrainian people.
01:30 But there are a number of obstacles in our way.
01:36 First, we need to say a special word for the Ukrainian people,
01:44 because they have stood up against Russia in their self-defence, legitimate self-defence.
01:53 And we have to reiterate that message here today.
01:58 We have discussed about the ongoing long-term support that our two nations can provide to
02:06 Ukraine, and we will be heading tomorrow to further discuss our ramped-up support to Kiev.
02:13 It is a clear sign of our determination to continue to support Ukraine in the future.
02:20 The conference that was held in Paris in February was just another step forward in that same vein,
02:27 and now we are going to continue to implement the outcomes of that meeting.
02:30 We saw the putting together of a coalition of nations
02:35 which we can actually counter the United States.
02:40 So we are going to continue to implement a section of our initiatives that we can back,
02:48 so we will support Ukraine.
02:50 And again here today at today's press summit, I would just like to say that we have witnessed
02:58 Russian influence in media through false media outlets where they are accusing Ukraine or others
03:07 of war crimes.
03:09 They have quite outrageously targeted Daesh as well.
03:15 Did you see that, the deepfake?
03:17 Because they are trying to lay the blame of Ukraine for the presence of Islamic terrorism
03:23 on their soil.
03:24 So this is clear propaganda.
03:26 And here again today, I would like to say that France will put forward a proposal for
03:33 specific sanctions to any person or persons who will support any effort to bring instability
03:43 to our countries or to the European Union.
03:48 Now, while it is a European-level type proposal, it is being brought forward by France.
03:51 With Antony, we spoke about the Near East.
03:56 We would just like to reiterate how we stand against the Israeli attacks which saw some
04:06 27 humanitarian workers perish.
04:09 We have to reiterate the fact that the humanitarian crisis is worsening on the ground and nothing
04:22 could justify such a tragedy.
04:24 And any decisions from the Security Council, the UN Security Council must be implemented.
04:31 So what are the latest resolutions?
04:35 They say that all hostages must be set free immediately with no questions.
04:40 There must be an immediate ceasefire brought into place in order to guarantee all civilian
04:44 lives are protected and to provide humanitarian aid where needed.
04:48 And this morning and this afternoon, we spoke with the United States Secretary of State
04:58 to talk about such initiatives and further discussions will take place in New York so
05:03 that we can talk further about a two-state solution and another way of ensuring safety
05:09 in the region.
05:10 I found that our conversations that we have had recently have been very constructive and
05:15 we're looking forward to further constructive discussions in the near future where we'll
05:20 be sitting down with key actors in the area and other UN Security Council members, be
05:26 they elected or permanent.
05:28 We spoke of ways to avoid any further escalation in the region.
05:33 We spoke of Lebanon, where France has come forward with more proposals, again, proposals
05:40 that are seen with a favourable eye from Lebanese counterparts.
05:44 Again, as part of this, Iran must also try to seek avoiding further escalation.
05:54 We spoke about Sudan, one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history.
06:00 And on the 15th of April in Paris, we will hold a major humanitarian summit on Sudan
06:06 presided over by France, Germany and the European Union.
06:10 This is a major crisis that is being forgotten by media and political figures.
06:18 So I know that we can count on the support of the United States so that this conference
06:23 and summit will be a success.
06:27 And finally, if I may, one other crisis that is deeply concerning to our two nations is
06:36 that in Armenia, Azerbaijan is impeding on its territorial integrity.
06:41 And what we have seen is Azerbaijan getting riled up in light of false news or misleading
06:57 information coming out of Baku.
07:00 And we feel that there are very few who would like to see the region not spiral out of control.
07:08 Again, there is a lot of propaganda, a lot of what we are seeing Russia say against Ukraine
07:17 is being replicated here.
07:18 So again, Anthony and I, we are going to be very cautious of what is happening in light
07:24 of the summit that will be held in Baku in the next six months.
07:27 So Anthony Blinken, that was just my few introductory remarks.
07:31 I'm very much looking forward to continued discussions tomorrow in Brussels.
07:35 And again, in the coming weeks, there is so much ahead of us to ensure that the values
07:41 that unite our two countries will prevail when it comes to resolving issues at the international
07:48 stage.
07:51 Anthony, I would now like to hand the floor over to you and thank you for such kind discussions.
07:56 As always, I am very happy to be here in Paris.
08:04 And Stéphane, I would like to thank you for welcoming me here with such open arms.
08:08 I feel that our meetings have been very fruitful.
08:13 Now, if you may, I would like to continue speaking to the press in English.
08:18 As I just said, it's always wonderful to be back in Paris, but I especially wanted to
08:22 thank my colleague and friend Stéphane for the incredibly warm welcome, but also the
08:29 quality of the conversation that we had.
08:30 He covered most of what we've talked about.
08:36 Let me just add a couple of quick points of emphasis.
08:39 On Ukraine, we discussed the imperative of continuing to support Ukraine so that it can
08:46 effectively defend itself against the ongoing Russian aggression.
08:49 That's for today.
08:52 But also to make sure, through the work that we're doing, to help Ukraine build a strong
08:59 military for the future, to attract private sector investment so that it builds up its
09:04 economy, and to continue to strengthen its democracy, in particular by moving down the
09:10 accession path toward the EU, we are ensuring that we will have a Ukraine that stands strongly
09:15 on its own feet – militarily, economically, democratically.
09:20 And that's the single best response to Putin's aggression.
09:23 France has been a remarkable leader in this effort, both in making sure that Ukraine has
09:29 what it needs to defend itself and also working to set it up for the long term.
09:33 It's been a leader in burden-sharing – billions donated in military and economic assistance
09:38 to Ukraine – but also rallying other countries, using its leadership to bring others along.
09:46 We also see this leadership in the enforcement of sanctions and export controls to limit
09:51 Putin's war machine.
09:52 We are working day in, day out to effectively prevent the transfer of weapons and materials
10:04 to Russia to fuel that war machine, to fuel its defense industrial base, including from
10:11 Iran, from North Korea, and from China – something that we discussed today.
10:15 This is not only a threat to Ukraine; it's actually a threat to European security as
10:22 a whole.
10:22 And so there's a strong interest on the part of France, on the part of all European countries,
10:28 to do everything we can to prevent the ongoing bolstering of Russia's war machine.
10:38 Part of our shared challenge, too, is making sure that we are continuing to build up
10:42 and energize our defense industrial base.
10:44 Earlier today, I had a chance to tour a factory where munitions are being produced.
10:48 These munitions – French munitions, American munitions, munitions coming from other parts
10:56 of Europe and well beyond – have been absolutely essential in ensuring that Ukraine can stand up
11:02 against the Russian onslaught.
11:05 We have to build a stronger allied defense industrial base that's capable of meeting
11:10 the challenges of today, but also future challenges.
11:13 And that's also one of the reasons why it is essential that the United States Congress
11:19 pass President Biden's supplemental budget request as soon as possible, indeed, when
11:24 it returns from its recess.
11:25 That would further turbocharge our own defense industrial base while creating more good jobs
11:33 in the United States.
11:35 As Stéphane said, we also spent some time talking about the Middle East.
11:39 We've been grateful for France's partnership on the crisis in the Middle East and, indeed,
11:45 working together to prevent the conflict that we see in Gaza from spreading to other parts
11:51 of the region.
11:52 Both of us agree on the need to get to the quickest possible ceasefire, to allow the
11:58 release of hostages, to enable the surge and sustainment of humanitarian assistance.
12:03 As I mentioned, we're coordinating closely when it comes to Lebanon and trying to prevent
12:10 any spread of the conflict there, finding a diplomatic way forward.
12:13 We're also working together on creating a path to a more durable and lasting peace,
12:21 with security guarantees and political guarantees for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
12:29 Let me also reiterate what Stéphane said about the attack on the World Central Kitchen.
12:41 First, I can only say that for so many of us, we extend our condolences to the loved
12:56 ones, to the families, the friends, the colleagues of those who lost their lives,
13:02 as well as those who were injured.
13:04 I spoke to José András just about a week ago about the efforts that World Central Kitchen
13:12 has engaged in in Gaza, as it is in many other conflict zones around the world, including
13:17 in Ukraine.
13:17 They have been doing extraordinary, brave work day in, day out, and critical work to
13:25 try to make sure that people in need get what they need, starting with the most basic thing
13:30 of all – food to survive.
13:33 The victims of yesterday's strike join a record number of humanitarian workers who
13:40 have been killed in this particular conflict.
13:42 These people are heroes.
13:45 They run into the fire, not away from it.
13:50 They show the best of what humanity has to offer when the going really gets tough.
13:56 They have to be protected.
13:59 We shouldn't have a situation where people who are simply trying to help their fellow
14:07 human beings are themselves at grave risk.
14:11 We've spoken directly to the Israeli Government about this particular incident.
14:19 We've urged a swift, a thorough, an impartial investigation to understand exactly what happened.
14:27 And as we have throughout this conflict, we've impressed upon the Israelis the absolute
14:36 imperative of doing more to protect innocent civilian lives, be they Palestinian children,
14:42 women, and men, or be they aid workers, as well as to get more humanitarian assistance
14:48 to more people more effectively.
14:50 Finally, let me just say that, as you heard from Stéphane, we touched on a number of
14:57 other issues.
14:58 I think what we see is an extraordinary convergence between France and the United States on the
15:05 major challenges of our time.
15:07 We're cooperating together to try to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.
15:12 That means a region where countries are free to choose their own path and their own partners,
15:18 where problems are dealt with openly, where rules are reached transparently and applied
15:23 fairly, where goods, ideas, people flow freely and lawfully.
15:30 We're proud partners in the Paris Climate Summit, including joint efforts to advance
15:38 civil nuclear energy as a greener alternative.
15:43 Finally, let me just say how grateful we are as well to President Macron for his longstanding
15:48 leadership on some of the most important cutting-edge issues of the day – for example, all of
15:54 the issues attendant to cyberspace, uniting governments, the private sector, civil society
15:59 around rules of the road that reflect our shared values and our shared interests.
16:03 It is, I think, very fitting that we are celebrating two landmark anniversaries this year.
16:12 The 80th anniversary of the liberation that Stéphane alluded to, as well as the 75th
16:18 anniversary of NATO, the alliance – the defensive alliance that joins us together.
16:22 In fact, the 80th anniversary of the liberation is a good reminder of why we decided a few
16:29 years after the end of World War II to come together in that defensive alliance, to help
16:34 ensure that something like World War II would never happen again, to make clear that countries
16:42 in the transatlantic space would look out for each other, have each other's backs,
16:46 and in so doing make it less likely that aggression would occur.
16:51 So there's a lot to look forward to in the weeks and months ahead, even as we deal with
16:56 the challenges of this moment, and I look forward to being back in France to do that.
17:00 Thank you.
17:02 Thank you.
17:02 Thank you very much.
17:24 Of course.
17:27 Don't drop the laptop.
17:30 Sorry about this.
17:31 Very disorganized over here.
17:34 Mr. Secretary, as the leader of the U.S. Department that has approved the transfer
17:41 of the vast majority of the Israeli bombs dropped in this conflict, do events like the
17:46 bombing of the World Central Kitchen convoy give you pause about continuing the flood
17:50 of U.S. weapons into Israel?
17:52 And a second question for both of you, Secretary Blinken and Minister Chagin, that there has
18:00 been a rise of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.
18:04 The West is fairly united in saying these strikes are justified.
18:08 Do you think hitting these facilities is the right strategic approach for Ukraine?
18:12 Thank you, John.
18:18 Let me take the second question first.
18:20 It has been our view and policy from day one when it comes to Ukraine to do everything
18:29 we possibly can to help Ukraine defend itself against this Russian aggression.
18:35 At the same time, we have neither supported nor enabled strikes by Ukraine outside of
18:44 its territory.
18:45 With regard to arm transfers, look, I think it's very important to put this in its proper
18:54 perspective and to understand what we're talking about.
18:56 First, we have a longstanding commitment to Israel's security and to helping ensure
19:04 its ability to defend itself.
19:06 That's been a policy from administration to administration, Republican, Democrat,
19:11 back and forth.
19:13 And indeed, that policy developed over many years, developed into successive agreements
19:21 between the United States and Israel, long-duration agreements – 10 years in this case – to
19:28 provide military assistance over that timeframe to about $3 billion a year.
19:34 That's the system that's in place and it's long been in place.
19:37 These arms transfers, every single one, happens consistent with statutory and policy
19:48 requirements.
19:49 That includes both informal and formal notifications to Congress, and it's what we do with
19:57 every country with whom we have a defense relationship that involves the sale or transfer
20:02 of arms.
20:03 Now, the other important piece of context is this.
20:09 With Israel – and this is also true with other countries – there are a number of
20:15 open cases, open requests of previously notified cases which have not been fully fulfilled
20:23 or completed.
20:24 In the case of Israel, for example, there are many requests that were made and were
20:33 notified to Congress and agreed to that go back a decade or more.
20:38 And it takes time, often, to produce the material or the weapons in question, the parts,
20:46 et cetera.
20:47 These complex systems, simply put, can take years to actually allow us to fulfill the
20:54 request and the agreement.
20:56 So many of the cases that you occasionally report on now underwent congressional review
21:05 years ago and were notified years ago.
21:09 Well before the conflict in Gaza started.
21:10 QUESTION: Isn't that more of a problem, though, because they were approved in a non-wartime
21:15 context?
21:15 Let me come to that, because, again, all of this context is very, very important.
21:21 We, of course, also go out of our way to make sure that we're actually going above and
21:33 beyond the law and what's required in briefing Congress.
21:38 We go to the relevant oversight committees.
21:40 We make sure that they're aware of ongoing transfers above the statutory threshold, even
21:47 ones that they've approved a long time ago.
21:49 And even when there's no requirement that there be additional notice or additional approval
21:56 of any kind.
21:57 Now, we've been focused on trying to make sure that October 7th can never happen again.
22:06 And – but having said that, the security relationship we have with Israel is not just
22:12 about Gaza, Hamas, October 7th.
22:15 It's also about the threats posed to Israel by Hezbollah, by Iran, by various other actors
22:24 in the region, each one of which has vowed one way or another to try to destroy Israel.
22:32 So the weapons, the systems that Israel has sought to acquire – and as I said, have
22:38 been contracted in many cases over many, many years – go to self-defense.
22:43 They go to deterrence, trying to avoid more conflicts.
22:46 They go to replenishment of their supplies and their stocks.
22:50 So that's the system that's in place, has been in place for a long time, and one that
22:57 continues.
22:58 Now, as to the conflict in Gaza, from day one we have worked to impress upon Israel
23:08 the imperative of protecting civilians, of adhering fully to international humanitarian
23:13 law, to the law of armed conflict.
23:15 That is something that we are looking at and review on a regular basis, and that we're
23:22 engaged with Israel on a regular basis, including as recently as yesterday when we met with
23:28 – by video with the Israeli delegation.
23:30 Thank you.
23:38 I'd just like to be very clear in terms of the Ukrainian attacks and the Russian refinery.
23:45 Well, I think it goes almost without comment from our part.
23:50 Ukraine acted in legitimate defense, legitimate self-defense, and considering that Russia
23:57 is the aggressive attacking party, I think there are no further comments on that.
24:00 A question from French media.
24:05 Hello, I'm from Agence France-Presse.
24:11 I have a question about – well, it's a question for both of you, gentlemen.
24:17 It's about the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
24:23 I just want to know if you fear an escalation of events in the region.
24:28 And it's almost a follow-up question from what has happened in Gaza just recently.
24:34 Has Israel stepped over certain red lines in your eyes?
24:39 And in your eye, what red lines are there, be it in Gaza or elsewhere?
24:45 To be very clear with you, everything that we have done since the beginning,
24:59 and I believe the Secretary of State is on line here, is that we have been trying to avoid
25:05 the situation escalating.
25:06 There are certain people out there who are trying to bring this conflict to an end.
25:16 But we have spoken at great length about what has happened in the Red Sea and elsewhere.
25:21 We have seen the attacks against the United States.
25:24 We've seen attacks in Syria, in Gaza, and there are certain parties who will be
25:33 accountable, who are responsible for these attacks.
25:36 Everything we have been doing has been to try and avoid the situation escalating any further.
25:46 I would have to say exactly the same as what was just said.
25:56 We have the same way of tackling the situation.
25:57 We are working together to try and avoid any further escalation, be it in Lebanon, in Iraq,
26:04 in Syria, be it in the Red Sea, in Yemen and elsewhere.
26:11 As to the question about the attacks in Syria, we will look into exactly what had happened.
26:16 We are still garnering information on that.
26:23 We will continue to do so, so that we can find out exactly what happened in the fine details.
26:29 But France and the United States are working closely together, day by day, especially in
26:34 Lebanon, to avoid any further escalation or for further conflict to break out.
26:41 And the conflict that is there is one where neither Israel, Hezbollah, nor Iran can solve
26:48 on their own.
26:49 Another question from American media, please.
26:55 Thank you.
27:02 Hi, Simon Lewis from Reuters.
27:04 I just firstly wanted to come back to the issue of the World Central Kitchen Workers,
27:11 the seven workers who were killed by an Israeli strike.
27:14 I had the honor of actually knowing one of them, Zomi Francom, and I can testify to her zest
27:21 for life, kindness, and selflessness that we could see in the work that she was doing.
27:26 This morning, I've seen an image of her Australian passport covered in blood.
27:31 It's quite striking.
27:33 Secretary Blinken, you've been warning for several months about the need for more
27:40 humanitarian aid to get into Gaza.
27:42 You recently talked about the near famine conditions there.
27:45 This is the reason why these World Central Kitchen Workers were there.
27:50 You've called for an investigation.
27:53 But this isn't the first time that aid convoys have been hit.
28:00 This isn't the first time that the Israelis have been taking action that's restricted aid,
28:07 both going into the Gaza Strip and being distributed.
28:11 So I really wanted to ask, are you going to do more if this continues?
28:17 This has continued for months.
28:19 Is there more than you can do and simply raise these issues with the Israelis?
28:24 And if their investigation comes back with certain findings, is there some action that
28:31 the United States as the main backer of Israel is going to take regarding that?
28:39 And secondly, France has proposed a new UN Security Council resolution on Gaza that goes
28:46 further than the one that the US abstained on last month, calls for decisive and irreversible
28:52 measures taken by parties towards a two-state solution.
28:56 Secretary Blinken, you've called for a pathway to a two-state solution, a Palestinian state.
29:00 So will you support such a resolution?
29:02 And to the Foreign Minister, regarding that resolution,
29:07 are you assured of having US support for that?
29:11 The US has used its veto several times since October to block resolutions on Gaza.
29:18 So would you call on Secretary Blinken to not use the veto in this case?
29:22 Thank you.
29:23 Thank you, sir.
29:23 Simon, with regard to humanitarian assistance,
29:30 going back to the very first trip that I made to Israel after October 7th, a few days later,
29:35 in every trip subsequent to that, I and many others, starting with President Biden,
29:43 have worked to impress upon Israel the moral, the strategic, the legal imperative
29:51 of doing everything possible to provide humanitarian assistance to people who need it.
29:58 And of course, we've seen Israel take important steps over the last six or so months, whether it
30:03 was opening Kerem Shalom, whether it was actually starting by opening the Rafah crossing to begin
30:09 to allow assistance in Kerem Shalom, guaranteed fuel deliveries, flower through the Ashdod Port,
30:17 opening a new gate, 96 gate, just a couple of weeks ago.
30:22 Now the maritime corridor that many of us are working to establish,
30:27 they've taken steps, but it is, simply put, insufficient.
30:34 It is not enough to meet the needs of the children, the women, the men in Gaza
30:43 who remain caught in a horrific crossfire Hamas is making.
30:47 So in our conversations with the Israeli Government, including just last week when
30:56 the defense minister was in Washington, and just yesterday when we were on a video conference
31:01 with Israeli counterparts, we impressed, again, upon them the imperative of now surging
31:10 and sustaining assistance, and not only getting it into Gaza, but within Gaza, getting it to
31:18 everyone who needs it, including in the north, where, as you know, the conditions are the most
31:22 challenged, and where World Central Kitchen was laboring to get assistance to people.
31:29 So we and many others, including France, are intensely focused on this, and we are looking
31:40 very carefully to see the necessary steps are taken to ensure that the assistance needed gets
31:48 in and gets to people who need it. This also involves issues like much better coordination
31:54 on the ground. We'll see what the investigation of the incident with World Central Kitchen
31:59 reveals, but coordination has been a perennial problem, deconfliction, as well as other challenges
32:07 – destroyed roads, lack of trucks within Gaza, things of that nature that have to be remedied,
32:13 as well as the access points into Gaza. Having said all of that, I'm not going to get into
32:21 hypotheticals or get ahead of myself or get ahead of the administration. All I can tell you is this
32:27 is an area of intense focus and absolute necessity. When it comes to the Security Council,
32:36 France and the United States work very closely together as permanent members on pretty much
32:42 every issue that comes before the Council, including this one. And I look forward in
32:47 the days and weeks ahead to talking about the current effort, other efforts that may come
32:54 forward. We share the same objectives. I think, based on my conversations with Stéphane,
33:01 I think we both agree that getting an immediate ceasefire to enable the release of hostages and
33:09 the surging of humanitarian assistance would be the best next step that we could have to actually
33:15 really change things on the ground. So we want to make sure that we're maximizing the efforts to do
33:20 that. Negotiations with regard to a ceasefire and the hostages are ongoing. We also agree that we
33:28 have to find a path to a durable, lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis alike.
33:38 And we both agree that ultimately that has to include the establishment of a Palestinian state
33:45 with necessary security guarantees for Israel. So we're aligned on the fundamentals and we'll
33:50 be talking in the days and weeks ahead about any of the measures that are before the Council.
34:03 You've been listening live there to a press conference here in Paris with the US Secretary
34:09 of State Antony Blinken and his French counterpart Stéphane Séjourné. Lots of questions there
34:14 about Ukraine, but primarily questions about Gaza, particularly in the light of the killing by
34:21 Israel of seven charity workers from the organization World Central Kitchen yesterday.
34:27 Now, listening to that press conference with me was Lila Jacinto to unpack some of that.
34:33 And Lila, I'm interested in what it is that you particularly wanted to focus on, because
34:38 at least the English language reporters in the room were trying to push Blinken on
34:43 not just the aftermath of that attack, but the sale of weapons to Israel in the light of what
34:51 we're seeing. Nadia, you know, these press conferences happen a dime a dozen. They can
34:57 be pretty dull affairs. The real takeaways for me of this press conference was the tone. It was
35:06 defensive, reflecting the sort of pushback that the US, as Israel's strongest supporter, is getting
35:15 as the war in Gaza enters into its sixth month. So it was a very defensive one from Antony Blinken
35:22 having to defend US policy in the Middle East. And it was also emotional where we had one of the
35:30 journalists actually lost a friend among the aid workers who was killed in an Israeli strike,
35:38 primarily one of the things. So there was a pushback on the US continuing to provide military
35:45 aid to Israel and the lack of humanitarian access that Gazans have. Antony Blinken talked in
35:52 particular not just about getting aid into Gaza, but getting aid distributed inside Gaza, because
36:00 this strike happened after the aid was delivered into Gaza. So the world's central kitchens had
36:06 delivered the aid. What was happening was that they were getting it to the people who need it.
36:12 And that sort of underscores the complete collapse of law and order that has happened
36:17 in Gaza right now, because humanitarian aid also needs security to deliver. So,
36:24 you know, visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken facing some very tough questioning.
36:30 And of course, also some questions on what is France going to do?
36:36 Right. I was going to ask you about that, because some of the journalists in the room
36:41 were also asking questions about efforts to secure a ceasefire and what's happening at the
36:46 UN Security Council level. And there were questions about, look, are France and the
36:51 United States really on the same page? Are there tensions in the way that they're approaching this
36:56 diplomatically? I wonder, you know, speaking of language and tone, what you thought of what the
36:59 two men said on that front? Well, publicly, of course, they pledge, you know, that France and
37:05 the US works extremely closely. And this is true. This is, you know, French diplomats can,
37:12 you know, can express some frustration off the record. But the two countries do try and
37:20 come together. What France will try to do is try to get some Security Council resolution to that
37:26 will not have the US blocking that will have at the very least a US abstention. They both
37:33 countries pledged commitment to, you know, a two state solution to an overall resolution to the
37:42 bigger conflict, not just the current crisis that's happening in Gaza.
37:48 Yeah, a lasting and durable peace was that phrase that both of those men kept using. And there were
37:54 questions weren't there as well about the strike, which we presume was an Israeli strike on
38:00 Damascus yesterday, your thoughts, perhaps on on the language around that?
38:03 There was a question, there was not much of an answer from the US. It was it was a remarkably
38:09 constrained reply that Anthony Blinken had, you know, he said that they were monitoring the
38:16 situation, they were aware of the situation. Truth is, there is a serious danger of that strike,
38:25 sparking a regional escalation. What France and the US does work on very closely is on Lebanon,
38:32 because the strike in Syria targeted Iran's proxies. And there is a real fear that the
38:43 escalation in Israel will be across its northern border into Israel into Lebanon, which is very
38:50 much part of France's remit. I mean, Lebanon is a former French protectorate. It's also high
39:00 stakes for the US because Iran at this stage has said it will not go unanswered. Typically,
39:06 what this means is, you know, US assets in the region can get targeted. And France would not
39:14 like to see this escalation going beyond southern Lebanon, you know, far beyond the Litani River.
39:23 So there was there is no doubt that even though not much was spoken publicly about it, the situation
39:29 in Lebanon and the fear of that escalation and that conflict spread was discussed in Paris today.
39:36 Indeed, and that conference, that press conference is just wrapping up there in the centre of Paris.
39:40 So I think we will leave this programme for now. We'll take a quick break. Thank you for watching
39:45 and do stay with us though more news and analysis to come throughout the afternoon here on France24.
39:50 Bye for now.