Transcripts For CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20240622 : v

CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings June 22, 2024

Bilateral relations. On the 14th of december last, we heard the president of the United States, barack obama announced the policies against cuba had been wrong, causing damages and causing isolation to the u. S. Today, we have open than them the and all the countries recognize as a sovereign country, though this is a small and neighboring island. The reestablishment of diplomatic relations is apprehended in my country as a ignoble toward a process of civilized relations despite the differences and if the blockade is lifted if we are able to implement this type of relationship between the u. S. And cuba different from what has existed all along and history, in fact feel the recognition of the need to lift the blockade against cuba, the fact that during the talks we have had, we have perceived respect for cuba us independence to feel the determination of our people and that we can now talk as the secretary and i have now talked with absolute sovereignty despite differences show that the u. S. And cuba, by the American People and cuban people are conditions to move toward a future of relations different from the ones accumulated throughout our history responding precisely to the best interest of our citizens. There is an international order, International Law recognized as the civilized behavior to be adopted i states. There are universally accepted principles and these have allowed us to reach this date. Mr. Kerry i have learned through my public life that there is nothing harder than trying to change deeply ingrained attitudes and beliefs that are based on personal experience with the case of many people. I learned obviously in the experience of where i joined with senator john mccain in a 10 year effort to try and change our relationship with the it not with vietnam and try to make peace and and the war more than 20 years after the award allegedly had ended. But there were still deep battles in our own country over that issue. Over time, with a great deal of effort, we were able to slowly work and show the people that there was a better path. Just a week or two ago, the Party Secretary of the communist party of vietnam was here in washington visiting with the president and we are today trading and working and things are changing rapidly in that country. Maybe not as rapidly to some peoples desire as they might want, but they are changing. So it is in many ways with cuba, where passions run deep, and the United States. There are many cubanamericans who have contributed in so many ways to life in our country. Some of whom are still opposed to the change and some believe it is time to change. When i served in the United States senate, there were many of us who believed that over time, our policy of isolating was simply not working. We are isolating ourselves in many ways. We felt after all of those years, it was time to try something else. President obama is doing that now. The president said when he announced this shift of policy if you are digging a really deep hole and you keep getting in deeper but youre not finding what youre looking for, its time to start time to stop taking. It is clear we have chosen a different path. Already, people tell me when they visit cuba they feel a sense of excitement and possibility. I am convinced as we work through these issues, we are going to find a better path forward that speaks to the needs of both peoples in both countries. That is why the president has set us on this course. For years and years and years, it was his perception that the people of cuba were paying the highest price and we were not achieving the kind of relationship we hoped to have. With respect to venezuela, the counselor of the state department, ambassador tom shannon, has had several conversations with venezuelans. We had a very productive conversation prior to the summit of the americas in panama. The United States has said many times, we would like to have a normal relation with venezuela and have reached out in an effort to try to change the dialogue, change the dynamics. There are differences we have with the president and his government and we raised those differences and talked about them. Just today, foreign minister rodriguez and i talked specifically about venezuela and our hopes that we can find a better way forward because all of the region will benefit if no country is being made a scapegoat for problems within a country and in fact all countries are working on solving those problems. That is our objective. We hope to continue the dialogue with venezuela. We hope our diplomatic relations with cuba can encourage not only greater dialogue with venezuela, but perhaps even efforts to try to help colombia to and its more than 50 years war and perhaps even other initiatives. We are not going to be overflowing with expressions of excessive optimism about where we will find this capacity. But we do know we are going to look for it. We do know that it makes a difference and we are going to try to work at it. Thats the ultimate in a fit that comes out of today with the beginning of diplomatic relations, we are alleging to engage with each other, to talk about our differences, to find places of common endeavor and to try to build a relationship that benefits the people of cuba, the people of the United States, the people of the region. Thank you all very much. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2015] we will get the update on the white house on washington journal and we will talk to mark about the poverty rates. Washington journal is live on cspan. It is almost as if they were matter and antimatter. Twice is enough. Is always to the right and almost always wrong. Robert and morgan talk about the documentary, best of enemies with the debates between William F Buckley, corbett doll. Today, i believe someone would say that the numbers are dwindling. Talk about salacious topic number two. That was not a norm, at the time. These guys did not need that. The moderator was distinguished and i think he was embarrassed by this. He disappears for 510 minutes at a time. You would not have a moderator not jumping in. Everybody stood back and let the fire burn. The Security Council voted to endorse the nuclear agreement. The resolution we will year from the Security Council members and the ambassador from the United Nations in new york. This is 90 minutes. President van bohemen the 7,488th meeting of the Security Council is called to order. The provisional agenda for this meeting is nonproliferation. The agenda is adopted. In accordance with rule 37 councils provisional rules of procedure, i invite the representatives of germany and the Islamic Republic of iran to participate in this meeting. It is so decided. In accordance with rule 39 of the councils provisional rules of procedure, i invite the head of the delegation of the European Union to the United Nations to participate in this meeting. It is so decided. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of item 2 of the agenda. Members of the council have before them document s 2015 547, the text of a draft resolution prepared in the course of the councils prior consultations. The council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I would like to thank all Council Members for cosponsoring the draft resolution, which is now a president ial text. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now. Will those in favor of the draft resolution contained in document s 2015 547 please raise their hands. All those in favor, please raise their hand. The result of the voting is as follows the draft resolution saved 15 votes in favor. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2231 2015. I now give the floor to those members of the council to wish to make statements after the vote. I give the floor to the representatives of the United States. The council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I would like to thank all Council Members for cosponsoring the draft resolution, which is now a president ial text. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now. Will those in favor of the draft resolution contained in document s 2015 547 please raise their hands. All those in favor, please raise their hand. The result of the voting is as follows the draft resolution saved 15 votes in favor. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2231 2015. I now give the floor to those members of the council to wish to make statements after the vote. I give the floor to the representatives of the United States. Thank you, mr. President. Today, we have adopted the un Security Council resolution in the comprehensive plan of action agreed to six days ago. By now, many are familiar with the basic tenants of the deal, which if implemented, would cut off all pathways to physical material for a Nuclear Weapon for the Islamic Republic of iran. The jcp oa will cut the number of centrifuges by two thirds and prevent iran from preventing weapons grade plutonium. They will go from a quantity that could produce approximately 10 Nuclear Weapons to a fraction of what is needed for a single Nuclear Weapon. The deal will quadruple the breakout time come the time needed to produce enough weapons grade uranium for one Nuclear Weapon. From the cry to estimate of 23 months come it will require iran and all states to comply with legally binding activities. 90 days from today, when our respective capitals and legislatures have carefully reviewed the deals provisions some of the commitments should take effect. Sanctions relief for begin only when a run iran completely steps necessary with the deal. It is important to step back from the jcp away to its larger lessons, lessons of enforcing global norms, the essential role of diplomacy, the need for ongoing budget lens, and the necessity of the unity of this council. Lessons that have applications for ensuring implementation of the deal and for tackling other crises that threaten us today. This year, we mark 70 years since the founding of the u. N. The second secretarygeneral famously said it was not created to bring us to heaven but to save us from hell. In the wake of the loss of life in the Second World War and the suffering it caused, or preventatives from nations around the world came together with an aim to save succeeding generations from the scorch of war. The first lesson we can learn from how this deal was secured is that it is not enough to agree to global norms such as that against the pull of ration proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. This council must take steps to enforce global norms. In 2006 in response to irans efforts to develop a Nuclear Program, the when put forth the toughest sanction regime in history. Faced with the ongoing noncompliance, the u. N. Tightened sanctions. The second lesson was eloquently articulated by obama. This regime played a Critical Role in helping lay the groundwork for the toxic would give rise to the jcp away. Jcpoa. This was echoed last week for president obama. Let us never negotiate out of fear but let us never fear to negotiate. Given the devastating human toll of war, we have a responsibility to test diplomacy. In 2010, when susan rice spoke in this chamber after the council strengthened sanctions on iran, she cited the ways they violated its commitments and obligations under prior Security Council revolutions. She also said the u. N. Reaffirms the u. S. Reaffirms our commitment to engage in creative diplomacy. We will remain ready to continue diplomacy with iran and its leaders. When a credible opening emerge from negotiations, that is what the u. S. And other members did. There were many occasions over the last two years of grueling negotiations when any party could have a walked away. He distances just seemed too great. The history between us steering and the resulting mistrust defining. The u. S. And our partners knew that we had a responsibility to try to overcome these obstacles and resolve the crisis peacefully. One only has to spend a week in the Security Council and hear accounts of the bloodshed and heartbreak in yemen, syria libya, any other conflict ridden part of the world to be reminded of the consequences of war. Sometimes as a u. N. Charter and history make clear, the use of force is required but we all of the responsibility to work aggressively in the diplomatic channels to secure our objectives peaceably. This deal does not change our concern about Human Rights Violations committed by the iranian government or about the instability they feel be on their Nuclear Program from its support for terrorist proxies to its repeated threats against israel to its other destabilizing activities. That is why the u. S. Will continue to invest in the security of our allies and white we will maintain our own sanctions related to their support for terrorism, Ballistic Missiles program, and humans rights violations. This deal will in no way diminish the u. S. Outrage over the unjust attention of u. S. Citizens by the government of iran. Let me use this occasion to call again on iran to immediately release all unjustly detained americans. Amir falsely accused of espionage and a Washington Post correspondent who just a year ago was covering the nuclear negotiations. I call on iran to help locate Robert Levinson who has been missing from iran since 2007. No family should be forced to endure the anguish these families feel and we will not rest until they are home where they belong. Denying iran a Nuclear Weapon is important not in spite of these other destabilizing actions but rather because of them. As president obama pointed out that is precisely why we are taking this step because an iran with a Nuclear Weapon would be far more destabilizing to our allies in the world. While this deal does not address many of our concerns, if implemented, it would make the world more safer and secure. If well reaching this deal matters, our work is far from finished. In the months and years ahead, the International Community must apply the same rigor to ensuring compliance to the jcpoa as we did to drafting and negotiating it. Implementation is everything. That is why so many verification measures have been built into this deal. The kcpoa wil grant the iea access when and where it needs it. Inspectors will have access to the entire supply chain that supports irans programs. We can trigger a process of the Security Council that will reinstate the u. N. Sanctions. The fourth and final lesson we can learn from the process that led us here today is that when our nations truly unite to confront global crises come our impact rose exponentially. The founders of the u. N. Understood this concept intrinsically ended trying enshrined it in the charter which called on each of us to unite our strength to maintain International Peace and security. It is now an axiom our nations can do more to advance peace justice, Human Dignity by working together than any other single country can achieve on its own. Indeed only when we act as United Nations can we address the worlds most intractable problems. Although we dont see this unity enough here at the u. N. , the countries of the u. N. Did largely unite behind because of preventing Nuclear Proliferation in iran and it was the persistent multilateral pressure that came out of this unity combined with the critical openness to seeking a diplomatic solution that gave the p5 plus one negotiators leverage the needed to get the deal that would advance our collective security. Let me conclude. Ultimately, the only proper measure of this deal and all of the tireless efforts that went into it will be its implementation. This deal gives iran an opportunity to prove to be rolled it intends to pursue a Nuclear Program solely for peaceful purposes. If they see is that opportunity, abides by the commitment it agreed to as it did throughout the time of the negotiations, if it to build upon the Mutual Respect and diligence that is negotiators demonstrated and if it demonstrates a willingness to respect International Standards upon which our collective security rests, it will find International Community and these United States willing to provide a path outside of isolation and toward greater engagement. We hope irans government will choose that path is only because it will make the u. S. And the world more secure but also because it will more fully empower the iranian people whose potential all of us should wish to see him locked. Just think for one moment how much more effective this council would be if we were to bring the same approach to tackling other threats to International Peace and security today. Rigorous enforcement and willingness to be relentless in our pursuit of toug

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