I am ready to answer your questions. Thank you. [applause] you will be given a chance to ask three questions. I will give an opportunity first of all, to our foreign friends. You have sent a very experienced ambassador now, to washington. He has experience in negotiating strategic arms control with the United States. I am wondering what you have proposed to him, to restart the arms control dialogue with the United States. As you yourself mentioned, we have a big breakdown in this vital working relationship between the two nuclear superpowers. Mr lavrov we have had problems in our dialogue with the u. S. In recent months in recent years. During the Previous Administration there were many things that were failing. This is a different conversation. But after the Trump Administration came to the white house, we have stated our readiness to renew dialogue on all directions. We understand clearly, the situation that the new administration is in, how much pressure it is in at the moment, the allegations against it. And it is still confronted by those who supported the democratic candidate. Still, we are ready to renew dialogue in all directions. On the scale that would be comfortable to the Trump Administration. I talked about that with the u. S. President when we talked in the oval office in spring this year. Before that, i talked with Rex Tillerson, who came to moscow. As a result, we developed a channel of communication. Apart from other issues, we looked at where we stand on nuclear stability. The main issue we discussed was the bilateral issues, how to prevent the spiral of conflict from escalating. In september, we had a conversation on stability. These were issues of strategic limitation of arms. And the shortrange missiles. I cannot say the dialogue we have allows us to see any positive results in the near future, but this is still renewed. It will be continued on in bilateral channels. Mark fitzpatrick, from the International Institute for strategic studies. Thank you for your time. Almost everyone here agrees with you that the Iran Nuclear Deal needs to be preserved. One of the threats to the deal involves questions about the verification of the socalled section t, prohibiting activities relating to Nuclear Weapons and their development. The secretary general has asked for tools to be strengthened in verifying section t. Do you agree this would be a good idea to strengthen the iaes mandate to verify section t . You cannot strengthen something you dont have. There is no mandate to verify this section. This reflects the consensus with the participation of the e. U. And the security council, that the changes to any part of this consensus requires support from all members of the five plus one and iran, of course. I am convinced, as are our colleagues in europe, that any attempts to do so can put an end to these talks in terms of the Iranian Nuclear problem. Program. Very good t. Can you say two words about yourself . I am a retired military officer from pakistan. That is impressive. [laughter] the best part was still to come. In my own days, i handled some very complicated affairs. Frankly, i am in the business of peacemaking. No longer rearmament. Do some ar my question was about the stumbling blocks. Forh are coming in the way nonproliferation to achieve its core objective. Onelly on such occasions, is heard very often, we hope it will happen. There is a wishlist. Him but people very astutely deviate from mentioning the problem. If there are problems you would like to highlight, what is , is it the elitist approach that is preventing us from achieving that goal . Thank you. To be frank, it is not a question. But a philosophical point i t. We need to base our actions on the spirit and letter of the agreement. Essential,ortant, is to maintaining our efforts toward farther limitations in production of arms in the context of a comprehensive trek towards weapons reduction. As mr. Putin had said yesterday, we cannot ignore the new achievements in terms of military technologies. Saw after the nonproliferation treaty was signed. We cannot ignore them, that would be unreasonable. Those who support the idea of a complete nuclear ban, they ignore the threats to strategic stability. The creation of new, deadly weapons. I dont know what to add to that. The npt needs to be maintained , needs to be secured. We cannot have a different dialogue so that someone can play games with this. And follow their own line. That would include the mutual exclusive documents. We should not allow this to happen. Thank you. Agreed e rob mr. Lavrov agreed to answer another few questions. Thank you. When speaking a few weeks ago, it is not enough to work and at the level of administrations of russia and the United States to maintain arms control, but to also work with the congress . What is your view . I would say that the number of players needs to be even greater. The number of actors needs to be greater. When we talk about the issues of nonproliferation and strategic stability, it is not just for eign ministries. It is also done together with the ministers of defense in russia. Also federal Securities Services are involved. Certainly, it depends on how our interests are presented in the package we are proposing. And of course, the action of the parliament depends on that. I see the administration of the u. S. President trying to work with parliament with her congress. We see parties that try to use the congress to create unsurmountable obstacles for the american administration. As long as these negotiations, talks continue, i dont think we will receive any specific reaction from the congress. Theng an into account russophobia we have been saying for quite some time. I am the ambassador for disarmament from sweden. Mr. Minister, you stressed the importance of the and see and we agreeeement and we all how crucial the agreement is. I was wondering, apart from organizing this excellent conference, what could a more contribution concrete contribution be from the Russian Federation . Ensuring a successful outcome . Thank you. Alright. Dont ask what the country can do for you, ask what you can do for the country. In other words, a slogan a long time ago. Weve been blamed not only for interfering in the american election, sweden is also worried Russian Hackers will be involved in your elections. The french talked about that and. Any other countries rea accused of trying to block the minsk agreements. Now we are accused of the problems in the syrian peace process. Fortunately, there has been less talk about that recently. Probably, we will be made responsible for the north Korea Nuclear program issue. I dont think its reasonable to say it will be up to russia whether the 2020 conference will be effective. We see here someone who can tell you in detail about that. But the understanding we reached on out to lunch negotiations on the creation of a Nuclear Free Zone in the middle east, we are all the components were prepared. We have taken into account security concerns from israel. I will not go into details right now. All of the people in the conference who needed to engage started to block and jeopardize this very important document. There is a lot of goodwill coming from us. At the talks, currently taking place, as part of the reviewing process, we are looking for new alternatives for ways to overcome this pressure. This confrontation. I hope when you talk to americans, the british and other countries that you also point out to them the importance to make the review process successful. For many times, 35 years after the idea of convening such a actually fails, this will be a blow to the process. Nonproliferation process. We have time for another small question, short question. I am the counselor of the austrian embassy. I would have a quick question on Nuclear Disarmament proper. For the future, would you see actions and moving toward a unilateral setting for Nuclear Disarmament . We need to ensure the current agreement is implemented. Dateary of next year, the when we need to see agreement both from russia and the United States. Then we will continue to think about the next steps. I am convinced that dialogue will continue. I am also convinced it is quite difficult to imagine a situation hypothetical, virtual round of talks on further reduction of Nuclear Arsenals can take place in a bilateral format. The figures reflected in the current agreement reach more than the arsenals of the United States and russia. Thank you. Thank you and good luck. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the was anhought it important speech and i really appreciated president bush delivering it. He covered a lot of ground. He talked about how White Supremacy is an absolute blasphemy to the american creed. He talked about the importance of listening to each other, working with each other. I did not always agree with president bush, as i think any democrat sitting here would say. But i never doubted his patriotism and never doubted he worked really hard all day. He went to bed worried, woke up concerned about what he would do. I was in the oval office with him two days after 9 11 as a senator from new york. What hetood a lot of was having to face. Out andiate him coming making a thoughtful critique because we are on the wrong path. Announcer watch the entire cspan interview with Hillary Clinton on her book what happened. On book tv on cspan2. Now, the french minister on global terror threats and a proposal for a joint European Union defense force. This is one hour. S one hour. Good mo my name isning, heather connolly, i am Senior Vice President here. Needing our europe research. We are absolutely delighted to be able to welcome her excellency. She accepted her responsibilities on june 21 of this year so four months into the job, and as she arrived here in washington, france has produced its Strategic Review of defense and National Security, a document that i certainly encourage all to read because as one of americas closest military security and Foreign Policy partners, this document articulates some of the great challenges of our time and the french priorities and how to focus on those. Before i welcome the minister the minister knows logistics and brings that skill set to the ministry. Before i turn this over to her, i want to deposit for a moment. The past few weeks. On october 4, Many Americans awoke to the news that we had u. S. Forces in iger that were on a counterterrorism operation and great and strong cooperation with france and its Counterterrorism Operations we in mali. We learned that as the tragic death of four u. S. Green beret soldiers were lost, the first aircraft on the scene were French Military aircraft and helicopters. I think this is a moment in time to reflect that it is our greatest allies and partners that are there when we need them most just as much as french aircraft flew over the sky after the 911 terrorist attack. These are moments to reflect and thats why this conversation is so important that the minister is here to help us understand their strategic defense and National Security priorities. With that, on this beautiful fall day, please join me in welcoming her. [applause] thank you very much to see the csis for hosting today and sorry for my voice which is not completely back, but better than yesterday. Your institution is one of the most highly regarded in a city that has many. I am well aware that for the past six years, csis has been the worlds number one think tank for interNational Security by the think tank index and your notices is compulsory reading in paris. I should also add, as a statement of interest, that we have fantastic quapaw and cooperation with you. Some french diplomats serving as temporary fellows at csis and this sort of Cross Organization between administration and academia, which is not so frequent back in france, is of immense value. In a word, thank you for being so good. Think tanks have a particular relevance today. When i look at the world today, i see the middle east widespread terror, refugee crisis, tension in the east and the occasional nuclear test or Ballistic Missile flashing by. I see a lot of tank, but not much think. Our world is transitioning to an unknown place. It is difficult to read and your work is more important than ever. Being a practitioner, rather than an analyst, i will spare you a lengthy in introduction but i would like to say a few words about what i have in mind coming here to d. C. As a new minister for the armed forces of france. First, we have an all weather friendship with america. We have been friends for a long time and we will remain. Yesterday was marking the 236 anniversary of the yorktown victory. Our friendship is one of the heart and of the mind. Of the heart because the french will never forget what america did for us when we were in distress. The mind because because for nations like ours, with Democratic Values and shared interests in an increasingly unstable world, it is necessary to cooperate. Commentators may well expand on whether france agrees with the Current Administration on climate, on unesco or the like, but the bottom line is there has scarcely been a time when our two nations have been closer in military plans. We are sidebyside in the fight against terrorism. I have seen this with my own eyes. We are also engaged together in all the visible and not so visible reassurance activities on the natos eastern flank. All this attests that france is serious, capable and committed ally. At the core of our partnership is the awareness that france and the United States share both similar security interests and common strengths and that we can best confront them together. This is true today and will be as true, if not more so tomorrow. France has the intention to remain a serious and capable ally. Under president mccowns guidance, my ministry is enduring financial buildup. Inherited from the past, a strong bilateral alliance we enjoy today must be maintained into the future which will require the commitment of our two great nations, and i have no doubt that it will be the case. I will work as much as i can to develop it further. Second, i am particularly honored to be here and to meet secretary matus. Ive talked with him on a few occasions recently and ive been impressed by his authority, his charisma and his depth. Ive also had an opportunity to meet with general mcmaster, members of congress, and to visit institutions of interest to me such as the sco and darpa as i place an emphasis on innovation in my own ministry. It is fascinating to come here as the representative of a new french administration. The administration of a new kind that we have not seen for a long time in our country. Our president is the youngest head of state since napoleon. Most of the government comes from Civil Society rather than from professional politics. Gender is balanced and the president is set to reform the country thoroughly from labor laws to taxation and beyond. He is very strong on defense. He will increase our budget to 2 gdp by 2025. He has a very special interest affairs, with ambitions ambitious affairss for the eu, and the power of diplomacy. He places the norm is value on the transatlantic friendship. I believe you will see a lot of us in International Affairs in the coming months. Coming to substance, i would like to give a few thoughts about my priorities coming here today. The first is, how to defeat terror . We have maximum cooperation with all levels on the u. N. With this. Made tremendous headway recently. Raqqa wfell this week. But the challenges are daunting, made tremendous headway recently. Raqqatoo. We have to support the Iraqi Government in consolidating its victory against isis, and moving away from sectarian politics. Time, but we can see encouraging signs. Deescalatework to current tensions with the kurds. The most i saw one of intractable International Issues today. There is much to do. We need to eradicate isis from his hideout in the middle Euphrates River valley. When thel come a time ealiphate can no longer hav geographic expression, the only an but only an intention to kill. This will not be the end of the story. Syria will have Critical Issues to address before considering redeployment. We must be sure not to leave too much of a mess behind. This means avoiding at least four things first, a war with the kurds. Second, involving israel and lebanon. An unpunished use of chemical weapons. Government of terror, whether from sunni or s hia groups. It sounds simple, but it is not. Employing 4000 military in a highintensity environment,environment, with ts support from the United States. We are immensely grateful for the support. There have been strong achievements. We saved mali from the jaws of al qaeda. Terror groups are under pressure. Much more needs to be done. We can be, and dont want to be the praetorians of Southern African countries. They must be able to defeat terror on their own. Forjoint force is meant that. It will start its first needsions soon, and it definitely support. To give itants support. I hope everyon