with -- steven: i largely agree with michael. the striking thing thus far has been iranian restraint. and hezbollah restraint. these actors are rational actors, fundamentally. they may, as michael said, pursue a strategy owing to the respective strengths of iran and of its enemies, but they are rational and are deterred by the threat of punishment. this is one of the reasons that they were so upset with hamas for having done this thing on october 7, because it exposed iran to tremendous risk, and it

did so because it would inevitably put iran unde

israel must meet. we are in brussels, we marked 75

years to the day since the founding of the nato alliance. we had our first ministerial meeting with sweden at the table, a full ally and they are now 32 members of the nato alliance. that alliance has continued to adapt and meet challenges to meet threats as they've emerged. why we focused on celebrating the fact that we are at the 75 you're more, we are intensely focused on the future. we discussed outcomes for the upcoming washington summit in july. that includes increasing her support for ukraine, strengthening nato's deterrence and defense posturing, in particular boosting our defense industrial bases on both sides of the atlantic. and cooperation with partners including from the indo pacific. we also held our second nato ukraine counsel.

we reaffirm that ukraine's future is in nato. our goal now is to create a bridge to ukraine's full membership, offering additional support and better cooperation as ukraine makes reforms necessary to join the alliance. ukraine has made some remarkable progress in recent months. it pushed the russian fleet back from the black sea to open up shipping lanes to get greens to the world. just to get green to the world. -- to get rain to the world. it's attracting more and more private investment and it holding ground on the battlefield in the face of an ongoing russian onslaught. also making progress on governance and security reforms which we discussed in our meetings today including boosting resources for his anticorruption institutions, increasing transparency and accountability for the military assistance provided and i think this progress shows that ukraine is taking our recommendation,

the recommendations of all allies seriously, doing the hard work to meet nato's high standards. but we also know this -- more aid is urgently needed for ukraine. we heard directly from the foreign minister today. every day without further assistance puts ukraine's defenders and its civilians in greater peril. our support is especially important as a number of countries are helping russia build up its defense industrial base and continue to bear -- to perpetrate its aggression on ukraine. china continues to provide material support to russians defense industrial base. the dprk in iran also is providing support. all of this is fueling prudence war machine as he attacked ukrainians threatens european security. the united states has to do its

part. allies have been stepping up and shouldering their share of the responsibility. a few weeks ago, another 50 billion euros were announced in the dish -- in additional funding. they are making unprecedented investments and we now have two thirds of the allies were meeting the whales pledge of dedicating 2% of gdp to defense. more than ever, we have genuine burden sharing among the allies in the 30 or so years i've been engaged in these issues, this is probably the best example for ensuring that i've seen. the united states is made tremendous contributions ourselves but it is imperative that congress passed the supplemental budget request that president biden has made. speaker johnson committed to bring into about swiftly. the message from brussels is clear, that vote cannot happen soon enough.

i also heard this -- from ally after ally, our commitment, her engagement is indispensable for this alliance. i also know the profound impact it would have on global security. if united states were in any way to back away from this commitment. i agree with that. that's also a message that i intend to take back with me to the united states and to our congress. a lot more was discussed at these meetings over the last couple of days and i'm happy to get into any of those issues. but let me turn to your questions. >> courtney mcbride with bloomberg. >> good afternoon, mr. secretary. how viable is the proposal for a five-year $100 billion nato fund to aid ukraine and for greater

alliance involvement in bringing weapons deliveries and is the u.s. willing or able to contribute fresh money to that as a viable option and beyond that, is the u.s. among the allies who have committed further searching their own stocks for additional air defense for ukraine? you just mentioned that u.s. policy on gaza will be determined by missed just by israel's actions and responses to these concrete steps you're seeking. can you clarify what sort of u.s. policy changes we might be looking at? >> thank you. first, in terms of funding for ukraine, the most important and most urgent thing is getting the supplement past. that would be the most immediate and most important source of the additional funds ukraine needs to help it continue to protect itself against the russian aggression.

beyond that, we are talking to our nato allies and partners about what they are doing, what we can do, what the alliance can do to make sure ukraine has the resources it needs both in the immediate to address the critical situation now but also going forward. while we are working to address these immediate concerns, we are also working together to build out ukraine's force of the future, a force that can deter aggression and defend against it if it has to. more than 30 countries now have signed or are in the process of negotiating a signing a bilateral agreement with ukraine. the united states is working on our own bilateral agreement. but we are also looking at the role that nato can and should play over time in supporting ukraine. this is an ongoing discussion we will have in the weeks ahead and i imagine you will see something

at the summit when we come together in washington in july. in terms of stocks of equipment, supplies, one of the things we talked about today was everyone going back and taking an immediate and hard look at what can be made available. we know with the needs are. air defenses, artillery, munitions. i believe based on what i heard today that everyone including the united states is going to double back and as necessary double down on finding the resources that ukraine continues to need. with regard to our policy in gaza, i will just say this, if we don't see the changes that we need to see, there will be changes in our own policy. >> we won't next go to ansa.

-- we will next go to ansa. >> a little bit of follow-up on the funding issue -- do you fear that what we see now with the supplement, that it is blocked in the congress could also happen to the fund proposal by the secretary-general? is it something you can see happening down the line? secondly if i may, we know during the ministerial discussion, you discuss the future relationship with russia. can the west still business -- still do business with moscow or will there be a new prerequisite for a reset? >> the second part of the question first -- with any country, we are focused on policies, not personalities. what we are looking to see is

what are the russia policies. unfortunately, tragically, horrifically the policy at present is beyond -- is the ongoing aggression against ukraine and the tremendous suffering is bringing to ukrainians and the threat that continues to pose not only to ukraine but to the very principles at the heart of the international system that countries rely on. countries can't just try to change the territory and borders of another country by force or determine the future of that country. if we leave that unchecked, then aggressors everywhere will draw their own conclusions and that makes for a world that's even more violent and unstable and full of conflict. what we are focused on is what russia is doing and as i said, it continues to pursue this aggression against ukraine. with regard to funding, there are two things that i think are important. one is the immediate needs

ukraine has to continue to resist effectively the resist the aggression. that is where our supplemental comes in, that is where the assistant the european union announced is so critical. we are also looking for ways to make sure we can help ukraine in the midterm and the long term develop a stronger tarrant force, a strong defensive force, a strong force for the future. one that will require, from us, all of us, far fewer resources than we have had to dedicate to ukraine in these past couple of years, because of the urgency of the situation. but that will help ukraine develop the military it needs for the future. as you look at it, we are on a trajectory in the mid to long-term where ukraine will be able to stand strongly on its own two feet militarily, economically, and democratically. the agreements that individual countries are reaching with ukraine on military cooperation and support, as well as the work

nato will do, and more to come on that as -- at the summit, make sure that the military leg is strong. we were driving private sector investment to ukraine. . there is tremendous opportunity and potential there, including having a strong industrial base in ukraine that will help ukraine, and also help other countries. finally, even the process you started on accession pair that will drive ukraine's efforts to deepen its democracy. the future and the best possible rebuke to vladimir putin is a strong successful ukraine. we are on a path to get there. but, we have to make sure that ukraine gets through the coming months and the coming time in the face of this aggression. that is why the funds, including in the supplemental, are so urgent. >> we will next go to shannon crawford with abc. reporter: thank you. a couple questions on gaza. is that the president called for

an immediate cease-fire. if the administration no longer linking a cease-fire to releasing hostages and telling the prime minister that he needs to power negotiators to a secure deal? does the administrator see israel as the problem on that front? you said the administration will rethink its approach to israel if it does not see immediate action to address the humanitarian concerns and gaza. what is immediate action? is there a timeline you are expecting? i also want to say we did ask the press corps traveling with you, asked a couple times in the aftermath of that airstrike on the convoy that killed seven or eight workers, including an american, we ask you about that and you expressed a grief but you did not express outrage. you did not condemn the strike, as your french counterpart did at the time. can you tell me what changed in the last 48 hours? sec. blinken: first of all, on that, nothing changed.

when is all the news of the strike, i was outraged. and i strongly condemn it. when i spoke to it the other day, others of my colleagues have been out. i was focused on the people, the individuals who have lost their lives, given their lives in service of their fellow human beings. what was motivating me in those comments, because it is so important that the world understand, these are heroes. and what these men and women did, the ones who lost their lives in gaza, as well as people working for world central kitchen around the world and so many places of conflict, his extraordinary and the best of humanity. i thought it was important to put the focus on that, even if the administration spoke clearly

about our outrage and condemnation. nothing has changed. i focused on the human beings involved. our conviction remains that we need to see an immediate cease-fire to enable the release of hostages, but also, to enable a dramatic surge in humanitarian assistance, as well as obviously better protecting civilians. as i said, the president and prime minister just spoke. but it is our expectation that israel will and certainly showed an ounce concrete, specific, measurable steps that it will take. and take as soon as possible. to make sure that there can be an effective surge in assistance. that it can be sustained. and that humanitarian workers

and civilians are better protected. >> we will next go to nicholas wallace with epa. -- dpa. reporter: the secretary-general's proposal for ukraine which shift responsibility for combined aid from the u.s. coordinated ukraine contact group, and to nato proper. two questions. first, do you support that proposal? second, how do you respond to those who say that this is trump proving? does it bother you that european officials are talking about american leadership in terms of the former president, and not the one who has been in power for the last three years and who wants to stay there for another term? thank you. sec. blinken: thanks. first, what the defense contact group has done is remarkable. i think the work secretary austin did in establishing the support mechanism for ukraine in bringing allies and partners

together over these many months, and coordinating their efforts, has produced extraordinary results. the question for us now, and heading toward the summit, is how we not only work, but strengthen the work we are doing and that nato is doing in that effort, both to meet ukraine's immediate needs, and as i said before, to make sure that it is helping and we are all helping you rebuild force it -- help ukraine build the force it needs to defend against the aggression. these conversations over the last couple of days have been focused on exactly what we are going to do at the summit. we have begun a process, among all the countries and with all the experts, to flush that out. we will be using the time between now and the summit to do that. i expect we will have another meeting in the foreign minister's and prague at the end of may. we look forward to work being done to design and detail

exactly what the different roles are going to be going forward. as to the second part of your question, all i can tell you is this, we are focused on the here and now. and what i heard again and again and again was the indispensability of u.s. leadership and u.s. engagement. and we heard that from ally after ally. we have heard that from our ukrainian friends as well. and we know countries within this alliance and will be on the alliance look to the united states for that engagement, for that leadership. i think we have demonstrated it very clearly when it comes to ukraine and the aggression russia committed starting in february of 2022. and we are determined to continue it. we are responsible for the here and now. that is what we are working on.

we also want to make sure that as an alliance and as individual countries, we are putting in place what is going to be needed, as i said, to help ukraine over the medium and long -- and long-term. make sure you can stand on its own feet militarily, as well as economically and democratically. . it makes a good deal of sense, especially given our commitment that ukraine will become a member of nato in the future, to have that bridge on the military side, to make sure there is a clear pathway. and with nato playing the necessary role to help ukraine do everything he needs to do to become a member of the alliance. that is what we have focused on. you will hear more about that between now and the summit. >> thank you, everybody pay thank you. thanks, everybody. thank you.

[indiscernible] >> iraqi and all original because extent. sec. blinken: we want to see elections go forward. we want to see everyone participate in those elections. we want to make sure people feel they are well represented. it is also vitally important that the relationship between baghdad move forward and a positive and productive way for all of the people of iraq, including the kurdish region. we are very focused on that in our conversations with the government in baghdad as well as with officials in the k r.g..

elections are an important part of that thank you. >> thank you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioninitute, which is responsible for its caption content and accura visit ncicap.org] >> all this week, we are showing recent supreme court cases of the high court -- that the high court is expected to rule on. we will talk with reporters about the legal issues involved. it begins each nine -- e night at 9:30 eastern. tonight'argument is united states v rohini, a second amendment case on whether pele under domestic violence protective orders can own ms. watch the supreme court case tonight and other re oral arguments all this week at 9:30 p.m. eastern on c-span. supreme court coverage on our website, c-span.org/supremecourt. american history tv, saturdays on c-span two, exploring the people and events that tell the

american story. at 7:00 p.m. eastern, our american history tv series congress investigates look at historic congressional investigations that led to changes in policy and law. the truman committee headed by senator and future president harry truman examined the national defense program during world war ii and whether there was waste and corruption in defense contracting. at 8:00 p.m. eastern, university of kentucky writing and rhetoric professor brandon irby on the legacy of her efforts to bring awareness to the murder of her son, emmett till. at 90 5 p.m. eastern on the presidency, a discussion about per -- about president ulysses s grant. exploring the american story. watch american history tv, saturday on c-span two, and find a full schedule on our program gue watch online anytime at c-span.org/history. announcer: the senate

impeachment trial for homeland security secretary alejandra mayorkas is set to begin next week. on wednesday, house impet managers will formally deliver the two artif impeachment to the senate, which charge the secretary of willful and stic fusel to comply with the law and breach of trust for his handling of the u.s. southern border. a full trial will proceed on t senateloor, but it is possible senators may vote to dismiss the charges immediately, or reference a matter -- the matter to a special commi watch as the proce unfolds, live on c-span two, c-span now, our free mobile video app, or online at c-span.org. c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including midco. ♪