Online Briefing with Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield

MODERATOR:  Good afternoon from the State Department’s Brussels media hub. I would like to welcome everyone joining us for today’s Virtual press briefing. We were very honored, of course, to be joined by the U.S. Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. A quick reminder that today’s session is on the record. And with that, I’ll turn it over to Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield for opening remarks. Ambassador, please.

AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD:  Thank you, John. Good afternoon, everyone. I want to thank all of you for joining today for this important conversation. And John, thanks to you and your team at the Media Hub in Brussels for bringing us together. It’s been two years since Russia launched its illegal, unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine, an invasion that culminated a ten year effort to occupy Ukraine’s land and subjugate its people. In the time since, we have seen Russian forces commit unspeakable brutality through torture and sexual violence, repression and forced deportation, including ripping thousands and thousands of children from their families and relocating them into Russia. In addition to killing tens of thousands and displacing millions more, this senseless war has worsened a global food insecurity crisis, roiled the global energy market, cause incalculable damage to our environment, and undermined the global nonproliferation regime. This threatens not only Ukrainians, but every one of us. And yet ordinary Ukrainians’ resolve to defend their families, homes, sovereign borders and democratic values remain unshaken. This spirit explains how Ukraine has come so far against odds since February of 2022, including taking back over 50% of the territory illegally seized by Russia. We remain committed to the people of Ukraine and their fight.

As President Biden said, the United States, alongside our international partners, will stand by Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes. Our partners have provided more than $100 billion to Ukraine since February of 2022, and the United States more than $74.6 billions. Humanitarian assistance, some $2.6 billion of it, is keeping people alive. Air defense systems that that the United States and our allies and partners have delivered to Ukraine over the past year successfully blunt Russia’s continuous missile and drone attacks. Economic assistance ensures first responders and government services can work and Ukraine’s economy can recover. Because ultimately the United States wants to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression. But let’s be clear here. Putin can end this senseless war and the incredible pain and suffering that comes along with it today.

The United States’ position has been unwavering. Russia must immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders, cease its procurement from the DPRK, and uphold the principles of the U.N. Charter. Until it does, we will continue to help strengthen Ukraine and support its efforts to develop international consensus around a comprehensive, durable and just peace. Thank you. And with that, I’m happy to answer a few of your questions.

MODERATOR:  Thank you so much for those opening remarks. Ambassador, we’ll start with a question, a presubmitted question from Vasco Cotovio from CNN in the U.K.. Vasco asks: Ukraine seems to be in a fragile situation after the fall of Adviivka, with Russian forces pressing in several areas of the front line, erasing much of Kiev’s gains during the summer. How much longer can Kiev wait for the U.S. support to come through?

AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD:  Look, as I said in my remarks, Ukraine also recaptured 50% of the territory that Russia took from Ukraine and the Ukrainians resolve is really unshakable. We are working with our Congress to ensure that the funding they need to continue this fight is delivered to them. The President has committed to that. There is bipartisan support for that and we will keep working until we’re able to deliver to the Ukrainians what they need. In the meantime, they are getting assistance from Europe that just approved additional funding for the Ukrainians and we will ensure that they get the additional funding that we have committed to provide to them as well.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, ma’am. A slightly more general question coming from Leonard Ornstein from VPRO in the Netherlands. Leonard asks simply: what are the lessons that we’ve learned from after two years of war and conflict in Ukraine?

AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD:Know thank you so much for that question. And it’s a question that I’ve been thinking about quite a bit as we hit the two year mark on on Friday. And I think the most valuable lesson we have learned is that we have to stick with it. We have to be unified as supporters of Ukraine, unified with our allies, both NATO and other European countries, and unified with the with the Ukrainians here at the United Nations. And that unity, I think, has contributed to Ukrainians to their resolve, to their ability to hold back the Russians, to our ability here, to isolate Russia on this particular issue. And this is something that we have to continue to do until this war is over.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, ma’am. Next question from Martin Burcharth from the national daily (Information) in Denmark: In the wake of last year’s failed offensive, prominent American foreign policy experts and not only the realists are now calling for fortifying Ukraine’s defensive lines with U.S. and NATO’s defensive weapon, while putting pressure on Kiev to take up Putin on his recent offer in an interview with Tucker Carlson to negotiate a cease fire. Is the administration planning to correct course or move in this direction I suppose?

AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD:  Look, I think we’ve been clear on our position. Our position is to stand with Ukraine for as long as Ukraine needs us to stand with Ukraine and any decision about negotiations with the Russians, it is a decision that the (inaudible) Ukrainians themselves have to make on the table. And it would be interesting for the Russians to take a look at that peace deal and figure out where they can come to the table. But before any of this, they just need to pull their troops out of Ukraine. That would be the peace deal that we would all see happening.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, ma’am. Next question, this time from Momchil Indjov, from a Bulgarian media. Momchil asks: Your Excellency, as the coming anniversary coincides with the death of Alexei Navalny, how will the U.S. deal with the fact that Russia does not recognize the mandate of the special U.N. rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Mrs. Mariana Katzarova?

AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD:  Well, let me just say that Putin is … his intentions are well known. He’s authoritarian. He is a person who will destroy his opponents. And that’s what we saw him do with Navalny. And President Biden has been clear in stating that we will hold them accountable for the actions that they have taken related to Navalny. And over the course of the next day or so, you will see some of the actions that we intend to take, particularly related to to sanctions.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, ma’am. Shifting to Poland now, Karol Darmoros, Polish Radio in Poland. Karol asks, After two years of full scale war, we are in the midst of an agricultural crisis that is unfolding on a Polish-Ukrainian border. Polish farmers demand to stop the imports of Ukrainian products that are harming the internal market. On the other hand, Ukrainians want to see their products flowing and being exported and they are against the import bans. Can the UN contribute to solving this problem?

AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD:  Thank you again for that question. As you know, I have been focusing on food insecurity issues that have resulted from this war, and the UN has been working very, very closely with the Ukrainians, with the Turkish, with the Russians to open up the Black Sea so that Ukrainian grain can flow through the Black Sea on a regular, more systematic basis. And I know that those efforts continue. We know that Ukrainian grain is needed in the international market. I saw the impact of that when I traveled to Africa last year, met with farmers who were dependent upon grain coming from the Ukraine or depending on fertilizer coming and seeing the high prices of food in their own markets. So it is important that we find a way, a path forward so that Ukrainian grain can get to the international market. I understand the tensions that have taken place on the border, but I know that the UN is looking at other paths to get Ukrainian grain out and I hope that they succeed with that soon.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, Ambassador. Next question is from Margarida Serra from TSF in Portugal. Margarida asks: Is the United States willing to confiscate the $300 million of Russian assets that are frozen? And would the United States then give that money to Ukraine to help support their efforts?

AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Again, thank you for that question. I can’t give you a categorical answer to that question. This is something that has been discussed on a regular basis, but it’s not something that I can give you any insight on right now.

MODERATOR:  Understood, ma’am. Those are the questions that we have that are Ukraine related. We have a couple questions related to Israel. Are you willing to field those questions, ma’am?

AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD:  Sure.

MODERATOR:  Of course. Thank you. This is from Michael Nienaber, does not provide an outlet (Bloomberg News) but asks: The US has voted against three UNSC draft resolutions that include the word cease fire because that was regarded as a red line. Now the United States is explicitly calling for a cease fire themselves in another UNSC draft currently under discussion. What is behind that decision? Are you trying to send a message to Israel now?

AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD:  We’re trying to find a solution and the resolutions previously that call for an unconditional cease fire were not helpful to supporting the negotiations on the ground that we were engaged on, along with Qatar and and Egypt. But we have always supported humanitarian pauses. And this current effort and and negotiations that are taking place are pushing for that. So we we have put forward a resolution that assists the efforts on the ground, and we have called in that resolution for a temporary cease fire. And our hope is that we can get this resolution forward, that will support the negotiations that are taking place on the ground, support getting the hostages out, support getting more assistance to the people of Gaza on the ground. And we’re collaborating now with our colleagues, to be very frank with the (inaudible). Our primary goal is to see the efforts on the ground succeed in getting us to an extended humanitarian pause, getting us to … getting the hostages out and getting more assistance in to the Palestinian people.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, Ambassador. Shifting gears back to Ukraine now. Next question is from Kathy Long. She thanks you for your time and asks, how concerned are you about the perceived or otherwise decline of support for Ukraine among countries who are experiencing pressures such as cost of living crises or economic downturns, and the inevitable focus on the situation in Gaza and Israel. Ukraine resolve may not have weakened, but are you worried about wider resolve that the wider resolve to assist Ukraine has?

AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD:  You know the resolve to support Ukrainian efforts, I would not agree that that has decreased. We are still fully backing Ukraine and the vast majority of people here in New York are supporting Ukraine. What Russia has done is committed an act of violence against a neighbor and they have committed basically an act against the U.N. charter. And no one disagrees with that. And even the situation in Gaza, as difficult as that situation is now, does not diminish people’s understanding of what is happening in Ukraine. We will have tomorrow at the Security Council a full Security Council session on Ukraine. We will be having discussions in the General Assembly on Ukraine, as well as other activities around New York to raise concerns about the situation in Ukraine. Our support for Ukraine continues. I have seen the support in Europe for Ukraine has continued, and the Ukrainian resolve is about having that that consistent support.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, Ambassador. That seems like a good place to end since we’re just about running out of time. Can I turn it back to you, Ambassador, for any final thoughts?

AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD:  Well, good. I just want to thank you for hosting this, but I particularly want to thank the press for engaging on these issues. You play an important role in making sure that news, information, facts are provided to the public. And I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you and look forward to doing it again.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, ma’am. Shortly, we will send an audio recording of the briefing to all the participating journalists and provide a transcript as soon as it is available. Thanks again to Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield very much for joining us today, and thanks to all the journalists who joined our press briefing. We hope you can join us for another one again in the future. This ends today’s briefing.