important day in the history of our country. thank you very much, everybody. [applause] >> the next step in the former president's new york trial now that a verdict has been reached will be sentencing thursday, july 11 just days before the republican national convention in milwaukee. ohio republican congressman jim jordan called for manhattan district attorney alvin bragg and senior counsel matthew to angelo to appear before a house hearing june 13 to hear about -- testify about the unprecedented political prosecution of president trump. according to an announcement by the congressman on x. >> tune in to c-span's live coverage of the 2024 national political convention starting with a republican four day event in milwaukee july 15.

next, catch the democrats as they convene in chicago kicking off august 19. stay connected to c-span for an uninterrupted glimpse of democracy at work. watch of the republican and democratic national conventions live this summer on c-span. at c-span now are free mobile video app and online at c-span.org. c-span. your unfiltered view of politics. powered by cable. today, nasa officials hold a prelaunch news conference on boeing's first cruise staff spacecraft, the boeing star liner, boeing's first crude flight to the international space station. watch it live from the kennedy space station beginning at 1:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span now are free mobile video app or c-span.org. ■#>> and secretary of state anty blinken spoke to reporters after meeting with colleagues from the nato alliance in prague.

he talked about the military alliances continued support for your grain its war against russia -- for ukraine in its war against russia and president biden's approval for u.s. provided weaponry to be used by ukraine against targets in russian provided -- russian territory, within some limits. this is about 20 minutes.

i want to thank general stoltenberg. his vision, his tenacity, his vision of this alliance during a highly consequential decade has been nothing short of remarkable and he has more leadership to do asit is not an overstatement to say this is a critical moment for transatlantic security. we have seen in recent weeks vladimir putin ramping up his offensive against ukraine in kharkiv in the northeast, ukrainians continuing to show extraordinary courage in resisting russian aggression. he has also been intensifying hybrid attacks against front-line states, nato members, seven housing supply warehouses,

disregarding demarcations in the baltic's, mounting more and more and more cyber attacks, continuing to spread disinformation. in the meeting today virtually every intensification of russian hybrid attacks. we know what they are up to. we will respond both individually and collectively as necessary. more broadly, the stakes cannot be higher in this moment. we know that if russia's aggression is allowed to proceed in ukraine without impunity it won't stop with ukraine. and aggressors and other parts of the world will take note and consider pursuing their own aggressions. by continuing to strengthen ukraine. by continuing to show our determination to make sure that it can't effectively defend itself, we are also strengthening the security of the united states, of europe, of

the free countries all around the world. , of the free countries all around the world. i saw you a couple weeks ago. as the ukrainian people continue to fight for their freedoms, for their independence, for their prosperity, for their democratic future, a future where they decide for themselves. the trajectory of their country. they are not alone. united states is with them. ally after ally in nato and many countries beyond our with them as well. i heard about that reinforced loudly and clearly today among nato allies. since congress passed the president supplemental budget request of $60 billion last month with overwhelming bipartisan support in our country we have sent assistance surging to the front. tens of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of antitank mines, air defense capabilities. already making a difference. partne are speeding up their own deliveries to ukraine, doing

more than their share. we saw yesterday, and some of you were with us, how czechia is forcing artillery shells around the world and trying to bring tanks as well to ukraine. another what is germany, contributing additional patriot air defense systems. sweden is sending $1.3 billion for radar surveillance aircraft, artillery shells, armored vehicles and the list continues. thanks to the extraordinary bravery of the ukrainians, and thanks to this enduring, strong support from partners the front in the east and northeast is stabilizing. of course ukraine has made significant gains in the black pushing back the russian fleet allowing ukraine to continue to grow its economy by exporting through the black sea, as much, even more that was before the russian aggression in february of 2022. so at this pivotal time, the work of the alliance and the

nato summit itself that we will host in washington is, i think, more important than ever. we look forward to welcoming our nato allies to washington. of course, it is the seven events anniversary of the most successful alliance in history. we will celebrate that fact. even more importantly, we will be focusing on the steps we are taking to ensure that the alliance is fit for purpose for the next 75 years to meet the challenges of today and the challenges we anticipate tomorrow. today we spent very productive time working to finalize some of the commitments and some of the outcomes for the summit. and i can say that as we stand here, and as we will see, in washington, this alliance is bigger than it has ever been with the addition of two more members. it is stronger and more resilient and more united.

at the summit we will take concrete steps to bring ukraine closer to nato. and to ensure there is a bridge to membership that is strong and well lit. nato will help build ukraine's future for us, one that can effectively deter aggression and defend against it is necessary. we will advance ukrainian integration with nato. 32 countries are also negotiating individual bilateral security agreements with ukraine, 13 have already been concluded. i expect many more will be completed by the time of the summit. we will bring them all together to show how powerful that commitment is. at the same time we are seeing allies stand up to increased burden sharing. two thirds of allies are now on track to meet the 2% commitment. and we will welcome more. in 202011 at nato allies were 2%

of gdp contributed to defense. by the time of the summit we expect the number will be over 20%. we are working in the alliance to strengthen the alliance is collective deterrence and defense ramping up production, strengthening our defense industrial basis. we will have new regional plans to spell out how and what allies need to do and will do to protect every inch of nato territory. and, we are working on cooperation betwn nato and critical partners in the european union and indo pacific. and here, just as allies today were seized with the hybrid threat that has grown from russia, they are also seized with china's support for russia's defense industrial base. as i have had occasion to discuss before, including in china, what we have seen from china is not the provision of weapons to russia, but, the provision of critical inputs

that have allowed russia to accelerate its own production of tanks, missiles, shells. 70% of the machine tools that russia is currently importing are coming from china. 90% of the microelectronics that china is importing is coming from china. i heard ally after ally today raise deep concern about this. it only made it even more clear to me what i shared with chinese counterparts in beijing. china can't expect on the one hand to improve relations with the countries of europe while on the other hand fueling the biggest threat to european security since the end of the cold war. none of us are under any illusions about challenges we face today and that we will continue to face in the days and months ahead. but, 25 years ago, when czechia joined nato ahead of the

alliance's 50th anniversary, a daughter of prague, my friend, predecessor, and mentor madeleine albright reminded us " when we stand together, no force on earth is more powerful than our solidarity on behalf of freedom." that conviction was reinforced for me today but what i heard from all of our allies and i can tell you it will be further reinforced when we come together in washington. that is the truth of the last 75 years and i want to make sure it is true for the next 75. for the first question we will go to reuters. reporter: good afternoon, mr. secretary. i have two questions. one on ukraine and one on gaza. the biden ukraine to strike targets inside russia to defend kharkiv. do you leave the door open for this decision to be expanded to other cities and targets that are deeper inside russia?

since it took the biden administration a while to make this decision, i am wondering, do you think you were too cautious or was their assessment on the possibility of vladimir putin using tactical nuclear weapons been shifted? you want to set of humanitarian aid going into gaza dropped by two thirds since israel began its profit offensive. your colleagues amend the, an expert on genocide, said yesterday the humanitanditions w worse than ever. on april 4 president biden conditioned u.s. military aid to israel in improvement in the aid situation among other things. i am wondering if the current dire picture in gaza is triggering a bigger policy shift? secretary blinken: with regards to the use of u.s. arms by ukraine in russia, i said this the other day. the hallmark of our engagement, our support for ukraine over these more than two years has

been to adapt and adjust as necessary to meet what is actually going on on the battlefield. to make sure ukraine has what it needs when it needs it. to do that deliberately and effectively. that is what we are doing in response to what we have now seen in and around the kharkiv region. over the past few weeks ukraine came to us and asked for authorization to use weapons we are providing to defend against this aggression including against russian forces amassing on the russian side of the border, and then attacking into ukraine. that went right to the president. and as you have hea, he approved the use of our weapons for that purpose. going forward, we will continue to do what we have been doing. which is, as necessary, adapt and adjust. that, as i said, has been a hallmark of our engagement. it will continue to be.

i have also said, many many times, we want to make sure we are proceeding deliberately as well as effectively. i think time and again we have adapted, adjusted, provided ukrain with the systems and weapons it has needed. as i have shared with you many times before, for example, when it comes to weapons systems, we want to make sure they have the necessary training to use the capacity to maintain them. you have to look at this in a comprehensive way. i think if you look back as well as look at what we are doingow e determination to make sure we are getting ukraine what they need when they need it. with regard to gaza and the humanitarian situation, the humanitarian situation remains dire for people in gaza. we have seen changes, some positive changes, but the net

effect is not there. the positive changes are of course, crossings in the north have been opened recently including tech came. we have a route from jordan getting trucks in. if you look at the number of trucks actually getting to gaza and going in, that's up significantly. but, distribution within gaza is not working effectively. part of the reason for that is the combat operations in the south. in addition, there propagate content -- the rafah gate continues to be closed. president biden secured a deal with israel and egypt to ensure goods coming from egypt but rafah remains closed -- the real problem. so, the focus we have, continue to have come and work on intensively every day is, again, making sure we are not just measuring inputs, but measuring impact. yes, the impact remains

insufficient in terms of addressing the acute needs of children, women, and men in gaza. but, it is a moving story every day as we work intensively to make sure different access points are working and distribution within gaza is working effectively and that is what we are focused on. reporter: why wouldn't you use that leverage? the united states provides 70% of weapons to israel. esident biden specifically conditioned it. secretary blinken: the issue is such that the conditions are fective distribution of aid is being impeded. are there. there are ways of doing this more effectively. we are trying to get results. that is what i am focused on. for the next question, the

financial times. reporter: thank you, mr. secretary. we hope ukraine hopes and in some regards expects an invitation to join nato at the summit. we know your administration and other countries this summer. what real, tangible things can you offer to ease that disappointment and avoidagain aw from kyiv? secretary blinken: at the last summit ukraine will become a member of nato. our purpose is now to put in place the bridge to bring ukraine closer to, and ultimately into nato. as i have said, this is a bridge

that i think you will see emerge at the summit that is both very strong and very well lit. there will bepackage of support for ukraine at the summit. it will be a package that strengthens nato's cooperation t advances ukraine's integration into nato. tangible steps that will increase nato's role in helping ukraine build a future force that can deter and defend against aggression. at the same time i think that you will see the completion of bilateral security agreements among 32 countries engaged in doing that. i expect all come together at the summit as well and help ensure ukraineoperly re to defend itself. but, this is a process. and we are proceeding very methodically. we are proceeding in a way delivering practical benefits to ukraine, including advancing its

membership to nato in very clear, practical ways. hudson with the washington post. reporter: thank you. mr. secretary, you don't do domestic politics. but, you do represent the united states on the world stage. what are you hearing from foreign counterparts about the guilty verdict in that donald trump trial? sec. blinken: i really have nothing to share on that. we have a diplomatic conversations that will remain just that, diplomatic conversations in private. reporter: former president trump's trial was defined by his efforts to castigate and delegitimize a court of law. doesn't that give you pause about how the biden administration has responded to another court of law, the international criminal court, as well as the international court of justice with regards to gaza? senator blinken: i won't comment on the first part of your question because as i have long

said, i don't do politics, i do policy. with regards to the icc we have been very clear. the decision the prosecutor made was, in our judgment, profoundly wrongheaded. and, in creating equations between hamas and israel, hamas's leaders and israel's democratically elected leaders, as i said, and we have said, it is quite frankly shameful. the reality is the court was created for a very good reason, to be a court of last resort. one that would swing into action where a country either could not or would not effectively police itself. so, the principal a country code not or would not police itself. it is at the heart of the court's creation and what it does. in israel you have a vibrant,

independent, and very active judicial system and in the case of gaza there are many incidents that are under investigation, including some under criminal ation. there is a case before the israeli supreme court about election denial of humanitarian assistance for gaza. israel and its system, its democratic system, independent sports -- independent courts and judges as well as the military justice system that can effectively investigate any allegations of abuse, that should be allowed to run its course. given that, never mind the fact we don't have the jurisdiction of the court over israel, but leaving that aside, israeli

justice should be allowed to run its course. i think it is deeply unfortunate that israel was prepared to cooperate with the investigation even while rejecting the jurisdiction of the court. the prosecutor chose not to pursue that cooperation. >> the kremlin has put out a statement shows -- that says the trial shows -- they're trying to use this as a way to besmirch the american legal system. how would you say that -- i would you respond to that? sec. blinken: i which a that is a projection. -- i would say that is a projection. >> and the last question. >> you've mentioned china and how they are propping up the russian war economy. without deliveries from china,

russia would not have been able to conduct the war against ukraine the way they do. is there anything you can do about it and if yes what are you planning to do about ic. blinkeg ally after ally was seized with. we have already taken action against chinese entities that have been involved in sanctions invasion and supporting russia's defense industrial base including sanctioning more than 100 chinese entities at one time or another. as necessary we will continue to do that. from what i heard■o today, europeans are very seized with this and i would expect to take -- i would expect to see actions taken by europe. i come back to this proposition that is so clear.

russia, getting the support from china is a huge difference maker right now on the battlefield. for china have better relations with countries in europe while fueling what i believe is the biggest threat and what europeans believe is the biggest threat to their security since the end of the cold war does not add up. i think that will continue to have consequences. thank you all. >> today, nasa officials hold a prelaunch news conference on bowen's first spacecraft, the boeing star liner. this will be the first crude flight to the national space station. watch live from the kennedy space center beginning at 1:00 on c-span, c-span now, or online at c-span.org.

>> today, watch c-span story to campaign trail. a weekly roundup of c-span's campaign coverage, a one stop shop around what candidates around the country are saying to voters, poll numbers, fundraising data come in campaign ads. watch c-span's 2024 campaign trail today at 7:30 eastern on c-span, online at c-span.org, or download as a podcast on our free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. c-span, you're free unfiltered view of politics. >> anyone not worry is not paying attention. th is reason enough to be already worried about what we have seen, but as we are here today doing this panel and

having these otherspeak to us, e are peopleinterrupt come interf, distort elections, not just in united states but around the world. >> we are coming off being in the spotlight in 2020. rising to the situation but also clearly when people with guns showed up outside my home in december and i'm inside with my four-year-old son turned up a safe, that israel. they showed up there just like they should up at the capital on january 6 because they've been lied to. that is an election cycle where those lies will be turbocharged through ai and we have to empower citizens to stand with us for not being pulled in pushing back on misinformation. >> former u.s. equity of state hillary clinton and michigan secretary of state jocelyn