these actions and comments were not directed toward the president. reporter: the united nations is following very carefully the refugee situation along the -- --nmar -- the pilot the long-lived -- -- the bangladesh-myanmar border. did they speak about the refugee situation? was the president asked for further help? what was the tenor of their conversation? press sec. sanders: they had a very productive conversation. we will have a readout with more details this afternoon, and we will be around the rest of today to answer questions. and with that, happy friday. hope you guys have a good weekend. thanks. announcer: president trump met with you and secretary-general

antonio guterres the white house. following the meeting, the president spoke briefly to reporters. pres. trump: thank you very much. it is great to have the secretary-general with us. we have become friends, even before i was doing what i am doing right now. we knew each other. you have done a very, very spectacular job at the united nations. i can to you, speaking for the united states, we appreciate it. i know you are working with our ambassador. nikki is a very unique -- is in a very unique class. we want to thank you for the job you're doing. it is an honor to have you. thank you very much for being here. a lot to discuss. mr. guterres: thank you very much mr. president. i'm extremely grateful, first of all, for the support you have given us inroads into our reform process and the general assembly. i am a true believer that we live in a messy world, but we

need strong reform, a modernized u.n. we need a strong united states engagement based on its traditional values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and we need very strong cooperation between the u.s. and the u.s. -- the u.s. in the human -- and the u.n. pres. trump: i have to say, the united nations has tremendous potential. it has not been used over the be, years as it should but the united nations, more of anything i could think of -- and i will tell you i happen to think the united states, even as well as we are doing right now, has additionally tremendous potential. we have just started. but the unit conditions -- but the united nations has this great -- it is almost an hour to bring people together like nothing else. it hasn't been used. you are starting to really get your arms around it.

i have a feeling things are going to happen with the united nations like you haven't seen before. to have this group of nations in one location with one person, which is you, leading it strongly, i think in terms of world peace and other things, and many other things you're are working on, i wish you luck because the potential you have is really unlimited. good luck. mr. guterres: thank you very much. you need luck and you need talent, and he's got the talent. i will report back to you in about seven years. [laughter] pres. trump: thank you all very much. much.you all very reporters: [indiscernible] pres. trump: thank you very much. >> rise for a moment and

stretch. close your eyes. trust me. i want you to stretch your imagination. open your eyes. that is how fast it happens. in a blink, no warning. announcer: sunday night on "q and a," executive director of her life veterans of america and retired u.s. marine corps officer talks about his own paralysis and his work to help paralyzed vets. >> i am trying to tell them, this is the problem. this is what i see from a patient's perspective, from a policy perspective, from an advocate's perspective, you have to improvise. -- you have to empathize. announcer: sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's "q&a."

now the french defense minister on the iran nuclear agreement, national security strategy, local terror threats, and a proposal for a joint european union defense force. this is an hour. heather: well good morning. welcome to the center for strategic and international studies. my name is heather conley, senior vice president here at csis. we are absolutely delighted to be able to welcome her ,xcellency florence parly minister for the armed forces of france. minister parly exited her responsibilities on june 21 of

this year, so for months into the job -- so four months into the job. 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 america's closest military, security, and foreign policy partners, this document really articulates some of the great challenges of our time and france's priorities and how to focus on them. before i welcome the minister to the podium, the minister has had such a distinguished career in public service, serving as a senior budget advisor to prime s, holding senior national at france's state owned rail company and air france. the minister knows logistics and brings that skill set to the

ministry. before i turn this over to her, i just want to pause for a thent and reflect over events of the last few weeks. on october 4, many americans awoke to the news that we had u.s. forces in niger, that they were on a counterterrorism operation in great and strong cooperation with france and its counterterrorism operation 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 the most, just as much as french aircraft flew over the skies after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. these are moments to reflect.

this is why this conversation is so important, why it is so important that minister parly is here to help us understand france's strategic defense and national security priorities. so with that, on this beautiful fall day, please join me in welcoming her. [applause] ms. parly: 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 world's number one think tank for international security

by the think tank index and your analysis is compulsory reading in paris. i should also add, as a statement of interest, that we have fantastic 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 side-by-side 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 nato's 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 mccown's 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. i've talked with him on a few occasions recently and i've been impressed by his authority, his charisma and his depth. i've 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 high-intensity 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 don't 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 everyone can become isvinced that assistance necessary. i would be happy if you all co in help us spread the word the beltway. -- we have an interns cooperation with the u.s. on terror and intelligence.

i hope it will be strengthened. one day perhaps all the untold story of thisi hope it will be l be told. that day, we will have reasons to be proud. lives would be dull if there was only terror. places come to mind -- iran and north korea. noticed thehave president's statements. the leaders of germany, france, and the u.k. have reiterated the urgent recommendation to stick jcpoa and curbing iran's

missile program and regional activities. we need the jcpoa. dropping out would be a gift to iran's hard-liners, and a first step toward future wars. but we should also be extremely serious about the destabilizing ballistic regional activities. we are working on it. the issue is now in congress. france has no desire to be embroiled in u.s. domestic our position on the agreement is clear. share u.s.rea, we concerns with recent developments. a europeanlong been theer on sanctions against

dprk. we were instrumental in passing the latest package of eu measures. more pressure is necessary for any future negotiations towe weg be latest package of meaningful. the question though, is, do sanctions come too late? and how far is china willing to go? the third thing i have on my mind is how well we cooperate dith the u.s. and nato, an european security more broadly. france is a responsible nato ally. -- we are onrstand a clear path toward reaching 2% of gdp expenses.

they are a war fighting percentage. although not all of our efforts are in nato, it all contributes to nato security, whether in the south or the north atlantic, where our navy cooperates to combat threats. beyond this, we strongly believe more torope must do defend themselves. in that spirit, the french president recently decided to launch a european initiative called the european intervention initiative. key to thelso been permanent structured cooperation and european defense fund.

i would be happy to expand on it further. i would like to conclude with a slightly more global outlook, if you may. france has just concluded a strategic review of her security environment at the request of the french president. we face growing security in in multiple areas around the world. these challenges call for new assure on how to best our security, which is why we launched this strategic review. will serve as a basis for the multiyear defense oad that we will

establish, defense appropriation for the next five years. i would like to give you a primer on some of its findings. is that thing i can say it is bleak. risks we arend identifying now materialized than expected. europe faces a great concentration of challenge tha e the end of the cold war. exposed,lt, france is and its armed forces are fully committed, if not overstretched. are currently four beaches.

fourin response to organizatios like al qaeda and their affiliates, we lead the counterterrorism effort in mali, and helped stabilize the country, and contributed to the security and stability of the entire region. the u.s.articipate in ntd coalition in the leva and french forces and french forces are also heavily committed on our national territory, participating directly in the direction of homeland. the latest terrorist attack reminded everyone a few weeks ago. beyond this commitment, the review clearly states that we must remain vigilant in four

other regions of concern. the belgians, which are still fragile. safari in africa, where structural weaknesses and ongoing crises require preventative action. the mediterranean sea, where we bothhe convergence of security issues such as migration and terroristic activities, and defense issues considering the return of traditional power politics and the concentration of military assets. where several arms races are taking place. involving in some cases nuclear weapons, even though this crucial region doesn't have any credible security architecture.

the environment is more unstable and more unpredictable. the observer worrying tendency to challenge and we can international norms. environment is often at stake. with state and environment is often at stake. with state and nonstate actors having increasing access to advanced military resources, western armed forces superiority will probably be eroded. we expect future operations to be more difficult and more costly. to address a growing number of common challenges, france must have two objectives. one, two preserve our strategic autonomy, and second, to help build a stronger europe and

stronger alliance. preserving our strategic autonomy will require to renew nuclearponents of our deterrents. also to appropriate efforts in terms of knowledge, nuclear deterrents. d td to retain a full spectrum and balanced military. forcesicular, french should be capable of the utmost action with respect to nuclear deterrence. the protection of our home territory and its and intellige, an approaches, as well as for intelligence command operations, special and cyberspace.

i also want to point out that retaining certain key capabilities such as nuclear deterrence, and the full-spectrum military provides france the legitimacy that is critical to forge thenerships and uphold stabilities of a framework nation. by the same rationale, france must remain a major technological power with a solid defense industry and technological base. supporting this innovation and harnessing innovation from the key inial sector will be

preserving our military survivability in the long run. it is one of my key priorities as minister for the armed forces. however, facing such a daunting set of present and future challenges, france cannot do everything alone. it would like to see europe and strengthened, based on the number of common security interests we share with our european partners. strengthenedaccordingly, we sul going eu and nato talks and initiatives, such as the one i mentioned earlier, provided they deliver actual result. will require a buildup and corresponding financial effort. i mentioned that we are on a

path toward 2% in defense expenses. france raisedady, its defense budget by over 1.8 billion euros in 2018. i know this is france raised its less than the pentagon's laundry bill, but in france, this is a significant 5% increase. i would like to conclude with this -- don't underestimate those single-digit billions. from what i have seen, when you invest in the french military, you really get a bang for your buck. thank you for your attention.

i am ready for your questions. >> [applause] >> madam minister, we got a lot of bang out of our buck for that. my colleagues, i am stealing the phrase "more tank thank think." we put a lot of think in. i would like to pose a few questions. we have a fantastic audience that i know has additional questions from that very rich offering you just provided us. i would like to start with your fire in the middle east. in some ways, we are about to be the victim of our success. --the anti-isis coalition the victories in iraq, now

moving towards other places, we have two challenges as i see them. clearly, we still have foreign fighters that are being squeezed. hey have to go somewhere. you have expressed strong comments about the french citizens that are foreign fighters in syria, how to address that challenge, terrorism and the homeland security part of that. the second part of my question, what does syria look like? we will have an assad regime that controls parts of syria iraniansian and support. president putin's comments about the normative regime, putting that into question, what is the serial we want after we are successful? -- the syria we want after we

are successful? minister parly: that is a good question. i am sorry because my statements about remaining terrorists in syria was not too strong and expressed in a diplomatic way. i am quite new in this job, so sorry for that. are committed -- we have been committed in this area, along with the coalition, for some years now. ,e are fighting terrorism wherever the path of the terrorists. we could not care less whether they are french or syrians or whatever, they are terrorists. they are threatening muslims.

my statement was just to say, we are combating everyone. successful,t is that is good news. nowb, back to your question. syria is probably the most difficult. as you said, iraq is progressing. isthe kurds issue stabilized, which is not yet , but probably if this is the case, iraq will be able to step-by-step reunifying the country. reunify reunify the country. it will take time. in syria, we don't know. the country has been completely

destroyed. on theime is progressing west part of the -- west part of syria. period, therethis will be a political one. i really don't know what will happen. it is clear we have nothing to say about bashar. we are absolutely convinced that this country needs political solutions, and this political solution is not available. that is one of the key issues we will discuss. we need also to share a common vision about what comes next, what comes next for the coalition and if the coalition setting, what its

does it mean? sorry if your question was not answered. >> we will keep working as we appreciate your comments. let me turn to europe a bit. understand what strategic autonomy means in the french sense of the nuclear understanddeterrent and the sp. that term has been adopted in the strategic autonomy. president macron mentioned that in his speech. i'm having trouble understanding what strategic autonomy means in the european union setting. does this mean that the eu can a ct independently from nato, from the u.s.? reflection.s a

i think many in washington do not appreciate after the horrible terror attacks and harris -- -- terror attacks in paris, president hollande invoked -- by invoking that, did that do what the french government wanted it to do? --t european invention intervention initiative, david put eu defense into the mix? help us understand that. minister parly: for the time being, there is a growing conscious within the european member states that their security is at stake. it is not only one country within europe, but potentially all, and europe as an entity is fromat stake viewed

terrorists. moment, aare at the potent moment to trigger. this was a concept that was thoroughly discussed in the past. i was not there at the time -- i was told. more and moreing not a concept, but a reality. we made collectively major steps. i mentioned that european defense fund, which is something , that was onw conceivable a few years ago -- a fear years ago. europeans understand their

security is something they have to look at, and they have to take care of it. that is the first point. the second is, above that, tosident macron would like create solidarity between all countries who are willing and a battlefield, because they would consider it as necessary. for the time being, this has a long process. the processes are not yet completely set. this initiative meant that yes, a quick andave operational process to put together different military forces if there is a need for

it. hollandeoned president asking for solidarity when we went to mali. to carry if we were out such an operation in a different theater, ideally we would like to do it not alone, butng them for solidarity, doing it with other european countries or any countries who would be willing and able. heather: this is still being formed. it is potentially very exciting. as the migration crisis continues to roll europe politically, as we are seeing in

many european elections, could this european intervention initiative, this type of readiness, could it be used by a more robust border security prevention of smugglers, traffickers? that seems to me such an important issue. europe has grappled with that. competency, but it needs to be shared. minister parly: that is the purpose of -- is to allow the military forces of the five countries concerned -- niger, mauritania, mali, to take into account their own security.

that is what we are doing in dakar with the support of the u.s. and others, germany and spain. succeed in implementing a powerful and efficient military force from the region, then we will not be efficient. assignments of thishe force is also to control the borders. allowed to go be back and forth across borders to make sure that we can track efficiently trafficking and terrorists. of course, it is huge work. and for sure, even with very strong support from allies, we

will never succeed. a localitely need initiative. that is why i underline that much. we need your support as a community, just to help juststand this is not isey poured in the sense, it something that will happen. the operation that is prepared in the coming days will be a first training to demonstrate that this is possible. heather: the g5 will be such a critical test of some new initiatives. last question before we turn to the audience. one thing you and secretary mattis can jointly talk about is

the challenge of readiness. one thing youlooking at the mape ministry provided, over 30,000 french forces deployed worldwide. 4000 of those are in high intensity situations. if i understand correctly, over 10% of the french military actually deployed internally to france to provide the necessary homeland security aspect against terrorist acts. this is a huge challenge of just maintaining that operational tempo, that readiness. as you mentioned in the strategic review, the average length of operations are 10 to 15 years. we don't budget for 10 to 15 years. huge set of challenges. where are your priorities in making sure that french

militaries -- they were not necessarily designed to guard churches and train stations -- but that they can be rapidly deployed if they are required? minister parly: we have up to 10,000 soldiers protecting the homeland. what we decided a few weeks ago is to redesign the process, because we have to take care of our stations permanently, churches and everything, but we also have to be more flexible already to intervene wherever it is necessary, and whenever. we have to work with mobility. that matches completely with what our soldiers ask for. toy are not trained exactly

remain stable. run, to useined to force. -- i would not say satisfied, but they know this is necessary. so we try to make the best use of this force, because it has costs of course. a huge army like the u.s. has, and we have to be present in our national territory, but also very much present, and with a lasting , given we can discuss that with general mattis when we are working together. heather: colleagues, let me

welcome you into the conversation. if you could raise your hand, identify your self and your affiliation. please keep your question short so we can take as many as possible. if you could raise yoursometimed to hear. if you could speak clearly directly into the microphone, that would help us. i'm going to go across this way. if we could have a microphone over here, please. keep those hands up so we can see. please stand up and give us your name. >> led a minister, thank you for being with us despite your cold. wilsone woodrow international center for scholars, where we also received french scholars. my concern listening to your words is that the european defense initiative would appear to be an alternative to nato.

the 27, 28 members, but this new initiative would exclude turkey and the united states. what assurance can you give to us that you are not setting up an alternative defense initiative? heather: you will take a separate -- we will take a separate question. >> i am with search for common ground. macrontioned president takes civil society very seriously. sub-saharaning in africa, how you would engage civil societies and security arrangements. heather: thank you. we will take one more and we will pause. sorry, i an assistant

professor at the john hopkins school of international studies. i had a question regarding the european intervention force. i was wondering what mission it would be designed for, if it is an expeditionary mission, and how it could build on work that has been done as part of the framework with the u.k. letd expeditionary forcd -- u.k.-led expeditionary force which includes the netherlands, estonia. heather: is the eu defense plan an alternative to nato? how can we engage civil society in sub-saharany africa and part of counterterrorism activities? and the initiative, how can it in sub-saharan africa and part of counterterrorism activities? be combined with the joint expeditionary forces? you can tell there is a lot of interest in the european defense plan. minister parly: i will be extremely short, and will share

a strong conviction. fromu initiative coming france asking for other european countries to be able to go together wherever they need is not undermined in nato -- not all.mining nato, not at why? europe invests in its own protection and security, that day europe contributes even more to its to nato.t so this is something which is completely -- that can be combined, and not be opposed. so i have absolutely no doubt that this is not meant to

undermine the nato commitment, not at all. this is just meant to be more as europeans, we feel insecure not only on the eastern part of europe, but also in the southern part of your. we have to deal with those two constraints. about the european initiative -- about what the european initiative can do. stage, i don't have any examples to provide of mentioned, if i this european initiative had existed when we started to go to

this would have been a good example of what this initiative could have done if it had existed. operation, of course. it could be a smaller one. what i have not mentioned in my answer is about the financing of it. said europe is working hard in building a european defense , but itich is new doesn't mean europe is now ready to finance all of its member states in its day-to-day operations abroad. this is one serious question we have to solve at the european

level. that is why president macron s aid, we are financing that on our own, but we would like very much to extend this financing to european contribution as well. not means we should be able to -- that means we should be able to revisit some processes which are not aimed at doing so. heather: we have three questions in the back. herminister will then give closing remarks. >> hi, and the reporter with politico. washington has been somewhat cool on the g5 project before. there is talk that the u.s. position might change on this. do you plan to talk about this topic with secretary mattis

today, and do you have any sense momentum might be changing from the u.s. side? heather: thank you. morning.od i will piggyback on the last question. if you could talk more about what you will discuss with general mattis today, and second of all, you talked about the french defense industry as a key priority for you. can you talk more about weapon sales from french companies around? sellca is trying to warplanes to argentina, frigates to colombia and a record. -- and uruguay. >> good morning, i am from the embassy of italy. talking about the migration crisis in the mediterranean, do you see france working closer with italy to save lives and prevent migrant trafficking? heather: excellent questions.

if you want to preview some conversation you will have with secretary mattis. you will have that meeting later today,then migration, bilateral cooperation with italy. minister parly: yes, we will discuss this with general mattis. it is of utmost importance. i am pretty sure that general will be -- knows we are strongly committed. it is a very demanding fight. we need tocommitted. find support everywhere we can. i am not sure it is so important to discuss the way to support it.

whatever it comes from -- the u.n. or bilateral support we already have from the u.s. -- but that we would try to increase, of course. otherwise, in five years from now, the situation i would com mend to you, if you would invite me again-- heather: done. minister parly: we would say the situation has not made much progress, and if we don't make progress, terrorists will. we are migration crisis, with our italian allies.

we are with them. i have an extremely good relationship with my counterpart in italy. that it is a place of concern for italy. we are working also to find solutions, to find ways to avoid both trafficking and illegal , and the treatment that happens in this area. we are clear on these issues as weare with all the others discussed about cooperation within the european framework.

italy, germany, spain are our best support in europe to initiative. this heather: do you want to say anything about the defense industrial component? you have seen a lot. heather: do you want to say of vibrancy, whether that is in india, argentina, elsewhere. minister parly: much smaller than the american ones. we definitely have a defense industry. because itd of it, autonomy webasis of are building every day and trying to keep. as with any country having a we must alsotry,

export. i would say that is necessary. that is a business model, otherwise you need an enormous to get theoney abilities, the technologies that are needed today. to get the so yes, sometimes we succeed in exporting our weapons and military systems. of course we have to be extremely cautious. is it safe to do it? do we comply with international rules? of course we have to do that. setthese rules are accordingly. we do our best to comply with them. heather: madam minister, thank you so much.