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Secretaries Pompeo Mattis with Canadian Foreign Affairs and Defense... CSPAN December 14, 2018 9:22pm-9:55pm EST

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judiciary and the public. there are efforts going on around the country by lawyers, but it is also the code of conduct that governs in all 50 states. the preamble says lawyers should further the public's confidence in the rule of law, because they depend on popular participation and support to maintain their authority. that is part of the obligation .f lawyers as well a ms. bannon: join me in thanking this eminent panel. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] on saturday, i discussion about the role of special counsels with ken starr, who

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served as special counsel in the whitewater and lewinsky investigations, live at 2:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span.org, or listen on our free c-span radio app. >> secretary of state mike pompeo and secretary of defense james mattis held a joint press conference with their canadian counterparts after a meeting at the state department. they discussed combating isis send a new trade agreement between the u.s., canada and mexico. secretary pompeo: thank you for being here. secretary mattis and i are pleased to welcome our canadian counterparts to washington. welcome. and it is myt day, honor to host the state department to plus two strategic

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dialogue. plus twodepartment two strategic dialogue. we have achieved a lot together. comes after the historic signing of the united states, canada, mexico agreement. i want to thank you for your efforts to make this happen. a modernizes nafta to address 21st century economy, opportunities for u.s. farmers and manufacturers and reduce trade barriers. the four of us discussed how we can build off this, take this achievement and make progress on a world wide range of issues. we discussed joint efforts to ensure north america is protected by our militaries in close cooperation with one another.

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we discussed bilateral cooperation to promote security by countering property transfers , intellectual property theft and other attempts to acquire technology. this will enhance security by preserving military capabilities. the joint efforts support a comprehensive trading relationship and millions of jobs, in addition to domestic priorities. we worked through global issues. we talked about our work as members of nato, discussed our i expressedukraine, concern over russian aggression , where it of azov rammed and opened fire on ukrainian vessels. we discussed our shared commitment to improving security and iraq, where our nations have made tremendous sacrifices.

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i spoke of applying pressure on the iranian regime. great to talk about how we have worked closely together on north korea. counterparts are enforcing all un security council resolutions and encouraging other countries to .aintain pressure as well o disagreements undoubtedly arise, but our countries always work closely together to resolve these challenges. i'm confident that as rough patches him or, we will work through those challenges. i would like to turn it over to the foreign minister. .> thank you, mike [speaking french] hello, everyone. thank you for being here. would like to thank secretary

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of state pompeo and secretary of defense mattis for their warm welcome. canada and the u.s. have one of the closest relationships in the entire world. we are allies and partners in areas such as trade, border protection, and hemispheric defense and international especially through nato and norad. i would like to thank our hosts for giving us this opportunity as wellss these topics, as other issues of common interest. inre are no closer partners the world than canada and the united states. the world's longest undefended border and are each other's largest export market your it since the second world war we have built international

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order and fought for international democracy. spend timeasure to with our u.s. colleagues in washington to discuss our bilateral relationship and global challenges. number of issues around foreign policy, defense and international security that reflect the deeply-shared values that unite our two countries. we discussed china and the case huawei cfl. we agree the most important thing we can do is uphold the m e of law, ensure that ms. eng's right to due process is respected, and the judicial process in canada remains a tical.cal -- remains apoli

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we also discussed the detentions of two canadians. we expressed condemnation of russian harassment of ukrainian shipping, and recent aggressive ukrainianinst three vessels on november 25, and the imprisonment of ukrainian sailors. we call on russia to release the sailors. >> we touched on some hemispheric issues, including authoritarian regime that is causing a dangerous crisis in venezuela, troubling developments in nicaragua. we took the opportunity to reiterate our support for the united states' efforts towards a denuclearized korean peninsula and our efforts in the area of sanctions evasion. in an ever-changing global it's important that countries are able to respond to

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flagrant violations of the international order. u.s. both have legislation and we discussed ways to work together even more closely in this area. nato,ounding member of canada will continue to do its part for transatlantic security. my colleague will speak to some of the important work that we're doing alongside the u.s. and nato and as part of the global coalition to defeat daesh. spoke about our trading relationship. we talked about the fact that we now have a modernized trade agreement. for our continent. i do agree with mike that this good deal for all three countries. i would be remiss if i didn't theion the fact that minister and i did raise one of those difficult bilateral issues that mike referred to. the u.s. in position of steel tariffs.num canada continues to take the view that these tariffs are unjust and illegal.

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and we spoke to our partners about how the national security justification for these tariffs, is inconsistent with our close relationship. today with the ambassador and we also discussed tariffs this morning. the close relationship between canada and the united states is anddel for integration creative collaboration on the world stage. and today was a great weortunity to talk about how can work even more closely andther on our continent around the world. i'd like to thank you again, secretary pompeo, secretary hosting us. canada deeply values and partnership and opportunities to continue to work even more closely together. my pleasure to publicce a tremendous servant, great friend of canada, secretary mattis. you, minister freeland.

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i echo secretary pompeo's amment that ours was discussion among friends. themin and i last -- minister and i last saw one another in ottawa. signals howmeeting our two militaries work to stay closely aligned on a range of worldwide. for americans, an enduring canada.with in my case, it is familial. tomother's family emigrated america after my grandfather was wounded in action in world canadian infantry. canadian and american forces have fought alongside each other great war at normandy, kandahar, afghanistan, following our country.k on today we continue our cooperation in pursuit of our mutual security. united in the north american air defense command, and u.s. fighters guard the skies above north and our 360 million

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people. we are united in nato where we unity and stand with european allies against the full of russian influence to include moscow's recent contempt of international law in the strait and action against the ukrainian people. and u.s. trainers in ourern ukraine and battalions represent our combined efforts to deter further provocative activity. canada and the united states are united in security because we united in democracy. and democracies stick together for the common defense. focused on enhancing our already strong cooperation in a number of areas that you've about from foreign military sales to sanctions coordination. pompeo, i amy grateful for canada's leadership unanimous u.n. security council resolutions on sanctions that support the of north korea.

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regarding the middle east, we affirmed the need to continue against isis and to maintain support to our partners , an approach that's endorsed by 16 nations we met in ottawa.eek we are devolving our defeat isis coalition because we must not into complacency, recognizing that isis remains a enemy, as itist adapts to the crushing loss of caliphate.l to close, americans observed veterans day. remembrance today. whatever the name, we recall the many instances when the maple and stripes stars have flown side by side against threats to our shared values. i am confident canada and the united states will continue to work shoulder to shoulder, now and in the future. isister sajjan, the floor

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yours. >> thank you, secretary mattis and pompeo for your being tremendous hosts. secretary mattis and i also share another mutual is we'reding, which both from the west coast as well. which he reminded me of early on. as my colleague said, we have had a productive meeting to our shared defense priorities. the united states is canada's most important ally and defense partner. our relationship is longstanding, deeply entrenched multi-facetted. our relationship was forged on the battlefield, fighting side by side. it is rooted in our shared values,y, in our common in our historic connections and in our highly integrated economies. it is unique in its levels of integration and military to military cooperations at all levels and across the globe. the united states military stand shoulder to shoulder to protect and defend of our citizens.

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norad is the most notable example of this cooperation. have been working together seamlessly for over 60 years to protectnception north america against current and future threats. our military are highly operable. we are constantly learning from each other through our international exercises. we provide collective transatlantic defense through nato. are participating in multi-national efforts to enforce sanctions against north korea. at the u.n. command in korea, second-largest contributor after the u.s. general err ayers became the first canadian to hold the post of deputy canada. counter-isised the meeting in ottawa and we discussed the next steps to lasting defeat of daesh and its networks. remains committed to the

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coalition. this is evident through our operation impact and our the nato training mission in iraq. canadaland mentioned, also supports ukraine's sovereignty, integrity in the russian aggression. we have trained more than 10,000 ukrainian soldiers. we have aboutime, 8 -- over 800 forces, members deployed. and they're supporting nato deterrence, measures in eastern central europe, alongside our american allies. canada is also leading nato's battle group, similar to the u.s. presence in poland. extended thisly mission by four years. pacific region, canada is working with the u.s. and other partners on regional security and defense cooperations. and ladies and gentlemen, these are just a few examples of the and breadth of the canada-u.s. defense partnership. our cooperation offers both

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countries greater securities and we will always remain strong evens and partners and better friends. thank you. >> we now have time for a few questions. reporter to each please limit your question to one and no follow-ups, please. the first question, i'd like to call on the bbc. >> a question to the secretaries of state. toterday the senate voted withdraw troops from yemen or to end u.s. military involvement tore, i should say, and unanimously censor mohammad bin salman as responsible for the killing. whawhat is your response? what action will you take? afford to ignore this? and to the canadian foreign minister, are you concerned that trump's comments linking trade in the case

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thatsts the perception canada is acting on the american's behalf in a trade war, and are you worried that canada is becoming collateral what is a trade tension between china and united states? because china has arrested canadians, but on the other suspend has agreed to tariffs on u.s. cars. >> we always have great respect legislative branch does. we are in constant contact with members of capitol hill so we understand their concerns and do our level best to articulate why our policies are what they are, to make sure we're getting the right policy for the united states of america to keep our safe.y we'll certainly do that in light of yesterday's vote. and president trump has been about the importance, not only importance of holding accountable those who murdered

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jamal khashoggi but the importance of protecting american citizens. hundreds of thousands of people killed andanians been involved in their death all across the middle east. risk to the united states of america. the iranians and their explosive hundreds ofed american soldiers. and president trump is determined to make sure that we protect america all the while holding accountable those who committed the heinous murder of jamal khashoggi. add that besides that vote yesterday in the senate, which we respect, there progress announced by the u.n. secretary general in war -- endo ends the the war, which required our engagement with all the parties and a strategic approach to ending that war that has gone on too long. >> okay. when it comes to the case of the detention of miss meng, canada

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a rule of law country. we believe in honoring our international treaty commitments. and in respecting the rule of law and due process in our own country. of ms. meng, due process and rule of law in scrupeously -- screupeously followed. no politicaln interference in this process. it's very important for canada ms. meng be treated with fullrespect and be given process in canada. she has currently been, by the decision of a judge, released on bail. of law comes to the rule and due process in canada, including in extradition canada understands that

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the rule of law and extradition ever to bet not politicized or used as tools to resolve other issues. and that is the very clear canada expresses to all of its partners. havethe position which i explained, particularly with regard to rule of law in canada, conversation with the chinese ambassador to canada earlier this week. which all of us discussed today. and i do just finally want to say, because you've mentioned the two canadians who are china, it's really important to remember these are human beings. as foreign minister, i think for me and for the prime minister, are no issues that touch andore personally immediately than the detention of canadians outside our

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country. we're very, very seized of the issue. concerned about these two canadians and that is a concern that we discussed in our meeting today. [speaking foreign language] in -- freeland can answer ms. freeland can answer in french and english after. >> madam freeland, do you have currently that canada is paying a heavy price in thisng been involved chargedcase and having the c.f.o. of huawei. of our citizens have been arrested in china. do you have the imfrom etion you -- impression that you are being used currently and we are being stuck between the thisd states and china in trade war against your will and you are being used politically

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states?y by the united [speaking foreign language] >> i'm not in complete agreement way ite question, the for canada, because ofwas not the detention ms. meng -- it was not a political decision on canada's part. a matter of following the rules. it's a matter of obligations on canada to follow through with its obligations under international agreements. canada follows the rule of law. canada follows rules. it is very important. ofecially when there's a lot pressure on the very idea of

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whenracy in the world, there's a lot of pressure on international order. continue tothus follow the rules. our is a strong position of governments. by the same token, it is also for canada that extradition agreements are not for political purposes. canada does not do it that way. believe that it is obvious that democratic countries such our partner the u.s., do the same. talked about our shared values. is the fact that both countries, the u.s. and thata, are countries follow the rule of law. and follow rules in general.

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entirely agree with the framing of the question. canada, in detaining ms. meng, making a political judgment. in canada, there has been to this point no political interference in this issue at all. for canada, this is a question living up to our international treaty obligations following the rule of law in canada. hasthat is something which screupously. we discussed in our opening remarks how canada and united are countries with deeply shared democratic values. those democratic values include fact that in both countries we have a deep regard for the and of law and strong independent judiciaries. i think that's one of the reason

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that we feel comfortable with the existence of an extradition our twoetween countries. having said all of that, canada clearly of the view that the is --ition process extradition process is a criminal justice process. that shoulda tool be used for politicized ends. >> you can't ask me, but if i may, i'm going to answer you. [laughter] [speaking foreign language] >> i can't say much about the process, because we have a u.s. judicial process that is an -- underay, and way. the unlawful detention of two canadian citizens is unacceptable. they ought to be returned. the united states has stood for that, whether they're our or citizens of other countries. we ask all nations of the world properlyother citizens and the detention of these two canadian citizens in china ought to end.

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>> cnn. >> thank you, mr. secretary. i'd like to follow up on your remarks just now. it does seem as if china is the detentiono, of these two canadian citizens chip onof a bargaining the trade talks between the u.s. and china. think the minister alluded to that when she suggested that, you know, these type of detentions are so concerning and shouldn't be politicized. do you think that's what china is doing here? are you concerned that, with president trump's suggestion he might be willing to get involved in this other case of that thatn canada, further puts canada in a and kind oftuation puts canada in the middle of your trade dispute with china? thank you very much. >> yeah. i think the same question was asked previously. i don't see it that way.

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the united states is engaged in process.ition ms. meng traveled to canada. the canadians have taken her custody, now released her on bail, pending an extradition hearing. engage throughto legal processes to get the just outcome that's connected to that. we have a set of trade discussions that are ongoing with the chinese, as the chinese have said. we're working on that while all the other issues, not just this particular issue -- we have lots of complicated issues going on with china today, all around the we work on each of those to get good outcomes for the united states of america, respecting the rule of law each step along the way. well.do that here as >> next question, global mail. itminister, it's clear, seems, minister freeland, that these two canadians were

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detained as a chinese retaliation against the huawei situation. you sort of acknowledge that directly? as well, how is michael crawford doing, when your ambassador met with him in beijing? is theretary pompeo, anything that the u.s. is going to do to lean on china to get them to release these people have been detained, given that president trump has quite a relationship with president xi? >> yeah. work to get every citizen unlawfully detained all around the world returned to the country to which they have a right to go back to. we do this in cases for our own time. all the it's something, as chrystia weighs on those of us who serve, to make sure our have the opportunity to return home to their families. and we'll do it in this case as well. >> thank you for that, mike. have spoken this

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week with the chinese ambassador to canada and we have had many contacts with chinese authorities. chinese officials in their with canada have not drawn a connection between these issues.t from canada's perspective, these kinds of issues ought never to be confused with one another. in the detention of ms. meng, was, as i've said, acting screupeously in line with the law.of and as mike has said, the next step, while ms. meng is on bail vancouver, is for a canadian court and canadian judges to extraditionher the is warranted or not. course, canadian citizens, we will always advocate strongly

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for canadian citizens when they are detained abroad. cases of mr. kovig, our immediate concern has been to consular access to them and to understand what the charges are being put on them by chinese we areties and seeking -- advocating for them the, very aggressively to meet withs able thatetainee and we're glad that could happen. i've spoken also to family men.rs of both and i just want to say and reassure all canadians, but andcially the family detainees, this is a huge priority for our government. we are extremely seized of this issue. we fight for all

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canadians detained abroad. said,tually, as mike a all people unfairly detained abroad but we have a specific canadians.e to we fight for everybody. mr. kovig is also an employee of my department. he's well-known to many canadian diplomats. that makes it especially personal for us. [inaudible question] >> you know what? let -- i'm going to respect his privacy and the privacy of his family. with his family details of the meeting. >> thank you all for attending today. concludes our press conference.

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>> the government is running on temporary funding. the house, senate and white on a continue negotiations package for seven outstanding spending bills. live coverage next week of the u.s. house on c-span and the senate on c-span 2. from a capitole hill reporter. is arah ferris congressional reporter for politico. she joins us with the latest on talks to fund the government ahead of the december 21

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Secretaries Pompeo & Mattis with Canadian Foreign Affairs and Defense Ministers Speak to Reporters
CSPAN December 14, 2018 9:22pm-9:55pm EST

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis held a joint news conference with their Canadian counterparts after meeting at the State Department. They recapped their discussion which covered the trade agreement between the Unites States, Canada and Mexico, as well as defense and security issues of shared concern to both countries, including North Korea, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the continued fight against ISIS. The four officials answered a few questions from reporters which addressed issues including the two countries' positions on the status of an extradition request made by the U.S. of Canada for a Chinese technology company executive. Secretaries Pompeo and Mattis were also asked about votes in the Senate regarding U.S. involvement in the conflict in Yemen and condemnation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman for involvement in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

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