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Zelenskyy: U.S.-Ukraine Security Deal "Benefits Everyone in the World"; Biden to Putin: "You Cannot Wait This Out. You Cannot Divide Us". Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired June 13, 2024 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: Assets should be used for defending lives of Ukrainians from Russian terror and for repaying the damage aggressor caused to Ukraine. It's fair and absolutely right.

Mr. President, thank you, your team. I would also like to thank the United States Congress for their support -- both parties, both chambers.

Thank you. And thanks to every American heart that does not betray freedom and supports us.

Slava Ukraini.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now what we'll do is -- we're each going to take two questions from American reporters and two -- a question each from two American reporters and a question each from two Ukrainian supporter -- reporters.

The first person I'm to call on is Colleen Long with the Associated Press.

COLLEEN LONG, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Thank you. Thanks, Mr. President.

About two weeks ago, you changed course to allow Ukraine to fire U.S. weapons into Russia. Given the reported successes, would you consider further expanding the parameters on U.S. weapons into Russia even despite your concerns about escalation?

And on the news from home. You're going through something that so many American families go through -- the intersection of addiction and the criminal justice system -- but you're not like most families. Was your son able to get a fair trial? Do you believe the Justice Department operated independently of politics?

And for President ...

BIDEN: Let me answer your question ...

LONG: Okay.

BIDEN: ... then you ask his question. Okay?

LONG: Okay. BIDEN: With regard to the first question, it is clear that the near abroad, meaning just across the line of the border with Russia and Ukraine, that it makes a lot of sense for Ukraine to be able to take out or combat what is coming across that border. In terms of long- range weapons -- longer-range weapons into the interior of Russia, we have not changed our position on that sort.

With regard to the question regarding the family, I'm extremely proud of my son Hunter. He has overcome an addiction. He is -- he's one of the brightest, most decent men I know. And I am satisfied that -- I'm not going to do anything. I said I'd abide by the jury decision, and I will do that. And I will not pardon him.

LONG: President Zelenskyy, a number of leaders here in Italy, including President Biden, are facing upcoming election challenges. How will the security agreement signed tonight and the other promises of support continue if they are not in office? And what's your contingency plan if they don't?

ZELENSKYY (through interpreter): Thank you for this question. May I ask -- first and foremost, I'd like to thank the people of the nations. First and foremost, to the United States, to the countries in Europe and other -- on other continents who have supported us since the very beginning of the beginning of this absolutely unjust war of Russia against the people of Ukraine.

That -- and that is -- they -- they've been killing people that -- homes and territory, all that is very important. It is part of life. But first and foremost, we are speaking about people and lives of people, you understand. And this war was unjust since the very beginning, the war of this evil, whose name is Putin -- the war against the people of Ukraine. And he has killed so many people.

To say that it is not him, and it -- there was a military man who did it -- the last one is just an instrument of his. And he's playing this instrument.

And therefore, it is important for us that, since the very beginning, we were supported by people, by nations, because they understood that we share common values. We simply want to live, and the people understood. They imagined what will happen if such evil attacks them. And therefore, we were supported by people.

And I thank President Biden and other leaders who, since the very beginning of the invasion -- Putin's invasion -- started to support us. They -- based on their values, they were -- based on the voice of their people. And it is impossible without people.

And I am sure that this nation chooses leaders and presidents. And it seems to me that no matter whom the nation chooses, first and foremost, it seems to me that everything depends on the unity within this or that state.

[15:05:06]

And if the people are with us, any leader will be with us in this struggle for freedom.

BIDEN: Do you want to call on a Ukrainian reporter?

ZELENSKYY: Yes, yes. Yes, with pleasure. Thank you so much. (Foreign language).

INTERPRETER: Yes, please Inter.

Irina Ivanova, Inter TV channel.

IRINA IVANOVA, INTER TV CHANNEL: (INAUDIBLE) for both leaders. So, today, during the G7 meeting, the discussion focused on developing Ukraine's air defense system based on the most advanced Western complexes and also on enhancing long-range capabilities. So, my question is: Can you provide any details on the initiative and about the readiness of our allies to take part in it? Thank you.

BIDEN: I'd be happy to respond to that. We have acquired commitment from five countries so far for Patriot batteries and other air defense systems as well as we let it be known to those countries that are expecting from us air defense systems in the future that they're going to have to wait. Everything we have is going to go to Ukraine until their needs are met. And then we will make good on the commitments we made to other countries.

ZELENSKYY: I think President Biden already answered your question. Really, he knows and all our other partners, they know that urgently we need seven Patriot systems -- yes, to save our cities -- not all of them; it's a pity -- but urgently seven. And we discussed the possibility of having five of them, it's true. But the partners work on it.

It doesn't mean that tomorrow we will have these five systems, but we see, in the closest future, good result for Ukraine.

BIDEN: You'll have some relatively quickly.

American reporter. Josh Wingrove, Bloomberg.

JOSH WINGROVE, BLOOMBERG: Thank you, Mr. President. I have a question for Mr. -- or President Zelenskyy shortly on the announcements. But if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you about your discussions on the situation in Gaza here at the summit. You were asked just a short time ago about it, after the skydiving demonstration. Can you give us your assessment of Hamas' response? And do you believe that they are trying to work towards a deal, or is this response working against a deal? And what is your message to allies, including those here at the G7, about what more, if anything, the U.S. can do to drive towards a peace agreement? Thank you.

BIDEN: I wish you guys would, a little, play by the rules a little bit.

I'm here to talk about a critical situation in Ukraine. You're asking me another subject. I'll be happy to answer it in detail later. But the bottom line is that we've made an agreement -- I've laid out an approach that has been endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, by the G7, by the Israelis, and the biggest hang-up so far is Hamas refusing to sign on even though they have submitted something similar.

Whether it -- now to -- comes to fruition remains to be seen. We're going to continue to push. I don't have a final answer for you.

WINGROVE: And to President Biden's point, a question about today's discussions.

President Zelenskyy, the $50 billion today -- you've had the supplemental, of course, from the U.S. Congress recently. Can you give us an assessment of the situation on the battlefield right now? And what has been given now, how long will this get you in terms of either stopping the Russian advance or making headway on this? And how long will it last you if, indeed, future leaders or current leaders are unable to reach consensus on further aid packages?

And President Biden, I'd welcome your assessment of the situation currently on the battlefield and what difference the supplemental has made as well, sir.

Thank you.

ZELENSKYY (through interpreter): Thank you for your question. Indeed, we were expecting the fundamental package of this support was in the Congress of the United States of America. And truly, it was a long pause for our warriors, first and foremost, but it is important and we are grateful that, in the very end, we have this supplement, and this will for sure strengthen our warriors.

Yes, this has given the opportunity to the enemy within this pause to try to occupy Kharkiv, but that attempt was stopped by our warriors. They were repelled -- the enemy was repelled. And we, despite everything, disrupted all their plans. And it seems to me that that is the most important thing.

[15:10:05]

What this supplement that will arrive gives us: It enables us to fully equip the reserves -- those guys, those brigades that are ready -- so that they provide for the opportunity to rotate our units on the battlefield so that they can have some rest so that the brigades can regenerate so that other brigades enter the battlefield instead of them with equipment. This is what the supplement gives them.

So, the raise of morale but also the raise of strength of our brigades. And it seems to me that this is the most important.

For how long this will be enough -- look, we, without package, have been holding the lines for eight months, and the Russians had no successes. And, therefore, the question on for how long it will be enough -- no, I think the question has to be for how long the unity will last -- the unity in the United States together with the European leaders, how these or those elections will influence this unity.

It seems to me that we should look on this exactly this way: to preserve unity, to preserve the integrity of the world -- integrity of the democratic world. Because if Ukraine does not withstand, the democracy of many countries will not be able to withstand -- and I'm sure of that.

BIDEN: By the way, the idea that we had to wait until we passed the legislation overall, being held up by a small majority of our Republican colleagues, was just terrible. And there's a lot more money coming beyond what's already come in the other tranches that are available now that we passed the legislation. So, they'll have what they need and get it there as quickly as we possibly can.

ZELENSKYY: Thank you so much, Mr. President. (Foreign language).

INTERPRETER: Telegraf, please.

YAROSLAV ZHARYENOV, TELEGRAF UA: Good evening. My name is Yaroslav Zharyenov of Telegraf UA. Thank you for this opportunity. I have a long way from Kyiv and have enough time to prepare such long question.

Firstly, to Joe Biden. Mr. President, additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act that you signed mandated the submission of strategy war -- for the war in Ukraine within 45 days after its enactment.

This deadline passed on June 8th. And to now, yet, the international community has not seen this strategy. Has it been developed? And if the strategy is classified, what step does your administration plan to take to hasten Ukraine victory in the war?

It's my first question. The second will be to the President Zelenskyy.

BIDEN: What was the last part of your question?

ZHARYENOV: Has it been developed, this strategy? And what steps does your administration plan to take to victory Ukraine in the war?

BIDEN: The steps we're going to take to make sure it has -- Ukraine has victory and that Russia does not prevail is continued support -- what we just signed. We signed that and a significant number of nations have signed it.

We have convinced the G7 -- convinced -- we've got the support of the G7 and, quite frankly, 48 other countries. We sat with the Prime Minister of Japan, South Korea. We have 50 nations have signed up, beyond NATO and the G7.

And so, we're going to stay as long as it takes.

With regard to the plan, that is a plan in process now. We're discussing with our Ukrainian friends exactly what it would be. We have a lot of movement toward that. We know the outlines of it. We have not done the detail of it all. But we know what Ukraine is capable of doing when given the material to defend themselves, and that's exactly what they're doing now.

ZHARYENOV (through interpreter): And my second question is to President Zelenskyy. It will be in Ukrainian. Recently, you have made a couple of sharp statements regarding China, and there are rumors in the press regarding the possible supplies of Russia's weapons to China. Apart from that, China is actively promoting its own peace plan among certain countries. What are the motives of Beijing now? And would it be possible to change the vision of China regarding our war and which role the U.S. can play in this?

And the final question. Is China a partner of Russia in these crimes that it commits?

ZELENSKYY (through interpreter): (INAUDIBLE) I understood that your trip was long.

So, the -- so, first of all, I had phone conversation with the leader of China by phone. He said that he will not sell any weapon to Russia.

[15:15:03]

That is the first. We'll see with you. We'll see, but he said to me. If he is respectable person, he will not, because he gave me the word.

The second. Our -- you know that -- you know very good with details how our peace formula -- it's very open for everybody, basing on charter. Yes, your nation. And you know that it bases on next principles -- territorial integrity, sovereignty, nuclear security, food security.

If China has alternative view on it, it can prepare alternative peace formula -- if we share common views on it, like with -- globally, with all the world, I think so. So, if they share the same way to peace, we will find dialogue.

BIDEN: By the way, China is not supplying weapons but the ability to produce those weapons and the technology available to do it. So, it is, in fact, helping Russia.

Thank you all so very much. Appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This concludes our press conference. Thank you, everybody.

(CROSSTALK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: A historic moment from the G7 in Italy, President Biden and President Zelenskyy really addressing the world. And President Biden sending a message directly to Russian leader Vladimir Putin saying, "You cannot wait us out. You cannot divide us. We will not back down. We are standing together."

The President touting this bilateral agreement between the United States and Ukraine, one that would see the United States provide Ukraine with material aid, security and intelligence for a period of 10 years, though there are serious questions about how long that deal will last, given that a part of it includes this executive authority in which a future president could potentially relinquish that power. The President was also asked about a number of other issues, notably his son, Hunter, who was convicted earlier this week of three felony counts, of inappropriate gun possession and he was asked a question about Gaza that he apparently didn't enjoy being asked.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: No. And we can talk a little bit more about that with our panel as we open it up. But he's been snippy recently about being asked multiple questions in these press conferences, which we should just be clear, and we're both former White House correspondents, these are very limited. They're called two and twos, and the reporters tend to -- there's a tradition of asking more than the questions, it's just pretty usual, because there are not that many questions to ask ...

SANCHEZ: And follows as well.

KEILAR: That's right.

SANCHEZ: And you didn't really see many in there.

KEILAR: ... that's right. And this president has -- I mean, he falls far below his predecessors when it comes to interviews and when it comes to press conferences. We just need to be clear about that. They have a lot of questions to ask him, and these reporters do not have many opportunities. They've all dragged themselves to Italy for this G7 summit to do one thing, their jobs, ask these questions.

SANCHEZ: Yes. So let's bring in our panel of experts to discuss all the issues. We have CNN Chief National Security Correspondent, Alex Marquardt with us, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor. He's also the VP for Russia and Europe at the U.S. Institute of Peace. We have CNN Military Analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. We also have senior contributor for Axios, Margaret Talev.

A lot of talent on this panel.

Alex, talk to us about this defense pact, because it doesn't go quite as far as President Zelenskyy would like, but it's still an improvement and it bolsters Ukraine at a critical time.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: There have been a number of events lately that President Zelenskyy is certainly thankful for. And I thought it's remarkable that he gave his opening comments in very polished English and he spoke directly to the American people. He thanked not just President Biden, not just both parties in Congress, but the American people. He thanked every American heart because he knows how controversial here in the States this question over, you know, many more billions of dollars going to Ukraine is.

So recently we've seen $60 billion more approved by Congress. We now have this $50 billion loan that the U.S. has helped spearhead. And we have this 10 year defense pact that really does solidify the support for Ukraine.

But you just touched on it, Boris. I mean, this is something that is relatively tenuous. It's an agreement. It is not a treaty. This is not what countries like Israel or South Korea or Japan have in terms of a defense agreement. This is not backed by Congress. This is tied to the Biden administration.

And while it's a 10-year deal that will improve that military relationship, when it comes to the advice that the U.S. is giving, the intelligence that the U.S. is giving, cooperation on production of arms, this could all fall apart in one fell swoop when President Trump comes to office.

[15:20:03]

And I think that was kind of -- we were hearing a lot of that right there was the uncertainty about what lies ahead. This certainly falls short in terms of what President Zelenskyy ultimately wants, which is to join the NATO alliance, which is not going to happen imminently. So he certainly has reason to thank the U.S. today. But I think looming over all of this is this U.S. election that we've got in a couple months and what could happen beyond that.

KEILAR: Yes. It's huge because you have this agreement, like you said, tenuous. At the same time, you have this G7 agreed upon loan, which is really important. And we heard President Zelenskyy welcoming that recent arms aid coming from the U.S., Bill Taylor.

I think the question will be if President Trump wins in the election in November, does he want to be seen as someone who is kind of dismantling this scaffolding this is put in place in a way that is going to favor Russia? And I wonder if you think all of this scaffolding is strong enough to withstand something like that or no.

WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: So, Brianna, no one knows what former President Trump would do if he were back in office and he's, you know, we're talking a lot about that, but there's a long way to go before that happens.

KEILAR: Of course, there is.

TAYLOR: But your question is still a good one. That is, is this structure able to stand? And President Zelenskyy actually addressed that. He said the American people -- not only did he thanked the American people, but he recognized that the American people support this. When you look at the votes in Congress, as he said, bipartisan support, both houses over and over 61 billion, but before that as well, so there is strong support.

When you ask the people, American people in polls, 60 percent will say, yes, they support the assistance going to Ukraine. So that's what the American people believe. That's what they support. The Congress has supported it. And so I think, as President Zelenskyy carefully said, whoever is elected will probably continue to support that.

SANCHEZ: Let's actually bring MJ Lee into the conversation because she's live for us traveling with the President in Italy.

MJ, what stood out to you about this session between President Biden and President Zelenskyy?

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there were two moments that stood out to me, in addition to, of course, all of the announcements that were made about the U.S. and Ukraine's continuing cooperation as this war goes on.

First, of course, were the comments that the president made about his son in light of his conviction on the three felony gun charges. He said that he was proud of his son. He said that he was okay with how the judicial system worked. But then we heard him saying the words, I will not pardon him, which is just really so different from that one- word answer he had given in a recent interview. He said yes in response to the question of, would you rule out pardoning him. And then, as he was walking away, when reporters shouted the question of, would you consider commuting your son's sentence, he clearly heard and he said the word no.

I just have to imagine you are having the world's eyes on you at such a high-stakes diplomatic moment, and you are having to address something that is so incredibly deeply sensitive and painful for your family. As any parent knows, you know, you want to try to do anything to help your child when they're going through a difficult situation.

The President, obviously, in a unique situation and having to sort of utter the words in this kind of setting, I will not pardon him, I just -- it's hard to imagine sort of being in his shoes right now.

The other moment that really stood out as a little interesting to me was when a reporter asked him a question about the ongoing cease-fire and hostages negotiations. Earlier in the day, he had said that he was not hopeful that a deal was going to be reached soon. But when a reporter pressed him on that, he initially responded by saying, I wish you guys would play by the rules a little bit, saying that he wished that the questions could be on the topic of Ukraine.

Obviously, we all know there are no rules at these kinds of press conferences. If you get a question to the president, you can ask about any topic you would like. But that did sort of seem to me and strike me as the President expressing a little bit of frustration. And I think that clearly captures the moment that we are in, in these negotiations, something that the President has been pressing on for months and months.

And as he has made clear and other U.S. officials have made clear, those talks are very much stalled right now. And I think you definitely sense that frustration on the stage behind me.

KEILAR: Yes. Look, no doubt it's a frustrating process. I think we've all watched these negotiations for a cease-fire and a hostage deal. And it feels like progress is made and it is never -- the deal is never closed.

Coincidentally, we have a former White House Correspondents Association president standing by, Margaret Talev. You know, maybe you can -- I'm sure that stood out to you. You so often have been in this position of asking questions and, you know, it's so important that the President does answer for these different, very important topics.

[15:25:10]

And this is one who hasn't answered in many press conferences and interviews.

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, it's certainly understandable why President Biden would want the questions to focus on today's news and the questions with Zelenskyy. However, just as a small point, yes, that's right. I mean, the expectation for a news conference is that a president is going to take, you know, eight, nine, 10 questions. When it becomes a two-and-two, it greatly reduces the number of questions that one can ask and what will happen a lot of the times is that the reporters who are all there, nobody knows who's going to get the question, will kind of talk with each other, what are the most important questions that need to be asked if we're only going to get, you know, two questions here.

So that's the way these things go. And, of course, the President and his team all know that it's a free press. You can ask any questions that you want to. So that's just sort of a little bit of theater. But I do think what we have seen today in terms of this agreement that's been announced, again, why is it important that this is a 10-year agreement.

It is important because 10 years basically covers the end of the term of this presidency and two terms of the next president or presidents, whoever he or they may be. And so, yes, it's not binding, it's not a treaty, but an old rule in politics, it's much harder to take something away after it's out there than it is to block something from happening when it hasn't happened yet.

Certainly, we've seen that domestically with things that the American people can keep or may want for themselves, things like the Affordable Care Act. Remember, there were dozens and dozens of efforts to repeal that. None of them has worked.

One question is: Does that apply in foreign policy? Does that apply vis-a-vis policies to other countries?

I think we don't really know the answer to that as clearly.

SANCHEZ: Right.

TALEV: But President Biden and his team are doing what they can to lock in protections now as a matter of protecting not just Ukraine, but Western and American democracy.

SANCHEZ: Yes. The future is obviously an open question. President Zelenskyy, at least, Col. Leighton sees this deal, as he said, as a bridge to membership in NATO, so he's looking toward the future. I did notice when he was making the remarks, of course, a retired Air Force colonel, you nodded when he was talking about F-16s.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, the key thing, Boris, about those is that they should not be seen as a panacea. The training for the F-16s has to be world class. The actual airframes are not going to be the same that the U.S. uses or even most of the European countries use and they're not as capable.

So that means it's a big deal when it comes to electronic warfare, which the Russians, of course, have ramped up in this phase of the war.

SANCHEZ: And your thoughts on Zelenskyy seeing this as a bridge to NATO, how realistic is that?

LEIGHTON: Well, I keep thinking about his television show, and he was very much in favor of not only EU membership, but also NATO membership, and in some ways he's realizing a major dream, and that is a big thing for Ukraine, but it is also a big thing against Russia's strategy.

KEILAR: He was asked, the President, about the policy of how far the U.S. would allow Ukraine to use its weapons to fire into Russia. Right now it's not that far, but it's just over the border. Obviously, these areas that are supplying the war. Do you see that position changing? Do you think it needs to change?

LEIGHTON: I do think it needs to change with certain caveats, but the other part of it is also that the Ukrainians have to be ready for what comes after that, because the Russians will certainly respond.

MARQUARDT: He didn't rule it out. I mean, we -- and we've seen these lines slip every single -- well, throughout the course of this war.

KEILAR: That's right, in one direction.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

MARQUARDT: Exactly.

SANCHEZ: The F-16s are a perfect example.

LEIGHTON: Yes, a prime example.

TAYLOR: Mm-hmm.

LEIGHTON: Yes.

KEILAR: What do you think, real quickly?

TAYLOR: They absolute -- the Ukrainians ought to be able to shoot at targets that are shooting at them. So yes, I totally agree that we will see this moving up again.

KEILAR: Our thank yous ...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: Thank you to all of you. We appreciate it. We also appreciate the reporters there in Italy asking all of the tough questions. We have a lot of news today, of course. SANCHEZ: Yes. In Washington, the former President Trump visited Capitol Hill for the first time since January 6th, since the insurrection. He rallied the Republican faithful. We're going to take you live to Capitol Hill for a report in just moments.

KEILAR: And the Supreme Court with a major decision on medication abortion, one that advocates of -- pardon me, advocates of reproductive rights are encouraged by, but the court challenges for this, they may not be over. Stay with us.

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