AS DELIVERED<\/p>\n
QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019m very pleased to be joined by the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, a member of the Biden cabinet national security team, long-time outstanding diplomat for our country, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Thanks so much for joining us.<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0Thank you, Ben. I\u2019m really delighted to be here. It\u2019s great to see you.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0So, you know, there\u2019s so much going on up there, and obviously you \u2013 and the U.S. has had a little extra work, too, as chair of the UN Security Council. Obviously Ukraine is where people are focused on. I want to get to a couple of elements there. But I just wanted \u2013 you know, people follow the developments on the ground in Ukraine, they follow military developments, but I\u2019m just curious if you could lay out for our listeners, what is the center of gravity on Ukraine at the UN? What are you focused on up there? What aspects of the war are crossing your desk or crossing the attention of the Security Council?<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0Well, certainly what we\u2019ve worked on last week was food insecurity. That is a huge, huge issue. The food insecurity issue was an issue before Ukraine, but it has been made ten times worse by the war. I\u2019ve learned just over the course \u2013 it\u2019s only been three months, believe it or not \u2013 but that Ukraine is really the breadbasket of the world. World Food Program purchased 50 percent of the wheat that they use for humanitarian programs in Ukraine. And Ukraine provides wheat to a number of countries in the Middle East as well as Africa that depend on \u2013 somewhere around 35 to 40 percent of their wheat requirements come from Ukraine. Some come from Russia as well. And both Russia and Belarus are the main source of fertilizer. So that has become a huge issue in the midst of this horrific war, this horrific, unconscionable attack on the Ukrainian people that we\u2019re watching on a daily basis.<\/p>\n And we have engaged on this issue in the Security Council, and you may be aware we actually took the vote to the General Assembly and got 141 Member States to condemn the Russians, 140 states supported Ukraine for humanitarian assistance, and then we were able to successfully suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council. These are all extraordinary achievements. They have isolated the Russians here in the Security Council, and we\u2019re working with our partners and colleagues in the Council, as well as in the General Assembly, to continue to put the pressure on the Russians to stop their unconscionable attack on the Ukrainian people.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0On the food insecurity issue, a couple of questions: The first is, are there particular countries, regions that are facing, kind of, really acute challenges, risks of famine? Or places in the Horn of Africa or Ethiopia where there\u2019s already conflicts where this could make it worse? Or what keeps you up at night in terms of the places that are most vulnerable to these disruptions?<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0Well, we\u2019re certainly \u2013 just to look at the Middle East, Lebanon is in critical condition as a result of this war because they depended on the majority of their wheat from Ukraine, and the situation there has gotten decidedly worse since this war started. Somalia is another country in the Horn of Africa where we are on the verge of famine because of the lack of wheat. Ethiopia, in the midst of a conflict, depended upon Ukrainian wheat, as well. So there are a number of countries and regions that have been impacted.<\/p>\n We hosted a ministerial in New York, chaired by Secretary Blinken, and brought together about 30 countries who signed onto an action plan to address food insecurity. And again, we know food insecurity has been impacted by the pandemic. It\u2019s been impacted by climate change, but the impact that this war has had is extraordinary. For example, there are 22 million tons of wheat sitting in silos in Ukraine that can\u2019t move. Eighty-four ships sitting in the Black Sea \u2013 that the Russians have blockaded in the Black Sea that can\u2019t move. They\u2019re trapped in the ports \u2013 in Odesa port. So this is having a serious, serious impact on food insecurity.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0And in terms of solution, I mean, you\u2019ve got the Russians, literally, as you said, blocking wheat and other material from getting out. Then you\u2019ve got, I think, a challenge from some countries that tend to hoard their food supplies, particularly when there\u2019s global shortages. And then there\u2019s just a question of \u2013 is there any ramp-up in capacity they can come from other places? I mean, what is the formula that you all are pursuing globally to try to address these shortages? And what tools do we have to bring to bear for that?<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0Well, first and foremost, we\u2019re encouraging countries not to restrict exports, not to shut down their exports. There a number of countries that have taken those decisions, and we\u2019re engaging with them on a regular basis to discourage them from taking these decisions. Secondly, we are looking at other sources of product that might come from other regions and encouraging countries to look at those other sources. And then, as more of a response to the crisis, we have ramped up our humanitarian assistance in response to the situation in Ukraine. As you may have heard, the President just signed a bill providing $44 billion* in assistance, and a significant portion of that will be going toward humanitarian assistance, while some of it, of course, will be supporting the Ukrainians\u2019 effort to defend themselves against the Russians.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0So, I wanted to ask you kind of a broader question, which is that, you know, the eight years I was in government, the Russians, in particular, became more, I think, aggressive in utilizing their veto and their role in the UN system to obstruct progress, including on Syria, which I was going to get to in a second here. But you know, Ukraine, I think, has really spotlighted this \u2013 and there\u2019s nothing that you or anybody could do about the fact that, you know, literally the day the invasion starts, I think we all remember, the Russians are, like, sitting in the chair of the Security Council. It kind of embodies \u2013<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0As the president of the Security Council!<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 yeah, exactly. Right? And it \u2013 nothing could more starkly demonstrate the way in which the international system that was built to prevent these kinds of conflicts, to prevent the kind of famine that is coming out of these conflicts \u2013 the Russians are just sitting there, throwing wrenches in the gears, stopping it from doing what the United Nations is supposed to do. Is there, like, a conversation about \u2013 is there reform that can deal with that? Is there a process by which the UN can free itself, to some extent, from this? Or does that just require such a radical redesign of something that is 75 years old that it\u2019s difficult to think of on a day-to-day basis?<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0Not so radical. I \u2013 two things have happened since this situation occurred. One: we have, in a sense, marginalized the Russians. We\u2019ve blunted their veto power by going to the General Assembly, and we\u2019ve seen the General Assembly actually rise to the challenge. And none of us, I will honestly admit, expected that we would get 141 Member States supporting a condemnation of the Russians. When we went into the room, our goal was to get 100, and 141 was extraordinary. And then we were able to maintain that by getting 140 countries to express support for the Ukrainian people.<\/p>\n The third thing that has happened that is unusual in the area of Security Council reform, the government of Liechtenstein proposed a resolution that called for members of the P5, when using their veto, to have to come to the General Assembly and explain to other Member States why they found it necessary to use their veto. And we co-sponsored that \u2013 along with other countries \u2013 we co-sponsored that resolution. And so it puts pressure on the Russians to have to come and explain themselves before the General Assembly. So I think that kind of action may not have been possible prior to this Russian attack on the core values of the UN system. And there are other discussions that are taking place related to UN reform, and we think those discussions have gotten a bit more exposure and support because of the current situation that we were in in the Security Council.<\/p>\n But what has happened is, again \u2013 I use this over and over \u2013 Russia has been isolated. They went into this war thinking that they would defeat the Ukrainians in a matter of two weeks. They thought they would divide and break up NATO and that they would divide the Europeans broadly. And what they\u2019ve done is actually bolstered NATO\u2019s resolve. They have strengthened our alliances with our European colleagues, and they have, kind of, given the Ukrainians a lot of courage. And the Ukrainians have been able to defend themselves against this onslaught in ways that the Russians didn\u2019t expect, and I don\u2019t \u2013 I\u2019m not even sure when the Ukrainians went into this that they realized the strength and resolve and courage that they were going to bring to this fight.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0Yeah, you know, just \u2013 that\u2019s an interesting adjustment in the international system that bears watching is just trying to find ways to move the center of gravity to the General Assembly, other parts of the international system. You know, ad hoc coalitions, obviously \u2013 they include NATO \u2013 really featuring in the Ukraine context.<\/p>\n I wanted to ask you about Syria, because I know you\u2019ve been focused on this. I know there was a lot of work you did diplomatically to keep a degree of humanitarian access open into Syria. I know that the U.S. has been pledging additional humanitarian assistance. People, I think, have, you know, lost sight of this conflict and the suffering of the Syrian people given all of the other world events that consume our attention. What is the current state of the U.S. role in Syria? And what have you been focused on through the UN?<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0You know, we have not forgotten about Syria. The dire humanitarian situation facing millions of Syrians remain a significant priority for us. And, as you know, last year I went to Turkey to the Syrian border to, one \u2013 just get a sense of the situation on the ground. So I met with NGOs, I met with the UN, I met with the White Helmets, I met with refugees and really was able to come back to New York grounded in the situation. We were able to succeed in negotiating with the Russians to get them to agree to a 12-month extension of the one last border, Bab al-Hawa. And that border extension is going to expire on the 10th of July, so I am planning to go again before the extension expires to update myself on the situation on the ground.<\/p>\n One thing the Russians asked for last year \u2013 that we gave them \u2013 was an agreement that we would do more cross-line distributions of humanitarian assistance. And that effort has worked somewhat. We\u2019ve had four efforts and we were able to access about 40,000 people, but that only is a mere complement to the millions of people we\u2019re feeding cross-line** and so we have to keep cross-line** open. And what I\u2019ve said to the Russians \u2013 and I will say to the Syrians \u2013 is that this is in their interest, because they don\u2019t want to see millions of people go into starvation because they\u2019re going to feel the impact of this as much as others have. I also \u2013 just a few weeks ago \u2013 was in Brussels, and we announced an additional $800 million in humanitarian assistance to NGOs and the UN working on Syrian humanitarian programs.<\/p>\n So we have not forgotten Syrians, even in the face of dealing with Ukraine on a daily basis. Syria keeps me awake at night, along with a lot of other world issues I also certainly think about every day \u2013 what the DPRK is going to do and how we respond to that. We\u2019re engaging on a regular basis with all of the Security Council members \u2013 to include Russia and China \u2013 on how we respond to that situation.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0And what is it like when you have an issue like North Korea, like you mentioned, where, you know, you\u2019re working, as you say, kind of with Russia in a group? I mean, how has that changed since the war in Ukraine started? And maybe \u2013 is it frostier? Is it more difficult on other issues? Like, has the war in Ukraine spilled over into other issues? Maybe it should, frankly, given the fact that the Russians have placed themselves so far outside of any international norms.<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0I mean, we\u2019re not engaging business-as-usual with the Russians, but we know we have to engage with them because we\u2019re sitting at the table with them in the Security Council. They\u2019re a member of the Security Council, that\u2019s a fact. It\u2019s a fact that we can\u2019t change. So we have to work with them on some of these difficult issues. And I\u2019m hopeful on the issue of Syria that we will get them to agree that it is important that we continue to keep this one border crossing open and that we consider reopening a couple of the other crossings that were closed previously, because this is important. And so I\u2019m willing to engage with them on this issue despite \u2013 or in spite of \u2013 our disgust with what they are doing in Ukraine.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0And just as we wrap up here, a couple of broader questions of just \u2013 is there an issue that you feel, like, particularly passionate about pursuing through your role at the UN that may not be getting the headline attention globally? I mean, I do remember so many things that had a center of gravity at the UN where you could really make a difference on either addressing a crisis or just trying to make affirmative progress, you know, whether it\u2019s on LGBT rights or whether it\u2019s on some other aspect of, you know, just trying to take a country that needed that extra assistance from the international community. I mean, what are the one or two things that you would like people know that you\u2019re working on that are escaping attention?<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0Well, you know broadly, Ben, I am really grounded in the humanitarian space. And so I do focus a tremendous amount of attention on humanitarian issues, on engaging with NGOs and making sure that NGOs get the recognition that they deserve here in the United Nations. So whenever we have events where we are in the chair, we make sure that we have NGOs that are recognized to come and brief the Security Council. We want to make sure that women are also invited in a consistent way. So we hosted, for example, one of our signature events early this week on digital technology. And we had an amazing young woman in the tech field from Kenya come and brief the Security Council.<\/p>\n So when I look at what is important to me, in addition to all of the things that are important to all of us, I want to make sure that we don\u2019t let any humanitarian situation be left unnoticed, and that we deal with the situation in Ethiopia, that we continue to focus attention on the situation in Burma, that we focus attention on what is happening with the Uyghurs in China, that Yemen not be forgotten. So it\u2019s a huge, huge agenda of humanitarian issues. And for me, every single one is important.<\/p>\n So I find myself running on a treadmill, because I try to do it all, because I don\u2019t think anything should be forgotten. And Secretary Blinken coined this acronym: ROW-ing \u2013 the Rest of the World. We cannot forget the rest of the world. And I take that very, very seriously that Ukraine is important, but the rest of the world is important, as well. And what is happening on the humanitarian front, and in Africa, and Burma, and Yemen, all of these are issues that we have to keep in the forefront.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0Yeah, oftentimes, the rest of the world ends up falling into the leadership of the UN ambassador when White House gets consumed with things, so glad to hear that perspective. Are you liking the job? Are you making gumbo for your counterparts? Are you enjoying living in New York City? How is it?<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0I love the job. I\u2019m still getting used to living in New York City. It\u2019s been an adjustment coming to New York. I came in the middle of COVID, so the first six months everything was done remotely. So I didn\u2019t meet my team, I didn\u2019t meet my staff, I chaired my first presidency of the Security Council remotely. So that has required some adjustment.<\/p>\n But I am making gumbo and looking forward to sharing it with you and others because I think it\u2019s an important way of engaging with people when you can sit, again, over a good meal and talk about tough issues. So people relax, and they are particularly impressed when they know that I\u2019ve cooked the meal myself and didn\u2019t have it catered or didn\u2019t use my really wonderful chef that comes with the apartment. It impresses them that I actually make a meal and serve to them.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0Yeah, well, that\u2019s good. It\u2019s great to hear that, and I have to tell you, I\u2019ve taken a stab at gumbo a bunch of times, and getting that first, you know, that first bit right, it\u2019s [laughter]<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0Well, there\u2019s a recipe \u2013<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 the roux \u2013<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 there\u2019s a recipe in The Washington Post. It\u2019s my recipe. I actually \u2013 when I gave The Washington Post the recipe, I made it up as I was \u2013 I made it up to send to them, and then I tried it after I sent it.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0Oh, that\u2019s a risk.<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0And, oh it was good.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0Good, good.<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0It was good, and many people have written to me to say they tried the recipe, including Senator Kaine from Virginia who said he tried it. He just didn\u2019t know what to do with all the gumbo, because you can\u2019t make gumbo for four, you\u2019ve got to make gumbo for 12. Try my recipe in The Washington Post. It\u2019ll work for you.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0Alright, I\u2019m on it. Thanks so much for joining and really appreciate it and best of luck with everything going forward.<\/p>\n AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD:<\/strong>\u00a0Thank you so much, Ben. I really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you.<\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n * $40 billion<\/em> CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za International\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield\u2019s Interview with Ben Rhodes on \u201cPod Save the World\u201d Submission Details<\/strong><\/p>\n Author<\/strong>: Africa Media<\/strong> from The Africa Regional Media Hub<\/a>. <\/p>\n Have a look at the online visibility from 05\/27\/2022 to today for Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield\u2019s Interview with Ben Rhodes on \u201cPod Save the World\u201d<\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n Hint:<\/strong> Registering on MyPR<\/a> and ensuring that you are logged in when submitting your press release will seamlessly place your releases under your Author Name. OR – Log in HERE<\/a><\/strong>. See our Guidelines<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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