National Security Advisor on Biden-Trump transition and international affairs

WASHINGTON (CBS, KYMA/KECY) – National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan on Sunday about the peaceful transition of power in the White House.

Asked what President Biden wants to deliver in terms of “focus and message,” Sullivan said:

“The first and most important message will be that President Biden is committed to the peaceful transfer of power and to a responsible handover from one president to the next, which is in the best tradition of our country and has been for the last 240 years. And then they’ll go over the major issues, both domestic and foreign policy issues, including what’s happening in Europe and Asia and the Middle East, and the president will have a chance to explain to President Trump how he sees things, where they stand and talk to President Trump on how President Trump is thinking about addressing these issues when he takes office.”

During the interview, Brennan and Sullivan talked about the latter’s views on international affairs such as the war in Ukraine.

“Our approach remains the same as it has been for the last two and a half years, and that is to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield, so that ultimately it is in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table. And it should be it is up to Ukraine to decide, for its own sovereignty and its own territorial integrity, when and how it goes to the negotiating table. It should be up to the United States and a coalition of nations that we have built to continue providing Ukraine with the means to to defend against brutal Russian aggression.”

Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor

Brennan and Sullivan also spoke about the conflicts in Israel, with Brennan asking Sullivan what makes him think “in these final days of the Biden administration” that the prime minister “would agree to peace in Gaza or agree to peace in Lebanon and don’t hold on to political capital for the new president,” to which Sullivan said:

“Prime Minister Netanyahu will make his decisions and he will speak to his decisions. Here’s what I see. First in Gaza, in reality today, it’s not Israel that stands in the way of a ceasefire and hostage agreement. It’s Hamas, Israel has said it is prepared to do a temporary ceasefire for a number of hostages and then try to build on that to get all the hostages home… So what we have to do is get the rest of the world to continue to increase the pressure on Hamas to come to the table, to make a deal in Gaza, because the Israeli government has said it is prepared to take a temporary step in that direction. And when it comes to Lebanon, we have been actively engaged discussions with the Israeli government. They should remain behind closed doors, but we believe that at some point the Israeli government wants to make a deal that will bring the citizens home, I think not making that deal for American politics ​it makes that deal to try to secure Israel, and I expect that in the coming weeks we will see progress in that direction. “

To see more of Brennan’s interview with Sullivan, click here.