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NAME: VAT NATIV 20091224I TAPE: EF09/1201 IN_TIME: 10:38:02:03 DURATION: 00:02:18:09 SOURCES: AP TELEVISION/Vatican TV DATELINE: Vatican City, 24 Dec 2009 RESTRICTIONS: SHOTLIST: AP TELEVISION ++NIGHT SHOTS++ 1. Tilt down from St. Peter''s dome to veiled Nativity scene 2. Mid of spectators waiting with umbrellas 3. Wide of unveiling of Nativity 4. Mid of statues of Joseph and Mary 5. Mid of spectators watching in the rain 6. Mid of Nativity scene 7. Wide pan left from Pope Benedict XVI''s windows to Christmas tree and Nativity scene 8. Mid of spectators watching 9. SOUNDBITE (Italian) vox pop, Giovanna Valeri: "At 10 o''clock it''s better, because otherwise it becomes too late for us elderly people." 10. Mid of spectators watching Vatican TV 11. Mid of Pope Benedict XVI placing a lit candle on his window sill, UPSOUND: of ''Silent Night'' Christmas carol being played AP TELEVISION 12. Wide of Pope Benedict XVI''s office window with lights turned off and lit candle on his sill 13. SOUNDBITE (Italian) vox pop, Giuseppe Rossi: "With these cold nights he''ll be able to finish earlier so we are all happy and can wish a merry Christmas to everyone." 14. Wide of Nativity scene and Christmas tree with St. Peter''s Basilica in the background STORYLINE: Christmas celebrations got under way at the Vatican on Thursday evening, Christmas Eve, with the unveiling of the traditional life- sized Nativity scene, depicting the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus Christ in a stable in Bethlehem. Vatican officials unveiled the Nativity scene in St Peter''s Square, next to a 100-foot (30-metre) tall Christmas tree from the forest of the Ardennes in Wallonia, Belgium. As night fell on Christmas Eve, Pope Benedict XVI appeared at his window with a lit candle in a traditional sign of peace, as spectators gathered in the rain below. Later, the Pope was scheduled to hold the traditional midnight mass two hours earlier than usual, at 10pm (2100GMT). It is hoped the new timing will spare him a late night at the start of one of the busiest periods of the liturgical calendar, also known as the Christian year. The new schedule will see 82-year-old Benedict celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter''s Basilica at 10 o''clock, and one woman was happy the mass brought forward by two hours. Giovanna Valeri said "At 10 o''clock it''s better, because otherwise it becomes too late for us elderly people." On Christmas Day, Friday, Benedict will deliver his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" speech (Latin for "To the city and the world") from the Basilica''s balcony. On Sunday, he plans to share lunch with the homeless at a soup kitchen near the Vatican.

TAPE: EF01/0613 IN_TIME: 21:56:48 DURATION: 1:54 SOURCES: APTN/TG1- RAI RESTRICTIONS: DATELINE: 24/25 August 2001 SHOTLIST: APTN - August 25 1. Wide shot of Hotel Mellini entrance 2. Maria Sung enters news conference room 3. Wide shot of news conference room 4. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Maria Sung, Wife of Archbishop Milingo "I can't believe you are not coming back to me when you know that I've been on a hunger strike for 12 days. I can't believe you are not running to me." 5. Cutaway cameramen 6. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Maria Sung, Wife of Archbishop Milingo "I really miss you. If you see me, please run and meet me (crying)." 7. Cutaway screen of digital camera 8. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Doctor Giuseppe Rossi, Follower of Moon Church (Family Federation For World Peace Church) "I asked her again to stop fasting and to recover in a hospital to control her physical condition constantly...I am really in a difficult position because suicide is also against our own (moon church) ethics." 9. Cutaway close up of Maria Sung 10. Cutaway of people at news conference 11. Maria Sung leaves news conference room 12. Tilt up and down of hotel exterior MUST ON SCREEN CREDIT TG1 - RAI EXCLUSIVE 13. Italian reporter talking to Archbishop Milingo STORYLINE: The wife of the Zambian archbishop who angered the Vatican with his marriage, then declared via TV that Pope John Paul II had convinced him to return to the Catholic church, has tearfully insisted she will not believe he is leaving her unless he tells her face-to-face. "I recall he used to call me, my little one, my little one," Maria Sung said at a news conference on Saturday at a Rome hotel, the day after her husband, Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, said on Italian state TV that she must accept his decision to accept the Vatican's rule that priests be celibate. Sung, 43, said she will continue a water-only fast, which was in its 12th day on Saturday, until she meets with Milingo. Supporters said a dozen women from around the world will join her in the hunger strike on Monday. Milingo, 71, who had been assigned to the Vatican, stunned Rome in May when he and Sun were married in a group ceremony in New York by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification Movement. The archbishop dropped out of sight on August 8th after meeting with the Pope, reappearing in public Friday night to read a letter to Sung over state television. His wife, speaking softly and sometimes pausing to cry, said on Saturday: "If it's true what they say, you have to come and tell it to me. I have absolute faith in you." Milingo on Saturday said he agreed with Vatican officials that any meeting he has with Sung must be supervised. Sung has insisted she wants to meet alone with her husband. Sung went on Saturday to the edge of St. Peter's Square to pray, this time sitting in a wooden chair and surrounded by supporters and curious passersby.

1350 WH ITALY PM PRESSER STIX FS32 79 PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP HOLDS A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE WITH PRIME MINISTER GIUSEPPE CONTE OF ITALY 14:03:51 TRUMP: I'm honored to welcome my new friend -- we got along very well right from the beginning -- Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, to the White House. Mr. Prime Minister, I want to begin by congratulating you once again on your tremendous victory in Italy. It was something that all the world was watching, and it excited the people all across Italy, and I can tell you, all across the United States, as well. Congratulations. In your election, the Italian nation has reaffirmed the great traditions of sovereignty, law, and accountability that stretch all the way back to ancient Rome. This proud heritage sustains our civilization, and must be always defended. TRUMP: Today, Prime Minister Conte and I are pleased to announce a new strategic dialogue between Italy and the United States that will enhance cooperation on a range of issues. 14:05:00 This includes joint security efforts in the Mediterranean, where we recognize Italy's leadership role in the stabilization of Libya and North Africa, they've been terrific. Both the Prime Minister and I are focused on the urgent need to protect our nations from terrorism and uncontrolled migration. Our countries have learned through hard experience that border security is national security, they are one and the same. Like the United States, Italy is currently under enormous strain as a result of illegal immigration, and they've fought it hard and the Prime Minister frankly is with us today because of illegal immigration. Italy got tired of it, they didn't want it any longer. 14:05:54 The people of Italy have borne a great part of the burden for Europe through the course of the migration crisis. I applaud the Prime Minister for his bold leadership -- truly bold, and I hope more leaders will follow this example, including leaders in Europe. The Prime Minister and I are united in our conviction that strong nations must have strong borders. We have a solemn obligation to protect our citizens and their quality of life. My administration is working hard to pass border security legislation, improved vetting and establish a merit-based immigration system, which the United States needs very, very importantly, very badly. As far as the border is concerned and personally, if we don't get border security, after many, many years of talk within the United States, I would have no problem doing a shutdown. It's time we had proper border security. 14:07:05 We're the laughing stock of the world. We have the worst immigration laws anywhere in the world. In our meeting today, the Prime Minister and I discussed ways to enhance our cooperation in the fight against terrorism. That also has to do with border security. I want to thank the Italian people for Italy's contributions to counter terrorism and operations in the coalition to defeat ISIS, where we've had a tremendous success as you know, and in NATO'S Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. The Prime Minister and I also agree that the brutal regime in Iran must never be allowed to posses a nuclear weapon, never. 14:07:53 We encourage all nations to pressure Iran to end the full range of its maligned activities. The United States welcomes the partnership of Italy in these vital efforts. Today, we are also addressing the crucial issue of trade and commerce. We're working closely with our European partners, including Italy, to ensure fair and reciprocal trade. A few days ago, I met with President Juncker of the European Commission, we had a great meeting. Following that meeting, we announced a breakthrough agreement to remove trade barriers and increase United States exports of agriculture, energy and other goods and services to the European Union. Now is also the perfect time to expand commerce between the United States and Italy. America's booming economy and setting records in so many categories creates enormous opportunities for investment. 14:08:57 Likewise, I recommend investment in Italy, it's a great place with great people. I look forward to working closely with the Prime Minister to open up new commercial opportunities that will reduce our trade deficit substantially and increase our mutual prosperity. Mr. Prime Minister, we discussed our shared goal of combating unfair foreign trade practices from non-market economies. They're brutal, but we're winning. These abuses include subsidies, excess capacity, intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer, currency devaluation and distortion caused by state-owned enterprises. In this area, like so many others, cooperation between Italy and the United States can make a tremendous difference, not only for our countries but all over the world, and it's making a big difference and we're making a big difference-- 14:09:59 --tremendous difference on trade and on fairness. But we also have to be fair to the people of the United States and the taxpayers of the United States. Mr. Prime Minister, thank you again for joining me for these important discussions. We're both outsiders to politics, can you believe it? We are outsiders to politics. I look at all of these wonderful politicians -- and we're both determined to protect the rights and needs and interests and dreams of our citizens, and we will do that. I look forward to partnering with you to build on the incredible friendship between our countries and to creating a brighter future for both the people of Italy and the people of the United States. And with that, I just want to again thank you very much for coming to the White House. It is my great honor, thank you. CONTE: Good afternoon. I wish to thank you President Trump for this kind invitation, for this warm hospitality,-- 14:11:09 --only two months after the formation of my government. I think -- I take it as a sign of special -- the special attention to Italy and to me, as well. Do forgive me, but I don't want to renounce the privilege of speaking in my wonderful language now. (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): (Inaudible) all, I would like to remember (inaudible) to all the families and all the members of the families, to the victims of the fires that took place recently in California. 14:11:54 I'd also like to say a very, very affectionate hello to all of the friends from Europe (ph). So our relationship is a very long one, it goes way back and today we have strengthened it even more and I'm extremely happy about this. And with this very fruitful encounter here in the -- in -- in the -- at the White House, we have made another step ahead. In order to intensify our cooperation, our work together, to make it even more adequate vis-a-vis the geopolitical, economic situation in the world. From June 1st, there's another element that brings us even closer, the United States and Italy, my government and the Trump administration, are both governments that represent change. They were chosen by citizens in order to change the status quo and to improve their life conditions. 14:12:56 There's so many things that bring us together, that unify us in Italy as in the United States. We are doing what we had promised during our electoral campaign, and we are working in order to give answers to the expectations of our citizens so that we won't disappoint them and we don't betray our mandate. In Italy, in the United States, we are proving that change is possible. Donald and I have concentrated on a number of topics, and we both have agreed upon and reached the following results, which in part were already mentioned. Today, we will have made a great step ahead. We will start working in Italy. It's a directorship boost (ph), as it were, in the Mediterranean between Italy and the United States. 14:13:53 I would say that we're almost twin countries in which Italy is becoming a reference point in Europe and a privileged interlocutor for the United States for the main threats and challenges that we have before us, terrorism and for all the crises that we see in the Mediterranean and in particular in regards to Libya. Secondly, the American administration also recognizes that Italy has a leadership role as a promoter country that will lead to the stabilization of Libya. And of course, this was a great respect for the Libyan population. With the United States, we will be working in order to reach these results, and we will decide what needs to be done in view of this result. I am truly thankful to you, Donald, for your support. 14:14:51 Thirdly, in terms of immigration, I also described to President Trump the innovative approach that Italy has put forth. And the European Union now has a responsibility to not leave the weight of the management of immigration on the shoulders of the countries of first arrival, like Italy is. And as you heard President Trump say, we appreciate this contribution which is been provided by the Italian government which is providing fruit, good results. We are talking about an approach, a multilevel approach, in order to try to resolve the phenomenon of immigration, not because of an emergency, but because this is a structural approach. I want to underline: this is in line with the position of President Trump, which goes from the respect and dignity of people to make sure that fundamental rights are protected, and it wants to make sure that these rights are trampled over, because these people are the hands of criminal bath (ph). 14:16:00 I also want to underline that the world day for the exchange of human beings is going to be celebrated. I also told President Trump that I'm very satisfied for the understanding that was reached very recently between ourselves and the president of the European Commission, Juncker. I believe that this understanding is fundamental, and that we start -- we have to work upon it immediately, bringing our efforts together to make sure that European, American, Italian citizens receive the benefits of a more equitable trade relationship, which is completely reciprocal. And once again, as far as Russia is concerned, you know that Italy is favorable to a dialog with Russia,-- 14:16:52 --but Italy also considers that the dialog between the United States and Russia is fundamental so that we can have positive results in a more global perspective for stability and security purposes. In terms of energy security, President Trump and I also found ourselves in agreement with the need to make sure that there is a greater diversification for these sources of energy, and to make sure that the routes, the energy routes are diversified, as well. And finally, I personally am sure that we can increase and improve the relationship with the United States at all levels, and in particular, in the -- in space and aerospace fields. We already have a great partnership between the Italian Space Agency and NASA, so we hope that aerospace will bring together American technology, Italian technology so that we can launch new aircraft that cross the atmosphere, and will be able to bring the United States and Italy and -- together in a -- in an hour and a half (ph). 14:18:12 This is a project that I'd like to speak in detail with the American administration. I thank you for your attention. TRUMP: (inaudible) ... we -- we're going to Saagar, please. Saagar Enjeti. Thank you. Daily Caller. Thank you. QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. To follow up on what you were saying about the shutdown, sir, are you saying that you would be willing to shut the government down in September if it does not fully fund $25 billion-worth of your border wall, and also deliver all of the immigration priorities that you listed in your tweet, or are you leaving some room for negotiation there? 14:18:52 TRUMP: I'll always leave room for negotiation, but this has been many years. This isn't just Trump administration. We're new. There's been many years, even decades. We have immigration laws. We have border security. We have all sorts of things going on that are -- it's disgraceful. We are doing a phenomenal job. We're setting records, but we have laws that don't work, so we're working around those laws, and it's unfortunate. I have to take my -- my hat off to the Border Patrols, for the law enforcement, to ICE, which really has been maligned by the Democrats. The job they do, they go into these MS-13 nests, the nests of bad, bad people, killers, in many cases, and they go in there fearless, and they do an incredible job, and they get them out. They either go to jail, or they get out of the country. So I want to just take my hat off to ICE and the brave people that have really been maligned by the Democrats. TRUMP: We need border security. 14:19:51 Without a border, as this gentleman can tell you also, because the prime minister really was -- it was a very big factor in his win, and other people's win in Italy. But it was a big factor in my win. We need border security. Border security includes the wall, but it includes many other things. We have to end the lottery. We have to end the chain -- the chain is like a disaster. You bring one person in and you end up with 32 people. We have to end these horrible catch-and-release principles where you catch somebody, you take their name and you release them. You don't even know who they are. And then they're supposed to come back to a court case where they want us to hire thousands of judges. The whole thing is ridiculous and we have to change our laws. And we do that through Congress. So I would certainly be willing to close it down, to get it done. As you know, we are already approving things in various bills, including we're going to be taking care of the military. 14:20:51 We always put the military and law enforcement very high. But I would be certainly willing to consider a shutdown if we don't get proper border security. Thank you. Please. QUESTION: Sir, just to follow up on that quickly. Is the $25 billion a red line for you? TRUMP: I have no red line. Unlike President Obama. I just want great border security. OK? QUESTION: Mr. Prime Minister, here in the United States, amongst our commentariat (ph), there was a consensus that the president's appearance at the G7 and NATO damaged our relationship with those institutions. As a member of both of those institutions, what is your assessment of the president's appearance at both? 14:21:44 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Both the G7 and NATO -- at NATO, we had a very fruitful exchange of views and opinions and our (ph) positions (ph). I think that all the positions and stances which are expressed with clarity and provide a contribution also to review well-established positions are more than welcome. There is a fruitful exchange. We had a fruitful exchange, both at the G7 Summit and NATO Summit in different frameworks. We, for instance, in the framework of G7 Summit, we agreed on the need for reforming the WTO. The system of the WTO. It's a year-old system which considered China as an emerging country. You can understand that applying those same rules after years with the privileges granted to an emerging country, clearly means having a system which is not well-functioning and not well-rational. At (ph) NATO, there was (ph) a (ph) clear stance taken by President Trump which I personally share fairly. 14:22:53 He expressed a position and the need to rebalance the expenditure which is borne (ph) traditionally by the United States, which is very disproportionate. These are absolutely reasonable positions and stances. And I personally take them into great account and I will be personally the carrier of the message and I'll try and make the others understand his positions as well. We must negotiate with United States to find the balance in interest of Italian citizens, American citizens and European citizens. TRUMP: I want to thank you also. I'd just to add to that, but I do want to thank you for what you just said because it's been very unfair to the United States. We had a very good G7 meeting. That's where Giuseppe and I became friends. I think we were probably more closely aligned than anybody else in the room. But it was a great meeting in every respect. I would say it was very good. And NATO in particular. I went to NATO, -- 14:23:57 --and NATO was essentially going out of business because people weren't paying and it was going down, down, down. You just have to look at the line. I came along last year. And in a fairly nice tone I said, "You've got to pay." And they paid $44 billion more. And this year, I said it in a little bit stronger tone. And they're paying hundreds of billions of dollars more over the years. And NATO will be strong again. And if you speak to Secretary General Stoltenberg, I think he's the biggest fan of Trump. Because he said, "We couldn't collect money until President Trump came along." And he said last year, we collected $44 billion and this year the money is pouring in. But it's like the prime minister said. We really -- talk about imbalance. We were treated very unfairly. The United States was treated very, very unfairly because we're shouldering anywhere from 70 to 90 percent of the cost of NATO. 14:24:54 That's not fair. It's not fair. Especially when you take Germany, and Germany's paying 1 percent. A little more than 1 percent. And they're buying and paying tremendous amounts of money to Russia. So we're supposed to protect countries from Russia, but they're paying Russia billions and billions of dollars for the energy. Not good. Not a good situation. And I let it be known. So the bottom line is, the NATO countries are now paying a lot more money and NATO's become a lot stronger because of it and I appreciate your answer. Thank you. Please. 14:25:32 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Sorry, Donald. May I add something? I'm saying that as a person who has a great -- huge experience as a lawyer, you have a president who is (ph) a (ph) strong supporter and advocator of the -- of the interests of the American people and the American country. He is a great negotiator. And I'm told that there is (ph) Maria Luisa Rossi-Hawkins from Mediaset (ph) Group who wants to ask a question. A (ph) question (ph) must (ph) be (ph) asked (ph)... (CROSSTALK) QUESTION: Despite its terrific potential, the Italian economy underperforms regularly. Given your stellar success in the U.S. economy, what do you think would reignite the Italian economy and what role do you think the E.U. should play in it? And President Conte, do you think President's (sic) Trump (sic) formula would work in Italy as well? 14:26:24 TRUMP: Well I can answer. The biggest thing Italy needs is great leadership, and they have it right now. I really honestly believe the prime minister is going to do a tremendous job on economic development. In addition to borders. You know, for economic development, you need borders also. But you have a man that's going to do a terrific job. I have no doubt about it at all. He knows how to sell, he knows how to promote, really, a great product because they make among the greatest products. I won't mention their names but they are great. I have several of them. And Italy makes great product. And I think it's going to do very well economically, and we're there to help. We have had record numbers. I've been here for a little more than a year and a half and we've had record numbers. We've had record -- we've had numbers that nobody believed possible, especially if you look at one particular fact that was not reported very much. Trade deficit, $52 billion reduction in the trade deficit for the quarter. And I think probably Steve Mnuchin, Treasury's here. And Mike Pompeo. 14:27:32 I think nobody would have thought that would be possible so quickly. $52 billion reduction in the trade deficit for the quarter. I think that Italy's going to be able to do the same thing. Slightly different numbers, but the same thing. QUESTION: What role should the E.U. -- the European Union play in the matter, sir? And their (ph) ignition (ph) of... (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: You're asking me what? QUESTION: What role do you think the European Union should play in the reignition of... TRUMP: That's up to them. I don't want to get involved in that. Look, the European Union, Jean-Claude and I had a fantastic meeting last week. We were having a hard time and then I did mention tariffs on cars. And we got along very well. Very well. I think they're going to treat us very fairly. And we're going to treat them fairly. But as you know, it's been a one-way street. The European Union has totally taken advantage of the United States. We can't let that happen. Not fair to the United States. And by the way, Italy has a $31 billion surplus with the United States, -- 14:28:27 --meaning we have a $31 billion trade deficit with Italy and we discussed that and we'll work something out. We're going to work something out. OK? Thank you. 14:28:41 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): As far as I'm concerned, I'm very envious -- very envious of the records and the growth figures of the American economy. We discussed that before with Donald. Somehow, these are systems which cannot be compared because they are magnitudes, orders of magnitude which are very different. But at the same time, I'm envious but ambitious at the same time. As the (ph) government leader, I'm ambitious for my economy to do a lot, much more than what was done in the past. We are preparing a series of structural reforms which we will be submitting to the attention of our European partners too. I do not want the tax reform to be set aside. It was a leverage in this country for economic growth, and generally it represents (ph) -- it's well-constructed. It represents leverage for economic growth by working also on streamlining and simplifying red tape, administration regulations. And we're trying to eliminate corruption pockets. 14:29:48 We are trying to speed up the civil trials, the procedures -- the proceedings. That (ph) all sectors together with a citizenship (ph) income which will support those people who lose their job to find a new one without... These are all the reforms that we consider to be a positive element to represent an economic leverage over our country which can then try and reach the world (ph). 14:30:18 TRUMP: I do think this, one of the biggest things that we've done -- obviously the massive tax cuts, but maybe equal too would be the tremendous cuts in regulation. And I know Italy well and they have a lot of regulation, and I have no doubt that the Prime Minister Giuseppe will be working very hard on that. But I think, Giuseppe I can say from our standpoint one of the most important things we did was cutting massively these horrible regulations -- and I believe so strongly in the environment. I want the cleanest air, the cleanest water, the cleanest everything, the best everything. But you had ten regulations for every point in some cases, it was ridiculous. It would take many years to get a highway or a road approved, -- 14:31:00 --but we have that way down. We have it down to two years and it will hopefully be down to one. And it may get rejected. But at least it's going to go quickly. So we want regulation, but it's got to be cut to a minimum and do the trick and I think that Italy will follow suit. I know that they've looked at it very strongly and they're going to follow suit, OK? Thank you. Thank you very much. Roberta Rampton of Reuters, please? Roberta? Hello, Roberta. QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. You spoke a bit about Iran today and your discussions, and I'm wondering if you could tell us what you think Iran needs to do to reduce some of the tensions. And you've met with the leaders of North Korea and Russia. Are you prepared also -- are you willing to meet with President Rouhani and under what conditions? And have there been any preliminary discussions about something like that? TRUMP: I'll meet with anybody. 14:31:59 I believe in meeting. The (inaudible) better than anybody can say it. Speaking to other people, especially when you're talking about potentials of war and death and famine and lots of other things. You meet, there's nothing wrong with meeting. We met, as you know, with Chairman Kim and it -- you haven't had a missile fired off in nine months, we got our prisoners back, so many things have happened so positive. But meeting with people -- I had a great meeting in my opinion, of course the fake news didn't cover it that way, but I had a great meeting with President Putin of Russia. I think it was a great meeting in terms of the future, in terms of safety and economic development and protecting Israel and protecting everybody, I thought it was a great meeting. Great meeting with NATO, I just explained NATO -- hundreds of billions of dollars of more money will be paid into NATO, the coffers of NATO and much already has. 14:32:56 So I believe in meeting, I would certainly meet with Iran if they wanted to meet. I don't know that they're ready yet, they're having a hard time right now. But I ended the Iran Deal, it was a ridiculous deal. I do believe that they will probably end up wanting to meet, and I'm ready to meet anytime they want to. And I don't do that from strength or from weakness, I think it's an appropriate thing to do. If we could work something out that's meaningful, not the waste of paper that the other deal was, I would certainly be willing to meet. QUESTION: Do you have preconditions for that meeting? TRUMP: No preconditions, no. If they want to meet, I'll meet anytime they want, anytime they want. Good for the country, good for them, good for us and good for the world. No preconditions. If they want to meet, I'll meet. QUESTION: Prime Minister, I wanted to -- to ask if you and the President did -- you talked about the need to stabilize Libya. I wanted to ask if you and the President discussed working together on energy production in Libya in some way? Did you discuss oil production in Libya? Do you see a way for the United States to become involved there, perhaps with Italy's help? 14:34:06 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We discussed the problem of stabilizing Libya and obviously the security to be guaranteed for the whole of the Iranian area. You see, it's not only a problem of the migration routes. Many of the migration routes from African countries concentrate in the Libyan area, and it's also a problem of security in general because for instance through the migration routes, foreign fighters might reach European territory, to agents which could -- who could carry the terrorist threat. We didn't discuss in details other problems. 14:35:00 Certainly it is our intention to respect the Libyan population. We are not driven by economic interests, we are not driven by the problem of energy supply. Our interest, and from this point of view (ph) I can announce -- I've already said that we are going to organize an agreement with President Trump. I'm going to organize a conference on Libya. We would like to still and discuss (ph) all of the issues related to the European people, involving all of the stakeholders, actors for governments and the whole of the Mediterranean. We are going to discuss economic aspects, but also social aspects. We need protection (ph) of civil rights, the problem of constitution of process, of issuing and passing laws in order to enable Libya in particular to get to the democratic elections in a condition of the utmost stability. 14:36:07 I'm told that (inaudible) from La Stampa wants to ask a question. QUESTION (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Thank you. I have a question to President -- Prime Minister Conte and then a question to President Trump. There are three pending issues on the table with the American administration. One of them is sanctions to Russia. In Italy -- the two main government parties in Italy said that they want to lift sanctions on Russia. What's the official position by the government? It seems the (inaudible) is asking for these sanctions to be kept, yet other points (ph) are the TAPI gas pipeline and the American Department asked to (ph) continue with the work, while there are some ambiguous decisions in Italy in relation to this project, and the F-35 program. What is Italy going to do? Will Italy confirm the program? Thank you. 14:37:05 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I'm going to answer in relation to a sanctions on Russia. I'm going to repeat what I said before, because I've already taken a stance in all of the international comments. I'm going to be boring, but this confirms that the position of the Italian government is not changing in this respect. We are open to dialect with Russia. We do believe that Russia is a place for a mentor role (ph) in all international, geopolitical prizes (ph). So thinking that Russia can be kept out of a dialogue -- as President Trump said, if we want to solve problems we cannot choose the counterparts we deal with. We must accept and sit at the table and negotiate in our dialogue with those who aren't (inaudible) counterpart. As far as this sanction system specifically is concerned, I'm well aware that (inaudible) system stemming from the Minsk Agreement is the outcome and is connected to the implementation of the Minsk Agreement. 14:38:08 So it is clear that it is unthinkable today to lift overnight those sanctions. However, exactly because we are open to dialogue with Russia, the position of my government has sated -- straight away (ph) is to make sure that the system of sanctions doesn't affect the -- the civic society, doesn't affect the economy of the small and medium size enterprises in Russia. Italy, from this point of view, has a traditional, intense, economic relations with Russia in this respect. So in order to (inaudible) once again with a final statement, sanctions against Russia are not and cannot (inaudible) an end. 14:38:58 Second issue, trans-Adriatic pipeline, I discussed it with President Trump. And I reported to him that my government is well aware of the fact that this is a strategic work in terms of energy supply to Italy and to the south of Europe in a different (ph) area. We are perfectly aware of the fact that this can provide a contribution also in the renewal of the energy system and the elimination of coal, which is part of our program. At the same time I correctly informed President Trump that there are some uncertainties by local communities, the communities where the pipeline will land. Since problem (inaudible) we face directly, I'm not trying to avoid them. Once back to Italy, as soon as possible I will discuss the issue with the (inaudible) Ministers -- 14:40:01 --and I will go and meet the local mayors, the local communities, trying to find a solution which will take into account the concerns of local communities. I found, as the third point is concerned, at 35 (ph). As you know, do you know it is a program which was decided in 2002, that agreement was signed 2002. So it's a great big period of time, in terms of talking about need for defense and security. As a government, we are responsibly evaluating this file. As you know, it is already a process of orders are being issued, which is taking place, and these orders are issued much earlier, because the work is ready (ph) complex. So we will continue to follow this file, and will make all the necessary choices in a very cautious way, in view of the needs of defense and security, being fully transparent with our partner, the Trump administration. 14:41:07 TRUMP: Thank you very much. Sanctions on Russia will remain as is. As far as a pipeline is concerned, I'd like to see a competing pipeline. So Mr. Prime Minister, I hope you're going to be able to do that competing pipeline. And we are already talking to the European Union about building anywhere from nine to 11 ports, which they will pay for, so that we can ship our L&G over to various parts of Europe, and that will be more competition. But the sanctions on Russia will remain as is. OK, thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. CONTE: Thank you. TRUMP: Thank you very much. END

JULY 30, 2018 PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP HOLDS A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE WITH PRIME MINISTER GIUSEPPE CONTE OF ITALY 1350 WH ITALY PM PRESSER LIVE CUTS FS23 73 14:03:51 TRUMP: I'm honored to welcome my new friend -- we got along very well right from the beginning -- Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, to the White House. Mr. Prime Minister, I want to begin by congratulating you once again on your tremendous victory in Italy. It was something that all the world was watching, and it excited the people all across Italy, and I can tell you, all across the United States, as well. Congratulations. In your election, the Italian nation has reaffirmed the great traditions of sovereignty, law, and accountability that stretch all the way back to ancient Rome. This proud heritage sustains our civilization, and must be always defended. TRUMP: Today, Prime Minister Conte and I are pleased to announce a new strategic dialogue between Italy and the United States that will enhance cooperation on a range of issues. 14:05:00 This includes joint security efforts in the Mediterranean, where we recognize Italy's leadership role in the stabilization of Libya and North Africa, they've been terrific. Both the Prime Minister and I are focused on the urgent need to protect our nations from terrorism and uncontrolled migration. Our countries have learned through hard experience that border security is national security, they are one and the same. Like the United States, Italy is currently under enormous strain as a result of illegal immigration, and they've fought it hard and the Prime Minister frankly is with us today because of illegal immigration. Italy got tired of it, they didn't want it any longer. 14:05:54 The people of Italy have borne a great part of the burden for Europe through the course of the migration crisis. I applaud the Prime Minister for his bold leadership -- truly bold, and I hope more leaders will follow this example, including leaders in Europe. The Prime Minister and I are united in our conviction that strong nations must have strong borders. We have a solemn obligation to protect our citizens and their quality of life. My administration is working hard to pass border security legislation, improved vetting and establish a merit-based immigration system, which the United States needs very, very importantly, very badly. As far as the border is concerned and personally, if we don't get border security, after many, many years of talk within the United States, I would have no problem doing a shutdown. It's time we had proper border security. 14:07:05 We're the laughing stock of the world. We have the worst immigration laws anywhere in the world. In our meeting today, the Prime Minister and I discussed ways to enhance our cooperation in the fight against terrorism. That also has to do with border security. I want to thank the Italian people for Italy's contributions to counter terrorism and operations in the coalition to defeat ISIS, where we've had a tremendous success as you know, and in NATO'S Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. The Prime Minister and I also agree that the brutal regime in Iran must never be allowed to posses a nuclear weapon, never. 14:07:53 We encourage all nations to pressure Iran to end the full range of its maligned activities. The United States welcomes the partnership of Italy in these vital efforts. Today, we are also addressing the crucial issue of trade and commerce. We're working closely with our European partners, including Italy, to ensure fair and reciprocal trade. A few days ago, I met with President Juncker of the European Commission, we had a great meeting. Following that meeting, we announced a breakthrough agreement to remove trade barriers and increase United States exports of agriculture, energy and other goods and services to the European Union. Now is also the perfect time to expand commerce between the United States and Italy. America's booming economy and setting records in so many categories creates enormous opportunities for investment. 14:08:57 Likewise, I recommend investment in Italy, it's a great place with great people. I look forward to working closely with the Prime Minister to open up new commercial opportunities that will reduce our trade deficit substantially and increase our mutual prosperity. Mr. Prime Minister, we discussed our shared goal of combating unfair foreign trade practices from non-market economies. They're brutal, but we're winning. These abuses include subsidies, excess capacity, intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer, currency devaluation and distortion caused by state-owned enterprises. In this area, like so many others, cooperation between Italy and the United States can make a tremendous difference, not only for our countries but all over the world, and it's making a big difference and we're making a big difference-- 14:09:59 --tremendous difference on trade and on fairness. But we also have to be fair to the people of the United States and the taxpayers of the United States. Mr. Prime Minister, thank you again for joining me for these important discussions. We're both outsiders to politics, can you believe it? We are outsiders to politics. I look at all of these wonderful politicians -- and we're both determined to protect the rights and needs and interests and dreams of our citizens, and we will do that. I look forward to partnering with you to build on the incredible friendship between our countries and to creating a brighter future for both the people of Italy and the people of the United States. And with that, I just want to again thank you very much for coming to the White House. It is my great honor, thank you. CONTE: Good afternoon. I wish to thank you President Trump for this kind invitation, for this warm hospitality,-- 14:11:09 --only two months after the formation of my government. I think -- I take it as a sign of special -- the special attention to Italy and to me, as well. Do forgive me, but I don't want to renounce the privilege of speaking in my wonderful language now. (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): (Inaudible) all, I would like to remember (inaudible) to all the families and all the members of the families, to the victims of the fires that took place recently in California. 14:11:54 I'd also like to say a very, very affectionate hello to all of the friends from Europe (ph). So our relationship is a very long one, it goes way back and today we have strengthened it even more and I'm extremely happy about this. And with this very fruitful encounter here in the -- in -- in the -- at the White House, we have made another step ahead. In order to intensify our cooperation, our work together, to make it even more adequate vis-a-vis the geopolitical, economic situation in the world. From June 1st, there's another element that brings us even closer, the United States and Italy, my government and the Trump administration, are both governments that represent change. They were chosen by citizens in order to change the status quo and to improve their life conditions. 14:12:56 There's so many things that bring us together, that unify us in Italy as in the United States. We are doing what we had promised during our electoral campaign, and we are working in order to give answers to the expectations of our citizens so that we won't disappoint them and we don't betray our mandate. In Italy, in the United States, we are proving that change is possible. Donald and I have concentrated on a number of topics, and we both have agreed upon and reached the following results, which in part were already mentioned. Today, we will have made a great step ahead. We will start working in Italy. It's a directorship boost (ph), as it were, in the Mediterranean between Italy and the United States. 14:13:53 I would say that we're almost twin countries in which Italy is becoming a reference point in Europe and a privileged interlocutor for the United States for the main threats and challenges that we have before us, terrorism and for all the crises that we see in the Mediterranean and in particular in regards to Libya. Secondly, the American administration also recognizes that Italy has a leadership role as a promoter country that will lead to the stabilization of Libya. And of course, this was a great respect for the Libyan population. With the United States, we will be working in order to reach these results, and we will decide what needs to be done in view of this result. I am truly thankful to you, Donald, for your support. 14:14:51 Thirdly, in terms of immigration, I also described to President Trump the innovative approach that Italy has put forth. And the European Union now has a responsibility to not leave the weight of the management of immigration on the shoulders of the countries of first arrival, like Italy is. And as you heard President Trump say, we appreciate this contribution which is been provided by the Italian government which is providing fruit, good results. We are talking about an approach, a multilevel approach, in order to try to resolve the phenomenon of immigration, not because of an emergency, but because this is a structural approach. I want to underline: this is in line with the position of President Trump, which goes from the respect and dignity of people to make sure that fundamental rights are protected, and it wants to make sure that these rights are trampled over, because these people are the hands of criminal bath (ph). 14:16:00 I also want to underline that the world day for the exchange of human beings is going to be celebrated. I also told President Trump that I'm very satisfied for the understanding that was reached very recently between ourselves and the president of the European Commission, Juncker. I believe that this understanding is fundamental, and that we start -- we have to work upon it immediately, bringing our efforts together to make sure that European, American, Italian citizens receive the benefits of a more equitable trade relationship, which is completely reciprocal. And once again, as far as Russia is concerned, you know that Italy is favorable to a dialog with Russia,-- 14:16:52 --but Italy also considers that the dialog between the United States and Russia is fundamental so that we can have positive results in a more global perspective for stability and security purposes. In terms of energy security, President Trump and I also found ourselves in agreement with the need to make sure that there is a greater diversification for these sources of energy, and to make sure that the routes, the energy routes are diversified, as well. And finally, I personally am sure that we can increase and improve the relationship with the United States at all levels, and in particular, in the -- in space and aerospace fields. We already have a great partnership between the Italian Space Agency and NASA, so we hope that aerospace will bring together American technology, Italian technology so that we can launch new aircraft that cross the atmosphere, and will be able to bring the United States and Italy and -- together in a -- in an hour and a half (ph). 14:18:12 This is a project that I'd like to speak in detail with the American administration. I thank you for your attention. TRUMP: (inaudible) ... we -- we're going to Saagar, please. Saagar Enjeti. Thank you. Daily Caller. Thank you. QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. To follow up on what you were saying about the shutdown, sir, are you saying that you would be willing to shut the government down in September if it does not fully fund $25 billion-worth of your border wall, and also deliver all of the immigration priorities that you listed in your tweet, or are you leaving some room for negotiation there? 14:18:52 TRUMP: I'll always leave room for negotiation, but this has been many years. This isn't just Trump administration. We're new. There's been many years, even decades. We have immigration laws. We have border security. We have all sorts of things going on that are -- it's disgraceful. We are doing a phenomenal job. We're setting records, but we have laws that don't work, so we're working around those laws, and it's unfortunate. I have to take my -- my hat off to the Border Patrols, for the law enforcement, to ICE, which really has been maligned by the Democrats. The job they do, they go into these MS-13 nests, the nests of bad, bad people, killers, in many cases, and they go in there fearless, and they do an incredible job, and they get them out. They either go to jail, or they get out of the country. So I want to just take my hat off to ICE and the brave people that have really been maligned by the Democrats. TRUMP: We need border security. 14:19:51 Without a border, as this gentleman can tell you also, because the prime minister really was -- it was a very big factor in his win, and other people's win in Italy. But it was a big factor in my win. We need border security. Border security includes the wall, but it includes many other things. We have to end the lottery. We have to end the chain -- the chain is like a disaster. You bring one person in and you end up with 32 people. We have to end these horrible catch-and-release principles where you catch somebody, you take their name and you release them. You don't even know who they are. And then they're supposed to come back to a court case where they want us to hire thousands of judges. The whole thing is ridiculous and we have to change our laws. And we do that through Congress. So I would certainly be willing to close it down, to get it done. As you know, we are already approving things in various bills, including we're going to be taking care of the military. 14:20:51 We always put the military and law enforcement very high. But I would be certainly willing to consider a shutdown if we don't get proper border security. Thank you. Please. QUESTION: Sir, just to follow up on that quickly. Is the $25 billion a red line for you? TRUMP: I have no red line. Unlike President Obama. I just want great border security. OK? QUESTION: Mr. Prime Minister, here in the United States, amongst our commentariat (ph), there was a consensus that the president's appearance at the G7 and NATO damaged our relationship with those institutions. As a member of both of those institutions, what is your assessment of the president's appearance at both? 14:21:44 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Both the G7 and NATO -- at NATO, we had a very fruitful exchange of views and opinions and our (ph) positions (ph). I think that all the positions and stances which are expressed with clarity and provide a contribution also to review well-established positions are more than welcome. There is a fruitful exchange. We had a fruitful exchange, both at the G7 Summit and NATO Summit in different frameworks. We, for instance, in the framework of G7 Summit, we agreed on the need for reforming the WTO. The system of the WTO. It's a year-old system which considered China as an emerging country. You can understand that applying those same rules after years with the privileges granted to an emerging country, clearly means having a system which is not well-functioning and not well-rational. At (ph) NATO, there was (ph) a (ph) clear stance taken by President Trump which I personally share fairly. 14:22:53 He expressed a position and the need to rebalance the expenditure which is borne (ph) traditionally by the United States, which is very disproportionate. These are absolutely reasonable positions and stances. And I personally take them into great account and I will be personally the carrier of the message and I'll try and make the others understand his positions as well. We must negotiate with United States to find the balance in interest of Italian citizens, American citizens and European citizens. TRUMP: I want to thank you also. I'd just to add to that, but I do want to thank you for what you just said because it's been very unfair to the United States. We had a very good G7 meeting. That's where Giuseppe and I became friends. I think we were probably more closely aligned than anybody else in the room. But it was a great meeting in every respect. I would say it was very good. And NATO in particular. I went to NATO, -- 14:23:57 --and NATO was essentially going out of business because people weren't paying and it was going down, down, down. You just have to look at the line. I came along last year. And in a fairly nice tone I said, "You've got to pay." And they paid $44 billion more. And this year, I said it in a little bit stronger tone. And they're paying hundreds of billions of dollars more over the years. And NATO will be strong again. And if you speak to Secretary General Stoltenberg, I think he's the biggest fan of Trump. Because he said, "We couldn't collect money until President Trump came along." And he said last year, we collected $44 billion and this year the money is pouring in. But it's like the prime minister said. We really -- talk about imbalance. We were treated very unfairly. The United States was treated very, very unfairly because we're shouldering anywhere from 70 to 90 percent of the cost of NATO. 14:24:54 That's not fair. It's not fair. Especially when you take Germany, and Germany's paying 1 percent. A little more than 1 percent. And they're buying and paying tremendous amounts of money to Russia. So we're supposed to protect countries from Russia, but they're paying Russia billions and billions of dollars for the energy. Not good. Not a good situation. And I let it be known. So the bottom line is, the NATO countries are now paying a lot more money and NATO's become a lot stronger because of it and I appreciate your answer. Thank you. Please. 14:25:32 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Sorry, Donald. May I add something? I'm saying that as a person who has a great -- huge experience as a lawyer, you have a president who is (ph) a (ph) strong supporter and advocator of the -- of the interests of the American people and the American country. He is a great negotiator. And I'm told that there is (ph) Maria Luisa Rossi-Hawkins from Mediaset (ph) Group who wants to ask a question. A (ph) question (ph) must (ph) be (ph) asked (ph)... (CROSSTALK) QUESTION: Despite its terrific potential, the Italian economy underperforms regularly. Given your stellar success in the U.S. economy, what do you think would reignite the Italian economy and what role do you think the E.U. should play in it? And President Conte, do you think President's (sic) Trump (sic) formula would work in Italy as well? 14:26:24 TRUMP: Well I can answer. The biggest thing Italy needs is great leadership, and they have it right now. I really honestly believe the prime minister is going to do a tremendous job on economic development. In addition to borders. You know, for economic development, you need borders also. But you have a man that's going to do a terrific job. I have no doubt about it at all. He knows how to sell, he knows how to promote, really, a great product because they make among the greatest products. I won't mention their names but they are great. I have several of them. And Italy makes great product. And I think it's going to do very well economically, and we're there to help. We have had record numbers. I've been here for a little more than a year and a half and we've had record numbers. We've had record -- we've had numbers that nobody believed possible, especially if you look at one particular fact that was not reported very much. Trade deficit, $52 billion reduction in the trade deficit for the quarter. And I think probably Steve Mnuchin, Treasury's here. And Mike Pompeo. 14:27:32 I think nobody would have thought that would be possible so quickly. $52 billion reduction in the trade deficit for the quarter. I think that Italy's going to be able to do the same thing. Slightly different numbers, but the same thing. QUESTION: What role should the E.U. -- the European Union play in the matter, sir? And their (ph) ignition (ph) of... (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: You're asking me what? QUESTION: What role do you think the European Union should play in the reignition of... TRUMP: That's up to them. I don't want to get involved in that. Look, the European Union, Jean-Claude and I had a fantastic meeting last week. We were having a hard time and then I did mention tariffs on cars. And we got along very well. Very well. I think they're going to treat us very fairly. And we're going to treat them fairly. But as you know, it's been a one-way street. The European Union has totally taken advantage of the United States. We can't let that happen. Not fair to the United States. And by the way, Italy has a $31 billion surplus with the United States, -- 14:28:27 --meaning we have a $31 billion trade deficit with Italy and we discussed that and we'll work something out. We're going to work something out. OK? Thank you. 14:28:41 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): As far as I'm concerned, I'm very envious -- very envious of the records and the growth figures of the American economy. We discussed that before with Donald. Somehow, these are systems which cannot be compared because they are magnitudes, orders of magnitude which are very different. But at the same time, I'm envious but ambitious at the same time. As the (ph) government leader, I'm ambitious for my economy to do a lot, much more than what was done in the past. We are preparing a series of structural reforms which we will be submitting to the attention of our European partners too. I do not want the tax reform to be set aside. It was a leverage in this country for economic growth, and generally it represents (ph) -- it's well-constructed. It represents leverage for economic growth by working also on streamlining and simplifying red tape, administration regulations. And we're trying to eliminate corruption pockets. 14:29:48 We are trying to speed up the civil trials, the procedures -- the proceedings. That (ph) all sectors together with a citizenship (ph) income which will support those people who lose their job to find a new one without... These are all the reforms that we consider to be a positive element to represent an economic leverage over our country which can then try and reach the world (ph). 14:30:18 TRUMP: I do think this, one of the biggest things that we've done -- obviously the massive tax cuts, but maybe equal too would be the tremendous cuts in regulation. And I know Italy well and they have a lot of regulation, and I have no doubt that the Prime Minister Giuseppe will be working very hard on that. But I think, Giuseppe I can say from our standpoint one of the most important things we did was cutting massively these horrible regulations -- and I believe so strongly in the environment. I want the cleanest air, the cleanest water, the cleanest everything, the best everything. But you had ten regulations for every point in some cases, it was ridiculous. It would take many years to get a highway or a road approved, -- 14:31:00 --but we have that way down. We have it down to two years and it will hopefully be down to one. And it may get rejected. But at least it's going to go quickly. So we want regulation, but it's got to be cut to a minimum and do the trick and I think that Italy will follow suit. I know that they've looked at it very strongly and they're going to follow suit, OK? Thank you. Thank you very much. Roberta Rampton of Reuters, please? Roberta? Hello, Roberta. QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. You spoke a bit about Iran today and your discussions, and I'm wondering if you could tell us what you think Iran needs to do to reduce some of the tensions. And you've met with the leaders of North Korea and Russia. Are you prepared also -- are you willing to meet with President Rouhani and under what conditions? And have there been any preliminary discussions about something like that? TRUMP: I'll meet with anybody. 14:31:59 I believe in meeting. The (inaudible) better than anybody can say it. Speaking to other people, especially when you're talking about potentials of war and death and famine and lots of other things. You meet, there's nothing wrong with meeting. We met, as you know, with Chairman Kim and it -- you haven't had a missile fired off in nine months, we got our prisoners back, so many things have happened so positive. But meeting with people -- I had a great meeting in my opinion, of course the fake news didn't cover it that way, but I had a great meeting with President Putin of Russia. I think it was a great meeting in terms of the future, in terms of safety and economic development and protecting Israel and protecting everybody, I thought it was a great meeting. Great meeting with NATO, I just explained NATO -- hundreds of billions of dollars of more money will be paid into NATO, the coffers of NATO and much already has. 14:32:56 So I believe in meeting, I would certainly meet with Iran if they wanted to meet. I don't know that they're ready yet, they're having a hard time right now. But I ended the Iran Deal, it was a ridiculous deal. I do believe that they will probably end up wanting to meet, and I'm ready to meet anytime they want to. And I don't do that from strength or from weakness, I think it's an appropriate thing to do. If we could work something out that's meaningful, not the waste of paper that the other deal was, I would certainly be willing to meet. QUESTION: Do you have preconditions for that meeting? TRUMP: No preconditions, no. If they want to meet, I'll meet anytime they want, anytime they want. Good for the country, good for them, good for us and good for the world. No preconditions. If they want to meet, I'll meet. QUESTION: Prime Minister, I wanted to -- to ask if you and the President did -- you talked about the need to stabilize Libya. I wanted to ask if you and the President discussed working together on energy production in Libya in some way? Did you discuss oil production in Libya? Do you see a way for the United States to become involved there, perhaps with Italy's help? 14:34:06 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We discussed the problem of stabilizing Libya and obviously the security to be guaranteed for the whole of the Iranian area. You see, it's not only a problem of the migration routes. Many of the migration routes from African countries concentrate in the Libyan area, and it's also a problem of security in general because for instance through the migration routes, foreign fighters might reach European territory, to agents which could -- who could carry the terrorist threat. We didn't discuss in details other problems. 14:35:00 Certainly it is our intention to respect the Libyan population. We are not driven by economic interests, we are not driven by the problem of energy supply. Our interest, and from this point of view (ph) I can announce -- I've already said that we are going to organize an agreement with President Trump. I'm going to organize a conference on Libya. We would like to still and discuss (ph) all of the issues related to the European people, involving all of the stakeholders, actors for governments and the whole of the Mediterranean. We are going to discuss economic aspects, but also social aspects. We need protection (ph) of civil rights, the problem of constitution of process, of issuing and passing laws in order to enable Libya in particular to get to the democratic elections in a condition of the utmost stability. 14:36:07 I'm told that (inaudible) from La Stampa wants to ask a question. QUESTION (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Thank you. I have a question to President -- Prime Minister Conte and then a question to President Trump. There are three pending issues on the table with the American administration. One of them is sanctions to Russia. In Italy -- the two main government parties in Italy said that they want to lift sanctions on Russia. What's the official position by the government? It seems the (inaudible) is asking for these sanctions to be kept, yet other points (ph) are the TAPI gas pipeline and the American Department asked to (ph) continue with the work, while there are some ambiguous decisions in Italy in relation to this project, and the F-35 program. What is Italy going to do? Will Italy confirm the program? Thank you. 14:37:05 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I'm going to answer in relation to a sanctions on Russia. I'm going to repeat what I said before, because I've already taken a stance in all of the international comments. I'm going to be boring, but this confirms that the position of the Italian government is not changing in this respect. We are open to dialect with Russia. We do believe that Russia is a place for a mentor role (ph) in all international, geopolitical prizes (ph). So thinking that Russia can be kept out of a dialogue -- as President Trump said, if we want to solve problems we cannot choose the counterparts we deal with. We must accept and sit at the table and negotiate in our dialogue with those who aren't (inaudible) counterpart. As far as this sanction system specifically is concerned, I'm well aware that (inaudible) system stemming from the Minsk Agreement is the outcome and is connected to the implementation of the Minsk Agreement. 14:38:08 So it is clear that it is unthinkable today to lift overnight those sanctions. However, exactly because we are open to dialogue with Russia, the position of my government has sated -- straight away (ph) is to make sure that the system of sanctions doesn't affect the -- the civic society, doesn't affect the economy of the small and medium size enterprises in Russia. Italy, from this point of view, has a traditional, intense, economic relations with Russia in this respect. So in order to (inaudible) once again with a final statement, sanctions against Russia are not and cannot (inaudible) an end. 14:38:58 Second issue, trans-Adriatic pipeline, I discussed it with President Trump. And I reported to him that my government is well aware of the fact that this is a strategic work in terms of energy supply to Italy and to the south of Europe in a different (ph) area. We are perfectly aware of the fact that this can provide a contribution also in the renewal of the energy system and the elimination of coal, which is part of our program. At the same time I correctly informed President Trump that there are some uncertainties by local communities, the communities where the pipeline will land. Since problem (inaudible) we face directly, I'm not trying to avoid them. Once back to Italy, as soon as possible I will discuss the issue with the (inaudible) Ministers -- 14:40:01 --and I will go and meet the local mayors, the local communities, trying to find a solution which will take into account the concerns of local communities. I found, as the third point is concerned, at 35 (ph). As you know, do you know it is a program which was decided in 2002, that agreement was signed 2002. So it's a great big period of time, in terms of talking about need for defense and security. As a government, we are responsibly evaluating this file. As you know, it is already a process of orders are being issued, which is taking place, and these orders are issued much earlier, because the work is ready (ph) complex. So we will continue to follow this file, and will make all the necessary choices in a very cautious way, in view of the needs of defense and security, being fully transparent with our partner, the Trump administration. 14:41:07 TRUMP: Thank you very much. Sanctions on Russia will remain as is. As far as a pipeline is concerned, I'd like to see a competing pipeline. So Mr. Prime Minister, I hope you're going to be able to do that competing pipeline. And we are already talking to the European Union about building anywhere from nine to 11 ports, which they will pay for, so that we can ship our L&G over to various parts of Europe, and that will be more competition. But the sanctions on Russia will remain as is. OK, thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. CONTE: Thank you. TRUMP: Thank you very much. END

1355 WH ITALY PM PRESSER STIX NO KARL AUDIO FS35 77 PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP HOLDS A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE WITH PRIME MINISTER GIUSEPPE CONTE OF ITALY 14:03:51 TRUMP: I'm honored to welcome my new friend -- we got along very well right from the beginning -- Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, to the White House. Mr. Prime Minister, I want to begin by congratulating you once again on your tremendous victory in Italy. It was something that all the world was watching, and it excited the people all across Italy, and I can tell you, all across the United States, as well. Congratulations. In your election, the Italian nation has reaffirmed the great traditions of sovereignty, law, and accountability that stretch all the way back to ancient Rome. This proud heritage sustains our civilization, and must be always defended. TRUMP: Today, Prime Minister Conte and I are pleased to announce a new strategic dialogue between Italy and the United States that will enhance cooperation on a range of issues. 14:05:00 This includes joint security efforts in the Mediterranean, where we recognize Italy's leadership role in the stabilization of Libya and North Africa, they've been terrific. Both the Prime Minister and I are focused on the urgent need to protect our nations from terrorism and uncontrolled migration. Our countries have learned through hard experience that border security is national security, they are one and the same. Like the United States, Italy is currently under enormous strain as a result of illegal immigration, and they've fought it hard and the Prime Minister frankly is with us today because of illegal immigration. Italy got tired of it, they didn't want it any longer. 14:05:54 The people of Italy have borne a great part of the burden for Europe through the course of the migration crisis. I applaud the Prime Minister for his bold leadership -- truly bold, and I hope more leaders will follow this example, including leaders in Europe. The Prime Minister and I are united in our conviction that strong nations must have strong borders. We have a solemn obligation to protect our citizens and their quality of life. My administration is working hard to pass border security legislation, improved vetting and establish a merit-based immigration system, which the United States needs very, very importantly, very badly. As far as the border is concerned and personally, if we don't get border security, after many, many years of talk within the United States, I would have no problem doing a shutdown. It's time we had proper border security. 14:07:05 We're the laughing stock of the world. We have the worst immigration laws anywhere in the world. In our meeting today, the Prime Minister and I discussed ways to enhance our cooperation in the fight against terrorism. That also has to do with border security. I want to thank the Italian people for Italy's contributions to counter terrorism and operations in the coalition to defeat ISIS, where we've had a tremendous success as you know, and in NATO'S Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. The Prime Minister and I also agree that the brutal regime in Iran must never be allowed to posses a nuclear weapon, never. 14:07:53 We encourage all nations to pressure Iran to end the full range of its maligned activities. The United States welcomes the partnership of Italy in these vital efforts. Today, we are also addressing the crucial issue of trade and commerce. We're working closely with our European partners, including Italy, to ensure fair and reciprocal trade. A few days ago, I met with President Juncker of the European Commission, we had a great meeting. Following that meeting, we announced a breakthrough agreement to remove trade barriers and increase United States exports of agriculture, energy and other goods and services to the European Union. Now is also the perfect time to expand commerce between the United States and Italy. America's booming economy and setting records in so many categories creates enormous opportunities for investment. 14:08:57 Likewise, I recommend investment in Italy, it's a great place with great people. I look forward to working closely with the Prime Minister to open up new commercial opportunities that will reduce our trade deficit substantially and increase our mutual prosperity. Mr. Prime Minister, we discussed our shared goal of combating unfair foreign trade practices from non-market economies. They're brutal, but we're winning. These abuses include subsidies, excess capacity, intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer, currency devaluation and distortion caused by state-owned enterprises. In this area, like so many others, cooperation between Italy and the United States can make a tremendous difference, not only for our countries but all over the world, and it's making a big difference and we're making a big difference-- 14:09:59 --tremendous difference on trade and on fairness. But we also have to be fair to the people of the United States and the taxpayers of the United States. Mr. Prime Minister, thank you again for joining me for these important discussions. We're both outsiders to politics, can you believe it? We are outsiders to politics. I look at all of these wonderful politicians -- and we're both determined to protect the rights and needs and interests and dreams of our citizens, and we will do that. I look forward to partnering with you to build on the incredible friendship between our countries and to creating a brighter future for both the people of Italy and the people of the United States. And with that, I just want to again thank you very much for coming to the White House. It is my great honor, thank you. CONTE: Good afternoon. I wish to thank you President Trump for this kind invitation, for this warm hospitality,-- 14:11:09 --only two months after the formation of my government. I think -- I take it as a sign of special -- the special attention to Italy and to me, as well. Do forgive me, but I don't want to renounce the privilege of speaking in my wonderful language now. (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): (Inaudible) all, I would like to remember (inaudible) to all the families and all the members of the families, to the victims of the fires that took place recently in California. 14:11:54 I'd also like to say a very, very affectionate hello to all of the friends from Europe (ph). So our relationship is a very long one, it goes way back and today we have strengthened it even more and I'm extremely happy about this. And with this very fruitful encounter here in the -- in -- in the -- at the White House, we have made another step ahead. In order to intensify our cooperation, our work together, to make it even more adequate vis-a-vis the geopolitical, economic situation in the world. From June 1st, there's another element that brings us even closer, the United States and Italy, my government and the Trump administration, are both governments that represent change. They were chosen by citizens in order to change the status quo and to improve their life conditions. 14:12:56 There's so many things that bring us together, that unify us in Italy as in the United States. We are doing what we had promised during our electoral campaign, and we are working in order to give answers to the expectations of our citizens so that we won't disappoint them and we don't betray our mandate. In Italy, in the United States, we are proving that change is possible. Donald and I have concentrated on a number of topics, and we both have agreed upon and reached the following results, which in part were already mentioned. Today, we will have made a great step ahead. We will start working in Italy. It's a directorship boost (ph), as it were, in the Mediterranean between Italy and the United States. 14:13:53 I would say that we're almost twin countries in which Italy is becoming a reference point in Europe and a privileged interlocutor for the United States for the main threats and challenges that we have before us, terrorism and for all the crises that we see in the Mediterranean and in particular in regards to Libya. Secondly, the American administration also recognizes that Italy has a leadership role as a promoter country that will lead to the stabilization of Libya. And of course, this was a great respect for the Libyan population. With the United States, we will be working in order to reach these results, and we will decide what needs to be done in view of this result. I am truly thankful to you, Donald, for your support. 14:14:51 Thirdly, in terms of immigration, I also described to President Trump the innovative approach that Italy has put forth. And the European Union now has a responsibility to not leave the weight of the management of immigration on the shoulders of the countries of first arrival, like Italy is. And as you heard President Trump say, we appreciate this contribution which is been provided by the Italian government which is providing fruit, good results. We are talking about an approach, a multilevel approach, in order to try to resolve the phenomenon of immigration, not because of an emergency, but because this is a structural approach. I want to underline: this is in line with the position of President Trump, which goes from the respect and dignity of people to make sure that fundamental rights are protected, and it wants to make sure that these rights are trampled over, because these people are the hands of criminal bath (ph). 14:16:00 I also want to underline that the world day for the exchange of human beings is going to be celebrated. I also told President Trump that I'm very satisfied for the understanding that was reached very recently between ourselves and the president of the European Commission, Juncker. I believe that this understanding is fundamental, and that we start -- we have to work upon it immediately, bringing our efforts together to make sure that European, American, Italian citizens receive the benefits of a more equitable trade relationship, which is completely reciprocal. And once again, as far as Russia is concerned, you know that Italy is favorable to a dialog with Russia,-- 14:16:52 --but Italy also considers that the dialog between the United States and Russia is fundamental so that we can have positive results in a more global perspective for stability and security purposes. In terms of energy security, President Trump and I also found ourselves in agreement with the need to make sure that there is a greater diversification for these sources of energy, and to make sure that the routes, the energy routes are diversified, as well. And finally, I personally am sure that we can increase and improve the relationship with the United States at all levels, and in particular, in the -- in space and aerospace fields. We already have a great partnership between the Italian Space Agency and NASA, so we hope that aerospace will bring together American technology, Italian technology so that we can launch new aircraft that cross the atmosphere, and will be able to bring the United States and Italy and -- together in a -- in an hour and a half (ph). 14:18:12 This is a project that I'd like to speak in detail with the American administration. I thank you for your attention. TRUMP: (inaudible) ... we -- we're going to Saagar, please. Saagar Enjeti. Thank you. Daily Caller. Thank you. QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. To follow up on what you were saying about the shutdown, sir, are you saying that you would be willing to shut the government down in September if it does not fully fund $25 billion-worth of your border wall, and also deliver all of the immigration priorities that you listed in your tweet, or are you leaving some room for negotiation there? 14:18:52 TRUMP: I'll always leave room for negotiation, but this has been many years. This isn't just Trump administration. We're new. There's been many years, even decades. We have immigration laws. We have border security. We have all sorts of things going on that are -- it's disgraceful. We are doing a phenomenal job. We're setting records, but we have laws that don't work, so we're working around those laws, and it's unfortunate. I have to take my -- my hat off to the Border Patrols, for the law enforcement, to ICE, which really has been maligned by the Democrats. The job they do, they go into these MS-13 nests, the nests of bad, bad people, killers, in many cases, and they go in there fearless, and they do an incredible job, and they get them out. They either go to jail, or they get out of the country. So I want to just take my hat off to ICE and the brave people that have really been maligned by the Democrats. TRUMP: We need border security. 14:19:51 Without a border, as this gentleman can tell you also, because the prime minister really was -- it was a very big factor in his win, and other people's win in Italy. But it was a big factor in my win. We need border security. Border security includes the wall, but it includes many other things. We have to end the lottery. We have to end the chain -- the chain is like a disaster. You bring one person in and you end up with 32 people. We have to end these horrible catch-and-release principles where you catch somebody, you take their name and you release them. You don't even know who they are. And then they're supposed to come back to a court case where they want us to hire thousands of judges. The whole thing is ridiculous and we have to change our laws. And we do that through Congress. So I would certainly be willing to close it down, to get it done. As you know, we are already approving things in various bills, including we're going to be taking care of the military. 14:20:51 We always put the military and law enforcement very high. But I would be certainly willing to consider a shutdown if we don't get proper border security. Thank you. Please. QUESTION: Sir, just to follow up on that quickly. Is the $25 billion a red line for you? TRUMP: I have no red line. Unlike President Obama. I just want great border security. OK? QUESTION: Mr. Prime Minister, here in the United States, amongst our commentariat (ph), there was a consensus that the president's appearance at the G7 and NATO damaged our relationship with those institutions. As a member of both of those institutions, what is your assessment of the president's appearance at both? 14:21:44 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Both the G7 and NATO -- at NATO, we had a very fruitful exchange of views and opinions and our (ph) positions (ph). I think that all the positions and stances which are expressed with clarity and provide a contribution also to review well-established positions are more than welcome. There is a fruitful exchange. We had a fruitful exchange, both at the G7 Summit and NATO Summit in different frameworks. We, for instance, in the framework of G7 Summit, we agreed on the need for reforming the WTO. The system of the WTO. It's a year-old system which considered China as an emerging country. You can understand that applying those same rules after years with the privileges granted to an emerging country, clearly means having a system which is not well-functioning and not well-rational. At (ph) NATO, there was (ph) a (ph) clear stance taken by President Trump which I personally share fairly. 14:22:53 He expressed a position and the need to rebalance the expenditure which is borne (ph) traditionally by the United States, which is very disproportionate. These are absolutely reasonable positions and stances. And I personally take them into great account and I will be personally the carrier of the message and I'll try and make the others understand his positions as well. We must negotiate with United States to find the balance in interest of Italian citizens, American citizens and European citizens. TRUMP: I want to thank you also. I'd just to add to that, but I do want to thank you for what you just said because it's been very unfair to the United States. We had a very good G7 meeting. That's where Giuseppe and I became friends. I think we were probably more closely aligned than anybody else in the room. But it was a great meeting in every respect. I would say it was very good. And NATO in particular. I went to NATO, -- 14:23:57 --and NATO was essentially going out of business because people weren't paying and it was going down, down, down. You just have to look at the line. I came along last year. And in a fairly nice tone I said, "You've got to pay." And they paid $44 billion more. And this year, I said it in a little bit stronger tone. And they're paying hundreds of billions of dollars more over the years. And NATO will be strong again. And if you speak to Secretary General Stoltenberg, I think he's the biggest fan of Trump. Because he said, "We couldn't collect money until President Trump came along." And he said last year, we collected $44 billion and this year the money is pouring in. But it's like the prime minister said. We really -- talk about imbalance. We were treated very unfairly. The United States was treated very, very unfairly because we're shouldering anywhere from 70 to 90 percent of the cost of NATO. 14:24:54 That's not fair. It's not fair. Especially when you take Germany, and Germany's paying 1 percent. A little more than 1 percent. And they're buying and paying tremendous amounts of money to Russia. So we're supposed to protect countries from Russia, but they're paying Russia billions and billions of dollars for the energy. Not good. Not a good situation. And I let it be known. So the bottom line is, the NATO countries are now paying a lot more money and NATO's become a lot stronger because of it and I appreciate your answer. Thank you. Please. 14:25:32 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Sorry, Donald. May I add something? I'm saying that as a person who has a great -- huge experience as a lawyer, you have a president who is (ph) a (ph) strong supporter and advocator of the -- of the interests of the American people and the American country. He is a great negotiator. And I'm told that there is (ph) Maria Luisa Rossi-Hawkins from Mediaset (ph) Group who wants to ask a question. A (ph) question (ph) must (ph) be (ph) asked (ph)... (CROSSTALK) QUESTION: Despite its terrific potential, the Italian economy underperforms regularly. Given your stellar success in the U.S. economy, what do you think would reignite the Italian economy and what role do you think the E.U. should play in it? And President Conte, do you think President's (sic) Trump (sic) formula would work in Italy as well? 14:26:24 TRUMP: Well I can answer. The biggest thing Italy needs is great leadership, and they have it right now. I really honestly believe the prime minister is going to do a tremendous job on economic development. In addition to borders. You know, for economic development, you need borders also. But you have a man that's going to do a terrific job. I have no doubt about it at all. He knows how to sell, he knows how to promote, really, a great product because they make among the greatest products. I won't mention their names but they are great. I have several of them. And Italy makes great product. And I think it's going to do very well economically, and we're there to help. We have had record numbers. I've been here for a little more than a year and a half and we've had record numbers. We've had record -- we've had numbers that nobody believed possible, especially if you look at one particular fact that was not reported very much. Trade deficit, $52 billion reduction in the trade deficit for the quarter. And I think probably Steve Mnuchin, Treasury's here. And Mike Pompeo. 14:27:32 I think nobody would have thought that would be possible so quickly. $52 billion reduction in the trade deficit for the quarter. I think that Italy's going to be able to do the same thing. Slightly different numbers, but the same thing. QUESTION: What role should the E.U. -- the European Union play in the matter, sir? And their (ph) ignition (ph) of... (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: You're asking me what? QUESTION: What role do you think the European Union should play in the reignition of... TRUMP: That's up to them. I don't want to get involved in that. Look, the European Union, Jean-Claude and I had a fantastic meeting last week. We were having a hard time and then I did mention tariffs on cars. And we got along very well. Very well. I think they're going to treat us very fairly. And we're going to treat them fairly. But as you know, it's been a one-way street. The European Union has totally taken advantage of the United States. We can't let that happen. Not fair to the United States. And by the way, Italy has a $31 billion surplus with the United States, -- 14:28:27 --meaning we have a $31 billion trade deficit with Italy and we discussed that and we'll work something out. We're going to work something out. OK? Thank you. 14:28:41 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): As far as I'm concerned, I'm very envious -- very envious of the records and the growth figures of the American economy. We discussed that before with Donald. Somehow, these are systems which cannot be compared because they are magnitudes, orders of magnitude which are very different. But at the same time, I'm envious but ambitious at the same time. As the (ph) government leader, I'm ambitious for my economy to do a lot, much more than what was done in the past. We are preparing a series of structural reforms which we will be submitting to the attention of our European partners too. I do not want the tax reform to be set aside. It was a leverage in this country for economic growth, and generally it represents (ph) -- it's well-constructed. It represents leverage for economic growth by working also on streamlining and simplifying red tape, administration regulations. And we're trying to eliminate corruption pockets. 14:29:48 We are trying to speed up the civil trials, the procedures -- the proceedings. That (ph) all sectors together with a citizenship (ph) income which will support those people who lose their job to find a new one without... These are all the reforms that we consider to be a positive element to represent an economic leverage over our country which can then try and reach the world (ph). 14:30:18 TRUMP: I do think this, one of the biggest things that we've done -- obviously the massive tax cuts, but maybe equal too would be the tremendous cuts in regulation. And I know Italy well and they have a lot of regulation, and I have no doubt that the Prime Minister Giuseppe will be working very hard on that. But I think, Giuseppe I can say from our standpoint one of the most important things we did was cutting massively these horrible regulations -- and I believe so strongly in the environment. I want the cleanest air, the cleanest water, the cleanest everything, the best everything. But you had ten regulations for every point in some cases, it was ridiculous. It would take many years to get a highway or a road approved, -- 14:31:00 --but we have that way down. We have it down to two years and it will hopefully be down to one. And it may get rejected. But at least it's going to go quickly. So we want regulation, but it's got to be cut to a minimum and do the trick and I think that Italy will follow suit. I know that they've looked at it very strongly and they're going to follow suit, OK? Thank you. Thank you very much. Roberta Rampton of Reuters, please? Roberta? Hello, Roberta. QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. You spoke a bit about Iran today and your discussions, and I'm wondering if you could tell us what you think Iran needs to do to reduce some of the tensions. And you've met with the leaders of North Korea and Russia. Are you prepared also -- are you willing to meet with President Rouhani and under what conditions? And have there been any preliminary discussions about something like that? TRUMP: I'll meet with anybody. 14:31:59 I believe in meeting. The (inaudible) better than anybody can say it. Speaking to other people, especially when you're talking about potentials of war and death and famine and lots of other things. You meet, there's nothing wrong with meeting. We met, as you know, with Chairman Kim and it -- you haven't had a missile fired off in nine months, we got our prisoners back, so many things have happened so positive. But meeting with people -- I had a great meeting in my opinion, of course the fake news didn't cover it that way, but I had a great meeting with President Putin of Russia. I think it was a great meeting in terms of the future, in terms of safety and economic development and protecting Israel and protecting everybody, I thought it was a great meeting. Great meeting with NATO, I just explained NATO -- hundreds of billions of dollars of more money will be paid into NATO, the coffers of NATO and much already has. 14:32:56 So I believe in meeting, I would certainly meet with Iran if they wanted to meet. I don't know that they're ready yet, they're having a hard time right now. But I ended the Iran Deal, it was a ridiculous deal. I do believe that they will probably end up wanting to meet, and I'm ready to meet anytime they want to. And I don't do that from strength or from weakness, I think it's an appropriate thing to do. If we could work something out that's meaningful, not the waste of paper that the other deal was, I would certainly be willing to meet. QUESTION: Do you have preconditions for that meeting? TRUMP: No preconditions, no. If they want to meet, I'll meet anytime they want, anytime they want. Good for the country, good for them, good for us and good for the world. No preconditions. If they want to meet, I'll meet. QUESTION: Prime Minister, I wanted to -- to ask if you and the President did -- you talked about the need to stabilize Libya. I wanted to ask if you and the President discussed working together on energy production in Libya in some way? Did you discuss oil production in Libya? Do you see a way for the United States to become involved there, perhaps with Italy's help? 14:34:06 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We discussed the problem of stabilizing Libya and obviously the security to be guaranteed for the whole of the Iranian area. You see, it's not only a problem of the migration routes. Many of the migration routes from African countries concentrate in the Libyan area, and it's also a problem of security in general because for instance through the migration routes, foreign fighters might reach European territory, to agents which could -- who could carry the terrorist threat. We didn't discuss in details other problems. 14:35:00 Certainly it is our intention to respect the Libyan population. We are not driven by economic interests, we are not driven by the problem of energy supply. Our interest, and from this point of view (ph) I can announce -- I've already said that we are going to organize an agreement with President Trump. I'm going to organize a conference on Libya. We would like to still and discuss (ph) all of the issues related to the European people, involving all of the stakeholders, actors for governments and the whole of the Mediterranean. We are going to discuss economic aspects, but also social aspects. We need protection (ph) of civil rights, the problem of constitution of process, of issuing and passing laws in order to enable Libya in particular to get to the democratic elections in a condition of the utmost stability. 14:36:07 I'm told that (inaudible) from La Stampa wants to ask a question. QUESTION (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Thank you. I have a question to President -- Prime Minister Conte and then a question to President Trump. There are three pending issues on the table with the American administration. One of them is sanctions to Russia. In Italy -- the two main government parties in Italy said that they want to lift sanctions on Russia. What's the official position by the government? It seems the (inaudible) is asking for these sanctions to be kept, yet other points (ph) are the TAPI gas pipeline and the American Department asked to (ph) continue with the work, while there are some ambiguous decisions in Italy in relation to this project, and the F-35 program. What is Italy going to do? Will Italy confirm the program? Thank you. 14:37:05 CONTE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I'm going to answer in relation to a sanctions on Russia. I'm going to repeat what I said before, because I've already taken a stance in all of the international comments. I'm going to be boring, but this confirms that the position of the Italian government is not changing in this respect. We are open to dialect with Russia. We do believe that Russia is a place for a mentor role (ph) in all international, geopolitical prizes (ph). So thinking that Russia can be kept out of a dialogue -- as President Trump said, if we want to solve problems we cannot choose the counterparts we deal with. We must accept and sit at the table and negotiate in our dialogue with those who aren't (inaudible) counterpart. As far as this sanction system specifically is concerned, I'm well aware that (inaudible) system stemming from the Minsk Agreement is the outcome and is connected to the implementation of the Minsk Agreement. 14:38:08 So it is clear that it is unthinkable today to lift overnight those sanctions. However, exactly because we are open to dialogue with Russia, the position of my government has sated -- straight away (ph) is to make sure that the system of sanctions doesn't affect the -- the civic society, doesn't affect the economy of the small and medium size enterprises in Russia. Italy, from this point of view, has a traditional, intense, economic relations with Russia in this respect. So in order to (inaudible) once again with a final statement, sanctions against Russia are not and cannot (inaudible) an end. 14:38:58 Second issue, trans-Adriatic pipeline, I discussed it with President Trump. And I reported to him that my government is well aware of the fact that this is a strategic work in terms of energy supply to Italy and to the south of Europe in a different (ph) area. We are perfectly aware of the fact that this can provide a contribution also in the renewal of the energy system and the elimination of coal, which is part of our program. At the same time I correctly informed President Trump that there are some uncertainties by local communities, the communities where the pipeline will land. Since problem (inaudible) we face directly, I'm not trying to avoid them. Once back to Italy, as soon as possible I will discuss the issue with the (inaudible) Ministers -- 14:40:01 --and I will go and meet the local mayors, the local communities, trying to find a solution which will take into account the concerns of local communities. I found, as the third point is concerned, at 35 (ph). As you know, do you know it is a program which was decided in 2002, that agreement was signed 2002. So it's a great big period of time, in terms of talking about need for defense and security. As a government, we are responsibly evaluating this file. As you know, it is already a process of orders are being issued, which is taking place, and these orders are issued much earlier, because the work is ready (ph) complex. So we will continue to follow this file, and will make all the necessary choices in a very cautious way, in view of the needs of defense and security, being fully transparent with our partner, the Trump administration. 14:41:07 TRUMP: Thank you very much. Sanctions on Russia will remain as is. As far as a pipeline is concerned, I'd like to see a competing pipeline. So Mr. Prime Minister, I hope you're going to be able to do that competing pipeline. And we are already talking to the European Union about building anywhere from nine to 11 ports, which they will pay for, so that we can ship our L&G over to various parts of Europe, and that will be more competition. But the sanctions on Russia will remain as is. OK, thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. CONTE: Thank you. TRUMP: Thank you very much. END