Q I want to ask you about the Mideast peace process, because today the State Department announced it's going to close the Palestinian mission here in Washington. The Palestinian Ambassador to the U.S. accuses this country of murdering the peace process and undermining its role in the peace process. The State Department says that it's not retreating from our efforts to achieve a lasting and comprehensive peace. Which is it? And how is the United States still an honest broker in this process?
MS. SANDERS: Certainly we've been very upfront throughout the process and the fact that we want to see peace, we want to have those conversations, we want to help broker that deal. And we're going to continue pushing forward. Beyond that, I don't have anything specific on it today.
Q To close the office, the Palestinians are saying that the U.S. can no longer be an honest broker. This is another example, they say, of the fact that the U.S. is too aligned with Israel. Is that not the case?
MS. SANDERS: Certainly we have a great deal of support with our friend and ally in Israel. But again, we are as committed today as we've ever been to the peace process.
Lalit.
Q Thank you. On Friday, President talked about a new deal - a trade deal with India. What kind of agreement - trade agreement deal is he talking about? What kind of agreement he wants with India?
MS. SANDERS: I know that a number of administration officials just recently came back from India. They expressed their willingness to negotiate new and better trade deals, and those conversations are at the beginning stages. And we'll certainly keep you posted as we get further in the process.
Hallie.
Q Thank you, Sarah. I have one on the ICC, but I want to follow up on Steven's question on the peace process here. And just - you say the door continues to be open and that you're still working on it, but is it realistic for the President to believe he can actually achieve peace in the Middle East in his first term in office - as he's promised to do; something that his son-in-law is working on as well - when the administration has taken steps that Palestinians themselves have said do not help?
MS. SANDERS: Again, certainly we are very much committed to the process, and we're still hopeful we can get there.
Q Let me ask about the ICC. John Bolton today said the administration would sanction the International Criminal Court, which is a move that seems to be a reversion to, sort of, Bush-era policies. Is it fair to say that this administration is now shifting to a more hard-lined stance toward the ICC? And if, in fact, it so feckless, then why is the U.S. so concerned?
MS. SANDERS: Certainly the President is committed to defending our national sovereignty and all of our security interests, which would include using any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by the ICC.
Their announcement that they would consider opening an investigation into - among other parties - U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan is a threat to American sovereignty. And if they proceed with that, then the United States would consider those options that Ambassador Bolton laid out today.
Q So why the concern? If the ICC is, in fact, dead to you, as John Bolton said today, then what is the concern that U.S. has if, in fact, they do not (inaudible) Afghanistan?
MS. SANDERS: Because they told us they were on the verge of making that decision, and we're letting them know our position ahead of them making that decision.
I'll take one last question. David.
Q Sarah, the editor of the Global Times - which is Beijing's premier foreign policy outlet - wrote on Twitter today that the President blames China on North Korea quite a bit. But now that there seems to be some improvement in North Korea's stance, does China deserve some credit? He suggested that they do. What do you think about that? Does it now deserve credit? Does the President believe China is acting better?
MS. SANDERS: I think that the President deserves the credit in this process. He's been the lead voice and the one that put the initial pressure on North Korea. Certainly the President has very publicly expressed his gratitude towards President Xi for the role that they play. He would have liked to have seen them continue to step up and do more. Frankly, we'd still like to see them step up and do more. But the credit in this process, at this point in where we are, I would say belongs to President Trump. And we're going to continue to hopefully work with President Xi and his team and his administration to continue making progress.
Q Given that you're scheduling a second meeting, it sounded like, with Kim Jong Un, does the President believe that it's really he has to negotiate almost personally with Kim, given that once the two leaders have left, things seem to go poorly and then they have to reschedule another meeting? Is it that level that it has to -
MS. SANDERS: I don't know that it's - I don't know that it's gone poorly, considering steps have been taken by the North Koreans to show signs of good faith.
Q He cancelled a meeting, saying there's not enough progress.
MS. SANDERS: Right. But other steps have been taken, so I wouldn't say that it's gone poorly.
But at the end of the day, ultimately it's always going to be when you can have the two leaders sit down, particularly from the North Korean side, as we know most of the decisions are going to be have to run through Kim Jong Un. Certainly he's going to want to talk to his counterpart in President Trump. We think it's important, and we're glad that we're making progress.
Thanks so much guys. Have a great day.
