Arrived: U.S. Purchase of ventilators and personal protection equipment from Russia
U.S. Purchase of Needed Supplies From Russia
PRESS STATEMENT
MORGAN ORTAGUS, DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON
The United States is committed to the global fight against COVID-19. We are a generous and reliable contributor to crisis response and humanitarian action across the world, but we cannot do it alone. The countries of the G20 agreed last week to work together to defeat the coronavirus, and we are working closely with these countries and others to ensure that critically needed supplies get to those in need.
As a follow-up to the March 30 phone call between President Trump and President Putin, the United States has agreed to purchase needed medical supplies, including ventilators and personal protection equipment, from Russia, which were handed over to FEMA on April 1 in New York City.
Both countries have provided humanitarian assistance to each other in times of crisis in the past and will no doubt do so again in the future. This is a time to work together to overcome a common enemy that threatens the lives of all of us.
A U.S. official said quoted by Reuters as saying the shipment carried 60 tons of ventilators, masks, respirators, and other items. The official said the equipment would be carefully examined to make sure it complies with quality requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, RFE reported.
APRIL 1, 2020
Secretary Michael R. Pompeo Remarks to the Press
SECRETARY POMPEO: Well, good morning, everyone. It’s great to see you all. I hope everybody’s keeping safe, healthy. I want to talk about two important topics today. The first is the new framework, our pathway for democracy that we’re rolling out today with respect to the conflict, the crisis in Venezuela. And then second, I want to talk about the really amazing, historic work the State Department is doing in mounting an effort to repatriate Americans from all across the world in response to the pandemic. It’s in the finest traditions of what the State Department has always done.
First, Venezuela. I don’t want to go into every detail; I’ve got Elliot Abrams here with me, too. He’ll – happy to help me take questions here at the end. But I wanted to set up the framework for this pathway to democracy. Broadly speaking, it would put the elected members of the National Assembly, representing both sides, would create an acceptable council of state to serve as the transitional government until presidential and National Assembly elections could be held – we hope within six to twelve months.
The president of the transitional government would not be able to run for president in those elections. Both Nicolas Maduro and Juan Guaido would accept the council of state as the sole executive during this transitional period. If the conditions of the framework are met, including the departure of foreign security forces and elections deemed free and fair by international observers, then all remaining U.S. sanctions would be lifted.
We’ve got the full text; you can see the agreement on our website. We hope that every Venezuelan will consider this framework carefully, thoughtfully, and seriously. We think it presents an opportunity for the Venezuelan people.
Now turning to the State Department’s truly heroic efforts to repatriate Americans. It was Superbowl Sunday, February 2nd, when we all still had live sports on TV. Our team was working that day to arrange two flights to bring home Americans from Wuhan, China. One of our medical team’s leaders wrote an email to his colleagues. I want to read part of it to you.
The colleague wrote, quote: “While the whole country enjoys the game in the comfort of home or a pub, most will have no idea that a small group heads into the heart of the global outbreak with the singular focus of bringing their fellow countrymen out of hellacious conditions. No matter how it turns out, we happy few have dared greatly and given ourselves over to this worthy cause.” End of quote.
That mission was completed, bringing home more than 800 people from Wuhan, and it was the beginning of one of the most important and unprecedented missions in the history of the State Department. As of today we have repatriated over 20 – I think it’s 6, or 27,000 U.S. citizens from more than 50 countries. The stories of our team’s heart and character and commitment to excellence are truly amazing. Let me give you just a couple of examples.
In Bhutan, no easy place to get to, an American was critically ill from the virus, intubated on a ventilator, and frankly expected to die in a country located in one of the most remote corners of the world. But we came to the rescue. Our team arranged a biocontainment transport from Bhutan to an intensive care unit in Baltimore, Maryland, a distance of nearly 8,000 miles. To fly through Kathmandu, there’s about 12 pilots that can make that flight. It was one of the most complex medical evacuations in history, and the State Department pulled it off.
In Honduras, a double lung transplant recipient was running out of medications which aren’t available there. An intrepid young consular officer figured out a way to get safe passage. Got him a letter, got him to the airport. It was a city that was in complete and total lockdown. We got him home on the next flight. That man later told our team that we saved his life.
The good news is, too, State Department’s doing great, but we’re not doing this alone. We’re coordinating closely with other agencies in the federal government. My deputy, Steve Biegun; Brian Bulatao, the Under Secretary for Management; Keith Krach, the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs; the 24/7 repatriation team are performing these duties amazingly.
Never in the department’s 230-year history have we led a worldwide evacuation of such enormous geographic complexity and such geographic scale. We have no higher duty to the American people than to pull this off. I’ve never been more proud of how the team’s done than I am today. The 24/7 repatriation task force will continue to bring home thousands more Americans in the coming days and weeks.
At the same time, I want to deliver a message to Americans who are still abroad. We remain steadfast and committed to getting you all back. We do not know in some countries how long the continued commercial flights in your country may continue to operate. We can’t guarantee the U.S. Government’s ability to arrange chartered flights indefinitely where commercial options no longer exist. I urge Americans to register with their nearest embassy at step.state.gov and work your way back here. Americans abroad who wish to return home should do so immediately and make arrangements to accomplish that.
Look, I’m just as proud of the work we’re doing on repatriation as I am about the health and humanitarian assistance that the State Department’s providing around the world, too. It’s a topic that deserves more attention; we don’t talk about it all that often. In America, we provide aid because we’re a generous and noble people. We also do it because we know, from prior experiences, that we don’t have good data, full transparency, and all that effort to fight pandemics that can harm Americans back home too. For both of these reasons, the United States was one of the first nations to step forward and offer help.
In early February – it seems like a long time ago – in early February, we transported nearly 18 tons of medical supplies provided by Samaritan’s Purse, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and others to Wuhan. That same month, we pledged $100 million in assistance to countries to fight what would become a pandemic, including an offer of assistance to China.
Our response, so far, surpasses that initial pledge significantly. We’ve now made available a total number $274 million in funding to as many as 64 countries. That money will go to some of the world’s most at-risk peoples. You can go to state.gov to find a fact sheet. We’ll talk about what we’re doing country by country. It’ll give the breakdown. We put that up at the end of last week.
We’ve been at this a long time. We know how to help people around the world. Since 2009, American taxpayers have generously funded more than 100 billion in health assistance and nearly 70 billion in humanitarian assistance. That’s billion with a B.
But our help is much more than money. The CDC has six staffers on the ground working with Namibia’s health ministry. The FDA, as an example, is cochairing a virtual international conference on developing a COVID-19 vaccine. Americans from all across the Trump administration are working diligently to put this crisis back in the box.
Another example. We’re working constantly with NGOs to deliver medicines, medical supplies, and food to those in need in Syria, including in regime-held areas. This is a humanitarian crisis. Two, we’ll continue helping UN agencies and NGOs build more water, sanitation, and health facilities in camps and informal IDP settings all across northern Syria to help prevent the spread of the virus in that difficult place.
And as I referenced earlier, it isn’t just our government helping around the world. American businesses, private charities have given $1.5 billion to the world to fight this pandemic. This is truly American exceptionalism at its finest.
Our generosity, our pragmatism aimed at saving American lives now and in the future is also exemplified through our work with multilateral organizations. It’s another underreported story. We’ve long maintained an unsurpassed commitment to global health and humanitarian assistance. Consider just the top end of this – our financial support for international organizations, never mind all the scientists and technical people and other expertise that we bring around the world.
The United States remains by far the largest contributor to the World Health Organization, as we’ve been since 1948. Our contribution exceeded $400 million last year, 10 times that of China. The U.S. contributed nearly $1.7 billion to the UN Refugee Agency, which is helping those least able to mitigate their exposure to the virus. This compares to 1.9 million from China.
UNICEF is engaged in emergency actions in dozens of countries all across the globe, including in China and in Iran. In 2019, the U.S. supported UNICEF with more than $700 million. China gave just a mere fraction of that.
The World Food Program, headed by America’s own David Beasley, has sent more than 85 shipments of food and personal protection equipment to 74 countries to help them battle the virus. And we’ve provided $8 billion in resources just last year, 42 percent of that organization’s budget