more, we re not going to get u.n. backing, it is the kind of thing that would have to be a nato humanitarian effort. but up to now we have shied away from that type of direct military involvement that would quite possibly bring about an incident or worse with the russians. putin, by the way, knows this. i think you ll see more and more the russians saying you want us to ease up here, ease up on the humanitarian impact of your sanctions on russia. and what i think we have to get ready for is more of a competition where putin uses the world s literally hunger for grain as a bargaining chip to ease pressure on russia. i think that conversation is coming. putin has control over the food supplies and oil, which prices are skyrocketing across the globe, forcing the united states to turn to unsavory places to find more energy. yesterday the white house confirmed that president biden traveling to saudi arabia later this month as part of an international swing where he will meet with the crow
messaging here. a very tough message against china, trying to tell them that the u.s. would come to the defense of taiwan. still, pretty unusual to see an army secretary go into that kind of military operational detail. yeah, and a walk back to the walkback we saw following president biden s comments on military involvement. barbara starr, thanks so much. sure. this morning, president biden has announced the u.s. will send another $700 million worth of weapons and defense systems to the ukraine. the op-ed says america wants to see a democratic prosperous ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression. among newly provided weaponry is the multiple launch rocket system, a system. first reported the inclusion of that in this weapons package. i m joined by retired major
the president reiterated our commitment to peace and stability across the taiwan strait. and to provide taiwan with the military means to defend itself. different than military involvement perhaps. and on the island, we will call it of course, this is far from the first time the white house has had to clarify something the president has said about international relations. joining us now with reaction to this, live from beijing, nbc news foreign correspondent janis mackey frayer. thanks for being here today. let s start right there. let s talk about the difference between what the president said and then the white house clarifying it about taiwan defending itself. it is the difference between what he said and maybe what he meant. we ve seen this sort of statement being put out and then walked back before, with last october, when the white house also had to clarify comments made by president biden. i m intrigued jonathan, by what
unpopularity. and precious cargo. the u.s. military, an air lift touches down in middle america with a critical shipment on board. 500,000 bottle s worth of baby formula. but we begin the hour in tokyo. president biden dispensing with diplomacy to deliver a stern warning to china. you didn t want to get involved in the ukraine conflict militarily for obvious reasons. are you willing to get involved militarily to defend taiwan if it comes to that? yes. you are? that s a commitment we made. we agree with one china policy. we signed onto it. and all the attendant agreements immediate from there. but the idea that it can be taken by force, just taken by force, is just not appropriate. the president did not spell out just what military involvement might mean, and the white house insists the president s answer does not alter american policy. but it does rip up the careful
on them. i know secretary-general just visited kyiv, and he said they failed, but, you know what, we need to have that attitude like at the failure is not an option. we need to figure out how we can stop this insanity and international community to put pressure. if russia wants to exist as a country, they need to get to the table. is there a point at which i understand the arguments, the rational for not risking a direct military conflict with russia, is there a point in your view where direct military involvement might be necessary? russia s making some advances in the east, if they re able to, say, surround ukrainian forces there? is there a point where your mind changes and says, no, we have to get involved? well, i think there are different ways how we can get involved now. i think there is providing property security assistance for ukrainians to fight the battle