that. in terms of where it was flying, it was well-clear of any territory in ukraine. it was international airspace over international water. thank you. nancy? thank you. during secretary austin s visit to egypt he held meetings with officials even though all press were banned from covering it. past defense chiefs when they ve been in similar situation have refused to proceed. given the biden administration has said one of its key pillars in terms of foreign policy is when presented between a choice of autocrats and democracies that it stands with democracies. can you help us understand why the secretary proceeded with those trips given the ban. our relationship with egypt is obviously an important strategic partnership. the secretary did appreciate the opportunity to meet with his counter parts and talk about that. i will tell you when it came to the press coverage of that portion having looked further into it, the egyptians lived up to what they had agreed upon. some of
to proceed. given the biden administration has said one of the key pillars in foreign policy when presented with a choice between autocrats and democracies, they stand with democracies. can you help us understand why the secretary decided to proceed with the trips given the ban and should we expect that going forward? our relationship with egypt is a important strategic partnership. the secretary met with his counter parts and talked about that. i ll tell you when it came to the press coverage of that portion, having looked further into it, the egyptians lived up to what they had greed upon. some of the lessons learned was in terms of making sure that we were on the same sheet when it came to understanding press access. so we will continue to work. the u.s. had agreed beforehand there there would be a band of journalists? we did not agree to a ban. we agreed to have official photographers. we had one reporter come in to one of the sessions but a portion that was going t
portion having looked further into it, the egyptians lived up to what they had agreed upon. some of the lessons learned out of that was in terms of making sure we were on the same sheet when it came to understanding press access, and so we will continue to work with them. the u.s. had agreed beforehand there would be a ban of journalists. we did not agree to a ban on journalists. we agreed to have official photographers. we did have one reporter come into the session but a portion open to the press was subsequently not held and therefore there was not an opportunity to cover that. but, again, sometimes these meetings are very small, sometimes there s not the opportunity for media to come in, but again it s something we ve noted and continue to work closely with governments to ensure there s press access.
we agreed to have official photographers. we had one reporter come in to one of the sessions but a portion that was going to be open to the press was not held and there was not an opportunity to cover that. again, sometimes these meetings are very small. sometimes there s not the opportunity for media to come in. something that we ve noted and we ll work with governments to ensure there s press access. thank you. regarding the budget, the last few yearses the services have pursuited to divest to invest strategy. congress hasn t necessarily bought in to that. this year the air force is looking to retire more than 300 aircraft, double the amount last year. congress last year didn t give the full amount. is there a sense that things have changed on the hill, there s a willingness to approve