Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2022

July 14, 2022

Prime Minister Lapid. I don't think we're going to tell them what we talked about.

President Biden. We talked American baseball.

Prime Minister Lapid. That is correct. We had a very long conversation about baseball, which I know nothing about. [Laughter] And we didn't mention Iran or Saudi Arabia or all those issues.

President Biden. [Inaudible]âfolks, I want to thank the Prime Minister. We had a good and beginning of what's going to be a longâGod willingârelationship, a candid conversation about both the problems and the opportunities both our countries face, particularly in the Middle East.

And we talked about how important it wasâI talked about how important it was, from my perspective, for Israel to be totally integrated into the region and completely integrated into the region.

And we areâI guarantee you our administrationâand I think the vast majority of the American public, not just my administrationâis completely devoted to Israel's security without any if's, and's, or but'sâwithout any doubts about it.

And we also talked about the fact that we have a full day ahead of us, including a virtual summit with theâwith India and the U.A.E. The four of us are going to have a discussion after this meeting is over.

And that'sâwe talked about a lot of things, but mainly related to developing a personal friendship and the long-lasting commitment to both our countries, to one another.

Prime Minister Lapid. It is great, Mr. President. Of course, we've discussed yourâwe also talked shop about Saudi Arabia and your trip there, which is extremely important to Israel, trying to build an even more moderate coalition here in the Middle East, long needed.

And we discussed the Iranian threat and what we think is the right thing to do in order to make sure, which is something we share, there will be no nuclear Iran. This is not only a threat to Israel, but to the world, to the globe.

And we discussed some other issues we're going to keep to ourselves.

President Biden. Yes. [Laughter]

Q. Mr. President, are you worried about Iran sending drones to Russia? Are you worried about Iran sending drones to Russia?

NOTE: The President spoke at 11:56 a.m. at the Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem hotel.

Categories: Meetings With Foreign Leaders and International Officials : Israel, Prime Minister Lapid.

Locations: Jerusalem, Israel.

Names: Lapid, Yair.

Subjects: Foreign policy, U.S. : Diplomatic efforts, expansion; Israel : President Biden's visit; Israel : Prime Minister; Israel : Relations with U.S.; Israel : Security cooperation with U.S.; Middle East : Arab-Israeli conflict, peace process.

DCPD Number: DCPD202200617.