Kamala Harris says no negotiation with Russia without Ukraine, discusses her gun, in TV interview

There will be no success in ending that war without Ukraine and the United Nations Charter participating, says Vice President Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris said that she would not, as President, negotiate bilaterally with Vladimir Putin without Ukraine present and discussed her gun ownership during a TV interview with CBS “60 minutes”. This is the second in a spate of planned interviews for the Democratic presidential candidate, who is engaged in a limited media-blitz this week, less than a month from the November 5 election.

“There will be no success in ending that war without Ukraine and the UN [ United Nations ] Charter participating in what that success looks like,” Ms. Harris told Bill Whitaker , the host of “60 Minutes” .

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Ms Harris said that if her rival, Republican candidate Donald Trump were currently the President, Mr. Putin would be “sitting in Kyiv” .

Asked if she would support an expansion of the western security alliance, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to include Ukraine, she said it would be decided “if and when” that point was reached.

Having surprising many last month by declaring she was a gun owner, Ms Harris, on Monday, provided more details, revealing that she the gun she owned was a glock, a semi-automatic pistol.

“Yes, of course I have,” she said, laughing, when asked by Mr. Whitaker if she had ever fired it.

“...At a firing range,” she added. Ms. Harris linked owning a gun to having worked in law enforcement. In an interview last month with Oprah Winfrey, Ms. Harris said anyone breaking into her house would get shot. The Vice President, who supports an assault weapon ban has been trying to reach out to moderates and Republicans, who are more hawkish on gun rights

Ms Harris side-stepped a question on whether the U.S. , despite giving billions in aid to Israel, had any sway over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We’re not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end,” she said.

On the question of whether Mr Netanyahu could be considered a close ally, she said, the question was whether the American people and Israeli people had a close alliance, which she said they did.

Defending her shifts in position - such as becoming more in favour of clamping down on illegal immigration - Ms. Harris suggested she had changed her position after canvassing Americans’ opinions and was seeking “common ground”.

Published - October 08, 2024 08:13 am IST