State Department spokesman John Kirby cut off and then ignored a reporter Thursday when he was asked about the Obama administration’s stance on Russia.
Earlier Thursday, Gen. Joseph Dunford, Jr., said in his Joint Chiefs of Staff nomination hearing that Russia posed the greatest threat to U.S. national security.
A reporter asked Kirby whether the United States holds the same position as some top U.S. military officials such as Dunford.
"I think everybody in the United States government shares the same sense of concern over the security challenges that Russia is representing, particularly on the European concerns," Kirby said.
The reporter pressed Kirby and asked whether he thinks the State Department thinks that Russia is the greatest threat.
"They didn’t call it a threat, a challenge. They said the greatest," the reporter said. "Isn’t it confusing that from this podium you say one thing and the top military officials say something else?"
Kirby didn’t give a definitive answer.
When the reporter asked for a definitive answer, Kirby said he already answered her question and then ignored the reporter’s follow-ups, calling on another press member while she kept trying to get in a word.
Dunford joins former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in the view that Russia poses a great threat to the United States.