strategy of provocation to war of the russian president. we hear the call of the ukrainian people conveyed by president zelensky and his address to the russian nation a few hours ago. ukrainians want peace, a relationship of good neighborliness with russia. mirroring the family and personal relationships which bind so many russians and ukrainians. the international community has made its voice heard. it's united voice today at the general assembly. it is out of respect of the charter of the united nations, the peaceful settlement of disputes, that diplomacy echoes

the secretary-general. once again, we call on the russian federation to hold this part to draw back on its decision to recognize separatist entities of the ukraine and call back. recall each of the members of the council to act responsibly and resolutely support all initiatives to prevent and put an end to violations of the charter of the united nations. if russia confirms its choice of war, it will have to take all the responsibility and pay the price. >> i think the representative of france, i give the floor to the representative of ireland. >> thank you, mr. president. i would like to thank the secretary-general for their very sobering remarks at the beginning of our meeting.

tonight as we gather at this table, we are staring into the abyss of a major conflict in europe. the conflict would have major global implications. tonight, the core principles of this united nations -- haslinda: the u.s. security council meeting. the second this week. we have put in a saying reporting that urging ukrainian forces to put down their arms and go home. also urging them to put down their arms. they've got no plans for russia to occupy ukraine. that is according to -- saying russia doesn't plan to occupy. in the last 10 minutes or so, we have seen massive movement in the market. taking a look at gold in particular, inching higher. currently at the highest level

since january 2021. we also see the moves in the yen. 10 year yields closer to the 2% level. we are also keeping a track on oil. trending higher by about 1.6%. the agency reporting, urging ukrainian forces to put down their arms. negative territory, the impact of developments in ukraine. u.s. futures down by 1%. the s&p 500 and nasdaq were down at the market close. by 2% to 3%. the dollar seeing strength. it is about a hit and play at this point in time. the movement front and center. the dollar index up by .2%. rishaad: absolutely.

just to reiterate. they have no plans to occupy ukraine. we also have the secretary-general. making a motional plea to the russian president, saying give peace a chance. send troops back to the barracks. it was echoed by the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, as well. let's get to bruce einhorn. he is having a look at this and has from the get-go. at the moment, seeing the anti here being raised. >> yes. this latest move from russia is in response to an appeal from the separatist leaders in the regions of ukraine russia has recognized as independent. those self-proclaimed republics got help from russia and what

they said was repelling military aggression from ukraine. significantly, one of the leaders demanded that ukraine withdraw its armed forces from those regions. it is important, because the separatists only control about 30% of the territory of those regions. the ukrainian government controlling the rest. and with russian troops on the way, the potential for things to get bloody. it is quite large, obviously. haslinda: we have another line reporting putin is saying russia will not let ukraine secure nuclear arms. what do you make of the latest statement?

are you with us? >> now i hear you. sorry about that. haslinda: agencies saying russia will not let ukraine secure nuclear arms. what do you make of that statement? >> it is surprising, isn't it? i don't think it is on anyone's agenda or in the west. ukraine when the soviet union collapsed, which they gave up as part of an agreement with the u.s., the u.k., and russia for ukrainian security. it is a strange statement. that is the most i can say at the moment. i have not heard anything of ukraine trying to get nuclear

weapons. haslinda: bruce einhorn, we will keep up with developments. let's do a check on oil. inching closer to the $100 mark. brent crude up by almost 2%. 98 .53. looking at options market, pricing in as much as $150 a barrel. we have traders willing to pay the highest premium ever. energy prices remain in focus as geopolitical tensions push all futures closer to the $100 mark. let's bring in andrew james. what do you make of the latest moves in the oil market? >> striking on this most recent development. getting close to $100 a barrel. most people expecting it will go higher. that is the situation as ukraine

continues to deteriorate. jp morgan saying they were averaging $110 in the second quarter. that is the average forecast. at times, it can spike higher than that. also some factors in the nuclear deal with -- which looked like it was getting fairly close to completion. prices definitely heading higher on this. it is important to note that at this stage, neither side has socked to weaponize oil. they lean to commodities. russia has not been hit by sanctions yet. no indication at this point that they will take steps to stop russian oil exports, or that putin would take steps to restrain exports to put more pain on the west.

but that could change very quickly. rishaad: also, just seeing bitcoin taking an absolute plunge. nearly 10% down. risk assets. looking also at the dynamic on the energy side of things. look i gas, as well. the suspension, not nord stream 2, what is the impact of that? >> gas prices rose on that. that is a big deal. essentially being put on ice. that is with gas, russia supplies around 40% of europe's gas. there are supplies from the u.s. and qatar that make up some of that shortfall. but not all of it. the u.s. and other nations are

also considering further releases from their oil reserves to possibly restrain prices. we heard from the white house discussions are underway. japan and australia have also recently indicated they could be involved. that is unlikely to have a huge impact. it might bring them down a bit. but in terms of the numbers jp morgan is talking about, i don't think any releases would have a massive downward impact on prices. rishaad: that is andrew james joining us. let's go to kirk west. looking at all of this and checking on the nasdaq futures. also heading in a southerly direction. moves to the downside for

bitcoin. 10% off of the day. just calling these equity markets. contracts heading in a southerly direction. predicting what we may see later on. it could be a fairly big downdraft. the executive director for international business of global investors. what are your clients making of this? are they running for the hills? >> good morning. thank you for having me. the answer is no. they are not rushing to the hills. most investors are long-term investors. they understand if history is any guide, the geo political event goes to markets in the short-term, but they stay over the long-term. it is best to be fully invested.

haslinda: not running to the hills, staying invested, but is it time to reposition and reassess the risk? >> it is interesting. we are in a period where markets don't like uncertainty. we are in a period of high uncertainty. just for the breaking news being elevated. so clearly, president putin is an experienced and tough negotiator. and he's not going to back away without some concessions. that means it can be slow over a number of weeks. but as we look out two or three years, that is what the time horizon is, now is not the time to be taking risk off the table. i would think -- select buying opportunities over this period. haslinda: cover of the headlines

crossing saying putin feels the u.s. is refusing to negotiate on a security demand. what is out there, if and when we see putin make a move on ukraine? >> i think it would be the traditional hedges, in terms of the currency and japan yen, u.s. dollar, in terms of fixed income, you would go into treasuries or any developed market or bond. gold would certainly be another safe haven. i would be remiss not going into the assets such as cryptocurrency. during periods like this, very particular assets. rishaad: absolutely. this brings me to the question.

he wouldn't allow nuclear weapons in ukraine. in a way, we saw bitcoin, nearly 10% is this really given an out when he said -- by claiming they will have nuclear weapons and that is a false flag. is that the big concern? >> i don't think so. i think all sides are speaking very tough at the moment. i expect what putin is signaling is his preference for a diplomatic outcome. but he's also signaling he expects concessions. he is not just going to walk away. it is a little bit and australia, in terms of bringing up nuclear arms.

but i think if there were any parties that this might quickly resolve itself, what we would be looking at the moment for a safe haven exit, i think they are wrong. rishaad: thank you very much. we have to get over to the security council meeting. the china ambassador to the united nations speaking at this emergency meeting. >> there is a complex historical context i am it as a result of the interplay of many factors. china's safeguarding of the territorial integrity has been consistent. on the principles of the charter should be upheld. i hope all parties concerned will say coolheaded and

rational, and commit themselves to dialogue and consultation to resolve relevant issues properly and address each other's legitimate security concerns. in line with the principles of the u.s. charter. it is important to avoid fueling tensions. we will continue promoting peace talks in our own way and encourage efforts aimed at diplomatic solutions. thank you. >> i thank the representative of china for his statement and give the floor to the representative of brazil. >> thank you mr. president. i would like to thank the secretary-general and undersecretary general. haslinda: we heard representatives of the un security council taking turns to speak at emergency meeting.

let's get back to kirk west. bok's governor saying the situation is among conditions that have changed. you have to wonder how central banks will view it, if the fed will be less hawkish come march. >> i think the situation in ukraine has done part of the fed's work. the response of markets, equities, credit spreads, that tightens financial conditions. i expect the fed will be more in the 25 basis point camp coming into the first tightening. then it will be a series of increases. central banks globally will be more cautious. but they will look through this.

rishaad: looking at this line emerging saying that the u.s. has crossed several of russia's red lines with the nato expansion taking place. all of this at the moment. in some cases, we even see yields really being hit 10 years down, nearly 4%. the two-year also down. there is a plight into the bond market. something you anticipated. where else is some form of refuge? the bond market, or do continue with commodity place? >> at this point, you will see more immediate flows in the

liquid markets. there is currencies and government bonds. government bonds, such as the u.s. treasury. on the most liquid currencies. typically the safe haven currencies. so that is why i think you see immediate growth. that is where you can move quicker. in terms of commodities, gold would be an actual safe haven. haslinda: speaking of safe haven and diversifying your assets, is it a time to be looking at china? perhaps even ems? can it be a way to diversify your portfolio at this time? >> at the moment -- we are fully invested at the moment. we feel comfortable being fully invested. it includes a slight overweight to equities. at this point, it is in the

developed markets. we see them fundamentally stronger. you see the earnings growth of the individual companies. if we cem, in terms of equities underperform developed markets for the last 10 years, and you will, it is most likely going to be a second half story. china will clearly be a big part of that. opportunities in china in 2022, yes. we would see at this point more of a second half story. certainly where you will see a lot of money flowing at the moment. we are experiencing kind of safe haven hedging type flows. rishaad: just getting to the television address at the moment. vladimir putin talking about the red russia had in place with regards to nato and crossing those lines.

going on to say nato infrastructure is something of concern. that they manifest themselves in ukraine without actually becoming a member. all of this causing consternation. the bank of korea governor talking about the situation in central europe. one of the concerns. others perhaps too quick to dismiss. what is going on? will be entering into central bank meetings from here on in? >> i think president putin has been very clear for a long period of time about his objection of ukraine entering nato. the west has given mixed messages. on one hand, they have said in public a country has the right

to apply for nato. behind doors, it has been more we don't see countries such as ukraine being admitted to nato any time. there have been some mixed messages. but this is very important to putin from a security perspective and a legacy perspective. we would be very much on the side of a diplomatic solution still. haslinda: as we speak, brent oil hitting $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014. all prices on the back of a global economy that is just emerging from the pandemic. what would $100 oil mean for the markets? what will investors do? >> certainly, oil of course and $100 oil here and now, that is

causing concern in a very tight supply situation. you may see supplies out of russia. that is being reflected. in terms of the market more broadly. if it remains elevated, we come near inflation numbers. that may, depending on what it does to growth, oil will be a dampener to growth. it may well mean more tightening. only time will tell that story. rishaad: i want to get more on your thinking. we are at the moment showing vladimir putin talking about the situation in ukraine. giving a television address. but going on to say russia is

trying to demilitarized ukraine, conducting special military operations. they do not plan to occupy ukrainian territory. that is just coming out of the moment as we have oil prices jumping on the brent contract. you touched on how central bankers are looking at this. expand more on how they look at this as it does do a bit of work for them, in terms of representing a cut in federal income. an interest rate hike in itself. >> you are absolutely right. it will be a tightening of financial conditions. it does take some of the work off of those central banks. they have an inflationary outlook and will need to target policy. this in itself will remove the

need to tighten policy. look at the u.s., very strong fundamentals. very strong growth, strong company earnings. we have the more broadening inflationary pressure. the fed will still have to tighten. they probably will be more comfortable with 25 basis points rather than a higher starting point in march. but we should expect a series of interest rate increases over 2022. haslinda: we have been appealing to ukraine troops to lay down their weapons and go home. we have taken up a lot of time, under such an environment, which asset class will outperform? i'm guessing it will be commodities. any other asset classes to outperform this year?

>> i think a lot of the commodity markets are already probably pricing in. a lot of where this potentially can go in the short-term. probably looking at other asset classes. given the downdraft and equity markets, i would feel comes aboard equity markets. if we do have cash to spend at this point, we feel equities will end the year in positive territory. if you look at how we have been putting our money to work in equities, it is in the higher-quality companies, strong balance sheets. you can make tech companies for there. they will probably look quite good by the end of the year is my expectation. rishaad: thank you for your time. kirk west.

reaction coming from u.s. president joe biden, as well. saying vladimir putin chosen premeditated war. saying the world will hold russia accountable and will be speaking to the american people tomorrow. it will be wednesday in the u.s. , here as well. they will announce further sanctions on russia thursday and announcing further consequences for russia for this action. this as vladimir putin told ukrainian troops to lay down their weapons and go home. saying at the same time he would not invade ukraine, but said he wanted to demilitarized the country. he talked about a nato infrastructure in the country. on top of that, saying the u.s. had broken several redlines in nato -- russian redlines in that nato expansion. vladimir putin also at the moment not prepared to have nuclear weapons in ukraine

either. joe biden with his latest commentary they will coordinate with nato allies for a united and strong response. they are talking further consequences for moscow. all of this, markets seeing brent crude above $100 a barrel. looking at cryptocurrencies heading in a southerly direction . haven plays coming back into fashion. haslinda: one of them would be gold coming back into fashion. gold at the highest level in a long time. approaching the 2000 mark. in the broader merger, equity index. australia down more than 3%. most of the benchmarks in asia at least 2%. fx space, weakness. across the board for asian currencies.

aussie dollar down. kiwi down as much. em currencies under a lot of pressure. we have talked about how commodities have seen massive backwardation, something they have not seen since 2007. oil going gangbusters. at about $100 a barrel. wti crude at 94.92. inching closer to $100 a barrel. rishaad: this is at the moment, announcing the consequences for russia. the oil price going up substantially as a consequence. also seeing that play out with other risk assets being -- perhaps sold off as people seek shelter. are they running for the hills? kirk west said-- we've got a heg

through that the ministry operation will be a special one according to msnbc. joe biden coordinating with his nato allies, looking for a strong and united response. a move on markets is just quite extraordinary. oil, one of the big -- if you are a speculator, you are benefiting from this. brent crude up. this puts a lot of costs on corporate's, particularly on the aviation side of things, right? haslinda: let's write. let's get to sydney. good to have you with us. brent crude catching 100 bucks per barrel. when it comes to fuel, it's the largest cost for airlines.

how are you looking at $100 oil now? >> yeah. we are pretty well hedged going forward until the end of june. then it tapers off past that. we've always been very active in the hedge market. that gives us some time to cope with the higher field. gives us time to manage capacity, make sure we have airfares. a lot of our competition going into this is very on edge. american carriers don't have edging. domestic carriers are probably in the same boat. hopefully, the crisis can be resolved quickly and doesn't last for months or years. haslinda: at what level are you hedged? what level will you be concerned that? >> as i said, we are fairly well

hedged until the end of june. we are not giving details on what the exact hedges are but they are effective. happy and increasing for a while. that continues on a declining wedge. rishaad: quickly here. does the closure of ukrainian airspace may commit -- a material difference to you? >> no it doesn't. our only flights that get impacted are the u.k. flights that we fly from dublin. we have plenty of flight paths by ukraine. there's a passover china and russia. if china closes down because of sanctions, there's a flight path through central europe. we are well away from ukraine. we don't fly towards ukraine.

we don't have an issue. it's a minor impact on us. one of the advantages that we have at the moment is that australia is a place for people to take holidays in times of crisis. there is potentially a positive upside to this country -- conflict with asian product -- traffic not going to europe. with all these things, there are pros and cons when it comes to the economics around it. rishaad: it is serendipitous. we were going to be talking about earnings. i do want to get to them. when do you see the aviation industry returning to some form of normalcy, pre-pandemic levels? to put on top of that, even as you've got china and hong kong not open right now, i think

western australia has more restrictions than you like. these are all headwinds. >> they are disappearing because in western australia, the only part of the country that has been closed, we have a date now. it's opening in early march. we've had a huge amount of flying to western australia from the eastern states in march and beyond. our forecast now is that in the second half of the quarter of the calendar year, the final quarter of our financial year, we will be back to 100% of pre-covid levels. when it goes from the july quarter, we will be back way over 100% domestically. the demand is coming back already. leisure is over 100%. our subsidiary is planning to

get 100% -- 120%. internationally, the australian borders -- the largest markets for those are the u.s. and the u.k. they account for nearly 50% of our capacity. we are forecasting bet -- that by the time we get into the july quarter, we will be at 70% of our international capacity that we have before covid. the buildup, the outlook is looking pretty good for us at the moment in terms of what we see as the demand and how we see the borders opening. there are countries that we are hoping will open up that are also significant. new zealand, the japanese market. the chinese market is relatively small, it represents less than 10% of ras k pre-covid. there are plenty of other markets we can deploy that

capacity two. haslinda: some suggesting that your earnings could rise as much as 40% this coming year. is that a fair assessment? what would be the risks to the projections that you have? >> we are not giving in outlook. it is too volatile out there to give outlooks. what we've said is that our business is in a better position now than it has been. we are one of the few investment-grade airlines in the world. we have our debt back into the range that we saw for ourselves a few years ago. we have a plan to get it down even further over the next while. we've taken a billion dollars out of our cost, our domestic competitor has changed the business model. we think we will end up with 70% of the domestic market. we are trusted by australians. we are the experts in getting

australians around the globe and back into this country. we know what the restrictions are and we've seen strong demand compared to our competitors in and out of the country. those are all positive. we now see the borders opening. with the highly vaccinated nature of the us trillion population, the fact that omicron is impacted, a huge proportion of the population here. we think the borders will stay open and that's really good for us going forward. the risks are arounds a variant of covid coming out and the potential impacts that that could cause. there are a lot of risks compared to the last two years. haslinda: international travel can't get back to pre-pandemic levels without the chinese travelers. in your conversation, is there a sense when that will happen, when the chinese will start traveling overseas again? >> yeah.

that's very small for us. we are going to be there in the april quarter. we are going to be at 100% plus. haslinda: [inaudible] apologies. we need to get back to new york where the emergency meeting is happening of the united nations security council. let's take a listen. >> with the benediction [inaudible] it's difficult to explain the intensification of shelling index of diversion on the territory of the republic. recorded today almost 2000 cases of violations of the cease-fire regime. including almost 1.5 thousand explosions. those living there are still

sheltering in basements. the refugees are still flowing into russia. the provocation by the ukrainian military has not changed. you don't want to notice this, repeating the ukrainian fairytale that those living there are all but shelling themselves. they are surprised at the increasing suffering of those living there. the whole day of debate today, you haven't been able to find one word of compassion or condolences. these 4 million people for you simply don't exist. we would like to cut -- recall that the principle of sovereignty and quality of state in violation of which we are being accused of violating in ukraine today. according to the declaration of principal law adopted in 1970, there should be fully compliant

with states who conduct themselves in compliance with the principal of equal rights and self-determination of peoples. the government representing without distinction of race, creed, or color. the whole people living in that territory. today's government in ukraine simply is not that. the tragedy in ukraine started after the illegal mass coup in 2014 when dialogue with the russian-speaking citizens of ukraine -- the new authorities brandished guns and airplanes at them. information and testimony to this end is more than sufficient. our western colleagues prefer not to notice this. we tried yesterday and today to explain to you the logic of the decision made by russia to recognize the lpr anti-pr.

we focus on the need to secure peace and security there. however, you don't want to hear this it -- and you don't want to hear it now. for those, they are ponds and a deal political game, focus on weakening russia. and promoting the block from nato's borders. these people are women, children, the elderly who have been cowering from ukraine's shelling and provocations. these are ukraine people. this is the difference in our approaches. if you don't change the geopolitical lens, you will never understand us. those on whose behalf this decision i mentioned was made, who were not even thought about over these eight years, simply calling them pro-russian separatists and terrorists. those people are the most important. the root of today's crisis

around ukraine is the actions of ukraine itself. for many years, they are sabotaging their obligations under a package of measures. last week, there was a hope that he have would rethink and implement what it signed up to do in 2015. we need a direct dialogue. further confirmation that ukraine is not ready for this type of dialogue and steps to grant special status as set forth in the minsk agreement -- with the support of its position from western backers, finally convincing us that we simply cannot force those living there more. the ukrainian provocation against those have not stopped but hasn't is applied. the leaders of the lpr and dpr turned with us -- turn to us for a request, agreed at the same

time. this is a logical step which is a consequence of the actions of the ukrainian resume. during this meeting, the president of russia spoke and said that he made the decision for a special monetary operation in the donbass. we don't know all the details today. briefly, i would like to inform you that, from his statement, the occupation of ukraine is not an rams -- plans. the aim is to protect the people who have been suffering genocide from the key have -- kyiv regime. also support those and hold accountable those who carried out so many crimes against civilians including the citizens of the russian federation.

this decision was made in line with article 50 of the u.n. charter. for filling the agreement on recognition of the lpr anti-pr. a lot of information and we will analyze this. we will keep you up to speed with this. i give the floor to the representative of ukraine. >> distinguished members of the secured counsel. before i try to deliver parts of the statements that i came here with tonight, most of it is already useless.

since 10:00 new york time. i would like to cite article four of the u.n. charter. it says, membership in the united nations is open to all other peaceloving states which accept the obligations contained in the present charter. the judgment of the organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations. russia is not able to carry out any of the obligations. the ambassador of the russian federation three minutes ago confirmed that the president

declared a war on my country. before i read parts of my statement, i would like to avail of the presence of the secretary-general and request the secretary-general to distribute among the members of the secure to counsel and the members of the general assembly the legal memos by the legal counsel of the united nations dated december 1991. in particular, the legal memo dated the 19th of december 1991. the one that we've been trying to get out to the secretary for very long time and we were denied to get it. the article of the charter

reads, the admission of any state to membership in the united nations will be effective -- impacted by a decision of the general assembly upon the recommendation of the secured counsel. please instruct the secretaries to distribute among the members of the secured counsel and the members of the general assembly, a decision by the security counsel that recommends the russian federation could be a member of this organization as well as a decision by the general assembly dated december 1991 where the general assembly welcomed the russian federation to this organization. it will be a miracle if the secretary is able to produce

fresh decisions. there's nothing in the charter of the united nations about continuity, as a sneaky way to get into the organization. when i was coming here an hour ago or so, i was intending to ask the russian ambassador to confirm on the record that the russian troops will not start firing at ukrainians today and go ahead with the offensive. it became useless 48 minutes ago. about 48 minutes ago, your president declared war on ukraine. now, i would like to ask the ambassador of the russian federation to state on the record that, at this very

moment, your troops do not shell and bomb ukrainian cities. that your troops do not move in the territory of ukraine. you have a smartphone. you can call right now. we can make a pause to let you go out and call him. if you are not in a position to give an affirmative answer, the russian federation ought to relinquish responsibilities of the president of the security counsel. pass these responsibilities onto a legitimate member of the secured counsel. a member that is respectful of the charter. and i asked the members of the

secured counsel to convene an emergency meeting immediately and consider all necessary decisions to stop the war. it's too late, my dear colleagues, to talk about the escalation. too late. the russian president declared war. should i play the video of your president? ambassador, shall i do that right now? you can confirm it. do not interrupt me -- please. thank you. >> don't ask questions when you are speaking. >> anyway, you declared the war. it's the responsibility of this body to stop the war. i call on everyone of you to do everything possible to stop the war. why should i play the video?

thank you very much. >> i must say that i think the representative of ukraine for his statement. i wasn't planning to answer questions. i've already said all i know at this point. waking the minister up is not something i plan to do. this is the information we have. it will be something we provide. it isn't called a war. it's called a special military action in the donbass. >> mr. president. we meet at the very moment of a military escalation we have not experienced in europe for over a generations time. the president of the russian federation announced a military operation on ukrainian territory. we condemn this in the strongest possible terms.

we call upon all members of the security council and the united nations to stand up for ukraine and against a shameless breach of international law. two days ago, russia's decision to recognize the self-proclaimed people's republic was harshly rejected in this counsel. it had a really dealt a devastating blow to the principal and international order that the united nations stands for. russia has not listened and it turns out it was not prepared to listen. it has continued its massive military buildup and we observed and observed cyber directed against ukraine and now russian military is moving into ukraine indian territory. by the actions of this unprovoked military action, russia is vital -- violating

corporate's bulls the charter. we condemn the use of force against innocent people and the violation of the sovereignty and integrity of ukraine in the strongest possible terms. we urge russia to terminate its military action against ukraine immediately and restore its troops. mr. president, our thoughts are with the ukrainian people. we will be steadfast in our support for ukraine and our support for the u.n. charter. the russian aggression will come at an unprecedented price, politically, economically, and morally. france, ukraine, and my country stood ready for diplomacy, for another meeting in the normandy format, a summit that ukraine had proposed. with our allies and partners, we called on russia to seek a diplomatic way forward in vain. now it's the moment to speak up and defend the international order of the u.n. charter against unilateral aggression,

jointly and decisively. tonight, we stand with ukraine and we are doing so unwavering and determined. thank you. >> i think the representative from germany for her statement. >> thank you. in my remarks tonight, i said that we predicted russia's false flag attacks. the misinformation. the theatrical emergency meetings and cyberattacks. one piece had not come to pass. unfortunately, while we've been meeting in the secured counsel tonight, it appears that president putin has ordered that last step. at the exact time as we are gathered in the counsel,

speaking peace. putin delivered a message of war in total disdain for the responsibility of this counsel. this is a grave emergency. the council will need to act and we will put a resolution on the table tomorrow. as president biden said tonight, russia loan -- alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring and the united states and our allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. the world will hold russia accountable. thank you. >> i think the representative from the united states. i would now like to give the floor to the representative from the united states -- united kingdom. >> thank you.

as we sat in this chamber urging russia to step back, president putin announced special military operations on ukrainian territory. this is unprovoked and unjustified. this is a grave day for ukraine and for the principles of the united nations. we and our partners have been clear that there will be consequences for russia's actions. we fully support the united states calls for un security council resolution. this counsel must do all it can to stop the war and uphold the charter. thank you. >> i think the representative of the united kingdom. now i will give the floor to the representative of albania who also wishes to make a further statement. >> dear colleagues.

we could not have anticipated this happening. rishaad: various envoys to the united nations. the ukrainian envoy they're talking a short while ago. saying that vladimir putin had in essence delivered a message of war. he had declared war. we also heard from linda thomas-greenfield there, sending the same message out. oil responds to the russian envoy suggesting that it was after years of oppression that this state of affairs had arisen. let's bring in a fellow from the asia researcher institute at the national university of singapore. thank you for joining us, as ever. wars occur when the price of

going to war is higher than the price of staying peace. what is vladimir putin's endgame here? is that price higher than peace? >> [inaudible] rishaad: i'm going to repeat the question to you. at a base going to war is normally the result when the price of war is higher than the price of staying at peace. what is vladimir putin's endgame? is that endgame a higher price than staying in peace now? >> [no audio] rishaad: ok.

not able to get him. a few technical problems here. we will be having a look at what's going on here. let's get back to the un security council meeting. france is envoy sinking once again. >> friends condemns in the strongest possible terms the initiation of these operations. this decision, announced at the very moment when the council was meeting, shows the disdain that russia has for international law and for the united nations. russia must be accountable to the security council. for this reason, france will join its partners in this counsel in the hours to come. we will prepare a resolution condemning the war conducted by russia. we call on all members of this counsel to support us.

under these tragic circumstances, we call on the russian federation to respect international humanitarian law, no matter what the circumstances. we call for the protection and respect of all civilians, particularly vulnerable persons, women, children, and humanitarian personnel. thank you. >> i think the representative of france and i give the floor now to the representative of ireland to make a further statement. >> thank you mr. president. when i spoke earlier, i said that the path for diplomacy and the path for dialogue was perilously narrow. i realized in fact how narrow and indeed how close the precipice really is, just over an hour ago. we now see that that path has been closed by the