>> you say russia. >> the link? >> russia we're dealing with a regime that doesn't always do the right things. and one could argue that united states doesn't always do the right things. there is a deal with iran, they kill more people per capita, that's the reason i invited you but you're so steamed about bill browder. >> you know what i'm really steamed about? it's unfair. you bush whacked me. i talked to your prowzers and all we talked about is u.n. syria, russia and putin. >> we're talking about syria we're talking about terrorism we're talking about ukraine, we're talking about nawght russia proxies. that's what i wanted to talk to you about. you came in here so mad about bill browder.. >> i wasn't angry about -- >> you are an expert about bulgaria estonia latvia, lithuania. >> ukraine didn't want to -- >> wants to join nato. >> you said it wanted to, now it wants to it matters to historians when you are talking about. >> whether or not that pushes russia into a situation, that's what i booked you to talk about.

why don't you come to russia"? so 1927 my grandfather goes to russia. he ends up meeting-- a russian girl who becomes my grandmother. my father is born there. and then five years later, in 1932, the communist party sends him back to america to become the general secretary of the america communist party. he runs for president in 1936 and '40 against roosevelt. he's imprisoned by roosevelt in '41, pardoned the next year. and then ultimately kicked out of the communist party in 1945 for being too capitalist. and one would've thought that would be the end of the story. but then in the 1950s he was persecuted for being a communist. they did-- they didn't deter-- they didn't distinguish between good communists and-- >> right. >> bad communists. >> what was your upbringing like? you have-- a highly educated family. everybody in your family-- has really excelled in their fields. >> well, so-- so-- so we-- yeah. i mean, if you come from a family of communists-- it just perm-- permeates everything. at the dinner table, you know, the discussion was how all busines

russia -- the arctic is russia's mecca. we have the arctic now described in russia's military doctrine where russian defense minister has declared that they're now growing national security threats in the arctic. and so we're seeing now new announcements of reopening military airfields. again, if you have a very ambitious vision for an international transit route and you need that infrastructure, but you don't need this much infrastructure for 53 transits in the summer months. and so our sense is that while -- i don't know if you could give a percentage, 60-70% of russia's military posture in the arctic i would say is understandable because of its enormous breadth to cover the search and rescue, oil spill prevention responsibilities, unannounced exercises strengthening russia's nuclear deterrence, strategic submarine assets, looking at the overarching response that we're seeing of russia's approach to the arctic, i would say we're looking at an emerging process of anti-access, anti-denial, and that's a very different messag

/russia and negotiation. if washington and moscow cut their total nuclear arsenals and have it would still be six to seven times larger than the nearest third world country but so far what the russians are saying publicly is the next negotiation has to bring in those countries. there might be a half step you could do because i don't believe they will be prepared to say we will make a commitment not to go above 300 and still at 3,000, but could you ask the chinese, the british and the french for example to undertake a unilateral permit and where they say as a matter of policy we will not increase the number of nuclear weapons as long as the united states and russia reduce? >> a great question. my discussion with russians over the years, no question russians are concerned about what china is doing and could possibly do it in modernization, expansion of nuclear weapons capability. over the years they have been frustrated at least in discussions with me about what they see as lack of transparency. indochinese pro

and russia existed. the crisis in ukraine may have fundamentally redefined moscow's relations with the west. >> without question the ukranian crisis pushed russia-west relationship over the cliff into something that is qualitatively different from what we had for most of the post cold war period. >> in a speech given to the parliament. announcing the annexation of crimea, he outlined the new vision for the kremlin, moscow would protect what it considers its sphere of influence. >> there was one part in which he warned russia's western colleague that if you compress a spring to the limit at some point it will spring back hard. and that is the new foreign policy of russia, springing back against a perceived slight and encroachment by the west. >> in november, the former leader mick highly gorbachev weighed in, saying the expansion of n.a.t.o., and war in the middle east contributed to the collapse of trust between russia and the west. >> the world is on the brink of a new cold war. some are saying that it

nautical miles from russia's shores. it's up to the united nations to rule. at stake shipping lanes, oil and gas. as coast guard said in july "the united states really isn't each in this game." evidence of what is a discrepancy in icebreakers. russia has 40, america has two, one of which is at the end of its useful life. so the arctic it playing into a narrowing of worsening relations between russia and the west. russia's annexation of crimea and support against ukraine is causing tension in n.a.t.o. up near the arctic, in norway and nearby countries, russia is testing n.a.t.o.'s resolve with hundreds of military flights violating the neighbour's airspace. the narrative is only part of the story. travel to the arctic like i did, you can see it's part of a world whose brutal conditions require n.a.t.o. and washington to cooperate. the fear is the new cold war will damage a spirit of cooperation and has been around since the old cold war. as tensions simmer between russia and the west. >> a new confrontation is brewing in

you mentioned the two motors for russia. one thing simple of capitalist greed, and the other perhaps a larger geopolitical strategy. i wonder perhaps if there's a third motivation in that china make itself already have created technology of interest to russia. so things like these coastal ballistic cruise missiles may actually show up in the russian arsenal. so arthur quid pro quo going from china to russia in addition to the intel exchange that you mention? >> perhaps i can take that one. the short answer is yes, you are starting to see signs of a shift where for the first time chinese military equipment and technology may be flowing towards russia. recently, for example, the chinese have attempted to sell russia their latest project, the one i spoke about, which is quite a capable system with advanced missile and air defense systems on board as well. part of the problem is that russia has been struggling to build new ships because of the efficiency of its shipbuilding industry, also the cutoff of new ship engines from ukra

russia is taking advantage of that, filling the vacuum and that's the danger here. >> russia on the march. jennifer griffin thank you for joining us on t"the five." >> a couple of things i thought i would mention is that president obama came to the united nations this week with a couple of things in mind. he had a successful visit with the pope. he's got the iranian deal in the bag. and he's got the trans-pacific partnership, the big trade deal almost a done deal with the other nations signing on. he wanted to do two basic things. the number one thing was to try to get an agreement going on climate change, they've made some agreements and side deals, but that's not the headline. you always have to expect the unexpected. in this case the president now has to put a ton of focus on the issue that he didn't want to talk about, which is isis. the other thing that happened yesterday is that the taliban overran a major city in afghanistan and we had to send additional american troops there. right now president obama had been trying to draw down troops from afghanistan. you have the people in the

this was russia's 9/11. russian historian yuri felshtinsky has written a book on the apartment bombings. >> we have to understand that the whole country is very nervous. the feeling is that every several days or, like, once a week, a building is going to be blown up. >> narrator: all of a sudden, a prime minister few russians had heard about was everywhere, swearing revenge. >> narrator: putin would point to rebels in chechnya, where a separatist movement was holding ground. >> the russian officials said that there was a chechen trail in the apartment bombings. not proof of chechen involvement; a chechen trail. it wasn't clear what that meant. but it was used in order to justify a new invasion of chechnya. (explosions) >> narrator: and putin's invasion would be brutal. (people crying) >> narrator: the man who waged it was a new national hero. >> he quickly became the most popular politician in russia, even though before the apartment bombings, he was believed to have had no chance to succeed yeltsin as presi

, soviet russia. well, this was greater russia. then all of a sudden the u.s.s.r. collapsed, overnight, in fact, right? and it's turned out that, in former soviet republics, there were people, russian people numbering 25 million. they had been living in a single country and, all of a sudden, we turned out to be abroad. you can imagine how many problems arose. first of all, there were everyday problems, economic problems, social problems, the separation of families. you can't list them all. do you think it's normal that 25 million people, russian people wound up abroad all of a sudden? russia turned out to be the largest divided nation in the world today. is that not a problem? well, not for you, but it's a problem for me. >> rose: and what do you intend to do about it? >> what we want to do is use modern civilized processes to preserve at least, at a minimum, the common humanitarian space to make it so that these state borders do not get in the way so that people can communicate freely among themselve

russia is also sending more naval vessels to the mediterranean. russia has maintained a military presence here since the 1970s, and after the collapse of the soviet union, it was eager not to lose that spot. meanwhile in eastern syria, fighters from the islamic state of iraq and the levant say they are making gains. there's video from isil shows the group overrunning a small base. it also took control of military positions, including a rocket regiment close to the airport. isil fought government forces in at least three neighborhoods. most of the city is under isil's command, but government forces still control several areas, but they are struggling on multiple fronts. the government relies heavily on shia militias, and depends on russia for military and political survival. >>> let's take you now to moscow and speak to peter sharpe a big diplomatic issue, and we're hearing that ukraine has closed its air space to some russia planes. >> reporter: that's might, the foreign ministry was talking this morning of the west's strange hysteria with russia'

is this in syria russia's war now? >> well, you know, it's becoming a multinational war right now, and the fact that we would sit down with the russian president and show that amount of dis disrespect for this president to move forward as he did after meeting with him tells us the low standing america has around the world. i mean, we're considered someone you don't even have to consult with in dealing with these very sensitive matters. you know, it's -- the president has put america in a very difficult situation because of his feckless foreign policy. we have no weight to throw around, if you will. there's no respect given to us. it's because of the way we've dealt with the situation cnÑ syria. we have a chemical weapons treaty in syria. and there are chemical weapons being used by assad in syria right now and the president has simply ignored the reality. >> there have been barrel bombs. the president acknowledged that in his address. obviously speaking to the unga days ago. pointing that out that assad has been doing

russia stharz priority and we've -- u.s. military officials have been in touch with their counterparts to arrange those talks and i would anticipate those talks take place in short order. >> but if that were true wouldn't that mean they would have the conversations before they start air strikes? isn't that an indication they're not as committed to that kind of communication being a priority? >> well, again, i think the way that we'll eventually be able to tell this is how serious russia is in participating in these discussions. based on a conversation between the president presidents and the conversations that have taken place between u.s. and russian military officials to arrange those talks and based on the obvious observation that it's hard to see how russia would benefit from their activities coming into direct conflict with u.s. and coalition military activities i think we can have confidence they'll engage in that seriously. >> reporter: but the fact that they haven't started that process which was agreed to in this ra

tipping point before russia goes too far? or is it the case of surface warfare for the chinese navy? point to russia's self-conscious limitations? these are precisely the capabilities they don't mind countering the u.s. navy. russia is selling china the rope to help hang the u.s. navy. some of the systems, whether it is the rs 26 for land-based concerns, of course you are russia looking to the east. i think the question does russia need the money that bad? do you see this as irresponsible and shortsighted? or is it a strategic partnership? admittedly a limited one for these kinds of systems. another take away from this is we talk about anti-axis air and denial. this is going to be a missile rich environment. is missile-based. of thesepursuing a lot things. it appears they are doing so for three reasons. being able to target u.s. allies and u.s. bases. this is admittedly getting beyond the scope of this report. the kind of systems paulist means of course the u.s. is going to have to invest in more standoff and penetration weap

russia only gave the u.s. an hour's notice. so i think that you are going to see the level of communication between u.s. officials, top officials here at the white house, and top officials within russia escalate. defense secretary ash carter, saying he would be reaching out to his counterpart in the coming days and that is where this begins. i think you might see some shuttle diplomacy as well. perhaps meetings. because this is a very fragile situation, and if there's any type of mistake that occurs while these air strikes are being launched, it could cause the situation to escalate quite quickly. >> courtney, you were the one that reported earlier today, that they got an hour's notice. what has the coordination been like so far between the russians and the united states? >> just yesterday secretary carter ordered some members of his staff to begin to talk to the russians. i don't think it's been determined yet by the pentagon is exactly what level that occurs at. is this some sort of military officer to military officer speaki

and russia. russia is launching airstrikes in syria today just hours after fox news was the first to report that a russian general went to the u.s. defense in baghdad requesting all u.s. military leave syria warning strikes were beginning. they claim they are hitting isis targets but our sources at the pentagon they that is not true. here with us today is harris faulkner, sandra smith, melissa francis and our one lucky guy is former u.n.ambassador, john bolton. >> glad to be here. >> on a busy news day. so let's get right to. russia's defense ministry is saying their jets are carrying out airstrikes on isis. but the problem is the towns where russian bombings are re reining down don't have an isis presence but are home to the free syrian army, allies to bashar al-assad. senator john mccain didn't hold back on the senate floor moment moments ago. >> it was one year ago when the president said our strategy is to degrade and destroy isis. a report yesterday, 28,000 european and some american had com

petersburg, russia. it's where catherine the great began assembling her personal art collection in 1764. today it houses items from the , antiquities to the largest painting collection in the world. on a recent trip to st. petersburg, i was finally able to visit this historic palace of art. my guide, mikhail piotrovsky, the director of the museum he inherited the post from his father and has guided it in russia's transition from the soviet union to the presidency of vladimir putin. with very little notice, he made time for me, invited me to visit on a saturday afternoon. the museum was full of people. this is not movie making perfection but it is what it , would be like if you were there yourself. so join us as we examine the history of its vast interiors and look at some of the most famous works of titian, rembrant, picasso and matisse. this was done on a busy weekend with no lights, one camera, and very little preparation. we simply took advantage of an extraordinary opportunity and wanted to take you

not just against china but also against russia. with that pushed the two states together, forced them to work together to develop countermeasures? that's a tough question and it's not a question that is only applicable to the united states. many of my japanese friends have been struggling with this. how does japan manage russia when it still looks to engage in many ways without trying to allow the europeans deeply it's sort of walking away from its commitment to upholding the status quo? if japan doesn't stand up from enough to a rush is doing and eastern europe, would that have any affect on the european commitment to opposing chinese efforts to change the status quo and the south china sea for the east china sea? i think is a big question and i don't think we know the answers, but we are reaching an important inflection point, which is as paul is managing come at some point the chinese technological proficiency will start to outpace the russian proficiency in some areas. and if these continue and continue to go i think we'll see

russia used its security council veto, and use it as well on a

russia jumps in this time on the program. the cold war may be over for a long time but a lot of the old alliances that shake middle east rivalries live, the russia-syria link, the u.s.-saudi alliance, iran, that called the u.s. the great satan. once are there other goals in a complicated and savage fight there that the two countries could work on? secretary of defense ash carter has been in contact with his russian counterpart, sergei shoigou. secretary of state john kerry called an important first step. >> the president believes that mill to mill conversation is an important next step. and i think hopefully will take place very shortly. and it will help to define some of the different options that are available to us as we consider next steps in syria. >> i'm joined now by anna boyshevskaya and james jatris, deputy director of the american institute in ukraine following a career in the foreign service and on capitol hill. >>> well, consultation is not necessarily cooperation, james, so what should we make of these high level

taking out russia or russia taking out u.s. >> a dangerous game. >> incredibly dangerous game. the diplomacy just on that level they have to be talking to each other. but the geography of syria is that isil is all the way out in the desert bordering iraq, and we're training and equipping soldiers in iraq and also conducting airstrikes on this syria-iraq border. i expect the isil and the coalition against isil will stay over there as we watch putin decide what he's going to do for assad over on the coast. >> let's go and take another break. there is much more to talk about as these developments continue to come in. we heard just a while ago the secretary of defense address what is happening now with the russian airstrikes over syria. keep it here on the other side of the break. >> welcome back to al jazeera america. so a couple of big things happening today. we have been talking about the latest developments out of russia. out of syria, rather. the russian airstrikes, and we just finished wrapping up a press conference with secretary of defense ash carter. all this week the u.n.

and russia hasn't been willing to follow through on those commitments.eparatists. and russia hasn't been willing to follow through on those commitments. so i think that would explain why an offer from president putin to meet face to face with president obama is one that is carefully considered and deliberated upon before it's accepted. scott. >> what has changed so that you feel this is a productive time to meet with him? >> well, there have been -- we talked before that there have been some engagements between president obama and president putin. a couple on the phone and this summer and a couple in in person last fall. i don't know that i can point to a specific person that has changed, but toy thii do think they have concluded that there is the potential for some constructive to come out of a meeting between the russian president and president obama. it doesn't mean there would be a major announcement coming out of the meeting, but could it lay the ground work, that possibility does exist. after all, president putin himself says -- at least he claims

kerry said the united states would, in fact, welcome russia's military efforts if russia were to keep its word and hit islamic state targets. >> the united states supports any genuine effort to fight isil. we have also made clear that we would have grave concerns should russia strike areas where isil and al qaeda affiliated targets are not operating. strikes of that kind would question russia's real intentions fighting isil or protecting the assad regime. lou: but at the pentagon, defense secretary ash carter admitted those strikes likely weren't against the islamic state. >> we have been observing russian activities and i don't want to go into detail about that at this time, but one of the reasons why the russian position is contradictory is that exactly the potential for them to strike as they may well have, in places where in fact isil is not present. lou: and the state department says u.s.-led coalition missions are continuing as normal tonight, despite a demand from russia to get out of syrian airspace and to be perfectly direct here, we have no idea what normal means when it com

russia and the soviet union. russia's the legal successor of the ussr. i will have to say a few words about how the current situation and how international relations are shaping up to date. united nation remains the only universal international organization charged with maintaining international peace and security. there is no alternative to it. it has to adapt to a changing world and we have all been constantly debating how it should change, at what pace, what should be changed exactly. have toave to not just -- i will avail myself to speak from this international rostrum to give the russian vision of the future of this organization. charlie: there is much anticipation you will speak about the threat of isis, and that your presence in syria is related to that. this of the presence in syria, and how does that relate to the challenge of isis? president putin: i believe come i'm certain that everyone speaking from the united nations platform is going to talk about the fight, about the need to fight terrorism. i cannot avoid this is jewish -- this issue eit

russia loves its warm water port. russia likes its puppet of assad. they're just flattening things really. i mean, it's not a net bonus for anybody who wants to see less civilians killed in syria. it's a bonus for assad who is going to survive. i think the problem we're running into is this is another example of president obama seems to think a great strategy for that region issout sourcing to tyrants. heout sourced the fight against isis in iraq and now he's going to turn it over to putin in syria and i don't think the aftermath of either one of those is going to be good for the people who are going to be crushed under the military might of those two organizations. >> we had already outsourced running baghdad to the iranians so not too much of a stretch to outsource going after isil in iraq at least on the iraqi side of the border. this -- to imply that obama had a lot of great choices in that regard, i'm not sure that necessarily fits the facts. >> we left a vacuum that isis failed. we failed to approximate vied support to the baghdad government tha

russia is back in the middle east after sadat threw the soviet union out in 1972. russia is back. and finally he -- it's an extremely important domestic political imperative for him to show that whatever economic difficulties they have, russia is a great power again, whether it's in ukraine, whether it's in -- in the middle east and god knows what's going to be next. so, so, these to me is -- i think is how putin calculates it. and it doesn't -- frankly, you know, so long as he -- as the regime of -- that he supports is in power, i think that's putin's strategic goal. who he has to bomb along the way is, you know, i think is a secondary matter to him. he leaves it to the people on the ground. >> what do you think? >> oh, i haven't seen reports what russian warplanes have bombed. my understanding is that russia's interests in syria require that russia has a say in the future of this country, but the notion that russia would bomb any of assad's opponents i think is mistaken. russia has hosted negotiations between some members of the syrian opposition and syrian officials. russia has

russia jumps in. it's the "inside story." >> business man bill browder. >> if my grandfather was the biggest communist in america, i'm gonna go become the biggest capitalist in eastern europe. >> from communist origins to capitalist tycoon. see why he's now set on taking down vladimir putin. >> the russian government remains determined to ruin me in any way they can, including killing me if they can get away with it. ♪ >> you're watching "inside story." i'm ray suarez. russia jumps in this time on the program. the cold war may be over for a long time but a lot of the old alliances that shake middle east rivalries live, the russia-syria link, the u.s.-saudi alliance, iran, that called the u.s. the great satan. once are there other goals in a complicated and savage fight there that the two countries could work on? secretary of defense ash carter has been in contact with his russian counterpart, sergei shoigou. secretary of state john kerry called an important first step. >> the president believes that

russia jumps in. it's the "inside story." >> we're in the "prairie state" yet we have such little of it left. >> now old-school methods meet cutting-edge science... >> we've returned this iconic mammal to illinois. >> with a much bigger long-term benefit. >> grasslands have a critical role in climate change. >> it's exciting. >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> this is what innovation looks like. >> can affect and surprise us. >> i feel like we're making an impact. >> awesome! >> techknow - where technology meets humanity. ♪ >> you're watching "inside story." i'm ray suarez. russia jumps in this time on the program. the cold war may be over for a long time but a lot of the old alliances that shake middle east rivalries live, the russia-syria link, the u.s.-saudi alliance, iran, that called the u.s. the great satan. once are there other goals in a complicated and savage fight there that the two countries could work on? secretary of defense ash carter has been in c

and russia all taking to the podium. among the key topics was with what to do about the situation in syria and that's a major issue of discussion at the meeting between presidents obama and putin tonight. laura is there in new york following it all and picks up our coverage. laura: jane, quite the day of diplomatic activity here at the united nations in new york. first off the bat early this morning president obama arrived and told world leaders he was ready to work with any nation, including iran and russia to bring peace to syria. then he was very clear. he said that the syrian president bashar al-assad was a tyrant. quite the competing view then from syria's ally, russia's perspective vladimir putin saying it would be an enormous mistake not to work with the syrian leader. so should be an interesting meeting between those two men. our north american editor john is in new york at the united nations and that's -- has this report. >> a the u.s. president's motorcade is an exercise in the projection of power but barack ob

the move is likely to increase tensions between russia and the west. the international community has criticized president vladimir putin for russias increasing military presence in syria. moscow insists, though, that no ground troops will be deployed. >> translator: we are talking about syria, specifically and not about the pursuit of some political goals or ambitions which we are regularly accused of by our western partners. >>> after more than four years of fighting in syria, control has changed hands many times. the political vacuum left the door open for the islamic state of iraq and the levant to make huge gains, most recently in the central corridor. the syrian opposition controls large parts of the north and southwest. there have also been advances by the al-nusra front in the northwest most recently. and the ypg have also been battling isil for control of their territory. this is what government forces control, so little that in july president bashar al-assad conceded that his troops were overstretched. let's get more now from peter sharp in mo

strategic direction east is all about russia, it's about russia changing the rules and your force is now to change international boundaries. they continue to occupy the peninsula of crimea. and so strategic direction east is about addressing russia. strategic direction south is more about dealing with the problems that our southern allies see every day in the flows of people, criminality, terrorism, foreign fighters that are escaping these ungoverned spaces starting in western iraq, going through the la vont into northern africa. so a very different problem. now i'm sure we're going to get into it in q&a, but the two are beginning to merge as we see russia apart of the syria equation. let me also point out and i think it's very interesting that in our last ministerials, one of our bright, well-thought ministers brought up that general breedlove, you talk about strategic direction east and strategic direction south. we in the north are worried about strategic direction north and what we're beginning to see happen in the arctic with the militarization of the arctic by the russians. so

and russia view isil as a common enemy. but russia supports syrian president and the u.s. wants him out. there is also growing concern in recent weeks over isil's destruction of ancient ruins in palmyra. with unesco calling their actions a crime against civilization. we're pleased to have join us the director general of unesco. tell us please, how extensive is the damage to antiques that has been caused in recent months by isil? >> the damage inflicted on the world heritage on many sites of historic importance for the whole of humanity is huge. it's immense. it's an enormous tragedy for the whole of humanity. we are seeing images of destruction in palmyra, we have seen destruction of bulldozing, and sites being looted, and the dark side of all of this, of course is the illicit archaeological excavations. we see [ inaudible ] of some of these objects, and i think within the overall debate here at the united nations of how to counter violent extremism, there is a lot of political commitment to engage in the fight against illicit trafficking, and also to protect these sites.

scarlet: russia doesn't? >> putin has time and does not have to worry about elections in terms of when they happen. furthermore, if you look at the sources of public support, lots of emphasis on his skyhigh approval rating. when you look at why that is, the major driver is how he is perceived to restore russia's place in the world. having this meeting is important. scarlet: in what way does the white house strategy of isolating the -- isolating russia following the moves in ukraine effective or not? >> strategy depends on what you want the outcome to the. -- want to the outcome to be. if the desired outcome was that russia not take further territory, then that has not happened. the white house, state department, said the sanctions were to impose cost on behavior as opposed to change behavior. the official line is they would never change behavior, just make it expensive. i could go on like this. the pressure is on, currency weaken, oil prices down probably for a long time. the multiplier effect of these two th

this is the same case in russia. a lot of problems. >> rose: so the people who killed yemsov will be prosecuted to the fullest? >> yes. i said it right away. a single page in our modern history, today's history and criminals must be prosecuted and punished. or probably this can not be done in a second, but we have had other examples of crimes of this kind. and finally in the end, despite the fact that these investigations continue for quite a long time, it concluded in a due manner. >> rose: you know that i as meyer russia and its culture very much, its literature, its music. it is a large country, a big country. and many people, including stalin had said russia needs a strong authoritative figure. they worship stalin said that kind of figure. was stalin right? >> no, he was wrong. i don't remember him saying that so i can't confirm those quotes. russia as any other country in the world needs just principles for structure rather than dictators. russia meets these principles and respond to these changes inside the cou

and fled to russia. putin responded by annexing crimea, leading the u.s. and western allies to impose tough economic sanctions against russia. >> translator: ukraine is a separate and majorer to for us. it is our closest neighbor. we have always said this is our sister country. not only a slavic people. we have common history, common culture. common religion. and many things in common. what i believe is absolutely unacceptable is the resolution of internal political issues in the former ussr republics through color revolutions through coup d'etat, through unconstitutional removal of power. that is totally unacceptable. our partners in the united states have supported those who ousted the president. >>-up believe the united states had something to do with the ousting of yanokovic, and he had to flow to russia? >> translator: i know that for sure. >> how do you know that for sure? >> translator: i know those people who live in ukraine. we have thousand of contacts with them. we know who and where when, who