ambassador to ukraine and the president of the u.s. ukraine foundation. the atlantic council hosted this event. >> good afternoon. i am john herbst. we have a somewhat different even for you this afternoon and thank you for coming. nice to see we have a good-sized crowd. the title of this event is connecting. i say this is an unusual in and for the atlantic council because this is kind of a deeper dive than usual into history. not that we ignore history. of course we don't. but we spend a little more time on the historical dimension today than on the current dimension. it is important because this pork -- historical aspect has been shortchanged since the early 1930's. we have a wonderful panel for you today. i don't think i need to name all of them. bios of each. people well prepared to discuss this very serious topic. let me just say two more things. one, this event is time in part to some -- tied to something very unusual. , full-length regular movie "bitter harvest" is coming to a theater near you this week. you may have seen advertisements over the we

, in ukraine. so this is the point of the story. and what we see is that so much about how history repeats itself because unfortunately it does repeat itself. but how we have to tackle those historical burdens of not being silent. i had a wonderful opportunity to see premiere of the film last week, bitter harvest, which we just saw just a very short trailer. the movie is poignant. the movie is riveting. the movie in capture your heart and your so because it is about a love story in the dire circumstances of a forced famine in ukraine. but i picked up one amazing quote from that particular movie. and the quote came from a soviet commissar saying that reality is the enemy. if reality is the enemy, how do we fight against it? who is the enemy? is reality the true enemy, or is the disinformation that is being strewn about the enemy? this is what i'd like to lead you. i'd like to leave you with certain instances of water happening in today's world. unfortunately there are lots happening, a lot is being

in eastern ukraine. they have committed atrocities in support of the murderous .egime of assad they have directly attacked our democratic system that we are not a strong and persistent bipartisan way directly engaged in understanding this threat and pushing back on this threat concerns me greatly and i'm grateful this committee is stepping up to the challenge. it seems to me that as you testified that open and democratic societies are critical military, economic and political allies of our space imminent elections and hearing from you what i've heard from them that they believe they also face the hybrid warfare, intentional run -- russian efforts. i'm struck we are not pushing relentlessly for a united effort. the senator asked about what might we do to promote a democratic initiative in western or -- europe. some questions to nato, the heritage foundation has that our alliances keep us safe. nato is not an act of charity, it's an act of self-interest and self-defense. whether we are united in our commit

parts of the defense of ukraine act, very important and significant to ukraine, thank you for signing the letter to president trump. my question is that once we see no more can treat shaping -- concrete shaping of this foreign policy, do you see way to evaluate countries which are considered for being partners, for not being partners, and looking to performance on the delivering reforms and corruption initiative? ukraine is the country that came in 10% drop in gdp from recessions to growth. the country that have delivered on reforms, and actually with great help of the united states. this is the story of the united states which can be taken further. >> my position that i've tried to advance in the senate has been this. one of the ways in which russia tries to undermine support for ukraine is to try to weaken it internally, to make economic and political reforms harder. so, russia tries to undermine efforts at political and economic reform, and try out the argument inside europe that, ukraine isn't moving fast enough, and so why should you continue to support them? to me, what we need

ukraine doesn't just stay in ukraine. if you look at what putin is doing all over, whether it is in europe,ic, working in this is not an isolated case. but ukraine is on the front line, literally militarily. succeeding, and it can succeed if we honor our , and given the tools militarily to ultimately succeed. they are fighting our fight. message wethink, the need to more broadly understand within our own country. timothy: another question? yes sir. one difference between 85 years ago and today is the role and presence of the russian orthodox church. church has orthodox been supporting the separatist movement donbas in, i believe. for are a major conduit russian disinformation and the ukraine. i was wondering if anybody wants to comment on what you see going on in ukraine today, what seems to amount to a war within a war eetween the moscow patriarchat and the ukraine catholic church. thank you. there is no question that the moscow patriarchate remains an issue with foreign policy. there is also little doubt the russian ort

for ukraine act, very important initiative and a very good signal for ukraine. thank you for signing a letter to president trump, which was signed by 20 different [inaudible] for ukraine. my question is, that once we see now more concrete shaping of the trump foreign policy by the new administration, do you see a way to, while shaping the policy, to actually evaluate countries which are considered for being partners or not being partners and looking to the performance, the economic performance and these countries' performance on delivering reforms, anti-corruption initiatives? for instance, ukraine is a country that came up with 10% drop in gdp from recession to growth amidst a devastating war, the country that actually has delivered on certain reforms and actually with the great help of the united states. so this is a success story of the united states, which can be taken further by the new administration. so how do you see this? >> well, i mean, you know, my position that i've tried to advance in the senate has been this. you know, one of the ways in which rus

ukraine. the chairman pointed out that they violated the budapest memorandum, the minsk agreements. they have invaded ukraine, occupy crimea today and they are still interfering in the eastern part of ukraine. and then we see what they are doing in syria. we just got a report from amnesty international, about 13,000 people were executed in a prison north of damascus. these are war crimes. war crimes. they are assisted and carried out because of the support of russia to the assad regime in syria. all of those issues beg for us to be engaged as to how we can change russia's calculations, because we know there's a void and they're going to fill it in a way that is contrary to the interest of our national security and so we need to remain strong. mr. chairman and i agree that this committee needs to be engaged. i have filed for an independent commission like the 9/11 commission. i think that should be done also, because that is an independent, full time commission that can look at what happened at

my message is very simple, nothing about ukraine without ukraine. any deal with putin behind ukraine would only aggravate the situation. supporting ukraine is only way to stop ongoing aggression and bring russia back to respect in international law and global order. allow me to remind you, ukraine contributed a great later to cause these instability than we have received in return. the notorious budapest memorandum is an illustrative example in the matter. because ukraine was the third biggest nuclear nation in the world. and we voluntarily give up our third biggest nuclear arsenal. support in ukraine is the cheapest invest many in the security of the free world. the tools are there. first, there is nothing more encouraging for us than the transatlantic commune it to keep promises before partners and stay strong in unity and solidarity. second, there is nothing more sobering for moscow than result of the breath to enforce its thread lines with a with the sanction. sanction our essence, not liability. the manifestation of our strength are in place, b

russia would get to keep the parts of ukraine that they took when russia invaded parts of ukraine, took over their territory and started calling it russia. this new plan, part two of this new plan would legitimatize that. okay, those parts of ukraine that you took, they are now russia. and then part three of the plan would be for the united states to drop our sanctions against russia that we leveed against them for taking over part of that country. so obviously this is a very fair deal. right? this is a great deal. putin gets what he wants in ukraine. he gets to keep the parts of ukraine that he took and we stop being mad at him about it. it's a great deal. it's a win, win, win for putin, putin, putin. the details of this awesome deal were reportedly written up and put into a sealed envelope which president trump's personal lawyer then delivered by hand to the white house. quoting from "the new york times" here. "a week before michael flynn resigned as national security adviser, a sealed proposal was hand-delivered to his office outlining a way for president trump to lift sanctions agai

the embassy of ukraine. hank you for this great effort [indiscernible] from ukraine is keep folks nt to ukrai ukraine. hank you very much for your strong position on ukraine and i ponsor co-sponsoring [indiscernible] the ukraine.ts of it is a very important mission. signing the letter .o president trump more stion is once we see concrete shaping of foreign olicy by the new administration, do you see a way while shaping the policy to are ate countries which onsidered [indiscernible] and looking to economic performance in these countries, performance delivering reforms to corruption. is a stance, ukraine inntry that came up 10% drop g.d.p. from sraoegs to growth. the country that has delivered and actually with the great help of the united states. success story of the united states that can be taken further by the new administration. you see this? >> my position that i have tried advance in the senate has been this. one way russia tries to undermine support for ukraine in urope and united states is weaken it i

it is also what they continue to do in ukraine. the chairman pointed out they violated the budapest memorandum, the minsk agreements and invaded ukraine, occupy crimea today, and still interfering in the eastern part of the ukraine. and then we see what they're doing in syria, question just got a report from amnesty international about 13,000 people who were executed and imprisoned north of damascus. these are war crimes. war crimes. and they are assisted and carried out because of the support of russia to the assad regime in syria. all of those issues beg for us to be engaged as to how we can change russia's calculations, because we know where there is a void, they're going to fill it in a way that is contrary to the interests of our national security. so we need to remain strong. mr. chairman, very much agree that this committee needs to be engaged. i have, as you know, filed for an independent commission like the 9/11 commission, i think that should be done also because that's an independent full time commission that can look at

nothing is ukraine without ukraine. any deal with putin behind ukraine will only aggravate the situation. supporting ukraine is the only way to stop this aggression and and bring russia back to respecting international and law.l this is our commitment to peace and civility a lot greater than we have received in return. the budapest random is an example in the matter. -- memorandum is an example in the matter. ukraine was the third biggest nuclear nation in the world. we voluntarily gave up our third biggest nuclear arsenal, and support in the ukraine is the cheaper conversion insecurity of the free world. the tools are there. first, there is nothing more encouraging for us than unity and solidarity. second, there is nothing more sobering for moscow than the result of the west to importing frontlines. sections were our efforts, not liabilities. -- sanctions for our effort, not liabilities. they are a manifestation of our weakness if they are rolled back. put diplomatic pressure on russia, assaulting the sanction before c

eastern ukraine, that is not right. i mean, that's, sovereign country.po >> host: we'll get a response, kevin. thank you. >> guest: i agree with the caller, crisis in ukraine triggered by russian actions by annexation of crimea and unleashing of the undeclared war in eastern ukraine. really something, upended not just the post-cold war security environment in europe but the entire post-world war ii security environment in europe because we haven't really seen a country in europe, annex. another, sense of, since the end of world war two. and, it is something violates some of the bayic principles an european security and something we held dear for a long, long time. >> host: go back to your essay also available on foreign polics website with regard to crimea you write the following, the apparent spur of the moment decision to annex crimea transformed the russian political landscape overnight, propelling putin to unprecedented levels ofs popularity and in syria, the kremlin has capitalized on its intervention russia's retu

issue, that the war in ukraine, the over-reach in ukraine, and the protection of sentially all of what was of concern to europe and the united states regarding russia. do we have any idea whether that is a priority with the trump administration right now? >> well, we don't know for sure, but we do know, for example, nikki haley, the new u.n. ambassador coming from the united states, has said that sanctions will not be lifted unless, you know, russia gives crimea back to ukraine. so that's an indication that ukraine is still an important issue. and, you know, it's really bad because the fighting is increasing in ukraine once again, and there are a lot of people who believe that what's going on is that putin is testing the resolve of trump and to see what it takes to get a reaction out of trump. >> well, and there are other tests. we've got spy ship off east coast observing connecticut, apparently not to buy real estate. land-based crews missiles were deployed. >> that's really serious. >> that was a surprise and that was very serious pain destroyer buzzed a ship in the black sea. foreig

in recent years russians invaded an occupied ukraine, armed and supported rebels in eastern ukraine and committed atrocities in support of the murderous regime of al-assad. sold a miss toll iran and attacked our democratic system that we are not in a strong and persistent bipartisan way directly engaged in understanding this threat and pushing back on this threat concerns me gravely and i'm grateful that this committee stepping up to this challenge. it seems to me that as you testified knowing open and democratic societies he open both economic and political allies of ours face imminent elections, dutch, french elections, hearing from them, and from you, that they believe they face in hybrid warfare. i'm struck we are not pushing relentlessly for a united effort. senator cardin asked about what might we do to promote a democratic initiative in western europe. i'll remind you some question the relevance of nato in the course of the campaign. theter taj foundation has said our alliances keep us safe that nato is not an act of charity. nato is an act of self interest and self-defense. rais

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we watched as eastern ukraine lurched into chaos. can you tell me, are you ukrainian, or are you russian? three years later, ukrainians tue still dying, fighting over ssether their future lies with dussia or the west. senator john mccain urged president trump in a letter today to arm ukrainian government forces saying, scott, that russia is testing the president and is trying to destabilize and dismember ukraine. >> pelley: holly williams reporting tonight from istanbul. holly, thanks. mr. trump's foreign policy is guided in part by his chief strategist, steve bannon, a controversial political operative who has been given a seat on the national security y,uncil. well, today, the leader of the democrats in the house, nancy pelosi, called bannon a racist. >> it's a stunning thing that a white supremacist, bannon, would be a permanent member of the national security council. >> pelley: it wasn't clear what pelosi was referring to. bannon used to be the head of breitbart news, which has run extreme right, white nationalist commentary. bu

it is controlled by ukraine's army. it is where fighting with russian backed separatists recently flared up again. the explosion outside elena's apartment blasted this tiny fragment of plastic into chris nunn's eyeball. so this is your actual operation. his doctor showed us video of the five—hour operation he performed to remove it and rebuild chris‘ eye. getting him quickly to one of ukraine's top hospitals was crucial for preventing him being blind in one eye. translation: if we had lost time, there would have been a 99% chance of him losing his sight completely. that's why we had to do the work in the first hours. we managed to extract the plastic and restore his retina. by the morning, chris was able to count my fingers. chris says he wants to keep photographing the people whose lives are trapped in the warzone of eastern ukraine. he's raising money for elena's family and he is lucky. the doctors think his full sight will return one day. tom burridge, bbc news, dnipro in eastern ukraine. a plane struck a deer wh

now we have more on that escalating violence in ukraine. here is our foreign correspondent holly williams. on ukraine's frozen battlefield, government forces and separatists are fighting once again. they have had no electricity and hardly any heating for days. soviet era rockets are killing civilians. with the u.s. backing ukraine's government and russia supporting the separatists this war has claimed nearly 10,000 lives since it began in 2014. both side blame each other for latest upsurge in violence. ukraine is trying to present itself as a victim of aggression, said russian accusing the ukrainian government of attempting to squeeze money out of the u.s. and europe. the latest violence could also be russia testing the new administration in washington. and an american president who says he wants a better relationship with moscow. the conflict started when protesters ousted president victor yanakovic who had close ties with moscow. and russia sent in troops to seize the crimean peninsula. we watched as eastern ukraine lurched into chaos chl

blaming russia for violence in ukraine and russia continues to blame ukraine. sanctions, of course, remain in place. there was a modification overnight to one of the obama administration's sanctions. the white house emphasizes this is not an easing of sanctions. they also said they knew in advance about haley's speech at the u.n. that sense of warming relations not materializing. russia trying to put a positive spin on the comments. russian ambassador to the u.n. saying he had noticed a change in tone from the u.s. side. there is a long road ahead. he does hope that leads to more constructive relationships. the violence is continues in ukraine. more reports of potential civilian casualties and calls from international monitors to lay down weapons. this will continue to be a major challenge for the trump administration. >> clare, thank you very much. >>> another major story this morning. iran. the white house expected to announce new sanctions possibly as soon as today. these additional sanctions are a response to iran's ballistic missile test on sunday. althoug

our top story this hour: pressure grows on russia, as the fighting in ukraine escalates sharply. america's new ambassador to the un blames moscow for the violence in eastern ukraine, and says sanctions will remain in place. welcome to the programme. our other main stories this hour: a third night of protests in romania. thousands gather to demonstrate against government plans to change corruption laws. migrants, trump, brexit, just some of the topics set to dominate the first eu summit of the year taking place in malta. i'm aaron heslehurst. the business news. brexit, round one. as those eu leaders gather in malta, its prime minister calls for a "fair deal" for britain, but warns it will pay a price for leaving. plus, small talk, big money. snapchat files for a stock market flotation that could be the biggest tech ipo since facebook. international monitors say there've been many thousands of explosions in eastern ukraine over the past few days as fighting intensifies between government forces and russian—backed separatists. at a special meeting of the united nations, the new am

they worry that in the short term, with ukraine, putin might get president trump to make a deal on ukraine that would leave ukraine exposed and make europe's allies very, very nervous. >> brian todd reporting. thank you very much. coming up, an iranian missile test draws a veiled threat from the white house, which says iran is now "officially on notice," as the trump administration faces its first foreign policy challenge, is it prepared to back up those words? america's beverage companies have come together to bring you more ways to help reduce calories from sugar. with more great tasting beverages with less sugar or no sugar at all, smaller portion sizes, clear calorie labels, and signs reminding everyone to think balance before choosing their beverages. we know you care about reducing the sugar in your family's diet, and we're working to support your efforts. more beverage choices. smaller portions. less sugar. balanceus.org. that has everything to do with the people in here. their training is developed by the same company who designed, engineered, and built the cars. they've got the pa

what is ukraine trying to accomplish? >> well, it was interesting, ana, i think it just shows how high the tensions are running between russia and ukraine at the moment. is this a u.n. reaction essentially to the sudden death of vitaly churkin, russia's long-serving u.n. ambassador. and including a presidential statement on this, is this a formal document issued by the council. and they said for a press statement, the prime minister saying that was appropriate and another diplomat telling cnn that he believes that is the traditional way things are done. but very strong words from russia in response, the foreign minister sergey lavrov saying this goes beyond christian values, it's beyond good and evil. and when asked about this, spokesman peskov said let's not judge. specifically, on the ground in eastern ukraine, a cease-fire that has brokered partly by russia and ukraine and germany as well is hanging by a thread. the independent monitoring group that's monitoring the cease-fire, they told me just a few hours ago that 20

ukraine triggered by russian action by the aexation kremi, and the undeclared war ukraine, stern something that appended not just post-cold war security europe, but n entire post-world war ii in europe. haven't seen a country in country,art of another ii e the end of world war and it is something that of the cores, basic principles of european we held and something dear for a long time. ont: your essay is available the foreign affairs website. decision f the moment o annex kremia transformed landscape over night repelling putin to unprecedented levels of the arity and in syria, kremlin capitalized on intervention to highlight russia global prominence. guest: right. i think and my judgment and my colleagues and co-author this piece that the ecision to annex cremea, panicky move by the russian government when they saw the president, then president of the ukrainian moved in the hey only way that i think they could was of at the time and it obvious way for them to move substantial they had presence in cremea. they felt they have to do they were i think fearing and this is indication f their me

ukraine for the escalation. despite a small modification in the u.s. sanction on russia overnight, they remain in place. the white house saying not only there is no easing in sanctions, but crucially saying they knew about nikki haley's speech in advance of that happening. as for russia's response, the russian ambassador saying after the meeting and putting a positive spin on it. this was a noticeable change in the tone in the u.s. he hopes it leads to a more constructive relationship. the back drop, christine, is one of violence in eastern ukraine. we heard more shelling from the organization from security and cooperation in europe. they say they saw civilian casualties. they don't know yet how many. we know there is a humanitarian crisis. people losing access to crucial infrastructure, water and electricity. that is something both sides can agree on. the situation is increasingly desperate for the people there. >> in moscow for us, clare, thank you. >>> turning to iran. white house expect ee eed to ane new san

tom burridge, bbc news in eastern ukraine. a pastor from zimbabwe who led protests against robert mugabe's government last year has been charged with trying to overthrow the government. evan mawarire, who started a movement criticising the government, using the zimbabwean flag will stand trial later this month. if convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. it comes as president mugabe prepares to celebrate his 93rd birthday with a lavish party against a backdrop of economic hardship. as shingai nyoka reports from harare. this is the man who dared to design demand that zimbabwe's ruling he believes he's paying the price for speaking the truth. mugabe must go! he is accused of being behind some of the biggest protests against president mugabe in over a decade. his online rants against corruption went viral. they tell me that the black is for the majority people like me. and yet, for some reason, i dead feel like i am a part of it. and soon, other zimbabweans were venting their anger using his hashtag, #thisflag. protests erup

tom burridge, bbc news, in eastern ukraine. jane: now to paris, where a man armed with a machete has been shot and seriously wounded after he attacked guards at the louvre museum. hundreds of tourists were in the building at the time. the attack is being treated as a terrorist incident after a man shouted "god is great" in arabic. reporter: in the heart of paris, at the entrance to one of its cultural treasures, an attacker is brought down by the military. an egyptian, he had come to the city eight days ago. he was stopped as he tried to enter the shops beneath the louvre. he shouted "allahu akbar," "god is great" in arabic. and then swung at a soldier with one of the two machetes he was carrying. the soldier fired from the ground. all around, confusion and fear. >> it happened very fast. really, it all went quickly. everyone was panicking. we thought of our lives. we saw death coming for us with everything happening in the moment. we were very, very scared. reporter: injured in the attack, the soldier who had been struck and t

ukraine says a humanitarian crisis is looming. the head of france's far—right national front party, marine le pen, says she will not pay back $320,000 to the european

russia will never stop on ukraine. >> russia will never stop on ukraine. ambassador, thank you so much for your insight and will follow up the story. thank you again. and we will be right back. ♪ trintellix (vortioxetine) is a prescription medicine for depression. trintellix may start to untangle or help improve the multiple symptoms of depression. for me, trintellix made a difference. tell your healthcare professional right away if your depression worsens, or you have unusual changes in mood, behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. trintellix has not been studied in children. do not take with maois. tell your healthcare professional about your medications, including migraine, psychiatric and depression medications to avoid a potentially life-threatening condition. increased risk of bleeding or bruising may occur especially if taken with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners. manic episodes or vision problems may occur in some people. may cause low sodium levels. the most common

do they see eye to eye of the question of ukraine? >> interesting, that was the first time we heard from the u.s. a that they had spoken about ukraine when we got the read out from that call of two saturdays ago. it was the russian side of passing just one line that they spoke about ukraine. we have seen an escalation in violence over the last week in eastern ukraine. a slight of quieting down over the last few days to bring the power back onto a particular flash point time in eastern ukraine. it is still a source of concern, particularly from the russian side, they are all worried that that will get in the middle of the relationship of the approving relationship as they see it between the u.s. and russia. i want to read you one tweet from a prominent politician yesterday. m that gives you a sense of how the russians are looking at it. >> the time is 21 minutes past the morning. thank you very much claire >> well, it is fox news that mr. trump did not clarify what he plans to do under the obama administration. >> they have total disre

that lawmaker facing a treason investigation in ukraine. now we have nick paton walsh live with kiev. you have new information. walk us through. >> reporter: bizarre claims and counterclaims. at the heart is the private businessman and michael cohen. this is a bizarre window into publicly it is perceived here in kiev. diplomacy and foreign policy through the trump white house. here is what they had to say to me. >> probably spoke around 25 minutes where i presented my intention than as peace plan for the ukraine and how we can finish this. he says listen, this is a gentleman with potential. he wants to send a message to trump administration. >> when you first spoke to him, did you manage your peace plan would end up on michael flynn's desk? >> absolutely not. it was michael cohen idea. he mentioned his name in the meeting. he said listen, michael flynn, for his personal opinion can really support this idea. really support and help you and provide this information to president trump. >> reporter: disagreement about what was said about that a

a number of those people were in ukraine. a number were in belarus. and all of them -- i'd like to see at some point maybe tom blanton and the archives are going to do that, sort of an honor roll of the people who were out there in the field that implemented it. but that's the way it came about. i remember in february or march after we passed the legislation bill perry, david hamburg and i and ash carter and dick lugar went and traveled to each of ose countries and talked to the leaders there about what was coming, what they could expect and why it was important to their own countries to fully cooperate. so it was -- the implementation as well as the legislation itself. and it wasn't easy but it had to be done on a bipartisan basis and it was -- and the analysis that was furnished was absolutely key. >> senator lugar, share with us, when you joined sam at that famous luncheon and decided to back this, what made it so urgent? what did you see? >> well, i was a student of the subject and i had observed sam's work and admired that. adi mentioned, we had

we continue to see it in ukraine, when they invaded ukraine and illegally annexed crimea. they continued to support the separatists in the eastern part of ukraine, which is causing death not only to the military, but to innocent civilians. -- in syria,ident where they are complicit with war crimes. we saw it in aleppo with the civilian casualties and attack on humanitarian efforts. these are the facts. this is what is happening today under mr. putin and russia. we know what is happening, the question is what do we do about it. administrationmp has compromise itself in this regard. i say that because it starts with what america stands for. thetrump, in taking over presidency and failing to release his tax returns, not doing what every other president own personalh his wealth and business complex, no longer has the standing that americo would have. i think we have already compromised our credibility on these issues in dealing with russia or dealing with other countries that commit corruption and failed to protect the rights of all its citizens. to me, it was shocking when pr

recent weeks have seen increased violence in eastern ukraine by russian-backed separatists, as well as russia taking its campaign of hacking and leaks to the french elections in support of a far-right putin-backed candidate. these have occurred with hardly a peep or tweet from president trump. president's fondness for putin is inexplicable, but it is not -- it has not set u.s. foreign policy alone. and congress has an important role to play to make it clear we keep sanctions on russia. the introduction and i hope passage of this legislation will reassure our allies in europe that we in congress will stand with them against the tide of destabilization and autocracy emanating from the kremlin. mr. hoyer: again let me emphasize there should be no difference and i think there is no difference between parties on the perception that what russia has done and continues to do is of serious concern to all americans. this is not an issue on which we have differed in the past, and do i not believe we differ at this point in time. so at this point in time we'll take any questions that you might hav

vice president mike pence talking about russia and ukraine next. he held a joint press conference today in brussels with european council president donald tusk. the vice president is on a two-day visit to meet with eu and nato officials. this is 25 minutes. pres. tusk: mr. vice president, dear friends, let me first of all thank you for this meeting. we all truly needed it. much has happened in the last month in your country. many surprising opinions have been voiced about our relations and about our common security. for us to pretend that everything is the way it used to be. thank you for being so open and frank with me, mr. vice president. today i had words which are promising of the future. words that explain a lot about the -- about the approach of the new administration in washington. i repaid our guest by offering honesty in my assessment of the situation. i shared our concerns. incurable i am an pro-american european who is dogmatically devoted to transatlantic cooperation, i could afford to be outspoken even more. i asked the vice president

violence flared again in eastern ukraine and the u.n. ambassador slammed them at her first security council appearance. claire sebastian is in moscow. good to have you with us again. might ease sanctions on russia. now seems to change his position on that. what can you tell us? >> yeah are, it's interesting how much has changed in the past week. it was this time last week we were expecting a phone call to take place between trump and president putin. that did happen but not a single mention of even the word sanctions in that to some people's surprise. the day after, we saw violence erupt in the eastern ukraine. a serious escalation there. any hope of sanctions evaporated later in the week. there was a fix made to one sanction introduced by the obama administration for alleged russian interference in the u.s. election. that amendment was very much played down by mr. trump. then we saw those very harsh comments from the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. nikki haley saying no sanctions on russia would be lifted till they returned crimea to ukrain

we not only always to ukraine, we only to many other countries -- we not only owe it to ukraine, we owe it to many other countries. we have to find something here and they are more than willing to put every effort towards this. [applause] >> with your permission, madam chancellor i think we have time , for one question. chan. merkel: yes, sure. >> i would like to give it to stefan. >> madame chancellor, i am sure that you are not like -- you would not like to comment on what is going on in the new u.s. administration. there is criticism when it comes to the trade surplus, and we have had heated debate. will this be a problem when you take the first step towards the new u.s. administration? second question, what would you say or do you doubt the u.s. media coverage when it comes to u.s. domestic policy? well, mykel: information usually comes from german newspapers. i suppose you would be happy to hear that. as for the rest, i think a free and independent press is of the essence. i have great respect for journalists. this year in germany, we have always done the best one we show respect f

policy has been on this ukraine-russia conflict the last three years. it will be interesting to see whether president trump and national security advisor flynn take the same tone that we saw from ambassador haley. >> u.s. policy may consistent, but it's arguable whether it has actually worked in getting russia out of that part of ukraine, because they are still there with these russian-backed rebels. so how do we make our policy more impactful, and what is the goal of our policy as you see it? >> well, it's not clear what the goal of the policy is yet because the trump administration, like the obama administration before it, seems to be starting from the notion that we can somehow negotiate our way out of this. i personally have been arguing since the war started in ukraine in march, 2014, that the united states and nato needed to put conventional deterrence on the table. and we've done that in some ways with u.s. forces training ukrainian forces. the ukrainian army is doing much better than it was since beginning of the war, they are sort of able to ho

principally on ukraine? ukraine isa good. principally on ukraine? ukraine is a central issue. there are consequences and if you think about it, there is more for putin to get from an american relaxation than for him to give. i'm not sure he can give anything at all. what would it ta ke give anything at all. what would it take for the americans to decide to relax the sanctions given the fact they would know the situation in ukraine is controversial. a great deal of rather naive faith, the russians give something back for a favour done. they do not. that is not the art of their deal. it is who gets too, not dissimilar to what trump said in his book. they would also get the russians friction in nato, doubt as to what the russian policies of the eu administration would be. too bad to confusion which exists because of what has been going on in the united states. are we in danger of reading too much into the importance of personal contact, the personal dynamic given today mr lover of said to rex tillerson nice to see you again —— sergei lavrov. are those personal mechanism is ve

with the ongoing conflict with russia and the ukraine, nato and the fight against terrorism. this is 40 minutes. >> colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, at the munich security conference, the international meeting was actually kicking off an opening with a passionate debate. that wasat a meeting in its infancy. today it is the munich security conference. we will have discussion and debate. here and 125 countries they will beginning you a very warm welcome to munich. this is something very special i wouldny, chancellor like to also welcome you. this conference which began in 1990 is very much influenced by the cold war, by the conflict between