>> rebels control a national guard base after ukrainian forces abandoned the site. six separatists and 11 ukrainian soldiers have died in fighting there. civilians are leaving the area. >> russia is threatened with more sanctions over the crisis. first, an update. >> the fact a at a the separatit fighters overran the base is not just a humiliating defeat for kiev and their anti terrorist

organization as they call it, it's got serious strategic consequences, because this is the base, the headquarters where they control and coordinate the russian border crossings. this is where they communicate with all the border posts. they are now empties and have no way of communicating with the border guard anymore. that means a large blind spot is opening up on the russian border. it means the people in kiev, the government in kiev, the security services no longer have eyes on parts of the russian border. now the separatist fighters say for them, they're trying to create a humanitarian corridor to control safe passage for the women and children, something that moscow has been demanding and the kiev government spurned so far, a safe way through the front lines closing in at the moment. the women and children are being bussed to crimea. now the separatist fighters do have control of a corridor

coming out of the area to the russian border. >> bring us up to date with the fighting in slovyansk. >> fighting here has been intense filing in and around slovyansk this afternoon. sources on the ground say that the ukrainian mill father is now rounding the entire town, chief got check points around the town, not letting anyone in for the moment. we hear that heavy artillery fire is being heard there focused in the region to the northeast of slovyansk and the south of slovyansk itself. meanwhile, i spoke with some -- anti terrorism operation as kiev calls this, they are now saying that 500 have been killed in the past two days. that's completely disputed in

donetsk who say it's less than 10. there's an information war going on, as well. a dangerous development says there has been shooting in the streets. it appears the fight has reached residential areas. >> what does all this mean for the incoming president poroshenko? >> it's a very difficult situation for mr. poroshenko. after he was voted in on sunday, a resounding victory, he said he was going to make this operation was very effective, that these battles that we're seeing now were going to be over in a matter of hours rather than days. clearly that is not the case. then after meeting with u.s. president obama in warsaw, he said poroshenko came out and said that after his inauguration saturday, he's going to layout his plans for peace for the region. that's likely to include an offer of amnesty. we will certain watch and wait to hear that speech when he's

inaugurated saturday. >> thanks very much indeed. >> g7 leaders meeting in brussels warn that russia risks further sanctions if it continues to be a destabilizing influence in eastern ukraine. the final day of the g7 meeting, security of energy supplies is a key item on the agenda. again, russia is in the spotlight. >> james bays joins us live from brussels. russia's not there, but a lot of talk about the role they can play within the energy market. >> absolutely. because so many european countries rely on russia for their energy dependence in russia. not just ukraine, countries like germany and italy have reliance, too, on russia's energy. that may explain why they've come out with a very unified position here. they may come up with tougher sanctions. that option remains on the

table. that's been the position for some months of the european union and for that matter, the g7. we're also hearing another bit of news in the last hour or so, and that is that the inauguration of the new ukrainian president which takes place this week can be attended by the russians, by the russian ambassador. a short time ago, the german chancellor angela merkel held that as positive news. >> the fact, the mere fact that i read russia will send its ambassador to the inauguration ceremony of the new ukrainian president also is a testimony to a certain form of recognition, so now, let's wait for the further talks. >> we heard earlier about poroshenko talking about a plan for peace. is this positive news we heard from angela merkel and these general noises or are we heading something toward a bit more positive on ukraine? >> i think that is certainly what they are hoping, but it is at this stage still hoping,

because you're also hearing about that ongoing violence and hearing from members of the g7 saying that is orchestrated by the russians themselves. the stage of international diplomacy now moves from here in brussels to normandy in france. it just happens at that the day after this meeting, there is the commemorations of d-day 70 years ago, the allied landings on these normandy beaches toward the end of world war ii. well, all of the key powers from that time will be gathering again in normandy and that includes vladimir putin representing the russian federation. he will be sitting down, we though, for a meeting with the u.k., with france and germany, leaders of those three countries will be meeting president putin for separate meetings. president obama will be there in

normandy in the same place as president putin. i think it's quite possible they will have a brief chat, but we're being told for now, no formal sit down talks. >> police in eastern canada extended the manhunt for a gunman who shot dead flee officers and wounded two more monday night. people are urged to stay indoors while the suspect is on the loose. we have more. >> it was early evening in this normally peaceful town when the first volley of shots range out. police responded to sitings of an armed man and walked straight to into a deadly gun battle. within minutes, two three officers were dead, two injured. >> dressed mike the movie character rambo, police have named him 24-year-old justin bolk, who lives locally. >> we are actively looking for the shooter, believed to still

be in the pinehurts subdivision area. we are urge the people who live in that area to stay inside and lock their doors, and to the people to stay away from that area if they don't have to be in there, to allow us to do our job and locate this individual as quickly as possible. >> frightened residents have been heeding the warning and staying indoors. one eyewitness described seeing a critically wounded victim. >> we just came outside. my daughter said there was police in the area and we noticed there was a lockdown on the street. they were turning vehicles around. we noticed that there was a staff supervisor of the vehicle had taken an injured officer away, the lady looked really hurt. >> which kind of injuries? >> she had blood and stuff toward the top of her head. >> the new brunswick state premier sent a message extending thoughts and prayers to all

those affected by the shootings. the manhunt is ongoing. the gun machine is thought to have fled new nearby woods. >> reports of a massacre in northeastern nigeria by boko haram fighters on monday doing place in three villages. what more can you tell us about these attacks? >> three different communities in the local government area were attacked by masked men sometime on monday, sometime in the middle of the night, going into tuesday. just as you were saying there, they were armed. we understand that they were dressed from witness account in military uniforms and military fatigues, that they fired upon villages that they sent churches a mosque and other buildings

alight and destroyed these communities completely. now, these attacks have been concerned by a senator north area who said he's spoken to residents who gave him this description of what happened. however, at this stage, there's been no official confirmation from official sources like the military, who are operating in the area. the police and emergency services as to exactly what happened, this is not completely unusual. it is an incredibly remote area on the border of nigeria and cameroon, very porous, no roads, very difficult to get to. this attack could have happened on monday, but is only coming to light now. >> give us an indication of other progress, if any, on the fight that the government is holding against boko haram. >> the government have always

remained fairly animate that they are winning the war against boko haram, despite the many attacks that weaver seen just in the last few weeks. thousands of soldiers have been deployed to the area to try and combat the group, yet we still see attacks and the government that's the nation for that is that this is a new war they're fighting. the nigerian army and military has never before been exposed to this level of international terrorism, which is what the nigerian government brand it as, and in many ways are still trying to combat the group and find them. they claim they are succeeding against the group despite day in and day out reports of boko haram attacking villages in this area. >> thank you for that update. >> still to come on aljazeera, a

british school where parents are fighting back against claims that their children are being radicalized. >> i'm in the rio de janeiro where the people feeling excluded have organized their other than world cup. >> these protestors have decided that today they will be arrested >> these people have chased a president from power, they've torn down a state...

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>>. ukraine's border with russia is unguarded after armed separatists took control of the border posts from the milling tear. >> at g7 talks, russia risks

further sanctions if it continues destabilizing actions in ukraine. >> a gunman shot three police officers and injured two others in canada. police have named the killer as justin bolk. >> fighters from iraq, violence reported north of baghdad. isil controls several districts of the city. the situation remains tense as the army sends in reinforcements with the death toll expected to keep rising. >> opposition groups and the u.s. condemned president bashar al assad's election victory in syria. supporters have been celebrating the win, which gives him another seven year term in office. parliament speaker announced he won 89% of the vote. we have more from the border with turkey. >> for those in the opposition,ette elections were not fair, they were not even legitimate. in fact, people are just not

concerned. as you can see, they continue to cross into turkey to escape the violence. people here are trying to survive, trying to cope. there is a war in syria. the elections were not held in government controlled territories, now but the government is declaring victories, saying that it is in control and hat support of the people. the government also says that this is a turning point, because they want to start a political pros. per the government, what that means is they're going to move forward with what they call reconciliation agreements. those agreements have managed to reach ceasefires with some rebel forces in some neighborhoods, but those ceasefires are just temporary. there's no real reconciliation. this is a divided country. in the words of the former u.s. ambassador robert ford, the only way to end the conflict is to tip the balance on the ground. that is the only way to force the government to sit down to a negotiating table. the united states as well as western allies are reluctant to

provide the rebels with weapons because of what they call the so-called extremist forces still operating in syria. >> three aljazeera journalists are in a cairo court for the 11th time. they have been held for the past 159 days. they are accused of supporting the outlawed muslim brother hood, allegations that august strongly denies. the prosecution diazmands the longest possible sentences. aljazeera is band from reporting inside egypt. we are joined by a cnn reporter outside the courthouse. tell us more about what the prosecution is saying. >> this is a critical day, you get the sense that the anticipation is building because we're getting closer to a verdict, although we don't know when that's going to take place. it looks like we're getting closer because the prosecution

has wrapped up presenting its case, made their final argument earlier today. now what's happening i go the defense is presenting its case. we don't know how long it will take to present its case. we don't know if they'll wrap up today or there is going to be a verdict today, although it's unlikely. for the past couple hours, the defense has methodically picked apart the prosecution's case. over the past few months, the only evidence if you want to call it that that the prosecution presented is old video clips, video clips of news conferences, news reports, sometimes news reports from outside of egypt. they presented pictures, sometimes personal pictures, items that would seemingly be in the possession of any journalist and items that have nothing told with the serious charges that these journalists face. the defense' position is they failed to present any evidence linking these individuals to these crimes. even so, despite the sparsity of evidence, the prosecution making

a very ominous statement, alleging that aljazeera has made an alliance with the devil and along with the muslim brother hood, the prosecution today also calling for the maximum sentence, saying that anything other than the maximum sentence would drown egypt in darkness, so you get an idea of the rhetoric that we're hearing inside the court. we'll see what the rest of the day bricks. >> i'm not sure how close you were to the defendants, but could you see their condition? >> they're very much tuned in. obviously during the past 11 hearings, they're very attentive, but they're extra attentive today, considering that this trial is heading towards a conclusion on several occasions. muhammed was seen pumping his fist when the defense seemingly made arguments poking holes in the prosecution's case, but the conclusion of this case, the verdict has everything to do

with what the judge decides and to figure that out, you have to be in his mind. he's going to make the final judgment, but based on what we've seen, based on what any fair-minded, reasonable observer has stated, this has been a weak case for the prosecution, but it's the judge that had final say. >> thank you very much indeed, we appreciate you joining us there. thank you. >> another aljazeera journalist has had his trial postponed until june 11. he's been held since august last year and has been on hunger strike for more than four months. he insists he won't break his fast until he achieve his freedom. it has been postponed because he's not well enough to attend court. >> a city could be dismantled, allegations that teachers have been radicalizing students. many parents and teachers say the entire affair is a

politically motivated slur designed to break up schools that are performing well. a journalist was allowed inside one of the schools and sent this report. >> this school, according to the government and almost the entire media here is a hotbed of radicalism. the children, 99.6% muslim are claimed to have been taught to mock christmas, girls and boils separated. never mind the fact that this educational standard is outstanding. many parents are fighting back, leafletting at the gates trying to stop what they see as a slur on their collective character. >> do you think it's right, given how many muslims are in the school? what we do believe is their

needs should be taken care of. >> i have spoken to my daughter about these allegations. she said no, dad, when it comes to reading time, we can sit on the floor boy-girl, boy-girl. >> a catholic school a couple of minutes away from christmas. people used to complain about religion taught in schools. now it's islam. it's clear politicians believe if they're living in britain, they have to adopt different standards when they send their children to public schools. >> fundamentalism, extremism, plotting a grand conspiracy, yet almost no complaints have been about educational standards. they've all been about culture. yet, if the point of the educational system is to serve

the needs of a demographic, than many parents who live in places like this would say the school's worked very well for them. >> more than 20 schools here teaching thousands have been accused of jetsoning non-muslim teachers in favor of conservative islam. several will be stripped of their status ocean that they have failed children culturally. local members of parliament say the schools didn't understand their secular responsibilities. >> the whole idea of undermining the values and the principles for young girls, who will then be always in a different mind set that they're not good enough to sit in the front. >> back to the school, we saw evidence of various religions being taught, of boys and girls sitting together with non-muslim staff and a library full of standard children's literature.

all the noise, this school insists it is a victim of a witch hunt for extremism which simply doesn't exist. >> the roman catholic church discovered a mass grave containing 800 children, described as deeply disturbing. the remains were found in a sewage tank on a home for unwe had mothers. records show the children, some as young as three months died from malnutrition or infectious disease. >> we can't really judge the past from our point of view and from our lens. all we can do it mark it appropriate and make sure people can come and can remember. >> the archbishop of canterbury made an unexpected visit meeting

president goodluck jonathan. condemning the abduction of 300 school girls in april, as well as a string of recent bomb attacks. >> i was particularly because i know jus very well, i was deeply saddened by the bombings and so i wanted to come and pray with his exlens and express our condolence for the losses there have been. >> the car company general motors found senior executives were not to blame for a delayed recall involving defective ignition switches. the g.m. chief executive officer apologized for the pain caused by the defective part and said the company accepts responsibility for its mistakes. she announced that the company will start the compensation program for those hurt or who lost a family member. the move to spare top executives has drawn sharp criticism.

the european central bank lowered key interest rates as it continues to retain deflation. records have been held all year. the move to go lower was widely anticipated by the financial markets. >> 17 years ago this friday, allied forces captured the french beach head in normandy that led to the defeat of nazi germany. thousands have been drawn to france. d-day marked the largest sea born invasion ever mounded. prince charles and his wife camilla attended was as in france. >> the world cup in brazil kicks off in a few days time, the country spending as much as $14 billion. brazil is called the home of football, but many say they have

been excluded from the party. we report from rio de janeiro. >> the brazilian authorities are animate the world cup will be good for them. $14 billion spent on stadium infrastructure. that will not reach the shanty towns. >> i think it's very clear that the world cup is not for all. the world cup has brought us projects that only den fit the upper classes and big construction companies, but everyone else pays the price. >> one of the organizers of an alternative football tournament includes teams of men, women and children. >> this is another form of political protest against the national and local government. our main goal is also to

strengthen the community and bring attention to those who were evicted and suffered police violence because of the world cup. >> football has always been the people's game and the world cup the tournament bringing nation's together, but it's not reached the shanty towns where they're organizing their own popular cup to protest their exclusion. >> this man has three children. want 28-year-old said they'll be cheering on the brazilian team, but are not part of the national celebrations. >> we are going to watch it here at home. we love to see the game in the american stadium, but the tickets are way too expensive. >> this is football being brought back to its roots. a poignant contrast, say the organizers to the glitz and glamour of the world cup, and a long way, they say from the billions spent to the detriment of housing, health care and

education. >> aljazeera, rio de janeiro. >> a quick reminder you can always watch aljazeera on line. for that, go to aljazeera.com and click on the watch line icon at the top of the screen.

>> production of animal protein using livestock is resource heavy and puts an incredible strain on our natural systems. it also has a bigger impact on global warming than driving cars. >> as our population and our global appetite for meat increase, we need to find other ways of satisfying this demand. i'm here at wageningen university, holland, to check out the environmental benefits of eating bugs. professor van huis? >> that's right. yeah. >> great. >> oh - my - goodness.

why are you researching insects as food? >> well, we will have a meat crisis very soon. 70 percent of all the agricultural land at the moment is used for livestock. the world population is doubling, and the meat demand is also doubling, so we need another earth to feed the world, so just impossible. also, if you look at it environmentally, 18 percent of all the greenhouse gas emissions are from livestock, so we need alternatives for our protein and insects are an excellent alternative. >> what do you call this? it looks quite slippery. >> this is a locust species. >> this is a locust. >> yes. be careful because they bite, so you have to... >> they bite? to be honest, it's a stretch for me to think of this guy as food. but that must be the battle that you"re facing, trying to convince westerners that there"s a good meal to be had out of these guys? >> yeah, but it's only the western people have problems with it so... >> yeah. yeah. >> ...most of the world population doesn"t have any problem. and i would also say if

you taste it once then the next time is not a problem anymore so. >> so there you have it, insects such as locusts, grasshoppers and mealworms are nutritious and have much less impact on the environment than livestock. but finding the right insect is just part of the story. if we're gonna make any impact at all on the global demand for protein, we need to make sure we"ve got a reliable and sustainable supply. so we've come to the kreca insect rearing facility. this is marieke. >> hi. >> tell us what you do here? >> well, we have a lot of insects here. we breed ten species. >> wow. >> most of the insects are for the animal consumption, but we have one insect also for the human consumption. >> okay, can you show us how you do it, where you do it? >> yes, of course. come on in. >> okay. (pause) wow. >> yeah. >> those worms are big enough for selling. coming week, they get sieved and then we sell

them. >> let me see. >> you can put more worms in one place than you can put cows. i think there is between 700 and 1,000 kilos only in this room. >> of insects? >> of insects, yes. >> insects are great at turning plants into protein. it takes ten kilograms of plant matter to make just one kilogram of beef, but that same ten kilograms will produce nine kilograms of insect protein. this is "cause they"re cold-blooded and don"t need to waste any energy in controlling their body temperature. okay, so we've done our feeding of the mealworms. the next stage of the process is now to take the mature worms out. oh my god! wow! wow, look at that! there's a lot

of worms! so this is like pure adult mealworm which is ready to go off to market and to the kitchens basically. the rest is all gonna go back into the incubator and start the cycle again. but that's our work here done for just now so that's it. okay, so we've found out that insects are nutritious, you can farm them on a commercial scale and they"re better for the environment. but all this means nothing unless people are actually prepared to eat them. >> they just need to be warm and... >> johan verbon is the chef at the restaurant of the future. he's been cooking with insects for over three years. >> for your average person, having a look at that to begin with would look pretty... >> yeah. if people ask me often this question i always say to them, "do you eat shrimps?" >> yeah, i do. >> and they say often, "yes and i like them," and i say, "those

are the insects of the sea." >> i think i recognize this guy from the lab this morning. i could be wrong but... >> you feel and hear how crunchy they are? >> yeah, really. >> if you just add a little bit of salt on the head... >> okay. >> ...they're a nice snack. >> yeah? >> yeah. >> their heads. we'll just go right in there for the head. okay, moment of truth. >> if i kind of step out of myself and just don't even think about it then that is really nice. that"s crunchy... >> yeah. >> ...salty, and there's a, yeah, a nutty flavor. >> a nutty flavor in there. yeah. >> the majority of this burger is still beef, but even just by using, what did you say, 20 percent? >> 20 percent, yeah. >> even by using 20 percent grasshopper in this that's 20 percent less beef, so less damage to the environment, less water that you're using.

>> mmm! yum. you're eating the entire... >> the entire insect, yeah. >> ...the entire insect. no waste. >> beef you eat about 55 percent of a cow, and this is the whole insect 100 percent. >> wow. >> yeah. >> you"re cooking with worms! >> yeah, we"re cooking with worms. >> i mean, how are you gonna actually get people to eat worms, basically? >> make it nice. >> okay. >> make it look nice, make it taste nice. and when food looks good and you're hungry you will eat it. >> okay, professor, grasshopper burger is served! >> oh! thank you. wow. that's great. >> well, i hope you enjoy them. they're prepared with a lot of love from johan and i think it"s a fantastic idea. so, thanks to your research, hopefully we'll see a lot more restaurants serving grasshopper burgers in the future bon appetit!

>> al jazeera america's presents the system with joe burlinger observing a crime >> a shocking number of these eyewitnesses get it wrong >> how much would you remember? >> dark complected... medium height... you described most of the majority of the men in america >> sometimes witnesses get it right >> when you have an eyewitness to say i saw him do it, that is the best evidence. >> and sometimes sometimes they don't >> no one is listening to us... george is innocent... >> the system with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america al jazeera america gives you the total news experience anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of

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welcome back. a moment ago, sergeant bogosian's father spoke in english and in pashtu, a language of afghantan >> bowe, i love you. i am your father. [speaking pastu" i have written to you over and over. [speaking pashtu". >> can you speak english still? i would write him. but now, i hope that when you hear this and when you are ready to hear this and when you see this, i hope your english is coming back. you. >> bon bergdahl, the father of sergeant bowe bergdahl. our randall pinkston has been standing buy in washington. randall, your reaction. >> what struck me right off the bat is that the father, bob bergdahl said that they had not

yet spoken to their son. now, i spoke on background yesterday with the department of defense official who told me shortly after bergdahl was rescued by the special ops soldiers in afghanistan that it was the understanding that he would either speak to his parents on the phone or through a video link even as he was beginning his initial debriefing. apparently that did not happen, has not happened. of course we now know that sergeantbe bergdahl is at germa at a medical facility there where debriefing and decompressing are continuing. now, the debriefing process, we are told, there is no time line on it. days. he could be there a week. he could be there longer. we really don't know. and i was also told that it was up likely that bergdahl would be reunited with his parents before he returned, that is to say sergeant bergdahl was returned to texas because i asked

specifically whether the parents might be traveling to germany to reunite with him there and the defense department official on background said, unlikely, that it would be more likely that the parents would reunite with him when he gets to texas. so we don't know when he will reach texas. his father saying that beau has been down so long, the father's words, down so long it's going to be very difficult for him to come back and then he gave the metaphor of a diver who has been deep under water and having to come up slowly to expel the nitrogen from his system. the father we want on to say if you come up too fast >> you die. hopefully, they are not going to be any long running implications from bergdahl's captivity over the past five years but of course, you read books about prisoners of war. you talk to them and you know that that is a life-altering experience. so we will just have to wait and see how things turn out for sarnl event borroweringberg, the

last p o w. of the afghan war. >> you can only imagine after five years, you hear about post-traumatic stress disorder. this is such a difficult time. it's a joyous decision. there is plenty of criticism. what has the white house reaction and the reaction been? >> the criticism is come from republicans at this juncture who are accusing the add miles per hourstration of violating the law by failing to notify congress, failing to have the secretary of defense notify congress 30 days in advance of the transfer of any detapees out of guantanamo. the holding facility in cuba. now, the explanation that is given for defense secretary hagel not untiling congress 30 days in advance is because this opportunity to free sarnl event bergdahl occurred quickly. it required quick action. it required that things be done

very, very quietly, in secrecy. the add miles per hourstration says that they didn't even tell the government of afghanistan that this swap was taking place. so -- and, furthermore, that the president at the time that he signed the leanlylation signed a separate -- a side letter indicating that in instances of national security, under the separation of powers, the commander in chief has the authority and the right and the responsibility of making decisions in the moment and then letting congress know about them after the fact, which has happened more than once in recent history and in past history. so as far as the add miles per hourstration is concerned, there were no laws violated here they were not negotiating with terrorists, trying to get the release of a prisoner of war. there have been prisoner of war swaps as our analyst indicated for decades, for centuries for that matter. >> all right. randall pinkston joining us from washington. randall stand by for just a moment.

i want to go to alan shaufller outside the press conference in boise, idaho. alan? >> thomas, extraordinary couple of minutes, 20 minutes or so that we all got to spend with jani and bob bergdahl as they expressed their love, their pride for that son and what he has been through and what he has ahead. they talked about the tremendous support here in the state of idaho and the wood river alley and beyond around the world. bob bergdahl saying he didn't have time to thank everybody because that would be millions. we want to introduce you to one member who can represent some of that support, and this is lance stevenson. step on, lance. thanks for taking the time. we appreciate it. you are with a club, a motorcycle club, pow-mia corporation of boise valley. this is the kind of group that showedtre support from bowe bergdahl from the beginning that you this. >> absolutely. we were there from the start, right after it happened, we all got together. we had over 500 motorcycles come

out to hailey and just show support for the bergdahls. we didn't want them to think they were in this alone. some of of our members had done this before. >> we share the same view at how we tackle this threat in the from this jail regions of the world. as i have said before, our approach must be tough, patient, intelligent, and based on strong international part sheer ships. when it comes to syria, number one destination of jihadists in the world, we address the foreign fighters traveling to and from syria. we'll introduce new measures to prosecute those who train for terrorism abroad. here we've agreed to do more to work with syria's neighbors to strengthen border security and disrupt the terrorist financing that funds these training camps. in libya, we want ho help the government overcome the legacy

of gadhafi's misrule. we have appointed envoys to work together to support efforts to reach a much needed political settlement. we are fulfilling our commitment to train the security forces with the first trench of recruits to begin training this month. we're both committed to supportling the nigerian government and its neighbors add they confront the scourge of boko haram. the kidnapping of the school girls will be addressed. we stand to provide more practical rance to strengthen their defense and security interests substitutions and develop expertise to counter these barbaric extremists. finally as barack said, we had an important discussion on ukraine and relations with russia. i don't mean the outset, the g7 nations have stood united, clear

for our support in the ukrainian people and their right to chaz they're own future and that russia's actions unacceptable. that is why russia no longer has a seat at the table here with us. at this summit, we are clear about three things. the status quo is unacceptable, the continuing destabilization of eastern ukraine must stop. second, there are a set of things that need to happen. president putin must recognize the legitimate election of president poroshenko, stop arms coming across the border into ukraine. if these things don't happen, then sanctions will follow. the next month will be vital in judging if president putin has taken these steps. i will urge him to do that when we meet later today. >> we discuss the cancer eating away at the world's economic and political systems, corruption,

the arch enemy of democracy and development. the best way to fight corruption and drive growth is greater transparency, far tax systems and freer trade. that was at the heart of our agenda and today we agreed to push for more action on fair tax systems, freer trade and things that are now hardwired into these international gatherings this year and for many to come. thank you. >> we've got a couple questions from each press delegation with that we will start with jeff from reuters. >> thank you, mr. president. you're going to france later this evening. since you last had the french president visit, a lot of tensions have arisen in the relationship. the french say a multi-billion dollars fine on the bank could affect the global economy and trade talks. do you believe those concerns are valid and how do you expect

to address them with him tonight and also u.s. concerns about the french selling warship to say russia. to the prime minister, do you feel isolated, sir, among your e.u. leaders about your position on jean claude as european commission president and separately, do you feel any pressure from president obama about your position on keeping the u.k. in the e.u. thank you. >> first, the relationship between the united states and france has never been stronger on a whole range of issues, we're seeing intense cooperation and i look forward to seeing the french president this evening to talk about a range of issues and continue some of the work done here in brussels. my answer on the banking cases is short and simple. the tradition of the united

states is that the president does not meddle in prosecutions. we don't call the attorney general, i do not pick up the phone and tell the attorney general how to prosecute cases that have been brought. i do not push for settlements of cases that have been brought. those are decisions that are made by an independent department of justice. i've communicated that to the french president. this is not a unique position on my part. perhaps it is a different tradition than exists in other countries, but it is designed to make sure that the rule of law is not in any way impacted by political expedient, and so this will be determined by u.s.

attorneys in discussion with representatives of the bank and i'll read about it in the newspapers just like everybody else. >> he said he's going to confront you about it. >> you'll hear the same answer from me tonight as just heard at this podium. i have expressed some concerns and i don't think i'm alone in this, about continuing significant defense deals with russia at a time when they have violated basic international law and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of their neighbors, so the french president understands my position. i recognize that this is a big deal. i recognize that the jobs in

france are important. i think it would have been preferable to press the pause button. he so far has made a different decision, and that does not negate the broader cooperation we've had with france with respect to its willingness to work with us on sanctions to discourage president putin from engaging in further destabilizing actions and hopefully to encourage him to move in a more constructive direction. we are at a point where mr. putin has the chance to get back into a lane of international law. he has a president in poroshenko

who he can negotiate directly with. having spoken to president poroshenko yesterday morning, it's clear that he recognizes that they need a relationship with russia and deserves a right to engage with the rest of the world. the steps that david outlined earlier a understand that the g7 unanimously agrees with, which is more mr. putin to take -- seize this moment, recognize poroshenko is the legitimate leader of ukraine, cease the support of accept are a activities and the flow of arms, work with ukraine to engage those in the east during this process of constitutional economic reform, if mr. putin takes those steps, then it is possible for us to begin to rebuild trust between russia and

its neighbors and europe. should he fail to do so, though, there are going to be additional consequences and one of the important things that came out of this meeting today was the recognition on the part of all of us that we can't simply allow drift. the mere fact that some of the russian soldiers have moved back off the border, and that russia is now destabilizing ukraine through surrogates rather than overtly and explicitly does not mean that we can afford three months or four months or six months of continued violence and conflict in eastern ukraine. we will have a chance to see what mr. putin does over the next two, three, four weeks, and if he remains on the current course, then we've already

indicated the kinds of actions that we're prepared to take. >> you asked a couple of questions about europe, as well. we've had a set of european selections, france and britain, an anti european party won and in my country won. you can stick your head in the sand and wish these results would go away or have a strategy for the people that you represent in your country. i have a strategy to represent an understand and reflect those concerns. that's why i think it's important that we have people running the institutions of europe hand the need for change, the need for reform. i would argue that is a view quite widely shared amongst other heads of government and heads of state in the european union. as for britain's future, i'm very clear what i want to achieve is to secure britains place in a reformed european union. i have a strategy for delivering that, it's about renegotiating our position, it's about

recovering important powers, making significant changes, and then putting that decision in a referendum to the british people, very much recommending that we stay in a reformed european union. it's a strategy for dealing with an issue which i think if we just walked away from it, we will see britains drift away from the exit line. >> we have good discussions about these issues as we discussed everything else. >> absolutely. >> let's have a question from the bbc. >> mr. president, even if you don't have a meeting scheduled face-to-face with vladimir putin yourself, are you going to end up talking with him face-to-face in france, and do you see real possibilities of opening up a path away from the crisis? britain is facing two major decisions, whether or not scotland stays a part of the united kingdom and whether it stays a part of the european

union. prime minister, you'll be the first after the summit to engage with vladimir putin face-to-face. despite everything you've said, is there something of an olive branch in your hand? after all, mr. putin does not actually denounce the process which brought the president to power in ukraine. is that what you will be exploring with him this evening and do you accept that germany may not come to your aid. >> will that blow your entire strategy off course. will your credibility be so damaged in britain that people may simply vote to leave the union, finally, who are you more afraid of, angela merkel or teresa may? >> right. you want to go, let me take those. first of all, my meeting with vladimir putin, i think it's just important to have this

communication about some very important messages about what's happening now is not acceptable, about the changes that need to take place, i think as the president said, there is an opportunity for diplomacy to play a role and to chart a path, because we've had these elections. the ukrainian people will have chosen a president, he's a capable man and it's quite possible that he could have a proper relationship with putin that could be a proper relationship between ukraine and russia, but change is needed for that to happen and that is the message i will be delivering this evening. in terms of your other questions, look, on this issue of who runs the european commission, the european institution, what matters is people who understand the need for change, for reform.

>> sorry about that, we had a break up from the sound from brussels with a sum up of what has come out g7 summit in brussels. standing shoulder to shoulder as they commemorate the affords of d-day landings in europe, helping to bring an end to world war ii. they've been talking. let's bring you straight back in, we've recovered the song. >> the people of the soviet union during world war ii and should we have the opportunity to talk, i will be repeating the same message that i've been delivering to him throughout this crisis. keep in mind although we haven't had formal meetings, i've spoken to him by phone repeatedly through the outset and my message has been very consistent and that is that russia has a legitimatent