i'm ross atkins, welcome to outside source. when he became president donald trump promised closer cooperation with russia. this is how it's going. there is a low level of trust between our countries. the world's two foremost nuclear powers cannot have this kind of relationship. vladimir putin is no more optimistic about that relationship. on a working level especially on the military level it has not improved. but rather has deteriorated. will bring you the latest from moscow and expect a press c0 nfe re nce latest from moscow and expect a press conference from donald trump and the nato secretary general. when that happens in washington, you'll see it here on outside source. we report from germany where a man with islamist links has been detained in connection with that attack. on the borussia dortmund team bus. ahmadinejad has registered to stand for president again. stories from south africa, north korea and chechnya. if you have questions on

any, you can go and e—mail, social media, and the hashtag is bbc os. if you thought once the russians and americans got face—to—face things might improve i'm afraid you'll be disappointed. rex tillerson and sergey lavrov held a joint press conference a couple of hours back in moscow. first of all, here is the secretary of state. expressed the view the current state of us russia relations is that a low point. there isa relations is that a low point. there is a low level of trust between our two countries. the world's two foremost nuclear powers cannot have this kind of relationship. we further discussed approaches to improving our channels of communication. we had a lengthy exchange of views regarding the situation in syria. and shared

perspectives on possible ways forward. the russian foreign minister was a little more positive. my minister was a little more positive. my sense of the negotiations, with the plethora of problems, there are quite a few perspectives for our giant work. russia is open for dialogue with the united states and various areas, not only for the dialogue, but forjoint various areas, not only for the dialogue, but for joint action various areas, not only for the dialogue, but forjoint action is aimed at the result in the areas where there is common interest in both countries. and of course we expect reciprocity from the united states. i'm positive to date's meeting that have spanned hours with rex tillerson, the two of us along with the russian president, have helped raise it. rex tillerson also met vladimir putin. they'd met

before, several times, when mr tillerson was ceo of exxon mobil. mr tillerson was ceo of exxon mobil. mr tillerson has been awarded the order of friendship, the highest honour a foreigner can receive in russia. this is what president putin said before the meeting today. translation: it's possible to say on the level of trust on a working level, especially on the military level, especially on the military level, it has not improved, but rather has deteriorated. tension, as you'll know, has been ratcheting between russia and the us since last week's chemical attack syria. they disagree on whether the assad regime was responsible for what happened there. donald trump has again returned to that issue. here is what he said. frankly, we talked chemicals, people just he said. frankly, we talked chemicals, peoplejust don't he said. frankly, we talked chemicals, people just don't see this, the level of mortality, the level of viciousness. when they drop barrel bombs and bombs of any kind right on top of a civilian

population, that's the worst thing, i've never seen anything like it. and frankly putin is backing a person that is truly an evil person. and i think it is very bad for russia, i think it is a very bad for mankind, very bad for this world. donald trump in an interview. his press c0 nfe re nce donald trump in an interview. his press conference with the secretary—general of nato has just started in washington, dc. there it is. i also want to acknowledge the great work being done by our secretary of state, rex tillerson, to strengthen the nato alliance, as well as the secretary's trip to moscow to promote the security interests of the united states and its allies. he did a terrificjob, just watched parts of it, did an absolutely terrific job. 68 just watched parts of it, did an absolutely terrificjob. 68 years ago this month, not far from where we are gathered today, president harry truman spoke at the signing of

the north atlantic treaty. in the nearly seven decades since harry truman spoke those words, the nato alliance has been the ball work of international peace and security. —— they liberated the captive nations of the cold war. they secured the longest period of unbroken peace that europe has ever known. this enduring partnership is rooted out of so many different things. but our common security is always number one and our common devotion to human dignity and freedom. since 1949 the nato member states have more than doubled, increasing from 12 to 28. on monday i signed the protocol to

approve the 29th. the country of montenegro. in the coming months and yea rs, montenegro. in the coming months and years, i worked closely with all of oui’ years, i worked closely with all of our nato allies. to enhance this partnership, and to adapt to the challenges of the future, of which there will be many. this includes upgrading nato to focus on today's most pressing security and all of its challenges, including migration and terrorism. we must also work together to resolve the disaster currently taking place in syria. we are grateful for the support of nato members and partners in their condemnation of assad's murderous attack using the most horrible weapons. the most vicious slaughter of innocent civilians with chemical weapons, including the barbaric

killing of small and helpless children and babies, must be forcefully rejected by any nation that values human life. it is time to end this brutal civil war, defeat terrorists, and allow refugees to return home. in facing our common challenges, we must also ensure nato members meet their financial obligations and pay what they owe. many have not been doing that. the secretary—general and i agree other member nations must satisfy their responsibility to contribute 2% of gdp to defence. if other countries pay theirfair share instead of relying on the united states to make up relying on the united states to make up the difference, we would all be much more secure. and our partnership would be made that much stronger. the secretary—general and

i had stronger. the secretary—general and ihada stronger. the secretary—general and i had a productive discussion about what more nato can do in the fight against terrorism. i complained about that a long time ago and they made a change. and now they do fight terrorism. i said made a change. and now they do fight terrorism. isaid it made a change. and now they do fight terrorism. i said it was obsolete. it's no longer obsolete. it's my hope that nato will take on an increased role in supporting our iraqi partners in their battle against isis. i'm also sending general mcmaster to afghanistan to find out how we can make progress alongside our afghan partners and nato allies. every generation has strived to adopt the nato alliance to meet the challenges of their times. and on my visit to brussels this spring, which i look very much forward to, we will work together to do the same. we must not be trapped by the tired thinking that so many

have, but apply new solutions to face new circumstances. and that is all throughout the world. we're not here to stand on ceremony, but to develop real strategies to achieve safety, security and peace. we're here to the freedom and prosperity of our citizens, and to give them the future they so richly deserve. secretary—general, i'm honoured to have you here today, and to reaffirm oui’ have you here today, and to reaffirm our commitment to this alliance, and to be injuring values that we proudly, and i mean very proudly, share. thank you very much, thank you for being here. thank you. thank you for being here. thank you. thank you so much mr president. we just had an excellent and very productive meeting, it's really an honour to meeting, it's really an honour to meet you for the first time here in the white house. we agree that nato

isa the white house. we agree that nato is a bedrock of security, both for europe and for the united states. raw world wars and a cold war have taught us all that peace in europe is not only important for europeans but is also important for the prosperity and security of north america. so, a strong note to —— a strong nato is good for europe, but it's also good for the united states. therefore, iwelcome it's also good for the united states. therefore, i welcome the very strong commitment of the united states to the security of europe. we see this commitment not only in words, but also indeed. over the past months, thousands of us troops have been deploying to europe. a clear demonstration that america stands with allies to protect peace and defend our freedom. and

yesterday you announced the completion of the ratification of montenegro's membership in nato, another expression of your strong commitment to europe and the transatlantic bond and we thank you for that. in a transatlantic bond and we thank you forthat. in a more transatlantic bond and we thank you for that. in a more dangerous and more unpredictable world, it is important to have friends and allies. and in nato, america has the best friends and the best allies in the world. together, we represent half of the world's economic and military power. no other superpower has ever had such a strategic advantage. this makes united states stronger and safer. we saw that after the 9—11 attacks on the united states. that was the first time nato invoked article five. allies sent

surveillance planes to help patrol american skies. and be launched nato's biggest military operation everin nato's biggest military operation ever in afghanistan. hundreds of thousands of europeans and canadian soldiers have served shoulder to shoulder with american troops. more than 1000 have paid the ultimate price. earlier today, i than 1000 have paid the ultimate price. earliertoday, ilaid than 1000 have paid the ultimate price. earlier today, i laid a wreath at arlington national cemetery in tribute to the fallen. it was a deeply moving experience. we owe it to our service men and women to preserve the hard earned games we made together in afghanistan. we were reminded of their sacrifice just this week when

aus their sacrifice just this week when a us soldier was killed there fighting isil. our mission in afghanistan is a major contribution to the fight against international terrorism. nato plays a key role in many other ways also. all nato allies are part of the global coalition to counter isil. nato provides direct support to the coalition with training for iraqi forces in the fight against terrorists, and more intelligence sharing. you are right, we have established a new division for intelligence which enhances our ability to fight terrorism, and working together in the alliance to fight terrorism in eight more effective way. — — fight terrorism in eight more effective way. —— in an even more effective way. —— in an even more effective way. —— in an even more effective way. nato can and must do more in the global fight against terrorism. in the fight against

terrorism, training local forces is one of the best weapons we have. nato has the experience, the expertise, and the staying power, to make a real difference. and fighting terrorism will be an important topic when nato leaders meet in brussels in may. the other major topic will be fair burden sharing. we had a thorough discussion on this issue today. mr president, i thank you for your attention to this issue. we are already seeing the effect of your strong focus on the importance of burden sharing in the alliance. we agree that allies need to redouble their efforts to meet the pledge we all made in 2014 to invest more in our alliance. it is about spending

more on our alliance. it is about spending more on defence, it is about delivering the capabilities we need, and it is about contributing forces to nato missions and operations. this means capabilities and contributions. fair burden sharing has been my top priority since taking office. we have now turned a corner. in 2016, for the first time in many years, we saw an increase in defence spending across european allies and canada. a real increase of 3.8%, $10 billion more for our defence. we're now working to keep up defence. we're now working to keep up the momentum, including by developing national plans outlining how to make good on what we agreed

in 2014. we all know we need to contribute our fair share, because we need to keep our nation safe in a more dangerous world. we discussed many different topics during our meeting today, including the hugh renders use of chemical weapons in syria. —— the horrendous use of chemical weapons. it is unacceptable, cannot go unanswered, and those responsible must be held accountable. so, mr president, thank you once again, i look forward to working with you to keeping the alliance strong, and i look forward to welcoming you to brussels in may when heads of state and the alliance meet to address the challenges and the need to continue to adapt the alliance to a more challenging security environment and to respond to the need for sarah burden sharing and stepping up our efforts to fight international terrorism.

and stepping up our efforts to fight internationalterrorism. —— and stepping up our efforts to fight international terrorism. —— for fairer burden sharing. couple of questions. jeff mason? fairer burden sharing. couple of questions. jeff mason? thank you mr president, i'd like to ask about two topics if i may. first, as your view of vladimir putin changed after what has happened in syria? and what is the united states prepared to do if he continues to sport assad? a separate question. have you made a deal after your chat last night with the president of china about china helping to rein in north korea, and is it one reason you've decided not to label beijing a currency manipulator. i'll be speaking to... yeah, you want to go ahead? secretary general, do you believe nato should continue to bolster its presence along the alliance eastern border and are you confident you have president trump and the united states support for that? i'll be speaking with rex tillerson in a little while, calling in. ithink

speaking with rex tillerson in a little while, calling in. i think he had a very successful meeting in russia. we'll see, we'll see the end result, which will be in a long period of time perhaps. but the end result is what is most important, not just talk. i result is what is most important, notjust talk. i think based on everything i'm hearing things went pretty well, maybe better than into speeded. —— better than anticipated. it would be wonderful, as we were discussing a little while ago, if nato and our country could get along with russia. right now we're not getting on with russia at all, we may be at an all—time low in terms of relationship with russia. this is built for a long period of time. we'll see what happens. putin is the leader of russia. russia is a strong country. we are a very, very strong country. we are a very, very strong country. we'll see how that all works out. last night, separately, i spoke with a man i've gotten to know. i don't know putin from but i

do know this gentleman, i've spent a lot of time with him over the last two days, and he is the president of china. you were there, most of you we re china. you were there, most of you were there, it was quite an interesting period of time. president xi wants to do the right thing. we had a very good bonding, we had a very good chemistry together. i think he wants to help us with north korea. we talked trade, we talked a lot of things. i said the way you will make a good trade deal is to help us with north korea otherwise we'll go it alone, that'll be all right too. going alone means going it with lots of other nations. i was very impressed with president xijinping. and i think he means well and i think he wa nts to think he means well and i think he wants to help. we'll see whether or not he does. do you feel like you have a deal with him? do you feel like you have a deal in terms of the currency manipulation, designation,

and have your views changed on putin? we're going to see about that. i also see about putin over a period of time. it would be a fantastic thing if we got along with putin and with russia, that could happen. it may not happen, it could be the opposite. i can only tell you what i would like to do, i'd love to be able to get along with everybody. right now the world is a mess. but i think by the time we finish its going to be a lot better place to live. i can tell you that speaking for myself, by the time i'm finished it's going to be a lot better place to live in. because right now it's nasty. nato is in the process of implement in the biggest reinforcement of our collective defence. one element of that is to increase our military presence in the eastern part of the alliance. we are now deploying four battlegroups to the two baltic countries and poland. there will also be more us

forces in that part of europe. this is the first time in many, many years we see an increase is the first time in many, many years we see an increase in the military presence of the united states in europe. so we are increasing our presence and they are also increasing the readiness and preparedness forces so we can quickly reinforce if needed. we consider the presence we will have when the four battlegroups are in place as sufficient, given the current security situation in europe. but of course we will assess the situation and follow the developments very closely. the message from nato is that what we do is proportionate, it is defensive, and we don't want a new cold war, we don't want a new arms race. we strongly believe there is no contradiction between a strong nato, credible deterrence and defence, and political dialogue with russia. we

believe a precondition for political dialogue with russia is that we are strong and united, but based on that we can talk to russia because russia is our neighbour, russia is here to stay, so we have to find ways to manage our relationship with russia. i'm absolutely certain the united states supports this approach, partly because the united states is contributing with forces to enhance the presence in the eastern part of the presence in the eastern part of the alliance, also in the south—east of the alliance in romania. the united states and the president has clearly expressed they want dialogue with russia based on unity and strength in the alliance. the next question is from jon sopel. strength in the alliance. the next question is from jon sopel. thank you very much. secretary general, how long do you think it'll take you to persuade the other european countries to burden share? and what are you going to do to persuade them? mr president could i ask you... i like that question. i'm

here to help. mr president do you think it's conceivable... what is your instinct? is it possible syrian forces could have launched that attack in italy last week without the russians knowing? and have you been disappointed, surprised, by vladimir putin's reaction since then? i think it's certainly possible, i think it's probably unlikely. i know they're doing investigations into that right now. i would like to think that they didn't know. certainly they could have. they were there. so we'll find out. general mattis is looking at it with the entire pentagon group that does that kind of work. i was very disappointed to see, it is disappointing no matter who does it, but when you get into the gases, especially that form, it is vicious and violent, and everybody in this room saw

and violent, and everybody in this room saw it, all too many times over the last three or four days. young children dying, babies dying. fathers holding children in their arms that were dead, dead children. there can't be worse and it shouldn't be allowed. that's a butcher. that's a butcher. i felt we had to do something about it. i have absolutely no doubt we did the right thing. and it was very, very successfully done, as you well know. thank you. and defence spending and burden sharing, that has been my top priority. i've raised it in all my meetings in all capitals i visited with prime ministers, presidents, minister of finance and defence and foreign ministers. i expect some of course, all allies... they find it in 2014. the strong and clear message from president trump has

been very helpful, so now we see things are starting to move in the right direction. for the first time after many many years of decline in defence spending, we see an increase in defence spending across europe and canada. they've started to move in the right direction. 3.8% real increase in defence spending across europe and canada is a significant step in the right direction. it's not enough, we still have a long way to go, but at least they have turned a corner, the european allies have turned a corner, instead of reducing defence spending, they will start to increase. i think it's important to remember this is something europeans do because they know that this is in their own security interests. it is in their interest to invest more in european defence because the world has become more dangerous. many european allies, or european allies, reduce defence spending after the end of the cold war because tensions went down. if you decrease defence

spending when tensions are going down, you have to be able to increase defence spending when tensions are going up, and now they are going up. so we have still a long way to go, but i'm encouraged by the fact we have started to move in the right direction. last year there were five allies spending 2%, this year romania has declared they reached 2%, next year latvia and lithuania will reach two, so we go from five to eight, which is going in the right direction. still, we have some work to do.|j in the right direction. still, we have some work to do. i did ask about all the money that hasn't been paid over the years, will it be coming back? we'll be talking about that. we want to talk about that, too. anita, where are you? hi. inaudible

were you aware that was going to happen? how does that affect the relationship? we did talk last night, i think it's wonderful they abstained, as you know, very few people expected that. no, i was not surprised china did i abstain. very, very few people thought that was going to happen, so we honoured by the vote, that's the vote that should have taken place. secretary general you talked about moscow and russia, how do you count of oppression in general... democratic elections... inaudible the most important thing is to have an alliance, stay united and be firm and predictable in our approach with russia, it means we have to invest in our collective defence, exactly what we're doing. deploy more troops in eastern part of the alliance,

increased the readiness of forces and defence spending. i welcome the strong message from president trump on the message of increased defence spending. we have started to do this, so we're implementing the biggest reinforcement of collective defence since the end of the cold war, providing credible deterrents. at the same time we have to find ways to engage with russia, talk with russia. because russia will not go with russia. because russia will not go away, it'll our biggest neighbour. then we have to find ways to avoid a new cold war and new arms race. that is exactly why i'm very much in favour of what we call the jewel track approach to russia. as a former norwegian politician i have the experience to work with russians because norway is bordering russia. norway was able even during the cold war to develop a pragmatic working relationship with russia. cooperating with them on energy, an border issues, environment, fishery. also in military affairs. that was

not despite our membership in nato, it was because of membership in nato, because nato provided the strength, predictability, the platform for a small country to have a political dialogue with russia. so i strongly believe the only way to deter russia is to be strong, but the only way to avoid new cold war, avoid a new arms race, avoid increasing tensions, is to continue to engage russia in political dialogue and make sure what we do is defensive and proportionate in the response to a more assertive russia. i give the floor to... i give the floor to. .. thank you, mr president i am from norway and russia is our neighbouring country, what do you think your pasty fear from russia if this tension continues? —— what do you think that europe has to fear from russia.

continues? —— what do you think that europe has to fear from russialj europe has to fear from russia.” can't understand. what do you think european countries have too fear from russia if this tension continues to escalate. and though mr secretary general, the attack on syria last week, were said to be warranted, do you think so and you see nato playing a supporting role in any future actions in syria?” wa nt to in any future actions in syria?” want to start by saying that hopefully they will have to fear nothing, ultimately. like now there isa nothing, ultimately. like now there is a clear and there are certainly problems. ultimately, i hope there will not be a fear and there will not be problems and the world can get along. that would be ideal.