gains in the country's general election. they've won around 18% of the vote, putting them in third place. both the ruling centre—left and opposition centre—right blocs are short of an overall majority. neither coalition wants to work with the sweden democrats. north korea has held a military parade to mark its seventieth anniversary without displaying to mark its 70th anniversary without displaying intercontinental ballistic missiles. their absence drew praise from us president donald trump who called it a big and very positive statement. and this story is on bbc.com: us open champion naomi osaka has addressed the controversy surrounding her finals match with serena williams, saying she understands why the home crowd in new york was backing serena. that's all. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. today i'm on the shores of beautiful

leg, in northern italy. this is the venue leg, in northern italy. this is the venue for the annual discussion of politics known as the ambrosetti forum. europe's politicians gathered here have one key challenge, what to do about vladimir putin's russia. my guest today is arkady dvorkovich. now, untilfour guest today is arkady dvorkovich. now, until four months ago, guest today is arkady dvorkovich. now, untilfour months ago, he guest today is arkady dvorkovich. now, until four months ago, he was russia's deputy prime minister. what chanceis russia's deputy prime minister. what chance is there of averting the deepening hostility between russia and the west? arkady dvorkovich, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you've left of the

russian governmentjust thank you. you've left of the russian government just a thank you. you've left of the russian governmentjust a few months ago. within that government, you we re ago. within that government, you were always seen as ago. within that government, you were always seen as an ago. within that government, you were always seen as an advocate of a warmer, closer relationship between russia and the west, and yet what we see in so many different theatres, arenas, is a souring relationship. how frustrated are you buy what your own government is doing? first, i'm a professional. i've been working for the state, for the country, for the government for 18 years in the civil service, it was quite a long period of time. there's some things we did that i think were a great success stories. some things we could do faster and better. and i think other members can tell the same story. and certainly both

sides, both of the russian side but also on our partners‘ side, we didn‘t do our best to have positive relationships coming to 2018. that is perhaps a bit of an understatement in the current climate. you now know the british government, led by theresa may, has been very explicit, two names have been very explicit, two names have been given to us. alexander petrov, bruce lander scored, as the assassins who were sent by the moscow government to the united kingdom to kill... attempt to kill sergei skripal, the former russian agent, and his daughter. what on earth do you make of your own government, when you were sitting in government, when you were sitting in government, ordering an assassination with a chemical weapon on uk soil. let me be clear about that. we believe the statement of such a respected person as theresa

may is just a statement of a politician. to make such a statement one needs to have proof. forgive me, the proof was abided by the british authorities... we haven't been provided with this evidence, this proof, anything, besides the political statements we hear from the british. have you seen all the video evidence? the video is not the evidence of the crime. it is clear to us. the traces of novichok agent found in the hotel where these two russians were staying? a combination of videos, statements, things like that, combination of things put forward is not a court case completed and the case is not proved. i believe that our partners should do much better work explaining what the evidence is and to make... to create real proof.

you‘re undoubtedly right that this is not the court case, this is not a court of law. the only way to satisfactorily test whether the evidence would stand up in court is for the russians to hand over these two agents who work for the gr you, russian military intelligence, hand them over and let them face a court in the united kingdom. you certainly, maybe not all the journalists, but you certainly know the legislation and the legislation says it, russia is not handing over any russian citizens. even to start the internal investigation in russia on any of the russian citizens, we have to be given the evidence for any criminal activity that any person could have all around the world. we are not going to go against our own law, against our own legislation, and doing things that

are illegal. theresa may said it very plainly in the house of commons in london," it is almost certain that this operation by russian military intelligence, the gru, was approved at a senior level in the russian government, a russian government that you were sitting in at the time. how do you feel about that? i feel that this statement is false. false in what sense? we know the way the russian system works. there‘s no way these two individual agents could be sent to london on this mission without the kremlin authorising. the whole statement is just false. with not having any proof that people have been sent... one should not say who sent these people. let‘s try and base our statement on evidence and proof, not on political statements even made in the british parliament. on political statements even made in the british parliamentlj on political statements even made in the british parliament. i began by saying that you‘re a man who over a

career has made a point of trying to reach out to the west, to try to find common ground. correct. the truth is the us, france, germany, canada, members of the security council, they have all expressed their absolute support for the british position and their outrage at what russia has done. that is the position of key members of the international community. this isn‘t just the british government, this is s0 just the british government, this is so many just the british government, this is so many governments. just the british government, this is so many governments. that's the political position of some members of the international community, not all members of the security council of the united nations. there are many countries around the world, and many countries around the world, and many countries around the world, and many countries will be willing to see the evidence for the statements made by our respective partners. few short months ago i was in moscow and foreign minister sergey lavrov told me that in some ways he believes relations between russia and the western powers today are worse than they were during the height of the cold war.

worse than they were during the height of the cold warlj worse than they were during the height of the cold war. i also think s0. height of the cold war. i also think so. when we were going through the cold war period, everyone understood the reality. we had one state that was governed by the communist party, and rules that are based on a com pletely and rules that are based on a completely different ideological system, and countries that are run on private capitalism rules and system. it was clear there was a huge gap between the two. if, to ta ke huge gap between the two. if, to take the 90s to the beginning of the 21st—century, ideologically there isn‘t such a gap, but the question isn‘t such a gap, but the question is what is missing and the thing thatis is what is missing and the thing that is missing is trust. trust. trust is profoundly absent. just quickly, to other arenas where russia and the western powers are at loggerheads. first, syria. as we

speak today here in italy, president assad appears to be on the brink of launching a major military operation in idlib, the last region that is held by rebel forces. us envoy james jefferies says there is clear indications that assad is preparing to use chemical weapons. the russians are backing him. do you think there‘s any justification there is anyjustification for russia continue to back a president who gasses his own people?” russia continue to back a president who gasses his own people? i think we‘re coming to the same story as for the skripal case. some people have some evidence indicating something. well, we have a com pletely something. well, we have a completely different evidence that other people are preparing provocation, of the use of chemical weapons as a possible reason for counter action. there is a

discrepancy in our analysis. we have warned the international community about the possibility of a chemical weapon being used by one of the parties in the syrian battle. we have to distinguish clearly the terrorists and the opposition in syria. we cannot stay quiet if the terrorist groups remain at a certain place. if they believe there are good terrorists and bad terrorists, that‘s not a good approach. we don‘t think it‘s a good approach. we should make it clear who are the bad quys should make it clear who are the bad guys and who are the good guys. let‘s be brutally frank about this, you sat in a russian government as deputy prime minister, which, for yea rs, deputy prime minister, which, for years, has bombed syria. we know from independent human rights activists, including the observatory for human rights, on the ground,

that thousands of civilians have been killed as a result of russian bombing. did you sit and do use it today as a senior russian spokesman happy to accept that reality? it's not reality, it‘s a statement, again and again. the reality is there is a civil war, parties involved in the civil war, parties involved in the civil war, parties involved in the civil war kill each other. that‘s very bad, very unfortunate and it‘s not good for both people, especially for poor people, of course, for the country, and for international society. you know about killings from all sides in the process in this war. one should not blame russia for the war in syria. it was not russia who started the war. and we‘re not the ones to blame. i don‘t accept claims that the russian government... we've talked about the skripal case. we‘ve talked about

syria. the other theatre of conflict right now with the western powers is ukraine. and you know full well, as former deputy prime minister, that ever since the russian annexation of crimea, there has been a programme of international sanctions led by the european union and the united states. they‘ve been extraordinarily damaging to russia. there‘s no sign any of those sanctions will be lifted as long as russia continues its current course in the ukraine conflict. do you regret... honestly, do you regret russia‘s disease and to annex crimea and to meddle in the affairs of eastern ukraine? let's start with the first statement. you made three statements that we should talk about. the first statement involves the annexation of crimea. there was no annexation of crimea. there was no annexation of crimea. the crimean people had decided in a referendum that they would like to

join russia. the primary reason, primary cause for that was they were afraid, panicked that the ukrainian government will start the process that can lead to complete house... you can rewrite history if you want. but the military invasion of the territory of a sovereign nation, the first in eastern europe since 19115. you asked me about annexation, there was no annexation. i don‘t regret the decision to annex this region. people decided to do it and russia are accepted the wish of the crimean people. second... as a nominally pro—western senior russian politician, do you really believe that? it's not about pro-western or not pro—western. pro people or not pro people. the west in this case was against the wish of the people

of crimea unfortunately. i think that was wrong. the west decided to make the coup in ukraine, in kiev. it was initiated by the west and that was a mistake. i regret this decision by the west. and while being friendly to the west, exceptionally friendly to the west, i regret the decision made by the west to initiate the coup in ukraine. one more point on trust, do you think there can be any trust when the united states‘ top intelligence national security officials all say there‘s no doubt that russia has systematically interfered in the us democratic process , interfered in the us democratic process, most notably in the 2016 presidential election. we have evidence of similar sorts of things have been done in france. there‘s been serious allegation of russian involvement in the brexit campaign. what is russia doing these covert operations? and how, in your view,

can the west trust a country that‘s conducting this kind of cyber operation? the statements doesn't make it easier to establish trust. they are indications of a lack of trust. a huge deficit of trust. the state m e nts trust. a huge deficit of trust. the statements are not things that we believe are true. they are just indications of either perceptions or political interests or the campaign against russia, leading to something else. earlier in the year, the us issued as sanctions watchlist. based on the legislation. un named as number 49. -- you were named. they

took the phone book from the presidential administration to name eve ryo ne presidential administration to name everyone who is listed, maybe from forbes magazine, i don‘t know. they put the list together, that‘s what they did. maybe, i don't know. what ido they did. maybe, i don't know. what i do know is that russia and its economy are suffering. whatever you say, all the indications are that it is costing you a significant part of your growth and let‘s face it, over recent yea rs, your growth and let‘s face it, over recent years, the russian economy has not been growing at all. well. could the economy still be dependent on oil and gas, if oil prices drop by two times. sanctions continue. 1%

is probably the correct assessment. the negative effect of sanctions. our growth is now at 2% per year. the last couple of years. it is a good growth rate. it is a bit low global average but very close to european... real wages in russia since 2013 have fallen dramatically. ordinary russians are deeply unhappy with the economic circumstances. they are now also unhappy with the proposed pension reform which you, asa proposed pension reform which you, as a liberal russian economist, were in favour of. added to a single one where people were happy about any proposed pension reform by any government. it is quite a change. the ageing population, as all european countries have been experiencing. it is tough structurally. it is difficult to have sustainable fiscal stance

without some pension reform. there have been amendments proposed to the initial package put forward by the government. in fact, your president has now actually lowered the proposed retirement age for women which indicates that he is very worried about the opinion polling evidence which suggest his popularity is actually plummeting. and that even a clear majority of his own united russia party now oppose this key plank of the russian government policy. when people start seeing results, it will start growing as a result of the pension reform. there is a timing issue in any reform. initially, people are afraid and don‘t understand. people are scared at about potential consequences of any such big reform.

it just makes consequences of any such big reform. itjust makes the government work even more intensely to the deliver results. i'm not a cynic but they wonder whether your insistence about things in russia today a glass half full rather than glass half empty. despite the fact you are no longer in the government, you are staying very loyal to the putin message. in the government, you are staying very loyal to the putin messagem is still a half. shorebasedjust wonder whether the position you are taking with me is whether you are relying on the russian government to support your bid right now to be the next leader, chief, chairman, of the world chess federation. it is an important clinical poster russia and your government seems to be going out of its way to back your claim to the presidency. my support to the russian government is based on belief that people who work in our

government, many of them are my friends and close partners and i know how professional they are including ministers i have worked with for years. i believe that they will do all the right things. as far as the presidency is concerned. yes, the world chess federation. as the presidency is concerned. yes, the world chess federationm as the presidency is concerned. yes, the world chess federation. it is a sign they did a good job. what about if they are breaking the rules? we know all the allegations that surrounded russia‘s world cup bid and frank with some pretty dodgy dealing when it comes to doping in sport from russia. an uncommon now. cross talk. i know what i‘m going to say. our ambassador is calling his friends in certain countries... even vladimir putin putting pressure on benjamin netanyahu. .. vladimir putin putting pressure on benjamin netanyahu... it wasn't pressure. he said probably his

israel partners could support him. he didn‘t offer anything in return. he didn‘t offer anything in return. he didn‘t offer anything in return. he didn‘t do anything wrong. same with russian ambassadors. ifound one case where a letter was sent from the russian embassy to the partners with wrong statements and i the rules are quite clear. it is outlawed. what the russian embassy is doing is not pressure. putting, our partners that i am running for. people from various chess federations around the world were all invited with comp entries

tickets. you are running the world cup... tickets, not correct. yes, i invited many people to the world cup including chess officials, business partners, all kinds of people since i was the chairman of the organised committee. had the right and privilege and responsibility to invite all kinds of partners to the world cup and i thought it‘s very important for chess professionals to see how the world cup is being organised. for them to learn a lesson sense chess community, fida, is now much weaker than the football community. in marketing, in everything. people from chest should learn directly from the world cup organisation how do things. to —— chess. we have heard vladimir putin dominating russia, representing russia and guiding russia for a

quarter of a century. he could be and will be in power until 2024. according to the constitution, he cannot run again. after everything we have discussed in this interview, do you think that russia, after putin, can continue with this mix of aggressive nationalist policies which have so soured the relationships we have discussed in the course of this interview or does russia need to go in a new, different direction? given the next six years and after, russia will pursue open policies and work with all the partners who want to be on the same basis on the rule of law, an international rule of law. russia wa nts to an international rule of law. russia wants to pursue the policies that will feed russian people, the

russian population, increased the quality of life, raised talents, conduct in a way and build institutions that are sustainable for the future. my question, does russia need a change of direction? we will welcome our partners to work with us together. on both sides, we need to make steps to re—establish trust and establish mutual respect. those things can be done only simultaneously. there is no way one can make any step just to give up the strength that society has. if you lose strength, you lose conviction. that‘s it. russia is not going to go this week away. arkady dvorkovich, we have to end there. thanks for being on hardtalk.

hello there. we are starting the new week in the midst of a battle between warm air and cool air. we felt the effects of both over the weekend, the warmest weather towards the south—east but the best of the sunshine and temperatures close to 25 degrees further north. shower clouds and temperatures more like 16 degrees across the north—east of scotland. actually, this rather disturbed weather has been continuing across scotland over recent hours with heavy downpours of rain blown in on winds gusting up to 55 mph. wind slowly easing through the first part of the morning. further south, quiet start to monday and a sunny start for many across england and wales, as well as the eastern side of scotland. showers across the north—west still. the cloud will thicken up across northern ireland over the day

with rain around lunchtime and into western scotland through the afternoon. patchy rains in north—west england and wales. further south and east it should stay dry with spells of sunshine. not as warm as sunday but temperatures still reaching 21 degrees. 14 in glasgow. as you move into tuesday we will see some rain moving across the northern parts of the uk and then on tuesday itself we will be left with a weather front settling in place across central parts of the country bringing cloud, outbreaks of rain and it could get misty and murky around some western coasts and hills. remember the battle between the warm and the cool air? this weather front will divide the two. across the south—east of the country there is still warm air clinging on at this stage. and temperatures may reach 24, possibly 25 degrees. further north and west sunshine with blustery showers into western scotland and cooler feel, 15, 19 degrees at best. by wednesday the weather front, the dividing line between warm and cool will still be sitting in place across some and southern areas.

patchy rain with that. further north we will see spells of sunshine again. blustery showers into north—west scotland but temperatures dipping away. 17 degrees is the temperature through the day there in london. as the frontal system drifts slowly south eastwards into the first part of thursday it will leave all of us in the cooler air as it heads towards the end to the week. still potential for rain at times, particularly in the north and west. don‘t affect anything warm as we head towards the end the week. generally cool with rain at times but not all the time. still some spells of sunshine around. most of the rain on thursday towards the and the west perhaps pushes further south and east on friday. conducting this kind of cyber operation?

i‘m sharanjit leyl in singapore. the headlines: in sweden‘s general election, the far right party gains almost 18% of the vote. a huge parade to mark north korea‘s 70th anniversary. kim jong—un is there, but his intercontinental ballistic missiles aren‘t. i‘m rico hizon in london. also in the programme: china is carrying out a systematic campaign against muslims in xinjiang according to human rights watch. we speak to the report‘s authors. and naomi osaka has becomejapan‘s first tennis grand slam singles winner, but her victory at the us open is overshadowed by a sexism row. i know for sure, if i was in

the crowd, i would have been pulling for serena too. i‘m really grateful they were so kind to me,