>> terry donavan talked about the housing authority in washington, d.c. and his remarks are 25 minutes. >> glenda, thank you so much for an incredbly introduction. i want to say thank you for your tribute to earnie. i am joined by your former and incoming president on their new roles and i want to acknowledge that two great friends are here

as well. let's give henry and brian a round of applause. [ applause ] >> all of the board of directors and in particularly gary cost who has given remarkable service over the years. all of us join you in remembering the great life and work of erniae. i was deeply saddened to hear over the weekend of his passing. i want to send my best wishes to his family. but i also want to make sure that we, not only remember with sadness his life, but the enormous vision he brought, the indelible mark he made on the community and an entire industry. we were talking with my team

over the weekend about him and one of his great sayings that i was reminded of was that he said quote ideas are great. but they don't mean a darn thing without some action behind them. in other words, it is one thing to talk about progress, it is another thing to fight for it. throughout this life, ernie fought for progress and to highlight issues too often overlooked and fought to expand opportunity for those too often denied it. and i am proud to be with you today to say two simple words: thank you. thank you, ernie, for your work. it will be long remembered. [ applause ]

>> i pledge, all of us in the administration pledge to continue ernie's fight for fairness and opportunity because our nation is at its best when everyone has a fair shot. president obama once said whether or ancestors arrived on the may flower, signed in at ellis island or crossed the rio grand, their diversity has not only enriched the country, it helped build the greatest economic engine the world has over known. they embody the spirit and in doing so you strengthened our hispanic community and our entire nation.

i want to thank you, ernie, and tell you how much i appreciate being with you. what brings us together is the fundamental values that houses playing. homes are the foundation of lives and where we raise families and are at the center of healthy communities. owning is home is what helps families build wealth, start businesses, put their kids through college and save for a decent retirement. that is why we have to insure the housing market is healthy and provides opportunities to all responsible families. this work hasn't been easy in times. just a few years ago, as you all remember, your nation endured a once-in-a-lifetime crisis that devastated americans across the nation. when the president took office in 2009, home prices had fallen

20% from the year before. the largest one-year drop every measured. new and existing home sales were near all-time lows. 3 million borrows were behind. all of you saw the pain up close so i don't need to go with statistics. the thing that perhaps more than anything you saw, that the statistics bear out, is that from 2005-2009 the household wealth of the median hispanic family dropped by 2/3rds. wiped out in just four years before our president stepped into the oval office. and you all know these numbers represent so much more than just figures on a spread sheet. they represent people's dreams

turning into nightmares. and so it was clear to the president, and to me, that when we took office we needed to address this crisis head-on. both for the hispanic community and for our nation's future. that is why we have helped 8 million responsible families modify their mortgages. that is why we put $7 billion to work helping rebuild foreclosed and abandoned properties in 50 states and that is why hud approved housing counters have helped nine and a half million families get help. the market is healing. the number of underwater borrowers fell by half, lifting 5.7 families above water.

during that period, homeowners have seen $3.4 trillion dollars in home equity restored. existing home sales were the strongest they have been in seven years. progress is occurring across the country. and you can be proud of the work you have done to help that progress happen. but we also know that all of the us here today that there is so much work to do still. access to credit for responsible families is still too limited. underwater borrowers are too common. too many families are still struggling. we are commit today eccelerate the housing community. we are looking for empower families with the tools they need to provide home

buyers. and build a rock solid cyst for me the future by getting -- system -- the work done. let's talk about the work we are doing to help families strengthen their financial position. we are work with the private sector to create more jobs. we have experienced 46 consecutive months of private-sector growth and that is 8 million new jobs. and the president is determined to build on the progress by making 2014 a year of action. he put forth proposals to be taken with and without congress to strengthen the middle class and build ladders of opportunities for those trying to get into the middle class. he didn't waste any time. with the stroke of a pen he announced he was raising the

wage for federal contractors and enhancing training programs so americans can get the skills they need to succeed and partnering with ceo's to put the long-term unemployed back to work. and working to get people jobs upgrading port and roads. he is taking these and other actions to insure the nation is a place where he said honest work is plentiful and communities are supported. where prosperity and shared and opportunity for is for all. more families will escape foreclosure or be able to buy. i ask you to support the president's agenda and listen to the efforts we are taking to give families the chance to

strengthen their future. just a few thousands makes a difference in helping americans get a house they can afford or to rent a decent, affordable house. that is why the affordable care act is so important to us in the housing community. first, americans who already have insurance, have a chance to reduce their monthly cost, freeing up resources for housing or other important needs. but second, for those who are uninsured, we know a sudden surge in medical cost leads to families missing payments, loosing homes and going bankrupt. they don't have this anxiety. nine million americans have signed up for private insurance or medical care coverage.

i ask you to help those you know that don't have insurance covered by march 31st. it is for them, our housing market, and our entire economy. another effort i want to mention that is good for all of us is immigration reform. [ applause ] >> this is a top priority of the president's. and that is why he is calling for action again during this state of the union address. i want to say this is personal to me. as the son of an immigrant who grew up in latin america and america, english is his second language, spanish is my first.

we all must be committed to this effort. it is the right thing to do and makes good business sense. creating a new pool of millions of homeowners and sales and income and spending into the u.s. economy. let's speak up, and stand up, to get this done. once and for all. [ applause ] >> all of these efforts on immigration reform, health care and helping to grow jobs go a long way in helping families buy a home and you know that is just one part of the equation. the second part is insuring they

have access to the credit they need to get the home. before the crisis, credit was too easy to get. but now it is too hard to get for too many american families. think about this: the federal reserve did a study that showed from 2007-2012 mortgage lending to borrowers are credit scores over 780 fell by a third. loans to those with scores between 620-680 fell by 90%. action is needed clearly. which is why we have been working in a variety of ways to credit to those who are ready to own. the qualified mortgage rule we finalized in december. is the result of six federal

agencies, including hud, coming together to make it equal to the qualified mortgage in order to simplify the mortgage process. this is a direct result of the feedback we got from all of you and so many others since our first proposal in 2011. and by doing this, by aligning these two rules, we are avoiding complexity and overly restricted downpayments. some of the critics said this was a dilution of the rule. but you know the consumer protection rule is a very strong measure. i am confidant it will help protect families from being victimized in the future. and i am confidant that our actions to align qrm and qm are

finding the opportunities that are available. and we want to strengthen the federal housing administration for a long term. during the housing crisis, it helped keep the dream of home ownership alive by providing liquidity to the nation's markets. a well known economist said if it wasn't for this fha the housing market would have shutdown. they were enormiously important to the hispanic community. 610,000 hispanic community households have purchased a home using this loan since the

president took office. 55% of hispanic home buyers used fha since 2012. we want to make sure it is strong for years to come. we strengthen underwriting standards and our portfolio. our mutual insurance fund gained $15 billion in value since last year. and we anticipate the fund will return to the required 2% capital gain ratio in 2015 and that is two years sooner than projected a year earlier. we will continue to execute policies that reduce lossess, increase recoveries on troubled legacy loans, and continuing to look for innovative ways to get credit to those ready to buy and

insure they have the best chance to succeed. our hawk initiative is working to embed housing help throughout the fha. through updated manual underwriting guidance and our back to work initiative, we are making sure lenders look at the whole picture. this helps people that were damaged during the crisis but still solid borrowers to be considered. and we continue to fufill the mission of opening the doors for homeownership for a wide variety of responsible buyers. it has been critical to the housing market and the overall market. sales are up. starts are up and confidence is up. but i know that none of us is content. after all, just think about what would happen if the housing

market collapsed again. it would undermine all of the progress we made, particularly in the hispanic community. that is why we have to insure a crisis of this magnitude never happens again by reforming the housing finance system. that is going to require action from congress and you heard the president last tuesday call on congress to move forward with housing finance reform. but i know what many of you, or maybe all of are probably thinking, with all that is happening in washington, what makes me crazy enough to think we can get a bill through congress. what i would ask you to remember is that housing has always been an area of common ground in our country. president truman and senator taft worked together on the housing act of 1969. ed brook worked to produce

landmark fair housing legislation decades later. and last year, we saw bipartisan work in congress on this issue. it is time to come together and make finance housing reform a reality. last august, the president outlined a series of principles he believes should be in the work. private capital needs it be at the center of the process. the federal government guarantees 80% of all mortgages and that is not sustainable. the risks have been in the hands of the private sector and they need to be in the future. how do we structure the reform? we should put private capital in the first-loss position so we can insure the taxpayers are not

ever again on the hook for bad loans and bailouts. and that is winding down fanny may and freddy mack in their current form. for too long the model was heads they win, tails and taxpayers loose. we can make a smooth transition of their loans and people with the government's new targeted rule. we have to pay close attention to how we do so we don't disrupt the credit market in the short term so the recovery can continue. second, the government role needs to be explicit, clear and defined. as opposed to before when it was implicit and no one understood

what the government would do. this requires enties will pay similar to the pay the way they do for insurance. one benefit of that is it would allow us to expand a housing trust fund and our capital magnet fund so that we support dramatically more affordable houses. and to be specific, we need to all come together to insure that reform yields a fund of more than $5 billion a year that can help to support down payment assistance, more affordable rentals and a range of other goals. this is good for the hispanic community and the nation as well. a third principle reform is

making safe, afford financing like the 30-year mortgage. as we talk about the important role the federal government should take, there are going to be those that say the federal government gets involved and we will have another crisis again. we need to have a purely private market. the president disagrees. he believes that guarantee is a fundamental part of the future. it has to in a safe way in the principles i outlined, but is tr to make sure those that are often left out with able to apply for the 30-year mortgage. and no family or community will

be left behind and ensure community banks and small lenders have the same access to capitals as big banks. all of that is part of shaping a system that is not only for taxpayers and builds opportunities in the way the president is focused on. six years after the financial collapse, it is time to get this critical step done. we must move housing finance reform through our congress this year. we know the senate banking committee -- [ applause ] -- thank you. >> we know the senate banking committee is working on bipartisan review as we speak. and we need to work with the committee, with the entire senate and with the house as well, to keep the momentum going

so we can get legislative action as early as possible. you know it is an election year. the longer we go and the later it gets, the more difficult it is going to be to get this reform done. make no mistake, it isn't going to be easy. but you know nothing about our housing comeback has been easy. but i also know something else, that we don't backdown from a challenge. in good times and bad times, you fight for progress and opportunity. over the course of this conference, in addition to the proposals i have outlined, you mean hear a lot of ideas about what we need to do to continue the fight. but to use the ernie quote again: ideas are great, but

they don't mean a darn thing without action behind them. so let's take action together and work to support the 2014 agenda of the president to create jobs and expand opportunities for all. let's work to get people covered with health care so they can secure their future. and let's act to get immigration reform done once and for all. [ applause ] >> and let's not stop there. let's acting to increase credit for responsible families. [ applause ] >> that is right! let's act to reform the housing finance system to make sure that we don't have a crisis like we had every again but to make sure the doors of opportunity are open for the future. in short, let's act in

partnership to shape a fair and prosperous housing market and nation. we have a great opportunity to do big things this year and let's answer that call for action. thank you.

in their countries. is they want a lot of and clearly governments make a calculation that it's mostly going to be positive attention and it's going to be worth it and it's going to be worth in russia's case, the $50 billion that we've heard has been spent. in russia's case, actually, if you set aside the united states and the west, it looks like that may well have been a good investment. russia's ambassador is president's putin's top policy aid said in the media that 60 head of state or government are coming to sochi. taking in to account there are

only 85 countries participating in the winter olympics. 60 out of 85 is -- whaing it highlights is a gap, perhaps, in how the united states about west look at russia. and how many other countries around the world look at russia. and the kind of attention that the united united states and western countries give to russia. and the kinds of attention that russia gets elsewhere. my mandate is to -- on this panel, to talk specifically about human rights, and i think it's very clear that russia's human rights practices get much more attention in the united states and the west than they do elsewhere. in the case of this particular olympics games, the issue of gay

rights has gotten enormous attention in the united states and the western media. i think it illustrates some of the differences. and i want to talk about that for a few minutes. i don't approve of russia's so-called gay prop -- propaganda law. i have a lot of other reservations about russia's human rights practices. that being said, when you look at russian public opinion, and, you know, the attitudes of people in russian society on these issues it should hardly be surprising that the political system would produce the laws that it has produced. 82% of people in russia are opposed to regular gay pride

parades in their cities. 77% of people in russia are opposed to same-sex marriage. 40% of people in russia believe that gays and lesbians should have fewer rights than others. 22% would support criminal prosecution. so it's -- t that environment in which this legislation comes forward. if you look at the law, it's been broadly supported within russia. actually, i think managed to capture the 80% plus share of the russian population, i guess, are happy watching parades of tanks, but less happy watching

gay pride parades. without -- on the other hand, you know, reversing russia's post soviet decriminalization of homosexual conduct, and, you know, remembering that is criminal conduct in a large part of the world. including in india which we frequently talk about is the world's largest democracy. now, if you look well -- well let me skip in the interest of time talking specifically about the law we can talk more about the law if people have questions about that. certainly, though, when you look at public opinion, and also at legislation, you find that russia falls actually somewhere in between the united states and the west on one hand and

particularly the middle east in africa. on the other hand in terms of a public attitude. and again, i don't think it's to -- it's too surprising that russia's legislation should follow russia's public opinion. what i think is, you know, an interesting question, at least for me, is an interesting question is why, when we look at russia and we look at other countries in the world, why we focus on these issues in different ways. and syleste is here. i'm sure she would tell us it's a major priority for the administration and one that is universally applied. and i expect from a certain perspective that's true. but when you look at the very

large number of relationships around the world that the united has, this is an issue that has particularly come to the forward in the case of russia and certainly not only on the part of the administration, but also on the part of the media. and why is that? i think for me, it gets back in many ways to an issue, i think, that tom raised how real uncertainty actually about where russia fits. is russia part of the west and part of western civilization or isn't it? it was a strong temptation on some issues to see russia as outside the west. in other areas there's a strong

temptation to see russia inside the west. and when we look at russia and see a russia we want to be inside western civilization and we see conduct by the government, human rights practices, other things that don't lineup i think it's especially frustrating for many people. like an inch you need to keep scratching. that's the best i've been to be come up with in long reflection an -- on that particular issue. looking concretely at the olympics, you know, the climate that has emerged around this set of issues and certainly the very wide spread concern about russia's treatment of gay and lesbian citizens and about the law. certainly makes it seem likely

that some people in sochi may try to express their view on the issue whether they be athletes or spectators or others. athletes are in a very particular situation i think it's going to be more challenging for many of them to express their view openly, first and foremost, because of the olympics charter, which is very clear in pro-- prohibiting athletes in taking part in demonstrations or other political activities during the olympics. actually a modification that was introduced to the charter, from what understand, the strong initiative of the united during the cold war period. but, you know, spectators also will be in intha challenging

situation in expressing their views. this connects a little bit to what bruce was talking about. here you've got sochi security officers trying to protect everyone and very importantly from a real risk of terrorism. and ask this force that has been assembled and drained for that purpose going to be the best possible force in dealing with protests that may come up. i think that's something certainly to be concerned about as the games go on. we'll have to see what happens.

certainly, the russian government, i'm sure, is trying -- t very vast best to avoid terrorism but also create an environment i'm sure the russia government will try very hard everything goes out without a hitch and major incident. it's a very complicated mix of pressures that will be brought to bear at the olympics venues. and something for us again to watch very closely in the week ahead. >> thank you very much. i was listen together presentation, which -- [inaudible] optimistic. i actually felt that perhaps we were still optimistic. as we would go to --

[inaudible] the russia and united states may be, you know, well basic question of can you sit still on the bicycle? can you sit still on the bicycle indefinitelily. particularly when the pressures to move in some direction. and many of you know just as a terrific peace in the international interest where he talked about the great power nations when you would have won -- and one rising. you looked a the during the last 500 years, and you came to a

conclusion that out of the dilemma resulted in the war. i decided to do something different. i have tried to look to the best of my ability at cases of between major powers starting with ancient agree and looked at pieces when you would have -- power which; however is not the power. but is in the reality a revolutionary power. not a revolutionary power is my analysis of the cases without a single exception have resulted in the war. i'm talking about ukraine. i think it's difficult to talk

about that the u.s. and the european union -- is a -- power. [inaudible] and suddenly not being seen in moscow. quite correctly that without ukraine, russia cannot be an empire. i think that's -- [inaudible] russians however would be in those steps. i think that say that would probably say a great outset. swedish innovation of ukraine. -- [inaudible] decided to support the swedes if we allow ukraine to go and to indagated by another foreign

power it would be -- [inaudible] that's how the stakes have been perceived by russia. i think since it is 2013, where 100 years away from world war i we have to be be very careful not assume since -- russia is not the super power it used to be. and that will be now very simple pliesic because we don't have enough time and we have a lot of things to discuss. let me just say, -- [inaudible] that china today is germany --

clearly a rising power was considerable ambition. and let's -- russia well i don't want to [inaudible] not quite obviously because it is not and because it has nuclear weapon and because it considerable economic success in recent years not recently but -- [inaudible] but still. russia clearly feels insecure of this. the way the [inaudible] and when you have the serious power like russia and can't think of any questions that russia remains the power [inaudible] and they believe that people

think they can do whatever without russia being able to respond. particular when you have another great power like china, which also seems to feel that it is being subjected to containment. i think we have to be aware of the general geopolitical when we're talking about the u.s.-russian relationship. it doesn't -- [inaudible] solicitation in many forces of the world which -- i think that we have to be very careful in defining american priorities. and deciding which geopolitical ventures should be prepared to pursue. in this case talking about ukraine and we should try to do

something very -- [inaudible] american. not just ask what we're entitled to do because of -- [inaudible] but where we're going to be. if the other side would respond not only -- [inaudible] and even more -- [inaudible] make a brief comment? [inaudible] i have heard a couple of points. don't have time to respond to each and every one. [laughter] there are several things that i am disappointing. the rest of the debate about russia in this country witnessing participating. it's very much and people --

[inaudible] wonderful going to be -- friendship and it's going to be successful. but tom was suggesting three that are very interesting to americans about the olympics is corruption, terrorism, homophobic -- [inaudible] russia. what about the american sporting team? i hadn't -- [inaudible] as if the whole olympics is about american attempt to redo russia the way you want. you seem to have forgotten the olympics is about the kids that go to compete. who will enjoy a culture exchange, who will enjoy living

together, and enjoying partnerships and friendship there. and being here and each and every day listening to the same debate, i'm disappointed that american thinkers seem to have lost the remembrance of what the olympics are about. it is -- [inaudible] give me evidence of the corruption. putin and -- [inaudible] have so many times. the only argument i have heard in this country about alleged corruption in russia is that it is expensive. yes, it's expensive. but you know why. it's something american never care to look in to. for us, olympics it's not just an event of a few weeks where a lot of builders will come. for us, olympics is pretty unique in opportunity to

encourage investment in to the region that have been fantastically attractive in term of geographic and the climate, environment, but didn't see a lot of investment. it's very outdated, and look at the map. russia -- [inaudible] areas within it own territory. ark excess to -- [inaudible] 100 -- in the soviet union it was larger. it included georgia currently. we wanted russianss to have a chance to go to enjoy sports, to enjoy -- it own country. we also want russian olympics team national team to have a training ground that sometimes

also is not available whether it's not a secret that some -- [inaudible] or elsewhere to trade for international competition. the second -- i would say that olympics is going to be a big event in two weeks it's going to be over. but all the infrastructure that has been created is going to stay. it's going stay for our people to enjoy. and i would also add throughout these money or investment in the whole project the government paid less than half the rest of it is a business. and business investment of they understand have to -- [inaudible] all of this is going to be available for people who want to join the -- i've never heard anybody looking in to this on top of that we

enjoy -- [inaudible] all of them are good sportsmen. and my president is one of them. he wanted to use the olympics in order generate within the olympics sports. it's also an important event internally. you all seem to have a discuss the importance of the olympics for russia in terms of russia making a case about its porn.

we understand it from day one. those who had the right to have the event -- [inaudible] and we do it with absolutely -- [inaudible] we have invested a lot in ensuring it's safe games and -- [inaudible] to have it. it's going to be thwarted and we will deny any chance to them. absolutely certain about it and learning -- [inaudible] it's been organized. but it is pretty unique to sochi. the majority of discuss on this country sounds like it's only in sochi. i also -- in the world it's almost

nonexistent. look at the preparations of the super mall the other day, if you can't remember enforcement protecting the air force covering, in term of number of people they were protecting. probably the intensity of effort here. the united states a concern about possible trap of terrorism in these countries. and we understand it. if you didn't decide to cancel the super bowl because it's an event for people to enjoy. sports, it's popular event. it's wonderful that you take measures to deny the chance for terrorists to undermine that kind of effort. -- ercht. we do the same. we are going succeed. homophobic? it's something i'm listening and very much disappointed because

it's kind of nonissue because nobody is going to be discriminated against on any basis including sexual orientation. the russians do not prohibit any type of relations. the only thing that is prohibited is to try to teach a different lifestyle to minorrers who haven't yet grown to make their own well-informed decisions. that's it. in terms of the whatever of sport men, i think -- [inaudible] some of the right suggesting that the olympics charter specifically prohibits, i think it's probably 51 billion propaganda and -- [inaudible] even an explanation as to what might be olympics punishment. it's not russia. it's olympics charted.

also, what is important to remember when the olympics go to a place a country. nay need respect the law of the country and certainly to show a respect to the view of the people who lead there. i'm pretty relaxed about the issue. to me, it's almost nonissue that has been blown out of proportion. i enjoyed reading yesterday something telling my american friend all along that before teaching us these law, a look at the legislation and the number of american state especially in the south. you will see that our legislation is so mild compared yours in the united states. there is a -- political [inaudible] as to why this country or some others try to teach us something they cannot accept on the universal basis within.

in term of the quality russian-american relations in general and i'm taking too much of your time. i will finish soon. tome said froabl the characteristic -- we have lost interest in each other. i cannot agree with that to the full extent. i agree we lost an interesting in each other as exessential threat. whether that kind of sentiment or not. i don't. this is a kind of in a way trying to define the -- [inaudible] there is an easy tendency to define the russian-american relations in term of the disagreements of the regional crisis or something else.

but apart from the international crisis we work together and do not agree. [inaudible] nobody remembered. and they are not developed extended as far as i'm concerned we could have had. it would have been different not only international agenda where we all play a role, but on strictly relations. the trade between two of us is -- [inaudible] the context between our legislation are almost nonexistent. the dialogue between the society is very, very limited. however, we no longer -- [inaudible] there is no basis for the cold war. t something the cold war they do not -- [inaudible]

we are yet to establish more positive agenda that will bring our country together. not only in the crisis but in term of bilateral relations. i'm glad that both presidents want these relations to develop. they want economic relations to become more prominent part of the release l. i hope we will see some steps in order to promote it. what i'm suggesting is that the relations are changing. but in the long run, i'm not sure they're change -- they're going change for the better. it will take time. and i shouldn't expect the relations to change overnight. we will have to work ton. we will be working more and more on positive agenda than on the

thing we're -- related to mutually mutual threat. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. thank you for the presentation. particularly -- [inaudible] the stable which was today. [inaudible] >> i would be -- i would rather hear the discussion then you think of ducking so i will just say less than 60 second worth of comment. and thank you to the panelists for great conversation and to ambassador for laying out so many points from his perspective. it is really helpful, interesting, and important. i'm going to mostly disagree on two points with tom. or clarify two point i think are important. number one, on syria and iran, actually i think it's the exact

opposite of you pose the problem which is it's not that the united and russia disagree on the outcome. we actually agree on the outcomes. in each of the case where we disagree where the challenges in both case how you get to the outcomes. that's where all the diplomacy and the negotiations and the meetings are focused. we agree in iran without a nuclear weapons program and a nuclear a peaceful nuclear program under appropriate international law monitoring. we agree on that. we have to different views about how you get to that. we worked out a common approach we're now implementing. on syria, similarly we agree we want syria with a government that is answerable, accountable to its own people. we agree that can only be reached ultimately through a political process. through negotiations and the political process. question agree we do not want

syria to be an environment in which extremism is implemented and able to operate threatening not only the people of syria but also syria's neighbors. where we struggle to find a common approach in how to get there. again, right now we're in a place where we're finding those ways partly because we have the responsibility with the international community. ukraine, i take the point about u.s. and russia talking together. we need to find -- i think we haven't talked about it -- we maybe have more common interest right now apparent in what we don't want. which is a violent break down in the country. the raws and the capability of the political institutions and the ukraine began state to be able function and complete meltdown of the ukraine began economy. i guess the challenge from those -- i won't speak, but for russia probably common interest in ukraine can we find a way forward toward those. it's a good challenge. the last point, while maybe some congressmen --

commentators in civil society in the media or think tank might want russia to have a less than successful olympics. there's absolutely no question whatsoever that what president obama wants is for a successful, safe, wonderful display of the best of what the olympics spirit is about. we have offered whatever help we can offer to the russian government, which is responsible itself for the conduct of the olympics. and that we have worked very hard in fact i almost couldn't come today. we are working hard to achieve the outcome. thank you for the opportunity clarify. there's no question. [inaudible] one more question. able to get [inaudible] for american personnel at least as far as protecting american concerns. >> so i'll repeat the host is

always responsible for security, for the olympics and we respect that russia is responsible. we have received the kinds of accreditation extra accreditation and extra presence for u.s. liaison officers. we have received on the ground support and cles contact with russian security officials. so the coordination is going quite well. and it is within what you would expect from this country offering to i guess country participating in the olympics. >> thank you very much. [inaudible conversations] i'm grateful you found the time to -- [inaudible] particular pressuretive you are willing to come. now is the political -- [inaudible] and particularly because we have -- members as well we know each other pretty well. at least most of us know each

other fairly well. it's not necessarily true with c-span audience. introduce yourself briefly but clearly. >> wayne, american foreign policy counsel. soch irk is not just a venue for attic events but early june the site of the g8 summit under the g8 presidency which began in january. i would like to hear if any member of the panel have thought as to how the g8 mechanism and the fact it is this year under a russian presidency might contribute to the topic of today's discussion which is the improvement of the bilateral relationship between russia and the united states. >> well, first of all we want to show up in sochi and have some at this time. obviously, if we do that there would be and should be a bilot ram between the two presidents

which gives them an opportunity to go over what the agenda should be in u.s. russia relations. both areas in which we are cooperating where we're looking forward to deeper cooperation aiming toward certain goal and area of problem in the relationship that have to be dealt with. that is -- obvious to me. there will be -- as you know, and a lot of common as we approach the g8 summit. again, questions particularly coming after the discussions we've had in this country over the past several months whether russia is should be part of the g8 and how we deal with that and the other -- there's a difference between the american political establishment deals with russia the way they talk about russia and the way the administration would. i have no doubt that the administration has a reasonable

working relationship with the russian counterpart. they operate in a political environment that put constraint on what they can do in the relationship more broadly speaking. the other point i would make is that when we're talking about the bilateral relationship. i think we too easily fallen the idea we have shared interest. that we have an agreed vision of what the end game in syria is supposed to look like. what the end game in iran is supposed to look like. tactics determine outcomes. if we can't agree on the tactics to get someplace, i suggest that part of the reason is that we don't agree in the place we end up. there's a lot of work that needs to be done on the relationship. we can't do that relationship without high-level interaction between the two presidents and the people below them that are empowered to deal on the president's agenda. i would hope that the priority would be not only what the g8 does an institution but the

united and russia are going to put on the bilateral agenda for the meeting. >> just brief promise me. one thing that seems just obvious to me from the start is talk about -- you have all the right parties involved in the g8 to talk about free trade and regional economic integration and what should be the underpinning principle to avoid the scenario we're in now where the united states is negotiating free trade agreements from one end from the atlantic end and the pacific end russia is building a free trade zone, which frankly, we perceive to be threatening and europe per receivers to be threatening. things come to a head around, for example, ukraine, around potentially countries in central asia. they have a conversation what are the underpinning principles. how does it interact? can we simply underscore our commitment to not let the tail wag the dog in to a conflict

agree politically. >> jacob? jacob from the national interest. >> quick question. the new conventional wisdom that seems to be crystallizing in washington, at least judge by the cover of the new republic in a piece by jackson deal this morning, is that president putin has reached the power already. and headed downwards. not because of disdense or -- in moscow. the russian economy is stumbling. does anyone on the panel agree or disagree with this analysis? >> why would you say subsequent -- you could make an argument that putin has reached for various reasons. question would be how far do you

think he's going to fall? the argument in this country and the convention nam wisdom appear it's going to ab major fault. i think it's far from obvious at this point. obviously there a host of problems that russia faces going forward economic among them the question about how you build a political system that is capable of dreaming with the multiple stresses whether they be from what we calm the so-called urban liberal middle class of some sort. you have socioeconomic discontent that has to be dealt with. i think you have a major problem that hasn't received nearly as much focus in this country as it should. the whole question of russian national identity. something putin has been coping with in the last couple of years. in particular because of the the

country needs a secular identity of going forward if it's going to hold again. and going to be able to manage get through some of the difficult economic periods that are inevitable in lifetime of any country. if you look at the projections for the economy, it's the next year and the year after that that are difficult. you go out a few more years and potential for more robust growth is possible. not on the order of 7 or 8% in putin had in the first decade of power. but 3 or 4% would be respectable in our terms. whether it's sufficient in the russian context, i think it's something we need discuss. the short answer is yes we probably reached a peak. i think it is far from obvious he's going to fall off a cliff in the next couple of years. >> i agree with him.

i think putin was scuffle in foreign policy. he was not successful. he was totally unsuccessful in dealing with russian corruption which is so -- [inaudible] looking at ukraine -- there was restraint inspect one explanation we understand that if you -- [inaudible] war in ukraine you have no idea where it is going to end.

it's not an inspire ration. it's like bosnia, it's all mixed together. the second thing is, when putin is probably thinking about his options he has to say to himself, well, the united states is against us. the european union is against us. [inaudible] major confrontation with the united states and the european union when russia, in term of the economy is not exactly a basket case. but pretty close to that. and that simply the russian economic predicament imposes in my view -- [inaudible] severe limit on what putin is able to do. >> can you introduce yourself? the u.s. russia business council. thank you to the panel for the informative presentation. i want to underscore -- don't have a question. want to underscore the importance of the economic relationship in the sense that

yes, obviously there i think we are seeing a lot of cooperation on the geopolitical issues. but i think it's important not to lose focus on the economic initiatives because, you know, we talk about obviously a lot of focus focused on geopolitical. on the economic side he had successful visit here to washington in december. we have -- a lot of our members consider to be important as we do it which is a bilateral investment treaty. it's a front and center of new initiative going forward. by strengthening the economic agenda and keeping that in our gaze continually. it's an important initiative

moving forward that obviously strengthens the relationship and moves it forward. i wanted to share that. >> okay. >> the pulitzer center. there are many interesting points that have been raised, and two of them appeal to me particularly because it brought me back to the time i was studying russian history. that is direction of russia. whether it is a western country, eastern of some hybrid form and tom's comment about russia's search for a national identity. i regard those questions and answers to both of those questions rather fundamental to our understanding where russia is today and may be going. and i'm wondering whether in moscow as you russian experts go

there and visit and talk. is it a subject of conversation at all? i'm asking a question. the decision making body in washington. do you all think about that as a question that ought to be addressed? [inaudible] [laughter] [inaudible] i have had discussions about this over many years. the quo now talking about particularly now of putin trying to find a conservative view -- i would argue european values. no matter how you talk about develop the economy or how they develop the political system that the underten is all about

what is russia. where are we headed? where is our relationship with europe and the united states to broad terms. where do we fit and song it is front and central in all discussions political discussions in moscow and certainly an undertone of any conversation that you have with the russian about key political and economic issues. let me just add. this isn't marvin exactly the question that you asked. i think it's something for us to think about. we're having an active debate in the united states about our identity. as a country. both domestically in terms of the composition of our society and what our values are, but also internationally in an

international system where as dimitri mentioned we have an emerging chinese super power who some people may eventually have an economy larger than our own. and what does that mean about our role in the world? and if you look at polling data, it's clearly something that the american people are thinking about. and actually quite worried about. so certainly russia has been having this very wrenching internal discussion since the collapse of the soviet union about what it means to be a vush shan citizens and russia's role in the world. but i don't think it's unique today. i think few people have more at stake and will qualify to talk

about the russian neighbors from kazakhstan. which i have to say uniquely successful in maintaining their independence and their tsh they need to make a choice between russian and europe. >> thank you for joining us. thank you very much for giving the floor up. actually, i agree with dimitri saying we lack optimism here. listening to the pentations i think we have a gloomy picture of what is happening bilateral relations and about the olympics. i would actually turn this around and say why don't we think in a positive way? why don't we have positive ideas to work on and incorporate them? because just take the example of kazakhstan. i remember the first years of our independence when all the experts were saying that kazakhstan is the least of the country of the former soviet

union which could survive. we a diverse ethnic composition of the country. it was probably -- [inaudible] you say 20 years down the road. today we can say that we only survived but we today are relative one of the vast country in the area. we have good economic development and looking forward. we are not living in the world of safe and secure and it's quite unfortunate that we have quite a different environment in the region. and of course, if we listen to all the gloomy pictures and terrorism and separatism, organized crime, drug trafficking, everything, it seems to me we shouldn't do any events in our region and just wait until the situation gets better. but we are not doing this.

we just live in the real world. we do a lot of different events, and as for olympics, i think the tourism is high. and we understand that and i very much like the words of ambassador saying that, you know, they are aware of the situation. but they still trying to do this as a friendship -- [inaudible] and the rest of the things. as i understand him. we have the same situation. we do a lot of big events. we would like it to be -- [inaudible] we would like the countries to come our region to look what we've done. it's a long vision.

among the countries. they're ambition but very good for us to go and we try to accomplish things against any problems. any issues we have in that area. i'm here just to tell the audience. of course i understand that should look at the negative sides of things. but i think at the same time we probably need to change the promise. let us think about positive things. not forgetting about negative ones, but let's give priority to positive thinking. in reeblg in and central asia we are sensitive to what is happening between the u.s. and russia. we don't want to choose.

we would like to see the area as a area of cooperation rather than confrontation. that makes the life of all the different countries in the area much more difficult. why should we have to be in the situation -- why don't we be in the situation where we get together, think how we make the world safer and more secure. they achieved results. when they don't cooperate it's a failure. i think that lead us think about more cooperative agenda. i would likely any tank here in washington look at the long-term strategy how we make the relationship positive. that will help to all the arab countries because we still --

[inaudible] to be ours. thank you. >> thank you. 20 years of success. kazakhstan clearly a remarkable case of a country and obviously -- and basically able to work with

everyone. it's not easy. i think they demonstrate it's not possible. and -- [inaudible] thank you very much. --

>> wait a second. this is csis the center for strategic and international studies. no, it's -- my name is andrew touching, director of the erasure program. welcome to our version of friday morning life. we're going to be discussing that sochi olympics, domestic regional and security challenges and i apologize for the late start. i am completely responsible for the late start. and let me just say for the record, it is not cool to be

late to your own event, okay? i don't condone this kind of behavior, and i think later on in the day i will be tarred and feathered outside of the building here in the center of washington, d.c. all right, brief introduction. this is the first time that the center for strategic and in his studies has actually published a report about an olympic games. this is done by our former visiting scholar, brin analyst of asians of caucasian affairs and security issues come islam, extremism, et cetera, et cetera. and it's got a really cool cover i think. terrific report, for my money the best thing you can read about some of the challenges and issues around these games. so that's one unique aspect about these games. never before has a winter olympic games