which international mediation should be able to negotiate with all the parties concerned. the secretary-general with the european union has a central role to play in this area, but whichd andnegotiating a solutin responds to the requirements of international law. it can only be accommodated -- with the accommodated violations of law. we want to cooperate with russia with whom we have a long and common history. not in violation of our principles and values. despising and rejecting international law and rejecting any discourse does not show

optimism. russia seems to be going back to old ghosts, playing an old rule in the outdated setting. there is the mindset of new times to trust in the dialogue. they will draw the conversation. only russia will be responsible for the withdrawl. they only ask for the ukrainian sovereignty. russia brutally is violating. thank you very much. >> i will give this a representative of the united kingdom. >> thank you, madam president. the world can see that russian military forces have taken control of the crimean peninsula, part of the sovereign territory of ukraine.

this is against the expressed wishes of the legitimate ukrainian government. it is an unambiguous violation of the territorial ukraine. it is a breach of international law. we can see no justification for these actions. we have heard from russia that the forces are in ukraine to protect minorities from old radicals. we had claims of interference in the affairs of the orthodox church. we have claims of hundreds of thousands of refugees. russia has provided no evidence for any of this. it is clear that these claims have simply been fabricated to justify russian military action. in assuming control in a sovereign part of ukraine, the

russian federation has contravened its obligations is a member of the international community. it has violated article two of the human charger which prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. it has failed to honor its international commitments as a founding member and is a signatory to the 1975 helsinki final act. it has taken back its obligations of the treaty on friendship and cooperation by russia and ukraine. the russian representative claims that mr. yanukovych has called for military intervention. we are talking about a former leader that abandoned his office, capital, and country.

he brought his country to the brink of economic ruin. he protests against his government, leading to over 80 deaths. his own party has abandoned him. the idea that this now for trade any legitimacy is far-fetched. the government in kiev is legitimate and has been overwhelmingly endorsed by the ukrainian parliament. in the 21st century, no country should be act to hang with such a blatant disregard for international law. these actions will be met with a strong and united response from the international community. russia should not be surprised that the political and economic reputation have already suffered. the ruble has fallen and the russian stock market is now down more than 10%. madam president, just as we condemn the russian federation for his confrontational acts, we commend the government of ukraine for refusing to rise to provocation.

this is a wise decision. we urge the ukrainian government to avoid actions or rhetoric that would inflame tensions or provide a further pretext for further military action. madam president, we call on the russian federation to immediately cease all action in crimea and to refrain from any interference elsewhere in ukraine. russia should withdraw its forces to the bases and return to force levels previously agreed to the government of ukraine as part of the black sea fleet. if russia is genuinely concerned about protecting minority groups and upholding the human rights of the cranium citizens, then ukrainian citizens, then armed intervention is not the way to address these concerns.

instead, russia should open up a dialogue with ukrainian government in kiev and not pick individuals with whom they wish to engage. they should respond to requests by other signatories of the 1994 budapest memorandum to hold consultations as specified by paragraph six of that memorandum. they should engage constructively with debate taking place in the osce and other institutions concerning the deployment of a fact-finding mission to ukraine. such a mission could establish the facts on the ground and provide any necessary reassurances and guarantees through peaceful means. we welcome the un's secretary-general's decision. i hope that he would also go to the crimea and eastern ukraine. we call on the secretary-general to use his good offices to their

fullest dustin -- extend to de-escalate the current situation. this is not 1968 or 1956. the error in which one country can suppress democratization in a neighboring state or military intervention on the basis of transparently trumped up pretext is over. we stand ready to work with ukraine, russia and all our international partners to support a stable and prosperous ukraine. we urge them to hold this. to act in a way that promotes stability rather than to destabilize the region through the promotion of new frozen conflicts. to support democratic processes, not to subvert or repress them.

>> thank you. lithuania strongly condemns the clear violation by russian federation of the territorial ukraine. the military actions we are witnessing on the crimean soil defy the fundamental principles of international law, the helsinki final act, it he budapest memorandum, the cooperation between russia and the ukraine in 1997 in the framework regulating the presence of the russian black fleet in crimea. this latent breach has no place in a 21st century. for too many and are part of the world it evokes the memories of the darkest pages of the 20th century. it must be qualified clearly as

such. the violation of international law must also entail international responsibility. none of the events in ukraine warrant a military invasion that we are witnessing. the will of the ukrainian people to rebuild the rule of law must be respect it. we call on the russian federation to put them back to the permanent bases and to refrain from any further intervention or interference in ukraine. let me stress that the international community has a wide array of instruments that can and must be used to resolve existing differences and de-escalate the situation through political dialogue and consultations. especially as all the international organizations and others are offering the good offices to this of fact. the presence of deputy secretary-general and osce representatives on the ground testify clearly to that.

we welcome the proposal to send a monitory mission to crimea and other decisions. in light of international efforts, russia cannot continue. it has repeatedly offer consultations for russian counterparts. it must he used to de-escalate the situation. all these avenues should be utilized with a sense of great urgency. we call on the internation committee to stand united.

these are highly dangerous and we commend a restraint shown by the new government and their determinations. not to give into provocations. they defuse the crisis and welcome proposals to send a monitory missions and we would welcome any other noise and missions which would help to ease the situation. we urge the russian federation to respond to these efforts and to seize the opportunity before it is too late. >> i now give the floor to the representative of rwanda. >> thank you. the situation in ukraine in crimea may pose a threat to the international situation. strongly urge all parties and holders and ukrainian crisis to

to exercise restraint not to escalate the tension. but not launching the diversity and the faith including the russian community. given the current situation, we believe more than ever that the united nations has a critical role to play. we hope to find a diplomatic solution to the ukrainian crisis. as well as efforts are the president of the confederation in its capacity.

however, given the complexity and fragility of the situation on the ground, we believe it is important to harmonize all efforts. we therefore introduced our proposal to establish this by the secretary-general and composed of the united nations, european union, the osce and the russian federation. we believe only efforts by the main stakeholders in the respect to the unity and ukraine while considering interest of the russian federation. it would provide a lasting solution to this crisis.

all international actors have learned lessons from this and its consequences. although we are geographically removed from ukraine, it carries tension.

he could bring back the past. despite the increased military abilities of the world powers. i thank you. >> i think the representative for his statements. i give it to the representative of jordan. >> thank you, madam president. jordan wishes to ask rest it deep concern vis-à-vis the current developments in ukraine and in the crimean region. we call on all parties to exercise self-restraint not to escalate by taking military measures or by threatening the use of force. jordan reaffirms the need to respect the authority and independence. we reaffirm the prohibition of the use of force in it territory or any part of the territory or indeed the occupation of the crimean region.

they call on all states concerned to respect the terms of their agreements and treaties with ukraine. it is for the memorandum of 1994 as well as the treaty of friendship, cooperation and partnership between the ukraine and russian federation of 1997. russia and ukraine must starts effective dialogue to resolve the crisis between them. a dialogue that would lead to the return of the crimean region to the control as soon as possible. we call on ukraine to take immediate steps to resolve this of both paternity and to respect human right, and particularly the minority rights in to revoke any measures that were taken which may undermine such rights.

at the same time, we stress the need to not interfere in the internal affairs so that the country may decide its own political future. the united nations security council must assume its responsibilities regarding the situation in ukraine. we also supports the mediation efforts by the united nations secretary-general and supports the contact with the various parties in this regard. we wish to receive more clarifications from the parties concerned regarding the situation on the ground and particularly in the region.

this will be helpful. we note the need for the security council to investigate the crimean region and to look into mediation and mechanisms that may be in light of the information provided. and to determine the security council's assessment of whether an act of aggression is being committed on ukrainian territory. we would refer to the united nations assembly which considers the use of armed force a by a state on the territory of another state to be outside the scope of agreement between the two countries. the same applies. we welcome the steps that were arty taken and to be taken with in the framework of the organization of your in order to

do with the current crisis and the establishment by the osce's contact group and a fact-finding mission. we call on them to coordinate their efforts in order to remove the extension and find a peaceful solution, one that preserves the integrity. >> i thank you for the statement. now the representative of china. >> thank you. china is deeply concerned about the current situation in ukraine.

we condemn the recent violent acts in ukraine. we have been urging all sides to peacefully resolve their internal differences within a legal framework and conscientiously correct the rights and interests of all people in ukraine so as to restore normalcy in the country as soon as possible. china consistently stands for the principles of interference non interference in the internal affairs of a country and of respect for ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territory. there are reasons why infants in ukraine have progressed to where they are today. china will follow closely the developments on the ground and pull on all sides to find a political solution on the basis of respecting international law and principles of international relations and maintain peace and stability.

thank you, madam president. >> i thank the representative for his statements. i give it to the representative of australia. >> thank you for this briefing. since they last met on saturday, russian military activity in crimea area has seriously intensified and there are

reports of more russian influence on ukrainian eastern and southern borders, violations of heirs is by fighter planes and reports of russian naval vessels blocking in crimea. we are seriously concerned about escalation of russian military activity. these actions along with decision by the government to authorize the use of force are unacceptable. russia's actions are undermining the rights of ukrainian people to choose their own future. it is also contrary to international law. they contravene the charger and agreements to which russia itself is a party. the 1975 helsinki final act, the 1997 bilateral treaty of friendship and cooperation tween the russian federation and ukraine. under these agreement, there is a specific commitment to respect the territorial integrity of ukraine and a commitment to non-intervention.

and to refrain from the use of force or the threat to use force. the australian government together with the broader international community, which is speaking loudly and with one force has urged russia to stand down and withdraw its own forces, abide by international legal commitment and immediately take steps to reduce tensions. russia must engage in direct dialogue with ukraine in accordance with article seven of its own treaty on partnership with ukraine. in this counsel, australia has already called for russia to respect you cranes in unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity -- ukraine's unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity. we make a call not just to avoid provocation but for proactive steps to de-escalate the crisis.

we continued restraint. we support the efforts of the new government to do with this crisis and stabilize the situation and its country. the international political engagement we have seen today on this issue has been essential and must continue and increase. it is indicative of the level of concern regarding russia's actions. they must support all efforts toward de-escalation. this means promoting all opportunities for mediation and dialogue. this will support the deployment of a full mission to ukraine. we are thankful for the security and cooperation in europe for working on this. this would be the best way to address russia's stated concerns about minority rights. we urge russia to consider this.

we welcome the news that the osce will begin deploying some initial monitors tonight. we welcome the engagement by the human secretary-general and the visit by the deputy secretary. we urge parties to cooperate. the deputy secretary general seeks to promote dialogue and see for himself the facts on the ground. it is imperative that he be given access to all parts of the ukraine. unprovoked aggression should have no place in our world. russia should stand down and withdraw its forces from ukraine in accordance with its obligations and the people of ukraine ought to be able to determine the future themselves. thank you. >> thank you for your statements.

giving the floor to the representative of chile. >> thank you. we express our deep concern of the escalation of the crisis in ukraine. this must be urgently reversed. we call for the greatest restraint and moderation. as has been expressed previously, we repeat once again there is obligation to keep the integral integrity of the ukraine. this must refrain from taking actions in contravention of the

charter of the united nations organization and international law, especially the use of force or threat. in the memorandum of budapest, they clearly commit themselves to respect the independence of sovereignty and the present borders of ukraine and to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity and political dependence of ukraine. the international community must continue providing support to solution to this crisis. in this context, we support the efforts of the international mediation including good offices of regional organization in order to help solve this crisis. we thank the osce for sending a service to parts of the ukraine. this supports the good offices of the secretary-general of the united nations and we particularly support the mission

by the deputy secretary-general at this very moment. likewise, we call for the russian federation to consider undertaking consultations in the framework of the treaty and cooperation to find a solution to the present crisis. i wish to conclude by pressing the fact that it is up to the people of ukraine to define their own destiny in an inclusive process guaranteeing the rule of law, human rights, fundamental freedoms, and respect for minority rights. thank you very much. >> i now go forward to the representative of argentina. >> thank you very much, madam president. i am so grateful for the briefing.

through him, we would like to express our acknowledgment to the secretary-general for his good offices as well as other officials of our organization in order to negotiate a solution to the situation. argentina has deep concern about the latest developments in ukraine, especially india taunus republic of lamia. argentina has the responsibility of the council to ensure that international peace and security are maintained within the framework of the principles. we recall the obligations that all states had settle their international disputes in a fashion in order not to engage international peace and security

in accordance with the provisions of article 33 of chapter six of the united nations charter. we call on all of those involved to refrain from statements which may escape intentions and find a peaceful way out of this crisis. the international partners showed solutions to an inclusive dialogue including all social and political sectors of the various regions. we believe it is indispensable

for authorities who are responsible for leading in transitional period to have the participation of the forces and the primary obligation to protect its minorities. they can contribute to polarization, the rhetoric of confrontation, and heightening of tensions. argentina is convinced of the need to work for a united ukraine. following the principles of international law and with unconditional full respect for human rights. it is a funny way in which the ukrainian people could find a

democratic way out of the crisis affecting their country. they must focus their efforts on supporting such a process in order to cooperate and achieve political agreement which will present to the current crisis which ukraine is facing. thank you very much. >> i thank the representative argentina and look forward to the representative of nigeria. >> madame president, what began three months ago as a political process has taken on a dimension which today which would be best described as precarious. we call on all concerned to abide by the provisions of the human charger, particularly two which calls on all member states to settle their disputes by peaceful means and to refrain from the use of force. the current situation in ukraine, especially in crimea represents an important threat

to international peace and security. we would like to see the de-escalation of tensions and hostile rhetoric. the concerned parties must embrace dialogue as a means of resolving the crisis and facilitate an expeditious return in ukraine. the opposite for this is mediation. others before me have pointed out we therefore call on the international community, it particularly those who can exert instructive influence over the concerned parties to intensify in the crisis. we firmly believe that the use of preventive diplomacy tools let such a time represent the most expedient and effective option to bring about a peaceful resolution.

we want to reiterate our concerns to abide by the provisions of the 1994 defense memorandum. we guarantee the sovereignty and integrity of ukraine. we note that the provision calls for the one. this is even more and represents an opportunity to peacefully resolve the current crisis. we are encouraged by indications that government of ukraine is taking steps to ensure political inclusiveness in the governance of the country. we believe this is a prudent way of addressing one of the

underlying causes of the disputes and an early return to peace and stability. this remains relevant under the circumstance. we urge all concerned to refrain from provocative action that will precipitate now and in the future. >> i think the representative of nigeria for the statement. i look forward to the representative of the republic of korea. >> thank you, madam president. the republic of korea remained deeply concerned over the situation in ukraine, particularly the escalation of tensions in the crimean region. given the situation, we call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint for the crisis through

dialogue. unity, independence and sovereignty of ukraine be fully respected in accordance with the u.n. charger. they hope the situation does this in a peaceful matter. we support and mediation efforts. we hope the visit to ukraine will have to ask laura all possible responses to the situation. we'll have to explore all possible responses to the situation. thank you. >> thank you, madam president. china is deeply concerned by the serious turn of the situation in ukraine.

despite the many appeals the part of the international community for action and for dialogue. the charter has stated any conflict between u.n. states should be dealt with in a peaceful way as part of the u.n. charter and with respect --peaceful way

as part of the u.n. charter. and peaceful settlement of disputes. given the deteriorating situation in ukraine, chad reiterate this appeal for restraint, calm, and calls upon the international community to undertake a mediation so that the world died -- so that there will be dialogue between the parties. in this respect, chad supports all efforts of mediation by the international community, seeking to bring the parties concerns to settle their disputes in ways that fall under the charger and with respect for -- charter and with respect for different agreements. >> i thank the representative of chad. i will now like to make a statement in my national capacity. luxembourg is deeply concerned by recent developments in ukraine, in particular crimea. opposition is reflect his in the conclusions of the council of foreign affairs to the eu has just adopted today. we vigorously condemned the violations of sovereignty and territorial integrity of ukraine.

this was taken by the council of the federation of russia to authorize the use of russian armed forces on the territory of ukraine. these actions are in flagrant violation of the u.n. charter and the helsinki acts. i would like to echo the appeal to withdraw without delay in such a way it would meet its commitments under the agreement of the 28th of may 1997 on the status and conditions for the presence of the black sea float in ukraine. -- fleet in ukraine. this must be resolved by peaceful means. an essential first step would be for russia to accept the offer of ukraine to hold without delay consultations.

regarding security guarantees for the ukraine by the ukraine, ek, russia, and u.s. it is called for in the treaty of friendship and partnership signed on the 31st of may 1997 between russia and ukraine. we would like to believe it is still possible to avoid the worst. luxembourg has unfortunately been ill placed to understand the risks of military escalation. we must start a de-escalation through concrete actions. we resolutely support the efforts that are ongoing within the u.n., and particularly the

role of good offices of the secretary general who took the decision to dispatch the dsg to ukraine. the principles of the u.n., the whole reason for being of the u.n. are at stake. we call upon all the international community to support the efforts made by the u.n. we asked to bring about a political resolution of the crisis. we welcome the idea that has been mentioned of establishing the observers mission to make an impartial investigation. a solution to the crisis also requires an inclusive lyrical dialogue, keeping in mind the diversity of ukrainian society, and the need to respect the rights of all ukrainians. luxembourg supports new governments in the parliaments

of ukraine which have taken steps to promote this inclusive political dialogue. we would encourage the ukrainian authorities to bring in the expertise of the council with respect to the protection of minority rights. in conclusion, we welcome the restraints exhibited by ukrainian authorities, particularly in crimea. it is vital for all parties to respect unity, territorial integrity, independence and the sovereignty of ukraine. thank you very much. i resume my functions as president of the council and give the floor to ukraine. >> madame president, distinguished members of the council, dear colleagues, i wish

to begin by thanking all members of the security council for having given me the floor and for your important remark. i heard lots of support for my country. the ukraine counts on the security council to exert all possible efforts on the international level in order to guarantee the protection of the ukrainian people in the sovereignty of my country and the territorial area. >> we had the meeting of the russian federation with great attention. unfortunately, we still have not

received any answer to the simple question why are the military forces occupying crimea and brutally violating international law and bilateral agreements. i would like to remind you that according to the budapest memorandum on security assurances, between ukraine and other states, my country has gotten rid of its nuclear arsenal to russia in this in view of a dutch in using metaphors. in this regard, it is underlying. it is undermining the regime general.

it is was in the ukraine. reportedly wary, rocks and mentally 60,000 russian troops have been deployed in crimea by the helicopter tours, cargo airplanes in the neighboring territory from the russian federation yuri u russian heat taking the extent to block and control crucial governmental and military objects in crimea. the means of communications, military bases, headquarters of this in crimea. all roads are blocked. this clearly indicates russia's cooperation with a possible military intervention in the ukraine. ukrainian armed forces have exercised restraint and are freed from resistance. activeained from

resistance. although they are in full operational areas. this is performing the operations in the outermost part of crimea as well as other divisions. they are aimed at discrediting legitimate authorities of ukraine and misleading public opinion by calling this a peacekeeping operations. the minister of interior of the ukraine, tonight they are planning to attack the possibly kill russian soldiers. this is going to be used as an excuse for the ongoing intervention by russia against ukraine. they are concerned of human

rights and freedoms of the ethnic russia. i would like to inform you that this is the obligations of other government, of other people to care about that. we do need the external help. we agreed with our minister on the minorities. it is to provide mission in crimea. once again, we are calling upon council members to authorize international mediation to crimea as well as to monitor the situation of human rights of russian ethics and russian speaking persons. i am also a russian speaking person but i do not need any support. this is still a respective member. do not underline authority with confidence in the universal body. i know we have some russian companies. we will continue in russian. >> i would like to congratulate all russian christians with this and call on all of the leaders of the church to pray and to

consult and to listen to us. in your attempt to explain, the reason for the presence of russian troops as peacekeepers, unfortunately, and we have heard this from many who spoke today these are seen as aggression. provocation of large-scale conflicts in the ukraine. it is one of the guarantors of our sovereignty and the territorial integrity under the budapest agreement.

moreover, a permanent member of the security council which fishers with other member states a very important function to support peace and stability throughout the year. world.ughout the

these can be condoned from the support of the u.n. charger. all the arguments made on protecting the russian population at which supposedly condoned military intervention. this is totally the internal purview of the citizens of ukraine, its government and should be done under a constitution of citizens regardless of their ethnicity. it is the only ukrainian parliaments. do we need military assistant to handle such humanitarian questions? we do not need that type of assistance. you continue to reference the 21st of february for a settlement at the crisis in ukraine. we are deeply surprised by this type of reasoning.

the russian side, together with our partners with european countries, it refrain from the principle of signing this agreement and not even recognizing it in this way. moreover, in your opinion, how could this be implemented if one of the major players left the capital and refused to implement his constitutional functions. you continued to call what happened in ukraine as a coup d'état.

in the democratic world, there is a more exact definition: a revolution of dignity is what happened. we have different understandings about human rights. in november 2013, people of all nationalities went to protest in the streets without any officials telling of any political party on what to do. it is all without any pressure from the west. people in november are out to defend the rights in a right to a dignified life against a system which has bought the poverty in the areas in the center in the south and upper

unemployment in the west. in so doing, the former president, lived in luxury. the whole world solid in ute. you reiterated what was said already. to the effect that the former government used legitimate means in using this. this means on the night of the 30th of november, overnight that the peaceful protesting students who were beaten by the police violated the right. now they are being accused of violating rights. one law which limits their constitutional right for freedom of speech, freedom of association, laws which limit the right of the mass media and in public opinion spoken. it eliminated that.

i think you are saying that something is wrong in your country. i am sorry that you told something untrue about the church. all denominations have been part of this including the ukrainian orthodox church. it is related to the moscow patriarch.

once again, there has been an appeal to christian russia to stop in to pray for ukraine. stop killing citizens. the russians recently made a decision on the military intervention. the minister of foreign affairs was appointed contrary to the constitution. he is not a legitimate leader of the administrative territory. we are a unitary state in ukraine.

this is a number of the federations without the central government saying the troops can come in from russia. we see it as aggression and unauthorized. even in crimea is not supported by other people. and following the secretary-general, bring the people from the east into the government's ministers who were born in russia in the current membership. some governors in the region are people and leaders of the eastern regions that are also russian speaking. in spite of the existing economic difficulties in the country, the government of ukraine is continuing to give assistance to crimea.

they gave support to the crimean bank. 400 million grievances were given. unfortunately, i have to know of an unfair game of russia and the information space that is helping destabilize the country. many examples the last few days have been giving that i do not wish to reiterate. we would like to take the opportunity of this meeting to once again call on our russian partners to stop spreading untrue information. i would like to express my sincere gratitude to all members of the security council, and particularly to those who expressed support of ukraine, who support the necessity to resolve all the problems by the diplomatic and political measures and to stop aggression. i thank you.

>> i thank the representative of ukraine for his statement. you have the floor, sir. >> thank you, madam president. first of all, i would like to welcome my ukrainian colleagues. we have been working quite a while at the u.n. and i congratulate him with the fact that today he spoke not only in english and french and russian, and that is his first speech in russian as i recall. he wanted to say, better late than never, and i hope we will hear other speeches for my ukrainian colleague in russian. although as we heard he is very confident in english and french. during the statement, i heard a number of strange and surprising statements. i would just make some comments.

first of all, the ukrainian colleague and the french and english colleagues if i've are member well, they presented things like russia is trying to put pressure on ukraine. we are saying that we have to have a normal constitution process. one that takes into account the interests of all regions. isn't that democracy we are calling for? we are calling for democracy. you are trying to make it look like -- what you're saying is not the definition of democracy, what we are saying. he came back to the tragic events that sincerely -- we express our condolences and these are dramatic and tragic events of three months. there is no doubt. do not think that russia has any

doubts of the fact that the basis of these crises -- that we are happy with what the resident did. somewhere along the way maybe after this break up of the laws that were adopted and you criticized these a lot and you repeated it. they exist in many other countries. at some point we could not cross the road during a demonstration. you criticized them a lot and you repeated it. that you some points couldn't cross the road in demonstrations. french law in 2009, if i'm not mistaken, it's not possible to masks on the streets during peaceful political demonstrations. so maybe there are other things on.ng but, in fact, there are many and nts have come together many things that exists in countries.

that's not the important thing. the thing is the principle. why is it, colleagues, why have you decided now in ukraine there's democratic governments. and morer is give talked about this. but we have a history -- we remember what happens in -- what happens in 1970 when there's a democratic revolution and then a dictatorship. so we have a feeling right now n essence that the kiev government has national radicals in it that the government could e putting in different people who might be more presentable for the west. what motivated them? them are the people behind them who through their actions came to power, these people to power. so let's not be deceived that any change of government, if it's violence, needs leads to democracy.

some of our western colleagues seem to think that's the case. the e would like for process that is continuing in really to a real emocratic victory with genuine democracy in the country. my u.s. colleague referenced the the constitution of the ukraine. we believe that that is important. trying to imagine where if president oh what went to let's say, and then white house -- the and then the -- the -- -- if the congress around all procedures called to in ach him when he was not the white house. how would u.s. public opinion view that? would that be a manifestation of democracy? and that's what happened in the ukraine. why did he leave? -- he had a -- he was scared. he was scared.

and now he said that we intimidated -- somebody after signing the agreement on the 21st of february. then there was a threat. the -- the building were not deliberated, then we would storm it. be stormed. would no, that's not democracy. the s not a respect for constitution. in crimea, a very difficult situation. republic of s crimea has a start and there's a the actions in kiev here was a concern that there would be something similar, a violent capture of the administration there. in omeone came to power crimea and took some vigorous actions, he subordinated himself to all of the defense agencies and now the people are making it look like only the russian arms forces are there. here you have as well the ukrainian armed forces that are part of the new -- they swore to

the new government so the commander of the ukrainian fleet the east sed over in and swore allegiance to the new government. so then you have a number of self-defense and there was a concern that there might be some kind of violent action. then people went over there from kiev and they were armed promising to look militants to th restore the appropriate governments. you'd have the black sea fleet people. figures.sting the00 military are there in russian black sea are there. but what we have in the black up to et, it could be 25,000 from russia there. so as part of our presence there. so they're acting that they need to be there to -- they're saying that they're protecting their

the or preventing extremists from acting that might damage the lives and health of civilians. maybe ukrainian colleague is too much, excessive. but at least, i agree with the crimea.ies of the surprised to hear verbally something from my -- my colleague ambassador power that all of these concerns up. fabricated, made so these concerns are -- that really surprises me. impression ve the that ms. power is using her information from u.s. tv. of the if all information she takes only from u.s. tv, then, of course, in ukraine is beautiful, a wave of democracy. guy, you know, yanukovych made it all bad when power. to then there was -- then there was

the -- the -- i from russia but tried assador of ukraine to portray things in a good way. but is it -- from the reports of ambassador and our information, i'm sure that the many other s and countries -- what -- what wave violence went through the ukraine? what about that in when the were stration buildings hit, when the major people were taken from that building and put pillar and they were mocked? is that democracy when that was done to someone? normal political process? in chicago would we see that, dragged out someone there? -- or, i don't think so, i democratic in any country that would be allowed. but what happened in kiev, what was that? was it a made up concern? ttempts to take over the

building? and in the eastern part, it's not made up. group of armed people who invaded and tried to remove up theirnments and set own undemocratic illegitimate authority in the eastern part of country. so now i'd like to get to one of that's --l key points i'd like to highlight. his concern -- it's not just ours, it's not important that we have this concern, but it's a it's been logically used by people who are living in ukraine.t and i go back to it. give, ow, ambassadorer is and i already used the term that unfortunately the -- the rightist forces have been very strong. hey cannot take, they cannot stand russians, russian citizens. leaders, do you remember how they fought under against r banner

soviets -- the soviet governments against the soviet union. red army, the anti-hitler coalition. ideology, and these people are unfortunately very power and in fact they have supported it on the shoulders of others. feelings that people have of the people who live there. millions of people have those feelings. 1.5 million in crimea feel that way. sheer do ssue in kiev you really think that russia could allow a repeat of what in central and eastern kraine, allow it there where eastern russians live. took over ample grenada and we're defending who reside izens there. 1,000 people. 1,000.

too great fromat grenada to the citizens. e have millions living there and there are concerns -- yes, he colleagues say how can international institutions -- okay, these institutions might be used. that.n't deny they could be used. but we understand. we understand that the u.n. were is an and this institution.l there was no institution. the nato forces went in. what did they do. what do they do in 2004 to stop place, ession that took the attack that took place, where many thousands of serbs had to leave the area. nothing was done. you want this observer mission o go there and get rid of the radicals, the osce mission that don't want to -- the radicals don't want to listen to not -- it they're would take months to prepare to observe. so who knows what would happen

there in the meantime. point o a very important that i wanted to just touch on. not perceive today's meeting -- we called it. don't think that we did it to picture from our standpoint of what is happening really. meetings before wee a little spontaneous and wanted to -- but i did want to the t that the decision of president that gave the mandates federation for the u.s. of force in the territory of the ukraine, that decision is not been taken. so it doesn't mean it will be forn just because we called this meeting. but in order for something not to take place that we don't want place, it's very important for -- the -- that -- conclusion be drawn by those -- those who are controlling the situation in the

ukraine, left power and is supported and someone who might him.influence on first of all, we have to let them understand and let them there must not be any communication of the policy of fact finding of the -- forcible use of violence. defensive bout language rights, yes. that will be -- that will have work done ot of there. and possibly participation by international agencies. ut let's understand one thing now. we must refuse -- refuse from plans or any habit violently to stablish authority establish philosophy, culture, their own world view on other people. democratic and it could lead to a very difficult consequences in ukraine. in a practical sense -- ne of the creepings said that it's not possible to talk about of agreement of the 21st

february because the -- -- well, dowhat if you -- when you -- we not understand that he's not back? he left. he will not be running the government. and he will come. the ntinue to believe for reasons which i was explaining that right now he is legitimate president of ukraine. his fate, like the fate of any krainian politician must be resolved by the people of ukraine. but the question is not whether yanukovych or not. it's if you have the democratic arameters set for how to get out of the crisis in ukraine. the democratic parameter must be set. there has to be a constitutional way out, not just putting together cobbling different laws to a significant extent. political o be a process, a regional process, the different forces, political

forces. party of regions got afraid and we think they don't exist. they exist. a lot of use, the regions. the eastern part of the country industrial ukraine. that's what's at stake. that's what needs to be done. refrain from violently handling the problem. so i guess i could stop there. thank you, madam president. >> the representative of the united states of america asks the floor to make a further statement. she now has the floor. >> thank you, madam president. in response to any russian colleague's comments, i would of like to make a couple points. first, i would like to address legitimacy out the of president yanukovych. februaryoint about the 21 agreement which he's made several times.

clear, we commend the work germany, and e, poland to mediate and negotiate that agreement with russia very observance. and we would have been prepared to support the completion of that agreement. under its terms, president anukovych had 24 hours to sign the first piece of action erata, changing the constitution pursuant to the february 21 agreement. ot only did president yanukovych not sign it, but as my russian colleague reminds us, city, he fled the city. leftcked up himself and he the seat of the presidency vacant for two days while his crisis.was in he left vast evidence of corruption, vast evidence of the stolen from the ukrainian people. and in that context with 371 democratically elected rata voted yanukovych

his own partywith turning against him. that's the history. what we've resent, heard today with the exception of one member of the security the russian federation, we have heard overwhelming upport for the territorial integrity of ukraine and peaceful dialogue. there are so many options available to russia to safeguard russians of ethnic and to address the concerns that have been made, so many options action.f military so the very simple questions for not support are why international mediation. why isn't that part of your remarks today? an observer rt mission? why not engage directly with the ukrainian authorities who want resolve this crisis peacefully? why not pull back your forces of sending more? why not? military intervention in the face of a crisis like this s the first resort, it is hard

to avoid concluding that russia does not want peace and does not want a diplomatic solution. why choose military action when be consequences could devastating? only someone who fears the truth fearful of monitors who are deployed for the specific urpose of identifying and reporting the truth. that is all, madam president. that the -- that the -- do we say nothing could be deployed? >> i have a request from france. will give the floor to france. he wanted to make another statement. thank you, madam president. 4 1/2 years ago, i joined this council. and i have had the honor of orking with the distinguished

representative of the russian federation for 4 1/2 years. years, i've heard the representer of the russian not interfering with the internal affairs of another country for 4 1/2 years. the representer of the federation would immediately ump up and say there should be no interference in the affairs of another country. which heard a discourse is of interference within the ukraine. affairs of and so i -- everything that ussia has just said is interference in the internal affairs of the ukraine. econdly, the presenter of russia says that the russian armed forces, the decision for ukraine has not prevented. ha, everyone knows the russian army is controlling crimea. this is a fact. there's no need to enter ukraine. they were already there.

russia is currently occupying ukraine. this is a fact. international television says ussian soldiers are not hiding the fact that they're occupying ukraine and surrounding the basis of the ukrainian army. currently, there's a, a ong-standing habit of always dealing with his opponent as a nazi before getting rid of him. this is something that the would do. but, no, all of the demonstrators in kiev, not all them are nazis and the immense majority, they are not the far right or nationalist radicals. and if you want the evidence of it's quite simple -- elections may take place on may international supervision. under the supervision of the osc. et's let the ukrainians say -- they will decide under intervention or rather

onitoring what future they want. i'm very moved by the attachment of the russian federation of the agreement of 21 february, an agreement that they rejected at the time. yes, they rejected it and they it.sed to endorse now they're bringing it as a point. i would call on them to return to the part of wisdom. >> thank you for the statements now give the floor to the representer of the russian federation. comment on houldn't such small thing, but the colleague, my u.s. if sounds like we were against something -- no, it's not clear what we're against. we're not excluding the role of ome international agencies or bodies. i explained why it is that it might not be enough to do so. but -- then the important one, french to ask the

colleague not to engage in hyperbole. hyperbole.eed and secondly, i didn't say the majority of those who protested streets of kiev were national radicals. i didn't say that. the inority of the -- problem is that they were the ones that set the tone but they instruments for the orchestra. nd so they took -- they've taken government authority now in kiev. so with this provocation, they're sending it now to the east and to the territory of crimea, these provocations. maybe that's enough, thank you. >> i thank the representative of his ussian federation for statement. the representer of the united floor has asked for the to make a statement. you now have the floor, sir. >> madam president, i don't want to prolong the debate but i must take issue with some of the things that the russian

said.ador has let's be clear about the facts crimea.'s happened in they've taken over military and civilian airports, nfrastructure, set up roadblocks, pressurized defect.an leaders to they gave other ukrainian units to sur right-hander. they blocked the ports and have the ased forces all along russian-ukrainian border. justification of this action in international law or ukrainegreement between black sea sian and fleet on the territory of kraine, article 6 of that says very clearly. and i quote, military formations sovereignty ofhe ukraine. shall abide by ukrainian laws interfere in the affairs of ukraine. the agreement justifies

military action we have seen crimea.taking in the the russian colleague said now that the russian federation is engaged in the oh monitoring mission to eastern ukraine and crimea. can he confirm therefore that the russian federation accepts few eployment in the next days of such a mission? >> i thank the representative of the united kingdom for his statement. do i see further requests? yes, the representative of the floor. federation on the >> we're not talking about osc. can't talk about -- we're not talking about osce. hat's their -- they do their own functions, what he said, we support his mission. to be e, that one has discussed. like to -- i would

support what they have said, that there's too much disinformation going on. too much. too much -- too many statements. are not s that realistic. i -- many of the -- many of of what the english colleagues said about what's not in in crimea is line with reality. thank you. >> i thank the representative of russian federation for this statement. the representer of ukraine has sked for the floor to make a further statement. >> thank you, madam president. i will speak russian again in order to be properly understood. what upport what -- ambassador cheken said. hat we had to be extremely honest and speak honestly. clarify a fewt to

that were stated in his statement, i'll be clear. occupation or threat monastery on of the in kiev which -- which is in canonical relationship with the patriarch -- we received there was when unrest that there might be some the of provocation against monastery. the monastery made a statement. same day and then repeated t the next day to the effect that the monastery outside of it by people fromed maidon, simple people so as would not be any provocation. that's the answer, the entire answer. demonstrating, they defended this monastery provocations.

the black sea fleet. -- i have --ing to just an amendment. n the treaty it says our agreement -- it says that the american fleet -- the trength is 11,000 people, including about 2,000 marines. 5, 300 other military from he russian armed forces, 11,000 -- now, attention, in last year, our the try was notified by russian side in december that fleet will be maintained at the numerical strength of 11,000. to go back to e jordanian ambassador

said. of thed the document s g.a., a resolution where they defined what is aggression? any of the d situations described there will be aggression. paragraphs said, in the territory of a country, he ukraine, you have agreements, armed units of another country, russia. the black sea fleets. and the ys how many place where they go and if there violation of where they go nd how many without the agreements of the receiving agreements, that's aggression. i'm not even saying that the armed forces that has

infringed the air space in at that time about 14 military helicopters came that black not be part of the sea fleets. that's nsport aircraft infringed our space. so there's a larger number, then, an increase in the number of military -- russian military, in violation of all of our agreements and that is aggression. and much e speculation. -- to theained to the ress and colleagues, we explained. in 1990, that's the first law on independence. and we have something there about national minorities rights and equal equal protection of national interests in any ethnic group ethnic minorities in the first law.

2012, the law that he took procedural, it was adopted under pressure. it was adopted by the former government. didn't take law into account the 2,000 mendments and the opposition didn't vote. we didn't need that legislation because it was enough -- it was law in the ve 1992 constitution. and i would just remind you that the the ukraine went to u -- we took on an obligation to ratify a charter on minority languages. bear in mind -- >> minority languages, not minorities, but minority languages. language.nority the former governments redid the

charter. it's redoing it and they're that it should apply not that guages like crimean need to be protected by should pply to all languages of national minorities that are protected by law. now getting rid of that ball, the government said that the parliaments will look once again of the charter which we undertook to ratify. we signed and ratified. and the russian federation, by not ratify -- did not ratify the charter up to now. for e ratifying it languages that i don't have a i have no official definition, will defend those languages that would disappear not many speakers of them. regions.y of unfortunately, an untruth was

set. the party of regions, the former a large government was caucus of the current parliament. of over, one of the leaders this caucus said he would run for president. nobody -- the official parody called mr. yanukovych what a traitor. not said about the parliament. the parliaments legally and for in ag time elected and not revolutionary way. it has all of the power it needs to appoint the government. has full range of powers to conduct elections. today it was said that on the 25th of may, there will be elections.l opportunity the

for that to work for us, to learn how to live together, how that we -- i agree need assistance -- assistance so we can get past the crisis help the or year, country build a future in a way that people will not be ashamed to live there. assistance. that's to form a civil society. invite all to, we and help and look how we're bother us t not to when we don't ask for it. thank you. >> i thank the representative of ukraine for his statement. are no further speakers inscribed. the security council has its consideration of this issue on the agenda. the meeting is adjourned. public n, we bring

affairs events from washington directly to you, putting you in he room of congressional hearings, white house events, briefing, and conferences, and complete gavel-to-gavel the u.s. house as a service to private industry. 30 years an founded ago and funded by your cable provider. >> in a few moments, a hearing alzheimer's disease research, including testimony from actor alzheimer'sbout how has affected his family. more than two hours, unrest est on political from the ukraine from president united nation's security council meeting on ukraine. now, a hearing on the latest alzheimer's disease.

francis heard from collins, the head of the national institutes of health spending.eral a second panel including actor seth rogan who testified that withother-in-law struggled the disease. this is two hours. today's hearing is the sixth that this subcommittee has held focusing on alzheimer's disease. the burden of the disease, the tate of the research, and the challenges faced by care givers. many years, we heard predictions from experts about the far-reaching consequences quality ase has on the of life for american families and the burden it will place on years ahead.n the ast april, these consequences were predicted to be far greater than anyone previously imagined. hear from author of that study today on the next panel.

thunder by i his know it commanded the attention subcommittee. few americans whose lives haven't been touched in some way, through a family member or friend. it's the most common form of dementia among older americans risk increases with increasing age. for those living with the disease, the ravages gets worse over time as does the burden on families and society. number of americans living with alzheimer's has doubled ince 1980 and the growth will accelerate as the baby boom generation continues to retire the future. the federal government's nvolvement in alzheimer's research began in 1976 when three institutes at the national invested a f health total of $3.8 million in research in to the cause of this disease. we now spend approximately half a billion dollars each year on alzheimer's disease. and we've had some successes

along the way. reality is that we still do not know how to revent, reverse, or definitively diagnose disease.'s research is desperately needed. earmarked has not of disease.eventive we allow the peer review process to support the most promising science. able to provide a $131 million increase for ational institutions on aging in the omnibus, again, with the expectation that promising alzheimer's disease would be supported. we have a distinguished panel of experts. scientists, economists, patients, family members. an audience.quite welcome to the representatives

of the alzheimer's association, of whom came a long way to be here today. tireless ou for your work to educate members of the congress and the press about the eed to do more to help you and your loved ones. also the audience of our tudents, i'm told, from the university of virginia. these young people are learning about budget and appropriations you here come all of also. on the first panel, dr. francis collins, the distinguished national f the institutes of health who will discuss the science and the esearch most likely to benefit from our appropriations. we're fortunate to have both dr. story landis from the institute of neurological disorders and hodis and dr. richard also here to answer questions. questions. on the second panel, we'll hear from dr. michael herd, the researcher who wrote the landmark study i mentioned earlier. and we'll be joined by two

individuals personally impacted by this devastating disease. finally, former congressman dennis moore of kansas is here today as a long-time colleague and friend of his, i was saddened to learn of his alzheimer's diagnosis so soon after his retirement from the house of representatives. it's no surprise to anyone who knows him, though, that his first instinct was to educate others and continue serving the public through advocacy and education. so i look forward to hearing from each of our distinguished experts, and before we turn to the first panel, i'll yield to senator moran. >> mr. chairman, thank you very much. i'll make my remarks relatively brief because i would not want to detain or delay the testimony of our distinguished experts. but i very much appreciate what you just said and your willingness to conduct this hearing on alzheimer's disease. in my view, this could be the defining disease of our generation.

i'm pleased, as you indicated, to have dennis moore testify on his experience of living with alzheimer's. i appreciate dennis as a friend, and i also appreciate his desire to take his own difficult challenges and focus them in helping other individuals and families struggling with this horrific disease. he is used to the years since his diagnosis to advocate for those living with the disease, and in dennis' words, we need to find a cure like next week. i could not agree more. mr. chairman, every 68 seconds someone in america develops alzheimer's disease, a devastating, irreversible brain disease that slowly destroys an individual's cognitive functioning, including memory and thawing. alzheimer's currently affects more than 5.2 million people in the united states and more than 44 million worldwide according to the alzheimer's disease international. as our population ages, the number of people diagnosed with alzheimer's after the age of 65 will double every five years while the number of individuals 85 years and older with the

disease will triple by 2050. already alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the united states and there is currently no cure, no diagnostic test, no treatment. with the baby boomer generation ageing, alzheimer's disease becomes more prevalent and the need to confront the pending health care crisis has become ever more urgent. as you indicated, the study by rand corporation stated the cost of dementia is projected to double over the next 30 years, surpassing health care expenses for both heart disease and cancer. alzheimer's disease has become a disease to define a generation, but if we focus our priorities on our research capacity, it does not need to continue to be an inevitable part of the ageing process. for every $27 that medicaid and medicare spends caring for individuals with alzheimer's, the federal government only spends $1 on alzheimer's research. in fiscal year 2014, the omnibus

appropriation bill provided for an increase in the way that you described for the $100 million for alzheimer's research. i appreciate working with you to accomplish that goal. but without a way to prevent, cure, or effectively treat alzheimer's, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to reign in our nation's health care costs. in this committee and in the full committee, you've often heard me say i really appreciate the issue of dealing with health care and health research. health research is an opportunity for those who are the most fiscally conservative and those who are the most caring and compassionate to come together because we can save tremendous amounts of money and we can improve people's lives by doing so. it's an opportunity for all of us to work together to find a solution. one study has found that a breakthrough against alzheimer's that delays the onset of the disease by five years would mean a total savings of $447 billion by 2050.

now's the time that as a nation that we fully commit to defeating one of the greatest threats to our health of americans and the financial well being of our country. 1962, president kennedy called the nation to action to reach the moon by the end of that decade. we need to commit ourselves to the goal of advancing alzheimer's research with the same ambition and urgency. over the next decade, we must strive to achieve not only an effective treatment but a cure for alzheimer's. alzheimer's is, as i say, the defining challenge of our generation. we need to find a cure, like next week. the gift that we all could provide every american and every american family is a special gift. it's called the gift of hope. mr. chairman, thank you very much. >> thank you, senator moran. now we welcome our first panel. dr. francis collins, the director of the national

institutes of health, overseeing the work of largest biomedical research entity in the world. it spans the spectrum from basic to clinical research. dr. collins is a physician geneticist noted for his landmark discoveries of diseased genes, his leadership of the human genome projects, which he started in 1993, culminated in april of 2003. but then continued on in that capacity until 2008 and has now come back as the director of the entire national institute of health. he is an elected member of the institute of medicine, the national academy of sciences, was awarded the presidential medal o of freedom in november of 2007 and received the national medal of science in 2009 and i also want to welcome dr. richard hotus, the director of the national institute of ageing. he's held his position since 1993. this is our primary federal

agency supporting and conducting alzheimer's disease research. as director, dr. hotus overseeing studies with a basic aspects of ageing. and dr. story landus, serving since 2003. supports and conducts basic translational research on the diseased brain system. so we welcome you all here. dr. collins, again, thank you for your leadership through all these years. both first for the human genome project and now for the entire national institute of health. dr. collins, welcome and please proceed. >> thank you. good afternoon, mr. chairman and members of the subcommittee. as always, it's great honor to appear before you along with my two distinguished colleagues. we're here to discuss the latest reserng into alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

before getting into the science, i would like to thank you for the recent fy-'41 omnibus appropriation for nih. this subcommittee came together in a bipartisan way to reverse the deeply troubling downward spiral of support that nih has found costing us about 25% of our purchasing power for research over the last ten years. while difficult trade-offs did not ultimately make it possible in fy-'14 to completely reverse the devastating effects of the fy-'13 sequester, we were gratified nih was able to turn that corner. let me begin my report on the scientific challenges we face in alzheimer's by underscoring that all of the work i'm going to discuss is really about helping patients and their loved ones. that's what we are committed to and we know you are too. one of the most famous of those patients is country music star glen campbell. along with a number of you, i was thrilled to be on hand last

spring when glen was honored at the alzheimer's association gala. here's a photo of him and me with an autographed guitar pick that he gave me, which is a prized possession since i'm a musician also. to see his great talents, a national treasure really, so compromised by this devastating disease is a reminder of just how much is at stake. we've heard the sobering statistics, and they've been already cited in opening statements by senator harkin and senator moran about the wave of diseases that will break over the united states as the baby boom generation ages. already about 5 million americans have been diagnosed with alzheimer's disease and hundreds of thousands more affected with other types of dementia. without new scientific breakthroughs, those numbers will continue to rise along with the terrible toll on our nation's health and its economy that this disease creates. as you've mentioned already, the alzheimer's association

estimates that our nation is currently spending more than $200 billion a year on care of people with alzheimer's. and those costs are projected to soar to $1.2 trillion annually by 2050. to put this into context, consider how much our nation is spending on medical research. nih's budget was $29.1 billion in fy-'13, with $504 million of that devoted to alzheimer's disease research. we are thrilled that the fy-'14 omnibus includes an additional $100 million for research on diseases of ageing, including alzheimer's disease. in our effort to find ways to prevent, delay, or treat alzheimer's and other dementias, we are bringing to bear all possible technologies from genomics to imaging to big data tools.

but this task is immense. there are great many things we still don't know about how the normal brain functions, let alone a brain with alzheimer's. in fact, this month's national geographic provides a glimpse at what nih funded researchers are doing to explore what's been called biology's last frontier, the human brain. and i couldn't help but notice scientific american just on the newsstands has the brain on its cover also for the current issue. as you know, nih is leading the initiative called brain research through advancing innovative neurotechnologies. that's an acronym, b.r.a.i.n. we're grateful for the subcommittee's support for this venture in the omnibus. the brain initiative, which the president has called the next great american project, will create tools capable of examining the activity of the brain's billions of nerve cells, networks, and pathways in realtime. that's sure to be a tremendous

value to researchers who are working on autism, schizophrenia, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, depression, parkinson's disease, and yes, all forms of dementia, including alzheimer's. let me tell you one recent finding in brain science that's generated a lot of excitement. it involves a protein called tau. this is one of the major culprits in alzheimer's disease. the other one is amaloid. in normal brain cells, this tau protein stabilizes structures that are called microtube yules and that are involved in internal transport. that's what you see happening here with this amazing machine inside the cell. but in alzheimer's, the tau separates from those microtube yules, causing them to fall apart. strands of this tau protein then combine to form tangles within the neuron, disabling the

transport system and destroying the cell ultimately, as you see in this animation. neurons in certain parts of the brain disconnect from each other and eventually they die, causing memory loss. the effect on the brain, the brain shrinks and begins to lose function, showing you here what happens in advanced alzheimer's disease as the brain's substance is gradually shrunken away by the loss of brain cells. now, one exciting finding recently is we've discovered this tau protein, which we used to think was just inside cells and therefore kind of inaccessible, that it's actually transferred from neuron to neuron, almost like an infection inside the brain. that may sound a little scary, but for us it means opportunities for therapy. proteins that spend their whole existence inside cells, they're hard to attack. but if we can find a way to prevent that cell-to-cell transmission, perhaps by locking tau with an antibody, we might be able to stop alzheimer's in

its tracks. still, new drugs won't do a whole lot of good unless we can identify accurately those who might benefit from them. to do that, we need better ways to diagnose alzheimer's disease and to do so as early as possible. until recently, we could only conclusively diagnose alzheimer's after someone had died. this involved examining slides of brain tissue, like you see here, for the classic signs of alzheimer's disease. amaloid plaques and tangles made up of tau. but now, thanks to recent advances in imaging technology, we can detect signs of alzheimer's inside living brains. what you see here are p.e.t. scans of two living people. on the top, an alzheimer's patient whose brain lights up with markers for both tau on the left and amyloid on the right. on the bottom, you see a normal brain. quite a difference. importantly, these scans are

able to detect deposits of tau an amyloid years before the onset of symptoms. that should improve our ability to diagnose and hopefully treat alzheimer's at a much earlier stage, before so many brain cells have been lost. it may also be possible to use these scans or other biochemical measures in blood or spine fluid to see if a new therapy is working even before it has an impact on the course of memory loss. those kind of predictive measures are called biomarkers. one of our top priorities is to find and validate those kinds of biomarkers for clinical use so we'll know if treatments are working as quickly as possible. this leads me to the crucial issue of clinical trials. until a couple of years ago, we focused primarily on trying to treat people with unmistakable symptoms of advanced alzheimer's. those who had already lost many of their brain cells. the results, i'm sorry to say, have been almost entirely discouraging. but today, we are focused on

earlier interventions. so many of our newest clinical trials are actually looking at presymptom attic patients who are at high risk but don't yet show symptoms. one of these is a five-year clinical trial to see if an antibody treatment aimed at amyloid can prevent cognitive decline by starting the treatment before any symptoms appear. in a unique situation, we're testing this among members of a very large family in columbia as well as some u.s. patients, who share a dominantly inherited had genetic mu asian that that causes alzheimer's at about age 45 and places those individuals as extremely high risk. a second study, the anti-amyloid treatment in a-symptom attic alzheimer's, also just called a-4 because that's easier to say. this will test another antibody in 1,000 volunteers age 65 to 85. these individuals do not yet have any symptoms of alzheimer's but by p.e.t. scan, they're

found to have sufficient amyloid in their brain to be considered at risk, like the person min th middle here. this is someone with completely normal function but there's a lot of amyloid here. is this an opportunity to intervene? all of these studies will hinge upon validated biomarkers. as i mentioned a minute ago, which is why i'm especially excited to announce the accelerating medicines partnership, or a.m.p., earlier this month. a.m.p. is an unprecedented collaboration between nih and ten pharmaceutical firms and will accelerate identification and testing of drug targets for alzheimer's disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. about $230 million will be invested over five years with nih and industry contributing equally. we both have skin in the game. for alzheimer's disease, a.m.p. will incorporate an expanded set

of biomarkers into four ongoing trials designed to delay or prevent disease and evaluate those for effectiveness. another part of the project will develop detailed maps of molecular networks in the alzheimer's brain, potentially pointing to new therapeutic targets. empowered by the $100 million fy-'14 budget increase for research on diseases of ageing, nih will be able to make major investments in four cutting edge areas of dementia research that we would not have otherwise been able to do. genetic analysis, opto geneticings and translational centers. similarly, we will be able to funds a significant number of investigator research grants that otherwise would not have made the pay line and would have gone unsupported. so mr. chairman and members of the subcommittee, i began talking about people with alzheimer's disease. i'd like to close with a tribute to another deeply affected group and represented, i'm sure, by many in this room. the people who care for their loved ones as they slip into

those deepening shadows of alzheimer's and dementia. one such caregiver is meryl comber, friend of mine, a former tv newscaster who has cared full time for her husband harvey in their home for nearly 20 years. harvey was a leading investigator at nih until he began showing signs of confusion in his late 50s. just last week meryl shared with me these lines from a book that she's working on about her experience and titled poignantly "slow dancing with a stranger." her words, as i write these words, a faint glow of light fillings the room i share with harv harvey. he's always present, even though he is absent. the person i knew is lost but not gone. so hard breaking and so true. what harvey has suffered, what meryl has suffered is what inspires all of us to fight back against this insidious disease as vigorously and swiftly as

possible. that is our commitment and there's no time to waste. on behalf of my colleagues, thank you for this opportunity. we look forwards to your questions. >> thank you very much, dr. collins, for a very learned and lucid presentation. i must say, when you were talking about that brain initiative, i was driving into work late one day. must have been a friday or monday if i was coming late. and i heard you on the diane rooems show talking about that. once again, i say this with all respect. you're one of the unique individuals who can take very complicated and hard-to-understand scientific processes and research and put it in language that people understand. i want to thank you for that. because i thought what you said on that show just brought it home. to the average person who just doesn't understand a lot of what this research is involved with. so thank you very much for that.

again, i compliment you for that ability. we'll start a round of five-minute questions. dr. collins, maybe a simplistic question after your presentation, but i see all kinds of claims about what people can do to prevent alzheimer's. well, let's see. there's brain games for sale. there's articles telling seniors to do a crossword puzzle every day, sodoku also. there's a website suggesting supplements. what does the research community know about these claims? what are the best things individuals can do right now to lower their risk of dementia or alzheimer's disease? >> well, you're right, that those are questions on many people's minds. nih has funded a lot of research in that area. i'm going to turn to my colleague, dr. hotus, to summarize. >> thank you for the very

important question. we have to make lifestyle choices every day. there's no such thing as not making a choice. we do by our actions. there's no question that in general issues of health that exercise, diet are important in many aspects, and they correlate to risk factors for alzheimer's disease. we know that having high blood pressure or inactivity or overweight are associated with an increased risk of alzheimer's disease. but the critical question you asked, do we know with certainty what activity, what exercise, what diet will decrease the probability developing alzheimer's disease is a question being addressed by ongoing research for which we do not currently have a definitive answer. i would emphasize again, there's important research going on in those areas. there are studies looking at the effect of exercise intervention on individuals before they develop alzheimer's, who are at early stages of alzheimer's. in years to come, we'll have the results of those studies. there's a major study called life that is looking at exercising folks and then looking at the impact on their

ability to maintain mobility and also cognitive function. there are two studies currently funded by investigators at the university of kansas that are looking at either presymptom attic or early symptom attic disease to determine whether exercise actually changes the course of disease or changes these brain alterations that we've seen. we have the ability now -- and dr. collins emphasized it -- as we never have before to look at the ability of interventions to make a difference, not just once people have developed disease and we follow for years to see if the symptoms become worse. we can look before there's any evidence of clinical disease. we can use biomarkers and determine whether exercise or cognitive exercises will affect the course of those processes. although we say research does not have a definitive answer, there are so many good reasons to be practicing the positive aspects of lifestyle that we have no hesitation in

recommending those. >> thank you, dr. hodes. our former surgeon general brought up an important issue in this past sunday's washington post. he noted that african-americans are two to three times more likely to develop alzheimer's disease than non-hispanic whites, but they participate in clinical trials at far lower rates than other ethnic groups. we all know the shameful history of the tuskegee experiments. so the community's level of distrust is natural. is there anything nih can do to inspire more participation by minorities in these research endeavors? >> yes. i read that editorial. it was indeed compelling, moving, a reminder of how important it is to focus on health disparities. that's certainly an issue for alzheimer's disease. i'll say one thing and ask dr. hodes to say a bit more about what we're doing now. one of the greatest opportunities in