state sponsor of terrorism. let's make sure we understand that madam president. i may not have said it quite right. these are the same brothers who, according to the same report, use foreign subsidies -- i said it wrong again. foreign entities is the word, better than my trying to say the other word, which didn't come out quite right. these same brothers, according to the same report, use foreign entities to sell millions of dollars of equipment to iran, a state sponsor of terrorism. we all know that. the koch brothers already believe they can play by a different set of rules. think about how an america rigged by the koch brothers would look. they don't care about creating a strong public education system in america. the koch brothers don't care about maintaining the strong

safety net of medicare and social security. and the koch brothers don't care about guarantee of affordable, quality health insurance for every american. that's obvious from the misleading ads that they have paid for all over the country. why? because the koch brothers can afford to buy all the benefits and more for themselves and their families. this means abolishing social security, medicare, their extreme vision for america means eliminating minimum wage laws. they are extreme vision means putting insurance companies back in charge of your health care and denying health care for preens. -- preexisting conditions. they are vision means stripping tens of millions of people of the benefits of the affordable care act today. their extreme vision for america means allowing the gap between the wages women and men earn to

keep growing. their vision means giving giant corporations the unfettered right to dump toxins into our rivers and streams and valleys and to give them even more tax breaks while they destroy our environment. madam president, we democrats have a different vision. democrats believe the economy is strongest when the middle complas is vibrant and -- middle class is vibrant and growing. democrats believe that world-class education leads to world-class work and this work is one where people are ready to take on any challenge. right now, madam president, there's at least three people for every job that's available. democrats believe in an even playing field with higher wages, affordable health care, and a secure retirement for every american, so that every american can have a shot at success. i welcome a debate over these competing visions. the average american shares our vision for a country whose success is built on a strong

middle class. the koch brothers know americans share our vision for a country whose success is built on a strong middle class. that's why rather than having an honest and fair debate, they're pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into a massive campaign of deception. they manufacture stories, make up facts. they're angry that i'm calling attention to their campaign of distofertiodistortion and decei. i'm not oblivious that my comments have caused some controversy. anyone that's turned on fox news lately knows that i have gotten under their skin. but i will continue to shine the light on their subversion of democracy. when i hear the republicans defending the koch brothers, as they have, i recall the words of adlai stevenson, "i've been thinking. i want to make a proposition to my republican friends that if they have stop telling lies about democrats, we'll stop telling the truth about them."

spwopbgz the koch brothers continue to spend hundreds of millions of dollars buying elections we'll do all we can to expose their intentions. mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i noted with interest the majority leader was hammering the koch brothers again today, and i wondered why he left out billionaire tom steyer who plans to spend as much as $100 million pushing the issue of climate change in the 2014 election and appears pocketed to rival the deep-pocketed koch brothers according to "the new york times." the true of the matter is, madam president, these american citizens have a constitutional right to participate in the

political process. and it strikes me as curious that if we are going to demonize people for exercising their constitutional rights to go out and speak and participate in the political process, we would just pick out the people that are opposed to us and leave out the people who are in favor of us. the truth of the matter is there are many wealthy americans who feel deeply about the country, who are committed to one side or the other, who are trying to have an impact on the country. as many on the left as on the right. so i think we ought not to leave out tom steyer, and i believe he has a brother who is also a billionaire who has similar views and will probably try to impact the f >> a look at the situation in ukraine. a news conference with vladimir putin followed by remarks on the

senate floor from chris murphy, john mccain, and jeff sessions. kurdish foreign secretary william hague -- british foreign secretary william hague in the house of commons. >> jack lew heads to capitol hill wednesday to testify on the president's 3.9 trillion dollar 2015 budget request. he appears before the senate finance committee at 10:30 a.m. eastern. c-span 3 and on you can join the conversation on twitter and facebook. >> white house budget director testifies wednesday on the president 2015 budget request. eastern onng at 2:00 c-span numeral three. you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter.

>> we do not have a criminal investigation role. .e have a vast enforcement role to enforce the federal securities laws and make sure wall street abides by the rules. have the criminal authority. we have the power to bring civil action, civil fraud action against those who violate the federal securities laws. we cannot send anyone to jail, but we can assess civil penalties. there is some legislation in congress to give us the ability to assess higher penalties. we can require those two discords their ill-gotten gains. to barhave the power somebody from the securities

industry so they cannot live another day to defraud again. >> commission chairman mary jo white sunday night at 8:00 on q&a. >> we bring public affairs events from washington directly to you, putting you in the room at congressional hearings, white house events, we things and conferences and offering complete coverage of the u.s. house. c-span, created by the cable tv industry 35 years ago and funded by your local cable or satellite provider. like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. kerry was in ukraine tuesday in a show support for the new government. a news conference with russian president vladimir putin and has some.

-- in his home. he spoke with reporters on tuesday. this is just over an hour. to use force, it would be humanitarian. this is just over one hour. >> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. proposal.

let's not have an interview but a conversation. i would like you to give you as many questions -- i will write them down. try to respond to them. later on, we will talk in detail. on some of the issues that you are interested in specifically. >> mr. pruden, i would like to mr. putin, how do you assess the events in kiev? you believe that the government or president are legitimate? under what conditions are you willing to support them? is it possible to go back to the agreements of february 21 which

were mentioned often here? hold on a second. russia promised financial support to crimea. of atre an understanding what source and what conditions -- >>: the second. just wait a while. -- hold on a second. just wait a while. when and what conditions, i am from interfax. add one numbers will be military first use in ukraine and how does it match the international agreements? military -- are the military exercises that just took place related to the use of military force? i would like to ask about crimea. are they still a threat to russian citizens

? it is -- is a developing for the better or for the worse? >reuters. if you make a decision to bring such asorces -- economic and global security or a wider isolation of russia, which the russian -- western politicians have been voicing. >> please do not hurry. do not rush it. on the decision -- did you whatt as your response -- were the consequences for the economics?

what kind of emergency measures are required? also do you believe the central bank decisions -- perhaps you need to cancel that decision or suspended? >> i will start replying to these questions. i will reply in as detail as possible. what is my assessment of what happened in the ukraine and key have -- kiev? inassessment is it unconstitutional overthrow and arms seizure of power. seizure of power. no one has challenge that. for me, there is a big question. colleagues cany reply to it. i have been discussing the ukrainian crisis over the phone with a lot of western partners.

why has this been done? president yanukovych with the mediation of foreign mission servers -- ministers in european countries, in the presence of mira distances -- my signedntative, vladimir, between the opposition and president jan vukovic -- yanukovych -- he has lost almost all of his power. to almost anything that the opposition wanted. he agreed to early parliamentary

elections, early presidential elections. he agreed to return to the 2004 constitution. he responded to our proposal and the proposal of western countries positively. he said he would not use force. he never issued any commands to shoot at the protesters. there was no such order. he ordered to pull out all of the interior troops, police troops, out of the capital. aswent to a conference -- soon as he left, the power was seized. they seized his residence. why was that done? he is giving away all of his

power. he had no chance of reelection. everyone agreed, all of my partners agreed with that. -- did he need to engage what you need to engage in those unconstitutional activities? still some radical extremist and arms on the streets of kiev. they want to show their power and force, to undermine someone's dignity. these were silly actions. it fires back. led to the escalation of tension in the east of ukraine. to why it all happened, it was i believe a revolutionary situation.

i think the root cause goes back to the early days of ukrainian statehood. sufferedukrainians ,hen we had czar nicholas indiana code which. -- and president jan vukovich. yanokoych. nothing has really changed. the gap between the rich and poor has widened. these problems have gone on to an unprecedented scale in ukraine. of course people wanted change. but it cannot encourage you legal change.

-- illegal change. politicalragile arrangements where economies are still burgeoning. . you need to use only constitutional ways. mistake to breach the constitutional rules. --nderstand those people although i don't welcome the facts of regime change in this way -- i do understand those not someo still demand facelift changes. they are demanding drastic changes. they are accustomed to the fact that one scoundrel is replaced

by another scoundrel. people in the region don't take part in the formation of their regional power. when thestage president proposed some regional heads. they were approved. what we saw on the east, billionaires were installed as governor's. s. they believe these oligarchs have achieved their wealth through loans and shares. cheated -- he let him down,

as they say. he framed him. they signed a contract. they transferred several billion dollars. he pocketed the money. didn't the liver on his commitment. i asked him, why did he do that? he said, i never knew that could happen. i didn't know what the outcome of that kendall was. that -- outcome of that scandal was. conman is the governor of the trust. people were angry and are still angry. if those who claim they are the legal power are acting in this way. the main thing is to give the onple the right to decide

the fate of families in the region. to participate on an equitable basis. part ind to take shaping the future of the country. while the current authorities -- of course the interim president is not legitimate. there's only one legitimate president. of course there is no power that is clear, but i told you about that earlier. from a legal point of view, it is mr. jacob which -- yanokovych. there are three legal ways to remove a president.

death, resignation, and impeachment. the is part of constitution. is the constitution. the parliament needs to take part in it. we have not seen that. perspective, it cannot be challenged. i think the interim authorities the decided to solve constitutional court. illegal to think of it. they have issued an instruction to the prosecutor general to open a criminal cases against the judges of because as usual court. is that justice question mark

how can you instruct someone to open criminal cases? it doesn't comply or is not in line with european standards. situationse criminal , a crime has been committed, then the prosecutor general's office has to step in. as to the financial aids, which could be provided to crimea, askia took the decision to - russian regions to raise the funds for financial aid. that is for the sources. i can't give you the details. the government is now working with the governors of the regions which border ukraine, .ut that will be done as for the use of military

force, there is no reason to do that. is not necessary at the moment. the exercise that took place recently -- they are not related to the situation in ukraine. we have land these exercises earlier. it is a surprise exercise of combat readiness. agoas planned a long time with the defense ministry -- they told me about it earlier. he had all the orders ready. exercise has been finished. yesterday, i ordered the troops to return to their military bases. what could trigger a possible use of military force? it is only an extreme case.

the legitimate president requested russia to use the military force to defend the lives and health of ukrainians. --major concern is the situation that is happening. so many nationalists and radical rampant on the streets of kiev. the news media was chained on a square. handcuffed to some fixture. it was freezing cold. he was holed up in a basement and tortured. how do you define that? is this democracy?

is this an expression of democracy? if all authorities are corrupt -- he has not been able to rob anything. there was none there. there was just one technical guide their -- there. i am an i.t. guy. could you let a woman out? he was shot dead right there. second i.t. guy was forced into the basement. he was burned alive. what we see that, we realize what the major concerns are for the ukrainians. whoian speaking peoples

reside in the southern and eastern regions of ukraine. this is their concern. this lawlessness. when we see that this kind of lawlessness starts in eastern ukraine -- we do have the official request by the legitimate president. we reserve the right to use the means to defend these people. we believe that this is legitimate. we believeextreme -- and we will believe that ukraine is not our closest neighbor, it is our fraternal nation. armed forces,ur brothers in arms and friends. that ukrainian

personnel and the russian defendingill not be different sites. they will stand on one side of the barricades. is takingof unity place in crimea. fortunately, there have been no shots or victims. aside from the incident which took based on the square a week ago. what happened there? will --oured in, they block to the military units. they agreed that they needed to take the oath of allegiance to the ukrainian people to read -- people. there was not a shot heard, fired in crimea.

the tense situation in crimea related to the possibility of the use of force has been exhausted. there was no a necessity for that. the only necessity we had was we ourforced the defense of armed facilities. we saw that some of the extremists radical were moving over to crimea. we did that ended that properly. -- and it did that properly. that weed from the fact will not be forced to do anything like that in eastern ukraine. interfere, buto we believe all ukrainian citizens, wherever they live, they need to ensure the equal rights in terms of -- shaping

the future of the country. if i were those who consider themselves legitimate authorities, i would hurry to take all the necessary steps. they don't have a mandate to foreignt ukraine's policies and internal policies. especially deciding ukraine's future. a few words about the markets. know,ards markets, you even before nervous the events in ukraine. even before the situation escalated. due to the steps

taken by the fed in the u.s. they madeed that investments into the u.s. economy attractive. people started withdrawing money from developing economies and moving their money to the u.s. economy. this is a general trend. russia, but also india suffered. this is the fundamental and underlying reason. ukraine,rds to politics always has some effects on the markets. money likes calm. i think this is a temporary thing. next question. expect such a tough

response to russia's actions from your western partners? would you give some details with -- of your phone conversations with your western partners? and will the g-8 take place in sochi? it takes place, and our phone conversations are confidential. sometimes we even talk on secret lines. i cannot tell you what we said with our partners. how we discussed. i will mention some public statements by my western counterparts. one thing we noticed is we are often accused of being a legitimate and what we do. -- he legitimate

illegitimate in what we do. let us remember what the u.s. did it in iraq, afghanistan, libya. any went there without sanction of the security council or the distorted the meaning of the security council resolution. the resolution only spoke about a no-fly zone in libya. it eventually ended with air raids, airstrikes, and special forces participating in ground operations. alwaystners in the u.s. make it very clear what their geopolitical and national interests are. they pursue those interests. with much determination. they use that phrase, whoever is not with us is against us.

they use this to make their other countries -- the other countries comply with there will. they attack the other countries if they do not comply and make those countries regret. our position is different to read we believe we are completely the regiment in what we are doing. legitimate and what we are doing. i have supported international law. use armeddecide to forces, it will be fully in line with international law. we have written -- received a request from a legitimate president. it will be in line with our commitments and interests. we will be protecting the people we consider closely associated with us, both historically and culturally.

closely related to us economically. our national interest. protecting these people. this is a humanitarian mission. it is not our goal to conquer somebody or dictate to somebody. not remainwe will indifferent if we see these people are being destroyed, i hope it will never come to this. >> on the whole, what you think about the western reaction? russia being kicked out of the g-8? ok, but this lady leave with

her cell phone. a few words about sanctions. tois those who are going introduce those sanctions who should think about consequences. in the modern world, where everything is interrelated and all countries depend on each can causecourse you some damage. this damage will be mutual. number two, this is the most like i saidint, earlier, i explained our motives . what are the motives of our counterparts? they have supporters. in anti-constitutional coup. an armed seizure of power. they declared those people legitimate and support them now.

actually, even in the situation, we are open to quad operation like i said earlier. cooperation like i said earlier. we do our vast tang dashed -- we do our vest thing to continue cooperation. we think our actions are well-founded and all threats against russia counterproductive. we are preparing for the g-8 summit and will be ready to receive our colleagues. if they don't want to come, it is up to them. i would like to add a few words about contact. correct me if i'm wrong. you said the prime minister in crimea is a legitimate leader.

are you willing to have contact with the people who consider themselves legitimate authorities? >> at the top level, they don't have a president. there can be no president. .ntil the general elections with regard to crimea, the crimean parliament was formed in 2010. as far as i can remember. i think it was december, 2010. 100 deputies, six parties. the previous prime minister resigned, the parliament, according to -- at the then lost meeting of the supreme council, elected the new prime minister. he is legitimate. they have followed all the

procedures. there was not a single violation. ago, a group of armed people try to seize the building of the crimean supreme council. it caused a lot of concern for crimean's. it seems a like they would like to do the same thing in crimea as they did in kiev. they would like to start a series of terrorist attacks. that is why they set up the self-defense committees. assumed control over all the forces. at all theed military facilities that they now control, it looks like a huge military installation. a lot of anti-air defenses. a large number of troops, 300, so on and so forth.

all of this is now being controlled by the people of crimea. blockaded military installations worrying uniforms that look like russian uniforms. with a russian soldiers? -- were they russian soldiers? >> there are a lot of uniforms that look like -- you can go to the store and buy a uniform. these were not russian soldiers. these were local self-defense self-defense- forces. they were very well-trained. look at the people who operated in crimea. i mean in kiev. they were well-trained. they were trained at special camps in neighboring countries, poland and lithuania. they were trained by special instructors. they were trained in long time.

they have divisions. they are divided in hundred and 10's. -- were well coordinated. why should self-defense forces in crimea the less trained? >> did russia dissipate in training these forces? no . do you consider the possibility -- >> is up to the people living in a certain territory. if they can exercise their free will. they can determine their future. example, if albanians were --owed to do that in albania

self-determination, the right to self-determination -- this is part of the u.n. documents -- this right is still there. instigate, we will never support such trends. only people who live in a certain territory have the right to decide their own future. >> to questions -- two questions. you said these are extreme measures, the possibility of deploying troops. you don't rule this out. if you deploy troops, a war may break out. does this concern you? my second question, you said the ukrainian president did not give orders to shoot at people. but somebody shot at them. these were professional snipers.

-- actually some of the protesters say they may have been probably could -- provocateurs from the opposition party. look it up. it is available in open sources. we all saw when riot police officers with shields -- people used firearms on them. shields andhit pierced them. who gave those orders? i don't know. there ukrainian president told me he never gave the orders. agreement,gned the he ordered to remove riot police units from kia. -- kiev. i told him, you have anarchy and chaos. don't do it. he still did it.

his office was seized. the government office. wantchaos wrote out like i -- broke out like a warned him. >> are you concerned that he war may break out? >> we will not go to war with ukrainian people. there is the ukrainian army. listen. closely. i want you to understand what i am saying. we will make the decision to protect the people of ukraine. how can an army shoot at their own people? -- soldiers will be did standing in front of them. who can give such an order? day, my colleagues say that the situation with the riot

police gets worse and worse. there's one officer who was wounded and is not being treated read he is not even being fed. there are families living in dormitories that cannot leave their house because people are around them. how can russia help the families of these officers? >> this issue concerns us to read -- concerns us. these are not russian police officers. we are not in charge of the situation. from humanitarian communis kit -- considerations, it would be right. he worked on this agreement of february 21.

from his colleagues from poland, france, germany. maybe they can go and see what is happening with those officers. they did not violate any rules. they performed their duty. they were standing there under fire, gunfire. they are at the hospital. -- even at the time of war, wounded people are being treated and fed. now they don't treat them or feed them. the surrounding buildings of dormitories. i think law enforcement agencies should do something about this. we would be willing to receive them in russia for treatment. -- counsel action suggested that in response to that statement by the secretary of state, the russian ambassador

-- the state secretary is an important official. but not the top-level official in the u.s. we saw statements by various politicians and various political forces. if we have to do it, we will do it. i would prefer not to do that. international cooperation, economic cooperation, security cooperation -- it is not just russia who is interested in all that. i think our western partners are equally interested in that. it is easy to destroy the instruments of cooperation. it would be difficult to recover and restore them. what you think will happen to the ukrainian president? >> it is hard for me to say anything.

i don't think he has a political future. at i told him about that and , we will help him. if we only did this out of humanitarian considerations. death is the simplest way to get rid of his legitimate -- get rid of a legitimate president, i think. they would just kill him, i think. the question is, why, what for? how did this all start? what triggered this entire chaotic situation? signs that he refused to the eu association agreement. today, it looks like nonsense. ridiculous. he did not actually refuse to sign the agreement. all he said was, we have

analyzed this thoroughly, and it seems like it would not serve our national interest. forannot raise fuel prices our common people drastically because people are in a difference -- a difficult situation. we can't do this. we can't do that. we can't sever our economic ties with russia because we are closely integrated with russia. at $7.5aid earlier, exports, itheir think $5 billion worth of it goes to russia. they producenery goes to russia. nothing goes to the west. if they now sever those ties and introduce western technical standards in ukraine that we don't use in russia -- sometimes

russia will use those standards, as well, that we haven't done economic tieseans will be broken. there will be unemployment. factories will shut down. he did not refuse to sign the agreement. he just said, we need some more time to consider this document before we sign it. right away, all hell broke loose. was this unlawful for him to do so? no, it was perfectly lawful. they just used this as an excuse andupport opposition forces their aspirations for power. actually, there is nothing wrong takethat, but how can you a situation of anarchy and chaos and armed seizure of power? this is unacceptable. it is not the first time western powers have done this in ukraine. i think they sit there across

-- pond in the u.s. sometimes it feels to me they are in a lab, and they are running all sorts of experiments on rats without understanding the consequences of what they are doing. why would they do that? nobody can explain it. the same goes for the first wave of protests and independence square. why did you do that? the third round of elections -- ukrainian politics turned into a force -- farce. people get used to this. think people can violate something, then everybody can do the same. then chaos breaks out. we should teach our people to the constitution, basic

laws, all the other laws. of course, this doesn't always work, but action like this is extremely counterproductive and dangerous. >> you said he is not legitimate. what about the new government? are they legitimate? if russia is concerned about radical elements getting stronger, they often get if they face an enemy. of course, they consider russia the fact thatday, russia is ready to deploy forces in ukraine. doesn't make sense maybe to talk to moderate forces in the ukrainian government? >> it looks like you don't hear me. i told you three days ago, titled the government -- i told

to preservent economic ties, to support them in their efforts to restore the economy. i gave these orders to the government. ira pete -- i repeat, all of our trade, economic, cultural ties, we will only be able to develop them entirely after this situation normalizes and the presidential election takes place. they do not want to extend the

current special price. the agreement was to confirm them every quarter. even before those events started, before the situation escalated. know how gas from talks to their partners. that they agreement will introduce a special price for 100ount to $268 cubic meters. buyrussian government will -- actually, this is like a loan. $3 billion is the first tranche, and then the ukrainian government assumes the

obligation to pay the edebt that that hase debt accumulated from last year and to make regular payments for natural gas. they failed to pay up the debt. they don't pay for the gas they are using now. don't payan partners for february, the debt will grow even bigger. i think it is $1.5 billion today. if they don't pay for february, it will be $2 billion. naturale, does only that they say, -- it is only natural that they say, if you don't pay us and your debt is ever-increasing, let's use a regular price instead of special price. it makes perfect commercial sense.

their investment plans, like any other major company, they have revenue, expenditures, and they have to plan ahead. if they don't receive anything from their ukrainian partners, this means they undermine their investment programs. this is a real problem. this has nothing to do with the situation in ukraine, with politics. they have an agreement -- we offer you money, you make sure you pay it regularly. we give the money. they failed to deliver. it is only natural that they say, we will no longer have any of this. angela merkel said you agreed to send an international fact checking mission to come up with a certain -- [no audio]

>> i said, we have trained people that have met already with the foreign minister of germany. of course, we see a lot of , but we alsoimea see what is happening in east ukraine. flags are raising russian on administrative buildings. they are: russia for help. will russia responded? >> this is the kind of response

-- we have been discussing this kind of response for an hour now. while many things that are happening are coming as a surprise to me, this sort of response is expected. , thosetners in the west who claim themselves to be the interim power, they should have -- i have told them, why do you divide the country?why do you work to split the country ? they went whole hog, as they say. of course, people in the east realize that they are not being consulted and actually need to pass a new constitution that will have to be approved at a referendum. ukrainehe citizens in need to feel they are part of this political process, that inir voices are heard

shaping the main principles of the state order in their country. this is none of our business. it is up to the ukrainians to decide. it is up to the ukrainian authorities. authoritiesitimate are elected, once a new parliament is elected, that will take place. it if i, i hope so too were in their shoes, -- i hope so too. if i were in their shoes, i would approve a new constitutional referendum. they haveople believe not been consulted, they will fight against it, but it is none of our business. will russia recognize the president who is going to be elected? well, it depends. if it takes place amid the -- we havehe key of

seen in kiev, we will not. >> we have heard some tough rhetoric from the west. what about the paralympics rush is going to host? >> i think it would be highly cynical to boycott the paralympics. we all know what that event is all about. it is a sports for him. it is an international sports festival where people with disabilities can prove to themselves and to the whole that they are people without any disabilities, that they have endless power, they can use in their sports performance to prove that. if somebody is trying to disrupt that, it would only mean that people who are taking these chances have nothing sacred.

as for the hypothetical use of force, the west claims that russia would violate the budapest agreement, according to which the territorial integrity of ukraine is insured -- ensured. playersonal and global interfere in this conflict? >> before we go public about something, or even before doing something in a practical way, we think twice about it. we try to think about the and the response from all of the players. as for the agreements you mentioned, do you represent writers? yes.

how does your society assess this conflict? power. non-seizure of it runs against the constitution. that is clear. maybe your appeal to the u.k. >> i think you could make a good diplomat. language has been invented to disguise your insults. when we say it is non-constitutional, and overthrow power, they say, no, it is not like this. maybe you have heard it many times -- the west says, it's a revolution. ok, if it is a revolution, what is it? it is hard not to agree with some of the russian experts who say that a new state could

appear on this territory, just like up until the break of the russian empire in 1917. we have not signed any fundamental documents or any agreements with this new state. well, i would like to clarify -- if the u.s. introduces sanctions, you say it will damage bilateral relations. does it mean russia could come up with some response, its own sanctions? you also mentioned the discount for the natural gas prices. what about those bonds, government bonds? the first trench was issued in late 2013. what about the next steps? what are the economic and russiaal conditions for

to allocate these additional resources? >> in principle, we will be additionalovide funds to buy up more bonds, but our western partners asked us not to do that. they said, we need to work together within the imf to stimulate the ukrainian to pass reforms to improve the economy. that is the way we are going to work in the future. thaturse, given the fact the ukrainian gas corporation , theot been paying government has set up different options.

general, i believe the situation is balancing out. we need to send a signal to who live in the south and east of ukraine, they need to feel that they are secure, that they are part of the political process, part of the stabilization efforts. >> you've mentioned several about legitimate action. who do you see as the cover my's candidate? of course, you're going to say it is up to the ukrainian people , but -- >> i have no idea, to be honest. >> since the ukrainian people i have beenark, talking to lots of ukrainians. >> i have no idea. after such a crisis, it is very difficult to give any forecast.

i don't welcome this message of overthrowing the legitimate authorities. as i said, it doesn't help to imbue the culture of legitimacy. this is the worst thing that .ould happen to a country in these conditions, anyone could come to power. so, some of the units -- there were units in germany that helped to bring hitler to power. that is one kind of analogy.

there is one thing i agree on. they are calling for drastic change. they want some fresh faces in power, but there is a threat that someone -- some nationalist figure, we have seen lots of signs, withthose swastikas. that thestatement soviet union a fortify the thements on the crimes by pro-nazi units in world war ii. >> as i said, there could be personality who could grab power that could have serious consequences.

we have had very successful cooperation with ukrainian authorities who represent difficult -- different political views. we worked with many. there were different situations. we had arguments. we had agreements. that was constructive work. if she wants to come to moscow, she is welcome, that she is not have the government. i don't know her status. we will not block her from coming to moscow. who hasinal question --

masterminded this regime change in ukraine? >> as i said, it has all been well prepared. of course, there were some armed units. we have seen them be efficient. course, the west has done a good job. that is not what i want to say. if authorities were strong and we wouldn't be able to get this result. the problem is that none of the previous governments never thought about the needs of their people. we do have a lot of problems in russia. we do have a lot of similar issues. they are not as acute as in the ukraine. the average income per capita in is 29.7 thousand rubles.

in ukraine, it is 11.5 thousand. pension is 10,000, while in ukraine, it is 5.5. the veterans get quite decent pay. there is quite a big gap in the living standards. that is what the government should have focused on. nepotism infight the economy. people are aware of that. they hold distrust towards the authorities. of course, that has a key militant over several generations of modern ukrainian has accumulation over several generations of modern ukrainian politicians. people want to see fresh faces. they want to see change.

yes, probably you need some new you need to do it in a legitimate way in line with the constitution. referendum inbe a crimea? >> there are no ifs in politics. that will be no exception. the formerple say president has died. >> i saw him once after he came to russia, and he was well alive. than theive longer people who circulate those gossips. think intin, do you recent months when the situation escalated, what kind of smith -- what kind of mistakes did the president make? >> i will not answer this

question. it isn't because i do not know the answer. i think it would be improper for me to talk about that. >> do you sympathize with him? >> no. no, my feelings are totally different. a person who performs such obligations as the head of state has certain rights and certain obligations, duties. is to implement the will of the people who entrusted him with the country, staying within the boundaries of law. you have to analyze whether he , asdone everything he could he was allowed to by law and the mandate he received from his

voters. you should analyze this and make your own conclusions. > you said you have different feelings. could you please explain? >> i will talk to you in person later. we have to stop. last question. >> channel five, st. petersburg. you said, first of all, we need to present our position to people in southern and eastern ukraine. ourourse, we need to make position known to all the people in the ukraine. we don't have any -- any enemies. >ukrainians are our brothers. >> do you know how many people moved from ukraine to russia last year? 3.3 million people. russiaon of them came to in order to get a job here. they work here. 3 million people. do you know how much money they send back to their families in ukraine? take just the average income and multiply it by 3 million -- this

is a major contribution to ukraine's gdp. this is a lot. andccept all those people those who come from western ukraine. we treat all of them like brothers. >> we talk a lot about southern and eastern ukraine, but there are russia's -- russians and western ukraine. their situation is even more difficult. minority. they are being oppressed. how can we help them? >> we think that the current authorities, if they really claim to be civilized, should make sure that their citizens are secure regardless of where they live. we will watch and monitor the situation, of course. thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013]

>> senators spoke about ukraine on thursday. this is 30 minutes. dollars into these races completely dwarfing any amount of money spent on the other side. i want to talk about the ongoing crisis in the ukraine and i'm glad to have senator mccain on the floor today because it's really hard to describe the sensation both he and i felt at the end of last year when we got the chance to travel to the midon, independent square in kiev and speak to about a million people. and it was even harder to describe the sensation of hearing that group of people yelling back to you in unison, "thank you, u.s.a.. thank you, u.s.a." but that was the reality that we were able to experience. and it's important to note that senator mccain and i didn't go to the midon that day to advocate for president yanukovych's removal even though

that the end of that process resulted in that fact. in actuality, we spent two hours that night meeting with yanukovych, pleading with him to reverse course on his decision to abandon plans to join the e.u. so that he could win back the support of the hundreds of thousands of people who had gathered on that square to support european integration and domestic political reforms. but president yanukovych didn't listen, and instead he lost his legitimacy as ruler when he turned his security services on his own people, resulting in the murder of over 100 ukrainians who simply wanted to compel their leader to follow the wishes of the ukrainian people. now i was proud to author a resolution that passed unanimously in this body that declared our support for the ability of ukrainians to peacefully air their grievances against their government and oppose the use of force against them. then i was equally proud to join senator mccain and some others in a bipartisan call for

sanctions against yanukovych when he began his murderous crusade against the protesters. and i was even prouder of president obama who through the state department sent a clear, unwavering message to the ukrainian people that the united states stood with them in their desire to see a better future for ukraine aligned with europe and the west. this strong bipartisan approach here in america to the midon movement helped the people in the ukraine as they charted their path toward a new government. we didn't dictate. we supported the right of the people to determine it for themselves. but now despite the success of the midon, the crisis in the ukraine has changed its face. it hasn't dissipated. and today secretary kerry was greeted in kiev by ukrainians pleading for the continued support of the united states. and so having been so clear voiced in our support of the ukrainian people thus far since the tproe tests began last november, now is the moment when

republicans and democrats should stand united in this congress so years from now when a group assembles in kiev marking the anniversary of this grave crisis they will celebrate ukraine's political sovereignty and economic rebirth with more chance of thanks to the united states. so, in what shape should this support come? first, we need to stand together in the next week to deliver serious financial assistance to ukrainian economy that is weak and is growing weaker as this crisis persists. a $1 billion aid package is a good start, but our real work must happen within the structures of the i.m.f., which can provide the potentially tens of billions of dollars necessary to fully right the ukrainian economic ship. and while ukraine does need to undergo economic and budget reforms from within, i would caution the i.m.f. to be gentle in the timing of the conditions applied to this aid. difficult steps need to be undertaken to right size gas prices and trim budget deficits, but ukraine should be given a long enough lease so that these

necessary reforms don't strangle a nation today dealing with threats to its very existence. second cry me i can't. -- crimea. they have invaded and the very accord they signed guaranteeing crimea's territory. no doubt president putin was sore and no doubt he didn't like the fact that the united states voiced its strong support for the right of a sovereign ukraine to make independent decisions about its future partnerships and no doubt he is infuriated that the ukrainian people are now on their way to getting their way. but this is not a schoolyard. you don't get to push around weaker kids just because you don't like them. this is the 21st century. the reason we belong to organizations like the united nations or the reason we

negotiate treaties like the budapest memorandum is because we now understand, after centuries of european war, how destabilizing this kind of behavior is. the irony for russia, of course, is that this invasion demonstrably weakens, not strengthens their nation's position in the world. let's say for argument's sake that the end result of this crisis is a crimea more closely aligned with russia than the ukraine. what will that have accomplished for russia? won the occupation of two million ukrainians while the majority of the 43 million go towards the european union. if the united states and russia make good on sanctions threat it will devastate the russian economy leaving millions of russians out of work and adding instability to putin's land at a time he can't afford much more instability. and it will make russia an international pariah, shunned by industrialized nations that helped form the future path of global political and economic

values. given this reality, why did putin do it? he didn't do it to protect russians in ukraine because the only threat to their safety is due to a military crisis of russia's own making. he did it because like the schoolyard bully, he doesn't see past his own nose. he believes that he wins by temporarily flexing his muscles and by capturing the world's attention. he doesn't look to the long term potentially dire consequences to his own political standing and his own people. he throws punches because it feels good today, no matter how bad it will hurt tomorrow. but that being said, no matter the irrationality of moscow's behavior, we need to make sure in the case that russia does not correct this mistake and correct it soon, that the consequences do hurt. i believe that congress should authorize broad authority for president obama to enact strong sanctions on russia through penalties to its banks, its oil companies and its political and economic elite. i believe the president should only be allowed to use this authority in the case that this

illegal incursion into ukraine continues and that we should give moscow the opportunity to reverse course or join with the international community to address their concerns about the safety of russian citizens in ukraine. let's give russia the chance to make this better and deliver a clear message of consequences if they don't. this of course can't happen without the support of our european allies and as chairman of the foreign relations committee son europe i'll be on the phone this week with european parliamentarians urging them to join us in proposing new sanctions on the russian economy. i know there is hesitance in europe due to the integration of russia into the european economies, but this crisis should frankly matter more to europe than it matters to us. five years ago, it was a laughable proposition that russia would invade ukraine, but it's happening now, and it may be unthinkable today that russia in five years is going to move on a nato ally, but if this aggression goes unchecked, then the future can be very perilous, even for our friends in europe.

finally, a word on the politics of this crisis. i've listened to some of my good friends on the republican side try to score political points in connection with the russian move on crima, trying to -- crimea, trying to paint this as how obama's fault. this is a ridiculous contention. putin marched into georgia in 2008 under a republican president whom many of my republican colleagues considered to be strong on foreign policy and now he is dealing with a democrat in office, and president obama today is considering steps in response that seemingly weren't even considered in 2008. and what makes me even more suspect of the criticism of president obama is that there doesn't seem to be any real difference here between what republicans want the president to do and what he is actually doing. it's easy to just say that it's obama's fault, but history tells us otherwise and these political attacks mask the fortunate fact that today there is pretty solid bipartisan agreement on what to do next. ukraine can remain whole and free, madam president, and it can stay on a path to join

europe, and when that day emerges from the smoke and the fire of the crisis, if we play our cards right, then they will have america and our european allies to thank in part for that new day. i yield the floor. mr. mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: mr. president, i thank my colleague from connecticut for his thoughtful remarks on the events taking place, the tragedies taking place in ukraine as we speak today. i appreciate his commitment to trying to find a way through this very difficult situation. the senator is dead wrong when he says this is like georgia. in fact, this senator wanted to do a lot more than we did. in fact, we did a lot more. the fundamental problem here i say to my friend from connecticut is that this president does not understand

vladimir putin. he does not understand his ambitions. he does not understand that vladimir putin is an old k.g.b. colonel bent on restoration of the soviet of the russian empire. it was vladimir putin that said the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century was the downfall of the soviet union. the senator from connecticut should understand that, that what this is all about, and this president has never understood it. this president is the one that ridiculed mitt romney when mitt romney said our great enemy was russia and its geopolitical threats, said the cold war has been over for 20 years. this president believes the cold war was over. vladimir putin doesn't believe that the cold war is over, and when -- when the president of the united states is overheard to say to -- to mr. putin's

puppet, mr. meg -- vedev, tell vladimir after i am re-elected, i will be more flexible. did you get that? tell vladimir after i am re-elected, i will be more flexible. this is the president that somehow believed that vladimir putin had anything but the ambitions which he is now realizing in the ukraine. in fact, i think it might be interesting for my colleagues to note that what vladimir putin spoke to the press today, and vladimir putin, among other things during his answering questions from the press, said, first of all, my assessment of what happened in kiev and in ukraine in general, there can only be one assessment. this was an anticonstitutional

takeover and armed seizure of power. that was vladimir putin's view of what happened in kiev. as yanukovych slaughtered, i believe, 82 innocent civilians as well as wounding hundreds, and then he goes on to say, i would like to stress that under that agreement mr. yanukovych actually handed over power. obviously, yanukovych did not hand over power. he was driven from power by the good people who were tired of his corruption, were sick of his nepotism and his crony capitalism. anybody who believes anything good about mr. yanukovych should see the pictures of the home he had and the dacha that he was building that cost hundreds of millions of dollars. truly a man of the people. the parliament of president

putin went on to say the current acting president -- talking about the acting president of ukraine -- is definitely not legitimate. there is only one legitimate president from a legal standpoint. yanukovych is the only undoubtedly legitimate president. and then comes more interesting things. mr. putin announced -- vladimir putin now says now about financial aid to crimea. as you know, we have decided to organize work in the russian regions to aid crimea which has turned to us for humanitarian support. we will provide it, of course. i competent say how much, when or how. the government is working on this by bringing together the regions bordering on crimea by providing additional support to our regions so they could help the people in crimea. we will do it, of course. regarding the deployment of troops, the use of armed forces, so far there is no need for it

but the possibility remains. i repeat today, vladimir putin said regarding the deployment of troops, the use of armed forces, so far there is no need for it, but the possibility remains. now, this is a return to the old russian soviet doublespeak which was absolute nonsense, but they said it anyway. he goes on to say what is our biggest concern? we see the rampage of reactionary forces, nationalist and antisemitic forces going on in certain parts of ukraine including kiev. when we see -- when we see this, we understand what worries the citizens of ukraine, both russian and ukrainian and the russian-speaking population in the eastern and southern regions of ukraine. it is this uncontrolled crime that worries them. therefore, if we see such

uncontrolled crime spreading to the eastern regions of the country, we should pay careful attention to these words of mr. putin. if we see such uncontrolled crime spreading to the eastern regions of the country and if the people ask us for help, while we already have the official request from the legitimate president, we retain the right to use all available means to protect those people. we believe this would be absolutely legitimate. then he goes on to say, in answer to the question, thus the tension in crimea which was linked to the possibility, the possibility of using our armed forces simply died down and there was no need to use them. i repeat. the tension in crimea was linked to the possibility of using our armed forces simply died down and there was no need to use them. the only thing we had to do, and we did it, was to enhance the defense of our military facilities because they are

constantly receiving threats, and we were aware of the armed nationalists moving in. now, russia has well-trained, well-equipped, now additional 16,000 or more, and vladimir putin was worried about enhancing the defense of his military facilities because they were constantly receiving threats. there is something i'd like to stress, however, he goes on to say. obviously, what i am going to say now is not within my authority, and we do not intend to interfere. however, we firmly believe that all citizens of ukraine, i repeat, wherever they live should be given the same equal right to participate in the life of their country in determining its future. my friends, we are seeing justification for intervention and serious intervention in eastern ukraine. so he goes on to further questions, and then he goes on

to take a shot at the united states, saying our partners, especially in the united states, always clearly formulate their own geopolitical and state interests and follow them with persistence, then using the principle -- quote -- you're either with us or against us, they draw the whole world in. those who do not join in get beaten until they do. then he goes on to say our approach is different. we proceed from the conviction that we always act legitimately. i have personally -- i say to my colleague, i am not making this up. this is what vladimir putin said. i would like to stress yet again, i have always been an advocate of acting in compliance with international law. i'd like to stress yet again that if we do make the decision, if i do decide to use the armed forces, this will be a legitimate decision in full compliance with both general norms of international law since we have the appeal of the

legitimate president and with our commitments which in this case coincide with our interest to protect the people with whom we have close historical culture and economic ties. protecting these people is in our national interest. this is a humanitarian mission. we do not intend to subjugate anyone or to dictate to anyone. however, we cannot remain indifferent if we see that they are being persecuted, destroyed and humiliated. then here is probably the most interesting part. the question -- mr. president, a clarification, if i may? the people who are blocking the ukrainian army units in crimea were wearing uniforms that strongly resembled the russian army uniform. were those russian soldiers, russian military? vladimir putin -- why don't you go take a look at the post-soviet states. there are many uniforms there

that are similar. you can go to the store and buy any kind of uniform. question -- but were they russian soldiers or not? vladimir putin -- those were local self-defense units. those were local self-defense units. question -- how well trained are they if we compare them to the self-defense units in kiev? vladimir putin -- my dear colleague, look how well trained the people who operate in kiev were. as we all know, they were trained at special bases in neighboring states, in lithuania, poland and in ukraine itself, too. they were trained by instructors for extended periods. they were divided into dozens and hundreds. their actions were coordinated. they had good communication systems. it was all like clock work. did you see them in action? they looked very professional, like special forces. why do you think those in crimea should be any worse?

in that case, can i specify it? did we take part in training crimean self-defense forces? vladimir putin -- no, we did not. and this is the same guy that the president of the united states pushed the reset button time and again with. this is the same guy that we can work with vladimir putin and my colleague from -- and former member of this body on friday, on friday, as putin's forces moved in to the crimean, and it was very clear to anyone that the russians were moving in, the secretary of state on friday spoke with russian -- secretary of state john f. kerry spoab friday with russian foreign minister sergay lavrov.

quote from secretary kerry -- we raised the issue of airports, raised the issue of armored vehicles, raised the issue of personnel in various places, kerry said, and while we were told that they were not engaging in any violation of the sovereignty and do not intend to, i nevertheless made it clear that that could be misinterpreted at this moment and that there are enough tensions that it is important for everybody to be extremely careful not to inflame the situation and not to send the wrong messages. i am not making that up. so after five years of -- of believing that somehow vladimir putin was anything but what he is, we are now paying the piper. the chickens are coming home to roost. and we do we have a military option? no. but we do have a number of other options.

i want to read one other article that was in the "usa today" today by jonah goldberg, "obama in denial on russia." i won't go through a lot of it about student obama, in 1983, then-columbia university student obama penned a lengthy article for the school magazine, placing the blame for u.s.-soviet tensions largely on america's -- quote -- war pen tallity and the twisted logic of the cold war, president reagan's defense buildup according to obama contributed to the silent spread of militarism and reflected our distorted national priorities rather than what should be our goal, a nuclear-free world. that's what student obama said. but the remarkable thing that two weeks ago in response to tensions in ukraine, two weeks ago the president explained that -- quote -- "our approach is not to see events in ukraine as some

cold war chess board in which we're in competition with russia. this is a horrible way to talk about the cold war because it starts from the premise that it all was just a game conducted between two morally equivalent competitors. similar comments about cold war rivalries and the like are commonplace of late especially during the olympics when nbc commentators were desperate to portray the chapter as nothing more than a pivot alexperience. america surely made mistakes during the near half century struggle. the fact is there was a right side and a wrong side to that conflict and we were on the right side of it. the soviet union of which vladimir putin was a part, the soviet union murdered millions of its own people, stifled freedom in nearly every form, enslaved whole nations and actively tried to undermine

democracy all around the world including in the u.s. president putin, a former k.g.b. agent has said --. the presiding officer: the senator's time has expired. mr. mccain: i ask unanimous consent for five more minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. commune: president putin, a former k.b.g. agent said the collapse of the evil empire was -- and i quote -- "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century." that should have been a clue to this white house that reset buttons weren't going to cut it but they were too stuck in the past to see it. i could go on and on including the ridicule some of us were subjected to when we pointed this out from time to time. including in 2008 when i said in a debate with then-candidate obama, watch ukraine, watch ukraine, putin will not give up

ukraine. we need to have an economic aid passage immediately and i'm glad our secretary of state is over there, initial loan loan guarantees and a longer substitute package through the international monetary fund. we have to stabilize the economy, the economy of ukraine which is on the board near collapse. financial sanctions, freezing assets, visa bands, trade embassies can -- embargoes can be accomplished, and people will not have bank accounts, will not travel, not ever get a visa, they need to pay a penalty for oark sphraiting what's happening -- orchestrating what's happening in ukraine right now. obviously we should not go to the gh summit. he should be thrown out of the g.h. it should be the g-7. there has to be -- obviously suspend military-to-military

engagements. we need to have a path and a quick one for both moldova and georgia to move into nato. both countries are occupied by russian troops. moldova and in georgia, and, by the way, every day quite often the russians keep moving the fence further and further into the sovereign territory of these countries. in an attempt to appease mr. putin we abandoned missile defense systems in poland and check check --, the czech republic. we need to reinstate those and move forward as quickly as possible. there's a number of things that the most powerful nation in the world needs to do. i'm not counting on our yiewn friends -- european friends, already there have been statements by and merkel and

the -- awn debrisa merkel and leaking a memorandum from the british government. we may have to do a lot of things by ourselves because they're dependent on russia for a lot of their energy supplies and actually we have seen a significant recession in european leadership over the last ten to 20 years. but we need to act and we need to speak up in favor of the people who are now being overtaken in crimea by vladimir putin's army, his military. and i worry and -- in conclusion i say it's time we woke up about vladimir putin. it's time that this administration got real. and it's also time for us to worry about what vladimir putin will do on eastern ukraine on the pretext that somehow disorder and demonstrations might require russian presence. and my friends, if we allow

mr. putin to assert his authority over these areas because of russian-speaking people, that message is not lost on poland, where there's russian population, on romania, on latvia, estonia, lithuania and moldova, and we are on the verge possibly of seeing a move to reassert the old russian empire, which is mr. putin's lifelong ambition. madam president, i've overstayed my time. i thank my colleague from alabama and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: i appreciate the opportunity to listen to senator mccain. i think facts have proven him right for many -- over many years of warning this country about how we have to conduct

international relations in a realistic way. i had the opportunity to be in georgia and the ukraine about three years ago, in georgia we went to asettia, where the russians had moved in there against the european -- the international law, and had set in and just last week or so we were informed by the prime minister from georgia they were building barbed wire fences along that border, digging in even deeper than they had before. they told us in the ukraine, we met with some of the democratic dissidents that were trying to hang on for democracy there, they had beaten tim cinco. -- tim ashe knowo. who, the lady who led the orange revolution. she was worried about going to jail. i didn't think she would go to jail but they kept her in jail

for years on what the e.u. and nato officials have all said were bogus charges. and they told us that they were somewhat depressed, some of the democratic activists there that putin with his intel background was using the russian intelligence services in ukraine to buy up media, buy up television, to propagandize the country and they were hurting. they didn't know if they could be able to successfully resist and it was such a delight for me to see this revolution again. basically a nonviolent resolution, in which -- revolution in which the people stood up for their country and now we see that mr. putin does not accept sovereignty. and he's going to try to utilize military force in a way that's stunning, and i got to say the

crimea is far larger and more strategically significant than south assettia but it's just the same act >> way i'm paying updated members of the house of commons. this is one hour and 35 minutes. >> the house that -- will recall, former president yan

agreement.n and restoreditution was and early presidential elections were called in an interim government was appointed. last wednesday president couldn't ordered military exercises. by friday unidentified armed men had appeared outside airports and government buildings. on saturday he sought and received the approval of the house of the parliament to use armed forces anywhere. without the consent of the ukrainian government. citing a threat to the lives of russian citizens. russian forces in crimea went on to take control of ukrainian military sites and to establish full operational control in the

crimea. helicopters and planes had been deployed. the russian government has not ruled out military action in other parts of ukraine. ukrainian and mr. defense has reported russian fighters infringing ukrainian airspace over the black sea. her majesty's government condemned any violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of ukraine which contravene russia's obligations under the un's charter, the osce act and the partition treaty. that agreement, russia is entitled to station troops and naval personnel and its bases but not to deployed troops outside those bases without the permission of the ukrainian government. moreover, russia's actions are in reach of the what a past memorandum. ukraine givingor up its nuclear weapons, russia joins the united kingdom and the

united states and reaffirming their obligations to refrain from the threat or use of force against a territorial integrity very or independents. none of their weapons will ever be used against ukraine except in self-defense or otherwise in accordance with the charter of the united nations. the russian government has argued there is no legitimate government in kiev. that the post and abandoned his the decisions of the ukrainian parliament have been carried by large majorities required under the constitution including for members of the president's party. the party of regions. the suggestion that a president who has fled his country that has any authority whatsoever to invite the forces of the neighboring country into that country is baseless. that thes also argued russian -- the russian speaking

minorities are in danger but no evidence of that thread has been presented. furthermore, international diplomatic mechanisms exist to provide assurance on the situation of national minorities including within the organizations of security and cooperation of europe and the council of europe. these activism's are the way to assure -- should care protection. i commend the ukrainian government for responding to this extreme situation with a refusal to be provoked. the ukrainian armed forces have been placed on full combat readiness. the government has affirmed it will not use force and i have urged them to maintain this position. a grave risk of escalation or miscalculation and a threat to hard-won peace and security in europe. the government has been in constant contact with the government of ukraine and the u.s., with our

partners and allies in nato and the g-7 and the russian government itself. our objectives are to avoid any further military escalation and instead see russia return its bases andtheir respect ukrainian sovereignty. for any concerns about russian speaking minorities to be addressed i means of negotiations and third for the international community to provide ukraine provided they are ready to cancel -- to carry out vital reforms with urgent economic assistance. i will take each of these areas in turn. we have condemned russia's and warnedtervention against any further escalation. the prime minister has spoken to president obama and i have been in daily contact with my counterparts in the european union and the g-7. we have made firm representations. mr. lepper of --

laparov on sunday. we have urged to choose a half that of confrontation and military action. the u.n. security council held an urgent meeting on sunday. members of the council called for international monitors to be situationserve the and stress the importance of ukraine's territorial integrity and the need to lower tensions. nato's north atlantic council met on sunday and called for russia to withdraw its troops to aces and refrain from any further provocative actions in with itsn line international commitments. the nato ukraine commission was also convened. , european nations condemned russia's at some aggression among called on russia to withdraw its forces to the areas of their permanent stationing and without delay agreed to a request by ukraine

for direct consultations with russia as well as under the budapest memorandum. the council stated that in the absence of the escalating steps by russia and the european union would decide about consequences for relations between the eu and russia such as suspending bilateral talks with russia on these matters and considering targeted measures. heads of government will meet on their state. the prime minister and president obama have said there must be significant costs to russia if .t does not change course eu member states have reconfirmed the offer of an agreement including a free trade area and confirmed our commitment to support an international assistance package to support ukraine based on a other commitment to reforms. the council agreed to work on the adoption of restrictive measures for the

misappropriation of [inaudible] we have withdrawn from preparations for the summit in sochi. we will not send any representatives to the paralympic games while maintaining support for the british athletes taking part. urging direct contact and we are willing to pursue any diplomatic avenue that could help to reduce tensions so we have called for urgent consultations under the budapest of aandum, or the creation contact group including russia and ukraine. we urge russia to accept the invitation to attend talks under the budapest memorandum in paris tomorrow which i will attend. the u.k. supports the powerful case for the deployment of u.n. monitors given the

grave risk of clashes and escalation on the ground. we are taking part in urgent consultations in vienna. we welcome the ukrainian government's support and we call on russia to follow suit. the prime minister and i have to urgeo ban ki-moon him to use the authority of the united nations to bring about direct contact between russia and ukraine, to urge a peaceful resolution of this issue, and i that the deputy general is in ukraine today. we are working to support the ukrainian rent which is facing immense challenges on top of the invasion of its territory. i returned from kiev yesterday where i encouraged leaders to make a decisive break with the countries past history of pervasive corruption, failed imf programs, and poor governance. torged the acting president continue to take measures which protecte country and

the rights of all ukraine citizens including minority groups. i welcome the steps they have taken including the appointment of new regional governments in russian speaking regions and the veto of legislation affecting the status of the russian language. for urgent commitments and reforms it is vital that ukraine receive assistance. the imf should be front and center of any program of assistance. the imf since officials to kiev yesterday. finance ministers have issued a statement declaring our readiness to mobilize rapid technical assistance to support ukraine in addressing its macro economic, regulatory, and anticorruption challenges. the eu has committed 610 million euros in financial assistance which could be made available once an imf program has been agreed. , europeanger term

funding, neighborhood the eu will continue to provide significant support to ukraine. informed the government yesterday we will provide immediate technical assistance to ukraine to support elections and assist with reforms in public financial management, debt management, and energy pricing. we are asked boring programs to improve the investment climate and a british team is in kiev to support and coordinate these efforts. we have offered assistance on asset recovery and i agreed with the prime minister to send a team to assist them to provide the information we need to recover stolen assets and address this problem more widely. the government has sought and secured an improved relationship with russia and we continue to work with russia on immense global issues such as the

nuclear negotiations with iran and our efforts to make progress toward peace in syria. the u.k.'s national interests lie in a free democrats, unified, stable, and peaceful ukraine, able to make its own decisions about its future. we will continue to do everything we can to support the diplomatic resolutions of all the issues i have described. exercising our responsibilities as a permanent member of the united nations security council and working closely with the nations of nato and the european union. we will continue to discuss the situation direct way with russia's leaders. we also have a direct national interest in the maintenance of international law, the holding of treaty obligations, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of independent nations, and the diplomatic resolution of conflicts that affect the peace and security of us all. for that reason is is important that there is a clear response to these events and that they are not repeated. that is what we will proceed

with determination in the days and weeks i had. can i think the foreign secretary for his statement and [inaudible] this morning. this represents the most serious threat in decades. they are a clear and unambiguous violation to the integrity of the ukraine. there can be no justification for this dangerous and unprovoked military incursion. to ukrainian government is be commended as the foreign secretary has done for its response. there must be action to secure a de-escalation of the crisis. to achieve this requires the international community to show resolve and pursuit of a twin track approach in stabilizing the current situation. the community needs to alter the

calculus of risk in the minds of the russian leaders by developing a graduated hierarchy of economic measures that make sure and make clear to the russians the cost and consequences of this aggression. the international community must the newar that ukrainian government must be inclusive, protect the rights of russian speaking populations within ukraine, and make clear that to russia, the strengthening ties between ukraine and the european union should not be seen as some game that will prejudice its own bilateral relations.