indicated them although we support military efforts by the israelis to make sure that rockets are not being fired into their territory, we have also said that our understanding of current military ground operations are designed to deal with the tunnels. we are hopeful that is where israel will continue to approach this process, in a way that minimizes civilian and that all of us are working cease-fireurn to the that was reached in november of 2012. secretary kerry is working to initiative.t's let me close by making one additional comment. , there were7

apparently really 100 researchers and advocates traveling to a conference in australia dedicated to combating aids and hiv. these are men and women a dedicated their own lives to saving the lives of others, and they were taken from us in a senseless act of violence. in this world today, we should not forget in the midst of conflict and killing, there are people like these, people focused on what can be built rather than destroyed. define themselves not by what makes them different, but by the humanity that we hold in common. it is important to lift them up and to affirm their lives, and he their example. the united states of america will continue to stand for the

basic principle that people have the right to live as they choose, determine their own destiny, and it is on the side of truth. let me take a couple of questions. >> on a technical matter, does the u.s. believe this passenger jet was targeted or the people that shot down might have been going after a military aircraft, and more broadly, the incident seems to escalate the crisis in the ukraine to a level we have not seen before. does that change your calculus in terms of what europe -- in terms of what the u.s. is asking europe to be doing? >> i think it is too early to be able to guess what the intensive's -- intentions of those that might have launched the missile might have had. i think we will see additional information surfacing over the

hours, the next week, the next month. what we know right now, what we have confidence in saying right now, is that a surface-to-air missile was fired and that is what brought the jet down. we know, or have confidence in saying that shot was taken within a territory controlled by the russian separatists. i think it is very important for us to make sure that we do not , andut ahead of the facts at this point, in terms of identifying specifically what individual or group of orderedals or personnel the strike, how would came about -- those are things that will be subject to additional information that we will be gathering, and we are working with the entire international community to focus -- to make sure the focus is on getting to the bottom of this thing and being truthful. my concern is, obviously, that

there has been a lot of misinformation generated in eastern ukraine generally. this should snap everybody's heads to attention, and make sure we do not have time for propaganda, games. we need to know exactly what happened, and everyone is to make sure we are holding accountable those who committed this outrage. with respect to the second aware,n, as you are before this terrible incident happened, we had already ratcheted up sanctions against russia, and, i think, the concern, not just of russian markets,, but of the about the impact this could have on the russian economy is there for all to see. i made clear to president putin that our preferred path is to resolve this diplomatically, but that means that he and the russian government had to make a strategic decision.

are they going to continue to support violent separatists whose intent is to undermine the government of ukraine, or are they prepared to work with government of ukraine -- the government of ukraine to arrive at a cease-fire and a peace that takes to account the interest of all ukrainians? there has been some improved language at times over the last month coming from the kremlin and coming from president putin, actualhave not seen an transition and different action that would give us confidence that his direction -- the direction that they want to take. clearl continue to make russia, you know, engages in actions that are supporting the separatists, that we have the capacity to increase

the costs that we impose on them, and we will do so, not because we are interested in hurting russia for the sake of hurting russia, but he does we believe in standing up for the basic principle that a country sovereignty and territorial eternity needs to be respected. it is not the united states, or russia, or germany, or any other country that should be deciding what happens in that country. >> at this point, do you see any u.s. military role that could be affected? >> we do not see a u.s. military role beyond what we have already been doing in working with our nato partners and some of the baltic states, giving them reassurances that we are prepared to do whatever is required to meet our alliance obligations. >> how much blame for this do you put on president putin and do you view this incident as a push to stronger action for

europe? >> we do not know what happened yet, and as i said before, i do not want to get out ahead of the facts. what i do know is we have seen a ticking off of violence in eastern ukraine, that despite the efforts of the ukrainian government to abide by a cease-fire, and to reach out and agree to negotiations, including with the separatists, that has been rebuffed by the separatists. we know they are heavily armed and they are trained, and that is not an accident. that is happening because of russian support. it is not possible for the separatists to function the way they function, to have the equipment that they have, set aside what has happened with respect to the malaysian airline

-- a group of separatists can not shoot down military planes, jets,they claim, fighter without sophisticated equipment and training, and that is coming from russia. so, we've not yet know exactly what happened -- we do not yet know exactly what happened despite to the malaysian airline, but obviously we are drawing some conclusions given the nature of the shop that was fired. that was fired. there are only certain types of antiaircraft missiles that can reach up 30,000 feet and shoot down passenger jets. we have increasing confidence that it came from areas controlled by the separatists, but without having a definitive judgment on those issues yet, that theo know is violence that is taking place there is facilitated, in part,

in large part, because of russian support. they have the ability to move those separatists in a different direction. if mr. putin makes the decision that we are not going to allow heavy armor mince -- heavy armor mince and the flow of fighters into ukraine across the ukrainian-russian border, then it will stop. if it stops, then the separatists will still have the capacity to enter into negotiations and try to arrive at the sort of political accommodations and mr. putin himself says he wants to see -- that mr. putin himself says he wants to see. he has the most control over that situation, and so far at least he has not exercised it. >> sanctions in europe, will you push -- this will certainly be a wake up call for europe and the world that there are

to an escalating conflict in eastern ukraine, that it is not going to be localized. it is not going to be contained. what we have seen here is just in one country alone, our great 150 or moredutch, of their citizens being killed. that, i think, sadly brings home the degree to which the stakes are high for europe, not simply for the ukrainian people. we have to be firm in our resolve and making sure that we the ukraine and the separatists to bring about a just cease-fire and that we can move toward a political question -- solution. this is the last question.

about americans on board, and how do you prevent shocks to the global economy? prettyave been methodical over the last 24 hours in working through the identifyingest, and which passengers might have had a u.s. passport. at this point, the individual that i mentioned is the sole person we can definitively say was a u.s. or dual citizen. because events are moving so quickly, i do not want to say with absolute certainty that there might not be additional americans, but at this stage, having worked through the list, been in contact with the malaysian government, which

processed the passports as folks were morning, this is our -- were boarding, this is our best assessment of the americans that were killed. obviously, that does nothing to lessen our outrage about all of those families. regardless of nationality, it is a heartbreaking event. with the respect to the effect of sanctions on the economy, we tailornsistently try to the sanctions in ways that would have an impact on russia, there economy, institutions, or individuals that are aiding and abetting in the activities taking place in eastern ukraine, while minimizing the middle -- the impact on not only the u.s. economy, but the global economy. it is a relevant consideration that we have to keep in mind. the world economy is integrated. russia is a large economy.

there is a lot of financial flows between russia and the rest of the world, but we feel confident that at this point the sanctions that we put in place are imposing a cost on russia and that their overall impact on the global economy is minimal. we have tohing obviously pay close attention to, but contractual to -- treasury, in consultation with european partners have done a good job so far. all right? [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> president obama this afternoon confirming that the malaysian airliner was shot down, revealing that at least one american died in the crash, and calling for an immediate investigation and cease-fire so investigators can get into the area. we will re-air the president's statement later today and we are also covering the white house briefing that is expected to begin at 1:00 p.m. with josh earnest.

is also scheduled the state department during. i now we go back to the u.n. meeting on the shootdown of the airliner. >> in meeting the people's export -- expectation for peace, stability, and development in the ukraine and the region. thank you for your attention. there are no more on the speakers. the security counsel has concluded the current stage on its agenda. the meeting is adjourned. >> so, members of the un security council meeting in an emergency session. just wrapping up their. they began with a moment of silence in tribute to the 298 victims at the start of the

meeting. they discussed the downing of the malaysian airlines flight mh17 yesterday. ambassadors mostly condemning indications are, and as president obama confirmed today, the plane was delivered late shot down. we will open our phone lines not to get your calls on the investigation. democrats, your number to call -- 202 president obama, as i said, made a statement on the downing of the malaysian airliner. we did show that to you live. we do plan to bring that to you once again this afternoon. also, we will be, as i said, covering the white house briefing with josh earnest. that is coming up at 1:00 p.m. eastern. today, also have later

state department and pentagon briefings as they happen throughout the day. again, we are taking your phone calls on the downing of the malaysian airliner that was shot down yesterday. our first call is joseph in laurel, maryland, on the republican line. go ahead. >> to her for taking my call. i first want to comment that i was impressed with our present and samantha power, with her statement before the u.n.. she gave facts, information, laid out very clearly, pointed the finger where it should be pointed, and made a strong assertion about who did what. it was interesting to note that when you went to the other parties from china and the other communist countries, of course they take a different view. my other issue is the president could take a lesson from this young lady because his take on a yesterday was embarrassing -- to issue, seconds on the

and basically say nothing, and go on about raising funds, and then even today when he made the statement that i watched on c-span, it did not compare at all to what ms. power did. i just wanted to say that she was very impressive and i was proud to be an american when i heard her speak. >> thank you, joseph. jenna, your next from massachusetts. democrat caller. go ahead. >> i have a concern about how this is being portrayed in the media. everyone keeps calling it a crash, as if it were an accident, some sort of mechanical failure. this is no crash. this was an explosion. it was shot down. of course, it crashed when it hit, but i wish you would stop calling it a crash. do you know what i mean? --t certainly, that is true >> certainly, that is true. the president did confirm that it was shot down.

johnny is in chicago. for accepting the call. i would like to ask one question . why is that all other places or countries can work together when there are situations where crises, and that we have people here in the united states, the republicans or whoever it is do not want them to vote? thank you very much. >> liam is calling from farmington. farmington, illinois, is that correct? >> farmington, michigan. >> shouldn't. you are on the republican -- michigan. you are on the republican line. go ahead. of theho the sentiments earlier caller on the ambassador. i was proud of her. she was tough and she needed to be. the shenanigans from russia need to stop, and when 300 innocent people get shot out of the sky,

it really makes everyone consider and think twice about this. this has to stop because you are giving weapons and high military equipment to people that obviously cannot handle them, and from everything that i have seen, these rebels, or the separatists thought it was a military aircraft and they try to shoot it out of the sky. that does not change the fact, but who is to say this does not happen again? the united states has to get tough on russia, along with the international community and the eu. they need to make sure this does not happen again. thank you. isour question on facebook your thoughts on the investigation into the shooting down of that malaysian airliner over ukraine. tricia has this to say -- malaysia have a lot to answer for. there were flying over a war zone even though all planes have been warned off. nationalas this passenger jet should ever be shot out of the sky for any reason. they are not at war.

this was a total tragedy, and she -- it should never have happened. we're looking for your response our facebook page. facebook.com/c-span. up next, surely. texas. democrat caller. >> hello. i would like to say that i am very grateful that we have a president that does not just automatically start running his mouth and making threats and all that kind of thing. focused, healm, gets all of the information that he needs before he makes a decision. he has been just as clear telling us about what is going on and what he knows so far. i'm very proud of him, and i am so happy that we do not have off at theat runs mouth like john mccain, or some of the others. thank you very much. >> next, george, in fall river, massachusetts on the others line . >> i listen to the president.

i am proud to be a democrat, and i know the president personally because i campaigned for him in 2007, but now, i would like an objective opinion. tragedy with the airline in malaysia. it is apocalyptic. it is against timidity. who gains by that? theow we overthrew pro-russia prime minister a few months ago, or last year, and that was not indigenous. that had to do something with our intelligence in order to put in the prime minister ukraine. so, that was a coup. who not out the airliner?

are the russians gaining by doing so? i do not think so. >> we will leave it there. thank you for your call. we'll move on with phone calls. pete. texas. republicans line. >> well, i am very thankful to be a republican, but american, and we need leadership. that is the thing. i served my time in the united states marines in the 1950's, and you we go again. -- and here we go again. with no leadership in our nation. it is in god we trust, not man we trust. you know, i was so proud of that young lady that spoke for our nation a while ago. we need to applaud her and thank her for what she done. god bless you, god blessed united states. thank you. >> from "the washington post" international monitors

in the region said that, but the ukrainian government said the rebels were keeping all the local emergency workers away from the site. you heard president obama calling for safe passage for investigators to get in and find out what brought the plane down. the next call, eugene. i'm sorry. george in missouri. democrat caller. >> i would like to congratulate the president on giving a wonderful speech. i think the violence overseas has to stop for real because this is hurting innocent people, and whatever they have going on needs to be put aside. >> eugene, your next. beverly hills. go ahead. >> yeah, i just wanted to say i'm very proud of the president today, what he said.

blackbox,sue is this i do not think it will tell us anything for the simple reason that they were not expecting to get hit, so why the big deal about the blackbox? thank you. >> kevin. go ahead. >> i do not know who is kidding who. a lot of this has happened because of our president's week foreign policy. this is what happens. they take advantage of everybody else. i am really disappointed in our presidents foreign policy, and i do not really think they know what they are doing. thank you. in lakeext call is lisa charles, louisiana, calling on the others line. go ahead, lisa. >> hi. i would just like to say that i do believe is behind all of this is behindeve putin

all this chaos going on in the ukraine. there is no way that rebels could have the technology, the wherewithal, the weapons to take out a commercial airliner at 32,000 feet without professional armies behind them. not -- if he is not brought up on war crimes, it would be a tragedy, and the fact that they control that section of the ukraine makes it obvious nothing to doas with this, nothing at all. this is russia and the separatists. that is it. >> a couple more of your phone calls. jonathan is in fort lauderdale, florida, calling on the democrats line. >> yes. i wanted to couple of comets. so-called elected

government in the ukraine. we all know that it was enacted by a coup to talk, they overthrew the government, and the regime are neo-nazis in neofascist. if you look online, you can see some of the leaders basically showing their insignia, or whatever. that the malaysian airline got shot down in the eastern ukraine, you have to look at the news strategically because there is a lot of misinformation out there, both fueled by our u.s. media and on the other side. we have to look at who benefits basically from this surface to air missile hitting this plane and then crashing and killing all of these civilians. the only thing that i can see gaining is pretty much not putin because all of his moves are to stop this

fascist in ukraine. the malaysian airlines was likely down by a missile at a location in eastern ukraine, the u.s. ambassador said the power told the united nations -- samantha power. she said the u.s. could not rule out russian support of separatists noting the technical complexity of the surface-to-air missile. we are also taking your facebook comments. margie says this. the united nations needs to stay out of this. we are going back to your phone calls. washington, d c on thented to comment

cooperation question, and i have just observed over the last few democrat idea of cooperation, the definition of cooperation, is to vote their , and i doo exception not call that cooperation. it is a complete surrender of your ideas to someone else's, not cooperation. thee if they redefined word, they would be able to at least sit down and talk. that is all i have to say. thank you. >> next to chicago and mike. he is calling on the democrats line. it is your turn, mike. oh, i just wanted to say that i am sorry for all of the people.

[indiscernible] innocent people. they didn't do nothing. they didn't do nothing. for nothing. >> lee. memphis, tennessee. others line. >> i am calling to say what did we expect russian -- america to do, go to work with russia in a nuclear war? if you look at the handprint of america, which caused chaos in iraq, we want to attack and ran, we look the other way when israel is involved with something. we have the problems we have today all over the world because of america. we finally met our match. if you're going to stop russia, go ahead. nook them, they nuke you. what will we end up, dead. thank you.

as president obama made a statement is short time about the dying of the malaysian airliner, confirming that it was shot down and revealed one american died in the shootout. here's what the president had to say a short time ago. >> good morning, everybody. yesterday, the flight was shot down. over 300 innocent lives were children,n, women, infants, who have nothing to do with the crisis in the ukraine. their deaths are an outrage of unspeakable proportions. we know at least one american lucas was killed. our thoughts and prayers are with his family for this terrible loss.

yesterday, i spoke with the leaders of the ukraine, malaysia, and the netherlands. i told him that our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families and the american people stand with them through this difficult time. later today, i will restate what the prime minister of australia. i far, the country that lost the most people was the netherlands. from the days of our founding, the dutch have been close friends, and today i want the dutch people to know that we stand with you shoulder to shoulder in our grief and in our absolute determination to get to the bottom of what happened. here is what we know so far. evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile launched from an area that is controlled by russian backed separatists inside of ukraine. we also know that this is not the first time a plane has been shot down in eastern ukraine.

over the last several weeks, russian backed separatist have shot down a ukrainian transport plane and a ukrainian helicopter, and they claimed responsibility for shooting down a ukrainian fighter jet. moreover, we know that the separatists have received a steady flow of support from russia. this includes arms and training. it includes heavy weapons. and it includes antiaircraft weapons. here is what must happen now. this was a global tragedy. an asian airliner was destroyed in european skies filled with citizens from many countries. there has to be a credible international investigation into what happened. the un security council has endorsed this investigation and we will hold all its members, including russia, to their word in order to facilitate that investigation. russia, pro-russian separatist,

and ukraine must adhere to an immediate cease-fire. evidence must not be tempered with. -- tampered with. investigators need to access the crash site and returning what was lost to their loved ones must start in this -- immediately. the fbi and the national transportation safety board, which has experience with working with international partners on these types of investigations, they are on their way, personnel from the fbi and the ntsb. i will be in close contact with leaders around the world as we respond to this catastrophe. our immediate focus will be on recovering those who were lost, investigating exactly what happened, and putting forward the facts. i want to point out there will likely be misinformation as well. i think it is very important for

folks to sift through what is factually based and what is simply speculation. no one can deny the truth in the awful images that we've seen. the eyes of the world are on eastern ukraine. we will make sure the truth is out. more broadly, i think it is important for us to recognize that this outrageous event underscores that it is time for peace and security to be restored in ukraine. for months, we have supported a pathway to peace and the ukrainian government has reached out to all ukrainians, put forward a peace plan, and we have done a cease-fire despite the violations by separatists, violations that took the lives of ukrainian soldiers and personnel. moreover, time and again, russia has refused to take the concrete steps necessary to de-escalate

the situation. i spoke to president putin yesterday in the wake of additional sanctions that we had imposed. he said he was not happy with them, and i told him that we have been very clear from the outset that we want russia to take the path that would result in peace in ukraine, but so far at least, russia has failed to take that path. instead, it has continued to violate ukrainian sovereignty, and to support violent separatist. it has also failed to force the separatist to abide by a cease-fire. that is why we have imposed more sanctions on russia. it is time for all of us to step back and take a hard look at what happened. violence and conflict inevitably lead to unforeseen consequences. russia, the separatists, and ukraine all have the capacity to

put an end to the fighting. meanwhile, the u.s. is going to continue to lead efforts within the world community to de-escalate the situation, to stand up for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of ukraine, and to support the people of ukraine as they courageously worked to strengthen their democracy and make their own decisions about how they should move forward. before i take just a couple of questions, let me remark on one other issue. this morning, i spoke with prime minister netanyahu about the situation in israel and gaza. we discussed in israel -- israel's military operation, including efforts to stop military operations, including tunnels into israel. i reaffirmed my strong support for israel's right to defend itself. no nation should accept rockets being fired into its borders, or terrorists settling into its territory. in fact, while i was having a conversation with mr. netanyahu, the sirens went off in tel aviv.

i also made clear that the united states and our friends and allies are deeply concerned about the risks of further escalation and the loss of more innocent life. that is why we have indicated them although we support military efforts by the israelis to make sure that rockets are not being fired into their territory, we have also said that our understanding of current military ground operations are designed to deal with the tunnels. we are hopeful that is where israel will continue to approach this process, in a way that minimizes civilian casualties. and all of us are working hard to return to the cease-fire that was reached in november of 2012.

>> secretary kerry and said to support that. let me close by making one additional comment. on board the flight there were andly 100 researchers advocates traveling to a to arence in australia combat combating aids and hiv. these are men and women a dedicated their own lives to saving the lives of others, and they were taken from us in a senseless act of violence. in this world today, we should not forget in the midst of conflict and killing, there are people like these, people focused on what can be built rather than destroyed. how they can define themselves not by what makes them

different, but by the humanity that we hold in common. it is important to lift them up and to affirm their lives, and heed their example. the united states of america will continue to stand for the basic principle that people have the right to live as they choose, determine their own destiny, and it is on the side of truth. let me take a couple of questions. >> on a technical matter, does the u.s. believe this passenger jet was targeted or the people that shot down might have been going after a military aircraft, and more broadly, the incident seems to escalate the crisis in the ukraine to a level we have not seen before. does that change your calculus in terms of what europe -- in terms of what the u.s. is asking europe to be doing? >> i think it is too early to be able to guess what the intentions of those that might have launched the missile might

have had. i think we will see additional information surfacing over the next 24 hours, the next week, the next month. what we know right now, what we have confidence in saying right now, is that a surface-to-air missile was fired and that is what brought the jet down. we know, or have confidence in saying that shot was taken within a territory controlled by the russian separatists. but i think it is very important for us to make sure that we do not get out ahead of the facts, and at this point, in terms of identifying specifically what individual or group of individuals or personnel ordered the strike, how would came about -- those are things that will be subject to additional information that we will be

gathering, and we are working with the entire international community to make sure the focus is on getting to the bottom of this thing and being truthful. my concern is, obviously, that there has been a lot of misinformation generated in eastern ukraine generally. this should snap everybody's heads to attention, and make sure we do not have time for propaganda, games. we need to know exactly what happened, and everyone is to make sure we are holding accountable those who committed this outrage. with respect to the second question, as you are aware, before this terrible incident happened, we had already ratcheted up sanctions against russia, and, i think, the concern, not just of russian officials, but of the markets, about the impact this could have on the russian economy is there for all to see.

i made clear to president putin that our preferred path is to resolve this diplomatically, but that means that he and the russian government had to make a strategic decision. are they going to continue to support violent separatists whose intent is to undermine the government of ukraine, or are they prepared to work with government of ukraine -- the government of ukraine to arrive at a cease-fire and a peace that takes to account the interest of all ukrainians? there has been some improved language at times over the last month coming from the kremlin and coming from president putin, but we have not seen an actual transition and different action that would give us confidence

that that is the direction that they want to take. we will continue to make clear that as russia, you know, engages in actions that are supporting the separatists, that we have the capacity to increase the costs that we impose on them, and we will do so, not because we are interested in hurting russia for the sake of hurting russia, but he does we believe in standing up for the basic principle that a country sovereignty and territorial eternity needs to be respected. it is not the united states, or russia, or germany, or any other country that should be deciding what happens in that country. >> at this point, do you see any u.s. military role that could be effective? >> we do not see a u.s. military role beyond what we have already been doing in working with our nato partners and some of the baltic states, giving them reassurances that we are prepared to do whatever is

required to meet our alliance obligations. >> how much blame for this do you put on president putin and do you view this incident as a push to stronger action for europe? >> we do not know what happened yet, and as i said before, i do not want to get out ahead of the facts. but what i do know is we have seen a ticking off of violence in eastern ukraine, that despite the efforts of the ukrainian government to abide by a cease-fire, and to reach out and agree to negotiations, including with the separatists, that has been rebuffed by the separatists. we know they are heavily armed and they are trained, and that is not an accident. that is happening because of russian support. it is not possible for the

separatists to function the way they function, to have the equipment that they have, set aside what has happened with respect to the malaysian airline -- a group of separatists can not shoot down military planes, or as they claim, fighter jets, without sophisticated equipment and training, and that is coming from russia. so, we do not yet know exactly what happened despite to the malaysian airline, but obviously we are drawing some conclusions given the nature of the shop that was fired. -- the shot that was fired. there are only certain types of antiaircraft missiles that can reach up 30,000 feet and shoot down passenger jets. we have increasing confidence that it came from areas

controlled by the separatists, but without having a definitive judgment on those issues yet, what we do know is that the violence that is taking place there is facilitated, in part, in large part, because of russian support. they have the ability to move those separatists in a different direction. if mr. putin makes the decision that we are not going to allow heavy armor mince and the flow of fighters into ukraine across the ukrainian-russian border, then it will stop. if it stops, then the separatists will still have the capacity to enter into negotiations and try to arrive at the sort of political accommodations and mr. putin himself says he wants to see -- that mr. putin himself says he wants to see. he has the most control over

that situation, and so far at least he has not exercised it. >> sanctions in europe, will you push -- >> i think this will certainly be a wake up call for europe and the world that there are consequences to an escalating conflict in eastern ukraine, that it is not going to be localized. it is not going to be contained. what we have seen here is just in one country alone, our great allies, the dutch, 150 or more of their citizens being killed. that, i think, sadly brings home the degree to which the stakes are high for europe, not simply for the ukrainian people. we have to be firm in our resolve and making sure that we are supporting the ukraine and

efforts to bring about a just cease-fire and that we can move toward a political question -- solution. this is the last question. >> do we know about americans on board, and how do you prevent shocks to the global economy? >> we have been pretty methodical over the last 24 hours in working through the flight manifest, and identifying which passengers might have had a u.s. passport. at this point, the individual that i mentioned is the sole person we can definitively say was a u.s. or dual citizen. because events are moving so quickly, i do not want to say with absolute certainty that there might not be additional

americans, but at this stage, having worked through the list, been in contact with the malaysian government, which processed the passports as folks were boarding, this is our best assessment of the americans that were killed. obviously, that does nothing to lessen our outrage about all of those families. regardless of nationality, it is a heartbreaking event. with the respect to the effect of sanctions on the economy, we have consistently try to tailor the sanctions in ways that would have an impact on russia, there economy, institutions, or individuals that are aiding and abetting in the activities taking place in eastern ukraine, while minimizing the middle --

the impact on not only the u.s. economy, but the global economy. it is a relevant consideration that we have to keep in mind. the world economy is integrated. russia is a large economy. there is a lot of financial flows between russia and the rest of the world, but we feel confident that at this point the sanctions that we put in place are imposing a cost on russia and that their overall impact on the global economy is minimal. it is something we have to obviously pay close attention to, but contractual to -- treasury, in consultation with european partners have done a good job so far. all right? quentin we will have more on the shootdown of the malaysian airliner during today's pentagon hearing. live pictures.

we will bring that to you in a few moments. remarks now former u.s. ambassador samantha power this morning as she appeared before the un security council to react to the shootdown over eastern ukraine yesterday. >> yesterday, we were all shocked by the downing of malaysian airlines flight 17. all 298 people aboard were killed. the passengert list, we saw next to three of the passengers names, a capital i. "i" stands for infant. to the families and the friends of the victims, it is impossible to find words to express our condolences. we can only commit to you that we will not rest until we find out what happened.

a full, credible, and unimpeded international investigation must begin immediately. the perpetrators must be brought to justice. they must not be sheltered by any member state of the united nations. you, ourare with assessment of the evidence so far. we assessed malaysian airlines these 298carrying people from amsterdam to kuala lumpur was likely downed by a saface to air missile, an -11. the airliner was traveling at cruise altitude of 32,000 feet, and its speed was typical for an airliner along a corridor were frequent and by commercial traffic. tracking data was publicly available on the

internet. there was nothing threatening or provocative about mh17. systemsperational located near the border, only 11, 20, and 22 systems are capable of hitting the aircraft at the attitude -- altitude of 32,000 feet. we can rule out shorter range systems that are not capable of hitting an aircraft at this altitude. sa-11 systemy, an was reported by a western reporter, and separatists were spotted with the system at a location close to the site where the plane came down. separatists initially claimed responsibility for shooting down a military transport plane, and

posted videos that are now being connected to the malaysian airlines crash. separatist leaders also boasted on social media about shooting down a plane, but later deleted these messages. because of the technical sa-11, it is the unlikely they could operate the system without assistance from knowledgeable personnel, thus we cannot rule out technical assistance from russian personnel and operating the systems. the ukrainians do have sa-11 systems in their inventory, however we are not aware of any systems in the area of the shootdown, and more importantly, since the beginning of this crisis, ukrainian air defenses have not fired a single missile despite several alleged violations of their airspace by russian aircraft. this also follows a pattern of actions by russian-backed separatists. on june 13, separatists shot

down a ukrainian transferred -- transport plane. as his counsel was meaning to welcome the ukraine unilateral cease-fire, we received word the separatists down a ukrainian helicopter. on july 14, separatists claim credit for the downing of a cargo plane flying at 6000 meters. on july 18, they claim credit for the downing of a fighter jet. russian backed separatists were behind this attack, and they and their backers would have good reason to cover up evidence of that crime. thus, it is extremely important that an investigation be commenced immediately. in the first instance, the special monitoring mission should act as a first responder, laying the foundation for efforts by other organizations and individual nations, including those who citizens were victims of this tragedy. yesterday, president obama assured ukraine's president

poroshenko that the u.s. will offer assistance upon request. president poroshenko has allowed the international investigators to join the investigation. granted immediate, unfettered access to the website -- to the crash site. support an immediate cease-fire to mediate access. we look to reach agreements with separatists and others in the region to make this possible. all evidence must remain undisturbed, and any evidence removed from the site should be promptly returned and handed over. russia needs to help make this happen. >> and since those remarks this morning, we learned that at least one american died in the incident. 298 people in total perished. returnw moments, we will

live here to the pentagon for a defense department briefing. we are expecting more on the shootdown of the malaysian airliner. live coverage of the pentagon briefing when he gets underway a couple minutes here on c-span, but right now it discussion on the long-term outlook of the u.s. budget from today's "washington journal." we want to turn our attention to the growing budget deficit. joining us here is maya macguineas with the committee for the responsible federal budget will stop in regard to -- responsible federal budget. year,ard to the coming the cbo directed us this past week. guest: right, the congressional budget office came out with its long-term projections. these are important, because they show is not what to expect if we are just in this decade, which is how we look at the budget as far as 10 years numbers, but in a long term which is not good. it is not a surprise, but is a useful reminder that the deficit has been coming down in the

short term. in some ways, that is good. in some ways, that is bad. the short-term improvements stand in the way of a stronger economic recovery. you kind of worry about the fact that you don't want deficit reduction to come too fast. you want the economy to be able to regain its footing and get on top of the medium and longer-term projections. not doingnse, we are very badly. our debt is already at postwar historically high levels. and projected to grow at unsustainable levels. there are a lot of warnings in this report. host: let's put this in terms of numbers. from the cbo and your own organization, the overall debt is about 73% of the gdp and by 2025, 80% of the gdp, exceeding the size of the entire u.s. economy by the 20 30's, and doubling the entire gdp after 2080. see,: right, as you can the debt is growing faster than other parts of the budget,

faster than the economy, growing as a share of the economy. and that is basically the definition of something that is unsustainable will stop it is growing faster than the whole economy. underlying factors are also unlikely to change. made changes to to figure out how to deal with the aging population. another piece of this debt growth is interest payments. a fastest growing

part of our budget is interests. to me, that's huge waste. that is where you are throwing money away. it is not on investment or let people have an understanding of what is going on was to protect people who depend on the programs. delaying those are going to do a lot of damage if we wait until the last minute. host: only 6% of the people are worried about the debt, and the president duties to say where bringing down the year to year debt. guest: i think that is a reason

that a lot of people are not worried about the situation. over the past couple of years and was on the forefront of the national agenda. we had the school list, we had cliff, we had a lot of people focusing on the debt, but now a lot of productive things with progress as we should have had. when he is not talking about is that the deficit is still very high projected to grow that will cause the debt to go to a sustainable rates -- unsustainable rate. that is not what is important and what is bad for the economy. i think the general point is that the do not want to reduce the deficit too much in the short run. if you look those projections forward we have made promises that we cannot do good on.

they're driving unsustainable debt, and we do not have a plan for spending and resolution of repetition -- revenues. we do not have a plan to do that, and so focusing on this here and saying do not worry, things are how the problem, i think that takes away the attention from where it should be. i take your questions, just a couple of comments. this morning we spoke with the defense minister of malaysia, and offered her deepest condolences. our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this tragedy. the secretary reiterated to the minister that the united states is prepared to assist in an international investigation, and the ministerd agreed that it must be

transparent and unimpeded. all parties within the vicinity of the crash site, russians, pro-russian separatists, and ukrainians must agree to an immediate cease-fire which is the only way to ensure integrity of the evidence. international investigators must begin given the time and space to do their jobs. clearly, as the president noted a short while ago, we see strong evidence that malaysian air lights light 17 was written by a surface to air missile at an altitude of 33,000 feet. obviously occurred in the context of a conflict fueled by a russian support were ukrainian -- hardened, russian hasratists and that support included arms, material, and training. as we investigate who did this and why, this terrible tragedy underscores the need for russia to take immediate and concrete

steps to de-escalate the crisis in ukraine and to support the canadians government plan for a cease-fire. crew aboard [indiscernible] over 7% of the chemicals. it will not take your questions. ago,st a few days theorists european command talk a little bit about the transfer of russian heavy weapons across the border into ukraine. the president spoke about training them. kitty go through this and tell us the latest u.s. military of what the russians have been doing and transferring

surface to air missiles, other drought tolerant other military equipment across the border? >> no hint that russian support for the separatist have seized. we have reason to believe that russia continues to provide them with heavy weapons and other military equipment, financing as well. they continue to allow these russian fighters junior answer ukraine's really. -- to answer ukraine's freely. tanks and personnel have made their way across the border. as been a steady concerted campaign by russia's military to continue to support and resource, advise the separatist. >> have you seen any video there

, any evidence that an essay 11 or brute missile system -- that or brute missile system was taken across the border? needed the training given? >> i do not have any information about a system in that transit. we're not ruling anything in or out at this point. it is a sophisticated system. the missile itself, the sa-11 which we believe was used to down flight 17 is a sophisticated piece of technology. strange to think that it could be used by separatist russiansome measure of support and technical assistance.

think that they could do that. >> do you have evidence? goingre's a lot that is to be investigated. we want to let investigators do their work. i do not have an indication now that a system was wrought over brought over, and we do not know exactly who was responsible for firing that ssile, but it is sophisticated. >> was the level of training and systems? does it include russian troops going across the border to act as training and advisors side-by-side with the shoppe separatist? >> we do not have any reason to suspect that they have not

provided some measure of support on the other side of that order. these paramilitary forces that we do not talk about as much anymore certainly did not act or behave or organized to resources like some ragtag militia. suggesting that the russian military advice and assistance has not somehow crossed the border. it is just unclear exactly how much and when and who. that is what the investigators are going to look at and that is what we need to let them do. >> it is in a quentin is that the president announced sanctions directly in the maker --this system just debuted is it a go when students that the president announced sanctions act directly against the maker of the system just a day before? not get into speculation. it was just another round of targeted sanctions designed to change the calculus of president

clinton's decisions and behavior putin's decision-making and behavior. >> what is the working theory about the intent of the and talented military -- about the intent? was this an intended military target gone awry, or an act of terrorism? >> we do not know. >> what is your working theory? >> we do not have a working just saw this happen yesterday. there are teams investigators trying to get through the site. we have to let them do their job. >> people list parliament have said there about 10,000 to 12,000 regular russian troops.

is that still your estimate? have the forces changed the -- since theday attack yesterday? any majort know of change to that residence. in the still about 10,000 to 12,000, it fluctuates a little bit from week to week. the point is that over time there has been a steady increase of these combined arms tactical battalions across the border on the russian side to the southeast of ukraine. they are close to the border. they are many places closer than were alignedwho along the east. we had tens of thousands that were along the eastern border with ukraine, but not as close as these units appeared to be. all they're doing is worth your

escalating testing -- further escalating tensions. they are there, they are growing in size week by week and they continue to do nothing more than as you leave the tension -- escalate the tension. separate fromess the -- >> i have not seen any indication that they are act of late involved in the provision of support to separatist. but they are continuing to mass alongside that southern part of the border. >> two questions. does the massing of forces include air defense artillery systems like the sa-11 that was used in that heavy sea air defense? used?t was that theseassessed are combined arms units. it is not just infantry troops,

but they have artillery capability. they have armored capability. they are combined arms. they are very pretty. capable force. smaller number than what was aligned along the border before. i do not have a complete inventory. greg do have an estimate of thet 12,000 troops on russian side. obviously the u.s. has been tracking the work of russians advisers and intelligence services and ukraine. of the sizeestimate of the advisory presence inside the eastern ukraine by russian forces? is in handful, isn't it thousand? thousand? >> we do not have that number. it is less important than the fact that they continue to do this. we continue to see the support

and resourcing and advise given to the separatist groups. we have ever indication that that support is russian, coming from the russians. there is russian support for the separatist inside ukraine. when the general was here a couple of weeks ago he said specifically that the ukrainian separatists were receiving training on russian territory using pharaoh colborne antiaircraft systems -- a vehicle borne antiaircraft systems. can you hav elaborate? >> i do not know what system he was referring to. we would agree with his assessment of the some separatists have received some these vehicle borne systems. there's no question about that. i do not have an estimate of how

many or who is doing it. particularuld raise alarms, would it not? that is pretty serious. quentin is pretty serious. we have been taking it seriously. we're been monitoring the situation is mostly as we can. in the pentagon has been shy about talking about the continued rat by these separatist elements in the gra ukraine. >> is there increased surveillance along the border in the wake of the disaster? >> we are continuing to monitor, i do not have anything to add. were there any warnings given

to commercial airline companies, or any civilian airline authorities about these assist them's home as well as training -- about these systems or the training for them? outhere were warnings put to civilian aircraft to take care over ukrainian airspace and to fly at higher altitudes. you would have to talk to the faa and other agencies that handle that. obviously, if you're going to issue a warning like that, it is based on concerns let you have about surface to air missile capability activities. . >> were there any indications

that there were any other literary planes in the sky at that time? and is there any concern that perhaps this is a situation that is spiraling out of control and perhaps russia does not have the control of the separatists? i do your first question, not know. this is ukrainian airspace controlled by ukrainian authorities, and i defer to them to speak about what was lying in the air at the time. we would not have that capability here. under -- on your second question, i think the resident has been very clear about the responsibilities of president clinton and moscow -- putin and moscow.

we do not know of any sign that it is stopping. there had been previous to threeday tragedy, two or ukrainian transport planes shot down. your intelligence and knowledge indicate that the system that shot down the plane yesterday was a more powerful or more sophisticated system retiring more trimming or one similar to the system that was used to shoot down the ukrainian transport plane? >> we are investigating this right now. unclear of exactly what rundown the other aircraft you're talking about. down, butey were shot those incidents are still being looked into.

i do not have any great visibility on what rot them down. -- brought them down. i would like to bring you back to the larger port, the the -- pointed that the aircraft are being shot down. despite who is pulling the trigger, and is doing nothing to do you escalate the crisis in ukraine and bring a peaceful resolution. and now innocent people simply flying from one city to another have been killed and been brought into this brave let's not lose sight of the big picture here. it matters a lot less exactly what system that was in more than it happened and it needs to stop. >> you believe that whoever shot this plane down could have mistaken it for a ukrainian transport? >> i'm not going to get into the motivations, the intent, the reasoning that went into this. and that is for the best

beginners to figure out. we do not have that level of detail at this point. if in fact it was an accident, would that reveal a lack of training? >> we do not know. we are not an expert on that system. i would not try to get appearance i sector for you. the investigators will pile through this and figure that out. who are these investigators? an international investigation -- >> does this include the dod? no place for a dod representative on this, i will not speak for the other agencies, but i think there may be some entities from the federal government that will go over and participate. i do not have the makeup of the team, it will be an in

ternational team. no role for europe's military in responding to this. listver happened to that of requests for equipment that the ukrainians sent at the beginning of this? requestntinue to review ukrainianian -- requests for military assistance. that remains on the nonlethal site right now. some $33 million that the president has authorized of material has been getting to the ukrainian armed forces and border services shared the support continues to flow, we continued to take a look at their needs and address each in turn. any -- do you have a

more complete list? >> there has been more. radios, body armor, individual first aid kit and wesley being .ad, uniform items over the next few months additional items will start to move through the bird earmark process, to include night vision ,oggles, thermal imager's disposal robots, and some radios. barb wire, alarms systems, at invaders, trucks, generators, that kind of thing. all of this is a package of more

than $33 million now that the president has approved. that continues to flow. >> it has been a longtime since they requested that. >> it is working through the procurement process, i do not any idea when enter the process, but it will enter soon. be a proxy waris between u.s. and russian if they this?o provide ukraineecurity of continues to be violated by its neighbor in russia, and that is to be istop. >> to knowledge to has the black box? >> i do not know. >> is there concern that they made tampered with? >> we set up the outset that we want safe and unimpeded access to the site so they can do the kind of work you need to do to

reboot recovery of the black box, so we can find out all surroundingances the spirit grace have the ukrainians asked for legal -- surrounding the crash. >> have the ukrainians asked for hel assistance? >> i'm not going to get into the details of their request. to this data has been a remains on the nonlethal side. are you guys seeing this training and support for ts taking place on the russian side of the border he acted easy some of this happening and then they're

coming back into ukraine? >> i do not have a specific zip code for you for where this is going on. we continue to see support for the separatist which does include a measure of training, and i do not have the details on exactly who is doing it, wind, and on exactly what systems. we do believe that this support, and it is not just training and advice, it is actually resourcing and equipment. exit the larger point, that that has to cease. be i know you may not able to say how you know this, but you're in fact seeing one care equipment from russia crossing the border into ukraine? that is what the intelligence shows you? >> i will not speak about intelligence matters from the podium. we just continued to see support from the separatist to include the things that the general talked about, and we continue to

see that support, and continues to be a skilled trade dangerous. it needs to stop. i will not talk about the --sures in which we believe i will not talk about specific intelligence. we see some equipment going across the border. >> you said you were not aware of any mobile vehicle systems going across. >> that is correct. >> the sanctions list included some, but excluded the largest arms at the border. >> smith powers at the u.n. laid

out that there's no evidence that any ukrainian air defense systems have been compromised in that area. the biblealternative and tha -- be viable in your opinion. indication have any that that particular service to surface to air system, or a particular surface to air system was moved across the border into ukraine. i do not have any specific indication of that. i would not be able to talk to you about it right now. >> this week was there any -- belief in this building that the separatists weaponry?this kind of

>> we do not have perfect visibility into what the separatists have. we know that there was a capability that they were aspiring to. to be clear have you seen any antiaircraft weapons across the border into ukraine. >> i have no information about specific antiaircraft systems greatng the border into a -- into ukraine. we have seen major equipment move across the border into ukraine from russia. i do not have any specific indication of air defense systems or surface to air emissions -- missiles. >> they could have crossed border potentially covered up,

out of u.s. satellite view? >> it is not out of the realm of the possible, but i do not have any information. -- there was a lot of shifting of the u.s. forces to that region. posture, do you have some sort of idea how many forces are still there and how many you land on shifting in the future? >> i would have to get back to you on that with a list of what european command has in the region. that would be a better place to go than here for that. , as secretary hagel has made clear we will cost only review our's your -- our posture , and make your interaction with our nato allies and partners

more robust. we have already done that with the air policing mission. any number of exercises and searations in the black since this crisis began. the president has been very clear that he wants the staff and general to look for ways to bolster that effort. think you will see consistently, as time goes gone, we're going to continue to do that. when we can promote we will announce it. , because thearify president said he did not see any role for the u.s. military interest on the to this -- to -- militaryis response to this. described we were providing goggles, safety vest, etc.

is that something that is also being reconsidered in light of this? the president has been very clear from the outset -- there will not be a u.s. military solution to the crisis in ukraine. would we have been doing is efforts to bolster and reinforce our nato allies and partners in the region. ways to improve our interoperability and capability. to demonstrate our commitment to the nato treaty. that is what you will continue to see. there is no effort right now, no plan. the president has been very clear, no intention to have a u.s. military solution to the crisis inside ukraine. variousn said asked for items of military assistance. some of it is nonlethal, some of it is lethal.

the focus of our efforts to date has been on providing nonlethal assistance. that is where the focus remains. we have also said that we continually review those request s. it's a constant process of reviewing what they needed what we are willing to provide. the focus remains on nonlethal. >> there is no consideration of exciting more lethal response? >> we are constantly reviewing it. right now, the focus remains on nonlethal. >> and powers said very plainly had they operated from a separatist location in eastern ukraine -- you keep operating -- you keep talking about investigators. is that the only question that is really outstanding? >> i am not an aircraft investigator. i don't know all the things we will look at. yes, we have very strong evidence as i said, the

surface-to-air missile fired from a location controlled by russian separatists near the border. most likely on the ukraine side of the border. that is what all the strong evidence leads us to now. beyond that, exactly few -- whether it was russian military units that did it, or it was a separatist unit that did it -- we do not know. washer it was a system that written across the border by russians and then handed off -- you do not know. we just do not know. answering some of those questions will be what the investigators get at. [no audio] >> if you missed any of the

pentagon briefing, you can see it online in its entirety. go to our website, c-span.org. check the video library. or marks from samantha power, when she appeared from the un security council. during the security council emergency session she spoke on about the downed plane. qwest -- >> yesterday we were all shocked by the downing of the lesion airlines flight 17. 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. as we stared at the passenger list yesterday, we saw next to through the passengers names a pat -- a i. as we now know, the letter i stands for infant. to the families and friends of the victims, it is impossible to

find words to express our condolences. we can only commit to you that we will not rest until we find out what happened. impededcredible, and on international -- unimpeded international and== investigatin must happen. the perpetrators must be brought to justice. they must not be sheltered by any member of the united nations. let me share with you our assessment of the eight evidence so far. the flight carrying these 298 people from amsterdam to the wall lump or was likely downed by a surface-to-air missile, an sa host: host: 11.rated -- an sa it's flight was typical for commercial traffic.

the flight was transmitting is assigned and on record, corresponding with its right -- it's flight tracking data publicly available on the internet. there was nothing threatening or provocative about mh 17. of the operational sampson systems located near the border, 11, sa 20, and as a 22 systems are capable of hitting an aircraft at this altitude of 33,000 feet. range rule out shorter that are nots capable of hitting in aircraft at this altitude. early thursday, and sa 11 sam system was reported, and separatist were spotted hours before the incident within sa 11

, close to where the plane came down. originally claimed responsibility for shooting down a military transport plane, and posted videos that are now being connected to the malaysian airlines craft. separatist leaders boasted about shooting down the plane, but later, deleted these messages. because of the technical complexity of the sa 11, it is unlikely that separatists could effectively operate the system without assistance from knowledgeable personnel. we cannot rule out technical assistance from russian personnel. do have sa 11 systems in their inventory, however, we are not aware of any ukrainian sam systems in the area of the shootdown. since the beginning of this crisis, ukrainian air defenses have not fired a single missile, despite several alleged violation of their airspace by russian aircraft.

this also follows a pattern of actions by russian backed separatist. downne 13, separatist shot a ukrainian transport plane carrying 40 paratroopers and nine crew. received word that separatist downed a ukrainian helicopter, killing all nine on board. on july 14, separatist claimed credit for a down to military cargo plane. on july 16, they claimed credit of the downing of the ukrainian fighter jets. if indeed, russian backed separatist were behind this attack on a civilian airliner, they and their backers would have good reason to come up -- cover up evidence of the crime it. it is extremely important that investigation be commenced immediately. in the first instance, the special monitoring mission should act as a first responder, laying the foundation for efforts and other international

organizations and individual nations, and clued of those who citizens were victims of the strategy. poroshenko was assured that we would offer assistance. poroshenko has asked others to join the investigation. international investigators must be granted immediate full and unfettered access to the crash site. all those concerned, russia, pro-russian separatists, and ukraine, she agreed to support an immediate cease-fire to spill --to facilitate access grade facilitate access. to maketo the smm this possible. all evidence must remained undisturbed. any evidence removed from the site should be promptly returned and handed over. russia needs to help make this happen. see the u.n. session

from today online at c-span.org. picture from the state department briefing just kidding under way. >> to spur collective action against these egregious crimes. i hope we give you enough -- >> there was no two-minute warning at all. >> i believe there was, you may not have heard it. >> no one heard it. >> we may have a technical issue. >> not as if i think you are trying to escape. let's start with the plane. the president said there was at least one american. was this person traveling with the u.s. passport? i believe there are still three unidentified -- is it possible than any of those three are american citizens? >> yes. let me give you an overview that i think will answer all of those questions. airlinesay, malaysia

notified us that no passengers boarded malaysia airlines flight 17 using a u.s. passport. knowing this information, we immediately then took a midget -- additional steps to verify whether or not any of the passengers were also u.s. citizens. the process we underwent was to individually check each name against our passport records. there wasn't in this case biographical data available either. august the, that takes time to check. -- obviously, that takes time to check. we want to be confident in result before we notify family members. we spoke to one individual who was a jewel national. unless there is but a change, there are four individuals that malaysia airlines has not identified the nationalities for. certainly, we don't know the nationalities of those individuals. we have gone through the manifests you guys there isn't biographical data available. we are continuing to do our due

diligence to match any available to ensure there aren't additional dual nationals in the manifests. >> you have gone through all of the names. >> yes. >> the only one that popped up as holding a u.s. passport, or being a u.s. citizen -- >> there were no rituals holding u.s. passports who hold -- who boarded the plane. >> is one victim who the president named it was a dual citizen, but did not have a u.s. passport. >> correct. i'm not sure if he possessed one, but they did not have one that they boarded the plane with. >> i'm confused. if you checked all the names against your passport data, wouldn't it show up if he had one, whether or not he'd use it to get on the plane? >> i would remind you, there are also sometimes names that are common names that we need to check. >> let's just talk about this one guy. a u.s.or did not possess

passport? >> he is a dual citizen. what passport he possessed, i would have to check. >> the state of army doesn't know if this guy had a u.s. passport? >> clearly he know -- clearly we know he was a u.s. citizen. i don't have any additional information. i assume that is how we knew. >> so if you typed in your name into the passport records, it would not pop up that you have -- >> i am u.s. citizens. i have a u.s. passport. >> none of the others, including byore who are not identified nationality by malaysian airlines, none of those people are u.s. citizens? >> at this point in time, we are still doing a review. given there isn't biographical data available for a number of individuals. we are doing to diligence to

ensure before we make that, mission. >> you can't say for sure that none of the total number of people on the plane actually held a u.s. passport? >> none of them boarded the plane with the u.s. passport. >> maybe i'm getting bogged down to do something -- i just don't understand why you can't tell if that person has a passport? >> i am happy to double check that. i am providing the information that we have available. >> are you aware of any discussions from this building and russia or ukraine over the course of the last 18 hours or so? between secretary kerry and others? >> secretary kerry has not made calls to russian and ukrainian authorities. i would remind you that we have a number of senior officials who have been in touch with ukrainian and russian authorities.

certainly, both on the ground, but also you have seen the calls read out the white house. >> i'm hoping this is in some thing that is going on -- i think this reflects the state of chaos. >> i'm sure we could turn that off, if that's possible. great. is that better? >> [laughter] have a good weekend. [laughter] >> there have been contacts, but not at the secretary level. are there any plans for there to be such contacts? any plans for the secretary to potentially travel to deal with the situation? i ask because a master power -- ambassador powers made strong accusations against the russians. i'm just wondering if anyone thinks that the ministration

believes it would be worthwhile to to pursue these with russian officials, or whether you have decided that it is more appropriate to wait until an investigation is finished? >> our focus right now is seeing through a whole credible thorough investigation. i can give you an update that the united states has since made available for that. there is no current plans for the secretary to travel to the region. as you know, he always has a bag packed. that decision is made, i'm sure he would happy to do that. , and ther power president, repeated a number of items as evidence and data that is available about what is happening on the ground. they both reaffirmed the fact that we are not going to prejudge the investigation. we want to see that move forward. that is where we are at this point in time.

with that being said, let me finish and then we will go. -- ourainly understand focus is, as the president said, continuing to call for a reduction in tensions and a de-escalation. aside from the investigation, if there is a need to play a role in that, the secretary or anyone in the ministration mr. -- the administration, or anyone in the staff, is ready to do that. we have offered the government they have issued invitations to assist in investigations. we have offered assistance to the ukrainian government including personnel and resources from the ntsb and the fbi. the ukrainians have accepted.

the ntsb will be sending at least one investigator to the ukraine, the timing of this is still being determined. our response will of course be guided by events as they unfold. our understanding is at this point, the fbi's to bearing -- preparing to deploy at least one personnel member to ukraine. it is also not clear on the timing of that. it remains a fluid situation. we of course will be responsive to their needs moving forward. >> last one. you referred to ambassador comments. she presented items, evidence, and data. maybe i was watching a different meeting. -- certainly made some song strong accusations, but i don't think she presented any evidence to back them up. or any data that would back up the claim.

, items, such evidence and data that you have? are you willing to make it public? clearly there are people on the russian side who don't buy this. to, andi was referring i'm sorry you disagree with my information that is available of the context of what has been happening on the ground. that is what she outlined. stated, we'reshe going to see the investigation through. we want that to be a credible international investigation. processn't a separate that we're undergoing from the united states. >> you are saying that you are not willing to make the evidence and data that you have public -- you will give that to the investigators. >> what i am referring to is exactly what she stated publicly. the presence of certain systems along the border, which is the

fact that -- any of them are public reports. she was outlining information about what has been happening on the ground. i think that's important for context. we will see the investigation through. that --aid we assessed clearly a finding by the intelligence community. we assessed that it was fired from this missile. , where's thedata evidence that backs that up? >> there is an additional data that we are providing publicly at this point. it is likely we will use that and provide that to the investigation. >> do you understand how there are people who are skeptical of what she said? especially given previous un security council presentations by americans? if you are pretty convinced about it, i would appeal to you

to make some of this information public. i'm not necessarily doubting it, but when you say that she presented evidence and data, she really didn't. she presented the overall assessment. >> that is what we've been seeing on the ground. >> i have a number of areas related to this that i would like to pursue. and with the indulgence of my colleagues, first, there has been a lot of discussion of a credible international investigation. the united states has said it would like to see pursued here. under what auspices does the united states wish to see an international investigation pursued? >> well, ukraine. this happened in a territory of ukraine. they clearly would have the lead of this process. as i mentioned, there are a range of countries they have asked for assistance from the have agreed to provide and participate in any investigation.

we have also seen on the ground a number of international organizations already engaged. these reports just came out. i'm not sure if you saw them. the osce special monitoring mission went to the side of the crash today. byron beasley playing a role here as well. -- they are obviously playing a role here as well. they left after 75 minutes, calling the need for unfettered access is incredibly important in our view. >> in calling for there to be an international investigation, is the united states also calling for the final report or product of this investigation also to be internationally in character? >> the engagement of a range of countries and organizations, and argue view, makes it an international process. of course, ukraine would have the lead in the investigation. >> the final say in the outcome of the investigation, in terms of descriptions of cold ability and so forth? >> again, there will be participation and extra cheese

provided by a range of countries and organization -- expertise provided by a range of countries and organizations. ukrainians themselves the requested the assistance from a range of countries and organizations as well. >> i'm making a distinction between the investigation and potential prosecutions. seeasking if your desire to an international investigation is mirrored by a desire to see retained somen kind of international flavor or character? >> that's a good question. i think we are not quite there yet in the process. one of the reasons we are sending an fbi individual, if not more over time, is because of the special expertise they have in criminal investigations. we will see where we get to in the process. >> when the announcement went out last night that secretary kerry had canceled his synagogue here in washington, the press release stated that he was doing so so

that he could engage in internal discussions with staff and discussions with his counterparts around the world. you just told us those counterparts did not include anyone from russia or ukraine. i'm wondering if you could give us a readout of his calls today on the subject. gaza, youter, we do could reserve that for that part of the briefing. >> i think he gives a flavor of what he was working on last night. there was a range of discussions that he and senior members of the ministration were in last night. the administration were in last night. >> was there an and as srincipals meeting -- an n printable's meeting? >> there were a number of statements put out pretty late in the evening. it was an effort to work on those through the process.

last night, or yesterday, and tony, he has spoken with blair, with the malaysian foreign minister, dutch foreign minister, the arab league secretary-general, and others. he spoke last night with the egyptian foreign minister twice. with the french foreign minister, with prime minister netanyahu. he spoke with the uae foreign minister. times when he was back and forth, and spoke with some of them multiple times. >> to proceed to some of the specific points of intention today -- first, ukrainian security services released what they claimed were transcripts of intercepts involving russian military intelligence officials.

purportedly directly discussing this attack. does the united states government have any assessment as to the authenticity of those recordings? >> i have no assessment to offer at this time. there is obviously an investigation. >> do have cause to doubt the authenticity? >> i have no analysis of it to provide. -- >> secondly, they said they have intercepted ukrainian radar systems. the defense ministry stated the launch of rockets could have also occurred from any of the batteries deployed in the populated area eight kilometers north of donetsk. kilometersarea 25 east of donetsk. does the united states have any assessment of this disclosure by the russian defense ministry of

rader intercepts? and suggestions of alternative scenarios to what ambassador powers made? made isf the point she that the ukrainians do have sa 11 systems in their inventory, we are not aware of any m in the area of the shootdown. as a contextual example, and we need to see the investigation see itself through. that is relevant information. >> is that assessment which ambassador powers included in her remarks, is that taking into account what the russian defense ministry as saying? about these other origin points? >> i think she is stating what we are aware of it this time it. these events are just over 24 hours old. we are going to focus on seeing the investigation through. >> last question.

the president kept using the phrase in his remarks today -- we have confidence in saying that. as you know, that is kind of a term of art. this confidence that the united origin pointat the was rebel held ukrainian territory, is that high confidence? >> i am going to leave it where the president of the united states stated it. no surprise. again, there is a range of information. as you noted in your question, we have available, that we don't always speak about publicly. i believe that is what he was referring to. >> he later called increasing confidence. he qualified at one point. just a follow-up on what matt said, when we have the president saying we have we feel confident of something, and then the u n ambassador saying we assess, doesn't that strike you as being an important semantic

difference? >> the statements were very coordinated, and were similar in the language that was used. -- we last thing she said assess malaysian airlines flight 17 carrying these 298 people were in amsterdam was likely downed by a surface-to-air missile, and sa 11 operated from a separatist held location in eastern ukraine. the word likely appears in there. saying that is the missile that was likely, or the rebel held territory that was likely? >> i think we have some information available about what happened. obviously, we know -- we are confident in what and where. the questions we have are who and why. i think that is what the mitigation will be exploring. >> so we know the where? >> as you heard the u.n. ambassador rice the president also speak to that.

the president said we don't have a definitive judgment. weare is -- you were saying know the where. >> we will see the investigation through. as we have more information, we will provide that information. >> it's not a slamdunk? >> i not sure what that means. go ahead. >> is there any doubt about who those four individuals might have been doing on the plane? there is no suspicion about who they were or it's just that they haven't been identified? >> not that i'm aware of. it's just the information about their identities. >> going back to the point of the international investigation -- it is an interesting point, under whose auspices apart from the fact that it was on ukrainian territory -- surely the russians might be in a position to contest the results of any investigation if they

feel they are not part of it? how are you going to make sure the results of this investigation are not contested by the russians? >> i don't know that we can ensure that. again, i think it is only natural that because this took place in ukrainian territory, that they would have the lead on the investigation. that is pretty standard procedure. they have welcomed and invited in a range of countries, a range of international outlets and expertise. indication ofs in their openness to an international investigation. >> you want the russians involved? >> i'm not in a position to make a decision on that. we are not in the lead on the investigation. >> from the list of calls you listed the secretary had made, there wasn't a call with by mr. lavrov?