knowledgeable personnel, thus we cannot rule out technical assistance from russian personnel in operating the systems. the ukrainians do have sa-11 systems in their inventory. however, we are not aware of any ukrainian 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. .

. it is extremely important that an investigation be commenced meal. in the first instance, the special monitoring mission should act as a first responder laying the foundation for efforts by other international organizations and individual nations including those whose citizens were victims of this tragedy. yesterday, president obama assured ukraine's president poroshenko that u.s. experts will offer all possible assistance upon his request. president poroshenko has invited the independent and credible international civil aviation organization to join in investigation. international investigators must be granted immediate, full and unfettered access. all of those concerned should agree to support an immediate

cease-fire to facilitate access by international investigators. in this regard, we look to the smm also to reach agreement with separatists and others in the region to make this possible. all evidence must remain undisturbed and any testifies removed by the russian-backed separatists in the area should be promptly returned and handed over. russia needs to help make this happen. while it may take us some time to firmly establish who shot down a plane filled with notices, most council members and those of the international community have been warning for months about the devastation that would come if russia did not stop what it started, if it did not rein in what it unleashed. the context for yesterday's horror is clear: separatist forces backed by the russian government continue to doo stabilize ukraine and undermine the efforts of ukraine's elected leaders to build a democratic ukraine that is stable, unified,

secure and able to determine its own future. russia says that it seeks peace in ukraine. but we have repeatedly provided this council with evidence of russia's continued support to the separatists. time after time, we have called to the russian government to deescalate the situation by stopping the flow of fighters and weapons into ukraine, pressing separatists to agree to a cease fire and release all hostages and support a roadmap for negotiations. time after time, president putin has committed to working toward dialogue in peace n normandy and in berlin earlier this month. every single time, he has broken that commitment. here is what we know: in the last few weeks, russia has increased the number of tanks, armored vehicles and rocket launchers in southwest russia. more air defense systems have arrived. moscow has recently transferred to the terrorists. after recapturing several

ukrainian cities last weekend, cashes of weapons long associated with russia stock piles f ukrainian forces have discovered large amounts of other russian-provided military equipment including accompanying documentation verifying the russian origin in the areas that they have liberated from separatists in recent days. recruiting efforts for separatist fighters are expanding inside russia and separatists have openly said that they are looking for volunteers with experience operating heavy weapons such as tanks and air defenses. russia has allowed officials from the donetsk's people's republic to establish a recruiting office in moscow. ukrainian public who has had a distinguished career in the military was taken by separatists in made june. she is now being held where? in a prison in russia. according to the ukrainian governme government, she was transferred to russia by separatists.

russia deploys new forces close to the ukrainian border. this past monday, a ukrainian air force cargo plane was shot do you know in ukrainian air and on wednesday, a fighter jet was shot down in ukrainian airspace n both instances, the ukraine government believes these tamzt were fired upon. it is because of these detablizing russian actions that the united states impose sanctions including financial institutions. these include freezing the assets of russia defense companies and blocking new financing it of so mume of russs most imports banksp banks. these are significant and targeted designed to have the maximum impact on the russian calculus while limiting the i am pablth on the russian people and any spillover effects on our interests or those of our allies. the spoken union has announced expanded sanctions against russia this week. the message is unified and

clear. if president putin continues to choose esc lalings over deescalation, the international community will continue to impose costs on russia. this is not what the any of us want. we and our allies remain committed today a diplomatic solution as are the ukrainian government and the ukrainian people who have seen their neighbors, friends and family members killed in a needless conflict. president poroshenko has consistently backed up his words with actions. he proposed a come prepensive peace plano and ceasefire, both of which were rejected by backers in mosque occupy. his plan offered amnesty to separatists who laid down arms voluntarily and who were not guilty of capital crimes. he committed today providing a safe corridor. he established a job creation program for the affected areas including broad decentralization and dialogue including early

elections and granted increased local control over language, holidays and customs. president poroshenko has reached out to the residents of eastern ukraine and is pursuing constitutional reform which will give local regions more authority to the choose their regional leaders and protect locally spoken languages. he has said he will meet with the separatists at any safe location inside or outside of it ukraine. at a time united states's goal throughout the crisis in ukraine has been consistent: to support a stable, fives and democratic ukraine. we will not be satisfied with a temporary halt of violence. russia must stop destabilizing ukraine and allow all of the people of ukraine to decide their country's future through a democratic political process. as we sit here, the remains of nearly 300 people, of notices, infants, women and men are strewn across a black ended, smoldering landscape in ukraine. those victims came from at least nine different nations. they could just as easily have come from any of ours. we must treat all of them as our

own victims. we have a duty to each and every one of those individuals, their families, and their countries to determine why that jet fell out of the sky and to hold the perpetrators accountable. we must stop at nothing this occurred in the a crisis that has been fueled by support for russianing separatists through arms and training and by russians failing to follow through and to the principles of the u.n. charter. this tragedy under scores the urgency and determination with which we insist russia take concrete steps to deescalate the situation in ukraine, support a sustainable cell phoasefire andw the path the ukrainian government has consistently offered. this war can be ended. russia can end this war. russia must end this war.

>>p >> translator: we would likely to extend our heart felt sar 0 to the families and friends of the crew members of the mail asian flight which crashed as well as the government of the countries whose citizens are victims of this tragedy. we have an impartial open investigation of what happened. pressure shouldn't be brought to bear on the investigation trying to prejudge it's out come with proud statements and insinuations. it's it's a difficult situation. we think it is right for an international commission. mr. president, as any normal person, i am sure the question will arise: why did the

aviation dispatcher send them to an area of military crashes, an air william strikes f and where there were anti-aircraft missiles working ensuring the security and use of the aviation in an air in line with international trans ponders on the territory where the flight was being carried out providing aviation information providing security of aviation information. international law ext extends for the possibility of the closure by the state of air flight. it would seem there would need to be an investigation, also, ukrainian aviation authorities and their obligation and what is

necessary and did everything so as to ensure that the military campaign in kiev would today, kiev declared closure of the airspace, the conducting of antiterrorist operations. why wouldn't this have been done earlier, not waiting for hundreds of victims? the security council's restraint and use of force? well, here is that restraint now. during this, storming of aviation, art i willeartillery

it is increasingly full-scale. there have been dozens of civilians killed as well as workers and community. there are 45 million people in the area, but there have been no evacuation from these areas by kiev. byt there are many reports that people n particular seeking refuge in russia were intenti intentionly targeted. russia has hosted more than 110,000 refugees from eastern ukraine and the number rises every day. this data is confirmed by the

u.n. six regions of russia, kiev, art artihlery and shelling by the armed forces become regular. the targets are crossing points as well as taking aggressive action with respect to the russian territory and citizens of the russian federation. and call for the ukrainian side to take desizive measures for the future about the danger and

call for increasing dialogue t howev. however, they chose the wrong path. talking about the u.s. pushed them to escalate the crisis. they are trying to lay the blame on russia. where t where is the roadmap proposed by the chairman? from 17 april and the deckclaration to july. however, representatives of the kiev government broad lastly

point to poroshenko. and the deployment of the kiev government has decided to step up after the february uprising centered with kiev. and then some sort of non-human. channel 5? the ukrainian's poroshenko the commercial shown stepping up in eastern ukraine. there has been violence with the number -- the number of haven'tims continues to -- victims continues to rise, have disappeared. a promise performance, something kiev would like to garner from

europeans and then give it to people. indeed, according to the report, the distribution from the president of the parliament, protection not being planned for. violence has arisen in this type of setting. the policy has long been in ukraine, a country at the forefront. bringing them into dialogue would allow for prevention. they have chosen to arrest them. regarding ukraine's crisis, the international institutions haven't risen to the occasion. the reason subpoena with our western partners. much is said, but to settle this situation, nothing is being

done. it's hard to work in the once. you are the security council. the security council of the russia delegation three times proposed resolutions that would allow for halting of violence t responded to our proposal with blatant cynicism. it seems that whatever the government arbitrarily does, but it seems that the -- that the victims of the geo political ambitions of the region are with the people of ukraine with their tentative operation, stopped as soon as possible. the negotiations are possible, but the right choice must be made. thank you. . >> mr. president, the members of the security council thank you

for convening this meeting. i thi i thank you for your briefing. i would like to start addressing my government's condolences to all of the nations whose siptsz were killed on the terrible crash of malaysian airlines. we grief with the grieved families and friends and those acted by the accident. today, it all ukraine is mourning. ukrainians are approaching the am /* bell gyms, philippines in order to lay down flowers and express their sorrow. the ukrainian authorities have already addressed international organizations tinterpol and others to take an investigation of the accident.

we believe that in partial investigation, all perpetrators will be punished. it was announced what has happened with boeing. it was stated that it was an act oftor. the position is based upon the data from different intelligence and open sources these data are the aircraft was shot down above the territory temporarily controlled by the terrorists 689 several days before around this same location two jets were shot down and terrorist leaders claimed the responsibility for these acts. intersection of telephone conversations between the terrorist leaders and their coordinator, the russian military intelligence confirms that terrorists are standing behind this crime. this conversation is recorded and the secretary.

after the crash, military leader of the terrorist, igor of it russian origin commanded social network on having shut do you know what he believed was the ukrainian jet by say, quote, enter into ukrainian and 26 was shot down. it's near the coal mine progress. ends of quote. we have word -- no. we continue -- everyone to the flight in our skies end of quote. to target and shut down a plane of such a high altitude of 10 kilometers would only be possible using sophisticated anti-aircraft system such as sa-11 known as book or similar, it is confirmed from later interceptions of terrorist leaders and visually recording

terrorists have at least two sa systems. the question is: where they got these sophisticated air defense stem from. again, interceptions, photos and confessions of detained terrorists including two recently detained citizens who were going to join terrorists, experts in fire that the book system arrived from russia. all of these and other evidences have been provided to the international investigation. this tragedy would not have been possible if russia did not support the terrorists and did not provide sophisticated aevents-aircraft system were not supplied to terrorists from russia. the ukrainian mission to the united nations address the security council and the members

states with information about russia supporting the terrorists in eastern ukraine. just yesterday, we presented proof to the media. supplies of russian origin used by terrorists which has been documented by ukrainian intelligence agencies, media and general public are no longer a secret to anyone. the large exhibition of the weapons from the terrorist groups took place in kiev a few days ago. in most cases, actual military of the russian armed fors are specified as the origin of those weapons. the documentary could be available on website of ukraine as well as from yesterday ks conference of mine. you can find it in the website of the united nations.

we have been raised several time in this hall the concern russian nationals directly participate in the destabilization of ukraine. today, some information was given by the colleagues, the leaders of lohansk republic, dondon republic, efforts from illegal armed groups, fighters, expanding inside russia and they are looking for volunteers with experience operating heavy weapons such as tanks in their defense. russia has allowed establishing the offices which are openly operating, nationals to inc. stant regions of ukraine. we demonstrated it yesterday at the press conference all of the sites who were inviting and

still inviting this record. the groups of the russianing military operations, russia are supporting terrorists in spreading terror in the eastern ukraine. through the whole period of this, supported by russia, it has never publically called on its citizens to refrain from joining illegal armed groups of the territory of ukraine. this fact speaks for itself t 208 of the criminal court of russia federation states that, i quote, participation in armed groups which are not determined by the federal law as well as participation in such armed groups on the territory will the purpose contrary to the interest of russian federation is punished by 5 to 10 year imprisonment ends quote. since no russian national has been brought to justice for such actions, there is often one

conclusion: their participation in illegal armed groups in ukraine with the russian federation. mr. president, the situation of the ukrainian russian state boarder has significantly deteriorated in the receipt days as result of systematic violations coming from the russian side of the border as well as the actions by armed terrorist groups in the three border areas of lunsk and donetsk. several times a day russian mersnaries undertake attempts to bake through the ukrainian space border from this side of russia. these attempts are actively facilitated by the russian border protection units. anti-terrorist forces in ukraine repeatedly shout for the territory of russia.

no prove indications have increased substantially. illegal armed groups fired toward russia in order to create false image of ukrainian military firing. this has caused the death of a russian citizen. the russianside accused the armed forces of ukraine, namely mine number 24 across the region and border checkpoint okovo. ukraini ukrainian forces have never fired to the territory of russia. all such prove indications are committed by pro-russian terrorists in order to find grounds for further escalation. it sounds like today's statement of the russian foreign ministry, sergei lovrov with a possibility to provide strikes against territory of ukraine today,

colleagues presented some evidences of the situation on the ukrainian russian borders. every day during the month of july, we observe such violations including the shot-down ukrainian jet. with this opportunity, i would like to attract once again your attention of the members of the security council that russia continues to redeploy new forces extremely close to the ukrainian border. as of july 14th, total number of russian armed forces reached in the regions bordered with ukraine have significantly increased and comprises 33 battalion tactical groups of at least 40,000 troops directly around ukraine including up to 18,000 troops in occupied territory of crime e a, up to 21,000 troops. those in similar actions

constitute a flagrant violation of russia of its violations of the unchartered and other universally recognized principles of international law. those are i am compatible with the geneva governments of 17 april and the deckclaration of 7 june. despite all international efforts by ukrainians and presidential peace plan t terrorists athey have no intention of leaving us in peace. still struggling, military saboteurs with instability. ukraine demands that the russians meal with the border of ukraine to put an end to terrorism and violence to return

to the peace plano and stop threatening peace and security in our country, region and the world as a whole. i thank you, mr. president. >> thank you, mr. president. allow me to congratulate you on assuming the presidency of the security council for this month. i thank you for convening this emergency meeting of the council on ukraine. i wish to also thank mr. jeffrey feltman under secretary for political affairs for his briefing earlier. for my delgration this is timely given the tragic incidents calving malaysian flight mh-17. malaysia is touched by the support from across the world at this difficult time, we wish to also express our profound sorrow

and convay our deepest sympathy and condole answers to the families and friends of those on board mh-17. mr. president, malaysia is shocked and distraught by the downing of the malaysian flights mh-17. the scheduled fly which departed amsterdam yesterday afternoon at am sister dam local time was expected to arrive this morning t unfortunately, driver's license crashed in the danish region of eastern ukraine. 298 people perished in this incident. those who perished were from the netherlands, 189, malaysia, 44,

australia, 27, indonesia: 12. united kingdom: 9. german: 4. bell judgment. 4. philippines: 3. canada: 1. new zealand: 1. and 4 passengers whose nationalities have yet to be verified. at a time route which the regularly cross ukrainyang airspace was one of the most popular routes for the airlines. according to the international air transport organization, ita, at a time when contact with mh was lost, this way flying over non-restricted airspace. furthermore the organization had declared the flight path to be safe. maz ailian airlines also

confirmed that the aircraft did not make any distress calls. the government of malaysian has taken immediate action tom dispatch a rescue team to take comprising personnel from smart team, the royal malaysian air force, malaysian air lines, department of civil aviation as well as medical staff. 14 malaysian staff have been dispatched to amsterdam to support the family and next of kin of the victims. in this connection, malaysia welcomes the pledges of support and assistance made by other countries to aid the search, rescue, recovery and investigation efforts. ied, the prime minister has spoken to president poroshenko of ukraine.

prime minister root of the netherlands, president obama obama of the united states and president punishment of russia. in these conversations, the prime minister expressed if indeed mh-17 had been shot down, the perpetrators must be swiftly brought to justice. malaysia strongly con tan demz any such action in the strongest possible term as it would be a flagrant violation of international law and an outrage against human decency. malaysia demands a full, independent transparent international investigation into the incident involving the relevant international authorities including the international civil aviation organization organization. i wish to inform the meeting that malasia has been formally

invited by ukraine authorities to take part in the investigation and we will be sending two representatives as soon as possible. we urge the parties in conflict in the area of the crash site to the provide their their fullest separation. such separation also entails facilitating the safe and unhindered success for the investigation and military personnel to carry out their mission including collecting the relevant data remains and personal effects of the victims. we wish to underscore that there must be no interference at the crash site or movement of debris from the area including the flight data recorder or black box. the integrity of the crash site must be preserved.

malaysia urges the execute counsel to undertake the necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian and investigative personnel in the crash site in order for them to discharge their duties and responsibilities. mr. president, further ter facts remain unknown at this point. but the fact that the plane might have the been shot down has made the matter even more painful for us. again, this is a great reminder of how escalation of dispute and threat to international peace and security could claim innocent lives in a most tragic and senseless manner. in this regard, we urge this security council to step up its role in facilitating a peaceful resolution to the conflict within russia and ukraine with a view to preventing the reoccurrence of such a tragic

incident. in concluding, mr. president, on behalf of the government and people of malaysia, i wish to reiterate our deep appreciation for all of the expressions of support, sympathy and solidarity in these difficult and trying times. i thank you, mr. president. >> president obama says the f.b.i. and the national transportation safety board are on their way to ukraine to help determine what brought down the malaysian jetliner with 298 people aboard including an american. the president is calling for an immediate ceasefire in the area and says the evidence so far indicates that malasia airlines flight 17 was shot down by a surface-to air missile from a part of ukraine controlled by russian-backed separatists. he also spoke about the current israeli-palestinian conflict. after his remarks, the president also took questions. this is about 20 minutes.

good morning, everybody. yesterday, malaysian airlines flight mh 517 took off from amsterdam and was shot down over ukraine near the russian border. nearly 300 innocent lives were taken: men, women, children, infants who had nothing to do with the crisis in ukraine. their deaths are an outrage of unspeakable proportions. we know at least one american citizens, quin lucasshotsman was killed. our thoughts and prayers are with his family for this terrible lost p yesterday, we spoke with the leaders and i

told them our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families and the american people stand with them during this difficult time. later today, i will be speak with prime minister abbot of australia which also suffered a terrible loss. by far, the countries that lost the most people on board the plane was the netherlands. from the days of our founding, the dutch have been close friends and stalwart allies of the united states of america and today, i want the best people to know that we -- the dutch people we stand with you shoulder to shoulder in our grief and in our ab 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 that was 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 separatists have shot down a ukrainian transport plane and a ukrainian helicopter and claimed responsibility for shooting down a ukrainian fighter jet. moreover, we know that these separatists have received a steady flow of support from russia. this includes arms and training. it includes heavy weaponses and it includes anti-aircraft weapons. here is what happens 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 u.n. security council has endorsed this investigation, and we will hold all of its members including russia to their word in order to facilitate that investigation, russia, pro-russian separatists and ukraine must adhere to an

immediate cease-fire. evidence must not be tampered with. investigators need to access the crash site and the forward pant november loved ones needs to go forward. we have offered support of the fbi and the national transportation safety board which has experience in working with international partners on these types office of investigations. they are on their way. personnel from the f.b.i. and the national transportation safety board ain the coming hous an days i will be in close contact with liters throughout the world as we respond to this catastrophe. our focus will be on recovering those who were lot, investigating exactly what happened and putting forward the facts. i want to point out there will likely be misinformation as well. i think it's very important for toekz to sift throufolks to sif

fact annually based and what is simply speculation. no one can deny the truth that is revealed in the awful images we all have seen. the eyes of the world are on east earn ukraine and we are going to make sure that the truth is out. more broadly, i think it's 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 lived up to a cease fire despite violations by the separatists, violations that took the lives of ukrainian soldiers and personn personnel. moreover, time and again, russia has refused to take concrete steps necessary to deescalate the situation. i spoke to president punishment

yesterday in the wake of additional sapingsz that we had imposed. he said he wasn't 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. it has continued to violate ukrainian sovereignty and to support violent separatists. it has failed to use its influence top abide by a cease fire. >> that's why, together with our allies, we have i am posed lowering costs on russia. it's time for us to take a hard look at what has happened. violence and conflict inevitably lead to unforeseen consequences. russia, these separatists and ukraine all have the capacity to put an end to the fighting.

meanwhile, the united states is going to continues to lead efforts to deescalate the situation, to stand up for the sovereignty and integrity of ukraine and support the people of ukraine as they courageously work to strengthen their democracy and make decisions about how they should move forward. before i take a couple of questions, let me remark on one other issue. this morning, i spoke with prime minister netanyahu of israel about the situation in gaza. we discussed israel's military operation in gaza, including his efforts to stop the threat of terrorist infiltration through tunnels into israel. i reaffirmed my strong support for israeli's right to defend itself. no nation should accept rockets being fired into its borders or terrorists tunnelling into its territory. in fact, while i was having the conversation with prime minister netanyahu 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. and that's why we have indicated although we support military efforts by the israelis to make sure that rockets are not being fired into their territory, we also accept that our understanding of the current military ground operations are designed to deal with the tunne tunnels. and we are hopeful that israel will continue to approach this process in a way that minimizes civilian casualtthings and that all of us are working hard to return to the ceasefire that was reached in november of 2012. secretary kerry is work to go sporty script's initiative to pursue that outcome. i told prime minister netanyahu that john is prepared to travel

to the region following additional consultations. one additional comment: on board malaysian flight mh-17 there were apparentlied 100 researchers and advocates travel to go a conference in australia dedicated to combatting hiv. these were men and women who 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 shouldn't forget that in the midst of conflict and killings, there are people like these, people who have focused on what can be built rather than what can be destroyed, people who are focused on how they can help people that they have never met, people who define themselves not by what makes them different from other people but the humanity we hold in common. it's important for us to lift them up and to affirm their lives. it's time for us to heed their

example. the united states of america is going to continue to stand for the basic principles that people have the right to live as they choose, that nations have the right to determine their own destiny and that when terrible event did likely this occur, the international community stands on the side of justice and on the side of truth. so with that, let me take just a couple of questions. i will start with you july. >> thank you. on a technical matter does the u.s. believe the passenger jet was targeted or people shot it down thought they were going after a military aircraft? and more broadly, this incident does seem to escalate the president of ukraine to a level we haven't seen before. does that change your cal can you lus what will you fell the u.s. and europe should be doing? >> i think it's too early for us to guess what the intentions of those who might have launched the surface-to air missile might have had. the investigation is going to be

ongoing. i think what we will see is additional information surface over the next 2 for hours, 72 hours, the next week, the next month. what we know right now, what we have kong if i had he knew in saying right now is that a surface-to air missile was fired, and that's what brought the jet down. we know or we have confidence in saying that that shot was taken within a territory that is controlled by the russian separatists but i think it's very important for us to make sure that we don't 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 it came about, those are things that i think are still going to be subject to additional information that we are going to be gathering. and wir working with the entire

international community to make sure that the focus is on getting to the bottom of this thing and being truthful and my concern is obviously that there has been a lot of misinformation generated from eastern ukraine generally. this should snap everybody's heads to attention and make sure that we don't have time for propagandaa or games. we need to know what happened and everybody needs 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 incidents happened, we had already racheted up sanctions against russia and i think the wern not just of russian officials but of the markets about the impact that this could have on the russian economy is there for all to see. i made clear to president punishment that our preferred

path is to reds off this diplomatically. but that means that he and the russian government have to make a strategic decision: are they going to continue to support violent separatists whose intents is to undermine the government of ukraine, or are they prepared to work with the government of ukraine to arrive at a ceasefire and a peace that takes into account the interests 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 what we have not seen is an actual transition and different actions that would give us confidence that that's the direction that they want to take. and, you know, we will continue to make clear that as russia

engages in efforts that are supporting the separatists that we have a 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 because we believe in standing up for the basic principle that a country's sovereignty and teartorial integrity has to be respected. it is not the united states, russia, or germany or any other country that should be deciding what happens in that country. >> at this point, do you see any military role to be effective? >> we don't 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 reainsurance that we are prepared to do whatever is required to meet our alliance obligations. steve howell.

>> how much weight do you put on punishment and now that europeans withdraw their actions? >> we don't know exactly what happened yet action and i don't want to, as i said before, get out ahead of the facts but what i do know is that we have seen a picking up 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 that they are heavily armed and that they are trained and we know that that's not an accident. >> that's happening because of russian support. it is not possible for these separatists to function the way

they are functioning, to have the equipment that they have, set aside what's happened with respect to the malaysian airlines. a group of separatists can't shoot down military electrical port planes or they claim shoot down fighter jets without sophisticated equipment and sophisticated training. >> that's coming from russia. so, we don't yet know exactly what happened with respect to the malaysian airlines although obviously we are beginning to draw some conclusions, given the nature of the shot that was fired, and only certain types of anti-aircraft missiles that can reach up 30,000 feet and shoot down a passenger jet. we have increasing confidence that it came from areas controlled by the separatists. but without having a did he hdi

infinity judgment on those issues yet, what we do know is that the violence that's taking place there is facilitated in part, in large part, because of russian support. and they have ability to move those separate nature ofs different direction. if mrif mr. putin makes a decisn we are not going to allow heavy armaments 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 that mrmr. peautin says he wants to see. he has the most control over that such. so far at least he has not exercised it i think this will

be a wake-up call for europe and the world that there are consequences to an evering lathing conflict in eastern ukraine. 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. and that, i think, sadly brings home the degree to which the stakes are high for europe, not simply for the ukrainian people and that we have to be firm in our resolve in making sure that we are supporting ukrainians' efforts to bring about a just cease-fire and that we can move toward a political solution to

this. i will make this the last question. lisa, bloomberg? >> question posed". . >> we have been pretty methodical over last 24 hours in working through the flight manifests and identifying which passengers might have had a u.s. passport. at this point, the individual that i mentioned is the sole person that we can definitively say was a u.s. or dual citizen. because events are moving so quickly, i don't 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 processes passports, you know, as folks were boarding, this is our best assessment of the number of americans that were killed obviously that does nothing to lessen our outrage about all of those families regardless of nationality. it is a heart-breaking event. with respect to safrnlthsz on the economy, we have tried to tailor these sairnz that would have an impact on russia, on their economy, and individuals that are aiding and abetting the opportunities that are taking place in eastern ukraine while minimizing the impacts 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 floyds between russia and the rest of the world. we feel confident the sanctions we put in place, that their overall impact on the global economy is minimal. it is something that we have to obviously pay close attention to, but i think treasury in consultation with our european partners have done a good job so far on that issue. all right? >> thank you very much.

>> next, live, your it calls and comments on washington journal. them a house hearing on recent reports concerning how the cbc handles anthrax. after that, a house rules committee hearing on litigation against president obama. . >> john quincy adams was the second adams to be elected to the white house. he was the second northerner to be elected to the white house. he was only one of two anti-slavery presidents to be elected to the white house. he was deeply feared by the south that worried that his vision of a unified country in which the federal government and

the states were partners in a relationship that enabled the federal government to play a leading role in binding the country together through infrastructure projects, through supporting manufacture and so on, that he was deeply suspected by the southern states who saw, indeed -- thought, indeed, that he wanted too much power for the federal government. >> fred kaplan on the life of our 5th president, john quincy adams on c-span's "q & a." this morning, from the foreign policy initiative examines u.s./russian relations following the downing of the malaysian airline. and mom's demand sense for gun violence and changing gun laws in the u.s. later, the club for growth discusses the opposition to the

highway trust fund bill and their role in campaign 2.014. as always, we will take your calls and you can join the conversation at facebook and twitter. washingt "washington journal" is next...