the second issue is i see no reason why the report cannot be completed by the end of this year. the commissioners have to be appointed within 10 days. there is plenty of time to complete the work. i am optimistic that we can get past these issues based on recent conversations i have had with the speaker of the house and the house majority leader. >> for the week ahead in why were they meeting? what came of this meeting? guest: they were meeting in iceland because that is where they both were. i think it was a convenient place to have them meeting. in terms of what they were meeting about, i think it was to

create a rapport between the foreign secretaries and to basically try to calm the situations in terms of the rhetoric. there has been a lot of heated rhetoric by primarily the russian side. i think that lincoln and -- they have to talk and that was the first opportunity to meet in person. host: would you say that we have a stable and predictable relationship with russia? >> no. there is a laundry list from russia and the u.s. that we had to work through. we will not reach agreement on all of these issues, but the ability to meet and talk will at

least reduce the tensions between the countries. it will lead, hopefully to a meeting. host: what would the two men talk about? guest: i do not know if they would produce stable relations. they will talk about ukraine, the arctic, cybersecurity, climate change, nato -- there is a lot to talk about. they will talk about cyber security and interference in infrastructure. i think there is a long laundry list to go over and i do not think it will be an immediate agreement, but the start of a dialogue. i think that a dialogue between the two great nuclear powers of the world is a step in the right direction.

host: now would be a very good time to call in. the deputy director is with us. go ahead and start calling in. independence as well. let's come back to that laundry list for a second. this is tony blinken and talking about his meeting earlier this week. >> it is no secret that we have our differences. when it comes to those differences, if russia acts aggressively against us, our partners or our allies, we will respond. president biden has expressed that.

not to see the conflict but to defend our interests. having said that, there are many areas where our interests intersect and overlap. we believe that we can build on those interests. combating climate change, dealing with the nuclear programs in iran, north korea and afghanistan. there are many areas of intersecting interest. it is our view that if leaders of russia and u.s. can work together cooperatively, our people, the world can be a safer and more secure place. host: talking about defending our interest. what is the biggest threat that russia poses to the u.s.?

guest: there are various problems between the u.s. and russia. the biggest question is about cyber security and the security of our elections. as the secretary of state mentioned, there is a long list of differences. afghanistan, iran, syria -- they do not have easy solutions. president biden has inherited them all to make a resolution. i think it was important that he did not mention a reset. in many ways, this is similar to a reset. we will recognize where there are differences and agreed to disagree to a certain extent. in light of changing the environment and other pressing,

global issues, the u.s. and russia should at least be talking to each other and not just trading accusations. host: did we know if they were involved in the cyber hack of the pipeline? guest: obviously, russia has denied it. we understand that the people who engaged in the hack were in russia. whether it was a kremlin plot or a security services plot, we have not announced that, but i think there is great certainty that at least the hackers were based in russia. host: explain what the nord stream 2 two pipeline is. guest: it is a pipeline that has long been under construction. it will allow russia to export gas from russia, directly to germany.

it has been very contentious throughout the entire planning of the. the controversy is about nord stream 2 two. norge stream one has already been built. the completion of this pipeline will only increase dependence on russia in germany and in europe for russian gas. evidently, president biden has decided not to sanction the company that is building it. i think that was because he basically could not stop it and in deference to chancellor merkel, who has been a strong advocate of the pipeline and has insisted that it is for commercial reasons and it is not a security threat. host: who wants him to sanction that company? guest: the republicans have been

very boisterous. they want to implement these sanctions against the company building the nord stream 2 two pipeline. there was a strong reaction from the republicans about president biden's decision to halt the pipeline. not only for republicans, but democrats. before the building of the pipelines, gas flowed through the ukraine. ukraine will no longer be a transmitter of gas to europe. that has caused concern, both

financially and in terms of ukraine's future. host: where are we right now when it comes to sanctions against russia? what are we sanctioning them for? what hurts them the most? >> there is a long list of sanctions and they always seem to be growing. there were sanctions on the banking and finance communities and over the past six or seven years, these sanctions have increased. they are primarily on individuals and companies, but the biden administration recently imposed sanctions about the purchase of russian debt. the sanctions list is always growing. they have now been in effect for six to seven years. i do not think that we are anywhere closer to resolving the

questions in the ukraine and crimea. host: philip is up first. good morning. caller: my question is, that you are pretty much a joe biden guy. he gave the green light for the russian line. hunter has gotten so much money out of eastern europe and russia all these years. it looks like joe might be under the influence of the russians. maybe we should be investigating joe biden. host: can you explain what the wilson center is? guest: the institute is the program within the wilson center, devoted to the space.

we host scholars and conduct meetings and basically inform people about what is going on in the eurasia regions. specifically devoted to the space. host: how tough or not tough has the biden administration been when it comes to russia? guest: they have had mixed signals. they have imposed sanctions in light of the dead and in light of other actions by russia. the first event was to the ukraine. he emphasized the importance of defending the integrity of the ukraine. the second is towards russia,

but it is not really, in any way abandoning ukraine. it is trying to find a means of dialogue between russia and the u.s. host: good morning. caller: good morning. recently released documents from the national archives confirm the fact that 99 -- gorbachev was promised that in return for germany reunification, that nato would freeze its pace and would not travel further 1 inch. nato is up on the russia border and find out that john mccain was lobbying to get -- to join

nato. my question for you, can you tell me who the villain is in this piece? guest: i will not say that there is a villain. i think that there was a profound misunderstanding. the question about nato expansion. gorbachev insists that he was promised that nato would not expand to the borders. other members insist. when the opportunity came for the nations to apply to nato, there was no prohibition and clearly nothing in writing that prohibited the entry into nato.

obviously that is in contention for russians, no matter what. talking about expansion to georgia and expansion to the ukraine, i think those are more provocative actions in light of all of the conflicts in georgia and russia, it is unlikely that nato will expand to ukraine or georgia. that is also a problem because ukraine and georgia are adamant that they want to join nato. they have the right to do so. host: a frosty military

campaign, pushing into areas once frozen solid. a story about russia staking claim to the waters of the arctic ocean. why is that important? guest: in light of melting and climate change, there is going to be new opportunities for expansion in the arctic. russia has already been promoting its northern sea route, that will shorten the distance between europe and asia, in terms of shipping. russia has also said that they want to exploit the economic resources of the arctic. that would mean oil and gas exploration as well. the arctic council is a meeting of the arctic nations that border the arctic. they have been trying to get

some sort of rules and regulations that will guide the eventful melting of the arctic ice cap. it has sovereign rights in the arctic. it will do everything to exploit resources host: -- resources. host: good morning. caller: good morning. i have two questions. the 2016 election, they said that russia was heavily involved in democracy, but kim is

unelected. american government sanctions -- but they did not sanction the israeli government. [indiscernible] guest: i am not aware of what the accusations against israel are that you have referred to, but in the 2016 election, there were clear examples of russian interference that prompted a response from the u.s. and sanctions against russia. host: about 30 minutes left. democrats on line (202) 748-8000 . republicans (202) 748-8001 and

independence on line (202) 748-8002. the focus on electing navalny and what happens with his health in prison and what the ramifications could be to the russian government. guest: if navalny dies in prison, it would create increased tensions between the u.s. and russia. the u.s. would respond, in terms of defending u.s. rights. that is a bone of contention between them. the u.s. and president biden have emphasized that they will return to an emphasis on human rights and defending human rights in russia.

obviously, the arrest of navalny , the state of health, the attempt to assassinate him, all of these things produce added tension. it will not help u.s./russian relations. the u.s. will have to respond. a whole slew of opposition figures have been arrested and sentenced to strict jail times. increasingly limited. there is also the foreign agent law. navalny is just the tip of the iceberg. the most prominent dissident and opposition leader, but he is by no means the only one.

there has been an increased number of political prisoners. this will have to be discussed between them. who does -- host: who does this benefit more? guest: it depends. the question it raises is, who makes concessions? who has leverage and who makes concessions? it was interesting that joe biden made the concession on nord stream 2 before the meeting. that was an area of leverage for the u.s. i think, president putin will say, this is a sign of better relations, but they will still come in with a long list of complaints and problems, just because the u.s. has decided not

to sanction the owners of nord stream 2 does not mean that russia does not have a lot of other differences. host: has president biden taken a different approach or tone with russia then vice president biden took or senator biden took back in the day? guest: i do not think so. not yet. he has had a long history of dealing with russia and dealing with u.s. mesh and dealing with u.s. russian relationships. that is why the trip to ukraine was so important because it emphasized that the u.s. is standing by its ally and defending its integrity against the russians. this was especially important over the last six weeks when the russians conducted exercises in the ukraine and amassed

something like the number of 100,000 troops. it is always a threat that something could get out of control and joe biden has familiarity with this part of the world. as was demonstrated in gaza. and israel. he has experience. he knew when to put pressure on the longtime ally. host: america promotes human rights in russia and russia promotes pipeline hacking in america. a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. my question is, it is obvious that we knew that russia was involved. now we know they were involved in 2020.

i would like to know, what are we doing to prevent this from happening again in our next election. russia does not have any respect for us asking them and sanctioning them to stay -- stand down. what will he do this time around? guest: obviously, we have to be prepared for these types of actions. we have to have faith in our electoral system and its ability to defend itself. i will not get into the recounts and so forth, but it is the faith and our electoral system and if that is undermined, president putin is winning. she live -- russia will again try to use -- to hack and use

various means to influence our election. it is one of the things that president boot -- president putin has long advocated. he has been very active in the u.n. to put this treaty forward, but the question is, do we want to basically have russia write the rules for the internet, going forward? i do not think that is the case. host: this is mary, an independent. caller: i would like to know, why was trump so pro-russian when there was all these years, lever not pro-russian? thank you. guest: there are a variety of

reasons why he was pro russia but primarily, as a businessman, he wanted to do business with russia. he had a long negotiation, trying to build a hotel in moscow. it may very -- it never came to fruition, but vladimir putin, who does not have to deal with opposition, investigators and so forth, is the type of leader that donald trump wanted to emulate, one that was always in control, able to exercise sovereignty, and did not really have to bow to the opposition. host: about a minute and a half year. one of our viewers wanted to come back to the arctic -- the control of the arctic, saying that the u.s. navy is building

to counter russia. do you have any information on timelines? guest: i do not have that information. the u.s. has to respond. if the u.s. escalates, this is a very fragile part of the world, from an environmental standpoint. to militarize the arctic could potentially lead to other problems. host: always a good, wide-ranging discussion when you come on.

-- the medal of honor. ♪ susan: greg francis, you have a new book out called "just harvest." what is it story? greg: this is a story that depicts the plight of black farmers in america in a landmark case