i was talking on the green and gold coast, and to me it's clear we means to change the solutions or alca join me for a deep dive into the green transformation. for me to do for the plan. ah ah, this is dw news, why we're from berlin, a diplomatic frenzy to avoid war on europe's eastern border friend president and my new on marque, ron holds, crisis talks with ukrainian president, the lat, amir zalinski in care of a chron says he expects a big crisis to de escalate,

after meeting with russian president putin in moscow. also coming up on the show, former pope benedict asked forgiveness for his handling of sects of use cases in a letter he acknowledges. mistakes were made but denies any personal wrong doing. ah! hello, i am clare richard. then a very warm welcome to the show. diplomatic efforts are intensifying as world leaders attempt to de escalate. the crisis around russia is true, build up on its border with ukraine and french president and manuel. my crohn has been in give, were talks with ukrainian president vladimir zalinski, have concluded. the meeting comes the day after mark wrong, sat down with russian president vladimir putin in moscow. the french president's take away from that meeting. he believed there would be no further escalation. so

let's get straight across to dw correspondent nick connelly who is reporting for us from key. have nick. hi, good to see you there. so i'm a crime zalinski. they've just come out of that meeting. i took longer than we were expecting to what have the 2 agreed while the atmosphere were definitely better than expected. they seemed fairly cordial. while another, the main take away is that they expect to hold a leaders summit in the circle normandy format. that's russia, ukraine with germany and france as the mediators. the last one was in late december 2019 since then they would not be able to make any process a progress. rather, i was there back in paris in 2019. and since then, the same game has been going on with ukraine and russia accusing the other side of not making the necessary steps are either side wanting the other to make compromises 1st, no real sign that that is going to happen anytime soon. and in the case ukraine, that would probably take a lot of western pressure to force ukraine into doing those things. it doesn't want to do that's holding elections in easton ukraine without really controlling

a tertiary allowing russia to take influence on that em. i think for now that might not just bone, these current tensions, but it doesn't resolve the issue. this is a question of timing. i think i'm on on macro wanted to push these are difficult talks to beyond the french election. and it seems like an attempt just to win time for chron certainly does seem on the diplomatic offensive. we just heard, he was in moscow meeting with a vladimir putin. how was that meeting received in ukraine? will is even quite a lot of discussion and debate about what actually he agreed there, what he was able to achieve em noises coming from the french camped yesterday that they were the basis though, for some kind of wide arranging deal. something that the kremlin today has come out and denied, and there was talk are those talk also from the french of finland, ization of ukraine, which means a kind of model in which ukraine would be kept out of western structures. but we'll be able to keep some kind of sovereignty as finland was from the soviet union during the cold war. today he came out, denied that so a lot of uncertainty and a sense from its analyst here that micro, like many western leaders before him,

thought that or based on his personal charm, his career, his ability to talk one to one with that me putin. he spent 5 hours together with the leader in the kremlin, that somehow he was able to achieve something that other people hadn't. and now it seems that actually the results of that diplomacy have been a lot more modest than he would have hoped. and if you personally have lived and reported in ukraine for years in your view, has the reality of the severity of the situation really set in for people living. there was kind of an extra restriction heckler for weeks. ukraine's been dominating her headlines worldwide. and for the longest time, you got a sense that people here weren't taking it particularly seriously. for most people, it seemed like a, just another m run in with russia, as they've seen, many in the past years since russia and exclaiming back in 2014. so to support him those separatists in easton ukraine. but i think now this diplomatic em flurry of activity. i mean, we've had, in the last week, a british prime ministers, german form this now the french president,

the 1st french leader to visit in the quarter of a century and being in that build up of russian troops that continues, that is suddenly starting to really affect people's decisions here and people are really worrying about whether this is a country that they can build a future and people delaying investments, even delaying buying housing and people's talking about m stockpiling foreign currency at home in case they need to leave. so real growing wariness and a fair hearing many ordinary grains that this is a big deal that this is going to be on the scale of the events they saw in 2014 and not just another diplomatic kind of build up and escalation without a kind of real consequence for them. i think this definitely seems like this is different, this time around. a correspondent, nick finally. thanks so much for your reporting from keith and after microns visit to ukraine. he's due in the german capital berlin later today, where he'll hold talks with chancellor all i schoultz and poland president on j duda, the chancellor sholtes returning from a meeting at the white house with you as president joe biden. there the 2 meters

pledge to work together in the ukraine crisis, when biden, brushing aside any doubts about berlin's reliability as a nato partner. germany is one of america's closest allies. it was a low welcome to german chancellor of shawls at the white house in a show of unity. the 2 leaders met to discuss the situation in and around ukraine boy. but a key sticking point to turn that talks remained north strain to the pipeline, built to transport gas from russia on to the baltic sea to germany. the u. s. opposes the project and expects germany to take a clara stance on it. i'm at the ongoing crisis. schoultz was reassuring, but state vague, we will be united, we will act together, and we will take all the necessary steps and all the necessary steps will be done, but all of us together. meanwhile, biden was very clear about the notion reg, nordstrom

t will go north stream, to go forward with the invasion by the russians. just not going to have the pressure is now on germany to sharpen it stands. let's turn now to some of the other stories making world news that's our indirect talks between iran and the us aimed at reviving of the iran 2015 nuclear deal. have resumed negotiators met after a 10 day break in discussions delegate delegate. say the talks have been limited progress since they resumed in november, and a number of vital issues remain unresolved. police in the canadian capital ottawa has to thousands of leaders of fuel as part of a push to and protests against corona virus vaccine mandate truckers and other drivers have jammed traffic in the city center for 10 days. prime minister justin trudeau who just recovered from the virus himself,

had denounced the demonstration. they must stop in the un is warning of a worsening humanitarian prices in madagascar afraid cycling tour across the country over the weekend, killing at least 21 people. tens of thousands more have been displaced from their home. not a gas car was already really from a tropical storm. they killed 55 people late last month. thailand has moved a step closer to d criminalizing marijuana. the government has officially dropped cannabis from its list of controlled drugs. that in all parts of the plan will soon be allowed to be used in the country. however, extracted content will remain illegal if it contains too much of the plants by co active component th, the informal benedict has asked forgiveness for his handling of clergy sex abuse cases in the catholic church. however benedict denied any personal or

specific wrong during an independent report released in january fed that benedict had failed to act against cleric in 4 cases of alleged abuse during his time as new next archbishop between 19771900. 82 of the request for forgiveness was made in a letter published by the vatican and read out by the former pope to spokesperson coming, calling country, unquote, own abode or post. so solo is but i can only agree to all the victims of sexual abuse. my profound shame for fond of her go near me on my sorrow and my heart felt requesting for forgiveness that adorned with dog around the i've had great responsibilities in the catholic church than 2 of you get older grades, my pain, the abuses and the errors that occurred in those different places during the time of my mandate and vogue. let's go to martinez gac dw religious affairs analyst in

berlin for more on this story. we've just heard of that apology from the pope, but he's not accepting responsibility for decades of alleged abuse and misconduct as outlined in that independent report. will that be enough for victims, families? well, i think it's safe to say that no, they will not be enough. and you know what, i mean, if you look across the web, you're ready, you're seeing the reactions to what is considered to be just the usual, the full approach of the church to new revelations. you know, i mean, i think that big tens victims groups had been essentially complaining about repeated apologies with very little progress in establishing establishing new policies and basically reforms that can protect redress crime committed and protects potential victims. and this really doesn't go anywhere near fulfilling dose dose needs. and those demands of benedict has also commented on accusations

that he lied about participating in a meeting about transferring a priest alleged to have abused children here in germany. what can you tell us about that? well, the report mentions, at least for cases of what you know in the press conference was referred to us misconduct by, by the former pope or the married us both. so this is not something that obviously we can, we can say much about it because it's something that is contained illegal report and it's essentially in the hands of prosecutors office. so, i mean, this is something that, you know, the justice justice, german justice that will have to, will have to decide what he's quite clear is that, you know, we think we are unwittingly the pope did. bennett a did lie, or at least mischaracterized how much he knew about the case and the cases in the report, a particularly for cases. and then once that the report was released and there was

a rebuke off the bulb saying that he knew nothing about this case. or that he had actually not been part of one meeting or another, then he was actually forced to retract those those comments. so the fact is that there is no solid evidence that he failed to reveal something that he actually did know about these cases. and with that in mind, if the catholic church is looking to win back public trust, what steps need to be taken to fully address abuses? there's been, you know, an increasing demand from victims groups. and i think that legal scholars and people, different groups, among them, legal scholars and academics that had been sort of working through questions of church reform, had been pointing to which is making the reporting of suspicions or the reporting of crimes mandatory to national authorities. the church, of course, has resisted this and there are still several bales of secrecy over the protocol,

particularly at confessional level. so the confession is protected by secrecy. and these are things that i think at this point becomes quite clear that the church not being able to police itself would mean that national authorities would have to take, you know, these kind of steps more seriously. and into serious consideration. martin gac did have the religious affairs analyst, and berlin, thanks so much for that analysis. and now to snow warnings, biggest star at the beijing winter games shown white has reached height like no one else in the sport. the 35 year old american returns to his 5th linbeck before retiring, competing for a record 4th gold metal. his competition starts on wednesday. ah, he's the king of the half pipe. sean white is going for gold again. the american is the most successful snow border ever with 3 olympic gold medals.

stranger to the pressure of competing matthew olympic. so i know it brings out the best to me, and i'm hoping that all of this rocky bumpy road to the games is gonna kind of peak once we get there. so this is one more step along the way. he's the only snow water to need to perfect 1. 100 scores might started snowboarding at the age of 6. in turn pro, at age 13, he come heated at his 1st winter games in terrain at 19, where he won gold in the half pipe. then again at vancouver, 2010. so she 2014 was an anomaly. after white only finished 4th, but he bounced back at piano shank 2018, claiming his thirt olympic gold medal. i know the herb is there, so i'm just enjoyed every moment that's giving me this extra boost of excitement.

sean white's legacy is unmatched. as the legends has good bye to the support of snowboarding, opportunities update at this hour, coming up next in dw news, asia correcting the refugees in india face discrimination and the constant of rest of deportation. plus, resisting them were, is military regime how women are taking up a fight to restore civilian rule. the stories are more coming up next indeed of units. asia with my colleague melissa cham. i'm clear, richardson in berlin from the team. thank you so much for joining us. see w's crime fighters are back with africa's most successful radio drama series continues of all episodes are available.