right now. >> molly: a fox news alert, we are awaiting a briefing from white house press secretary sean spicer, and secretary of state rex tillerson. it comes from as the leader of the free world and their leader of russia wrapping up a meeting lasting longer than two hours. >> jon: we are covering all the news happening now. >> we look forward to a lot of very positive things happening. >> jon: of historic face-to-face on the world stage. what we are learning about the meeting between president donald trump and russian president vladimir putin. mitch mcconnell signals that may be time to work with democrats if his republican colleagues cannot work out their differences over health care. and the u.s. economy adding more jobs than expected, but these new numbers, ask questions loom about how robots will change the

employment landscape here at home. it's all happening now. we begin with this fox news alert, history and the making as president trump, the leader of the free world wraps up his meeting with his russian counterpart vladimir putin on the side line of the g20 summit in germany. welcome to the second hour of "happening now" on this friday, i'm jon scott. >> molly: i'm a molly line. the two leaders face-to-face, who would not want to be a fly on the wall for that showdown which lasted two hours. president trump said many topics were on the table, take a liste listen. >> president putin and i have been discussing various things and i think it is going very well, we've had some very good talks. obviously that will continue. >> molly: meanwhile the mood in the streets remains tense as

protesters clash with riot police for a second straight day. >> jon: we have fox team live coverage, the latest on the growing and spreading protests. we begin with kristin fisher on the historic meeting everyone has been waiting for. >> it was almost exactly two years ago that president trump said shortly after announcing his candidacy, "i think i would get along very well with vladimir putin." today, he seemed to do just that. president trump told him that it was an honor to be with him and he responded that he was delighted to be able to finally meet him personally. we are waiting to find out what was discussed in the more than two hour-long meeting that followed but it is pretty good of both leaders would like to walk away from it having achieved some kind of tangible results, listen. >> i look forward to a lot of positive things happening for russia and the united states.

>> i am delighted to be able to meet you personally mr. president and i hope our meeting will yield positive results. >> the associated press is already reporting that russia is prepared to announce a cease-fire in the southwest syria starting on sunday. if true, that will certainly be a positive development but several other cease-fires have failed in the past. president trump also met with the president of mexico, the white house as mr. trump again brought up his attempt to re-renegotiate nafta. president trump was asked if he still wanted mexico to pay for the wall and he responded by saying "absolutely." president trump not budging one bit on one of his most signature issues, we still don't know if he asked president putin and about a separate key issue,

whether or not russia indeed meddled in the election that helped get into the white house. >> jon: we are watching live pictures from germany of the president and first lady arriving at the musical ensemble, they will be entertaining the leaders in attendance for the g20 summit. it you can imagine it will be a spectacular night of music. i imagine some nerves among the members of the symphony as they are playing for 20 of the most powerful people in the world. >> molly: all sitting in their seats there listening to "ode to joy." we'll see if there's a little message in there as a leaders take their seats tonight. incredible venue, a new venue there and also some meetings to be held in that new venue as well. meanwhile, german police are calling in reinforcements for a second day of violent protests.

thousands of demonstrators clashing with riot police throwing bricks and bottles at officers, police responding with water cannons and pepper spray. live in hamburg with this part of the story. >> it is a bit of a pause right now but it is intense on the streets, just a couple of blocks away from where the g20 leaders have been meeting. you are seeing a water cannon truck being rolled into the scene, police in front of them and protesters in front of them. this is what we have been saying for the past two hours, protesters doing battle with the police, police shooting out the water cannons, shooting out pepper spray, protesters throwing rocks, bottles, getting in the way. police say they have incurred about 160 injuries on the civilian side, it's at least 40. we are seeing reports of at

least 40 arrests. politics here, anti-everything. nothing too specific but real anger out on the streets. from time to time i thought to tell you, the police appear to be overwhelmed or at least lacking a true strategy. they have called on state police from other areas of germany to come in earlier today, we saw at least 30 cars torched in different areas than we are in now and last night, big fight. the word we are getting now, tonight should be and could be an even more dangerous situation then we saw last night. this was the intention of german chancellor angela merkel, she wanted it right in the heart of this g20 meeting, she has got it but it is a difficult time for the authorities and a difficult

time for those involved, we have seen injuries, arrests, clashes on both sides. as these meetings go on just a couple blocks from where we are right now. >> molly: thank you so much for braving the streets there is that situation continues. meanwhile, a much different scene unfolding at the concert hall were the world leaders will be meeting and enjoying the concert today. we just thought of uncle trump arriving. >> jon: there is senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, getting back to the concert hall, if anke trump and her husband jared arriving at the concert hall in germany, there is to be a concert and a dinner. >> molly: some meetings in the upcoming days, sitting in the seat side-by-side as they enjoy those this evening. likely to be a spectacular performance, beethoven's ninth

symphony, will be familiar to people all over the world. >> i've had people come up to me and say "you guys don't seem like you do anything together, seems like you don't like each other." and i always respond as follows. "anything you may have heard us say about each other pales in comparison to what thomas jefferson and john adams said about each other." it is not anywhere close to what thomas jefferson and alexander hamilton said about each other. we haven't had a single incident where a congressman came over to the senate and almost beat to death a senator. haven't had a single incident didn't like that. >> jon: that was mitch mcconnell with some historic perspective added town hall meeting in kentucky. he also said in those same remarks, if his own party comes

up short on the necessary votes to repeal and replace obamacare, he will have no choice to come up with a bill that democrats will support. is that a threat of sorts from a mitch mcconnell to his own caucus? that if republicans don't get together and unite on something, he's going to have to craft something democrats will support? >> it absolutely sounds like a threat, you have to keep in mind that the obamacare exchanges are at a crisis moment right now. if you look at some of the rates proposed for 2018, including right here in new hampshire, we are looking at double-digit percentage increases. in new hampshire we are looking at potentially a 40% increase in cost. something has to happen and i think what he is saying is we have to make it happen now.

>> jon: republicans and democrats have been on such a starkly different paths in the senate regarding obamacare, it is hard to believe that any bill that democrats would support would meet the favor of a significant number of republicans. >> it's a difficult thing to parse out, one of the interesting things about the way the obamacare debate has evolved is the fact that the republican bills have retained it so much of the regulatory framework of obamacare, and that has created a lot of consternation among conservatives. when you try to bridge the gap, moderates are worried about medicaid and trying to take care of the vulnerable, conservatives are trying to retain cost. i'm not even sure you can get to the point where you can come up with an actual framework that the parties can agree on to go to democrats.

it is an extremely difficult circumstance. >> jon: he said that no action is not an option, in other wort letting the law collapse as some have suggested might be possible, letting the democrats take the blame and sweeping up the pieces and trying to build something new. a mitch mcconnell says that is not going to happen. >> you have to look at the politics of it. if you look at medicaid for example, a fit of the country is on medicaid, a third of the country's children are on some form of medicaid. half of all births in the country are paid for through medicaid. at some point, you have to look at the raw politics of it. if this whole system collapses, people are not going to blame democrats or republicans, they are going to point the finger at anyone who they can blame. something needs to happen. >> jon: back to the idea of a threat, for our viewers, we are watching the taking of the class

photo as it is colloquially known, there is angela merkel, the host of the g20 summit in the pink jacket. it may be dusty rose. >> molly: front and center, no doubt. you can spot her amongst those dark blazers that her male counterparts are wearing from across the globe. >> jon: there they are, all 20 of the leaders assembled there. we will continue to watch that as i continue the conversation. again, i was not clear on whether this is a veiled threat from mcconnell to his own caucus, you guys have to join with me and we have to come up with something, because republicans are generally not going to like what the democrats might like. >> there is no question that that is a threat. i think what is particularly interesting, these sorts of threats in the past have been directed more towards the conservative wing of the senate. if you look back all the way to

senator cruz, the defined obamacare fight, that was a much different circumstance, that was more of an appropriation field, this is more about trying to undo policy. now all of a sudden, mitch mcconnell has to worry about both flanks of his party. they comprise significant numbers of people. you have ted cruz and rand paul on the right, dean heller who has a very testy reelection fight ahead of him. susan collins more toward the middle. these are big numbers. when you can only afford to lose to call people to give 51 votes for passing something if mike pence is involved, you are dealing on margins that virtually do not exist. >> jon: whether it is a threat or not, most americans say they would like both parties to work together and compromise and get things done. the prospect of mitch mcconnell working with democrats to find something both parties can agree on might not

be the worst of them. >> i think we always hear from people that they would love to see bipartisanship in washington, but the question is, what incentive do democrats have to work with republicans in the senate? there is a plan in place now and what we have seen is that democrats have really fought hard against any changes, i don't think that is news to anyone. they really ramped it up over the last few weeks, we've seen republicans -- i am sorry, democratic senators going to hospitals and opioid addiction treatment centers, mental health facilities to really push their agenda about how dangerous this plan would be. i'm not sure what the incentive would be for democrats to participate with republicans. >> jon: is the world leaders leave their class photo setting and had after the concert and the dinner, we will say good-bye to trent to spinner from the manchester union leader and chris from the daily standard.

we will have more of the goings on in hamburg after a short break.

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[ sings high note ] ultra strength, new from alka-seltzer. enjoy the relief. >> molly: new information on one states a challenge to the president's so-called travel ban. a federal judge denying hawaii's request for clarification of the supreme court ruling. >> molly, let me give you the bottom line first. of the trump travel ban on some foreign nationals and refugees remains in effect. clearly a victory for the administration. the argument is over who exactly does the ban band. what is the bona fide relationship really mean? the supreme court last week affirmed the ban except for immigrants can show a bona fide relationship to a u.s. institution or resident.

the administration says that means a parent, child, or spouse. the state of hawaii argued it should include grandparents, grandchildren, aunts and uncles. yesterday, judge derek watson said it wasn't his decision to make and i'm going to quote. "because plaintiff's see clarification of the junction modifications offered by the supreme court, clarification should be set there, not here." what it means is that watson defers to the supreme court, disciplining the activists argue that immigrants and refugees should be allowed in. not just those with close relatives like students and business people, but those who also meet that definition of extended family. the ban remains in effect, at least until october when the supremes will hear the case. >> molly: that is the end of the battle, at least for now.

>> jon: attorney general jeff sessions traveling to guantanamo bay cuba today, the trip self revealed in a last a last-minute announcement. what is behind this visit? with the 2018 midterm elections fast approaching, a new question about the leadership of the democratic party. is it a party in trouble? if so, what can be done to get them back on track? our political panel debates next. >> who was the leader of the democratic party right now? >> there are many leaders of the democratic party. >> give me a name. (flourish sp) the joy of real cream in 15 calories per serving. enough said. reddi-wip. (flourish spray noise) share the joy.

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on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. liberty stands with you™. that's why at comcast we're continuing to make4/7. our services more reliable than ever. like technology that can update itself. an advanced fiber-network infrustructure. new, more reliable equipment for your home. and a new culture built around customer service. it all adds up to our most reliable network ever. one that keeps you connected to what matters most. >> molly: who is >> who is the leader of the democratic party right now? >> there are many leaders of the

democratic party. >> give me a name. i can't get an answer from anyone, i can't get one name from anybody about who is leading the democratic party right now. >> i don't think there is one person today. >> struggling to identify specific leader for the party during the primary, democrats found themselves across road that led to a split between hillary clinton and bernie sanders.

let's bring in a former candidate for the dnc chair and republican campaign strategist. thank you both for being here. fascinating to hear that, there is almost a siren call for the era of the clinton administration. when we listen to the struggle to name a specific leader, is that a problem for the democratic party right now? they spent a lot of time on the clintons the last 20 plus years, beefing up hillary clinton, she had a run for the presidency and now where did they go from here? >> i think it was a stupid question and clearly he had some challenges answering. i could spend the next hour listing leaders of the democratic party. here's the reality for democrats right now. emily's list, an organization

that is 32 years old has trained 9,000 women in this entire history. since november, 15,000 women have signed up to be trained, that is what is happening in the democratic party. the leadership of the party is in the streets, it's the women's march, it is the people marching for sirens. old school way of looking at leadership, where one person -- that does not jive with millennials. collaborative leadership is the new black. i think the only thing the american people care about is who is going to help them stop living paycheck to paycheck, they don't care about what the inside baseball question and prioritizing politics over purpose. that is what reporters are doing, that is what consultants are doing. just because a chicken has wings does not mean it can fly.

>> molly: the collaborative idea of a group of leadership is interesting, but it seems you need the fire of something to grab onto which is what happened when president obama came into the field. what do you think, where does the democratic party go from here? >> they've got to go somewhere other than where they have come. i actually think that peace was a seminal piece. it really said to democrats, let's go back in history. let's have history repeat itself, look for democrats who can get things done. i think he is point on there. there is a frustration right now, a struggle. the struggle right now is between the words anxiety and aspiration. anxiety motivates the ideologues but aspiration motivates the masses. democrats need to find a way to get back to governing from the center and being for both jobs

and people and i think that is what they were falling short on back in 2016. as for who the democrats on the bench, my guess is we haven't really seen that person yet. just as we were surprised by the emergence of bernie sanders, i think democrats will rally for someone who is not in the top line. it may be a name we don't really know that much about, that represents the kind of jfk approach to governing. >> molly: perhaps a surprise in our future. take a listen. >> look at what happened with the obama administration and what happened with the primaries. i think the sanders campaign also pushed hillary clinton to the left. the democratic party got fundamentally repositioned, much farther to the left and out of touch with working-class voters. working-class voters really want to see the values of hard work,

family, religion as a strong part of a party they can support for economic progress and i think they got left behind. >> molly: is that what happened? the clintons shifted their message, turned too much to the left and should have stuck to moderation and tried to stay a little more down the middle? >> i think there are a lot of consultants who want to point to one thing that led to hillary clinton's loss, and that is not realistic. it doesn't work. are there is long list of reasons and the next generation of leaders for the democratic party, let's talk about them. there are an incredible number of up-and-coming stars within the party, leaders within the party, in their states. again, this conversation does nobody any good when we are

focusing on the inner workings of the party versus saying how are we going to help families raise their wages, how are we going to help them stop living paycheck to paycheck and whoever is in any leadership position in the democratic party needs to be answering those questions. i think it is a beautiful thing, when you have multiple, a cornucopia of leaders because certainly we have opportunity in 2018, there is no one who would question that. >> molly: we didn't hear from the virginia governor but we got to hear from you. progressives might argue that moderation is over. it will be interesting to see where things go. thank you so much for joining me, i appreciate it. >> jon: a fox news alert, the world wants to know what

president trump talked about with president putin during their meeting today, we are getting some indications on that from the secretary of state rex tillerson who is traveling with the president. we will have more on that for you in just a moment. plus, the trump administration reverses courts on epa regulations put in place by his predecessor, it could mean big business for some companies. a live report on that today.

>> jon: a fox news alert, president trump and his russian counterpart wrapping up their meeting after more than two hours, much longer than it was expected to go. right now, rex tillerson briefing about that meeting, the biggest headline is that president trump reportedly brought a brush and meddling in the election right off the bat. president putin flatly denies that. we are also hearing about a partial syria cease-fire. a lot to talk about. it should be no surprise that the men disagree over whether or not election meddling came up. >> going into this meeting, trump was in a very difficult position domestically with respect to the russia question. he if he was seen as being too e to russia, it would inflame the politics of the investigation. he was on this very narrow path. it is interesting to see that the narratives from the russian

side and the american side are not totally divergent but are starting to hit a fork in the road. we will have to see over the next few hours with the different readouts say. >> jon: it is no surprise that the russians would like to meddle with the election but so far no one has brought forward any evidence that they changed votes or change the results. >> i think the focus is mainly on whether there was involvement in shaping voters perceptions before they went into the polls. there is a wide divergence on what the threshold of evidences and who believes it and who doesn't. several intelligence agencies think that it happened, so that is what we go on. >> jon: it had been described as kind of a win-win for vladimir putin. if he comes away with nothing, he can say donald trump is a weak president but if he comes away with some kind of agreement on a syria anything else, he says, look what i got for the russian people. >> i think he is in a much stronger position. if you get something from putin,

it is that they made the u.s. blank. if he gets only from trauma, rather. if you get something from trump makes him look like he had the u.s. president blank. if he doesn't, he can always go back to a familiar narrative, which is that the united states just doesn't treat russia fairly and that plays very well at home. if trump plays top, food and can go back to that role. >> jon: talk about that, i think a lot of people don't understand the manipulation of the russian media or state control over the russian media. vladimir putin, based on his kgb experience is a master at manipulating public perception, right? what is he going to go home to his people and say? >> the russian government controls the television media which is how most russians get their news. it is true that he has laid up this narrative of a russia treated unfairly by the west, but that feeling predates putin. the experience was that the west

had treated russia unfairly, having insert and circled russh nato allies. there is a little more they are there than just manipulation of the media. >> jon: cannot two sides come to an agreement in syria that would make sense? the russians are not going to allow anything that would dethrone assad. >> the united states is come to the reality that he is not going to leave power. the big question is, can the iranians be brought on board with this? the russians and the americans can agree on a certain sector of de-escalation, but there are a lot of iranian actors in syria, both directly and indirectly that will have to be party to an agreement. the u.s. does not want to talk to be the direct impact the

iranians, just the russians. >> jon: one of the difficult things for putin in this discussion is that donald trump can be unpredictable. >> extremely comfortable. can he believe any commitments i trump makes, and how constrained is trumped by the institution? congress has turned against trump on the russia. they are making it difficult for the right house to give relief in any way to russia on sanctions. >> jon: fascinating stuff ahead. thank you. ♪ >> molly: the trump administration is rolling back more obama era environmental regulations. of the white house lifting a five year ban on oil and gas expiration, giving oil companies the green light to drill. white house correspondent kevin corke is live from washington with a look at the economic impact of that decisio decision. >> the trump administration

forging ahead with the plan to do what it said it would do and that is rolled back the obama era restrictions on new energy exploration, not just domestically, on land domestically, we are also talking about extending out to the outer sea shells and of course that would open up potentially even more. the idea having that d de regulation would the country to grow more economically. it it would also reduce the permit time for federal land leasing. that is a process that can frankly take years to accomplish. the idea according to the administration, the economy improves with less regulation, more economic investment and activity. >> what the trump administration is proposing to do is rollback regulations that have significant compliance costs that ripple throughout the economy and hurt families and businesses over and over again

through higher energy prices, through threats of private property rights and are really devoid of any meaningful environmental benefits. >> keep in mind what he said about energy prices, that is a big part of this. driving down the cost of energy, putting more money in your pocket. detractors say they are concerned that the administration is putting a price tag on the safety of our air and water, they go on to add -- to say nothing of the idea of putting good money after what they like to call that energy. >> it is shocking that president trump is rolling back common sense safeguards to protect our air, land, our water, the air that we breathe. rolling back a real progress that we've made, and old only in fighting climate change but in creating the clean energy jobs of the future. >> let me share just a bit, the interior secretary calling this idea of really opening up the

spigot by deregulating all of the ideas of this restriction on gas and energy exploration, he is calling this part of america's energy dominance agenda, most notably he wants to add that the trump administration is hopeful that we will be able to export this newfound energy. they are calling this deregulation nation, the idea being if we can take off the reins, we will grow business and that will mean more jobs for you and me and the folks that we know and love. we will see if that works out the way they planned but they are certainly moving beginning today. >> molly: we appreciate it. >> jon: rex tillerson has just finished outlining four reporters what was discussed between president trump and vladimir putin, the first meeting between those world leaders. more on what the secretary of state had to say after a quick break.

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>> jon: on fox news alert, just into the fox news room, new audio from members of the trump cabinet who held an off-camera briefing that just wrapped up in hamburg germany, it begins with some sound from i believe it is the treasury secretary, steven mnuchin talking about the discussions between president trump and russia's president vladimir putin. let's listen. >> hi, everybody. i just want to highlight very briefly and then secretary tiller's and will go on and then afterwards we will answer a few questions. president trump has had a very few days, we went to poland on wednesday, in poland he met with 12 different leaders, meetings with croatia and poland as well as ten other leaders where we talked about energy, the

importance of the energy market markets, the importance of supplying independent energy, infrastructure and opportunities there. the speech which was just incredibly well received is part of our america first but america not alone. coming here, the president has had very significant meetings with the g20 already. yesterday he had the opportunity to meet with angela merkel and her team, it was a productive and friendly meeting, a lot of areas for us to collaborate on that were very clear. we talked about economic issues, trade, we had a very productive dinner last night. secretary tillerson and myself,

h.r. mcmaster, discussing the importance of what is going on in north korea and the issues there. and today we had several other meetings and tomorrow we have another six. the president also participated in a very important session today on trade and an important session on the environment and the economy. i would just generally say we have had a very productive economic meetings, there have been very subsidence substantis discussed. with that, i will turn it over secretary tillerson to talk about his meetings and afterwards we will take some questions. >> thanks for staying with us late this evening. president trump and president putin met this afternoon for two

hours and 15 minutes on the sidelines of the g20. the two leaders exchanged views on the current nature of the u.s.-russian relationship and the future of the u.s.-russia relationship. they discussed important progress that was made in syria and i think all of you have seen some of the news that just broke regarding de-escalation agreement, a memorandum which was agreed between the united states, russia, and jordan. an area in southwest syria affects jordan's security, but also a very complicated part of the syrian battlefield. this de-escalation was agreed, well defined agreements on who will secure this area, a cease-fire has been introduced and i think this is our first indication of the u.s. and russia being able to work

together in syria and as a result of that, we had a very lengthy discussion regarding other areas in syria we can continue to work together on to de-escalate the areas and the violence once we defeat isis. and to work together towards a political process that will secure the future of the syrian people. at the request of president putin, the united states has appointed and you have seen the announcement, a special representative for ukraine, he will draw on his decades of experience in the u.s. diplomatic corps, both as a repr and also his time as a political appointment. of the leaders also acknowledge the challenges of cyber threats, and interference in the democratic processes of the

united states and other countries. and agreed to explore, creating a framework around which the countries can work together to better understand how to deal with these cyber threats, both in terms of how these tools are used to enter interfere with te internal affairs of countries, and also how these threaten infrastructure, how they use from a terrorist standpoint as well. the president opened the meeting with president putin by raising the concerns of the american people regarding russian interference in the 2016 election. they had a very robust and lengthy exchange on the subject. the president pressed president putin on more than one occasion regarding russian involvement, president putin denied such involvement as i think he has in the past.

the leaders agree that this is a substantial step in the ability to move the russia-u.s. relationship forward and agree to exchange further work regarding commitments of noninterference and affairs of the united states and our democratic process as well as other countries. i can take questions. >> can you tell us whether president trump said whether there would be any consequences for russia for the interference in the u.s. election? did he spell out any specific consequences? and when does the syria cease-fire began and do you

think the cease-fire will succeed this time when past u.s.-russia agreements have failed? >> the president took note of actions that have been discussed by congress, to make it clear as to the seriousness of the issue. i think what the presidents i think rightly focused on is how you move forward, how do we move forward from here? it is not clear to me that we will ever come to some agreed-upon resolution of that question between the nations. the question is, what do we do now? i think the relationship and the president made this clear as well. it is too important to not find a way to move forward. not dismissing the issue in any way, i don't want to leave you with that impression. that is why we have agreed to continue engagement and

discussion around how we secure a commitment the russian government has no intention of and will not interfere in our affairs and the affairs of others. how do we create a framework in which we have some capability to judge what is happening in the world and who to hold accountable? this is obviously an issue that is just broader with the u.s. and russia but certainly we see a manifestation of that threat and the events of last year. i think the president is rightly focused on how we move forward from what may be disagreement at this point. as to the syria cease-fire, i would say what may be different this time i think is the level of commitment on the part of the russian government, they see the situation in syria transitioning from the defeat of isis, which

we are progressing rapidly as you know, and this is what has really led to this discussion. what do we do to stand by syria once the war against isis is one that? russia has the same interest as we do and having syria become stable, unified place but ultimately a place where we can facilitate a political discussion about their future. i think part of why -- and again, we will see what happens as to the ability to hold the cease-fire. i think part of what is different is where we are relative to the whole war against isis, where we are in terms of the oppositions, i think positioned as to their strength within the country and the regime itself. in many respects, people are getting tired. they are getting weary of the conflict and i think we have an

opportunity to create the conditions and this area in the south, our first show of success. we are hoping we can replicate that elsewhere. >> mr. secretary, you spoke when you were speaking of the cease-fire about there being detailed information about who would enforce it, can you get any more information on what was reached and you spoke with the future leadership of syria, do you still believe there is no role in their government? >> i would like to defer on the specific roles in particular of security forces on the ground, there are a couple of more meetings to occur. this agreement i think is you are aware was entered into between jordan, the united states and russia and we have a very clear picture of who will provide the security forces, but we have a few more details to work out and if i could i would like to defer on that until it is completed. i expect it will be completed

within the next less than a week, talks are very active and ongoing. your second question again? >> does the administration still believe in the future government of syria? >> our position continues to be that we see no long-term role for the assad family and assad regime. we do not think syria can achieve international recognition even if they work through a successful political process, it is not going to except as syria led by the assad regime. if syria is to be accepted and have a secure and economic future, it really requires that they find new leadership.

there will be such a low level of confidence in the assad government, that continues to be the view. how assad leaves is yet to be determined, our view is that somewhere in the political process, there will be a transition away from the family. >> on north korea, did president putin agreed to do anything to help the u.s.? and secondly, you seem to have reached an impasse with china in terms of getting them to put more pressure on north korea. how are you going to get them and what is president going to say on that issue tomorrow? >> we did have a pretty good exchange on north korea, i would say the russians see it a little

differently than we did it. we are going to continue those discussions and ask them to do more. russia does have economic activity with north korea, but i would also hasten to add, russia's official policy is the same as ours. i think here again, there is a difference in terms of tactics and pace and so we will continue to work with them to see if we cannot persuade them as to the urgency that we see. i think with respect to china, our experience with china has been -- i have said this to others. it has been a bit uneven. china has taken significant action and then i think for a lot of different reasons, they paused. and did not take additional action. they took some steps and then they paused. in our own view, there are a lot of explanations as to why those

pauses occur, we were very closely engaged with china, both through our dialogues that occurred face-to-face but also on the telephone. we speak very frequently with them >> i think the sanctions that were taken here just in the last week to ten days certainly got their attention in terms of their understanding our resolve to bring more pressure on north korea by directly going after entities doing business with north korea, regardless of where they may be located, we continue to make that clear to china, we would prefer that they take action themselves, and we are still calling upon them to do that. so i am saying our engagement is on china, and our expectations are on china.