provide more transparency and more information than anybody i'm aware of who ever served in the government, and i'm happy to do that because i want these questions to be answered. curtain call. carly fiorina escapes after a scary moment on stage and is rising in the polls while new numbers out this hour show most americans don't agree with fiorina on planned parenthood. >> you want the showdown? you think republican leaders have forced the showdown? >> i believe there are a variety of ways to deal with this, but i believe this is something we must stand up and fight for. good day. i'm andrea mitchell in new york. all eyes at the u.n. today are on two leaders. vladimir putin, here for the first time in a decade, and

barack obama. after russia shocked the u.s. with a power play to share intelligence with iran and iraq, and new moves to prop up assad. ron, you're in a huge security area. i've got to tell you, my friend, i just left there, as you know, and it took about an hour to get just a few blocks to 30 rock. fair warning when you have to leave, and that's because you've got 170 world leaders and right in the middle of all this action, obama and putin. >> reporter: exactly. president putin is expected to speak next, as the roster of presidents go throughout the day. it'll be interesting to see how he responds to what president barack obama said. president obama said he'd speak frankly and from his mind. he thought that the aggression in ukraine was wrong. he called it a flagrant violation of thesoever tyof the the country.

he thinks the dictator, assad, has to go. this would fly in the face of what putin has been saying. the two men have had a bad relationship over the years. icy and frigid. we'll see if that happens again when they meet around 5:00 this evening. there's probably going to be a photo op. we may get a readout from the white house. may not hear about what was said, but we'll see the body language, which is what everybody will be looking for. to see if there is any commonality there. there are issues that the united states and russia want to work together on or can possibly work together on, like defeating isis, but there seems to be no relationship between mr. put sk in and mr. obama. today, i thought the theme of president obama's remarks was together, together. might doesn't make right. saying there needs to be collaboration, cooperation between an inter connected world today. again, waiting to see what president putin has to say, and

to see if there is any common ground that he and president obama reach when they meet this afternoon around 5:00. >> thanks, ron. vladimir putin is speaking. i'll be speaking to the former u.s. ambassador to nato later. let's listen to putin. >> translator: in its legitimacy, representation and universality, it is true that lately, the u.n. has been widely criticized for supposedly not being efficient enough, and for the fact that the decision making on fundamental issue stalls due to insurmountable issues. however, i'd like to point out there have always been differences in the u.n. throughout all these 70 years of

existence. it's always been exercised by the united states, the united kingdom, france, china, the soviet union and russia alike. it is a diverse and representative organization. when the u.n. was established, its founders did not in the least think there would always be this. the strength comes from taking different views into consideration. decisions debated within the u.n. are either as resolutions or not. as diplomats say they pass or do not pass. whatever actions any state might take by passing this procedure are illegitimate. they run counter to the charter

and defi internationy internati. at the end of the cold war -- everyone is aware of that -- a single center of domination emerged in the world, and then those who found themselves at the top of the pyramid were tempted to think that if they were strong and exceptional, they knew better. they do not have to reckon with the u.n., which instead of automatic legitimizing of the necessary decisions, often creates obstacles or other words stands in the way. it has now become common place to see that in its original form, it has become kocome obso. the world is changing and the u.n. must be consistent with this natural transformation. russia stands ready to work together with its partners on

the basis of port consensus. but we consider the attempts to undermine the legitimacy of the united nations as extremely dangerous. they could lead to a collapse of the entire architectural international organization, then there would be nothing left. we would get a world dominated by selfishness rather than collective work. a world increasingly characterized by dictate rather than equality. the chain of democracy and a world where true independent states would be replaced by a number of de facto prote protectorates. after all that has been mentioned by our colleagues here, it is about freedom and the right to a future for every person, nation and state.

by the way, dear colleagues, the same holds true of the question of the so-called legitimacy of state authority. one should not play with words. every term in international law and international affairs should be clear, transparent and have uniformly understood try ticrit. we have all different and should respect that. no one has to conform to a development model that is once and for all recognized as the only right one. we should all remember what our past has taught us. we also remember episodes from the history of the soviet union. social experiments for export. attempts to push for changes within other countries based on idealogical preferences, often

led to tragic consequences and degradation rather than progress. instead of learning from other's mistakes, everyone keeps repeating them. so the export of revolutions, this time of so-called democratic ones, continues. it would suffice to look at the middle east and north africa, as has been mentioned by my previous speakers. certainly political and social issues in the region have been piling up there. people wish for change, naturally. how did it actually turn out? rather than bringing about reforms and aggressive for interference has resulted in a brazen destruction of national institutions and the lifestyle itself. instead of the triumph of democracy and progress, we got violence, poverty and social

disaster. nobody cares a bit about human rights, including the right to life. i cannot help asking those that caused the situation, do you realize now what you've done? i'm afraid no one is going to answer that. policies based on self and believing in impunity have never been abandoned. it is now obvious that the power created in some countries of the middle east and north africa look to the emergence of areas which started to be filled with extremists and terrorists. tens of thousands of militants are fighting under the banners of the so-called islamic state. its friends include former iraqi servicemen, who were thrown out into the street after the invasion of iraq in 2003.

many recruits also come from libya, a country whose statehood was destroyed as a cross-examination of the resolution in 1973. now radicals have been joined by the member of the so-called moderate syria opposition supported by the western countries. first, they're armed and trained. then they defect to the so-called islamic state. besides the islamic state itself did not just come from nowhere. it was also initially forged as a tool against undesirable secular regimes. having established a foothold in iraq and syria, the islamic state has become the activitily expanding to other regions. it is taking dominance in the islamic world. its plans go further than that. the situation is more than dangerous. in these circumstances, it is hypercritical and irresponsible

to make loud declarations of the threat of international terrorism while turning a blind eye to the channels of finance and supporting terrorists, including the process of trafficking and illegal trade of arms. it would be equally irresponsible to manipulate extremist groups and place them at one's service in order to achieve political goals, in the hope of later dealing with them, or in other words, lucradating them. i would like to say to those who do so, dear sirs, no doubt, you're dealing with rough and cruel people. but they are in no way primitive or silly. they're just as clever as you are. you never know who is manipulating whom. the recent data referring to this moderate opposition is the best proof of it.

we believe that any attempts to play games with terrorists, to arm them, are not just shortsighted but is hazardous. this may result in the terrorist threat increasing and engulfing new regions. especially given the islamic state camps train militants from many countries, including the european countries, unfortunately. dear colleagues, i have to put it frankly, russia is not an exception. we cannot allow these criminals who already tasted blood to turn back home and continue their evil doings. no one wants this to happen. does he? russia has always been consistently fighting against terrorism in all its forms. today, we provide military and technical assistance, both to iraq and syria, and many other countries in the region are

fighting terrorist groups. we think it is an enormous mistake to refuse to cooperate with the syrian government and its armed forces. who are valiantly fighting terrorism face to face. would you finally acknowledge that no one but president assad's armed forces and kurds militia are truly fighting the islamic state and other terrorist organizations in syria? we know about all the problems and contradictions in the reg n region, but we based on the reality. dear colleagues, an oppression of russia has been used as a pretext to accuse of the growing ambitions, as those who say it have no ambitions at all. however, it's not about russia's ambitions, dear colleagues, but about the recognition of the fact that we can no longer tolerate the current state of affairs in the world. we actually propose to be guided

by common values and common interests, rather than ambitions. on the basis of international law, we must show an effort to address the problems that all of us are facing and create a generally broad international coalition against terrorism. similar to the coalition, it could unite a broad range of forces, just like the nazis, so evil and hatred of humankind. natur naturally, the muslim countries are to play a key role in the coalition. even more so because the islamic nate does not only pose a direct threat to them, but also desecrates one of the greatest world religions by its bloody crimes. the iedologideology promotes th fallacies. i would like to address muslim

spiritual leaders, as well. your authority and your guidance are of great importance right now. it is essential to prevent people recruited by militants from making hasty decisions, and those who have already been deceived due to various circumstances, found themselves among terrorists, need help in finding a way back to normal life, laying down arms and putting an end to this. russia will shortly convene as the current president of the security council a ministerial meeting to carry out a comprehensive analysis of threats in the middle east. first of all, we propose discussing wlo it is possible to agree on a resolution aimed after coordinating the actions of all the forces that confront the islamic state and other terrorist organizations. once again, this coordination should be based on the principles of the u.n. charter. we hope that the international community will be able to develop a comprehensive strategy of political stabilization, as

well as social and economic recovery of the middle east. then, dear friends, there would be no need for new refugee camps. today, the flow of people who were forced to leave their homeland has literally engulfed neighboring countries and then europe itself. there were hundreds of thousands of them now, and there might be millions before long. in fact, it is a new great and tragic migration of peoples, and it is a harsh lesson for all of us, including europe. i would like to stress, refugees undoubtedly need our compassion and support. however, on the way to solve this problem at a fundamental level is to restore their statehood where it has been destroyed, to strengthen the government institutions where they still exist or are being reestablished, to provide comprehensive assistance of military, economic and material nature to countries in a difficult situation.

and certainly, to those people who, despite all the ordeals, will not abandon their homes. literally, any assistance to sovereign states can and must be offered rather than imposed exclusively and solely in accordance with the u.n. charter. in other words, everything in this field being done or will be done pursuant to the norms of international law must be supported by our organization. everything that contradicts the u.n. charter must be rejected. above all, i believe it is of the utmost importance to support the government in libya and the legitimate government of syria. dear colleagues, ensuring peace and global stability is the key objective of the international community with the u.n. we believe this creates a space of equal security, which is not for the select few but for

everyone. it is a challenge and complicate and had time consuming task, but there is simply no other alternative. however, the block thinking of the times of the cold war and the desire to explore geopolitical areas is still present among some of our colleagues. first, they continue their policy of expanding nato. what for? the soviet would have collapsed and, nevertheless, the nato continues expanding. as well as its military infrastructure. they offered the soviet countries a poor choice, to be with the west or the east. sooner or later, this logic of confrontation was bound to stark off a grave geopolitical crisis. this happened in ukraine, where the discontent of population with the current authorities was used, and the military coup was orchestrated from outside that

triggered a civil war from outside. we're confident that only through few and faithful implementation of february 12th, 2015, can we find a way out of the deadlock. ukraine's territorial integrity cannot be obtained by force of arms. what is needed is a agagenuine consideration of the people in the region and respect of their choice. there is a need provided for by the -- the key elements of the country's political structure. these will guarantee that ukraine will develop as a civilized society, a central link and build in a common space of security and economic cooperation, both in europe and in eurashia. ladies and gentlemen, i have mentioned these comments, economic cooperation, on purpose. not long ago, it seemed that in the economic sphere, with the objective market loss, we would launch without dividing lines. we would build on transparent

and jointly formulated rules. including the wto principles, stipulating the freedom of trade and investment and open competition. nevertheless, today, unilateral sanctions circumvent in the u.n. charter have become common place in addition to pursuing political objectives. the sanctions serve as a means of eliminating competitors. i would like to point out another sign of a growing economic selfishness. some countries chose to create closed economic associations, with the negotiation behind the scenes, in secret from those countries own citizens, the general public, business community and from other countries. other states whose interests may be affected are not informed of anything either. it seems that we are about to be faced with an accomplished fact that the rules of the game have been changed in favor of a narrow group of the privileged,

with the wto having no say. this could unbalance the trade system completely and disintegrate the global economic space. these issues affect the interest of all states and influence the future of the world economy as a whole. that is while we propose discussing them within the u.n. wto ng '20. russia proposes economic projects. i refer to the so-called integration of integrations, based on universal and transparent rules of international trade. as an example, i would like to site our plans to interconnect the eurasian silk road economic belt. we still believe that homonizing the unions are highly promising. ladies and gentlemen, the issues

that affect the future of all people include the challenge of global climate change. it is in our interest to make the u.n. climate change conference to be held in december in paris a success. as part of our national contribution, we plan to reduce by 2030, the greenhouse emissions. i suggest, however, we should take a wider view on this issue. yes, we might diffuse the problem for a while but setting quotas on emissions by taking other measures that are nothing but tactical. we will not solve it that way. we need a completely different approach. we have to focus on introducing fundamental and new technologies inspired by nature, which would not damage the environment but would be in harmony with it. also, they would allow us to restore the balance upset by

human activities. it is indeed a challenge of planetaries, but i'm confident that humankind has intellectual potential to address it. we need to join our efforts. i refer first of all to the states that have a solid research basis. and have made significant advances in fundamental science. we propose convening a special forum under the u.n. auspices for a comprehensive consideration of the issues related to the depletion of natural resources, destruction of habitat and climate change. russia would be ready to postpone such a forum. ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, at worse, on the terms of january 1946 in london, that the u.n. general assembly gathered for its first session. a colombian diplomat and

chairman of the commission opened by giving a definition of the basic principles the u.n. should follow in its activities, which are free will, defiance of trickery and spirit of corporation. today, his words sound as a guidance for all of us. russia believes in the huge potential of the united nations, which should help us avoid a new global confrontation and engage in strategic cooperation. together with other countries, we will work toward strengthening the central coordinating role of the u.n. i'm confident that by working together, we will make the world stable and safe, as well as provide conditions for the development of all states and nations. thank you. [ applause ] >> defense of the regime of bashar al assad in syria, and his own role and russia's role in the ukraine.

vladimir putin leaves the stage. his first speech to the united nations in a decade. former u.s. ambassador to russia joins me now. michael, you're the russia expert. your take aways? >> well, a couple of things about the contradictions between the rhetoric and reality of russian policy. he started his speech by talking about how all nations need to respect the sovereignty of countries, and he left out the fact that he -- his country, violates t s the sovereignty of ukraine today, helping rebels in eastern ukraine. back to georgia in 2008, where they did the same thing. there is a contradiction there. second, he says there shouldn't be the export of revolution, and it was very interesting that he invoked the bitter, bad soviet experience of that. assigning to the united states indirectly that we're responsible for what the egyptians did or what the tunisians did, what the syrians did when, in fact, i was in the

government at the time, i worked at the white house at the time, we weren't exporting revolution at that time. third, with respect to assad, it's just the convoluted story. his basic argument today was his basic argument from four years ago. we just need to support assad, and he'll restore order. guess what? that strategy hasn't worked. it's because of that doubling down strategy that we now have the existence of isis in syria. that wasn't -- they weren't even in syria four years ago when they started that strategy. until he rethinks that strategy, it'll be different to have the coalition against isis, which he ended with the one place i do agree with him, we do have a common interest in fighting with isis. i'm not sure the russian strategy is the one the rest of the world will get behind. >> haven't we, in effect, given him a weapon here? because we have not succeeded in

either arming the rebels, so-called moderate rebels, against isis, nor against assad. what we have here is assad being propped up by russia and russia moving to join be iraq and iran. we weren't even aware of what these diplomatic moves were until, you know, they hit us in the face the last 24, 48 hours. >> well, a couple of things. i agree that we have failed to undermine assad in this military campaign, period. i agree. we should have done more. it won't work just to go back to, let's try to bring assad back. it won't happen. because that is the video that all sunni muslims see every day, that he is killing sunnis in his country. that is what inspires the jihadists. if we don't try to tackle that problem with or without the russians, we'll never be able to resolve this civil war or at least reduce it.

with respect to the coordination, i give the president a lot of credit. number one, we're all talking about syria today. we're not talking about ukraine, unlike last year at the u.n. number two, by announcing this agreement, i think we should applaud his tactics. the reality is, they've been sharing intelligence with the syrians and the iranians for some time. what's new is the iraqi piece. what we really need to know, and i'm sure this is what president obama will be asking president putin later today, what exactly do they plan to do in syria? they've moved in these forces now. what is the objective in terms of a military campaign? that, i think, remains a mystery so far. >> michael, ambassador, thank you very much for this icy relationship between president obama and russia's president putin will be put to be test when they meet later today. putin, even though weakened economically by the sanctions after ukraine, is seeking a vacuum because the u.s. has been

missing in action in the fight against isis in syria and against assad. >> it's a dramatic example of the demolition of any american influence in the region, particularly in iraq. look, we are reacting to russian activities in syria, in the region, and that's because we have no strategy. we have no strategy to pursue, so therefore, we are surprised when vladimir putin exercises what is a clear strategy. that is to increase his influence in the region. >> white house deputy national security adviser ben rhodes joins me now. what is putin up to, and what is the president going to try to do in their meeting today? >> first of all, what putin is doing is an increased version of what they've been doing for years. the notion they've been supporting military support to assad is not new. what president obama is going to say to president putin is, we do

share a common enemy in isil. we do believe there is a place for all nations to join in effort against isil. but, importantly, we need a concurrent effort to resolve the political situation in syria, an effort that involves assad leaving power. frankly, you're not going to have the stability you want in syria if 2/3, if not more of the country, is completely rejecting the leadership of a dictator brutalizing them. >> how many years ago did president obama first say assad must go? now, we're going to be working with vladimir putin if this works out to try to keep assad involved, at least during this diplomatic process, which could take years and years. >> the basic principles we main the same, which is, assad needs to go. that, again, by the way, is a realistic assessment of how to solve the situation. it's not just because we object to assad. it's because we believe that you can never have stability in that country with assad there. he's been a magnet for isil.

a magnet for jihadists around the world. we're going to make clear to the russians and the iranians that we will engage in diplomacy in pursuant of a transition in syria, but part of the diplomacy has to involve assad leaving power. it's not just going to be our position. that's been the position of our key partners in the region, whether you're talking about the gulf states, turkey, jordan and others. >> the impression is that the u.s. is scrambling. there were unscheduled meetings hastily convened this morning, and another meeting between secretary kerry and the foreign minister from russia this morning. we were not aware that baghdad was going to be part of the intelligence sharing. russia has created the illusion, perhaps, of a new coalition including baghdad, to deal with this situation in syria that does not include us. it really is challenging american influence in the region. >> andrea, i highlight your word "illusion." look, they've been sharing intelligence with syria and iran

for years. they've had an intelligence relationship with iraq. they announce third-degrd this o play it up. frankly, we're not concerned that this represents an operational commitment of russia to engage in iraq. that's not what we're seeing. we're seeing them move military equipment into syria, which has been their principal client state, frankly, in the region. if you look at what the united states has done, we've taken thousands of air strikes in syria already against isil. we've taken, again, thousands of strikes in iraq. we're working me ththodically t build it up. >> there's a new bipartisan congressional investigation. there are reports that only a handful of moderate syrian rebels were -- stood up with an appropriation, at least, of half a billion dollars, and reports that war fighters are joining the terrorists as fast as we

are -- the air force strikes them and kills them. more recruits join in. we are losing this battle on the ground. >> look, i think what you see is you see a mixed record on the ground. you see some areas where there have been progress. i think the most important point we see is there's progress when there is a partner on the ground who is fighting and getting into the fight. in the north of iraq, where the kurdish forces have gone on the offense, they've been able to take territory. in syria, even as we've had significant differenti tdifficu standing up, they were able to drop weapons to syrian fighters, kurdish fighters, who were able to make gains against isil in the north there. where we have not been able to consolidate a partner on the ground, you have seen this chaos. that is engulfed parts of iraq and syria. what we continue to believe very strongly is there's not a military solution, certainly not one that's going to be imposed by the united states going into this part of the world as we did in iraq.

that's why we're trying to get the international community behind the political agreement that can bring stability and bring some accommodation between these different factions. >> what about the personal relationship between barack obama and vladimir putin? they haven't mformally. they saw each other in normandy. a formal meeting not since the edward snowden temporary asylum in moscow. that's two years. what is the personal dynamic when they get together? the visuals are awful. their pictures look like they hate each other. >> i think that can be somewhat overstated. the president has spoken to the fact that people tend to read a lot into body language but, frankly, that's the demeanor that president putin has with a lot of leaders. >> this is not the vlad and barack show. >> it's not. this is a business relationship. they've spoken to the phone and they're blunt and direct with one another. the fact of the matter is, andrea, we have huge differences with what russia is doing in ukraine and we're not going to

be shy about it. the president wasn't shy about it today. we don't believe that should affect the entire relationship. if you look at the iran deal, we were able to get good cooperation from russia over a period of two years, which was essential to getting this done. we'll cooperate with russia when we can but be clear when we differ. >> president rouhani is up next after the south korean president finishes her speech. i was one of the journalists who met with him on friday morning, and he said that he would not agree to a prisoner exchange, per se, for jason and the other three americans there, but he said while he doesn't have control over the judiciary, maybe through services, we could talk about some arrangement. is there the possibility of a prisoner swap of some sort for iranians that they want back for our four americans? you're the man who arranged to get allen gross out of cuba. you can perform miracles with the help of pope francis.

>> i needed the pope for that one. the fact of the matter is it's a different situation. with respect to the swap we did with the cubans, we had intelligence involved. it was a traditional exchange. >> is something afoot? >> what's afoot is we've been direct with them in every discussion we've had. vienna, geneva and here in new york, about the need to see the americans released. we believe their detentions are unjust. frankly, we believe it would send a good gesture that they want to broaden the relationship. the iranians are putting forward they'd like to see people released from prison. we don't see an equivalence. again, we believe the americans are unjustly detained. we're going to continue to press for their release. the iranians will raise this and other issues. the bottom line is we'd like to see them released on the grounds that they're innocent and should be reunited with their families. >> ben rhodes, on a busy day, you're at the president's side throughout. thank you very much for taking

the time to come across town, which is not easy, even with a motorca motorca motorcade. speaking of cuba and allen gross, castro will be addressing the u.n. this afternoon. he'll meet with president obama tomorrow. this was the scene in 1959 when his brother, then president fidel castro, arrived in new york city, riding high after the revolution. fidel would use his four hour plus stage on the international stage, the longest in u.n. history, to rail against u.s. aggression and imperialism. it would be a final breaking point for u.s. and cuban relations that lasted for decades. tomorrow's meeting between president obama and president castro will be one of the first since restoring well, did you know that playing cards with kenny rogers gets old pretty fast? ♪ you got to know when to hold'em. ♪ ♪ know when to fold 'em. ♪ know when to walk away.

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it will provide major tax relief for middle income and for most other americans. this is a plan that's simple, that's a major reduction. i think people are going to be very happy. this is my wheel house. it's what i do well. the economy is what i do well. >> donald trump talking taxes here in new yorkhis morning. it's the first big policy rollout for the republican front runner who has been short on specifics. joining me now, chris and ann. thank you for joining us. chris, first to you. donald trump, what he said on "60 minutes," today on taxes, how does the policy add up? >> well, it doesn't at the moment, andrea. basically, he would say, if you make $25,000 or less as an individual, you pay no taxes. if you make $50,000 or less as a married couple, you pay no taxes. he would create four other tax

brackets. there are seven currently. you know, it would amount to -- he would basically -- this is the explanation. that's the tax cut. on the interest, getting the money side, he said, we'll get rid of deductions and loopholes. there are things that would hit corporate america, but the math doesn't seem to totally add up here, as is the case often with donald trump. it makes -- sort of when you hear it, yeah, we should pay lower taxes. people who don't make $50,000 should not have to pay taxes. it makes sense when you hear it. it's the details where the devil is. i think that's going to be a case here. at least to his credit he did put out a plan. he is really stayed away from specifics on everything, with the exception of immigration. at least he did put out a plan we can now look through and analyze, as opposed to saying, it's going to be great and everyone is going to be happy and we'll all be rich. >> we have new numbers on

planned parenthood from the poll. 61% oppose eliminating the funding. 35% support it. this after a rather contentious "meet the press" interview that carly fiorina had with chuck todd yesterday. carly fiorina is not backing down from her claims, which have been fact checked to death. that these videos exist as described by her in the debate. what do you make of it? >> i thought the exchange with chuck todd yesterday was fascinating. she didn't back off an inch. she was trying to fact check her during the interview, and she was interrupting him. they went back and forth. she didn't back away for a moment. i can only assume that, first of all, this is something she herself fervently believes, but it also, politically, she sees it as a base motivated, as something the more she says it, the more popular she becomes within a sector of the

republican primary electorate. it's interesting to me that the opposite is also true. every time she says things like that, or other republican candidates say it, the hillary clinton campaign and other democratic organizations send out tweets and fundraising appeals, and all sorts of things, pointing to it. >> thanks very much. meanwhile, pope francis is home at the vatican after ending his historic six-day trip to the united states with an extraordinary visit and a mass in philadelphia sunday. attended by more than 800,000 people. at the airport last night, the pope told well wishers he was leaving the u.s. with a heart full of gratitude and hope. anne thompson has been traveling with the pope every step of the journey. joins moe back from the vatican. i don't know how you do it. you're extraordinary and amazing in every way. tell us about what the pope shared with you and the other

journalists on the flight. >> reporter: well, andrea, i think there were three headlines out of his press conference. first of all were his impressions of the united states. this was his first trip to the u.s. at age 78, and he said he was actually surprised by how warm and lovable and prayerful the american people were. i think far more than he expected. that's the first headline. the second headline is he had more tough words for those who cover up sexual abuse by clergy members. he responded to a question that some people took offense when he spoke to the bishops in washington, d.c., calling how they had gotten through this sexual abuse scandal in the last decade courageous. he said he was not trying to down play it. in fact, he was walking with them, as he often says. he said, to him, it is a

sacrilegious for any priest to do that, and anyone who covers up, even a bishop, is guilty. the third interesting answer he gave at the press conference has to do is conscious objection a human right? he said yes. what if it's a government official? he said, if the official is a human being, he has the right to it. what he didn't say, and some people are saying, well, he's joining the side of kim davis, the kentucky clerk who refused to hand out marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, he never mentioned her by name or any specific situation by name. in that case, he was talking in very broad strokes, andrea. >> thanks so much for all of your coverage. we really, really appreciate your taking the time. we're watching the united nations. iran's president rouhani will be addressing the units nations soon and we'll have coverage of

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breaking news from nasa, which just revealed the answer to a major mystery on the red planet. officials at the space agency announced today the discovery of liquid water on present day mars. these images show dark, narrow streaks formed by saltwater flowing down the slopes of a crater wall. scientists have known for years that mars has frozen water at its poles, but liquid water is considered one of the essential elements for a livable environment. more research needs to be done to determine if there is evidence of life on mars, past, present or perhaps future. this could well be the most important story of the day. meanwhile, president obama will be trying to find out later today, as we said, what vladimir putin is up to in syria and ukraine when the leaders meet around 5:00 eastern.

their first meeting in two years, marking is new low in the relationship which is feeling like the cold war. joining me now is dean at the new school and fellow where she directs the russia project. someone who carries a famous name from russia and the old cold war. what about the putin-obama relationship? >> they have a frosty one. we talk about the cold war, that's where the cold war lies. these people do not get along. they've shown it many, many times over. they haven't metaph formally fo two years. last time, i forgot where they met. very, very unimportant sidelines. i think today's meeting is relevant because this is for the first time they're going to speak face to face about ukraine and about syria. both of them in the speeches at the united nations did show these are relevant matters. we'll see how that goes.

>> at the same time, clearly, putin is seizing on a perceived weakness, vulnerability in american policy in syria. he's making the most out of this. >> absolutely. i think on your show, we spoke about this. he's -- sports is very important to the president's character. he's martial arts expert. that's what he does. he seizes the weakness. the syrian crisis hasn't been resolved since they officially met in st. petersburg in 2013, when barack obama declared the red line the nuclear weapons and putin allowed him to walk back after that statement. so putin does look at weaknesses and does actually use it as his strengths. he's brilliant at that and showed it today in his own speech. >> just to explain, you said that it's martial arts. he sees this as a sports competition with barack obama in?

>> i think men generally, a lot of men, not that women do not, but men see it as a sports competition. i always think it's very important in america we don't -- you or we in america don't look at it as seriously, but phycology in other parts of the world in politicians is very, very important. something in authoritarian culture. putin always shows himself as a ma komc macho man. i don't know if we can use it on national tv, but putin always sits like this, the man strepre. his judo sports is very, very important because he sees weakness and seizes on it. >> thank you so much. now to dr. rouhani, the president of iran. >> translator: he cannot be dealt with as a national disaster or local issue. the pain and emotional distress inflected on millions of muslims

is greater than what can be repaired nearly through material calculations. public opinion demands that saudi arabian officials promptly fulfill their international obligations and grant immediate access for the identification and return of the cherished bodies and remains. moreover, it is necessary that the conditions are prepared for an independent and precise investigation into the causes of this disaster and ways of preventing its repetition in the future. mr. president, distinguished secretary general, ladies and gentlemen, i am speaking on behalf of a nation that, two years ago, voted

constructive engagement with the world. today, a new chapter started in iran's relations with the world. two years ago, the people of iran, in a competitive election, with their votes, gave me a mandate for consolidating peace and constructive engagement with the world, while pursuing national rights, interests and security. this national will manifested itself through a careful and clear diplomatic effort, which resulted in the joint comprehensive plan of action between the islamic republic of iran and six world powers, that was immediately turned into an international instrument with

the ratification of the united nations security council. from the standpoint of international law, this instrument sits a strong pr precedent where, for the first time, two sides, rather than negotiating peace after war engaged in dialogue and understanding before the eruption of conflict. at this point, i deem it necessary to recognize the role of all the negotiators in achieving this agreement. i have decided to bring about a new environment while maintaining our principles, and we succeeded in doing so. where necessary, we moved forward and, where necessary, we showed the courage for flexibility. at each point, we made use of

the full capacity of international law and showcased the potentials of constructive dialogue. the key point regarding the success of dialogue is the fact that any actor in the international system who pursues maximalist demands and does not allow space for the other side cannot speak of peace, stability and development. as in commerce and economic activity, where the interests of both parties should be taken into account, in politics and international relations, as well, multilateralism. win-win solutions should be the basis of engagement. mr. president, the united nations was established to

sustain global peace and security after two world wars. but, unfortunately, it must be said that in most cases, this important international institution has not been successful or effective. this time, however, the united nations made the right decision. though we protest the adoption of unfair resolutions against the islamic republic of iran and the imposition of sanctions against the iranian nation and government, as a result of misunderstandings and sometimes overt hostilities of some countries. however, we believe as an old iranian saying goes, the sooner you stop harm, the more benefit you will reap. today is the very day that harm is stopped. security council resolution

2231, despite shortcomings, was an important development and the basis for terminating sanctions imposing resolutions against iran. we consider as unfair the conduct of the security council in the past and insist that iran, due to the important role of the leader and doctrine never were creating a nuclear weapon. sanctions by countries were based on elusive and baseless allegations and created difficult conditions for our people. but these sanctions never in any way affected the policy that we adopted and the approach we took towards negotiations.

we proved in these negotiations that there is nothing on iran's table other than logic, reason and ethics, and where necessary, legitimate and decisive self-defense against any kind of aggression. for which, ultimately, the united states of america was prompted and forced to set aside pressure and sanctions and choose the table of negotiations and discussions. our seven countries and the european union expended considerable time and diplomatic capital in these negotiations. therefore, they should exert their utmost effort to protect and implement the agreement. we deem the compliance of all parties with their commitm