big. big. big.

deal. president medvedev and i'm going to discuss iran's nuclear ambitions on the sidelines of a summit in azerbaijan with five nation states and their claims to the caspian sea energy treasure. the new start treaty is the cornerstone of russia u.s. corporation president obama presses for the reduction deal to be given the green light in congress. president obama is trying to push his arguably major foreign policy through the senate. in washington d.c. i'll be back with more in just a few moments. russian businessman victim who says u.s. authorities offered him a deal but only if you confess to crimes he insists he did not commit. moscow says

it will continue providing all necessary support victor boot but does not proclaim whether the russian citizen is innocent or guilty. with twenty four hour news from russia and from around the world this is r.t. in moscow for the first time since backing u.n. sanctions against iran over its nuclear program russia's president has met iranian leader mahmoud ahmadinejad and it was those suspected atomic ambitions which were the focus of the talks held in azerbaijan the two work meeting at a summit of the five nations bordering the caspian sea all of whom have claims to the fast energy resources equal piskun of this report. the meeting between the president's offer russia and iran is surely one of the biggest highlights of the

summit since it's the first time but the much. russia back to the latest set off during sanctions on iran and also cancel the shipment of the asked three hundred air defense systems a move which was strongly criticized by iran and caused a significant a significant chilling in relations between the two countries after the meeting with her that this was a positive meeting and that both presidents were not afraid to talk about complicated and even unpleasant issues and of course iran's controversial nuclear program was discussed and moscow says that it's keen to get a clearer picture of iran's of views on the situation and also explain its position in order to try to move the dispute from the deadlock that's currently in russia and iran are neighbors in the caspian region and to moscow says that it's also keen to continue cooperation with iran in many other spheres like peaceful nuclear energy just remind you russia built the bush era nuclear power plant for iran and

also even to trade as well if these arms to sold on his door in full under the latest set off a sanctions president outline a new job the iranian leader said of that these this latest set of sanctions is ineffective and also called the international community to stop what he called was aggression one talking about iran's nuclear program if it wanted to this a long standing dispute to finally come to an end well let me just tell you a little bit about the caspian sea itself first of all the caspian sea is extremely rich in natural resources we're talking about up to twenty billion tons of oil and gas that's comparable with the deposits in the persian gulf also up to ninety percent of the global sturgeon catch is done here as well and during soviet times the sea was shared between the soviet union and iran but after the collapse of the

u.s.s.r. new new independent states emerged in the region and obviously everybody wants a piece of the poor. well however the sea still hasn't been officially divided and this is the third such summit the summit of the caspian nations it's meant to figure out how to divide the sea and to build up enough fissile status for the sort of all to see the decisions taken at this summit are quite important and do effected the lives of millions of people living in the in the bounding countries. you can a piece of there barack obama has asked his vice president to focus day and night on getting the congress votes needed to ratify a key arms cuts deal with moscow that's after a bomb addressed a bipartisan meeting in the white house where he urged republicans to approve the strategic arms reduction treaty before the end of the year what he's going to church can has more now from washington. obama set down with senators both democrat and republican to once again explain why the treaty needs to be ratified now he

said what's at stake now is the u.s. national security and there's nothing more important for this lame duck session as this senate's time in office is running out the start treaty pensions reached their peak earlier a key republican stark negotiator in the senate jon kyl said that there are very important things to do now in the senate and shouldn't ron rush on the treaty ratification what's on the line now is arguably obama's major foreign policy achievement obama once again made it clear the start treaty is the milestone of the reset in u.s. washable nations there we said which as has been paris lee reminding resulted in critical cooperation from moscow on of ghana's stand and iran's the new start treaty is also a cornerstone of our relations with russia. and this goes beyond nuclear security russia has been fundamental to our efforts for strong sanctions in place to put pressure on to deal with it's your program it's been critical in supporting our

troops in afghanistan through the northern distribution network it's been critical in working with us to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world. to enhance european security there is an understanding that further cooperation plans could go south without this treaty this key attribute in place to start is not just about reducing both country's nuclear arsenals by a third it's seen as a symbol of trust between the two nuclear superpowers many capitol hill observe a save the debate is really not no longer about the content of the treaty but rather about flexing political muscle so there is a huge bipartisan support for the treaty among experts but not on the hill today we heard the head of russians they do foreign relations committee because i think a such role say the treaty is too important to be a victim of political bickering we will be. responsibility for the american port it

will be their responsibility for the sale of the port of the settlement which will oppose the certification and they do not want to believe in these respective because it is too dangerous to forgivable so to see in terms of the global security we are both the united states and russia have a special responsibility to reach it can not be related to the interests of a certain political parties which may be the case in the ongoing discussions in the streets and many capitol hill observers here in washington say the whole debate star ratification debate now comes down to the question whether some republican senators are ready to undermine a landmark treaty which the most experts represents common sense just for the sake of picking on obama going to church can reporting there nato is poised for a crucial summit in lisbon this weekend to map out missile defense strategy in afghanistan and the entire role of the alliance the presidents of russia and the

u.s. will meet their russia's envoy to nato says while moscow in the alliance are moving closer on some issues common ground on nonproliferation and missile defense in europe still needs work nato secretary-general anders fogh rasmussen told r.t. that russia's participation in the european security system will be talked about seriously at the session. and nato will decide to develop a nato based missile defense system at the summit and of course we can't expect the russian president to give an answer just a few hours after a nato decision but what we will do at the nato russia meeting in lisbon is to initiate during the analysis of how nato russia corporation and research defense could be implemented and that would be a very very positive step forward saw. i think the nato

russia meeting in lisbon will be a very positive and very productive meeting and you can see the full interview with folk in spotlight with our going on and that's later here on r.t. . well some experts not share the optimistic expectations of the nato chief political writer diana johnston is skeptical about the chances of the alliance and russia cooperating successfully in the future especially in areas such as missile defense. i don't see how really they can work together unless it's completely on their terms or said by the united states and i think that this offer is simply to quell any objections that might exist in europe that were offending russia but in fact i think it's a perfect example of the way the obama administration says two things that are opposite all the time we want to be friendly but we're building up our defenses we

were going to get rid of nuclear weapons but we're going to develop some more i don't see that the united states has decided it's pointless to have confrontation with russia why then is it building up forces in the arctic. bringing canadian and scandinavian forces who is only purpose could be to confront russia over resources in the arctic the united states is carrying out military maneuvers in the baltic clear whose only opposition could be russia and the black sea so i don't see it really that the united states has decided that confrontation with russia is pointless again it's a double thing they say one thing and they do another since it's a big bureaucracy the pentagon you don't really know exactly what the policy is. still to come this hour here on r t out of the frying pan into the fire with gypsies face harassment and ultimately deportation from some countries and later

the new challenges waiting for them in vogue area. but also still come to some time to quit russians officially light up more than any other nation on earth find out what's being done to kick the habit that's threatening to slowly kill the country. those stories still to come first russian businessman vic to boot says he came under severe pressure from u.s. authorities to admit charges of arms trafficking and terrorism he's now in a new york prison and has rejected all accusations against him moscow says it will offer consular help to boot although russian officials say that doesn't mean they think he's innocent real portnoy reports now from new york. the case surrounding viktor bout has been quite a tug of war between russia and the u.s. and the presidential aide to dmitri medvedev recently spoke out saying that the charges that the u.s. have leverage against victor boot a russian citizen a serious and russia would like for those charges to be thoroughly investigated and

russia is providing assistance to victor boot but russian officials have underscored the fact that that does not mean or should not be translated into a meeting that moscow believes victor boot is innocent or guilty they are just trying to make sure that everything is going according to plan and no laws are being violated and russian officials also said that they have nothing to hide in this circumstance the situation they're being very transparent and some have accused the u.s. of not being very transparent when it comes to picture boots extradition from thailand to new york you're. willing to stress to the u.s. authorities of some very serious improved. russian citizen we have nothing to conceal we do consider this case is anything of the we want to see this investigation. he will be given.

who the they are the me we are claiming he's innocent you move to moscow is also accusing washington of a double standard so we have to remember boot forty three year old russian citizen is being accused of smuggling weapons to fork rebels that would have been used to kill americans yet russian officials say that washington did provide georgia with several weapons many weapons that were used during the war in. which hundreds of civilians were killed so obviously a very contentious and sensitive situation surrounding picture of this right now many are speculating about. fact of whether victor boot can get a fair trial in the u.s. two russian diplomats did visit visit with mr boucher in the federal prison where he's being held in lower manhattan one russian diplomat said that he he is right now in ok circumstances he was the fifty hydrated he's being held in solitary

confinement mr booth said that his all of his funds were essentially stolen while he was held in prison in thailand for more than two years boot is alleging and says that during his extradition flight from thailand to the u.s. u.s. officials had tried to pressure him to admit to the charges that have been leverage against him and in return they promised him some privileges said that he did not give in to what they wanted and so at this point he is now in solitary confinement in a federal prison the u.s. attorney had also held a press conference outlining the charges against victor boot and let's take a listen to what exactly they are their tribute now stands charged in this district the southern district of new york with four charges one conspiring to kill united states nationals two conspiring to kill united states officers and employees three

conspiring to use an acquire anti-aircraft missiles and for conspiring to provide material support to the fark victor boot will be in court in early january that's the next time scheduled to take place. we're in a point where roma people are facing growing prejudice across europe some e.u. countries blame the community for rising crime and tackle it by deporting them but for the roma the situation in their native countries is appalling many live in slums and are unable to access basic services what is daniel bushell reports now from gary. seems like we could become common across europe the mayor of this town in southern belle geary and told r.t. he had to tear down this block of flats because the room residents who turned it into a slum the pile of rubble is all that's left of the housing estate what all thor it is called

a public health hazard infested with rats cockroaches and fleas thousands of roma called their home. some have moved to this wasteland no shelter health care or education for the children. well the dog citizens where there's a treat us like the schools won't take my son because he has lice and disease people here ask is this what the e used become with winter approaching they'll be sleeping in the cold. first to you politicians bury their heads in the sand but only we can solve their own problems a lot of good. friends to send tens of thousands of rover back to bulgaria sweden it's a leader mark in germany had similar policies they use justice commissioner says it reminds her of world war two one of the evicted told me he picks pockets to feed his family member countries report rumor offenses are shooting up pushing rising numbers into angry and she gypsy groups the biggest problem. is the crime already

like a civil war. or else. the life of the people campaign is one that most roma said by chance and other states can't integrate because there aren't enough jobs for them and paul gearing up with education opportunities limited music remains one of their few past success. a racy gypsy style of pop cool child go talk to the chops but campaigners say if it conflicts are set to surge until the e.u. learns to live and work with roma not just enjoy the music in the nightclubs then you push your party saffir. and of course you can check out our website for the news features and analysis here's some of our what's online there for you right now at r.t. dot com changing allegiance with u.s. troops moving out of iraq it's feared local armed groups are turning back to their old militant masters. self-fulfilling prophecy

a siberian man faces twenty years behind bars for killing two people while seeking revenge on a fortune teller who predicted he'd end up in prison you can find out more plenty of other features and dot com. time for some more international news for you this hour here in our world update the governor of the central bank of ireland says he expects the country to accept a substantial loans part of the bailout package alone could be tens of billions of euros it all comes after eurozone finance ministers vowed to support the country with its struggling economy should request help the markets have been spooked by fears that some smaller member countries all and capable of paying back their debts . the first time obey a prisoner to be tried in the u.s. civil court has been found guilty on just one counterterrorism who's facing over two hundred eighty to thirty six year old ahmed ghailani it was convicted for his involvement in two attacks on american embassies in africa in one thousand nine hundred eight when more than two hundred people were killed get at least twenty

years in prison at guantanamo campus for its constant worldwide criticism amid revelations of torture and abuse of detainees. it's official russia has the most smokers per capita in the world the statistics just released yet another reminder to the government that it needs to up its game to help people quit and as our reports they're not taking this battle line down. brief but graphic the world health organization and the russian government are hitting the airwaves with a campaign meant to stamp out cigarettes in a nation where a pack of smokes is sometimes cheaper than a bottle of water a new study shows that more people live here than anywhere else in the world more than half of all men do a number smaller among women a twenty five percent but it's growing according to the world health organization diseases associated with addiction kills nearly five hundred thousand russians every year about forty seven percent of small cars cost mockers today they start

small get in the age of fifteen sixteen and the said thank is that tobacco industry no u.s. provides very glamorous and to get the toys the government is taking action by banning cigarette ads and cigarette promotions in t.v. and film beginning in twenty eleven lawmakers are also pondering the possibility of making it more expensive to puff prime minister putin is asking legislators to lead by example a case of human government members smokes one to three feet we have better statistics than in the countries nuns failed to show at least on this issue. and i knew that wasn't what i think they'll try to quit smoking won't they. what are you going to do to fight smoking opinion you should suit your own example by quitting. i was just what are you laughing at you smoke to you've got to quit to have some

call the government's anti smoking efforts and overzealous infringement of their rights. then it's wrong to create a water ban me from smoking or told it's like benon you from where is cause oh no i won't care if there is a ban as smoke if i want to smoke. more and more measures are on the way including a complete public ban on smoking in bars and restaurants. to take place by two thousand and fifteen so you know what it's like when you go out like your favorite perfume or cologne but by the end of the night it's like you just rolled around in somebody's ashtray because this was still a vision. you'd be able to tell that the air is clear because what moscow's first mochrie bar so you can smell the same way of going out if you did coming in marbella is the baby abel. who himself has been cigarette free for four years his aim is to have a stash place where nonsmokers can breathe easy. look at the experience of european

countries profit depends on whether one likes it here or not if i can create a couzin relaxed atmosphere and make people here feel joy and be merry i will earn my money. so for some muscovites the smoke free future is now stacy didn't r.t. . global heavyweights have been working to find a remedy to the world economic strife it forms in the asia pacific region to discuss a situation with no obvious solution or to be caught up with the author and journalist told cook to hear his views that's in a special interview next. how

best to restructure global financial institutions like the world bank and the i.m.f. to better reflect today's economic landscape that's the challenge facing world leaders and businessmen and as tensions rise over the ongoing of the so-called currency war and the related to seaward global trade imbalances raising the risk of a move towards protectionism the pressure really is on to talk us through some of these challenges i'm now very pleased to say i'm joined by correspondent from the christian science monitor. thanks for being with us here on r.t. mr kirk now we are in the midst of what's being dubbed a currency war with the u.s. and china really at loggerheads each accusing the other of currency manipulation

you think there's a way out of this and well there may be a way out of it but i'm not. certain that we're going to get out of it any time soon the g. twenty summit did not come out with any. consensus on currency balances they certainly came out with strong resolution of the so that it's not good they said volatility is not good and all this other stuff is not good but actually agree on a way to on the way to resolve it aside from recognizing the problem and saying yes let's try to resolve it and then of course the. issue of global trade imbalance is do you think the u.s. is justified in. export having countries like china and germany succumb to their reliance on exports in order to rebalance trade it when appropriate well you know i don't know if the u.s. is justified but i will say the u.s. has a terrific trade deficit and the trade deficit with china is just enormous you know

it's like china exports several times as much as the u.s. exports to china and so you know from a common american point of view the u.s. has got to do something about this obviously the u.s. has to take care of a lot of domestic problems its own problems its own internal problems no doubt about that but they also have to lean on exports to raise the value of their currency to more realistic levels as president obama pointed out quite frankly in his press conference china intervenes heavily in the market to keep the you want to keep the renminbi that you won at a lower rate than it really should be so you know. the u.s. has to do something and they've got to they've got to improve domestically and they've got to try to improve they've got to try to slash. you know surpluses of other countries are gambling in the u.s. or for behaving that way and we don't want of the squabbling do you think that

there really is a danger that countries might be considered local to their reign if you know i can see protectionist policies i think there's a real danger of that and the danger is not just countries elsewhere around the world of the dangers within the u.s. the american congress might get protectionist if this goes on they're not going to get protectionist right away they're not going to get protectionist next year the next congress is not going to be protectionist but over the years protectionism it could certainly build and finally the congress would say ok keep out all this foreign stuff you know that's. all these. boars i'm not saying that's good that part is not good. in fact that's the real danger that's not a solution that's a danger but that could happen and also other countries could certainly respond with protectionist measures of their own a lot of countries already have protectionist measures one of one sort or another and how would you gauge gloop reaction to that shock announcement we recently had

from the federal reserve that it was going to a second round of quantitative easing that six hundred billion dollars being pumped into the economy we have some partial christmas coming out from a developing economy saying that that's seriously bored it could whomp their markets but also from countries like germany right right that was a shocker. the u.s. federal reserve announced that it was buying treasury bonds worth six hundred billion dollars and this was on top of the previous purchase of treasury bonds worth one point seven billion dollars this is an invitation for the u.s. to print ever more one hundred dollar bills you know there are some people who are not quite as critical to us as others but i don't recall anybody applauding us i don't recall anybody saying oh smart move i don't i don't think i don't think anybody said that there were some people who were not critical but they didn't they didn't they were not in favor either you know. many thanks for joining us on it

good to be with you thank you. those so many years of past some former prisoners are still a lot. as well as for. those so many years of past. summer hoping to find the same. others take their executioners longing for justice. though so many years of past. memory is to minimize as well as hope and hate.