never told goes into. the c.s. love you guys insulted historical hotels of a culture in the city. called smalls. madame as a good up until the strength for this the become the photo. book about you without the light from moscow recapping our top stories and a major u.s. bank allegedly loses a billion dollar investment from libya's a sovereign wealth fund and goldman sachs is one of the banks to blame for the recent economic crisis putting the financial woes of the american and libyan people in the same boat. meanwhile in libya nato helicopters have hit their first targets are talking colonel gadhafi forces near the port city of put up russia's

foreign minister has slammed the coalition's actions saying it's a signal of the ground operations in the country. and a huge fire which has been raging for more than a day and it destroyed an ammunition and death row in the central russia has now been extinguished there are still occasional explosions and a number injured in the incident it's nearing. my colleague dogs here in half an hour's time but for now it's our interview show spotlight and aspirations war between russia and america host al going off in his guests discuss what this could mean in reality and not just in the world of politics thanks for watching. hello again and welcome to spotlight day and every show i think i'll bring up and

today we'll speak about one of the most important issues international relations u.s. russia. russia is a bit chilled and said w t l now has a vital support from the. can strengthen ties even more russian that has agreed on a new these are issues starting this autumn russians will be able to get three year visa but what else do people and businesses want from moscow and washington. other director of the institute for democracy and cooperation and then you can be going on and the president and c.e.o. of the u.s. russia business council. is right some political spats between moscow and washington that you are getting closer to the u.s. has agreed to help lay the welcome mat for russia at the w t o. russian travelers and business. dissipating the introduction of the extended three year

american visa i'll get you one with no easy times. hello ed hello underneath thank you very much mostly for being with us on the show and first of all i wanted to to hear your comments on something that we hear through the grapevine these days and that michael mcfaul and probably moving to moscow as the new american ambassador and should we expect something from him from this and how problems it will be used. well it's a rumor i think she really does. but maybe we can speculate on the basis of the rumor. michael mcfaul is. someone who is known to be close to president obama he is a scholar on russia is an expert field he's worked very closely with the members of the ministration spent some time also working with people on capitol hill so i

think he summing up this is true and assuming that he is confirmed. then i think he would be a very good representative and in no way reflects negatively on the current bassett ambassador barly who has the highest reputation here in russia i know and also in the united states and we would hope i would hope that this is true that he would remain in some form or another involved with. with us russia relations in an official capacity or an unofficial one either way and. the crow is one of the main architects of the need of bama post it was russia when i met him. actually the day of why we happened to be on the plane together with mark for what you do you celebrate your good days only. he wanted to sleep i said no no you have to share with me a glass of champagne at least. it really unfortunate for an

american city needs and the ravinia i want to play. she's going to have more than ringing away team but that moment a special letter from president obama to president needed. he at the time told me that he was the alter over this phrase reset i hear he wrote that for biden at least right here that he was very active and he was very supportive to that poor was the first that. worked here actually here was i think the rector of carnegie. endowment here in moscow. is it true that the speculation that that they decided to to send a new venice of their house to generally. became a hero of that we can leaks one thing i do these things are nothing alike something

or something i don't think so by the way some other rumors in washington and new york that might be a mark for his living the administration and returning back to stanford. but was also the rumor but now it is more realistic might be that he really going to be. very very and russia because otherwise might be hit put. you know i don't know. but traditionally you country keep your ten year ship in university for longer than for some years and might be there was an option either to go back to stanford or to get a promotion until he got the promotion and i would agree with you then it's and then generally is a very good investor and really the job in one of his latest statements is a matter of fact made russians very happy he said that probably we are very close

to green are now three years these are for americans and for russians going to the united states do you think that that if we design really to see two to be able to grant three years these are people that this is a real step to visa free regime well we imagine these are free with the united states well to go back to work you said earlier now it was officially announced that the overall summit was common that with may get a visit there. that there will be some agreement on visas they're working on it give a time for when it would actually be adopted but yes visa free visa three year visas multiple entry for businessman interests and twelve months for officials which is a huge step forward. you know what's that's that's progress enough that makes it considerably easier for people to do business or for people to come visit russia or in the other direction. i think it's probably too soon to talk

about a visa free regime this is progress very substantial progress and i think. it . symbolizes the progress that we've made under the the the new relationship the reset if you will engineering on the other hand we're speaking you're going to go it's. a very easy thing easy give easy regime will give them worse year was a record on rejection. i mean visas to russians i have information that early this spring seventy percent of russian students applications were rejected two states how does this add up to two to trucking the president to talking about about free travel and the embassies that are rejecting. two hundred three applications. it's very strange because you know recently i read. a very interesting article

concerning. the level of unemployment in the us and practically no economy as a percent were. prior to crisis but now fewer people are producing that amount as they produced earlier and that's why it's a problem what to do with the people under one some proposals was the proposal that might be americans must is old it's restrictions and limitations in order to bring new tourists to create new industries and to make people busier our little boys and students experience the same kind of hustle getting getting visas to version. well maybe i could answer that you really have to have to begin to foreign minister. and then we can have the students mr to see that in prior years very large numbers of russians have gone to the us students on

temporary work visas and they work in seasonal resorts and iras where there is a shortage or have been a shortage of of labor service personnel during certain seasons and the summer is one of them. so if this seventy percent reduction may be off of a very high base for that particular category of visa i don't know i'm not familiar with it. there there has never been the same kind of flow in the other direction and and partly because russia doesn't offer a temporary work regime for american students. and in part because it's very expensive to come to russia on a student budget. very i mean if you can a combination of both growth and the visa itself of course is this is the most who continues to be a very exclusive city for us the most the most expensive so i don't think it is the

number one. no i don't think it's the britain as it's number three according to the ratings by a number three it used to be number one and it was there but you know if you're tourists in the heat of london that's not going to go kill yeah you know someone who the funny thing is that the russian primate when we first heard that the most he was the most expensive thing he was like oh that's a great achievement if we were the first in space and with. the booze the expensive things hundred. is there who actually and said that this three year visa is very good itself i mean he said something like enough is enough but i saw one in the. so your point of view do you think we can we can expect a visa free regime with the states in our lifetime because because i think i feel that that we are moving to these if we will show good zone. can we expect to see

with this i think i'm not i'm sure around not social in her lucian years with cancer here because you know if we solve the problem with europeans and i believe it will pave the way for a visit for a region where the united states might be some time. in the long run one who were used to pursue mistakes because because of the tradition in our relations are bitter because of the present state of relations. you know i don't i we have to wait for the outcome of the elections in both countries and night. night be there is a kind of. suspicious approach on bill for american public and the world to see the role of the russia might be some grants or it's based on the number of people who see visas who comes the united states and overstayed

a visa it's it's not directed at russia there are other countries that also. have a higher rejection rate and it's because of the history of losing something many people who are out of status it's very easy to come to the u.s. very easy to find work here and it's a very open culture through to immigrants so that when someone shows up it's not it's it's relatively easy to become integrated and what not what we've got some twelve million illegal residents and things that change and i wanted to mention here that's because this is the problem of immigration there is a problem no one employed on. the there's the what those discussions what to do with the mexican border say i'm join you can you can i name and direct two of the institute for democracy and cooperation and rwanda the president and c.e.o. of the u.s. russia this is spotlight will be back shortly onto a short break stay with them though.

but then i kill innocent. oh i say. this of course and that's never answered. mamma sharpen the skull still with me i think of it every day. the flashbacks from the memories. of so much so long time

this year trying to tell. i was. i was ashamed that i didn't. i was ashamed that i hadn't been a hero why i got my arm i got my legs. what i want the vietnam house of cards for till. then i'll believe what i was going on was all i think. that i was a good soldier. but now most soldier on the other side and i think i'm just an. welcome back to spotlights i'm old enough and just to remind my guests in the studio today our and any comedian i know and director are of the institute for

democracy and confirmation and the road the president and c.e.o. of the us russia business council gentlemen we've started to talk. about these years and this is a pretty new issue in russian american relations talking about visa facilitation probably even moving to a visa free regime the president's respective countries are talking about it in france recently and no i will not change the subject and talk about something very symbolic something very historic and russian or a crew ations and the jackson valley can read your own journalists who interview people like hears like the general ask one of the jets nobody can dream and be and we all will know will never be lifted you know the answer the answer is never i think so but i'll still ask the question maybe i'll use something else that i you're very disappointed because it will be left of. christmas and when you. went

down to come one is never. a mistake we may see that. lifted within. a day but. soon so and maybe that's by the end of this year the administration has made it very clear this administration which is the third administration consecutively that is this pledge to remove jackson vereker to make the efforts necessary to get congress to do that i think that this year it will do so it is publicly said that it supports it and when vice president biden was here in moscow in march he said that he personally would be leading the administration's efforts in congress to get it lifted. and it's both because that law is no longer relevant it's an anachronism and i think out of respect for our legal traditions we should remove laws for the books that are no longer valid but also because it has

a very will have or would have a very material impact on american business interests. when russia gets into the w t o if we have a list of we could. although we fully mean joining the media and having the the wealthy are going to start russia from having the most favored nation status with all the other members of the w t o but it would mean that we the united states would not be able to extend that to russia and consequently russia would have no obligation to extend m.-f. and status to us if it chose not to you both are not new to the studio and really we been talking about the jacksonville agreement very think you were you one of the guys who said that there let's leave it to the americans because because it's in their interest there's the rub here i remember now is it's not i was discriminated today it's the american business discriminated the how you do you think this is the reason why they finally want to have that i think as a representative of american business community. here in

a way american russian business community here was up with the correct of course they are from joining up with your american companies would like to work in a russian market under similar world european or asian carp and i understand so of course it's but i don't think i can say that this is only their interest or our interest it's received. it of the interest of both countries i think it would to repeal this amendment and know that you know that we're on its ascent and i think because all presidents are suspending every year the deer you know this certify compliance yes but then this is a rather symbolic you know it can have a symbolic effect it will show that our countries are moving in the right direction

and. a word that came from from the real in that there is a you know the rumor we heard maybe not even the roots the fact that the g eight. once the taunts of the russian entry to the door we do you completed by the end of this year how good are the chances that is going to happen will you think. well i'm an optimist by profession. so i'm going to say that i think it's a very good chance that it will be done. by the end of the year the russians are saying that they think that they could complete their their package of their negotiations by july. they met on. tuesday and have just announced that there will be another meeting of the working group on july twenty third so we're looking forward to that that should be the date when russia would be able to say well we've comply i'm not such an optimist that i think that will be the case i think it's going to it's going to go into before but it's

a question of russia doing some things that it has to do it has to harmonize its customs schedules with the other members of the customs union which it still hasn't done and with the the international customs code and there are there are many many lines of customs code that have yet to be fully harmonized it also has to clarify for the members of the working group what its own internal procedures are for addressing disagreements or a misunderstanding there or simply ambiguity in the in the customs adjudication of customs cases that's the that's the russian side it's a result of having announced the customs union when negotiations had already gotten very far ahead so can it be done yes another issue though and it should be clear there are some outstanding. disagreements or outstanding areas involving

intellectual property rights sanitary fetus sanitary standards encrypt. trade related investment measures and other things and that it's clear ever. but he wants russia in a very t.-o. and about president obama said it when he was sitting next to president and yet even though we brought them in but that doesn't mean that we are not pushing hard to make sure that russia complies fully with the the standards of the w t l and it intends on force we just mentioned a number of popsicles to to to to to finalizing the talks of which is certain to don't we to you but many russian i'm sure that the main obstacle is judea is going to truly. georgia is an obstacle but. i think the western artists are a bit. that's important to the behavior of georgian government because they are put in a not economic you know problems but political problems as

a precondition for. agreeing to. russia's joining of w t o. but try to include a lot of ones who have been so that might be we can join you one would consent of georgia because of the charter over the going to you gives an opportunity to you from only one country is again you can ignore. this you my next question is the obstacle will be i don't like this people who washington trying to convince georgia to to stop their rubbish you. struck. by my understanding of the u.s. position is that. a session is by. by consensus and that is unanimous. well i still think that it's possible that we'll see what

you are but you know that it is possible if one of the one countries again you can join up with you at least already. i know that lavrov his service i think there are these are images as they were of the interpretation. of the american dream and which governs that for seizure. you know it's a it's it's up to russia and georgia to come to some understanding. of the swiss have appointed someone as a as a mediator and we hope that with that some sort of. arrangements can can be made. president obama said though bill that he personally or it was said by his advisor that president obama was very much involved in these discussions so that we have an interest we see. we want russia in a very into you know and and we may have some influence with with with the georgian government but it would be

a mistake i think to assume that you know we just click our fingers and they do what we ask i don't think that's true the russian prime minister said that russia is this advantage today because because we are following the w t o rules which we're not getting the advantages because we're not yet members maybe and really maybe we should start following the rules until we become members oh yes i think my good that was. is that what you know that. earlier tonight that was the reason to worry here if you remember once. giant. three countries together of the customs union. because i remember the journalist involved clarke meeting would put and he said listen we are negotiating for seventeen years we have. sick and tired of these negotiations that's why why do we need to advance our

cooperation with our neighbors and solve our own problems and live that alone border police might be there is a necessity for other partners to ripe. to be more positive and sense of russia's accession and to a level a two year window where when i say are we waiting for for the relations that can be said now this mean that you gentlemen think that that that that the upcoming elections both in russia and in the united states are not going to really influence influence the the relations between the countries very short yes or no. planning on the outcome here yes it will be hard on things. serious and now you thing. it's when the trend is strong i think the last year or so the mid-term

elections are you just made the comment on that i said the independent political is going to win in the us there is no alternative to this respect for with. a man i think he's achieved considerable progress on the research and we saw him in the new start agreement that's that's of if it were only for that i would say that this is been a great success other things like a the the the northern corridor for resupplying of the nato efforts in afghanistan very significant very important will that change i don't think so but some other parts of the relationship probably could general thank you thank you very much just a reminder that my guest on the show today we're going in ukraine young director of the institute for democracy in cooperation and at the road the president and c.e.o. of the u.s. russia business council that's it for now spotlight moving back with more for their comments on what's going on in and outside russia until then figure out scene and take a. thank you. home

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