other top stories today peace breakers nato forces clashed with serbs in northern kosovo for control over a disputed border area which the serbs consider their territory it's the latest outbreak of violence in the region with international peacekeepers once again supporting the cost of one side of the conflict. protests on the streets of greece to violent paralyzing the country for the second day in its biggest general strike in years the parliament to devote more punitive cuts to services record. with america playing to point its stake defenses near russia moscow's had little choice but to beef up its own protection spotlight now asks if this is driving a transatlantic wedge your own r.t. .

hard time. trying. to think. along the european border that has deployed. outside st petersburg. russia to neutralize the european anti-missile defense system which is being created by nato and. the standoff between nato and moscow will not turn into food for cooperation chairman of the state duma foreign affairs committee and the russian delegation to the parliamentary assembly of the council of europe. the european missile defense system is designed to protect nato members from possible aggression from third parties namely iran moscow considers it a threat. will be located in eastern europe. is seen as one of the countermeasures to the nato plans the launchers are mobile

which makes it very difficult to either prevent the missiles from launching. thank you very much it's. well first of all about the. people. new arms race between maybe started between the east and the west irritated by the us anti missile defense plans russia has promised a cheap and efficient response well first of all all of these there's really as cheap as they seem and. what do they call the real reset the end of reset at least who ever sink is comparable and. missiles are definitely not cheap but they are much cheaper than the anti missile systems we short to be deployed in europe by

the united states and by probably by by nato over russia was your budget is smaller the budget is smaller but it is increasing by the way but in any case what muses me much in these comments is that people immediately start to discuss what russia is planing to do not to do while the american plans of deploying these systems are not being discussed that actively that frequently i would like to to recall the recent actions of russia by recent i mean the military actions by russia during the last two decades the russian start when we feared as an independent state was to decrease the so to see the military presence of russia so the years of the russian military presence in europe by forty percent and most of russian will neuter equipment and their armaments were moved out of europe to siberia to to far

east part of russia which was never responded by adequately or by buying it later on the a proposed to keep alive the anti missile treaty between the former soviet union and the united states we refused later on the air head in agreement with nato that. none of efficient new efficient military. resources would be deployed in new member states of nato that was later on ignored by nato when bowlen joined nato when the baltic states joined nato in the remaining joint nato and some of the kind. so we moved out of here up we moved out of the former soviet republics most of russian military bases while the united states continued to deploy new military bases in certain stupid encounters and the last

but not least the current project of anti missile systems which used to be respond responded somehow there i do not think that is can there ease the response this is the the usual military planning of russia i believe because we are outside of nato we are outside of the strongest military alliance in the history of mankind which is very close to the russian borders and to expect from russia that these expansion of nato this military planning of nato will be a left result any response any military spawns would have been absolutely in a physical human shouldn't the increasing russia's military budget well this was one of the reasons why former finance minister could resign he said that he said that the military budget was too high well you and me we both remember the arms race during the service and we all remember that it started very joyfully like like

like a response to america's response to nato like very patriotic really but then suddenly we found ourselves it is that your issue when we were when we were really worried about our own future and our children's future do you see signs of a new arms race going on and did does it worry you it's going well number one mr cool didn't could do and did not resign and he was fired by the president of russia and number two the reason was that the decision to increase the military budgets of russia was a joint decision by the government of russia mr couldn't include it supported later on by the president of russia the basic id. of these decisions is not to storage and you are in series the basic idea is to re inforce the russian military sector and to do to invest more money in the military industry off russia. there and in

the scientific sector of the russian economy to support officers who serve in the army to support a military puncture near a store this is a very complex program and it is not meant to to door to door to respond to the project or any other projects of or for for our partners or in the military area and i believe that the final increase as you remember we are going to spend today into trillions of rubble so during the coming ten years the final result of it will be in any case march much lower then the current expenditure on military purposes by nato countries ok well we will . maybe we will have time to talk about further about and time missile and space defense and even about the russian plans to shoot down asteroids but this is if we

if we have time this problem let's move on because i've got a number of question lined up for you there the other subject is the relations with where with the ukraine. our viewers have on of course heard about the trial. for the former prime minister of ukraine well during the recent meeting between unicorn beach and damage of the russian president said that possibly a new gas contract will be signed with ukraine he well he didn't rule out the possibility though before over the last couple of years russia the russians said no no new contract we have this country and we have to stick to it has something. in this respect the answer is no nothing has changed the position of the russian president until now and for now is absolutely clear the contras which have been signed are to be fulfilled what interferes in your. country in

case the two parts the two commercial partners will agree on anything conditional ok we have no problems with that but for then we need to have further agreements and as far as i know because russia and ukraine are not just two neighbors they are two partners in terms of energy security interests in terms of gas deliveries i do believe that both russia and ukraine are equally interested in having working mutual mutually. efficient qantas in their area so this is why i believe that both russia and ukraine are equally motivated to reach new agreements and to have a functioning system of these agreements so i believe that the new contract is absolutely possible and they hope that it will the new agreement will take place in the nearest future because nobody is interested in seeing in watching how this

conflict is exit generating so so it's not about the relations between these two guys between medvedev and you know courage but it's about the the business relations between gasper arm and the its opposite number in the ukraine so what kind of concessions could convince gazprom to lower prices for example for me the major concession is the price or guest transit the or interested in the territory of ukraine and neither the northern stream nor the southern stream change these situation dramatically will be will continue to use the territory of ukraine as transit territory. as long as we have good contracts with ukraine and this is a big big amount of money and for for gas problem and it is very much into related so i believe that in case you crane is rated to move then russia would suit should

be ready to move i am not in a position to take any in any negotiating position and in this situation but but i believe that what is important is that both russia and ukraine or eager to have countless reach are functional and we are mutually beneficial of the person likes you because you are always ready to take responsibility for at least the foreign steps of the russian government will listen i russia has considered the trial against him a shanker to be to be politically motivated and anti russian this was the official position of the foreign ministry now the european union is suspending it meeting with the in college and moscow is holding a meeting with any college is that a contradiction. no no no it is not a contradiction because number one they may behave maybe aren't happy with the current court decision of the current trial on madame tymoshenko but they have to

respect the independence of the ukrainian juridical system they have to accept it we may have certain opinions on that but we cannot interfere and to my mind the pressure which is now being set on ukraine on the korean leadership by their opinion union is it is too much he is too much it it cannot be accepted because i believe that very much of that pressure is motivated by certain sympathies a certain political force the within the european union i mean the european peoples party where my dump you must center and her party is a member or a seat of member they initiate the support coming from the repeal of the. you know and i don't i don't i don't like it at all either to oversee a grade or towards russia or towards any other independent country at least which is outside of european union will stick to the south and continue right after a great concert in concert shelf talking to spotlight will be back in america sells

they'll stay with us do you. plan. on. bringing you the latest in science and technology from the realms. we've got the future covered. it's just a life long dream for many. but brave real alone is not enough to steer the ship. knowledge endures. and genuine love to the motherland history or require. people who revive the engine craft are sailing through the centuries on r.t.e. .

welcome back to spotlight i'm going of and just to remind my guest in the studio today is concert because i charge chairman of the stadium a committee on foreign affairs and also the head of the russian delegation to the palm tree suddenly at the council of europe mr castro we started talking about about cranes relations with the west were with europe well the trial the trial against you that you mentioned for the for me train prime minister certainly hampers the ukrainian european future as the. put it in and ukraine and ukraine is pretty much afraid that that the response of the european union will be very negative to europe's and to ukraine's integration do you think that this is true that this is really the case will i believe that this is

a very big political game and ukrainian surratt is are in are all being more or less blackmailed by by the repeal in union in order to to to motivate mr unocal which to to set pressure on the court system of ukraine again i do not believe this is a fear approach from the european union but in any case i want to bring europe was never big fan of commission which it was she was prime minister why such such interference now again. is being supported boy very influential political force in europe the european people's party which has the biggest party faction in the european parliament which has the biggest part defection in the parliamentary assembly of the council of europe and they can see how these specific they are living all of our time here seven years ago this is a specific political group initiates all the time these active approach by their

opinion by the council of europe among others but in any case i do not believe that the case of my done. can explode can undermine the relation between the european union and ukraine the union is very very much interested in having q crain as an integral part of their common european space not as a member state of the repeal of the union i do not believe that there is a realistic perspective for ukraine but to keep it inside and to keep it sort of to put it that way to keep to keep it as far as possible from russia they will never acknowledge it but this is. the part of the game and i don't like because this approach either you are results or you are with them is a false approach it does not contribute to the unity of europe in the world it does not work and they feel sympathy with the people of ukraine because they're being

pushed into this position of choice you have to choose either your be very puny union or you are was russia and in this sense i believe i believe that russia acts in their march march more gentle and delicate way we do not ever say to it or ukrainian partners either or and we believe that the membership of ukraine where all participation of ukraine in the custom union in the common european common economic space with russia kazakhstan and below russia does not exclude third or integration of ukraine into the european union so this is a not a case of a choice to my mind and the ukraine ukraine just needs to to handle all alternatives jointly and to take a decision we should all correspond with the national interests of ukraine and these national interest of ukraine are definitely inside of europe but inside of

a united europe because all countries of the european continent included and not excluded as one of the people feeling the pulse of the russian foreign politics do you feel today that this tension with europe is really pushing ukraine. closer to russia for example for example to the customs union or leave it well at least at least i know that the korean leadership now or has restarted the restart of the consideration of different options and i do not believe that this is just the can sequence of the sequence of the pressure which is now being set on ukraine from the opinion from the side of the rippin unit. this is a very sober. financial calculation and the figures are there and the figures point out a very clear perspective there in case he stays outside of the custom union in case your green stays outside of the common economics peace of the custom union of the

eurasian union ukraine will lose march mar much more in comparison with what it gains out of the common economic space with european union mr putin the russian prime minister announced his plans to create what he called the eurasian union on the pearl said space. some immediately he's potent of trying to restore the soviet union well this is rude. the majority of the country the countries do they really want a confident nation with russia what's your opinion number one the puny union was established. through the so-called roma treaty but nobody blames the in initiators of the union project for trying to restore the roman

empire you know this is a very nature a process when certain countries which are neighbors to each other try to to to facilitate their economic legislation the custom regulations and all other things no the answer is no russia does not try to restore the former soviet union russia tries to set on the new project because of the previous barrage of the c.i.s. the common cause of those of independent states rankly speaking it's still a rather good political project but it does not work in economic terms of the call of the civilize. defense did you know it is true the civilizing the divorce instrument exactly so i think that in case both russia kazakhstan belorussia probably kyrgyzstan probably some other countries very broadly you agree in those

conditions there may broadly ukraine see advantages of these cooperation we should forget about trying to to to to to stamp on this project like this duration of the former soviet union or anything else and support integration on the post soviet space for the simple reason this integration contributes very much to the stable economic financial social deal with the element in these countries and i believe that the union should be very much interested in having a stable predictable economic social and all of the developments in russia in ukraine in kazakhstan in the russia in all other so the project of the year eurasian union does not contradict the idea of the common european unity and space it is not aimed against any other union against any other country

and it is to be supported by any of the union and any other country but prime minister putin was hurt by this comparison of his plans to restoring the soviet union because he most of the time at his recent interview to russian television he spent trying to explain that he is not a fan of mr gresham and that he is not restoring they listen. so it didn't hurt him in a while you know that was a question put to him and there were certain campaign against the. servant or forced term of mr putin of the president or for us or ease he will leave he will be elected on that position in march next year or so it is a. they're a natural thing to do to respond these respond these discussions but i do not seeing that this is the the highest priority of mr putin or anybody else in the russian leadership to to to compare and to deny comparison between the more than

russia and the former soviet union it is completely out of the the current the more than agenda of the russian leadership the next parliamentary election russia will take place in december and i know that the europeans the council of europe and the earliest sea are usually giving you a hard time during this election they're trying to send as many observers as they can while the russians are always going to reduce the number of these observers why this is not about the figures it has never been a bold the figures are it is it has been all the time and borrowed the great theory about the principles of the the largest the recent largest election in europe took place in turkey this june i do not believe that turkey is completely out of country versus it is certainly one street certain observers from oh see a bureau for democratic institutions the first proposal doubles russia was two

hundred three hundred or two hundred sixty. twenty times more twenty times more turkey has a population which is just two times list in comparison with russia that russia is trying to go to big military tree we do not speak about the theory to really speak about the number of voters this is because this is a much more diverse than spread the observers across the whole territory well the turkey is not that small either so our our reaction is please give us a good explanation why certain countries are considered as good once and certain countries are considered as bad ones and who is to take that decision and suddenly we discover that these decision is taken on the very unplanned sprint grounds by bureaucrats not politicians and by people who are hired who has core who have contracts who do not represent countries or political politics or innocence in

person no i mean people in the bureau of democratic institutions or do you see it would you which is the major observation by the in the you know see area and suddenly we can not find this great theory we cannot get a good explanation of the you are to be absurd by this number of serious for these or that reason and this is not good and this is why we take a certain position but i will confirm to you that the mentor assembly of the council will send the largest possible delegation to russia the parliamentary assembly of all we see you will send the largest possible delegation to russia and we have reached an agreement to be only see about two hundred observers which is still much much more in comparison with let's say turkey but is it which is which has been accepted by russia thank you thank you very much it's a pity that we didn't have time to discuss the shooting down in advance through his moving towards this. but the but i love that what

a bad about the roman roman treaty not recreating the roman empire that was a good life. you did your homework thank you very much come from was my guess was part of my nature and he's the chairman of the state duma committee on foreign affairs and ahead of the russian delegation to the parliamentary assembly of the council of europe and that's it for now from all of the field spotlight will be back until then stay on r.t. and take a listen. in

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news on our t.v. the face of a fallen dictator this unconfirmed photo was released libyan officials claim colonel gadhafi has died from his injuries after being shot by government troops during his capture earlier today now this news comes from the city of sirte which has reportedly been freed from gadhafi loyalists earlier on today after two months of fighting much more of this head our other top stories we're covering as well. the greek parliament prepares to vote on tough austerity measures as protests continue to paralyze the country for the second day now. but it seems once again on the streets of athens with protests this. to the government's put the state's measures will bring you the latest.