people onto the streets in the first place violence erupted after some demonstrators tried to prevent militant attacks from attacking police lines leading to the death of one man after he was hit by a drunk greaser needs to make more cuts to qualify for another commute bailout and stave off bankruptcy. and in northern kosovo nato peacekeepers fired tear gas at ethnic serbs fighting to keep control of a crossing along the border with serbia christina tried to seize control of the checkpoints during the summer sparking the current standoff during which locals erected makeshift barricades closer than serbs have refused to recognize kosovo's independence and consider the area a part of their home. next as romania approaches the placement of elements of a u.s. anti-missile defense system on its soil and office speaks to constantine the head of the state duma foreign affairs committee about what the impact it might have on u.s. russian relations stay with us for spotlight. hello

again oh welcome to the hard time. trying. to think. of the european border that is deployed. outside st petersburg expert see if russia's move to neutralize the european anti-missile defense system which is being created by nato and. doesn't mean the standoff between nato and moscow will not turn into fruitful 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 to. the launchers 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 apply the into prevent the missiles from launching . thank you very much pleasure to have you here. well as first of all about these kinder missiles and if they were what would people. new arms race between maybe start in between the east and west. irritated by the u.s.

anti missile defense plans russia has promised a cheap and efficient response well first of all are these is can there's really as cheap as they seem and there isn't the end of. what do with all the real reset the end of reset at least we're a 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 russian military budget is smaller than the budget is smaller but it is increasing by the way but in any case what the music's me much in these comments is that people immediately storage to discuss what russia is planning to do not to do while the american plans or for deploying these systems are not being discussed that actively that frequently i would like to

add 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 the armaments were moved out of europe to siberia to far east part of russia which was never responded by adequately or by buying it or later on we opposed 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 bolen joined nato and the baltic states joined nato in the remaining joint nato and some other countries 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 until missile systems which used to be respond responded somehow there i do not thing that is kind there is the response this is 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 and in response any military spawns would have been absolutely in a physical you mentioned the increasing russia's military budget while 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 servitor 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 was going. number one mr cool didn't who 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 budget of russia

was a joint decision by the government of russia mr calderon included supported later on by the president of russia the basic idea of this decision is north to storage and you arms freeze the basic idea is to re inforce the russian military sector and to to to missed 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 partial nearest or this is a very complex program and it is not meant to to to to to or to respond to the project or any other projects of or for for our partners or poignance in the military area and i believe that the final increase

as you remember we are going to spend today into trillions of rubble securing the coming ten years the final result of it will be in any case much 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 leaders have our own of course heard about the trial. for the former prime minister of ukraine well during the recent meeting between a unicorn beach and damage of the russian president said that. sibley and you gas

contract will be signed with ukraine he well he didn't rule out the possibility though before over the last couple of years russian the russians said no no new contract we have this contract and we have to stick to it has something changed 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 we have been signed are to be fulfilled what interfere in your. country in case the two parts of the two commercial partners really 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 contacts in the 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 x. 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 v or into. it is the territory of ukraine and

neither the northern stream nor the southern streams change these situation dramatically will be will continue to use the territory of ukraine as a transit territory as long as we have good contacts with ukraine in this is a big big amount of money and for for gus braun 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 any any 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 because of the person like c. 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 fischel 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 may be unhappy with the current court decision of the current trial on madame tymoshenko but they have to respect the independence of the cranium juridical system we 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 sim persist. a certain political

force the it within the european union i mean the european peoples party where. the and have part it is a member or a seat of member they initiate the support coming from the repeal of the union and i don't i don't i don't like it at all either oversee a grade or towards russia or towards any other independent country at least we choose our side of that opinion and we will stick to the south and continue right after a great coaster can cause a child talking to spotlight will be back in a minute the cells don't stay with the new. cultures that so much ally the people at my area will dance at all want to tell a different presley fifteen hundred occupy protests occurring in eighty two countries worldwide this is a global protest movement with staying power. to

. welcome back to spotlight i'm going of and just to remind my guest in the studio today is concert because i charmed chairman of the state duma committee on foreign affairs and also the head of the russian delegation to the parliament tree suddenly at the council of europe is the question we started talking about about. ukraine's

relations with the west were with europe well the trial the trial against yulia timoshenko the former prime minister certainly hampers the ukrainian european future as they 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 well i believe that this is a very big political game and ukrainian authorities are and 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 come when she was she was prime minister why such such interference now again why don't you motion 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 party faction in the parliamentary assembly of the council of europe and they can see how these specific a little i'll tell you here is years ago this 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 dumb too much ankle can explode can undermine the cooperation between the european union and ukraine the union is very very much interested in having q korean as an target 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 they don't like because this approach either your results or you are with them is a false it broach it does not contribute to the unity of europe in the world it does not look 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 with 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 the 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 belarus are does not exclude throws 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 of this 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 think 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 they 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 rippin union from the site of the rippin union this is a very sober. financial calculation and the figures are there and the figures point out a very clear perspective that in case you create states outside of the custom union in case your green stays outside of the common economic space 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 peony union was established. through the so-called roma treaty but nobody blames the initiator of the union project for trying to restore the roman empire you know this is a very nature will 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 you know 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 core of the bills of independent states frankly speaking it's still a rather good political project but it does not work in economic terms of call of the civilized 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 country broadly ukraine 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 to ration of the former soviet union or anything else and support integration on the poor soviet space for the simple reason this integration contributes very much to the stable economic financial social deal with development in these countries and they believe that the

european union should be very much interested in having a stable predictable economic social and all of the developments in russia in ukraine in kazakhstan india russia and all others 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 in 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 the the soviet union so it didn't hurt him you know well you know that was a question. put to him and there are certain campaign against the.

cert or force term of mr putin of the president or for us or ease he will eat he will be elected on that position in march next year or so it isn't there a natural thing to do to respond to these to respond this discussion 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 in the car and the more than agenda of the russian leadership the next parliamentary election russian will take place in december and i know that the europeans the council of europe and the earliest see are usually giving you a hard time during this election they're trying to send as many observers there as they can while the russians always want to reduce the number of these observers why

this is not about the figures it has never been involved the figures are what it is it has been over time and borrowed the great theory about the principles of the the largest the recent largest election in here took place in turkey this june i do not believe that turkey is completely out of country versus it is certainly in one street certain observers from. the 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 and leave the territory we do not speak above the theory to who we speak about the number of voters this is the reason 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 ease 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 or do you reaches the major observation body in the know seen 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 europe will send the largest possible delegation to russia the parliamentary assembly of all we see 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 greece let's say turkey but the reaches 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 disaster as moving towards a risk. 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 team mates 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 spotlight will be back until then stay in our team and take a closer. i'm

all for the cooling of the latest in science and technology from the ground force and. we've got the future of covered. breaking news on t.v. former libyan leader moammar gadhafi is dead shot by government forces during an attack on the city of syria. protesters battle outside the greek parliament while inside the building the lawmakers passed the people on the streets of the first place. peacekeepers. to keep control of the police so.