the benefits of joining. the coalition we're not going with our heads high up we're going to already because our economy are non-existing our exporting is pretty bad our b d p is very low so we don't really have anything to offer you back out on the streets the arguments quality not continue with ferocity with such strong emotions it seems unlikely this referendum resolves the nation's division and the european membership top box of. russia's presidential election is less than fifty days away and the candidates are setting forth their agendas prime minister and contender bloodied putin has published a second major newspaper article this time outlining his plans tonight russia's multi-ethnic society artist peter oliver reports. but talking on multiculturalism

a migration vladimir putin praised what he sees as russia's long history as a multicultural nation a history he says goes back to the days of the russian empire it said that there have been some very serious problems though when it comes to migration and integration of migrants in russia that these problems over the last twenty years since the collapse of the soviet union were very serious indeed in our problems that russia is still struggling to to deal with today speaking about what the results can be of migration going wrong he warned of the rise of nationalism the rise of xenophobia these type of issues that we saw acted out in real life eight in moscow in two thousand and ten with ethnic clashes taking place i'm right next to the kremlin in the heart of the russian capital he hits out at those that seem nationalism right he hit out at those who have slogans such as stop feeding and stop funding the caucuses saying where the caucuses are a part of russia talking of multiculturalism he said that russia had a very unique system of multiculturalism something very different to say what

happens in europe where he said basically multiculturalism had failed and that russia's system was something this country he's a very different manner over to me and said that there's no way that you can completely get rid of all illegal immigration into russia but if he's elected president in the elections in march that he hopes to be able to to make significant cuts to the amount of people that are arriving in russia illegally now he wants to do this by toughening the laws to try and deter people from entering the country illegally he also wants to see a system put in place not just to monitor foreign immigrants coming into russia but also to monitor internal migrants also by twenty thirty he wants to see an exam put in place to those wanting to come and settled and live and work in russia but they have to be able to pass the russian language exam also an exam on russian culture russian history so those are the things that he wants to you to put him. to tackle the issue of migration and multiculturalism in russia. the u.s.

often calls for democratic change in the middle east but remains reluctant to recognize the right of palestinians just south determination president of the palestinian national authority mahmoud r. balls who's been on a visit to the russian capital talked to r.t. about the latest moves and palestine is bad for statehood our exclusive interview is up next.

visit is the final stop on your european tour palestine is still waiting for a resolution to the statehood issue what do you expect from russia's leadership at this stage when the issue of palestinians legal rights is being decided according to international law. yeah. the russian federation as well as the soviet union before it has been regarded as one of the key and principal hopes for the palestinian people since the one nine hundred seventy s. when the late palestinian president yasser arafat visited moscow our nations have enjoyed good relations it's not only the result of the role that russia plays in the region but also due to the fact that russia was a great power a member of the united nations security council and a member of the quartet of middle east mediators this is why we focused so much on strengthening our relations and why we expect russia to play a positive role recently the quartet took a number of steps calling for negotiations without doubt we coordinate our position

with russia and several other countries to get an understanding of where palestine stands what it should do and what it shouldn't. this is why we visited the u.k. germany and have now come to russia we hope that the talks with israel currently underway in jordan will result in a positive outcome but if they fail we would need to have a list of further steps to be taken and it putting together the action list we want to listen to the opinions of the countries i mentioned earlier and russia in particular. railway officials the negotiations are just a way to gain time they say the talking games will not bring about solutions or agreement which will make time for those who know how to use it. how to use it what stands behind that statement. it means they want to preserve the status quo something we completely reject all illegal settlements all illegal

buildings must be torn down and removed from palestinian territories perhaps the israelis have a different vision although in the past they have left their illegal settlements on the sinai peninsula and sharm el sheikh and returned back to their borders we have the same situation in lebanon they'll leave some of the settlements there even with that they want to preserve the existing situation of the palestinian territories and to convince the international community to accept that they want to make us accept this vision but we will never accept it. and then jimmy netanyahu said that he gave you a twenty one point detailing the israeli position by doing so he refused to meet in ramallah despite his promise what is that document all about. i met him three times in september two thousand and ten the first time in washington on an invitation from president obama and the second time in sharm el

sheikh and the third time we met was on the twenty fifth of september at his house in jerusalem where we talked for four hours and discussed all the issues yet the talks ended with no positive results no discontinuation of the development of the occupied territories no changes to security policies the israeli way they intend to occupy the west bank and the heights for another forty years. this is colonial policy and colonialist logic this is not the logic of a person interested in constructive talks and peaceful coexistence with his neighbors i don't refuse to meet but i need to have a good reason now i guess twenty one point proposal and what are these twenty one points are they just some headlines or indeed a list of twenty one issues that need to be addressed by our peoples. as of today we only need to discuss and solved two issues. borders and security why would we want to add more issues to the agenda did he think it was some sort of a secret but it's no news and it's not of any practical use either but it is not

appropriate for a prime minister to submit this way a document that simply enumerates some issues such as borders security the jewish state etc with no clear indication of what is actually expected of the other party . do you think current events in the arab world could strengthen the opposition in the peace talks and help resolve the palestinian issue internationally. there's still no clear position common to all arab countries yes there are revolutionary changes taking place but it will take time to figure out what results they brought about the countries we want to work with in order to strengthen our position will need time to get back on their feet and build their states under the new conditions however the general arab stance on the palestinian issue has not changed and the people who lead these revolutions are the same people who supported the palestinians in their pursuit of

independence and these people have not changed what has changed is their attitude towards their leaders and their governments but that is their internal matter and we don't get involved the arab stance on the palestinian issue has remained the same. thank you very much for being with us to the every possible in the implementation of political reform and creation of a palestinian state.

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it. was. well and thanks for being with us what happened last the hour here's a quick recap of your headlines syria rejects arab league proposals for president to cede power to his deputy and the formation of a national human unity government with the opposition to mask is called the initiative an interference in its internal affairs and an attack on syria's sovereignty. the e.u. slaps more sanctions on iran targeting the country's main source of income for oil

the union has reiterated that the move is negotiable provide the tapper on a halt its nuclear program which the west sees as a threat and return to the negotiating table. and croatia says yes to e.u. membership but the poor turnout for the referendum and violent protests exposed deep divisions within the balkan nation the country is now set to become the union's twentieth state by july next year but only after all the other members ratify the move. coming out party talks to one of europe's most prominent economists former advisor to the russian government in the one nine hundred ninety s. on theirs and about what we can expect from the upcoming world economic forum in davos spotlight is the next.

hello again the welcome to spotlight the interview show on our team i'll bring up and play my guest on the show unders. the world economic forum is kicking off and dr during the next few days leading businessmen economists and politicians will be discussing the world economy is the most pressing issue and the issues are quite a few especially after nine years those countries had their credit rating cuts this month so what should we expect to happen to the world economy and the new people maybe the forum in davos will be helpful so we're asking one of europe's most prominent economists former advisor to the russian government under his office.

on january thirteenth standard and poor's downgraded nine european countries including the stronger ones like france and austria both received a negative outlook considering the european leaders inability to cope with the debt crisis the weaker spain and italy were downgraded to an economist say they are one step closer to the greeks an ario being part of europe russia has to come up against the global challenges but as for now it's managed to cope and economy is still growing. playing. host to all standard walking to the show thank you very much for coming my pleasure well. the eve of this year is that of us world economic forum the organizers warrant that i quote the world is facing significant and urgent challenges that we have only on prospects for future growth and the cohesion of societies and quit

while it struck me that exactly the same words we used last year during the forum well it is just a repetition of the same very good phrase but does that mean that the world politician the world policymakers proved and they will during the year to do anything to tackle the crisis except ride war it's. a pretty accurate analysis it's discipula european politicians have not done the work you should have done and we are now coming to an end game of the euro crisis. there is a solution albeit euro zone breaks out personally i think that there will be a solution to the euro crisis and the human next quarter also we will see both of your economies bottoming out and that the solution is fine so what would a solution be. more money is needed to provide confidence and

personally i believe the fiscal adjustments that are undertaking are pretty much of a right once the banking situation is probably becoming somewhat more stable now that we have seen substantial the leveraging and then we have a greek default that has to be completed so these are the big issues but i think will dominate the discussions in doubles this year you sound pretty optimistic speaking about the solution that you thiel or you trust will be found during the next couple of months the the forums global issues group as he calls it calls on the world leaders to deliver concrete. actions to find the solution what what are these actions that could prevent the wave of the new wave of recession but well i think that we are seeing a recession in europe already and probably we are seeing

a decline in the g.d.p. or one percent or so in the european union this year but that's not a catastrophe because if we get a real financial meltdown and it really needs to be done now it is if the i.m.f. can mobilize the more money it's trying now to get five to six hundred billion dollars more funding and i think that is a critical issue and indeed that of a greek default is properly handled so that it's a sorted out to be subject to big issues that need to be resolved and the european politicians simply need to undertake proper. decisions about we don't get the start off way and are losing credibility evermore all the time of the unifying theme the unifying motto of this year's dallas forum is the great transformation above this

this is the sort of the the subject of the gathering around well what kind of a transformation is the world economy facing in your opinion well of course there are several transformations here one is about the bric countries brazil russia india and china or rising. the big emerging markets are now becoming as large a part of the world economy as. the developed economies and it's also a question of the particularly in europe that we're seeing substantial reform of the public sector. labor markets are being deregulated public administration is becoming more efficient and. finally education and health care are being reformed and we're seeing the reforms very much moving from the north and east of the european union towards the sound that is the big problem while answering the question of transformation you mention the brics countries well

actually today when the when the with advanced economies are facing sluggish economic growth does it mean that we are facing or we are we are ready to to witness a transformation a shift of economic power from the east to the west or rather maybe from the the west to the. in newly emerging economies to the brics we have seen very very strongly for the last decade and the question is rather for how long it will continue and i think that we were seen to use coming up the one is that europe finally is reforming itself and increasing productivity and dealing with problems better should have been handled much or. more optimistic on europe than most people are and the other is than the. number of countries

emerging economies or approaching the middle income. trap as it's called and if we discuss russia concretely russia has had wonderful growth for seven percent a year. for ten years until two thousand and eight and then a much lower growth rates an r.v. expect asians are three to four percent that's a grove instead and the question is if russia and other countries that are reaching this middle income level if they manage to reform further and reach a growth for eight or five to six percent i should be possible in. or if they will stay after three to four percent growth you know i've talked to my priest in the bank regis to couple weeks ago before the new year and she said that you'd rather. keep your money in euros rather than in the u.s.

dollars i said why so look at all those troubles she said it's a good sign when europe was saying hey we're winning we're all together i knew you knew we were really to be the united states well it was so so but now when europe starts talking about severe economic problems admitting those problems and trying to solve these problems which are actually problems of growth this is a better sign than saying everything's fine do believe so it's extremely difficult to predict exchange rates in the short term but if we discuss it in broader terms you can say about gura pass an immediate crisis of the which is acute it has lived in europe is a step in the right direction as. i thought was same in russia in the summer of ninety eight but russia had problems that had to be resolved and instead we saw a default which i don't think was necessary but. the united states has

more long term fiscal problems and. is not likely to have a crisis any time so the. fiscal situation that is long term sustainable nine european countries including france which was a a rated yes there is ratings downgrade how does this affect the situation on the european market situation with the euro because of it it has to do with ace one is that it's a wake up call to beas countries where the should not be. relaxed particular for france. in austria that has a aaa. rating and lost it and we gather. if it is banned the european financial. stability facility lost its standing. the situation in europe becomes moot difficult from

a financial point of view to handle all s. and p. another reaching rating agencies they are often blamed for for for organizing for the global economic and canonic meltdown for for actually being the drivers of problems in world economy there's this reputation that they're losing doesn't still mean they still have a say in the world economic issues will they will they be listened to in dallas by the world leaders that we certainly have a big role because well mainly institutions insurance companies and pension funds which are large to have. assets of the sort. rate and therefore if borne loss' is a aaa rating it means that it looses

a certain part of of the market in pyrrhic really. the rating agencies or tend to be behind but they are acting too late and if you take the more securities better they gave aaa or rating. the problem was about they thought. mortgage securities mortgage basic you're it is we're better than they were so when . rating agencies are downgrading we should rather see better this means it's a really bad if even the rating agencies say this is a difficult situation what's your opinion of the efforts of the european authorities to create their own rating bodies is there is it just means that they're angry on the rating agencies or is it a step in the right direction. the problem is wrong there are only three big rating agencies is in the words of adverse to little competition among them and it's also

a problem hall they are being financed better they are being financed by the parties that the there are being rated to have a state board to doing the the rating will driving introduces in addition and by as when we want to get rid of the biases ok thank you and we will say goodbye just for a couple of minutes just a reminder that we talking to andrew's learned one of the europe's most prominent economist and once an advisor to the russian government spotlight will be back to man in minutes after we take a short break so don't go doing. wealthy british style.

markets. can't. find out what's really happening to the global economy with max cause or for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into kinds a report. well into the future of science technology innovation all the latest developments from around russia we've got the future covered. a walkabout a spotlight on arguer knob and just a reminder that my guest on the show today is mr astley and one of the europe's

most prominent economists and former advisor to the russian government mr austin and most of the countries today are starting to implement severe austerity measures to tackle their debt problems would you say that this is the best the politicians can do or you would expect something something more imaginative. where you can't imagine. really beyond the very limited. to as it is today the euro zone has an average public ninety percent of g.d.p. and. my colleague in washington come and rinehart and harvard professor can draw gulf they have. made it in the period to study which if you can get over ninety percent of g.d.p. in public debt then big growth rate tends to fall by one percent but if you can you

have to limit it when you come to that leap well i would agree to that but when when the story to measures and taken on such a large scale and i used to tackle such such big problems they mainly penalize the the ordinary people the people that we see in the streets next day why are people have to be penalized while the banks are feeling pretty relaxed during the. periods when the governments are trying to tackle the crisis shouldn't burns be paralyzed first of all fight for inadequately fulfilling their role yes they should be. i've been working quite a bit with latvia which has operated like that they can the salaries most for the people who earn more and.