president putin's first deeds in office was to order the foreign ministry to clear a guarantees that america's missile to fans shield is not a threat to moscow next we talk to natives deputy secretary general on the future of cooperation between russia and the alliance. alexander vershbow naturist deputy secretary general great to have you with us sir good to be here so let's start with something you probably never heard before russia is greatly concerned about nato anti-missile defense system in here up will be able to shoot down its nuclear missiles that's upsetting the balance in the region that the negotiation on this topic has started two years ago in two thousand and ten why do you think that is that the united states still isn't haven't been able to personally rochelle's the opposite well it's not something that is very satisfying and we want to continue to work on this dialogue with russia but it is

a serious difference of opinion that we have to overcome because it's really about the facts about the science about the capabilities of the system that nato is developing with the strong contribution from the united states we remain convinced that there is no danger to the russian strategic nuclear force not today not ten years from now and that the russian analysis is based on a series of worst case to some sions and and unrealistic assumptions that creates an image of a threat which really doesn't exist there's so much to be gained from cooperating. there's a threat out there that's significant today and will be growing by the end of this decade. more and more of europe including european russia will be within range of ballistic missiles possibly equipped with nuclear weapons or chemical weapons so if we can cooperate if we can link our systems plan together. that have our experts

working together twenty four hours a day i think that russia can overcome its concerns and become a real full partner of nato on missile defense but russia is still doubtful and you're absolutely right when you say not. it is worried that maybe in five six seven years time the european anti missile defense system will be able to shoot down for example specifically its concern about one of the questions of the s m three interceptor that can travel fast enough to actually shoot down russia's new cells and sent a key issue it's a very technical issue but it's a very fundamental issue is that nato system can't fire and that's today system in the system we might have ten years from now it cannot fire until they were totally i.c.b.m. that it's targeting has finished its powered flight until the engine burns out and only then is it going in a ballistic trajectory by the time that happens if this we're talking about a russian system it'll be too far to the north nato will it might fire but it will

be chasing the tail that missile all the way to crashes into the arctic sea so what you're saying completely makes sense and you're not the first one to answer these questions but then here's the big question that i ask everyone and no one really can answer that question in that case why can't america when they took you legally bound and guarantees that's a complicated question relating in part to politics and in part to the nature of the problem the cooperation itself we think is the best guarantees come inside the structure participate in the planning learn more about the system we could agree to exchange information about what we're going to have not just tomorrow but five years from now ten years from now there's lots of ways to increase predictability which is really what russia is looking for a guarantee as we saw with the a.b.m. treaty it's just a piece of paper can be torn up and abandoned just took six months for president

george w. bush to abandon the a.b.m. treaty so that. didn't didn't serve as a barrier but co-operation predictability a full understanding of what the system can do looking out five ten years that's what we're prepared to provide and i think a solution can be found i mention politics president obama when he sought the ratification of the new start treaty made some very specific commitments to the senate to get that treaty through he said the united states will accept no limits on its ballistic missile capabilities i know president did you have had to make similar deals to get it through the duma. but political leaders need to. understand that no one has the ability to override the will of their of their parliaments i understand but in this case in this particular case america needs this dissent system much more than russia because it's. it's

a topic of concern for russia so it's the only thing that's coming in the way of sealing the deal is the legal legal guarantee why not just give it because it would because of the commitments that have been made it would be rejected by our senate we in a worse situation so i just don't think that's the answer i think political guarantees transparency predictability. and the benefits that come from cooperation in which nato would be helping russia protect its territory just as much as russia would be helping nato i think all that leads to the kind of confidence that. both necessary and sufficient to move forward well from what we're told they say european missile defense system is really directed against the iranian threat and it will be fully operational in two thousand and eighteen there are numerous ways right now to contain iran u.s. is building bases around it israel has kept abilities international sanctions are

in place it really doesn't look like in the nearest future for another five six years iran will be representing a real threat to nato so why so what is the purpose of this whole european anti-missile system if iran is contained well there's a i think a legitimate debate that we could have maybe if we had more time about can iran a regime that has a radical ideology that has pledged to wipe country not far from its borders off the map whether it could really be contained. but yes the threat today is not. as bad as we think it will be five ten years ago ten ten years from now so we do have time to work this out right now the threat is concentrated mainly in the southeastern part of europe and southern part of russia if you look at the circles of the map. but we've also seen iran conduct tests of new generation missiles that are even longer range that can begin to threaten central europe by the end of the

decade will be threatening northern europe will they actually attack. who knows but having the missile defense capability would change their calculus they would know that they couldn't blackmail us they couldn't successfully carry out preemptive strikes. so that's so missile defense ultimately is part of deterrence at the regional level and we don't think it affects deterrence at strategic level as you see what's to future up to european missile defense system taking into consideration the financial problems surrounding the issue in the us but i think the system is still on course because it's in visits to be implemented in stages over many years. we have time to demonstrate to the skeptics that the systems are capable. that they can be produced within the budget constraints that are there set by our congress and by nato this is

a gradual process phase two doesn't begin till two thousand and fifteen that's three years from now the next phase is three years later twenty eighteen so. i think we can work out arrangements with russia. that would strengthen the security of nato and russia together so from the russian perspective the whole missile defense is break or make as far as they do as far as nature relations go present advance of has stated more than one step at a new arms race could be in place if the two sides don't come to the agreement but is it really as important to nato as it is to russia i would hope that at the end of the day it would be important to both parties because we're talking about our security and security of our people security of our territory. you know nothing more important than that. at the same time we take the russian concerns very seriously so we have to address the concerns about strategic stability i think we

can. and you know then i think we can to really be thinking about nato russia relations and a totally new way. we're still not yet free of the. hostility in the suspicions of the cold war which is disappointing sort of been a long time since the berlin wall came down and the map of europe was changed irrevocably but those suspicions still linger and. it's our mutual obligation to try to work together to overcome how do you think the whole thing will play out with putting back you know to see also has openly criticized the u.s. anti-missile defense plans as undermining trust between two nations i think that he's very familiar with the subject matter this issue has been with us for a long time he was discussing it with the previous hadley us administration when the last time he was president so. clearly there's

a maybe some. residual suspicion in distrust going back to some of those negotiations before the obama administration came into office a different topic nato has made a major contribution to the success of the libyan uprising kilby as current government install stability in the country without foreign military aid well we certainly hope so. it was never. our intention it was never the mandate to. to engage in a long term stability operation in libya the libyans are a proud people who you know want to take control of their their own future they're trying to. prepare for elections this spring. but. you know i think i accept the implicit part of your question that things are a bit confused right now inside libya and there's problems of control over some of the weapons that were. liberated from the from gadhafi as arsenals there's

a very weak institutions whether one talks about the militias that are still operating or lack of a fully developed judicial system so they need they need help and hopefully the united nations can help in coordinating the kinds of assistance they need to build stronger institutions. no one seems to be calling for any international military involvement i think that what they need is help from both their arab friends from europe from the from the e.u. and any any individual actor who can share expertise that can help them put their house in order not you out of all people should know was planning to kill qaddafi from the very onset of the operation that wasn't nato has mission it wasn't nato responsibility. even though i think for the people of libya. it might have been done and through a more orderly process but. i think they have

a brighter future today than they did one year ago alexander first phone until deputy secretary thank you very much for this and it's a pleasure. into .

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is why you should care only. changes at the top in russia. his new president. could soon be applying his modernization strategies as prime minister. continue with some clashes and arrest me. dominance and ending foreign wars started by his predecessor france's newly elected socialist leader is facing tough pressure of the sarkozy era behind. both for stability for after people made their choice in a country. in half a century but it was the opposition which held protests. so they had lines here in our back at the top of the hour with more updates in the meantime here's paul with a late sports news.

hello welcome along it to the world of sports here's what's coming up baseball bottles really a subtle pick up a crucial to know when a class as they like to avoid relegation from the russian premier league. in the balance lamont peterson's world title rematch with i'm a card later this month is in doubt as the world champions come confirms he's failed a random drug test. and surprise guest hours after his inauguration as president vladimir putin takes to the ice for a dollar event in moscow. let's kick off with football and have climbed out of the relegation playoff zone in the russian premier league following a two know when a classic middle order and even touching off scoring side of the interval to bring your survival chances to some our side now and beaten in knowing gangs and have won four out of their last five however there's one more much to go this season and

karelia just two points above the relegation play off places. meanwhile over in the english premier league blackburn rovers have been relegated to they lost one nil at home to wigan on monday until an alkie scored the game's only goal with three minutes to play to secure the latics top flight status for another season. meanwhile barcelona have been named as the team of the decade at the international federation of football history and statistics garlock held in the catalan city the organization researches in documents world football the one seven awards on the night including the best team of two thousand and eleven and the best european team of the decade while outgoing manager pep guardiola was named the world's best club coach of two thousand and eleven and he'll be a hard act to follow according to one of his predecessors. in the past four years sponsored. truly played well and have want a lot of titles but as with everything else in life one has to evolve as time goes

by parents get to know you more and they study the way to win against you. from now on has to fall and that is what a new manager to do the know it will have to do because otherwise the other teams improve more than you do. now canada has returned to winning ways at the ice hockey world championship they put in overtime defeat to the usa behind them with a comfortable seven two win over frons the olympic champions were really troubled in helsinki it was a great night for patrick sharp who scored one and added four assists slovakia secured their first win of the tournament with a surprise for two victory over previously unbeaten usa co-hosts sweden maintained their one hundred percent record with a six four win against denmark or the czech republic make it a penalty shoot out to overcome norway. meanwhile russia's first ever amateur ice hockey league is reaching its climax and to mark the occasion on monday night there was a goal a match between a selection of amateur players and a host of russian legends plus as michael crunching to reports there was also one

surprise guest. i soucie is huge in russia there's no question about it whether it's the iconic summit series from one thousand nine hundred eighty two or the countless medals at the olympics ice hockey has always been at the heart of russia's sporting excellence and the newly created russian amateur i saw the league aims to uphold that tradition russian hockey legends including two time olympic gold when that is love fifty seven took to the ice in an end of season gala match against the select lucky bunch of amateur players judging by today's attendance it seems that not only the members of the russian fans i suppose you believe have been looking forward to the full state of witnessing some of russia's greatest ice of the place together in an ice rink but it's also befitting day was it was for people sat in shit and of course they were all very sick of the russian federation's new president vladimir putin who might make a surprise appearance later on one would have been forgiven for thinking of the

country's new president would have too much on his plate having just been sworn in but in true putin fashion he found the time not only to show up but also help his band of amateur players beat the legends team he scored almost as soon as he entered the fray and after setting up a vital last minute equaliser went on to secure his team's victory with a well taken penalty. i would like to say thank you to all our veterans i know how they admire the development of ice hockey how they found the time to support our russian beginners hockey league i'm constantly shocked at how many of our older generations follow and support ice hockey and i want to wish everyone good luck. and to cap off a successful night international icici federation president. found the time amidst the only doing world championships to attend and see if you will words. mr president i congratulate you. dear

friends i love your command russia. and with that there's no doubt that the sports will have a staunch following for decades to come mark of gentle r.t. must go. now to boxing and may nineteenth swell title rematch between light welterweight champion lamont peterson and i am a card is in doubt they say after the americans campaign should a statement confirming he's failed a random drug test reports claim the unified junior welterweight champion tested positive for synthetic synthetic testosterone following a random test in march his camp say they will comply with the author of g.'s and submit medical findings in support of and i quote the amount of good faith intentions peterson unified the i.d.f. and w.p.a. titles with a controversial point win over card in his hometown of washington in december with a sneeze puts may nineteenth rematch in jeopardy. over to the hardwood now where

the san antonio spurs have made it into the second round of the n.b.a. playoffs after winning their best of seven series against the utah jazz food the king suite was completed on monday with tim duncan and co winning game four eighty seven eighty one running as you know very me was top scorer with seventeen points while duncan added a leavened for the house where the l.a. clippers are currently hosting men place in game for the clippers no doubt series two one. now tennessee who is into the second round of the madrid masters in spain after the russian qualifier the former world number one juan carlos ferrero in straight sets of beating the home favorite six four seven six an impressive victory considering this was his first win since february. stop for the rocks and. in the meantime russian jew or mikhail youzhny on mic like denko also through to the second round thanks to straight sets wins over spain job you have not taken courses either call of age while i like but more of junior that's the kevin

anderson of south africa also in straight sets. elsewhere nicolas almagro had to work hard in santiago as a lot of colombia sentencing spondee had lots. of money for. as he claimed both by the same six schools. and finally to the relatively new sport of sky running where athletes run up mountains however it's not as simple as it seems as constantine but top of reports. it's not the first time skywriting disciplines have taken to the slopes a few ropes highest mountain elbrus five thousand six hundred forty two meters above sea level however it's the first time the mountain has become a stage of the world cirrus estop sky runners gathers here to take part in one of the most spectacular events of the sport one of these is the vertical kilometer where the competitors climb one thousand meters these time the distance was around

two and a half kewl mirrors while for good weather and snow on the course made event even more challenging the race turned out to be a battle between the two brightest stars of sky running market i guess barry and. thirty five year old i guess barry managed to claw victory climbing first to the finish line with a new record in the race. has a higher around here. especially when you're under snow and here kenya aged such a hard place. because you know he's no he's asleep or he end but anyway you know i enjoyed the course he was only foggy until this beauty that you can't see the landscape from here while his fellow spaniard was second to finish one minute behind not that i enjoyed competing with biggest perry

as i always do but he was at his best i was leading me to way through the race and even thought i could grab the gold but to get spare was just better today and over to clean. third was russia's sky running champion aleksandr. to the delight of the home crowd it's l.a. and i guess barry was the quickest in the vertical kilometer at their opening stage of the world serious how it can be called just a warm up ahead of this guy race where they can better will run up to the mountain summit on may the ninth because they about out of r.t. two thousand three hundred metres above sea level they'll bruce mountain. well that is all the sport for now a lot more for you in a little under two hours time do join me that. night fifty two meters. more than

a thousand tons of. skin thickness thirty centimeters the guinness record. commemorating the battle of stalingrad. the muslim call. on our team. coming. the. east so.

much brighter than if you move from phones to pressure in some. stocks on t.v. don't come. changes

at the top and rush as an outline of his new presidential policy. including goals for unity under a form as well as dmitri medvedev could be applying his bold nice asian strategies as the next prime minister. but noise rules convinced these protests continue with some clashes on a rest mate details just ahead. standing up to germany zero dominance and and a foreign wars france's newly elected socialist leader is facing tell fresh earth to leave a sarkozy era behind. and it's a vote for stability for a man in syria after people made their choice and the country's for small there.