i don't welcome one says a shevardnadze and today we're away from our usual moscow studio where in a very special setting astonishingly beautiful shetland isles often or coast of scotland for the north sea. you will find the shetland isles and there is a way of harris to talk to the first scottish minister alexander salant about the defining point of every land it's seventeen it's mr salmond's flagship policy to see scotland become independent from the united kingdom one of the benefits and the drawbacks let's take a look. at appealing

to at least a third of the country's four million voters who want to the three hundred year old political union. who dares break with history to pay less to a foreign pockets retain its share of resource riches hundred it's environment of nuclear friction yes many believe strength lies in the union as referendum counter ernest focus is turning to the key players in the campaign the leaders the media. reach. will take the high road and rebuild haiti. we talk to alex salmond the first minister of scotland on his personal and political quest for sovereignty. aleksandr sound the first scottish thank you very much for being with us today great pleasure to be to be here. scott. so you have sat recently and this is your quote the political union does not

work for scotland anymore hell scotland back and imperils our future what is so wrong with remaining within the u.k. . the first argument is a democratic one. i'm fifty years old for two thirds of my life scotland has not had the governments we vote for for two thirds of my entire lifetime scotland has voted in one direction england as voted in a different direction and because it was so much larger than scotland we end up with a government westminster which is not chosen by the scottish people so the first arc of a sense that democratic one that nations and scope of the nation have a right to self-determination and the second argument is about what you do with that you see i think it's a pretty universal law anytime anywhere anyplace but the best people to govern the country the best people to choose how a country should be governed of the people who live and work in the country i think

that applies everywhere and i think it certainly applies to sculp what you're only fourteen months away from the referendum does it worry you a little that that the majority of scots do not want independence from p.k. and for the last five years the polls haven't changed that. well if it comes to opinion polls when i was reelected two years ago by an absolute majority in a proportional system as to the scope of a vote three months before the election i was twenty percent almost behind in the opinion polls i ended up almost twenty percent in front in the opinion poll so i think polls change and usually the change in our favor what will change the polls as people get more information about this about the concept of the opportunity of independents the new yes how do we know this because of. you pull the people who

say we have enough information we already understand the issues then by majority these people are voting yes so as we get more information out to the public of scotland then the trend will be a yes direction and would love to be twenty percent from here probably would do i think we're going to win the referendum yes we will think so absolutely we're not talking about the positive sides in case scotland gets independence it would actually hold ninety five percent of you case current on gas reserves that is of course if that's divide it geometrically by marriage again from the british. while the powers that be in london the old guard would ever allow that to happen but seriously contested the there's no choice basically because the rest of the north sea is divided on equidistance the principle that you outlined if you were to divide it incidentally by the covenant jurisdiction the legal jurisdiction because scotland has its own legal system even more scottish waters would be ninety nine

percent as opposed to maybe eight percent so the medium line has been the line for the rest of the countries about the north sea for norway for denmark for ireland except there is no choice but to do or not basis and that point is no longer seriously contested and of course there are difficulties in terms because the little that's a great asset for scola enormous asset sale and wholesale value worth one point five thousand thousand million pounds over the next half century or so but of course the liabilities of the united kingdom the u.k. is enormous national day to the if accumulated so we will have to accept provided of course we have a share of assets sheriff the national debt so there are pros and cons but the balance of advantage is overwhelmingly on the independents and you know i've been travelling a lot around here at play. in talking to people especially in the central part of

the western europe and people there fail back they hear a crisis that they would be so much better off alone without this the regulations and constrictions doesn't depend is really make much difference for scotland if it is part of you with or without u.k. membership or i think it does mean i'm in favor of being part of the of the european union i think independence is about control of your finances control fewer resources in the case of oil and resources in scotland but also control of your revenue if you control your revenue and therefore control your spending and how to distribute that revenue move the population then you are a genuinely independent country with independence which in the european union scotland would control one hundred percent all of its revenue base would decide how to spend its finances currently we have allowed control of less than ten percent of our revenue base in the scottish parliament therefore ten percent is not

independence one hundred percent even independence within europe is independence well he want independent scotland to retain pound sterling right but if you continue to use currency without u.k. authority what scotland have a lender of last resort proposal is to have a joint arranged that had to have an agreed couple so union you know stanley is as much i couldn't see as it's been the bank of england was founded by a scot so we're going to see well indeed. lots and lots of things of the world to be funded by scots but the point i'm making is the ship comes at the present moment doesn't blow all the english it doesn't belong to george osborne the chancellor is part of the assets of the united kingdom but the point is quite simple we are prepared to take a share of assets and a share of liabilities in the way both these are huge but if of course he was to argue as he suggests he might we can have a share of assets of the common. couldn't say that by definition we don't have

a share of the liabilities and the liabilities for the native kingdom. the course of many international precedents for example the breakup of the soviet union really newly independent countries did not by negotiation end up paying the national debt of the soviet union so the dead belongs to one to the present moment if they are to persuade us to accept a share which we are willing to do the new only basis in which will do it is if we have a share of the assets as well you cut of one with the other become of the bond with a penny and that is why incidentally after a yes vote for independence will be no difficulty from london about sharing a common currency adam burke is your case second largest city financially in case cotland becomes independent could you see it challenge london is something you would like to see well i think there would be a very real possibility if england were to leave the european union. that is a live possibility there in the believe european union i think that the effect of

england leaving the european union after scottish independence would be that many headquarter companies would move the scope. i think would be very unwise for good to leave the european union but that's a choice for the people of england to me that's their choice and their will just to make choice so you can see a circumstance we have the financial sector it would get more headquarters on the circumstance but i should say this goes five sets of very strong and very able and particular in the things it does best asset management long term investment trusts pension funds the long term investment or people's money or corporate money as opposed to the much more phonetic market driven. financial dealings of the of the city of london so to a great extent i should continue to do what we do best and that is to manage people's money carefully in long term investments and build up that special someone asset management which is proving so enormously successful slow with companies are melting and growing like aberdeen asset management for example but any major

political transformation such as becoming independent from the u.k. knew a case really needs a lot of spending how much would it cost scotland to be independent how much would it cost once got to become independent it will be benefits from scott becoming in the pellet the last five years just for example in the last five years scotland has contributed more by eight million post relative to london than with received back again that is the the relative surplus between scotland and london. million poems as well. who won one thousand six hundred scots so it's going to be independent over the last five years that every scot be one of those six hundred which. is not just about finance of course i mean the reason for scott becoming independent is not that would be. the rich are the reason for scott becoming independent schools a nation

a nation should be self-governing they govern the feels better than allowing someone else to do it for them but who was a balance sheet calculation that was very much in favor of scotia independence but can you tell me exactly what is difference between the devil marx and you're proposing this as far as i'm concerned north most of the scots there saying you know we're fine as long as there's more power to the scottish parliament within the u.k. plus when it control over taxation and welfare why go through so much trouble for much and i say not come because westminster won't see control over our economy and welfare they've said no to that they've rejected that they say this far and no for will they will not will not concede control over scottish oil and. major natural resources or well how to pursue the licensing for renewable energy which is we've got a quarter one quarter of the potential will remain renewable energy of the whole continent if you prince called and we don't have control over the licensing provisions for

the amazing natural resource to london will not concede that that's why we've got a democratic opportunity to refashion relationship with london know many things we're going to keep we want to control an economy we want to decide on more government but we're perfectly happy with the union of the cones for example we want to keep the royal family home the queen as head of state but then a much the queen is head of state of sixteen countries at the present moment it has goals and then that should be had the seventeen countries if we think about the history of scotland as scott with an england share the same monarch when the scottish king became king of england for one hundred years while scotland and england were independent countries for all of the seventeenth century scope on the thing with independent countries that shared the same monarch so that's a perfectly easy thing to do in the modern world but still you do see that her majesty queen as head of state as will an independent scotland so we'll continue to show. what is a valuable and important the social union between scotland and swiss people can

travel freely between the countries can visit the friends and families of people from london could come and work and in shetland and people from scotland could go to work in newcastle. and remain as it should but will have control over who government will have control over our finances and spend at least things other century. or talking to the first minister alex salmond here in scotland we're taking a break now we'll be right back. in the middle east further ablaze with little or even no hard evidence. of chemical

weapons in syria the obama administration appears determined to enter this conflict obama says the arc of the moral universe made justice. on its own because american intervention in syria really wants justice. economic down. and the rest. on a recorder splitter. welcome

back you're watching sophie and co and we are talking to alexander sound the first scottish minister here in shetland isles scotland were talking about why scotland

should get independence talking about travelling freely if you guys become independent as a part of e.u. you would actually have to open your university doors to all the british students who now pay nine thousand pounds a year does this this is where you can see it can be kind of costly for scotland well we believe we can maintain the problem to arrangement we've got legal faced to that effect but i do and still little more students coming to scott mr black. this year because of the policies of the scottish cup we have a record number of scottish students studying in scottish higher education a record number of english students fleeing the high fees studying in scottish higher education under record number of international students studying at scottish universities and colleges so we've got three records all in one year that's a great thing for scotland for scope reputation as a great thing for the scottish economy so i'm not worried about having more

students understood to scotland that we can maintain a common origin which was a perfectly fair at the present moment that's the advice we've got what do you make of the recent claims that the u.k. defense ministry may simply designate their nuclear naval base in for as a certain u.k. territory in case of a yes well of all of the exercises and project fear that the scaremongering campaign that was probably the least successful and the only lasted for two hours so the ministry of defense briefed the guardian newspaper and then doubting street denied it within two hours of. the paper being printed so that was a scare story whose life. was to our children and of all the skier still isn't a dick of us nonsense the project feet of produced that was one of the least successful indeed probably the most spectacularly unsuccessful pieces of months in the why why did they withdraw from two hours well of course they know the reaction of scotland to the suggestion they would try to annex perhaps

a skull and to make it part of even the even the most fair haven't in scotland if there is such a thing would find objectionable the idea you could annex part of the land of scotland that's why the a life cycle of only two of us was a scare story what are you going to do with it because you don't want nuclear weapons but even if you wanted to use when you can to deal with that part well we're going to ask for it to be removed quickly and the safely as possible and the emphasis on board we want to move we want the timetable to be quick but we want to do it safely we don't want to we don't want to have any risk to anyone by doing so there are plenty of benefits of stately in english ports in the so very good and for for vanguard submarines the difficulty is not better for the submarines the difficulty is of resupply with nuclear missiles but of course the resupply capability in both america and france and i think it's extremely unwise instantly i

think would be ridiculous for the country of five and a quarter million people to have nuclear weapons i think would be unhelpful to the world community it's not going to be the case that scotland will host someone else's nuclear weapons very few countries do the unwise to do that so trident will have to be removed it's up to the people of england the people at westminster to decide whether they want to continue with a nuclear deterrent in my view to be very unwise to do so i think it's the most phenomenal waste of money but i agree it's their decision. but of course if they make that decision then of course they have to accept the consequences which is to feign some put it put it well no the only reason that trident submarine will be odd it was his father we as the could think of from the the sentence a population no luke scott was a peace loving country we want to cooperate from neighbors with in favor of nato membership for example because our neighbor saw the need to bot. twenty five of the

twenty countries in nato are no nuclear countries and so we'll be a non-nuclear country with an little yeah but most of the countries actually strive to bring you care and that's why i'm asking if you become a world leader in case of independence then you know you're faced with countries like iran or north korea who could tomorrow having nuclear weapons and scotland not well i have to say i don't think north korea. is to either threaten or attack scotland but let's remember the world has two hundred countries almost in it one hundred ninety of them do not have nuclear weapons and depending how you calculate these things almost ten probably half. openly some secretly i think i'd rather be one of the hundred ninety eight weapons than one of the one full with nuclear weapons and there is absolutely no reason on earth that a country of five million people should possess nuclear weapons this would not be a good thing for perforation for the safety of the planet nobody seriously argues

for that position i don't really want to enter into the debate a boat in with the nuclear weapons all i would say is this if you are actually justifying a nuclear dependent on the basis of a reunion cub then you wouldn't want to try to steal when trident as a rule choice of nuclear system which frankly was designed by the british government to penetrate the defenses our own most cruel that's what it was designed for it's not a deterrent against. or for that matter that's new that against a terrorist organization so if you were persuaded in england of the argument of having a deterrent against iran then what you would choose is a deterrent of that sort of scale you go back to an all vulcan bomb or something you certainly wouldn't of a nuclear weapon system to the new it will cost one hundred thousand million pounds over this life cycle that would not be the detail you would choose. used and set up

with scotland doesn't want to engage in that sort of nuclear poker politics so the u.k. recently placed top on a global soft power survey do you worry that you're going to be left out because obviously you want to be part of the as you came citizens they're actually attributing to that and you know i think we'll do far better projecting our own image of scotland we already do this and what investment and we top the lead table not just for the u.k. but for europe as far as people coming in to invest in our country and we promote ourselves as scotland in terms of soft power when we don't claim to have we're not going to have vast ami's so or navies or boehm or whatever that's not where we are in terms of soft power in terms of influence scotland is incredibly well placed with a country of five a quarter million people but there are not far off one hundred million people across this planet who either of scottish descent or have an affinity with scotland or will have a connection with scotland in terms of influence so this planet scotland has

a great deal of influence which will hopefully we'll be able to use for for good for promoting positively the case of scotland but also for doing what we can in the way that some of the scandinavian countries have done in town like norway for example in terms of being an honest broker to help to help solve difficult situations we'd like to do that we're willing to do that and of course to the start of obligations to those on the planet who have virtually nothing we already have built up an international development portfolio in scotland modest proportions no but something a bit late to do a lot more off specializing perhaps in renewable energy which we have such an expertise in and water which we have a lot of. and therefore we look to. be welcomed into the community of nations as of the sponsible world so this is. what also the symbol of terms of inflows agreed. influence in terms of military power not very much

but if i was offered the choice to be in the country with great influence or great military then i would choose being a country with great influence what do you make of the b.b.c. coverage of your complaint having both in both places the b.b.c. scotland and then the london paste operation i think. the chairman of the b.b.c. trust recently said he thought covering the referendum was the biggest challenge that the b.b.c. had ever faced. i think it has a difficult challenge and i'm not sure that it's getting it right at the present moment. broadcasters by nature usually an out and find more balanced than newspapers and newspapers don't have to be balanced nor should but broadcasters have to be very careful to be balanced but the b.b.c. finds scotland a challenge because so much of what they report for example in the network news or goes right across the u.k.

and do this broadcast internationally they report for example scandals in the health service in england as if they were the scottish health service which is run quite separately education difficulties in england as if there were educational scott which is run totally separately so they find it really difficult and we feel the challenge to date of trying to differentiate the debate and the position of scotland from the position of england only be that some of the standard will because you know the covering a country where you're more than five percent of the people stay in one country and the other fifteen percent will still stay in another free country so perhaps they find that too difficult a challenge a lot of them said it was the greatest challenge it's not one that they're beating us yet and finally have you considered and thought about what your position may be in case of a no would you resign would you stay continue fighting for freedom but only

interesting i been in politics for twenty five years or so a lot was one past the elections another one national life was. just what i was doing wrong and maybe the politicians everything. when you are in no position and when i became a member of parliament at westminster we had three m.p.'s three out of a parliament six hundred fifty those very easy to be oppositionist to jump up and to be noticed because if you didn't jump up and nobody would pay any attention to you whatsoever. when you want to lead a country. to be positive to talk about the future to say what you're going to do a lot of people have and. you have to put the accent on the post of and you have to believe it with every fiber of your being so. listen well before the west another one of the national action. lessons of one every national election and that

we have we're looking at the world we are approaching the people i'll take into the referendum campaign and one of the things you have to believe is you have to believe you're going to win and you have to believe it with every fiber of your being because if you are to persuade people if you are to have a conversation about the future you have to do it from the basis that we're going to win this referendum and scotland will become an independent country. thank you very much for this great talk a great pleasure thank you you are watching sophie and co our guest today was alexander salmond thanks for watching and we'll see you in our next edition.

they were ready to do anything for their country. is to love the country more than yourself if you join the military for any other reason that you're probably not going to have a good day. in the state. they live remembering that which is impossible to get rid of. the war. however good people do get hurt. hurt good people empty silent. but would prefer not to be. i was i feel like. i should have died over there. because. i saw some people who had died and. there is cheaper than terrified. that.

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the top stories president obama says he's undecided on a military strike against syria. says it won't support intervention. britain backs away rejects a campaign against president assad after the prime minister failed to convince. meanwhile the u.n. team has now completed its inspection of the alleged chemical attack near damascus saying they need time to make a final assessment. kevin over here not see this company our top story then president obama says there's no decision on syria yet but he.