thousands of women in the british army suffer harassment and abuse from within their own ranks that's according to testimony is being heard by the parliament when teaching me a complaint. to you and have a tree in front of you can you think simply make sound woman feel like she's to blame like she was already. italy blocks a shipment of covert shots meant for australia and what some are calling vaccine nationalism is now demanding the e.u. commission reconsider the move. texans lash out at joe biden after he labels the decision to relax coronavirus restrictions in the state as quote the neanderthal thinking. the democrats and the g.o.p.

love having their boots on the necks of the people in this country telling them what to do while the texas governor hits back calling the president's new immigration policy neanderthal approach to the issue that says a study shows that biden's plans could lead to a drastic increase in america's migrant population. those are world news headlines for this hour on behalf of the r.t. international team thanks a lot for watching and we hope to see you again soon. lou in welcome to crossfire where all things considered i'm peter lebow russia e.u. relations right an impasse. the kremlin has made it clear it will no longer

tolerate the e.u. lecturing about values and so-called international norms and the russians have had enough of the e.u.'s interference in russia's internal politics the e refuses to treat russia as an equal partner until this changes this bilateral relationship appears to be on hold. to discuss these issues and more i'm joined by my guest john lott well in paris he's a university lecturer in history and political philosophy in brussels we have look we have a he is an independent journalist and in cork we cross to geoffrey robertson as america's professor of history at university college cork and a member of the royal irish academy original macross up rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want and i always appreciate it ok let's go to john in paris if you heard my introduction here until the e.u.

or respects russian treats russia as an equal partner this relationship isn't going to move anywhere it is a it is basically in a deep freeze right now and i and i and personally i think it's the e.u. that has to take the 1st step but i don't think they're up to it go ahead john i totally agree i don't think there's any prospect now of the relationship improving there are very few voices in the european union who are in favor of it improving you can count them on the fingers of our hand. and instead to the vast majority of european politicians want to break off or break down relations with russia as much as they can for a whole host of reasons of which i think the most important is that they actually thrive on this notion of themselves as being morally superior to russia russia is the other europe russia is the other europe. russia is the europe they don't want

to be it's a state which they regard as. reactionary nationalistic religious petrea take. and so on all of things all of our use that they reject europe the european union wants to be unhistorical post national and so on and that's why russia is like a sort of guilty conscience for the way they have their own internal political purposes they have to. hate russia and say they hate russia and when i say internal political purposes i mean that in the strongest possible sense of the term because just as in the united states of america conservatives and others in. they basically conservatives in europe very often attacked as being russian 5th columnists in other words it serves a very straightforward political purpose which is to insult and discredit people

who don't agree with various aspects of western foreign policy so for all those reasons i don't think that there's any prospect at least not in a short or even medium term of any improvement same same question to you. because it's you know this kind of thing but what john just said there and it seems like be you just hasn't pride in humorous is when he gets down to go ahead i think that's certainly part of the story. point you know if russia the relations do great down it won't be much of a loss really saludos the russians are making sure we don't have much of a relationship we d. and we have had since 2000 faulty should buffett be prepared to say ok. we will break relations for a 2nd point is that the e.u. isn't europe e.u. isn't. it is the e.u. there's also independent european strikes and their relations are with russia. a

very very different group really should jet somebody last time i checked mistakes some very core relationships was not so not not so this is something that i would love rove is always. really wants to strengthen our electoral relations with our european european sites that's that is our priority and feedback is what they say to want to be. russia's been criticised for having for seeking by lot of relationship with independent states because they criticism is the are trying to divide the e.u. but the e.u. is already divided i don't understand why you have to blame it on russia let me go to luke here look i mean i think the way i look at it you know i very pragmatic i'm a conservative and the way i look at is it just one big headache you don't want to negotiate you don't want to have good relations you don't want to have a good neighborhood well fine you know we don't have to do it there are other places in the world to look to and have relationships with it with it's

a pity i think but i mean it's ended up being one big headache and with just a burrell's visit here just in completely embarrass the european union he did it not go ahead. yes well i would defend borrow for one site i think it is very old in a way older than sage but this time i think is elephant was a great help he doesn't want to to close the door and to avoid any relation with russia ease is the law who was looking at it in a different way while all politicians interruption parliament were you know political crippling the context in bashing russia that was it is the new political ground specially russia but i think it could improve i'll have a little. you know word of optimist mix that with the russian facts or vaccines i should say it might improve a little even this is not allowed to say that well the russian vaccine will be

welcome you know once of course the e.u. may or can medicines agency says yes just by the way takes an awful long time for the e.u. made to give anything back to any back seat but still you know if that happens you have 8 countries in europe saying we're interested with the russian facts he sent me my change russia would be good guys again well until i mean it i mean that what i would like that scenario i think has been offered i mean it is very interesting is that the western embassadors in ukraine having an oversized influence on ukrainian politics told the ukrainian government you can't take the russian vaccine this is the kind of ridiculousness that you get to your big turn here but then the problem the way i look at it is that the nation states and i know that's an archaic idea for the european union i guess but nation states have interests you know why did it was talking about values ok why do you have to come and talk about what's

wrong with your civil society what's wrong with your democracy you know it why do you what do they need to go around lecturing people they've got their own problems and russia up until recently. continued to extend the hand and now they're saying i can't say it on t.v. but you know what i'm thinking go ahead john well i think as i say that's because they need to maintain their internal narrative. and. somebody mentioned the vaccines are from the lion said 10 days ago that europe had to buy vaccines together as a block because otherwise european unity would be threatened and and that was the reason why the vaccine rollout was slower it was a terrible thing to say because it showed that she puts european unity about how our health of european citizens but the extent of her ideological line this is that by revealed and that's why i say that she's quite capable of doing things in the

name of european ideology which are against european interests so i agree i agree with your question that there is the. dichotomy between on the one hand the discourse on values and real interests i do agree with that and of course the big issue which these individual sanctions hide is not stream to gas pipeline because like like geoffrey i hope that there might be some good news hiding in there somewhere and he's absolutely right jeffrey is absolutely right to say that the bilateral relations are better than the relations with the bloc although that's not forget that any one country out of the $27.00 could have the total sanctions and it didn't and even countries which are quite friendly towards russia like hungary for example has not decided to veto them it could be it could be that this bluster about novelli and the individual

sanctions against russian officials is a way for germany to say well we've done a lot of sanctions but we're not going to. do the not stream to gas pipeline sanction we're going to complete it and that's my hope and i think on balance that that's probably what's going to happen you know as they in a valley sanctions are a sideshow well i mean it certainly inside of russia and of ali is a sideshow ok in a political entrepreneur and he's why widely seen as me as a provocative or connected with the west is widely held ok but you know jeffrey is it is is it worth the e.u. to have such frosty relations over such a dubious character is not about me having amnesty international to come up off the list as a prisoner of conscience because well he's a bigot ok among a lot of other things ok and his videos are on you tube for anyone to see ok well there well there are shadow banding and the platforming people they allow that

stuff as they are so it isn't about me where the jeff go ahead. i think you know i agree with john on this is the valley after so you know could prove to be you know kind of upset as long as nothing more out of the sun about me it should know it's not about it should die in prison or something down the coast olympics. you know could blow up again and yet i mean there are 3000 sanctions they you rush to know about each ice on that effect. 80 cricket a critical juncture i see beautiful. what would signal a really fundamental breakdown in russia your relations and not just russia here relations but relations with europe as i hope will be if they get somebody might like chancel will stream to all or if it was really major economic sanctions no i don't see any sign of at the moment so i kind of tend to be on the optimistic side you know i grieve what we believe lugano. shay's optimism.

on 20 for this race is you know rochelle european states or russia need. right and each will know much does that mean the and the current endemic missiles which are much easier to russian each every relationship. then each every russian 2 ongoing conflicts and issues in the middle east and in the factory they need each other in relation to our mental issues security issues the whole problem of the rise of china and when will the fist there's an underlying. basis a commonality of interest. will you know what will stop the e.u. and your country from from taking extra steps and example i mean you look at joseph burrell's you know spectacle here i mean that doesn't give me much hope i mean it was such an embarrassment for everyone involved here but look you know before we go

to the break here the biden ministration is denounce another huge military package of offensive weapons to ukraine now and the europeans are going to step up and say this is our neighborhood too or they just going to go along with that ok because that is something that is going to in their red lines all over the place here that that is something that is very very important to russia's security if you have a hostile country when you're bored being supplied with sophisticated military equipment from a western country in nato yet 30 seconds before we go to the break i have. well i think 1st for quickly for on wall street too i think it's what's important is that mrs merkel has always been elected in the region whether trumbull who writes in mt baker so she is really for it she doesn't say too loud and she's for it so that's the greatest ok i think i know i i don't think she's for i think she's desperate

for a case because it's because it may and and let me remind everyone it north stream one was is in place it's the 2nd one was merkel's idea ok. i have to go to wish more break gentlemen enough to let short break we'll continue our discussion and be you russia relations stay with r.t. . you.

are. thank you. welcome back to crossfire were all things are considered i'm peter all about to remind you we're talking about the impasse of russian relations. ok let's go back to john in paris you look at the address they read before winter break north stream 2 what you want you want to take up the issue of what i was talking about when in reference to ukraine go ahead what i find you're quite right to say that the supplying of extra weapons to ukraine they will wait it out. at the

trump administration by the way was already supplying some lethal weapons but if in fact spots are being stepped up then that caylee is you know an extremely unfriendly act what i find so incredible about this is that the european union as you say firstly they should be saying this is our neighborhood france and germany have presented themselves as mediators in the ukraine conflict and yet america's he seems to be taking the front seat and stirring the pot as usual but european leaders as well particular the germans have also said very strongly that they are against u.s. extraterritorial sanctions against european companies working on not stream to so how does that work if it american extra tauriel sanctions are wrong for europe for europe why are european exit or extra territorial sanctions ok when they're applied by europe against russia it just doesn't add up and i think the most sinister aspect of this this was the way that the european union followed slavish lee follows the american administration in particular of course now that trump has got

is on china we heard joe biden saying the other day that china he understood china had to be strong it had to suppress internal dissent in order not to become a victim on the international stage. biden made an explicit apology for political repression in china and thing and of course that by also meaning in hong kong because he said that's how china worked and if it didn't do that then it would fall prey to external powers as an absolutely incredible thing to say about a single party one party totalitarian dictatorship but europe with all its discourse about values it does the same thing because. i think the federal to december teased at the end of december a few weeks ago. the european union the most boris defender of human rights in the world signed a multi 1000000 investment package with china so the signal is no to russia and yes

to china but how does that work out only on the level of human rights to me it doesn't make sense at 0 in any and tempted to at the end of the day if we look at the relationship with the new russia with the end of the soviet union and the rise of the european union the europe brussels has just had a message in that they think they've never really deviated from rushing you must become more like us ok and up until you do that we're going to treat you as a junior partner we're going to lecture you and john brings up a such great point you know russia is is singled out you know but not china not the other countries it's because they feel this need to save russia and this is in this this again is kind of. a morality play a post modern morality play to save the russian soul by genius go ahead come a great. duty wants to you know change russia interglacial itself and that's not

going to happen until the e.u. gives up on that project is this clear this underlying conflict and tension. to face that really was the current situation this success is that the easiest clee inability to see fakes from the russian point of view so for example got this. visit. to moscow before he went to moscow to evolutionary austar statements in relation to russia and when he gets there he raises all kinds of contentious issues in cohen. and then he acts surprised all the year surprised when he got some russian russian pushback what's going on there. the 2nd thing is the e.u. european states seem to have lost their best fear of war. received across the tanker of escalation you know so you know some people blow up. the baltic states. there are a flush lacked any place you places lassie for example ok we're more american ship

i don't know why they need to see that dismissed abide by you know i mean what in what american national interest does the blacks the present i completely mystified by look let me go to and i think i mean you know. both john and jeff were brought up really good ideas is that you know i call it ideological possession they're possessed with their ideology and their happens inability to look at a situation room a different angle all of us remember the cold war very very well and that's how we got through the cold war by saying well i won it getting inside the other guys choose that may seem us ok we survived the cold war because of a big deal on both sides ok but that there's the inability until you that norma side of the european union i want to point out is that you know when clinton 1st came to power he talked about you know is sick in new security arrangements from lisbon to a lot of the stock and they stayed with that for

a while and then they to say well you know enough is no meaty problem giving our ideas ideas bring your security in arms and they don't listen because there are lessons and i'm balancing relationships one has to take the knee and brussels of course cannot go ahead. well the war mongering is clearly on the side of america and i think there's been a grip on russia. you know a few years ago already. they realized that america was not willing to discuss security and that you are simply following not following the u.s. nato is total disarray because trump the finger where it hurts you know your concern didn't pay for their dissent so loudly as saying like was your mother omen thought the same john didn't say we're going to be thomas' europe m. at centcom we've got reinforced nato i mean it's a total cockup. look at the relations with turkey turkey i mean come on because

they made all these gas and they grease the war and france sells its plans to go to greece and it's really terrible so nato is in the center fetid bad state if only because mrs all of a was minister of the friends of germany for 8 years which was a total disaster. but so it's very bad situation decision out and as you say it's quite dangerous because the younger generation doesn't realize the danger of the cold war and the fact that a country like ukraine is incredibly dangerous. and i'm starry but it was the e.u. that made it more dangerous than ever before when they signed an agreement with the eunuch obit in the in cagny been dried and they turned their back on them and pretended they even if they didn't even know who he was it was a disgrace what the european union did and it's of their fault well what it would

have been they should have turned around the next day and they should have sanctioned they'd be cool regime and say we know that we're going to stick by our agreement but no ok and of course you know that was a follow up but you know it was it takes a new ation of the new and telephone call which. we don't have to go into detail here but you know they wrecked the neighborhood in the blame somebody else john go ahead. that's that's absolutely certain i mean we're going back 5 years now i mean that whole business was was horrible and unfortunately it carries on i think one conclusion that we should perhaps draw from this is that despite what everyone says. and i conscious of saying this on r.t. russia does not have a substantial soft power program art is an extremely successful television channel and that's why everyone hates it but apart from r.t.

there isn't really very much and in particular the contrast is striking with china i made a point about the double standards on china a moment ago and the reason for these double standards on china is very simple money there is masses of chinese money flushing of sloshing around both in terms of university foundations commercial money obviously huge chinese forms there's all arrested and large parts of the political establishment in western europe and as we know in the united states and of course i'm thinking of the bidens here in the pay of the chinese and it's very striking that russia maybe because she felt she had her fingers burnt with the soviet experience where the whole you know leadership of world communism ended up costing her a lot of money and she got her fingers on it maybe for that reason but russia as i say very much the opposite of what everyone says does not have

a substantial soft power program in the world they don't they don't pay people ever pay lobbyists at least not very much i'm not i'm not aware of them paying very many lobbyists and this may be one of the reasons why they buy the relationship is so bad. it may simply be a matter of money you know one of the things that's really interesting and those that follow the intricacies of liberal politics inside of russians and we've had over the last you know. a number of liberals by definition. ok but they're looking at what's going on in the united states and the european union and they're horrified by this the postmodernist no cultural movements ok and yet the liberals here you know they're that they find themselves in a very difficult situation because the vast majority of people that you know in russia. and some of the people i know here in moscow they say we don't want your

culture and no way we don't want that here ok this is don pointed out. your family oriented tradition patriots super patriots ok and they him one of the things that happens that most people in the west don't understand is that all of the negative things said about russia in the media is and so we translated into russians and people know what people say about them and they say more personal they don't know anything about russia and how dare they say they're morally superior to us we don't need it bashing ok don't you know we did a horrible event what have you done lately not i would you know a lot of people were here out so in just a barrel comes waltzing in and telling her everybody how to live their lives people even liberal say we don't want to go then at the shooting themselves in the butt with this go ahead. but you pizza are conservative i'm a liberal i'm not actually sure. you know share

a lot of liberal pretty liberal criticisms of russian culture. and and russian society my position is just a shit i don't want to impose on russia should be outside. it will be an evolution in truly new shouldn't she. in the. direction but that's the way seeking some. peace agreement on russia's lackey. i feel i need a bit of the systems in trying to reset the russian point of shit to also so i would like. also. one of the reasons that russia doesn't have the x. rays is because he does not see out on the ambition to remake the well he's right impose its. ours on the rest we don't want to talk you know we stood. near

you know a source of power i'm doing the best about one man so i want to. bring torah but i'd like our viewers watching your ardent see you next time remember. elderly forward to talking to. that technology should work for people. i robot must obey the orders given by human beings except where such orders that conflict with the 1st law show your identification for should be very careful about artificial intelligence and the point of view seeing is to create a trance. or a very thing with artificial intelligence where something to.

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