mr medvedev. to which conditions could russia help the. there is a. there was a talk about the twenty billion aid could you confirm this and maybe for me another question to the side the european parliament called yesterday for new elections. to be or to be all in held in russia was this call also related among the concerns you had about the irregularities and if mr medved if wants to react to this thank you. you would. vision pastoring the first part of your question. but i think i want to say that russia. is the beautiful is interested in. the youth so when you use. preserve ation as a powerful economic and political force says you have end up going toys civilizational toys is the mood i mentioned advantageous ties with the us or us for russia united europe is very important for us it's important that we were being states should agree and the river exercise preserve and courage to preserve all that has been done over the recent decades and chris and one of the most important reserve currencies the euro these beautiful and the e.u. rules of the europ

former chief of staff said again not by the way one of the first things he told journalists was that mr medvedev has concrete plans to reform and more denies russia's political system also the december four vote was the reason why these annual address to the poland by the president is held so late in december at the end of december traditionally it's held in november so obviously moved the date he wanted to trust the new working parliament so the last the last address of nature that if to the palm and asked the president but of course all the ideas initiatives boys today would be relevant should he become the next prime minister if demur putin wins the presidential election in march next year. particularly and thanks very much indeed for bringing us the subway down the bad ground and just to remind our viewers that we are on standby for the address of president medvedev state of the union address and we will be bringing you of course that live as it starts and well go there right now is going to show reporting there from the kremlin and she will be. talking to us so as we continue to wait for pr

questions are really about things like the skulker innovation project and so on is that which was mr medvedev project is that going to continue to prosper if we see. the decline in the one russia ruling party this is a really crucial issue i think for russia to grapple with together with perhaps some kind of feeling of stagnation in russian politics and a feeling that some kind of change is necessary. well we're helping you to keep your finger on the pulse of developments the counting continues in the russian parliament elections later in the day we expect the announcement of the official preliminary results and comments from international observers but you can of course keep track of the latest figures all our website yourself. home. to other news now and russia's foreign ministry has downgraded relations with qatar following an incident in which the russian ambassador to the country was assaulted by border security guards. at the country scene. tells. down graded relations with qatar this comes after an incident in the doha airport on the twenty ninth of november when the ambassador with tw

i do we did change for the presidency that it would be mr putin presenting as the president and mr medvedev at the prime minister i think are been a terrible political blunder of presentation because it gave the population the feeling that they had already before that everything was decided to bow of the head of that noble declared of all them so united russia is also paying the price for that again in a basket of professor of russian j. policy of elysian of athey and an expert on russia and eurasia many thanks. giros time is almost up so says one of the big three credit rating agencies as it prepares for a massive debt downgrade standard and poor's announcements of international markets with investors counting and running on european holdings especially worrying for them this time is that even germany's it is the backbone isn't being spared they just see justified his decision by pointing out the blocks consistent failures is that it's dead even as nations saw that bond interest rates rocket but all is not yet lost with the leaders gathering in brussels on thursday for what's expected to b

questions are really about things like the skulker innovation project and so on is that which was mr medvedev project is that going to continue to prosper if we see. the decline in the one russia ruling party if mr putin comes in next year as is i suppose widely expected as the as the new president will he continue to favor skulk for all to be some changes there this is really this is a really crucial issue i think for russia to grapple with in the coming years. so almost ninety percent of the votes have been counted in russia's parliamentary elections so far preliminary results show that the ruling united russia is leading with around fifty percent down from the sixty four percent share they won in the last elections four years ago and short of constitutional majority so stay with r.c. for the most in-depth coverage of the poor with all the latest developments figures and analysis. tarting is now a brain in forces say they've shot down an american unmanned drone in the east of the country the aircraft he's for spying was recovered on the ground large and damaged american radio host and depen

she again now at tell us more well because we know over to you now so what were the highlights of mr medvedev address on the when i was listening to what you and peter were saying and indeed probably those who expected that these final address of that mission that that as the president would look like it's bearable speech were disappointed because it rather looked like a long to do list of first of all political establishment had been looking at the year was looking at that speech what was this to what metric that exactly is going to change how he's going to form the country's political system. russia needs democracy but if sir but the russian leadership will not allow whistle blowers and the stream it's full russian society into shady undertaking it will not tolerate foreign interference in russia's domestic affairs the main thing which mitchum it but if said in response to mass protests which took place in different cities across the country holding the december or parliamentary elections. people's right to express their opinion by all legitimacy means is guaranteed when you attempt to mani

now both mr medvedev and prime minister vladimir putin have promised reforms for the country now with this vote russians have sent the message that they want to see those reforms as quickly as possible. daniel bush over porting wire from united russia headquarters there we of course will be joining you again throughout the evening daniel in the second position it looks like the communists are coming in with around nineteen to twenty percent that number seems to be moving let's check in with arena go she is that the communist party headquarters or enough it seems like the communists have made really almost double the number of votes they received in the two thousand and seven election and what's the mood like among their ranks are they celebrating. well they're not quite so liberating you wouldn't see any same pain around here but i have to say that they are rather calm and collected they would in a way into this election promising increase in russian promising to better russian military to strengthen russia's position on the world the arena to resurrect the russian village and basical

questions are really about things like the skulker innovation project and so on is that which was mr medvedev project is that going to continue to prosper if we see. the decline in the one russia ruling party this is a really crucial issue i think for russia to grapple with together with perhaps some kind of feeling of stagnation in russian politics and a feeling that some kind of change is necessary while there were helping you keep your finger on the pulse of developments as counting continues in the russian parliamentary election and later in the day we expect the announcement of official preliminary results and comments from international observers and you can also track the latest figures on our web site at r.t. dot com. other news now and iran says its forces have shot down an unmanned american drone in the east of the country the aircraft used for spying was recovered on the ground largely undamaged iranian military promise is that operations against intruding drones will not be limited to iranian borders american radio host and independent blogger steven then says the long history of

mr. medvedev at the moment which is supporting mr.support from the public and people in the country is much less than before. >> why is that, do you think? is that a problem with leadership or the fact that the economy having had so many fantastic years of growth is now starting to turn a little? s>> there are different reasons for that. there is no 21st century to live in russia without the rule of law. >> the official news agency reports that nearly 200 election protesters were arrested in moscow as well as in st. petersburg. >> even with claims of fraud they have a lower than normal turnout. a look at the the real economy is faring, the world bank says high energy costs will help their economy to grow 4% this year. far outpacing western europe and the united states. it's still less than previous predictions. the word bank cut its forecast for russia in september. warning that the country is leaking cab tall. you just need to look at their main stock index to see that. it's down 26% from its year to date high in april. though it did

mr. medvedev themselves. i would like to find out today from mr. putin's spokesman and from medvedev's spokesman who expressed in their press conferences that neither putin nor medvedev are members of united russia party. hello. they are just leaders of the party list but they are not members of the party. the party has to take the hit, take the blame. then it will be the party, not members of the party. mr. putin, quote a politician unquote. mr. medvedev if you remember said before the elections that only if the party performs well and the elections, he will be the prime minister. the party did not perform well in the elections. does that mean somebody's somebody is going to offer mr. medvedev a sacrificial lamb to the electorate and so mr. putin can walk into the presidency in march question mark. i don't know yet. beyond that, let's try and generalize what we have learned already. i agree with him that this is really a fork in the road. john mccain sent a rotor to mr. putin saying prepare for the odd about spring. mr. mccain, it's december out th

mr. medvedev himself. i was glad to find out today from mr. putin's spokesman and from medvedev's spokesperson who stressed in their press conference that neither putin nor medvedev are members of the united russia party. they are leaders of the party list but they are not the members of the parties the party has to take the hit to take the blame then it will be the party, not the non-members of the party, mr. putin as an independent politician. if you remember before the election if the party performs well in the elections he will be the prime minister. the party did not perform well. does that mean somebody is going to offer mr. medvedev to the electorate that they can walk in, i don't know yet.

mr. medvedev said. but it was mr. medvedev's comments about the new start treaty put into effect this year that suggested a darkening tone in what has been a steady drum beat of warnings out of moscow in recent days over plans for the missile defense system based in europe. -- quote -- "in the case of an unfavorable development of a situation, russia reserves the right to discontinue further steps in the field of disarmament and arms control, mr. medvedev said in a televised address from his residence just outside of moscow. given the intrinsic link between the strategic offensive and defensive arms conditions for our withdrawal from the new start treaty could also arise, he said. if all this were not troubling enough, we then read on november 28 an article from a arena state news agency titled "russia's nato envoy to visit china, iran over missile defense." here's what was recorded. arena envoy to nato will visit china and iran in mid january to discuss a u.s.-backed global missile defense network. quote, have we are

mr. medvedev himself. i was glad to find out from mr. putin's spokesman and mr. medvedev's spokesperson who expressed that neither putin nor medvedev are members of the united russia party. they are just leaders of the party list but they are not the members of the party, so the party has to take the hit, take the blame, then it will be the party, not the nonmembers of the party, mr. putin an independent politician. talking about taking a hit and taking responsibility, mr. medvedev said before the elections that only if the party performs well in the elections he will be the prime minister. the party didn't perform well in the elections. does that mean somebody is going to offer him as a sacrificial lamb to the electorate so mr mr. putin can walk into the presidency in march? question mark. i don't know yet. beyond that, let's try and gener generalize what we learned already. i agree with the statement that this is really a fork in the road. john phbg kaeumccain sent a let putin saying prepare for the ara arabat spinning. it is a winter there, but not spring. but

integration boosting competition and increasing the role of small business he got mr jacob nell from morgan stanley russia believes medvedev speech echoes a recent statements by prime minister vladimir putin. what i see is a combined effort by both of them to articulate a economic and political program and you i think that if we think back to earlier in the year when you had a debate between medvedev who was talking about a program for. putting more stress on stability i think that we could now see what the choice of leadership is and that is to go for a program of modernization short the impact of these reforms may be somewhat negative because we may see acceleration capital outflows in companies who may have an increase in uncertainty but in the medium term if these reforms are implemented i think that they. should improve russia's growth prospects and make the realization of the top line objectives of the reform program which are twenty five percent of g.d.p. and investment and six to seven percent growth rate that much more realizable. froze most of the markets and oil is headed even higher now it's a ninety nine and a

medvedev ed, has called for an investigation. the canadian environment minister has announced that his country will formally withdraw from the kyoto protocol on climate change. mrkent said that the treaty agreed in 1997 was in the past. kyodo is a legally binding agreement -- kyoto is a legally binding agreement. prime minister david cameron went to parliament to defend his refusal to sign on to a treaty with the eu last week. he says he was acting in england's best interest. >> david cameron as the counting down the days to the christmas break. his decision to veto the new eu treaty classic has left and with the painful reminder of the tensions within his own coalition. there were talks of west play. but to david cameron was adamant he had no choice in brussels because it calls for extra safeguards for the financial sector was heated by heather countries. >> i wish the it -- by other countries. >> i wish there were proper safeguards. the right answer was no treaty. >> he went home to argue that britain was still very much a part of europe. >> it is impossible to be able committed an influential member of the european union with the arrangements that cannot pro

mr. putin who made his own calculations, a kind of lead medvedev delicately to the conclusion that medvedevis not going to run for presidency so medvedev went apparently to putin and kind of negotiated a deal what he will stay as prime minister, and putin has accepted this in the name of harmony. and that was clearly a very serious miscalculation. and that is a reflection on putin's decision making style. >> margaret. >> short question. following up on what cliff asked, do you expect to see the putin government tried to stage manage who gets to run in a march 4 election in a way that either produces a choice that would be unacceptable to a majority of russians, or one that would at least not be? u.. >> two million signatures which can be easily verified unless the government allows you to do it, and then if government is fairly broad minded in verifying these figures, verifying the signatures. so the decisions will be made by the government. but the question is how the government is going to handle it. they might decide to be very strict and very prohibitive and allow only those which are a

medvedev wanted russia election two thousand and eleven on party. welcome back to spotlight our nerve and just through won't let my guest on the show today is mr ard pared back the head of the i.m.f. in russia we're talking about the situation in this country in. an hour under the conditions are very the world facing a new financial crisis or a recession at least which is which is obvious as we say well do you think that the russian government will not wish to keep balanced budgets which they have always said as they go under the circumstances when they are increasing the government spending is in and we see that in the military is there for one right now this is obviously one of the key economic policy challenges facing russia at this point is to anchor fiscal policy firmly and to make sure that it does not change too much in the short run in the response to the oil price swings to that to that effect we have recommended that the government sets targets not for the overall deficit as you mention but for the deficit excluding oil revenue the underlying deficit what we refer to as the normal deficit and why is that this is because when you look at the or

mr. putin who made his own calculations and led medvedev to the conclusions that he was not going to run for president, and they negotiated a deal. that was clearly a very serious miscalculation, and that is a reflection on putin's decision making style. >> short question -- following up on what was s, do you expect to see the putin try to stage manager who gets to run in the march 4 election in a way that either produces a choice that is unacceptable to a majority of russians, or one that it least would not be? which way do you think they will try to manipulate it? >> they are going to stage manage it. there is no question about that, if for no other reason in order for an individual candidate to be registered they have to get two million signatures. january 20, by then, right, something like that. there is no way anyone can collect in russia two million signatures that can be easily verified a must the government allows you to do it, and then if the government is very broad- minded in verifying the signatures. so, the decisions would be made by the government, but the question is how t

medvedev, the deputy prime minister, was also the chairman of gas pumps. so, state and economy and politics and personal fortunes linked up together, and a fair amount of political violence, too. now that mr. putin decided he is the once and future profit russia, i think the chances that russia is going to break out of that and build on other strengths it might have, including a very smart population -- those have receded, and i think unfortunately russia will not find greater strength in the international economy. it's pretty much an economy that's dependent on the price of oil to do well. >> so back the arab spring. what are the lessons? >> the lesson of the arab spring is that authoritarianism is not stable. if men, women and children don't have a way to change their circumstances and change their government peacefully, they'll do it violently. when we were in romania, we learned of something i now call the the moment. he went into a square in buick rest and he was ex-orting the romanian people for what he had done for them and all of a sudden one old lady yelled, "liar." then ten people, then a hundred treat people, then a thousand people, and a hundred thousand people were yelling "l

medvedev, deputy prime minister was chairman of gazprom. state and economy and politics and personal fortunes all linked up together. by the way with a fair amount of political violence too. now that mr. putin has decided he is once and future president of russia i think the chances that russia is going to break out of that and build on other strengths that might have including a very smart population, those have receded and i think unfortunately russia will not find greater strength in the international economy. it is pretty much and economy that is dependent on the price of oil to do well. >> go back to the arab spring. what do you think lessons are? >> the lesson of the arab spring is that authoritarian system not stable. it is simply not stable. if, men, women and children don't have a way to change their circumstances and change their government peacefully they will do it violently. when we were in romania, we learned of something that i've now called the chouchesku moment. nikolai chouchesku was dictator in romania. in 1989. with revolutions in hungary and czechoslovakia. he was exhorting them what he had done for them. one lady yelled liar. then 100 people. then 10,000 people

mr. putin who made his own calculations, a kind of conclusion that medvedev is not going to run for presidency of up for. medvedev went to putin and negotiated a deal where he would stay as prime minister and putin accepted this in the name of harmony, and that was clearly a very serious miscalculation and a reflection on the decision making style of putin. >> a short question. falling out on what cliff asked, did you expect the putin government to try to stage manager who gets to run in the march 4th election in a way that either produces a tours that would be unacceptable to a majority of russians or one that would at least not be -- i mean, there will try to manipulated and what's direction? >> first of all, they're going to manage it. no question about it, if for no other reason in order for an individual can did it, and depended candid it's. they have to get 2 million signatures. january 20th, something like that. there's no way anyone can collect in russia, a country with a repressive apparatus, 2 million signatures which can be easily verified unless the government allows you to do it.