minsk 1, nothing, a disaster. minsk 2, only went ahead and largely incorporated more territory that the rebels had taken since minsk 1 and made the boundary lines between ukraine and russia less capable of actually being pursued because it is all dependent on some vote of decentralization of the government. there have been about a thousand violations of the cease-fire. is that a fair estimate? >> i can't give you a precise number but that's an estimate. that's a commonly referred to number. a thousand violations of the cease-fire. and so, we keep working on this aspirational basis while russia works effectively to take more and more ukrainian land. and there isn't enough money in the world to be able to help the ukrainians sustain themselves as they continue to bleed because of the conflict that russia has created and still stokes in eastern ukraine. so i don't get it. unless you change the calculus for putin, this is going to continue. he will get his land bridge to crimea and so much for our statements about we

one and minsk 2 and violated each one of them. his goal is ukraine is what the admiral said early to to destabilize the country. but to achieve that, he cannot settle for a frozen conflict. he needs to be regularly on the offensive, albeit with tactical pauses. he's made clear by his statements and actions that if he succeeds in ukraine there will be future targets. the targets may include nato allies where ethnic russians and russian speakers comprise 25% of the population. recent kremlin provocations include the kidnapping of an intelligence official from acetone ya and that happened on the day that the nato summit ended last support. he is telling the baltic states and all of the states in his neighborhood you are not secure even if you're members of nato. we have a vital interest in stopping moscow's policies before they move to other countries, especially to the baltic states. i think u was senator isaacson who said that the kremlin menace is the most important national security danger that we face today. i endorse that whole

i mean just as steve says, the minsk agreement. if fully implemented would not lead to a frozen conflict. that is, there would be some additional autonomy not yet defined not just for donbass by the way. for all in the country would have additional and mr. poroshenko talked about that. and there have been those kind of discussions but also in the minsk agreement is the withdrawal of foreign forces and that means russian forces. if that happens then there could also be the osce controlling the border monitoring the border between russia and ukraine so that the russian forces can't continue to come in. that means then that the government in kiev could control the entire area. and then you can have the elections i talked about earlier. so it doesn't have to be a frozen conflict. there are questions whether the misnk ii agreement would fully last but nonetheless if implemented it wouldn't have to be completely frozen. >>. [ inaudible ] . >> he said the point is there will be continuing russian interference. >> jim, this is what i mean

with respect to russia i i -- matteo and i agree that we need implementation of minsk. and i expressed by belief that the european council needs to continue the current sanctions in place, until we have seen full implementation of the minsk agreement. there will be a vote this summer, and my expectation is not only italy but all countries in europe would recognize that it would be a wrong message to send to reduce sanctions pressure on russia when their key implementation steps don't happen until then of the year. at minimum we have to min contain the existing sanction levels until we have seen that they have carried out the steps they are required to under the agreement. and, you know, one of the things that matteo and i share and i think the italian and american people share is a sense of values and principles that sometimes override political ex expeed antsy. that's part of our memories because of the history of both of our countries. and, you know, i think we have to be realistic and practical in how we look at a problem like ukraine, but we have to also recall that

it says it expects russia to use its considerable influence over the separatists, to meet their minsktments in full. well that is something that the g-8 used to include russia and russia are not here at this meeting. and some have said without russian participation what value can people put on this communique of this meeting of the g-7? but that's something the foreign minister and mr. kerry talked about the importance of coming to a resolution in ukraine, and the fact that it is at the top of this communique demonstrates how important it is to the g-7. >> iran also important. been a part of the international dialogue on the international stage for weeks now, for months really. so what was discussed regarding iran? >> well four of the foreign ministers at this summit were involved in the p5-plus-1 talks with iran. those marathon negotiations that ended up with the possibility of a deal although it is worth making the point that secretary of state john kerry said that the iran situation was looming large over this g-7 summit. and the german foreign minister referred to it in his remark

makes reference to ukraine and says it called on all sides to implement their commitment under the minsk agreement, but there is strong wording here for rush are sha. and the communique says it expects in particular rush are sha to use it's considerable influence over the separatists to meet their minsk commitments in full. well, that is something obviously we all know, that the g eight used to include rush are sha. russia is not here, and without russia participation what value can people pat on this on this meeting of the seven. that's something that the foreign minister and mr. kerry talks about the important of coming to a resolution in ukraine and the fact that it is at the top of in communique demonstrates how importants to the g seven. dominic cane. >> tens of thousands of minimum wageworkers are on strike, and around the word. fast food workers are among the many who are walking to picket lines in their fight for raises. today will be their biggest day of protests with demonstrations planned in more than 200 cities and 35 countries. protestors want $15 an hour. that's more than d

this has four foreign ministers gathered to assess progress in that minsk truce. ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the last 24 hours while a dozen have been wounded. for more, we can cross now to "france 24'"s" gulliver cragg, who is in levyslaviansk for us. gulliver: the cease-fire -- there is been fighting since the cease-fire went into effect, and some cases near mariupol but it certainly seems there is more fighting in the last few days. the ukrainians figured, of course not always reliable and this figure of six ukrainian soldiers dead makes yesterday one of the bloodiest days since the cease-fire went into effect. also, four civilians were injured in donetsk in the last few hours. most of the violence is close to donetsk, which is held by the regional capital, and particularly close to the former airport, which the pro-russians took from the ukrainians back in january. he is also saying it has been refuse access on the scene not far from the port city of mariupol which suggests that the situation there is also bad. both sides have been using artillery o

and minsk protocols you can property tell that the kremlin and russia in general, the government hereow is more concerned about this than they are letting on. >> it was only yesterday, wasn't it, rory that president putin took to reiterate the fact with russian troops have no presence at all in eastern ukraine? >> yeah, that's what he said. the phone interview but that is not believed by washington d.c. it's not believed by kiev. i can read you some comments that were after dinner in a press conference at the u.s. state department i think late last night from the state department's press spokeswoman and said that no amount of propaganda can make true what is not russia has command and control elements in eastern ukraine to coordinate military operations there and russia established training areas in eastern ukraine to train separatist fighters in gun and artillery fighting and what they said for many months now and that is believed by washington is believed by kiev and the reason that poroshenko requested from western governments military training and military assistance and not just

with respect to russia, mateo and i agreed we need implementation of minsk and i expressed my strong belief that the european council needs to continue the current sanctions that are in place until we've seen full implementation of the minsk agreement. there will be a vote coming up in the european council can my expectation not only italy, but all countries in europe will recognize it will be a wrong message to send to reduce sanctions pressure on russia when their key implementation steps don't happen until the end of the year. at minimum we have to maintain existing safrpgz levels until they carry out the steps they are required to under the agreement. one of the things that mateo and i share and the italian people and the american people share is a sense of values and principles that sometimes override political expedyancy. that is part of our dna and memories and the history of both of our countries. you know, i think we have to be realistic and practical in how we look at a problem like ukraine and the reason there is a europe enormous sacrifices were made on behalf of ideals a

osce observers say heavy shelling should have been withdrawn under the minsk accord. >>> loins must do more >> being used in eastern ukraine and other mars of the world can naturally be used in countries like the baltics and it has to worry you is so we have to be ready and we have to be united so we know how to react. >> william taylor is a former u.s. ambassador to ukraine. he joins us from washington d.c. sir thank you very much for joining us on al jazeera. first of all do you agree of what we just heard from general petr powell that u.s. should be more active in confronting the situation in ukraine? >> yes, the russians haven't faced real sanctions, other than damaging their economy. they moved into crimea and then eastern ukraine. harsher essential or other military sanctions they will keep moving. >> you mentioned the russian economy has been damaged but actually what we have seen is that the currency has picked up a little bit in recent months. the treaty is not holding the military option does seem unlikely doesn't seem much appetite in the u.s. or europe for that. >> there's

we expect the ukrainian authorities will abide by all the minsk agreements.irst and foremost, they have to set up a working group as part of the minsk process. they have to start working on several areas -- political reform, constitutional reform, the economy, border issues and so on. they have to start doing those things. not talk about these things but start doing them practically. at this point, unfortunately, we only see attempts to continue to exert pressure and no real desire to solve the conflict through political means. it is my understanding there is no other solution except for a political one. i hope that everybody will come to the same realization. >> another question from our studio. irina is well-known in russia. she has a question on ukraine. >> mr. president, my question, number one, is about the tragic death of boris nemtsov. it shook me as a person. you might understand me, we have cooperated with him. it is really a painful event. what is your take on the investigation. will we know who ordered that contract killing? it looks more like a te

he said that this was not conducive to what was agreed in minsk and the terms of the minsk piece agreement. he said this would destabilize further the situation in ukraine. you can probably assume that the kremlin is a built more worried about this than they're letting on. they will see this as part of a continuation of nato encroachments on russia and they have always been against the joining of ukraine into the nato security umbrella. obviously this isn't going that far, but they won't look on this particularly kindly at all. another thing the russians will be watching closely for is exactly who is being trained by these u.s. paratroopers, because included in ukraine's national guard are irregular units fighting against the pressure separatists in the east. some of those are on the far right of the political spectrum, so if it is proven that brigades are included in this program it will give the russians a very strong case in able to say that they are training fascists and nazis. >> a memorial service have been held for the victims of the germanwings plane crash. relatives, rescue worker

with respect to russia, matteo and i agree that we need the implementation of minsk. i have expressed my strong belief that the european council needs to continue the current sanctions that are in place until we have seen full implementation of the minsk agreement. there will be a vote coming up this summer in the european council and my expectation is that not only italy, but all countries in europe will recognize that it would be a wrong message to send to reduce sanctions pressure on russia when their key implementation steps don't happen until the end of the year. at minimum, we have to maintain the existing sanction levels until we have seen that they have carried out the steps they are required to under the agreement. one of the things matteo and i share and i think the italian and american people share is a sense of values and principles that sometimes overrides political expediency. that is part of our dna. that is part of our memories because of the history of both of our countries. i think we have to be realistic and practical in how we look at a problem lik

fred: guy: talks in minsk -- coming from the east. >> a lot of people in russia.nything other than not -- francine: coming up the clock is ticking for greece. we'll outline the latest. list. guy: joined by a rugby lenled. brian o'driscoll will be here to tell us about his new rugby act. looking forward to that conversation. francine: what can sports stars teach politicians? this is crucial especially of that debate this evening. it will be interesting to get brian o'driscoll's tips? guy: more of a scrum than a debate. pefrl positioned to give us advice. we'll take a break. ♪ guy: welcome back. you're watching "the pulse." now the clock is ticking for greece. they gave a 26-page list to their creditors for a bailout. let's bring our our international correspondent hans nichols. he is in berlin. hans, let me start with you. greece is trying to secure the funds. they just submitted this revamped reform list. how revamped is it? hans: according to the finance minister in france, he said they made good progress but more work needs to be done. he said he senses a real d

anchor: they flew together to try to get the minsk agreement up and working. so there is a great deal more concrete cooperation. what are the leaders come up with for the future? >> the joint cabinet meetings were military and defense. they were planning to cooperate in funding and earth satellite observation system and also funding a new drone together with italy. there has been a lot of talk about european defense cooperation. and there is greater willingness to follow up the words with deeds. >> covering the meeting there thank you very much for your insights. anchor: members of the band leftist group have been killed in a shootout in istanbul. anchor: the gunfire started as security forces moved in. the two reportedly took a prosecutor captive inside his office while negotiating with police. the prosecutor was seriously wounded in the shootout. anchor: we will take short break and be back in a minute. anchor: welcome back. less than three hours for negotiators to come up with a framework that curbs iran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief

the current sanctions that are in place until we've seen full implementation ofimplementation of the minsk agreement. petro poroshenko says sanction he are not enough and has been pleading with nato for more u.s. support. sparking a warning from russia. >> translator: the united states and its allies have crossed all possible lines to bring kiev into their orbit. that could not fail to trigger our rations. >> lives mostly civilians have been taken. >> john siegenthaler, al jazeera. >> emotions as crowds gather to remember the germanwings crash. german chancellor angela merkel joined 1400 guests for the memorial service in cologne. those who died, including co-pilot andreas lubitz who investigators believe deliberately crashed the plane. >>> the parents of the youngest person to die in the boston marathon bombing are speaking out on dzhokhartsarnaev's behalf. john terret has the story. >> whether or not dzhokhartsarnaev should be put to death or not the community's response carries a lot of weight. the parents of the youngest victim believe that dzhokhartsarnaev should not be put to death b

it is up to russia to stick to the minsk agreement to put pressure on the separatists to keep there and of the bargain and resolve the crisis and then the g7 would be willing to take russia back into the circle of g8. nobody said that the german foreign minister is interested in isolating russia and spec -- in fact he spoke to them monday evening about that very issue in ukraine. the german foreign minister said he is surprised that at this point in time russia said it would deliver a defense system to the iranian government. mixed messages out of russia. still a very tricky way out of the crisis, but all sides have recognized that ukraine is the one big sticking point here. >> to business news now chinese first quarter business growth has slowed to an annual rate of 7%. that would be great news for most countries but for china it is like the smurfs. >> the month of march saw a big drop in exports and production slowed down. many believe an economic slowdown in china is inevitable as beijing seeks to move away from dependence on exports to achieve more stable growth. it is aiming at lon

with respect to russia, matteo and i agree that we need implementation of minsk and i expressed my strong belief that the european council needs to continue the current sanctions that are in place until we've seen full implementation of the minsk agreement. there will be a vote coming up this summer in the european council and my expectation is to the only italy, but all countries in europe will recognize that it would be a wrong message to send to reduce sanctions pressure on russia when their key implementation steps don't happen until the end of the year. at minimum we have to maintain the existing sanction levels until we've seen they've carried out the steps that they're required to under the agreement. and one of the things that matteo and i share and the italian and american people share, is the sense of values and principles that sometimes override political expedience. that's part of our dna that's part of our memories because of the history of both our countries. and i think we have to be realistic and practical in how we look at a problem like ukraine and we also have to recall

it makes reference to ukraine and calls on all sides for their responsibility under the minsk agreement. but the strong word from russia and he expected russia to use its influence over the separatists to meet their minks commitments in full. that is something obviously we all know that the g-8 have said. and they say without russian participation what value can be put on this communique from the g-7. that's something that the foreign minister and secretary john kerry both talked about and the fact that it's at the top of this communique demonstrates how important it is from the g-7. >> tens of thousands of minimum wage workers are on strike all across the united states and around the world. fast food workers are among those walking the picket line. they're demanding raises to $15. that's more than double the current federal minimum wage. listen to this, the ceo has now made the minimum salary at his company $70,000 a year. >> reporter: when was the last time you got a raise out asking for it? that's something that is happening for a lot of folks at this seattle company who processes cr

ministers called on all sides involved in the ukraine crisis to implement their commitments under the minskgreements. the document again called on russia to work toward a solution to the situation. the communique strongly condemned the islamic state group. it pointed to the need for comprehensive measures including economic and educational policies to prevent violent extremism from spreading. the foreign ministers also welcomed the framework agreement reached earlier this month by iran and six world powers on tehran's nuclear program. the document said they support the continuation of efforts to achieve a comprehensive solution by the end of june. >>> american authorities are trying to determine how a small open-air helicopter was able to land on the grounds of the u.s. congress building in washington. police say the one-man helicopter landed on wednesday afternoon on the west lawn. haider al abadi and many lawmakers were inside at the time. streets nearby were temporarily closed. a hazardous materials team were deployed to search for possible explosives but found none. the pilot did not ha

we do what we can to support the minsk agreement. sanctions are not lifted. we should use the opportunity to turn it around. we replace certain imports, stimulating our economy and certain industries. >> still to come here at al jazeera - we'll hear from migrant workers who say they are under attack in south africa. >> and thousands of people struggling to make a living in the u.s. are fighting for better wages. we replace certain imports, imports, >>> hello again. these are the top stories - yemen's vice president called for the armed forces in the country to support the legitimate government in exile. the priority for the government was to deal with the urgent humanitarian situation. >>> in south korea grieving parents snubbed the prime minister and the president on the first anniversary of the sewol ferry disaster, accused of obstructing an investigation into the disaster which killed 304 people >>> and the russian president vladimir putin is fielding questions currently from a live studio audience for his annual call in show. this is the 13th he's done. t

kerry was -- he praised the role of the germans and french insofar as the minsk agreement was concerned and the other issue that all the foreign ministers have discussed here this morning, iran. >> of course, negotiations with iran have been high on the agenda there. let's just listen to what john kerry had to say a short time ago about that. >> looming large is the challenge of finishing the negotiation with iran over the course of the next two and a half months. yesterday, there was a compromise reached in washington rewarding a congressional input. we are confident about our ability for the president to negotiate an agreement and to do so with the ability to make the world safer. >> how are the continuing iran nuclear talks playing out during kerry's meeting with his g7 counterparts? >> well, it's worth remembering that four of the foreign ministers here at this summit were part of the p5 plus one attacks in lausanne earlier this month, those marathon talks. clearly all the people involved in those are here and brought the issues from there to this meeting. mr. kerry was keen to make

of significant concern and causes us again and again at a time we would very much like to see the minsk agreement implemented and move out of this. -- time of confrontation and isolation of russia. we got to be thinking again about what are the consequences going to be a further aggression in ukraine. you have that is the most egregious example of russia's defiance of international norms. alongside that, you mention the support for a side -- assad even as we work together to dismantle his chemical weapons program. this is a regime that drops thousands of bombs on civilian neighborhoods. these chlorine against children and adults. yet, the russian support for that government continues. it is a huge problem and has really paralyzed the un security council where i sit everyday which is responsible for maintaining international peace and security and cannot meet that responsibility because the russian of structuralism. -- obstructionism. you have that internal situation in terms of the human rights crisis. anybody that speaks out in the independent media is being cracked down upon. the rece

>> the eu position in the last summit was quite clear, that the key is implementation of minsk agreementsso if russia starts to play a more constructive role and if these agreements are being implemented, we can start discussing reducing the sanctions. if this is not happening it can also be the prolongation of sanctions and even stepping out of sanctions if there is further escalation. so it really depends on how constructive a role russia will play in the coming months and whether all sides will stick with the minsk agreements. mark: do you expect greece to support the implementation of ongoing sanctions? might that prove tricky? >> we know that greece supported in the nation of the first wave of sanctions and it was done already by the greek government certainly it is for the member states to discuss but apparently we don't have any indication that the unity of the eu might be endangered in this position if we follow the discussions already on sanctions against russia which took place in previous consultations. mark: let's finish with your purpose, you in rome to meet with the italian

we are doing everything we can to implement the minsk agreements, but our partners have not caught up. the most important thing for us is to use more sophisticated ways of management. and of course, a lot depends on us domestically. we just mentioned inflation, we mentioned real wages. what is the reason for the decline? of course, there is a lot of pressure on the ruble. the ruble has depreciated. it depends on oil prices. it is well-known that unfortunately we have this economy that is too dependent on oil. it is difficult to change the situation. but over the past years, we saw real wages growing at a higher pace than productivity gains. this is something very important. regardless of any sanctions, an adjustment was imminent. the central bank in the -- the central bank and the government took those sanctions as a helping hand, so to speak. they could have said, ok, these were the measures we need for adjustment, and it happened because of the sanctions. that adjustment took place. it is important, and the markets have responded to that. it means our economy is getting healthier. i

we expect that ukrainian authorities will abide by all the minsk agreements. first and foremost and actually started talking about that, they have to set up a working group as part of the process and start working on several areas political reform constitutional reform the the economy, border issues and so on and so forth. they have to start doing those things. stop talk about these things were doing and practically. at this.unfortunately we only see attempts to continue to exert pressure and there is no real desire to resolve the conflict through political means. it is my understanding that there is no other solution except for political want, and i and i hope that everybody will come to the same realization. >> another question from our studio. thank you. well known in russia. she has a question on ukraine. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: mr. president my question to a number one is about the tragic deaths. it shook me as a person. it is really painful. so what is your take on the investigation? will we know who word that contract killing? it look

with respect to russia, matteo and i agree that we need the implementation of minsk. i have expressed my strong belief that the european council needs to continue the current sanctions that are in place until we have seen full implementation of the minsk agreement. there will be a vote coming up this summer in the european council, and my expectation is that not only italy, but all countries in europe will recognize that it would be a wrong message to send to reduce sanctions pressure on russia when their key implementation steps don't happen until the end of the year. at minimum, we have to maintain the existing sanction levels until we have seen that they have carried out the steps they are required to under the agreement. one of the things matteo and i share and i think the italian and american people share is a sense of values and principles that sometimes overrides political expediency. that is part of our dna. that is part of our memories because of the history of both of our countries. i think we have to be realistic and practical in how we look at a problem li

summer, relations between the eu and russia was so sensitive that the negotiations and first round of minsk talks were so delicate that the eu basically put this to one side for a while. that begs the question why now. well, it is true that the european union feelings itself much for energy self sufficient these days and the situation with the fighting in ukraine has calmed somewhat, but it is still taking a big risk in doing this, because the eu knolls full well that rush is essentially a petro state and if you go after the companies that exports russia's main commodity exports then you are in fact going after the russian state itself. >> thank you very much. live for us in moscow. >> up next, all the sport. >> a booming population is only a sign of prolonged misery. what brought the 12-year-old and his family to the camp four months ago is a familiar story to the people who came before him. >> people burned the house. they took the cattle. we ran. some were killed. when we came here, people were helpful. >> he is one of the more than one half million children displaced by the conflict in

council needs to continue the current sanctions in place until we have seen full implementation of the minsk agreement. >> ukrainian prime minister petro poroshenko has been pleading with nawght nato for more support. sparking a reaction from russia. >> united states and its allies have crossed all possible lines in bringing kiev into their orbit. that could not have failed to trigger our reaction. >> the u.n. says the conflict has claimed over 6,000 lives so far, mostly civilians. >> nina kuscheva associate dean, associate professor of international affairs at the new school of new york. nina welcome. how does this compare to other tension between ukraine and russia? >> this is actually small attention than what it used to be. before it used to be, the old war was going to blow out any minute. and putin was saying, we're not really promoting we're not really, we don't want war we want to have reconciliation, however, it is up to our partners to actually make it happen. so i don't think this is close to real confrontation. however, putin is leaving himself some room to say i was conciliatory

. >>> ukraine leaders are expected to discuss that country's struggling ceasefire and the minsk agreement. still ahead communications are knocked out in many areas by that powerful earthquake. coming up how nepalese citizens living outside of the country are desperately trying to connect with their loved ones back home. back home. impact on the world. >> i have to just be myself. >> every sunday night. >> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's movers and shakers. >> we will be able to see change. >> gripping. inspiring. entertaining. "talk to al jazeera". next sunday, 6:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> tomorrow on "techknow". >> we should not be having earthquakes in texas. >> the true cost of energy hits home. >> my yard is gone. >> are we destroying our way of life? >> contaminated water from the fracking activities come here. >> they stick it into the core of the earth. >> but this cutting-edge technology could be the answer. >> the further of fracking is about the water. >> protecting the planet saving lives. >> how do you convince a big oil company to use t

pursues economic and political reforms along with our international partners we strongly support the minsk agreements. we agree both russia and the ukraine must fulfill all the obligations under these agreements. i thanked the prime minister of italy's strong support for the international coalition against isil. italy, by the way is one of the largest contributors of advisors and trainers to help build up the iraqi security forces and italy is leading the effort to insure the area's liberated from isil's control or stablized with an effective civilian police force. we also spend considerable amount of time discussing our deep, shared concern for the situation in libya where we continue to support u.n. efforts to form a unity government. given italy's leadership role across the mediterranean the prime minister and agreed to work together even more intensively to encourage cooperation on threats coming from libya including the growing isil presence there as well as additional coordination with other partners in how we can stablize what has become a very deadly and difficult situation. a more

on tuesdays - discussions on struggling economies and ceasefire drafted in minsk. thursday - 40th anniversary of the fall of saigon the day u.s. pulled out troops. >> coming ut. with communications knocked out, nepalese citizens living outside the country are trying to connect with loved ones back home. >>> plus a strange site in downtown new york. police were trying to round up coyotes. coyotes. >>> a day after a massive earthquake shook nepal and estimated 2500 are dead more than 5,000 are said to be injured. areas have been levelled, and an international team of workers are searching for survivors. nepalese communities mourning the victims of saturday's disaster. people living outside are calling home to check on relatives and loved ones. we met some of them in qatar. >> these men have been trying to call their relatives since the earthquake struck. some managed to get through, even briefly. for the last few hours phone lines are down, and they are worried. >> it's sad news. this is our back day. all the nepalese, it's a black day. we are praying by the grace of

we do what we can to enforce the minsk agreement. we somehow use the opportunity with sanctions. we replace certain imports, and it will stimulate the economies and certain industries. >>> we can talk to martin mccauley, a russian analyst. he joins us live from london. good to talk to you. and this the 13th marathon call-in that president vladimir putin is carrying out. it's highly orchestrated. the questions we know are thoroughly vetted. what do we learn from these? >> you can learn that president vladimir putin is very self confident. he performs better every year. apparently there are 2.5 million questions submitted, but only seven questions are taken up by him. they would be the one by will allow him to present russian policy in the best possible light. it's interesting what he says about the sanctions, lifting sanctions not being related to ukraine. he said that last year and the entrepreneurs businessmen in russia are concerned about this because they cut off finance from outside. the ruble is week it's difficult to import more expensive to input from the outside world, an

spokesman and he said it risks destabilizing ukraine and goes counter to what was discussed and decided in minskre it's counter productive really to the peace process. what russia is really worried about though here is not just a few military personnel training the ukrainian national guardsmen, what they are really concerned about is the creeping natoization of ukraine. >> this comes a day doesn't it after president putin reiterated the fact that russian troops have no presence whatsoever in eastern ukraine and said that during that marathon telethon he took part in. >> yeah that cuts no mustard with kiev and no mustard at all with western government particularly the united states. most resent press briefing the state department if i can read a quote from the state department spokesperson who said that no amount of propaganda can make true what is not russia has command and control elements in eastern ukraine to coordinate military operations and has areas to train separatist fighters and artillery fighting so these military advisors are in ukraine because they have been requested by poroshenko

that looks at the success or otherwise of the truce in eastern ukraine, the deal that was signed in minskbruary. our correspondent, natalia ant antlava has been spending time with rebel fighters near one of the worst sites of the conflict. this is their story. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: these guys are taking us to the position in the middle of the road. they stoppeded the the car stormed out, and are checking the papers. telling them they can't go that way. [ speaking foreign language ] there's a checkpoint down below. he says that's why, because there are checkpoints around here. he says don't go any further, because we may get caught up. he says there are ukrainian snipers on the other side. it's very close, about a kilometer away from the ukrainian position. [ speaking foreign language ] these guys believe there are american tanks a kilometer away from here on the other side. they are convinced they are american tanks. there are no american tanks on the other side. that's the ukrainian tank. definitely not american. i just said oh, you think that americans supply weapons to the other side but yo

pursues economic and political reforms, along with our international partners, we strongly support the minsk agreements and agree russia and ukraine must fulfill all the obligations under these agreements. i thanked the prime minister of italy's strong support for the international coalition against is isil. italy by the way is one of the largest contributors and advisors and trainers to help build up iraqi security forces and italy is leading the effort to ensure the area's liberated from isil's control or stagized with an effective civilian police force. we also spent considerable amount of time discussing our deep shared concern for the situation in libya. where we continue to support u.n. efforts to form a unity government, given italy's leadership role across the mediterranean the prime minister and i agreed to work together even more intensively to encourage cooperation on threats examining from libya, including the growing isil presence there, as well as additional coordination with other partners in how we can stabilize what has become a very deadly and difficult situation. more broa

top diplomats from the eu will meet in ukraine and are expected to press keiv on implementing the minsk cease fire agreement >>> a destructive storm is hitting texas. you can see the hail actually coming down this morning. other states also expected to get hit later today. so let's bring in our meteorologist, nicole mitchell. i understand these tornados came in overnight. >> yes. continuing overnight which is always scary because sometimes people aren't hearing the warnings. so here's a look at the radar and as we put this into motion things really firing up late into the afternoon. i paused this actually. see those two lines in there? bow echos. that indicates especially high winds. we've had hail and high winds with this as well and now you can see the line pushing into louisiana. 20 reports of tornado already. one as recently as 4:00 a.m. this morning hitting two residences but because of the time of night they don't know whether or not there's injuries. that has not been reported at this point. and you could have more reports during the day because some tornado don't get seen in the

is how this is going to destabilize the situation in ukraine and how it is not in keeping with the minsk peace plan agreement. this is about keeping nato out of crane. we should watch for language from moscow, any evidence that moscow can see the potential fascists what they call neonazis are being trained by these u.s. military advisors, because some of the irregular battalions who have been fighting in the east are incorporated into the ukrainian national guard particularly one called the asov battalion. we will watch for any involvement of that battalion in this training program. >> u.s. troops are staying put in iraq as a fierce battle rages around a key city. thousands of iraqis are leaving the city today with isil fighters capturing three villages overnight. american forces are conducting training nearby and u.s. officials say there are no plans to withdraw them. iraq's prime minister has been in washington this week meeting with u.s. leaders. he says u.s. airstrikes are helping but his country needs additional reinforcements. we have this report from the pentagon. >> this video sh

in a rare and exclusive interview, the president who hosted the minsk talks on ukraine set down withn chilcote. let's bring ryan in now. ryan: he was in the peace talks -- it was at the peace talks that we got the cease-fire that everyone is talking about. between the russians and the ukrainians. he did not really broker the deal but he was the host. he was a very close ally of the russians, perhaps the closest ally in the former soviet space. at the same time he has come out against the annexation of crimea. he said a lot of things in support of the ukrainians. he told me be situation right now in ukraine is alarming. he warned that the two sides might be slipping towards war. have a listen. >> i hope this is thenot the calm before the storm. i would not like that. they tell us we are a long way from peace in ukraine. the most worrying thing is that the u.s. has not been openly involved in this process. i believe there can be no stability in ukraine without the americans. having met recently with representatives of the u.s., officials, i clearly laid out this. stating i don't know w

poroshenko also said international military drills in ukraine no way violates the minsk cease-fire agreements allies to send weapons and accused dribbles of cease-fire operations. and sheryl sandberg said many women see themselves -- a gender bias case against venture capital firm. sandberg says i thought it was so interesting about the trial is that so many women, not just in technology, see their own experiences there. samberg said this in an interview. and a 4th street weekly advance. it will be tight junk credit rating -- credit rating. a stable outlook by standard and poor's. last year he gave the country its first sovereign downgrade in more than a decade. facebook gadget lovers may be excited about the debut of apple watch. swiss watchmakers, not so much. swatch coinventors says apple iwatch could -- the apple watch could hurt their industry with the lower end brand hit hardest. apple may suit -- apple soon may sell as many timepieces as all of switzerland. joining me now is founder and executive editor of the luxury watch site. he has an apple watch on his wrist. right now i can touc

guy: foreign ministers from russia, ukraine, france, and germany meet today to discuss the fragile minskse fire agreement. ukraine and russia accused each other of violating the accord. leaders say economic sanctions on russia depend on full compliance. 6 american golfer jordan spieth has won the masters at augusta. he matches the tiger woods record for the lowest winning score. the wind makes -- the win makes spieth the youngest champion in the event's history. guy: tiger was five months younger. francine: still 21. guy: the chairman of volkswagen has publicly criticized ceo martin winterkorn. winterkorn appears to have support from the board. what is going on? let's find out. hans nichols is in berlin with more. hans: this all started on friday night. ferdinand piech gave an interview where he said he was keeping his distance from martin winterkorn the current ceo. piech was the ceo. now he is chairman of the board. over the weekend, we had pieckh's cousin, wolfgang porsche. he came out in firm support of martin winterkorn. he said, dr. piech represents his private opinion. content and

whether it be in russia, in minsk and ukraine they say they found tech talent of late. for facebook and then to roll out and of course help them build advertising going forward. so amazing amount of growth also in hiring. this is a phenomenal statistic for you. they are hiring like crazy. and the last 12 months, facebook has ramped up their head count 48%. they now have more than 10,000 people working for facebook. this is all about quality. it's about reach of advertising. and look, ignore the dollar strength. this is about boosting the underlying business. and yes, shares did fall ever so slightly in after hours trading. but i think many are convinced of the vision that mark zuckberg has. and when you've got four billion videos being watched a day, and most of their revenue now coming from mobile, clearly they've made that leap that many wanted to see. get on mobile and get about video content. e-bay, it's more about cost cutting that's helped profit. rather than growth in the business. e-bay actually beat analyst estimates overall. but it was held back slightly by th

the start of the minsk agreement , we might find some provisions that were held to restore the single political space but of course, it is the people of the republic that have the ultimate right to decide and will depend on the flexibility and wisdom of the cranium leadership -- ukrainian leadership. >> we have people working at this hotel with us, people who live here, and they have many difficult questions. >> mr. president, my name is tatiana. we live on the border. we are very much afraid for our children and grandchildren during the hostility. it was very close to where we live. we had our suitcases packed. do you think the war will start? president putin: i think it is impossible. so, don't worry. there were some instances. some of the shells ended up on russian territory but i still think it is just an accident, not an intended attempt to attack russia or to damage russian infrastructure. >> mr. president, we have received tragic news from kiev right now. this is one of the brightest well known ukrainian journalist. he was just killed. he participated on talk shows of russian c

a significant concern command it causes us again and again at a time that we would like to see the minsk agreement implemented a move out of this confrontation and diplomatic isolation of russia we have to be thinking about the consequences of further aggression in ukraine. you have that as the most egregious example of russia's defiance of international norms. alongside that you mentioned support for aside even as we work together to dismantle the declared chemical weapons program. this is a this is a regime that drops thousands of barrel bombs on civilian neighborhoods, uses chlorine against children and adults for that matter and yet the russian support for that government continues. it is a huge problem that has paralyzed the security council where i i said everyday responsible for maintaining international piece and security and cannot meet that because of russian obstructionism you have all of that to the human rights crisis'. anyone who speaks out vulnerable independent media being cracked down upon. the recent assassination of a leading opposition figure difficult place for anyon

until we've seen full implementation of the minsk agreement. there will be a vote coming up this summer in the european council. and my expectation is not only lit ly italy, but all countries in europe will recognize that it will be a wrong message to send to reduce sanctions' pressure on russia when their key implement implementation steps don't happen until the end of the year. at minimum, we have to maintain existing sanction levels until we've seen they've carried out the steps they're required to under the agreement. and one of the things that mateo and i share and i think the italian people and the american people share is a sense of values and principles. that sometimes override political expediency. that's part of our dna. that's part of our memories because of the history of both our countries. and, you know i think we have to be realistic and practical in how we look at a problem like ukraine. but we have to also recall that the reason there is a unified and prosperous europe is because enormous sackrifices were made on behalf of idea

pursues economic and political reforms along with international partners, we strongly support the minskth russia and the ukraine must fulfill all the obligations under these agreements. i thank the prime minister of italy's strong support for the international coalition against isil. italy by the way is one of the largest contributors of the visors and trainers to help build up the iraqi security forces in italy is leading the effort to ensure the area is liberated from isil's control or stabilized with an effective civilian police force. we also spent considerable time discussing our deep shared concern for the situation in libya where we continue to support you and efforts to form a unity government. given italy's leadership role across the mediterranean the prime minister and i agreed to work together even more intensively to encourage cooperation on threats coming from libya including the growing isil present as well as additional coordination with other partners in how we can stabilize what has become a very deadly difficult situation. more broadly italian forces play a vital role

we support the minsk agreements and agree that russia and ukraine must fulfill all the obligations under these agreements. i thank the prime minister of italy's strong support for the international coalition against isil. italy is one of the largest contributors of advisors and trainers to build up the iraqi security forces. italy is leading the effort to ensure the area is liberated and stabilized. we also spent an amount of time discussing our shared concern for the situation in libya where we continue to support efforts to form a unity government. given italy's leadership role across the mediterranean we will work together more intensively to encourage cooperation on threats coming from libya, including the growing isil presence as well as additional coordination with other partners on stabilizing what has become a very deadly and difficult situation. more broadly, italian forces play a vital role from kosovo, to lebanon, to afghanistan. the coalition forces continue to train and assist afghan forces and we want to transition responsibly as we complete our consolidation of the end of