i give the for now to the president of the russian federation, mr. vladimir putin. speaking russian] >> translator: colleagues, i'm happy to see you at our traditional meeting. first of all i would like to thank the leadership of the foreign ministry, all the diplomats of the veterans of the diplomatic service for your contribution in developing the international cooperation of our country. all of our diplomatic mission work together is in a well coordinated way. given the current situation in the world, russia has been consistently pursuing independent and well-balanced foreign policy. russia's involvement in international affairs is based on our key national interest to create favorable and safe conditions for our country's breakthrough development to address social and economic tasks at hand, improve the quality of life for our people. our people want russia to be a strong independent country. we're open to have equal partnership with all countries and regional alliances. being a member of u.n. security council, russia will always remain committed to the basic pri

russian federation in question the question of. ukraine now speaking about the syrian talks. the western media report about it as that as sort of a possibility that may happen but many analysts in russia suggest that this has already been implemented to some extent on the ground for example. iran's role in the operation is good or earlier this year was last pronounced and usual its role in the current southern offensive and daraa is even more limited would it be fair to say that iran has already partially deliberate what the americans and to some extent the israelis are asking for or present in syria doesn't related to the desire of the united states and other. countries which are following the diplomacy of the united states or some regional countries which are connected with the diplomacy of united states v or in syria on the base so they would station a legal government of syria. to call in the people of syria the support the to hold integrity oh and syria. you're. fighting you're helping the syrian go and if you close syria for fighting against terrorist groups. with the h

government to use russian legal system the same way at russian federation is used our legal system? well, that's problem, also. because there's -- russian legal system is illegal by itself. it's a win nowhere just for us to attempt to use it. on the other hand, you also raised the issue of the immunity of, say, russian assets here if they belong to the russian federation. and things like this. and it is really important point for me, for example, as a point of part of the team because we had the international arbitration award for 50 billion and we were trying to enforce it around the globe against the russian federation. it's not that easy. i mean, it is now on hold because of the decision but still in future it's possible. still won't face that issue of sovereign immunity of assets of russian federation. but on the other side of that, if we insist that the sovereign immunity is removed that will be against our national interest because the same moment we do it here, the protection is removed from various united states assets in, say, russia. so it would need to be carefully at leas

and i do defend the interests of the russian federation. we do have interests that are common. we are looking for points of contact. there are issues where our postures diverge and we are looking for ways to reconcile our differences. how to make our effort more meaningful. we should not proceed from the immediate political interests that guide certain political powers in our countries. we should be guided by facts. can you name a single fact that would definitively prove the collusion? his is nonsense. just like the president ecently mentioned. yes, the public at large in the united states had a certain perceived opinion of the candidates during the campaign. different people could express their sympathy in different ays. isn't that natural to be sympathetic towards a person who is willing to restore the relationship with our country, who wants to work with us? we heard the accusations about concord company. well, farce i know this company hired american lawyers and the accusations don't have a fighting chance in the american courts. so, there's no evidence when it comes to th

the contracts in the treaty that we have pretty in the russian federation and the united states of america. and the russian federation we have a contract taken back to ninety eight regarding mutual judicial assistance in criminal affairs it is a treaty that is in force and is actively and effectively used. we have about a hundred and fifty criminal investigations where we use this treaty for cooperation . well our former minister of agriculture and industry was exadata trying to us to want to rush and was. taken to court in the russian federation based on they treat you so we do have a foundation for cooperation. so you have your special commission headed by mr miller your prosecutor under we have to look at the spy lateral treaty and based on the treaty we will have to request. the extradition we officially if those people are found guilty of having violated the law and of course prosecutors can look at this and can work through the official channels with the united states wouldn't that be can also make one more compromise because nobody. from your commission has similar to the members of

is that concurrent aware of how iran sees the outside met go in in that country you know the russian federation moscow has its own polish we also follow your obvious there are some corporation which seem to show it's in the community. if there are some a specific relation between russia and the united states if it's not related to us . we are following your interests and also your interests to corporate. or friendly country russia so maybe in some we shoot in some field. or independent policy in the region but we are trying to cooperate together without any contradiction now speaking about the current operation in the south of syria that there has been some tactical accommodation between russia and syria on the one hand and the united states on the other hand at least in the form of the american noninvolvement they did not support the groups that they previously supported in that region i know that iran is rarely almost never complimentary of they are american policies in the region but can you appreciate this post here on the part of washington of noninvolvement and allowing the syrian governm

presence in syria or egypt because this is a region and also the russian federation also is the same region so we have regional cooperation it doesn't mean that in. diplomacy we are compatible but. in the many issues in many fields here are very close relation very close cooperation so we will remain in syria of two the time the league will go into syria. to leave syria otherwise you need to be there on the the basis of the permission and requests of the go into syria and also iraq iraq has. to be the words there to them for fighting is terrorism. any kind of that you can do to the. people in the region go into the region including syria iraq. iran also yemen if yemen are supposed to help them to bring peace and tranquility in the region new england has not his day to do that going back to this idea of grand bargain that i started this interview with it could be argued that it's not just mr trump who could entertain that idea but that similar bargain would be offered you know many regional actors for example syria how would iran relate she or any offer of a more active saudi involvem

citizens, especially private citizens, can be interrogated by the russian federation. the -- i volunteer to be interrogated by russians. the lingo option definitely exists and can be implemented. the political story created by putin for his own gain, telling mr. trump let's interrogate some they don't need to interrogate those people they already convincted, like browder. it's a political game. >> by figuring out these toividuals, putin tried enforce to civil servants not to stick out their neck and be cautious. they should be beanten down shortly. role a indicative of the piece of legislation has continued to set. in anle it has played of proteing aspect himself, controlling the turks, singling out bill browder or much of the same way we saw the june 2016 meeting , mr. manafort and trump junior, it's another marker of the role the legislation specifically has played in the putin regime. it is indicative of what types of tools should be expanded moving forward. the book, "the red web," they show when the panama papers came out in april 2016, immediately after, putin him

the russian federation. the criminal complaint goes on to describe what seems to be a russian government supported effort to use alexander and maria to influence the republican party and the united states. using the nra as the russian point of leverage. and it is clear that the political party in question is the republican party. and the gun rights organization is definitely the nra. that's how you have to read it. the fbi retains what they call her project proposal for this spying operation. if you insert the proper announces, it is pretty surprising what she says as of march 2015 she was trying to do. this is her project proposal. the first line reads, project description. diplomacy. it goes on to state that a major political party, the republican party, would likely obtain control over the u.s. government after the 2016 elections. the project proposal says the republican party is traditionally associated with negative and aggressive foreign policy, particularly with regard to russia. however, now with the

the agenda of the russian federation. they go on to describe a russian government supported effort to use alexander and maria to influence the republican party in the united states using the nra as russia's point of leverage. it's clear from the context that the political party in question is the republican party and the gun rights organization in question here is definitely the nra. that's how you have to read it, knowing that the fbi obtains what they call her project proposal for this spying operation and if you insert the relevant proper nouns about the party and the nra, it's striking what she says about march 2015 she was trying to do. this is her project proposal. the first line is project description. diplomacy. it state that is a major party, the republican party would likely obtain control of the government after the 2016 elections. the republican party is traditionally associated with negative and aggressive foreign policy particularly with regard to russia. however now with the right to negotiate, seems best t

that's the russian federation under vladimir putin. now, the other argument i've heard is, well, what's wrong with better relations are russia? nothing is wrong with better relations with russia. i'll tell you right now the world would be a better place, a more peaceful place, our lives would be a little easier, we would be stronger if somehow we had a partner in the russian federation that we could work with to deal with things like terrorism and proliferation of nuclear weapons and iran and all sorts of issues, north korea. we all wish we had that, but the reason why that isn't happening frankly is not us, it's vladimir putin. because for vladimir putin, better relations is not what he's interested in. he is not seeking a partnership with the united states. what he is seeking is geopolitical perceptional equality. he wants to be viewed on par with america both himself as a leader and the country as a whole, and he believes the only way he can do that is to pull himself up and tear us down. and i've frankly got to tell you, it's very

it was to act as an agent of a foreign government, specifyingly the russian federation to exploit personal connections with u.s. persons having influence in american politics in an effort to advance the interests of the russian federation and to infiltrate organizations active in american politics in an effort to advance the interests of the russian federation. it then lays out the imaginer and means of the conspiracy. prosecutors say that she, quote, attempted on establish unofficial lines of communications with u.s. politicians and political organizations for the that you recall of advancing the interests of the russian federation. this is now an indictment. it is signed. the reason this is so important to the overall story arc about what has happened with the russia scandal and to us as a country, this butina indictment is really a collusion indictment. it is about collusion between as yet unnamed americans, and agents of the russian government. at least one who was here personally on u.s. soil acting inside this country to influence u.s. politics. specifically around the 2016 election.

i was elected president of the russian federation and your preferences, beliefs and attitudes do not change but what is going around us. when the soviet union withdrawing troops. russians should know one thing, nato would never extend beyond the german borders. nobody gives a damn about our posture. didn't want the united states withdraw from the treaty, despite requests not to do it. and examples abound. pres. yeltsin, completely against the conflict. examples abound, or take the application of us legislation beyond its borders. they made this step. you asked about crimea and ukraine, a military coup, completely ignored the constitution, not us. it is not a way to deal with such issues, and executive by our border, nothing happened to me. what happens to you, that is what i want to do. >> you say nothing happened to you but i want to ask you, not internationally, domestically, inside russia, why is it so many people that opposed vladimir putin end up dead or close to it, former russian spy and double agent, the victim of a nerve agent attack in england, guns down near the kremlin, in

the part of washington of noninvolvement and allowing the syrian government together with the russian federation to take control of that area or against any kind of presence of the united states in a region if they want to continue their his unit who generally call the c b we against the germany you know region in the region if you're in a region does could. understand the legal presence. the united states is trying to be in a region. when they are there the only job thier doing and they have shown that they do is creation of interest groups who are risking tone during the time his tenure in the foreign ministry he. has so. the. she. has dissipated in the creation of the terrorist group in syria and iraq if you recall in the. trash although the election of the states. doesn't trump. choose into the you who are the people who are these terrorist groups here ultimately agree with mr trump in the in these coalition he wanted to in a chain to burn the chamber you follow the same policy that. created do you think you may have other things in common with mr trump and placed in the way how he conceptua

russia well done russian federation of the russian people and the so every day i so i be in the in bit but i'll stop near me some papers bored luzhniki spite of their stadium i so do grated the case and i'm glad to be here if i say that i feel same at home and talk with my mommy every day you know how is food how do you know money is over the best for us and of course i'm so glad and thank you and of course we will enjoy no decision what happened to the cut that would make him for the russian leave this for food people leave this for the food bowl community that's fifa i understand fully pics and food bowl coming close but don't bust on line to each other please do you know. that line actually lies i mean hard i'll write a letter it's small got in the root of this story you know the paradox of this world cup is that far more fans came to russia from far away countries than from the countries closest to us they are far more peruvians are colombians than they are poles they're far more argentinians than they are in theirs good for your community already going bad when great is the great

russia well done russian federation of russian people and we saw every day i saw i been in that row stop near me some papers board luzhniki spartak stadium and talk with my mom every day you know how it's food house with their you know money is all the best for your son and of course i'm so glad and thank you and of course we will enjoy. if somebody ask three years ago russia he would beat spain think of the best players in the world in spain and winning the lot of throw first everyone say no but football is it's the best sports in the world and that's why we like not always to being the favorite and that's why he's nice to be in the world cup in russia and that's football i'm a small fish can eat big fish once but not every that trolled the world playing for my country that's the best feeling in the world and that's why kids please dream dream come through play for your national team play hard and give all. quarter final between england and sweden is being played in some mara the three lines have reached the quarter finals of the tournament for the first time since two thousand and six

that is when the russian federation dumped all of the thi thing had a hacked.it is using sophisticated weapon, and as the president said that meddling occurred underplays what happened. >> and the president says that he wants to leave things in the past and move on the future and he said it yesterday and today he said that my administration is taking a firm stance, and we will go to take strong actions to secure the election systems and we have made significant progress. hans, have we made significant progress, and are the election system s or three months from either the analynsa or cyb command. these would be the organizations that are erecting the cyber defenses to protect the u.s. election. there is a report out late this morning from "the washington post" saying independently the new head of nsa and cyber command at the pentagon will be putting in directives and guidance to make sure the 2018 election will not be compromised, putting up cyber defenses and preparing in a preventative type way for that. what we've seen really, this "washington post" report a

federal agents have arrested overnight a 29-year-old russian woman that they say conspired to act as a foreign agent on behalf of russia during the 2016 election. you see pictures of her here. her name is maria butina. she cultivated powerful allies to set up private communication between the russian government and elected u.s. officials and also tried to arrange a secret meeting between then candidate trump and vladimir putin. joining me now is paul callen. walk me through. there's a lot here that's fascinating. she tried to set up a meeting between candidate trump and putin. >> it's an unusual indictment. she's essentially been indicted under two provisions. the first is a conspiracy to defraud the united states, which we see that used -- that's an unusual charge in a criminal case. sometimes we see it in tax cases where you try to defraud the u.s. out of tax money. you don't really see it very often in a case like this, which is really saying she's a russian spy and she's trying to hurt the united states. that's count one. count two then is a failure to register as a foreign agent

combining a passion for guns with a youthful charm. >> i'm a representative of russian federation here a chairman of the rights to bear arms. it's a russian nonprofit organization. >> reporter: unlike profile, butina was born in siberia, a year before the fall of the berlin wall. and spent her childhood navigating the rocky transition from communism to capitalism. she apparently launched a chain of small furniture stores in her home town before moving to moscow where it says her interests in expanding the rights of average russian citizens caught the attention of the most senior leaders of the russian federation. butina's gun lobbying got her privileged access in the united states including to the national rifle association. john bolton then an nra official now u.s. national security adviser appeared in a 2013 video used by butina's organization to encourage the russian government to loosen gun laws. >> should the russian people have the right to bear arms? i can share with you a word about what this particular freedom has meant to americans, and offer you encouragement as you consider

here. >> reporter: federal prosecutors accused maria butina of being a russian agent, who allegedlyex in exchange for a job where she could influence u.s. policy. butina has been charged with failing to register as a foreign agent and conspiring to act as or agent of that foreign power. the 29-year-old entered the u.s. on a student visa in 2016, but had visited several times over the past few years. according to court documents, butina allegedly "took steps to develop relationships with american politicians in order to advance the interests of the russian federation." photos document her with republican wisconsin governor scott walker and n.r.a. chief ieyne lapierre. she was also actively involved in the national prayer breakfast, and tried unsuccessfully to arrange a meeting between president trump .nd vladimir putin. as she began making more contacts with conservative leaders, she landed on the f.b.i.'s radar. investigators allege she had an ongoing relationship with a 56- year-old republican operative strictly for business purposes, and was likely in contact with russia's f.s.b.

russia well done russian federation of russian people and we saw every day i saw i being in the last stop near me some papers board luzhniki spartak stadium and talk with my mom every day you know house food house with their you know money is all the best for your son and of course i'm so glad and thank you and of course we will enjoy. if somebody ask three years ago russia will beat spain the best players in the world in spain winning a lot of throw first everyone say no but football. it's the best sports in the world and that's why we like not always to being the favorite and that's why he's nice to be in the world cup in russia and that's football and small fish big fish once but not they were the troll the world playing for my country there's the best feeling in the world and that's why kids please dream dream come through play for your national team play hard and give all. of the course a final between england and sweden is being played in the three lions have reached the quarter finals of the tournament for the first time since two thousand and six but sweden won't grant them a

we think the russian federation instead of being party them to. relations with the sudan government they should support the sudan people not as appreciated went and told the president. must go to support him because he's being threatened there are various but supporters of president bashir say he's never been more popular i mean he's going to he says he's going to step down in twenty twenty i don't know whether you believe all of this is they say these things or you know dictator said these things as public relations but he has been there for thirty years all the parameters of failure are on his shoulders but he's been elected no wish. those are. elections that mean nothing if there is no freedom the press is not free all the national media under government's control there's nothing you can no government denies the press is no free and journalism there and some of the local in khartoum unusual is that of course they deny that but ira taxon bashir in the newspapers every day you see someone say not only has bashir made a deal with salva kiir consid

national decision-making apparatus to advance the agenda of the russian federation. russian gun rights group, the right to bear arms, and she cultivated relationships with various special interest groups, including a an array, in order to gain access to politicians. to some degree, she was successful in reaching those in power. she allegedly met with at least several elected officials in 2015 and 2016 to have a camping event in los angeles in july of 2015, she was one of the handful of people who got to asn candidate donald trump a question. >> if you would be there elected to the president, what would be your foreign politics especially in relationship with my country and do you want to continue the politics of sanctions that damage both economies? >> her attorneys say that allegations are overblown and that butina is not a russian agent. it's also interesting to note that vladimir putin told chris wallace that russia has never interviewed with the internal affairs of the united states. court documents reveal that maria butina wrote in an email that representative p

after the russian federation vetoed the extension of the mandate in order to hide the aside regime -- the assaad's regimes crimes, we worked seriously with other -- to give them the authority to fulfill thejin's old mission. our efforts, and just last month, we were successful in ensuring that the u.k. drafted, u.s.-supported, and cosponsored decision -- was adopted at a special conference of state parties at the opcw. i would be remiss if i did not outsidee u.s. efforts to put pressure on damascus over its use of these weapons. the syrianres within regime. the department of state's efforts to -- andlies to the cw program, military airstrikes. i also don't want to minimize the important role that our partners have played in the effort from the eu's tog-standing ban on -- france's international partnership against impunity, and the french and british involvement in this past april's airstrikes. blatant disregard for its international obligations is not limited to just chemical weapons conventions. syria also remains in continued oncompliance with the treaty -- , as a energy agency resu

she promoted the russian federation. she was an advocate for gun rights, russian gun rights. she would attend nra meetings. she would attending fund-raisers. she attended prayer breakfasts. and what the indictment says here is that she was doing all this on behalf of a former russian legislator and russian businessman and doing so without being registered. that is the potential violation here. >> and the affidavit does state that she was doing so, it states, the allegation is for the purpose of advancing the interests of the russian federation. >> right. and that's the reason why it's a violation for her not to have registered. that's what the government said. the u.s. said she was doing. if you're going to do that, if you're going to lobby for a foreign government, in plain speaking you have to register. now this is not filed by the special counsel, robert mueller. this comes from the washington, d.c., u.s. attorney's office. there's no suggestion here that this is part of the mueller investigation or that this was something that mueller stumbled onto and turned it over to t

he >> reporter: federal prosecutors accused mariia butina of being a russian/16 who allegedly offered sex in exchange for a job where she could influence u.s. policy. butina has been charged with failing to register as a foreign agent and conspiring to act as an agent of that foreign power. the 29-year-old entered the u.s. on a student visa in 2016 but had visited several times over the past few years. according to court documents, butina allegedly took steps to develop relationships with american politicians in order to advance the interests of the russian federation. photos document her with republican wisconsin governor scott walker and nra chief wayne lapierre. she was also actively involved in the national prayer breakfast and tried unsuccessfully to arrange a meeting between president trump and vladimir putin. as she began making nor contacts with conservative leaders she landed on the fbi's radar. investigators allege she had an ongoing relationship with a 56-year-old republican operative strictly for business purposes and was likely in contact with russia's fsb intelligence sg

he defends the interests of the united states, and i defended interests of the russian federation. we are looking for points of contact. their issues where our postures diverge, and we are looking for ways to reconcile our differences to make our efforts more meaningful. receive from the immediate political interests that guide certain political powers in our countries. we should be guided by facts. can you name a single fact that definitively proves the collusion? this is nonsense. just like what the president recently mentioned, the public at large in united states has a servant -- in the campaign. there was nothing particularly extraordinary about it. it was a usual thing. president trump, when he was a candidate, he mentioned to me to restore that russian-u.s. initiative, and it is clear that the parts of american society felt sympathetic about it, and different people could express their sympathies in different ways. but isn't that natural? isn't it natural to be synthetic towards a person who is willing to restore the relationship with our countries, who wants to work with us

after the russian federation vetoed the extension of the mandate in order to hide the assaad's regimes crimes, we worked seriously with other -- parties to give them the authority to fulfill the jim's old mission. we continued our efforts, and just last month, we were successful in ensuring that the u.k. drafted, u.s.-supported, and cosponsored decision was adopted at a special conference of state parties at the opcw. i would be remiss if i did not also note u.s. efforts outside of the opcw to put pressure on damascus over its use of these weapons. on key figures within the syrian regime. the department of state's efforts to -- supplies to the cw program, and military airstrikes. i also don't want to minimize the important role that our partners have played in the effort from the eu's long-standing ban on syria to france's international partnership against impunity, and the french and british involvement in this past april's airstrikes. now, syria's blatant disregard for its international obligations is not limited to just chemical weapons conventions. syria also remains in continued n

organizations having influence in american politics for the purpose of advancing the interest of the russian federation the algae geishas that she was lobbying not that she was doing any spying or anything to that effect now it's also interesting is the affidavit mentions that an exchange she allegedly had with a russian government official was titled posner two point zero and this is of course a reference to latimer posner now the f.b.i. goes on to describe the lattimer posner the russian american t.v. personality as quote a propagandist who worked in the disinform ation department of the soviet k.g.b. now lattimer posner has spoken up and said he never had any contact with the k.g.b. and did not work with the k.g.b. it's also interesting to note that of course. into the f.b.i. affidavit she was communicating with government officials in russia over twitter which is not exactly a secure private communication mechanism not the kind of thing one would use of they were engaging in some kind of high tech intense espionage activities so a lot of questions are being asked but at this moment she is facing th

the russian federation is clearly and unequivocally our adversary. vladimir putin envisions a world where -- or i should say envisions a world more closely resembling the cold war era certainly than compared to today's realities, and he works towards a resurgence of russian power and influence every day. just take a few examples. russia attacked, annexed, and continues to illegally occupy crimea. russian-backed forced continue to violate cease-fire agreements in ukraine and destabilize other parts of that country. preventing the ukrainian people from fulfilling their dream of a secure and prosperous nation. russia is backing and enabling the murderous assad regime in syria. the conflict has emboldened terrorist groups, had dramatic humanitarian impacts, and threatened the region's stability. as many as a half a million people have been killed and half the country has been displaced. just imagine if half of our population -- say, 150 million people -- were displaced from their homes, sometimes to another part of the country and sometimes to a complete

in an international debate an energy policy which the russian federation does extort, how do i know this? i know this because in the early days of the re-establishment of freedom a u.s. company bought a refinery in lithuania. i ask unanimous consent for additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for another minute. mr. shimkus: the russians didn't like a u.s. company buying an old refinery, so what did the russians do? they turned off the flow of oil. so just in the international world if we want to help our allies decrease their reliance on imported crude oil from the russian federation, or in this case, liquefies natural gas, a carbon tax will make that more difficult so that's why i think it's important that we have this debate for the international perspective. i also know that a lot of the organizations in which are important to me, the energy alliance, americans for tax reform, farm bureau, western energy alliance, national black chamber of commerce, competitive enterprise institute, and freedom works all support the resolution that says a carbon tax is

organizations having influence in american politics for the purpose of advancing the interest of the russian federation the alledge a geisha is that she was lobbying not that she was doing any spying or anything to that effect now what's also interesting is the affidavit mentions that an exchange she allegedly had with a russian government official was titled posner two point zero and this is of course a reference to lattimer posner now the f.b.i. goes on to describe as a lot of your posner the russian american t.v. personality as quote a propagandist who worked in the dissin from ation department of the soviet k.g.b. now lattimer posner has spoken up and said he never had any contact with the k.g.b. and did not work with the k.g.b. it's also interesting to note that a court. into the f.b.i. affidavit she was communicating with government officials in russia over twitter which is not exactly a secure private communication mechanism not the kind of thing one would use of they were engaging in some kind of high tech intense espionage activities so a lot of questions are being asked but at this moment she

he defends the interests of the united states of america that i defend the interests of the russian federation so domestic reaction aside it looks like both sides agree that diplomacy will improve the ties between the two superpowers so we're just going to have to see how this plays out yeah i got the thoughts as well of independent journalist joe lauria who says that murray kisan boster to the u.n. is undermining trump's efforts and any chance of improving relations with moscow over you know what side nikki haley's on she's on the side that's calling trump a traitor for going to the first summit in helsinki and she's posed to work for president trump and her very first speech at the u.n. . she slammed russia over ukraine and this was just after trumpet said in the campaign he wanted better relations with russia so she's been on this anti russian thing all along she did say in that interview that it's ok if they meet as good as they meet i mean she has to say that and then in a way. the american people are agreeing with maria but tina this twenty nine year old russian has been arrested here in

according to the indictment knowingly helping her add vance the goals of the russian federation. >> why trump act like not just a guy who defended putin in regard to some issues, but acted like simon and garfunkel. they were harmonizing. it was embarrassing. and he is the foe, competitor, whatever you want to call him. can you explain? you have a lot of theories. is it because they got the dossier, on something else? mueller knows most of what putin knows. but putin knows the whole lie. why would trump act like he bought the lie to the guy he got the respect of. putin knows he is lying. >> you mentioned simon and gar funkle, this is a bridge over high water. none of this is new. he has said it multiple times. he has been colluding with putin to cover up, deny, dismiss, disregard a russian attack on the united states. he has done it time and time again. before this even happened going back to 2013, we have talked about this, and this is in the book i wrote. from 2013 on, trump had this strong desire to be best friends with putin, a murderous thug. even before he ran for president, he had

referendum was held in crimea and they decided to join the russian federation and president tom didn't put up any protest for that so i think that europeans think it maybe it could have been worse they were expecting maybe more lambasted from the podium and there wasn't a whole lot of that so i mean on the whole perhaps europe is a bit relieved that it didn't hear more of the same kind of things that were said at the nato summit last week let's talk a little bit more about that terry you know i mean this summit that has come so close is coming out the back of a bruising couple of days for america's european allies you have been braided triumphant undermined as well at times did you get the impression after this presser that president putin is now kind of gaining the upper hand. well if not gaining i would say that he perhaps already has the upper hand it seems very much to be trump conciliatory towards putin's positions again as i'm as i mentioned before the president simply accepting putin's insistence that he had nothing to do with russian election meddling when of course all the u.s

defends the interests of the united states of america, and i do defend the interests of the russian federation. we do have interests that are common. we are looking for points of contact. there are issues where our postures diverge, and we are looking for ways to reconcile our differences, how to make our effort more meaningful. we should not proceed from the immediate political interests that guide certain political powers in our countries. we should be guided by facts. could you name a single fact that would definitely prove the collusion? this is utter nonsense, just like the president recently mentioned. yes, the public at large in the united states had a certain perceived opinion of the candidates during the campaign. but there's nothing particularly extraordinary about it. that's the usual thing. president trump, when he was a candidate, he mentioned the need to restore the russia-u.s. relationship. and it's clear that certain parts of american society felt sympathetic about it, and different people could express their sympathies in different ways. but isn't that natural? isn't it natura