barnaby phillips is in paris and joins us for more on that. much will events in ukraine and crimea overshadow this? >> i think inevitably they will because the expectation is that john kerry, and sergei lavrov will meet here later in the day. sergei lavrov is still in madrid as we speak. john kerry arrived here from kiev last night. now these would be importantly the first head to head high-level meetings between the united states and russia sips the late -- since the latest phase of the ukrainian crisis erupted. we can't underestimate the importance of that. there's the chance for europe and the united states, the west broadly, if you like, to coordinate their positions, how much stick, how much carrot they are offering the russians in meetings with lawrence fab use, chuck hagel and so -- and william hague. and there's only so much diplomacy. the headlines of the day that come out of the french capital inevitably will be about ukraine. >> you mentioned at the top there that the foreign ministers from - several foreign ministers meeting, serge

barnaby phillips is standing by for us. ukrainian soldiers under orders to shoot in self-defence. how tense is the situation there today? >> well, there is obviously the danger of escalation. last night's gunfight was the first serious incident after two weeks of an uneasy standoff. at some point the tension had to crack and something violent was inevitable. it's the detail which i think is very important. was that attack on the base carried out by the civil defense militias, local gunmen allied to russians, or was the army directly involved. that is an important distinction. if it is the latter, it could mean we'll see a prelude to further attacks on the bases. if it is the first, this may have been one incident where local gunmen got out of hand, if you like. as for the ukrainians, the soldiers are in a difficult situation. some on various bases across crimea, we have heard in the past two or three days, have gected to the -- defected to the other side. either melted away from the bases or joined the russian army. others, we don't know yet, are holding firm. ultimately the gover

barnabie phillips. >> reporter: and we are live from kiev now.t is parliament heading with now when it comes to measures as a result of this, paul? >> well, as you heard in barnabie's report there if ross cowill advance russian troops further into ukraine is very much at the forefront of the deputies in the parliament here in kiev this morning. on sunday the parliamentary cabinet met just the ministers and they heard that they need a ten fold increase in the budget to combat what they see is a threat from russia. today the deputies convening at the first day of the week in ukraine and one of the first measures voted on will be partial mobilization of forces and military forces particularly towards the eastern provinces which border russia. the speaker of the parliament, alexander which is now the acting president in the administration was very scathing about the nature of what happened in crimea in the last 24-36 hours and described the referendum as the continued aggression in crimea that russia is trying to conceal with the referendum which wil

barnaby phillips looks at that questioning in this report. >> across the straits from crimea, mainland russia. 4km away. russian goods come across by ship. for now the only land routes into crimea pass through ukraine. that's why russian president vladimir putin wants to build a bridge, to tie crimea to russia. it will take years to some pleat and could cost -- complete and could cost billions. the port where russian goods come in is called kirch, a graveyard of soviet factories and mixed opinions as to whether things will get better. >> this woman heard on the news that all countries are united against russia, so she fears an economic downturn. >> salaries will go up. these happy. her daughter is a graduate and it's shameful what she earns. >> we were invited to see a new investment, a plant that brings gas from khazakhstan, but the manager receives a call from russian officials. we were not welcome and told to leave. acting about what economic changes might be coming is too sensitive. >> water - the worry for crimea is that some 80% of theirs comes from mainland ukraine. this reservo

barnaby phillips, al jazeera. >> the search for malaysian flight 370 is now focused in the indian ocean. joining us now is randall pinkston with more on this search. randall, what can you tell us so far? >> reporter: morgan, the announcement of this large object that was announced on china's national defense website. the find was made four days ago. the announcement was made today by the malaysian government. it was found in approximately the same area about 70 miles from the location where another satellite spotted two other pieces of debris earlier. now let's take a look at the satellite image that china provided. it shows the image of an object 72 feet long some 43 feet wide within the area that was searched by australia and other multi national planes and ships on saturday. approximately 1500 miles off the west coast of australia. malaysia's acting transport minister said ships and planes will be sent back to the area to take a look to see if they can find that object. >> the search fo has taken many twists and turns. from satellite images to eyewitness accounts we have followed eve

. >> now that russian president vladimir putin signed the papers annexing crimea, barnaby phillips tellswhat that power switch means for residen residents. >> across the straits, mainland russia. russian goods come across by ship. right now the only land routes to crimea pass through ukraine. that's why president vladimir putin wants to build a bridge here. but it will take years to complete and could cost billions of dollars. the port by which russian goods come in is called kursh. a graveyard of decaying soviet factories, and mixed opinions as to whether now things will get better. samara heard on the news that all people have reunited with russia. >>> viera is happy, her daughter is a graduate, and it's shameful what she earns. >>> we were invited to see a new investment. a plant that brings gas in. suddenly we were told we were not welcome, apparently even asking about the economy is too sensitive. water. 80% of crimea comes from mainland ukraine. it's one of the few sources and it's looking rather low. crimea not only gets the majority of its water from the mainland ukraine, but ele

barnaby phillips has more. >> all the momentum is with russia now.militia men force their way into the headquarters of the ukrainian navy in l sevastopol. ukrainian soldiers offer no resistance. so the new is in charge without a shot being fired. its forces on the ground increasingly bold in making that point. a ukrainian army base near simferopol. and the ukrainian forces inside wonder how long the russians are prepared to wait outside before forcing their way in. the ukrainian soldiers say they feel abandoned by their government. they wouldn't speak on camera so i spoke to a retired soldier who is trying to mediate. >> the soldiers have been let down. no one from the defense ministry has come to support them or encourage them. >> told the soldiers they must leave the base or join the russian army. but the government in ukraine is telling the soldiers to sit tight. >> our troops are based there legally. if the russians start attacking them our troops have every right to fire back. >> the authorities here in crimea say they will not allow a delegatio

barnaby phillips is in simferopol. he joins us live. russia has invited crimea to switch sides and become part of the russian military. in reality do they have any choice? >> well, a very difficult situation. these ukrainian soldiers, sailors are stranded in the wrong country. when you talk to them they feel very let down by their government in kiev. they want a clear evacuation plans to leave and others have nonot heard instruction for wee. quite a few are switching over to the russian armies. specifically what is happening this morning, a couple of instances, ultimatums have come and gone and by and large there has not been bloodshed involved. we do know that another ukrainian army base was overrun by a pro-russian crowd earlier today again thankfully no bloodshed. some smoke grenades thrown, some looting of the ukrainian property, but no one was hurt. that is generally the pattern, intimidation, harassment, and retreat by the ukrainian forces. >> as far as ordinary people are concerned how will daily life change for them now in crime

. >> barnaby phillips traveled to kiev to gauge the mood. >> they don't want to live in arrussia. they just want crimea to stay ukraine. and now they're desperate. they don't want a referendum. >> because i was born in ukraine, and it's my home. i just want to live here. i don't know why i should be for having new motherland. >> would you life if this became russia again? >> yes, i would devil have to move. >> reporter: but elsewhere in simfero pol others put up posters that say yes to russia. it's a message there's senate especially with older people. like this woman who scratch as living by helling herbs in market. >> salaries are twice as i hig. here in ukraine people are nothing. i work all day and earn $5. if i was in russia i would earn $25. >> supporters of russia came out to denounce the government in kiev. the situation in the east is now very delegate after violent confrontation in recent days which many ukrainians fear will lead to a russian invasion. in crimea the russian army is already here. this is the ukrainian military base, surrounded by well-armed russian soldie

. >>> let's speak to barnaby phillips in paris for us. the french foreign minister has been talking about ukraine, suggesting that there could be sanctions voted in as early as tomorrow. >> yes, that's right. he's talking about the possibility of a visa ban, russian officials tied up and assets frozen. what europeans want to do is get the act together, get the act in a row before the meeting in brussels, and coordinate with the americans, and iron out any differences. and john kerry is here as well. there'll be meetings with sergei lavrov, flying in from madrid, an attempt to bridge the vast perception with the russians, and also the west needs to be speaking from the same sheet, if you like, and that will be the focus of the diplomacy in paris. >> this meeting was ostensibly called to deal with the issue of syria, an issue where russia was at loggerheads with the u.s. and the west. that's pretty much been overshadowed by ukraine, hasn't it? >> it has been, yes. i'm outside the alizi palace and in the next hour or so the meeting will go a

from the crimea barnaby phillips reports. >> across the straits from crimea, main atlanta russia. about four kilometers away. russian goods come across by ship. for now the only land roots into crimea pass through ukraine. that's why russian president vladimir uten wants to tie crimea to russia. but it could take years to complete and cost billions of dollars. the port where russian goods come in is called kirsch. the graveyard of decaying soviet factories and differing opinions of whether things will get better. samara said that she heard on the news that all countries are against russia. she fears an economic down turn. viera is happy. she said salaries will go up. her daughter is a graduate, and it's a shame what she earns. >>> the we visit a planet in crimea. but the manager gets a call from officials and we are told to leave. even questions of what economic changes might be coming apparently is too offensiv sens. water. crimea not only gets most of its water from mainland ukraine, the vast majority of electricities also comes from there. that means that despite the russian ta

barnaby phillips has this report. >> reporter: in paris, europe and the united states try to court rateir position in the face of what they consider russian aggression. >> translator: there will be sanctions tomorrow targeting visas, and the assets of a certain about of oligarks. >> translator: i would like do you explain to me what you mean by pro-russian forces. if you are referring to the self-defense forces, we don't have any power over them, they don't cake our orders. however, the russian military are in their deployment places and some special alert and control measures have been taken over the whole black sea fleet. that being said, we do do anything to prevent bloodshed. >> reporter: this is a chance not only for the west to talk directly to the russians, but also for the ukrainians to do so. >> we're doing everything to bring russia and ukraine in to direct contact with each other and make sure the governments are talking to each other, which the russians have not been willing to do at a senior level in recent days. >> reporter: all of this suggest there is a willingness for d

barnaby phillips reports. >> a long day of diplomacy in paris brought no concrete results. if at the end john kerry hinted at progress in his talks with his counterpart sergei lavrov, he also said it's a difficult process. >> russia made is a choice and we have clearly stated that we believe it is the wrong choice, that is the choice to move troops into crimea. russia can now choose to de-escalate the situation, and we are committed to working with russia and together with our friends and allies, in an effort to provide a way for this entire situation to find the road to deescalation. >> foreign ministers originally agreed to come to par toys talk about the syrian war and its impact on lebanon. that conflict has been overshadowed by events in ukraine. >> all the activity at the palace suggests a willingness for dialogue. but the gulf interception is vast. russia considers the new government in kiev illegitimate, led by extremists. the west is going out of its way to help the government. from brussels, european promise of financial assistance for kiev. >> the package combine

barnaby phillips. >> i spoke to an international affairs professor, and asked whether vladimir putin is satisfy with crimea, or if there are other countries in his sights. >> reporter: i think he is satisfied for the moment. he has put his troops where the east ukraine is surrounded by russian troops, but they're not entering in. there is confrontation to make sure that troops on both sides are behaving. i think he's satisfied but he's waiting to see how the word pushes him, how far the world pushes him. i think he really wants to be an international player. he doesn't want to be an international pariah. he understands if he goes further than that, if he will quickly move to pariah. >> should the lithuanian president, vice president joe biden is in the baltics right now. shut lithuania, latvia be concerned right now. they're voicing concern. >> i think so, absolutely. i don't think he's going to invade them, but they should absolutely be concerned. everybody should be concerned because this man--we know why he took crimea. because he really thinks it's russian territory and was wrong

locals are divided, but there are larger forces at play, we have this report from barnaby phillips inimferepol. >> they don't want to live in russia, but want crimea to stay ukraine. now they are straight. they don't want a referendum. >> because i was born in ukraine. it's my home. i - i just want to live here and, i don't know why i should be forced to have a new mother land >> would you leave if this became russia again? >> yes, i would definitely have to move. >> elsewhere in simferepol women put up posters telling people to vote yes to russia. life in russia will be better, the posters say, a message that resonates especially with older people like sergey, who scratches a living selling herbs in the market. >> translation: salaries are twice as high in russia. here in ukraine people earn nothing. i work for 12 hours and get $5. if i was in russia, i make $25. >> meanwhile in eastern ukraine in the city of donetsk, supporters of russia came out to denounce the government. the situation in the east is delicate. after violent consultations which many ukrainians fear will lead to a r

as barnaby phillips reports, the situation continues to be fluid. >> all the momentum is with russia. militia men forced their way into the headquarters of the ukrainian navy. the sayers offered no resistance, and the base is overrun without a shot being fired. it's out with the old, in with the new. russia is in charge. forces on the ground increasingly bold in making that point. >> a ukrainian army base near simferepol, and the soldiers inside wonder how long the russians are prepared to wait outside before forcing their way in. the ukrainian soldiers told us they feel abandoned by their government. they would not talk on camera. i spoke to a retired officer who has been trying to mediate. >> the soldiers have been let down. no one from the high command or defence ministry came here to support or encourage them. the authorities in crimea say they will not allow a delegation in kiev to talk to the soldiers. >> the pro-russian prime minister says the delegation is not welcome and it will not be allowed entry into crimea. >> it's not only ukrainian soldiers who are worried. in simferep