blinken: thank you very much.re not proceeding on the basis of the motion. -- of emotion. we are proceeding on the basis of fact. the facts are that russia has amassed varies in if it enforces on ukraine's border and continues to do so. 100,000 troops, most recently including forces deployed to belarus. that would give russia the capacity, if president putin so chooses, to attack ukraine from the south, from the east, from the north, and we have seen plans to undertake a variety of destabilizing actions, some of them short of the overuse of force, to destabilize ukraine, to topple the government, a variety of things. so as i said, this is not on the basis of emotion. it is on the basis of fact, and also history. russia invaded ukraine in 2014 in crimea, provoking ongoing conflict in eastern ukraine, changing ukraine's borders by force. that is what we are looking at. we have heard russian officials say they have no intention of invading ukraine. in fact, minister lavrov repeated that to me today. but again, we are

jessica, let's talk about where we are in this diplomatic sprint by antony blinken.was here in berlin today. do you see a diplomatic way out of this crisis? >> at this point, the only way out is through deterrence. antony blinken has already bee pushing hard behind the scenes for germany to take a stronger stance against russia's aggression, or the eu to toe a stronger line. at the end of the day, dialogue will not solve this issue. he will have to make perfectly clear to russia tomorrow that the cost of invading ukraine will be higher than the cost of invasion, and if this does not happen, we will have to calculate with some sort of invasion or incursion. >> the consequences, we hear about that. the u.s. warns it will be a disaster for russia if they invade ukraine, but no one wants to spell out exactly what those consequences would be. wise that? -- why is that? >> russia is one of t eu's largest trading partners, not only in energy. trade between them in 2020 accounted for over 170 billions euros. they are also germany's largest gas importer, so the economic cost

secretary blinken: .e are very concerned about the ongoing state of emergency that exists in kazakhstan. we've urged authorities to respond appropriately, proportionately, and in a way that upholds the rights of protesters. i spoke with the foreign minister just yesterday. i reiterated our full support for kazakhstan's constitutional institutions, as well as the absolute importance of respecting human rights; media freedom, including the restoration of internet service; and to dealing with peaceful protests in a way that protects the protesters, upholds their rights, and is consistent with the rule of law. so there has to be a rights-respecting resolution to this crisis. and again, that includes protecting the rights of any peaceful protester. at the same time, we've made clear that we condemn violence committed by anyone, including violence directed at the institutions of the state and government. we very much value the relationship that we have with kazakhstan. we're watching the situation with real con

antony blinken is absolutely _ blinken. antony blinken is absolutely right, - blinken.inken is absolutely right, it - blinken. antony blinken is absolutely right, it would l blinken. antony blinken is l absolutely right, it would be ridiculous to impose sanctions now, because then the west has shot its bolt. you have to impose sanctions in response to something russia actually does. but also leads towards what is called the nuclear option, cutting russia off from the swift payment system in response to what could initially be a minor russian incursion, as the us congress is proposing. but also means expending all of our ammunition in advance. of course, the big question is whether a good many european countries can afford this nuclear option of cutting russia off from swift at all. because it would mean they couldn't pay for russian gas, and then of course russia would not supply the gas, and then europe would be in, not a fatal energy crisis, but certainly a very major energy crisis. very ma'or energy crisis. some miaht very major energy crisis. some might argue — very

blinken from geneva. from new york, this is bloomberg.ngside tom keene and lisa abramowicz, i'm jonathan ferro. futures are down hard on the nasdaq by about 1%. on the nasa 100, down 146. on the s&p, down about 28, 0 point 6%. yields are lower this morning, down three basis points to 1.77%. on the week of the nasdaq off by almost 5%. going into the opening bell, it is going to be more than that coming out of it. two year yields up by only four basis points on the week. it is a different flavor to the end of the week now. it is a treasury market bid. it is pure risk aversion. it is not the first two weeks of the year yields were blasting higher, it was shaking things up in the equity market. it has flipped. start of the year, the dog was wagging that hill. right now, the tail -- wagging the tail. right now, the tail is wagging the dog. tom: it is also, as lisa mentioned, getting into next week. how many netflixes are there to come next week? jonathan: you've got the multiple issue as well, the valuation story. we still have not worked out

reporter: secretary blinken is leaving geneva. it doesn't appear he has a firm commitment from russia not to invade ukraine. another -- is another summit necessary at the leader level? do you anticipate president biden will be having a summit with president putin? jen: secretary blinken met today with foreign minister labruv to share serious concerns of the situation. he warned we are prepared to respond to any action against ukraine with swift and severe action. ultimately this has always been putting the choices up in front of president putin and the russians, right? it is up to them to decide which path they are going to choose. secretary blinken also convey wed don't expect -- didn't expect any breakthroughs today. the president will meet this weekend at camp david with his national security team to discuss the situation. some will be virtual. some will be there in person. we'll also continue to consult with our allies and partners and we'll respond next week in writing, as i conveyed. in terms of the president and his role, y

blinken: good afternoon, everyone. last week in geneva, lavr ov and i met to discuss the crisis instigated by russia's military buildup on ukraine's borders and steps to de-escalate tensions and pursue diplomacy. russia had previously outlined its concerns and proposals in writing, and last week i told the foreign minister that the united states would do the same. today, ambassador sullivan delivered are written -- our written response in moscow. it sets out a serious path forward, should russia choose it. the document was delivered and includes concerns of the united states and our allies and partners about russia's actions that undermine security and a principal and pragmatic evaluation of what russia has raised and our own proposals where we might find common ground. we made clear that theree core principles that we are committed to uphold and defend including ukraine sovereignty and territorial integrity and the right of states to choose our own security arrangements and alliances. we sibility of reciprocally trans

. diplomacy with mr blinker on's visit. -- antony blinken.- visit. -- antony blinken.n. what does success look like - visit. -- antony blinken. what does success look like in - visit. -- antony blinken. what| does success look like in terms of the us in terms of deescalation?- of the us in terms of deescalation? ~ ., , ~ deescalation? when we asked them that _ deescalation? when we asked them that question, _ deescalation? when we asked them that question, they - deescalation? when we asked | them that question, they state deescalation means moving trips away from ukraine's border but there are 100,000 troops that so it is not clear to what extent that would have to happen. with the americans, if the russians would agree to talks, continued talking, that would be something that maybe they would not denounce it as a big success but see it as a way to keep the tensions down. they have consistently said that diplomacy is not going to work as long as the russians keep escalating and has specifically said this week that the russians continued to escalate so you can see they

and that is secretary of state antony blinken is heading to that region. do you know what precipitated this travel to the country. >> president biden wants to put diplomacy first and the most important diplomat is secretary blinken. he is using his platform to engage with partners including the ukrainians. although you may not have known about this in the past, it has always been on his agenda to engage with ukrainians on a regular basis as i have engaged with them in new york and with our partners in new york. we are putting diplomacy at the forefront of all of our engagements to address this issue and we want to be engaged with the ukrainians on this jonathan: -- secretary blinken and president biden have both said they will not have it without you. this is part of our medic engagement and is not unusual. jonathan: i understand the secretary of state has been engaging with the ukrainians out of public view, but this will be face to face. we shouldn't read anything into this meeting this week, especially given the news that we all woke up to this morning

blinken: there are no concessions. reporter: there is no change in the nato position in this document. sec. blinken: first of all, there is no change and there will be no change. second, we reiterate that principle, of course, it is for nato, not the united states unilaterally to discuss the open-door policy. these are decisions that nato makes an alliance, not the united states unilaterally. from our perspective, i cannot be more clear, the door is open, it remains open and that is our commitment. reporter: do you have any reason to believe that the document submitted will in any way lessen the chance of russian action where was this to show that you tried? sec. blinken: what we do in this document besides laying out our core principles, besides sharing her concerns in terms of allies and partners about things that russia is doing and that we believe undermine security and stability, we also do layout areas where we believe that together we could actually advance security for everyone including for russia based on som

mr; state antony blinken and president putin?- state antony blinken and president putin?y hope is that vladimir putin - president putin? my only hope is that vladimir putin will - is that vladimir putin will finally realise it is not a winning strategy for him. if you're talking about a full invasion of ukraine, this is a nonstarter and vladimir putin would need hundreds of thousands of troops and i do not think he is contemplating it. �* �* , , not think he is contemplating it. �* h , . it. but he's very much intent on doing _ it. but he's very much intent on doing something, - it. but he's very much intent on doing something, it - it. but he's very much intent| on doing something, it could it. but he's very much intent. on doing something, it could be a quarter— on doing something, it could be a quarter on— on doing something, it could be a quarter on the _ on doing something, it could be a quarter on the southern - on doing something, it could be a quarter on the southern part i a quarter on the southern part of eastern _ a quarter on the southern part of eastern ukrai

we're told secretary blinken was asked exactly that. very soon they will name a new ambassador. >> well, we should point out this is not a problem from ted cruz putting a hole. it's the fact that the white house has not nominated anyone. not sitting in the senate. >> thank you. >> bill taylor, thank you very much. >> thank you, andrea. >>> and interference as cell phone companies flip the switch on 5g, pilots are concerned about taking signals to new heights. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports." that's next on msnbc. g "andrea l reports. that's next on msnbc ♪ was like any other... ♪ ever wonder what everyone's doing on their phones? they're banking, with bank of america. his girlfriend just caught the bouquet, so he's checking in on that ring fund. that photographer? he's looking for something a little more zen, so he's thinking, “i'll open a yoga studio.” and as for the father of the bride? he's checking to see if he's on track to do this all over again... and again. bank of america's digital tools are so impressive, you just ca

what did i you make of antony blinken's comment you make of antony blinken�*s comment about additionallinken�*s comment about additionalsanctions? do you make of antony blinken�*s comment about additional sanctions? do you agree? i about additional sanctions? do you auree? ., �* ., about additional sanctions? do you auree? ., ~ ., ,, ., about additional sanctions? do you auree? ., ~ ., , agree? i do. although russia is buildinu agree? i do. although russia is buildin: a agree? i do. although russia is building a force _ agree? i do. although russia is building a force that _ agree? i do. although russia is building a force that poses - agree? i do. although russia is building a force that poses a i building a force that poses a significant threat, the action hasn't occurred yet and deterrence is about issuing threats in the hope that the other side doesn't take action so until the action is taken, you don't follow through on those threats, that's the basic philosophy behind deterrence. implementing it now, you would lose any deterrent benefit that the threat would potentially generate.

. >> chris, my reaction is that secretary blinken continues not to blink.reign minister lavrov seemed to be happy, secretary blinken was clearly focused, which i seem is entirely appropriate. i think secretary blinken is holding firm, i think the united states is holding firm, i think nato and the allies are holding firm and i think that's the right approach. >> before this meeting there had already been several rounds of inconclusive discussions and nobody went into today thinking suddenly there was going to be a huge breakthrough, so what was the goal today? >> chris, is sounds like the goal today was to further explore the possibility of diplomacy and as the united states has pointed out over and over, there are two approaches, one is conflict and the other is diplomacy and sitting down and having negotiations on issues that russians are concerned about, that nato is concerned about, diplomacy is the way to avoid a conflict that would be devastating, a conflict where russia sends military troops across ukraine's border, killing a lot of ukrainians, killi

99, blinken's emancipation proclamation in zero four, blinken and douglas abraham blinken as a man ofi guess 2009, blinken, a short introduction 2009 as well. then a look at the civil war and reconstruction, fighting followed by hattiesburg, the last invasion is how alan geiser looks at the book in. [two bells tolling] redeeming the great emancipator in 2016, reconstruction and concisee history came out in 209 and his most recent from a different view, robert e lee, a life. if we could, alan, let's go to the year of 1863 which kicked off with the emancipation proclamation, a tumultuous year in our nations history but i want to quote from your book redeeming the greatnc emancipat, the emancipation proclamation, delivered january 1, 1863 shirley the unhappiest of all of abraham blinken's great presidential paper. >> the word unhappiest is the one you focusus on, right? >> well, that was the one that jumped out to me. [laughter] >> that was a deliberate and provocative strategy on my part. i say unhappiest basically because while we walked the gettysburg address, people still memorized t

what are the details you're picking up of blinken's trip? >> reporter: secretary blinken is headed to ukraine, the state department said, to continue pres pressing. but what we aren't seeing this morning is any tangible progress on the diplomatic front. earlier today, we know that secretary blinken spoke with foreign minister lavrov of russia. he talked to him about the need to continue pursuing the diplomatic path, but that is the same message that we were hearing from the u.s. at the end of last week when they had all of these diplomatic talks with russia. there is no tangible forward progress at this time that those diplomatic efforts are actually creating momentum for russia to de-escalate the situation. and it's significant that one of the things that secretary blinken is going to do while he is visiting ukraine this week is talk to those who are working for the u.s. state department based at the u.s. embassy in kyiv and explain to them the preparations that are undergoing for contingency options should russia choose to escalate the sit

it blinken. how do you think they went? ., ., ~ blinken. how do you think they went? ~ ., ., went?it looks like a rather civilised showdown. they i went? it looks like a rather- civilised showdown. they came out and said they had had frank and substantive reports —— talks and said they would continue working so i think we're where we were last week, we're where we were last week, we have three talks last week, these talks today, the russians are now going to await written answers from the united states on their two treaties that they have proposed with demand, which the us and the nato countries won't accept, but they've agreed to meet again so we can just hope that diplomacy continues. . �* , continues. i mean, it's difficult _ continues. i mean, it's difficult to _ continues. i mean, it's difficult to know - continues. i mean, it's difficult to know what l difficult to know what might ahead of president putin what do you think his ultimate goal is? “ do you think his ultimate goal is? 4' , do you think his ultimate goal is? ~ , ., is? so i think his ultimate coal, is? so i think

blinken.n-_ -- blinken. i think the music will be sombre. _ -- blinken. i think the music will be sombre. that - -- blinken. i think the music. will be sombre. that meeting, the timing over the weekend, he will be meeting esther blinken, who will be reporting back from what happened didn't happen in geneva. i think there will be a regrouping to some extent with mr biden to essentially decide what their next move is. we know us officials are preparing a written response to the russian demands. that is likely to come at some point next week. but in terms of the message to russia, i suspect it is going to be more of the same, and that is a very strong warning to russia that if they do invade, the consequences will be dire.— will be dire. thank you so much. let's get some of the day's other news. british counter—terrorism officers have been given more time to question two men arrested in birmingham and manchester in connection with last week's siege at a synagogue in texas. a british man, malik fa

as secretary of state tony blinken heads here in just a few hours after announcing that the u.s. is sanctioning four people including two current member of ukraine's parliament, the u.s. says are working for russian intelligence to destabilize ukraine's government. this ahead of tony blinken's high-stakes meeting with russia's foreign minister here tomorrow. but the focus here is on a troubling performance by president biden on russia and other subjects at wednesday's white house press conference on the eve of the first anniversary of his taking office. from his delivery to demeanor to stunning statements, the president now drawing criticism at home and abroad for drawing on comments on security and the future of his domestic agenda and worries overseas. his chief comments, what the west might be willing to allow russia to get away with. >> russia will be held accountable if it invades. it depends on what it does. it's one thing if it's a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and not do, et cetera. i'm not so certain what he's going to do. my guess is he

jonathan: waiting for secretary blinken.york city, for our audience worldwide, good morning. this is "bloomberg surveillance ," live on tv and radio. nasdaq futures down 96, down 0.6%. the foreign minister of russia right now, sergei lavrov, continue to speak in his news conference. tom: you really see it in swiss franc and euro swissie of the tension within europe. this is what bloomberg news does best.

after secretary of state tony blinken met his european counter parts today visually trying to patch up cracks in the nato alliance, most notably with germany, and france, this just one day after the u.s. ordered american dependence out of ukraine, and is warning americans not to travel to ukraine or russia because of the rising possibility of russian military action at any time. at the same time, president biden is considering moving troops within europe closer to russia's border as well as in the black sea and increasing bomber flights over the region. >> even as we're building up deterrence, even as we're building up defense for ukraine, we're also engaged in diplomacy and dialogue. that's the preferable path forward for everyone. it's the responsible thing to do, and we'll pursue it as long as we can. at the same time we'll continue to build up the defense and deterrence that is necessary. >> the optimism, the fight against the omicron variant is growing in the u.s. across the country as the national 7-day average of confirmed cases finally begins to shift downward after a record se

secretary blinken reinforced that last week when he met with president zelensky. since 2014, the united states has committed more than $5.5 billion in security and nonsecurity assistance to ukraine including more than 350 $1 million in assistance to those displaced or impacted by russia's aggression. we are continuing to provide a sense of security assistance to ukraine. president biden authorized 200 million dollars in security assistance in december in the first shipments began arriving in recent days. congress recently increased funding for ukraine security assistance and adjective. we are working with our nato allies including the baltic states to provide to put medics support and other assistance to ukraine in this time of crisis. in the past week, we have worked hand in glove with our baltic allies to enable transfers of defensive arms to ukraine. i went to a knowledge the bold position taken by our baltic allies in making these systems available from their own stockpile. all of us hope ukraine will not need to use these arms. if it comes to that, ukraine wi

blinken said the u.s.ill respond inviting next week to the security concerns but also says the u.s. will spell out why the rest views with alarm the dramatic buildup of forces in ukraine. meanwhile about 200,000 pounds of lethal aid has arrived from the u.s. including ammunition. cnn's kylie atwood has more on the high-stakes meeting. >> reporter: the united states and russia giving diplomacy a new life. >> i believe we are now on a clear path in terms of understanding each other's concerns, each other's positions. >> reporter: secretary of state tony blinken said the u.s. would put pen to paper in order to advance a conversation. >> what we've agreed to today is that we will share in writing next week our ideas, our response to concerns that russia's raised. concerns that we have that we will share again with russia. >> reporter: still, the two countries are incredibly far apart. first and foremost, the u.s. says russia must pull back its troops from ukraine's borders. russia is demanding that nato cease

blinken warned russia if it invades it will pay a heavy price. >> wechb clear. if any russian mill tash forces move it will be met with swift, severe and a united response from the united states and partners and allies. >>> the house minority leader laying down the law with tough talk for conservative hardliner trying to become the house speaker. >>> new cnn reporting reeventualing rudy giuliani and other trump campaign officials were far more involved in efforts to install illegitimate elect terrors to seven state that is trump lost. >>> we have reporters covering the news. let's begin with fred pleitgen in geneva. fred, it struck me that perhaps the biggest news out of the comments were that the u.s. will provide written answers to russia's demands. do we know what those written answers will entail? >> reporter: yeah. i do think you're right that's a bigger thing to come out of this and the u.s. apparently remains steadfast on the fact to stand by ukraine and also not make a decision about ukraine or nato without ukraine and nato having a say in this. as far a

that's blinken publicly.re your sources telling you privately as whether this meeting is viewed as productive or not? >> reporter: john, there were a lot of questions about diplomacy heading into today, if it was going to be dead-ended, and what we are learning is that it's not, right? there is no life that has been given to diplomacy because the two foreign ministers agreed that they are going to have another meeting. the united states said that they are going to put on the table a written proposal. they are going to put some ideas, some concerns down in written form next week for the russians. the russians have long been demanding that from the u.s. now, substant life we don't know exactly where that is headed, but that means that things are progressing forward. now, we should note that blinken also made it very clear that any russian troops that cross over ukraine's border would be considered an invasion, and they would be met with swift and unified response by the u.s. and its allies. of course, cleaning

blinken confirmed that the u.s. written responses to the security demands russia made last week. cnn is also learning new details about western troops possibly deploying to the region. >> officials say the u.s. and western allies are discussing possibly directing troops to at least three nato countries in eastern europe before a potential russian invasion of ukraine. the sources say the move would be a show of support against putin. >> what did the u.s. say to russia in those written responses? do we know? >> well, the way secretary of state blinken described it was laying down a serious diplomatic path forward should russia choose it. what is new and different here isn't the content of what the united states is saying to russia. as we understand it, this proposal, these written responses to russia from the biden administration lay out areas that the united states has repeatedly pointed to in recent weeks where they think the united states and russia can work together. so those are things such as the placement of mi

blinken says get a reaction to our initiative. iji' blinken says he get a reaction to our initiative.ays he will share america's concerns and ideas in more detail next week, but... we concerns and ideas in more detail next week, but. . ._ concerns and ideas in more detail next week, but... we have been clear that if any russian _ next week, but... we have been clear that if any russian military _ next week, but... we have been clear that if any russian military forces - that if any russian military forces move _ that if any russian military forces move across ukraine's border, that is a renewed — move across ukraine's border, that is a renewed invasion and it will be met with _ is a renewed invasion and it will be met with swift, severe and united response — met with swift, severe and united response from the united states and our partners and allies. fresh satellite images _ our partners and allies. fresh satellite images show - our partners and allies. fresh satellite images show russia | our partners and allies. fresh - satellite images show russia still massing men and equipment a

antony blinken warns that russia could quickly double the number of troops on ukraine's border. also, more aid and help on its way to tonga as more evidence shows the destruction of the tsunami. and a scandal has boris johnson's fellow conservatives outraged. germany records more than 100,000 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours. a record high made possible by the omicron variant. to our viewers watching on pbs in the united states and to all of you around the world, welcome. we begin tonight with the u.s. secretary of state at the start of a three-day diplomatic sprint here in europe aimed at preventing a war in ukraine. today, he was in kia where he urged western countries to remain united in the face of what he called relentless russian aggression. he also accused moscow of trying to undermine ukraine's democracy. he said washington is committed to protecting ukraine by de-escalating tensions with moscow. he will be here tomorrow for talks with his british and french counterparts. although the ultimate goal is peace not war, antony blinken warned russia again that

antony blinken and the russian foreign minister met for 90 minutes to discuss the threat of a russianasion of ukraine. when the talks were over, both countries said there is no change in position but a willingness to keep trying diplomacy. no common ground, but no battlegrounds, either. russia says it has no plans for an invasion despite the presence of tens of thousands of russian troops near the border. >> at least they are talking. with relations between the u.s. and russia at a extreme low point, the top diplomats had radically different goals. the u.s. to avoid russian military action in ukraine. >> we have been clear, if any russian military forces move across the border, that is a renewed invasion. it will be met with swift, severe, and a united response from the u.s. and our allies. >> russia has set it once security guarantees from the west, including denying nato membership to ukraine. the russian foreign minister said he hopefor a de-escalation. >> i spoke frankly about this and he agreed that we need to have a more reasonable. dialogue i hope emotions will decrease, althou

a meeting just wrapped up, blinken once again publicly reaffirming u.s. support for ukraine as well as genuine alarm about russia's p u.s. lawmakers that met with ukrainian officials during a visit in recent days are warning that if russia invades, it would be the biggest mistake of vladimir putin's career. have a listen. >> ukrainians are going to fight for their lives. there will be a long term counter insurgency. it will be bloody. >> we'll go live to the region in just a moment. plus, this morning new details in the civil investigation of trump organization. new york's attorney general claiming she has uncovered significant evidence of what she called misleading and fraudulent practices and now turning up the heat on two of trump's children. don junior and ivanka trump. this as we learn of subpoenas that for rudy giuliani and others in the january 6th probe. >>> also, this morning several major airlines have suspended flights to the u.s. after they said signals from the new 5g cell phone service rollout could disrupt essential airplane instructions. >

. >>> up next, we're watching secretary of state blinken speaking live in berlin, germany. you see him. senator bob menendez chair of the foreign relations committee talks about the consequences for putin if russia invades ukraine and a lot more. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." you're watching "jose you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports. sorry, one sec. doug blows several different whistles. doug blows several different whistles. [a vulture squawks.] there he is. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> vo: my car is my after-work decompression zone. ♪ music ♪ >> vo: so when my windshield broke... i found the experts at safelite autoglass. they have exclusive technology and service i can trust. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ >>> 28 past the hour, this morning ukraine's president urged his fellow citizens not to panic after president biden said yesterday his guess is russia will move into ukraine. this hour secretary of state antony blinken is speaking in berlin before meeting with germany's chanc

and blinken promised a written response to his original proposal which the u.s.rter for the two sides to agree to putin's proposal for a treaty to limit nato expansion and actually have nato step back from its forward expansion of decades ago post-cold-war expansion towards russia, poland, and other countries. now, you know, blinken has just told us there's now a threat to ukraine from the north, belarus, where there are joint military exercises between russia and rel bus, as well as the south and east. and now russia has to step back and has to agree to some conversations on confident-building to inspire more trust on arms control , that we're willing to talk about missiles and, you know, other armaments from both sides, but not willing to redefine the terms of the nato agreement, which goes back 70 years. >> richard, the ukrainian government was alarmed by president biden's earlier comments this week saying the response to any russian invasion could depend on the size of the attack. the president walked those comments back. here's what he said very clearly yest

we've got antony blinken saying that there could be an invasion at any point. saying this is extremely dangerous. and yet, as we know, that build—up has been going on for months and months now, anxieties have risen to a surface and then hovered there. is it realistic to think an invasion could be on the cards? well, over the last six weeks, i have become more pessimistic because it seems to me that vladimir putin is beginning to paint himself into a corner. you had the discussions — us—russia discussions, nato—russia discussions last week, but then at the end of the week, the kremlin was saying our key demands that nato agreed not to deploy troops on those members that entered the alliance after 1997, that those key demands have gone unmet, and so putin may find that he has no way out other than an embarrassing climbdown or to actually use some of the military options that he is now acquiring with the russian deployments near ukraine. and what do you think of the whole issue of nato enlargement, particularly ukrainian membership at this point, because that is t

we'll find out more from antony blinken.s harsh cold that we are enduring from the midwest to northeast is actually making its way all the way down into the southeast and these pictures tell you what's happening at the low levels, it's freezing or below. at the higher levels you have precipitation along the slow-moving front and, therefore, you get freezing rain and that ice will accumulate through the day. this is from knightdale where they've already been seeing accidents in north carolina. you also have rocky mount where it was a little bit of a mix with some of the sleet in there. this is going to be a day long event and have little impulses come along the front, drop warm moisture onto the subfreezing surface and that's where you have big problems. ice storm warning there. winter weather advisories all along the gulf coast. mississippi, alabama and louisiana. and like i said, look at that. the snow on the northern end so, say, ocean city, maryland, down through virginia beach going to get the snow and then after you get

secretary of state tony blinken speaking in ukraine just moments ago.re of a troop buildup on ukraine's border. listen to this. >> we know that there are plans in place to increase that force even more on very short notice, and that gives president putin the capacity also on very short notice to take further aggressive action against ukraine. and that, of course, has gotten not only our attention, but it's gotten the attention of virtually all of our allies and partners, and not just in europe, even beyond. >> cnn's fred pleitgen is in moscow, and matthew chance joins us live from kiev. matthew, what does the ukrainian president want to hear from anthony blinken when they meet today? already strong words there. >> reporter: yeah, that's a good question. and, in fact, what the ukrainians are looking -- what they welcome from united states are the expressions of solidarity. we're seeing more of that now from the u.s. secretary of state anthony blinken saying the united states backs ukrainian sovereignty, its territory and integrity, and will work with it

if you look at secretary of state blinken. he was preparing this meeting meticulously in the days leading up to this. the u.s. did project that it was very much in the corner of ukraine. there were certain principles the u.s. was not willing to move on at all and also showed that the u.s. was united with its allies as well. secretary of state blinken saying that he believes that right now the ball is firmly in vladimir putin's court. and he wants to see de-escalation from the russians, real de-escalation, how he put it. let's listen to some of what he had to say. >> we've heard russian officials say that they have no intention of invading ukraine. in fact, mr. lavrov repeated that to me today. but, again, we're looking at what is visible to all, and it is deeds and actions, not words, that make the difference. >> the russians for their part in the form of sergey lavrov were saying they're happy about the fact they'll get those written responses they have been demanding. of course, the core demand the russians have is they want

clearly, the blinken response is not going to be about that. it was indicated to me it was going to be on missiles and troop exercises so we're going to be at an impasse. can this only be decided on the president-to-president level? >> certainly, ultimately, it's going to require a summit, i think, to solve this one. but i would in fact direct folks, if you haven't, i suspect you have, read the nato treaty. it was written in 1949, and it's like 28 sentences long. you can read it in five minutes. that's kind of the written answer to the russians. if i were tony blinken, i'd just staple a copy of the nato treaty and tell lavrov to read article 10. which says democracies can join, they have to apply and accept the principles, freedom, democracy, liberty, rule of law. so, i think the answer is already there on that point. but, andrea, you are absolutely correct and as richard haass has told us, there is trade space here in terms of structures, missile defense systems, long-range cruise missiles. medium-range cruise missiles. nautical deployments, m

we heard earlier, and you just reported how tony blinken pree sanctions. but is the biden administration trying to calculate whether it should be sending more military aid to ukraine? >> that is something they are constantly evaluating. you saw that first shipment of that recently approved security assistance arriving in ukraine over the weekend. likely any further assistance that is offered is likely to be done in conjunction with u.s. allies, nato allies, as well. now one thing in addition to offering that support to ukraine, to ensure they are able to defend themselves in the event of a russian invasion, the u.s. is also taking into consideration the concerns of neighboring countries. those eastern european nato allies who are also feeling rattled by this tension between russia and ukraine. we know that the pentagon is drawing up possible military options for how the u.s. could possibly boost up military presence when it comes to those eastern european countries. to not just act as a deterrence to russia but an assurance to allies. as for the sanctions,

blinken has agreed -- secretary blinken has agreed to respond in writing as foreign minister lavrov is proposal, that would require basically tearing up the nato charter, which angela knows so well having worked for admiral stavridis, basically reversing decades of nato doctrine since the nato expansion and that's not going to happen. it's a nonstarter. so in writing they may say so, but they'll also according to blinken's comments to me, they're going to propose ways in which the two sides can work together on missiles, on confidence building, tests, mutual, you know, military exercises. so that there is better communication, more transparency. now, that has been suggested before, but they're going to put it down in writing and the president is going to have meetings, some by video, but other members of the national security team at camp david this weekend to get a debrief from tony blinken, i know he's going to be in touch with his cia director bill burns who was just in ukraine in berlin at nato last week in talks with incident counterparts to try to share as much information as pos

blinken has said, look, we're not going to be doing that. we still don't know what russia's central demands are here. he wants to have a conversation to try and see if they can identify what is at the heart of russia's demands and if there is a diplomatic path forward. >> already a lot of conversations. kylie atwood, thanks very much. >>> joining me republican congressman michael mccaul of texas. congressman, thanks so much for taking the time this morning. >> thanks, jim. thanks for having me. >> you hear secretary blinken's warning that russia could double its already significant forces on the border. in your view, has the current mix of threatened sanctions and additional military assistance, has that deterrence failed? >> yeah. i don't think we're providing the deterrence necessary to stop putin from invading ukraine, the bread basket of russia. he wants to reclaim the old soviet empire and i don't see a lot of deterrence on the table. in fact, jim, what i'm seeing is prelude to war when you're seeing live exercises on the ukrainian bord

mr blinken also plans to meet the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov on friday.r borisjohnson, who's insisted nobody warned him a lockdown drinks party he attended broke the rules. tory rebels have said they believe there will soon be enough mps calling for his resignation as party leader to trigger a vote of no confidence. the us telecoms giants, at and t and verizon have agreed at the last minute to delay the rollout of new 5g mobile networks near airport runways. the move follows a warning from airlines that the technology could interfere with instruments on some older aircraft, making them unsafe to fly. a 56—year—old from cumbria has pleaded guilty

as spheres of influence go, i asked antony blinken today to explain...aying about the balkans, if the eu was present there, there is no place where anyone else in this region. —— no place for anyone else. i think this is a very good illustration and applies to everything that is happening in eastern europe. let's look at the west balkans. there are some countries that are not part of nato and the eu there and attempts are undertaken to make them associate themselves. they are trying to dissuade them from having good, close ties with china, with russia. it is not about trying introduce their own spheres of influence? spheres of influence exist due to the policies pursued by colonial powers. when decolonisation happened, colonial powers and want to lose their influence and spheres of influence was about trying to steal, you know, control. it was about controlling these territories. and they are trying to expand their presence in these territories and attract new ones into their sphere of influence. we spoke about whether mr blank and today, and it's a pity