the eu has had a bit more leveraged-— the eu has had a bit more leveraged. the eu has had a bit more leveraged. political concern in washington about _ leveraged. political concern in washington about reduced - leveraged. political concern in | washington about reduced rate to suspend parts of the post rex deal with the eu on northern ireland. it is an awkward mix. at the department for international trade, they don't want to dispute with the united states, quite the opposite. outside the eu, the government is relying on closer trade ties with the us. it is in response to public consultation on further countermeasures against those american steel tariffs has already been delayed and it can't hold off indefinitely. the government hopes and can be resolved soon before it gets what and the message from industry is pretty clear. let's aet a industry is pretty clear. let's get a deal — industry is pretty clear. let's get a deal brokered - industry is pretty clear. let's get a deal brokered as - industry is pretty clear. let's get a deal brokered as soon | industry is pretty clear. let's l

we could end up— 16, the eu would retaliate. we could end up in— 16, the eu would retaliate.the eu tearup end up in a trade war. we've seen the eu tear up the entire agreement we have _ the eu tear up the entire agreement we have a _ the eu tear up the entire agreement we have a brexit, so it is high—stakes going into this, so i think— high—stakes going into this, so i think it — high—stakes going into this, so i think it would be an explosive intervention free decide to do it. it intervention free decide to do it. it was _ intervention free decide to do it. it was pointing out that liz truss does _ it was pointing out that liz truss does not — it was pointing out that liz truss does not change government policy here, _ does not change government policy here, this _ does not change government policy here, this is exactly what david frost's — here, this is exactly what david frost's position, her predecessor, was _ frost's position, her predecessor, was sonte — frost's position, her predecessor, was. some thought she might water it down, _ was. some thought she might water it

today, the eu's top diplomat went to ukraine.ised massive consequences for russiif it launched a military offensive and stressed the eu must be involved in discussions about the situation. >> the conflict on the border is on the verge of getting deeper. tensions have been building up with respect to the europeans. >> the eu's top diplomat there. >> the u.s. and russia are to hold talks over the tensions and ukraine over the next few days. those talks have left some european leaders feeling left out as they want the eu to have a greater role in resolving the conflict. nick beake has more from brussels. >> so far, as the escalation in tensions has occurred over the past month emma has very much been a bystander. certainly the european union because this is something which president putin and president biden have been talking directly to one another about it. the eu says they want to be at the table and we've got these talks in geneva between officials from moscow and washington and the eu says if you are discussing what is happenin

reporter: to put the french touch on the agenda, macron is proposing an eu minimum wage, tax at the eu and an independent european force of 2000 to be deployed quickly. a key issue for him is a huge summering contract. but a few domestic and international challenges derailed his agenda. first, the increased tensions with a former member of the io, the united kingdom. the ongoing crisis and threat of the new variant will impact eu growth. >> when it comes to holding the council, you are more of de facto leader. i think he will use this to a fine result and show his skill. reporter: politically, the last and great test for emmanuel macron will be the elections taking place in april. if he loses, a deep euro skeptic like marine le pen could end up presiding over the eu. tom: that was our reporter in paris, wrapping up what to expect from the french presidency. let's dig further into what this means for eu policy as france gears up for a key election. joining us is the senior fellow at the schachtel our institute. happy new year and thanks for joining us. what will the priorities be for em

emmanuel macron is calling for an eu pressure security pack. this tested the resolve of the eu. military hardware has been sent ukraine's help bolster the country against what is feared to be an intimate -- a russian invasion. macron was key to point at the the democratic missable's are at risk in ukraine. >> that was emmanuel macron speaking. france is in charge of the eu for the next six months. >> amanda macron talking about european values at the european parliament. this lays out a very ambitious policy agenda. this is quit a long list. he talked about climate policy, digital. needing to reform the rules, developing the defense capacity. developing its relations with africa in terms of health corporations. on other foreign policy issues, he talks about the western balkans countries needing to integrate them into the european union and the next few years. also talking about brexit and a lot of trust with the united kingdom's government. also, russia talking about vladimir putin and saying the must keep talking to him but showing a firm line as well. this is a european speech

of some eu membership rights.w does hungary feel being sanctioned by the eu itself? we are not. as usual orban's government held the line. how many people are you now catching trying to come across your southern border? from january, 50,000 tried to make it. to reach the territory of the european union. but all of them were stopped by the fence and the whole system. all of them? you don't think anybody made it? no, not at all. pretty great. 100% secure. more than 1.3 million people from nations across the globe, africa and the middle east, claimed asylum in europe in 2015. often they were coached on how to enter by soros funded ngos. hungarian border patrol took us on a tour of the fence. so there was a huge debate the united states about how to build our border wall and how high tech should it be. this is an effective border barrier and it's not high tech. there are 3 components. the top is concertina wire, which is been manufactured an awful lot since the 1st world war. the 2nd is the electrified fence, which go

_ challenge for a lot of governments and eu to — challenge for a lot of governments and eu to try and situation in the centre in austria _ the situation in the centre in austria and germany and france there's— austria and germany and france there's been a move to introduce mandatory— there's been a move to introduce mandatory vaccinations to try and encourage — mandatory vaccinations to try and encourage more people to get back to me germany before christmas and austria _ me germany before christmas and austria concerning their vaccine levels _ austria concerning their vaccine levels were not high enough in austria — levels were not high enough in austria when the furthest saying it wanted _ austria when the furthest saying it wanted a — austria when the furthest saying it wanted a vaccination mandatory vaccination and became the first western— vaccination and became the first western country to do so but interestingly over the last week we have seen— interestingly over the last week we have seen this shift and the new german— have seen this shift and the new german government and a c

of the 27 eu members.ouncil has priorities and key decisions. >> we must move from a europe of cooperation within our borders to a powerful europe on the world stage, fully sovereign, free of its choices and master of its destiny. >> emmanuel macron is proposing an eu minimum-wage, a carbon tax at the eu border and an independent european -- he wants to push for a common force that would be deployed quickly, discussed at the first summit in march. a key issue as france marked a huge submarine contract last year. if you domestic and international challenges will be on his agenda. first, the fishing spat in the english channel with the former member of the eu, the united kingdom. the ongoing covid crisis and the threat of the new variant will also impact eu growth. >> when it comes to holding the presidency of the council, you are more of a leader than you are usually. with the matter of angela merkel leaving, he will use this to show his leadership skills to his counterparts. >> potentially the greatest cha

well, for any country tojoin nato or the eu, it takes time. are reforms that have to be made, there are requirements that have to be met. but ukraine has gone a long way on that path already. i think that is why president putin feels that he has to perhaps act, because ukraine has made progress on that path. and the ukrainian people are behind that progress, which is very important. sergey radchenko, how would you answer this? i mean, i know you don't speak on behalf of moscow, obviously. you are an academic. but you are russian—born. i will have to serve as the lightning rod here. in order to understand the problem 0ksana has alluded to, why has ukraine become a geopolitical flashpoint, we have to understand russia and where russia finds itself 30 years after the break—up of the soviet union. russia in many ways has been pushed out of europe or has pushed itself out of europe, maybe has shot itself out of europe. you know, as a russian, i think a lot of those wounds were self—inflicted. yeah, the fact that russia has authoritarian backsliding

first the eu has not, do we know something that the eu does not?— that the eu does not?— that the eu does not? first of all, i want to thank our ambassador . that the eu does not? first of all, j i want to thank our ambassador in kyiv, ourwonderful i want to thank our ambassador in kyiv, our wonderful staff there, they have done an outstanding job at a difficult time. we think it prudent to make some changes. the intelligence is very clear that there are 60 russian battle groups on the borders of ukraine. the plan for a lightning war that could take out kyiv is one that everyone can see. we need to make it very clear to the kremlin, to russia, that that would be a disastrous step. what we are saying is that the uk is leading on creating the package of economic sanctions, working with our partners around the world. i will be talking to them this afternoon and this evening, talking to colleagues in other capitals, and in washington. but we also need to get over the message that invading ukraine, from a russian perspective, is going to be a painful, violent and bloody busin

for me, the extension of the eu is very important. at the same time, i think the eu and the u.s. should closely follow not only eu countries but also the -- region that has a very strong chinese influence. hungary is something like -- because it once represented the influence of the eu and -- the international alliance. >> i yield back. >> the chair recognizes the represented from nevada for five minutes. >> thank you and thank you to our mayors. it has been reassuring as we see democracy backslide in so many parts of the country to hear your values and what you all are doing. we hear a lot about harassment, but speaking politically is -- as being such a popular mayor being a good steppingstone, you might find support from here. >> there is increasing understanding that democracy at the local level is very important. at your hometown or your regional level that allows you to carry the democracy, yes that is true. >> there are number of laws and constitutional provisions and systemic features that make local governments have to cooperate with the federal government. sometimes they

by controlling the volumes of supply, gas to the eu countries. so i would say that now rush is using gas as a weapon not only against ukraine but also against the eu. and, unfortunately, this situation i think will last in the future. so we have to prepare to such conditions and we have to develop our resilience together. now to answer your question, how russia -- in its war with ukraine. we have analyzed some let's say threats which already happened with, in ukraine with support, sorry, the support of russia i would like to ask john to share one slide with your colleagues. so let me divide the threat to six categories. it will be easy. physical threats, physical damage to infrastructure, or disasters, just as an example. ukraine lost gas and electricity infrastructure in crimea. also when russian troops fired energy facilities on demonstration lines, for example, electricity facilities, they did not allow us to prepare -- repair for quite a long period of time. cyber threats, we all remember a few years ago there was a huge hacking attack on ukr

eu _ eu energy bills will be lower for everyone, eu rules— eu energy bills will be lower for everyone you said if— least wealthy are particularly hard up. you said if we _ least wealthy are particularly hard up. you said if we vote _ least wealthy are particularly hard up. you said if we vote leave - least wealthy are particularly hard up. you said if we vote leave we. up. you said if we vote leave we will be _ up. you said if we vote leave we will be able _ up. you said if we vote leave we will be able to _ up. you said if we vote leave we will be able to scrap _ up. you said if we vote leave we will be able to scrap this - up. you said if we vote leave we . will be able to scrap this damaging tax. will be able to scrap this damaging tax~ yet _ will be able to scrap this damaging tax~ yet as— will be able to scrap this damaging tax. yet as prime _ will be able to scrap this damaging tax. yet as prime minister- will be able to scrap this damaging tax. yet as prime minister you - will be able to scrap this damaging tax. yet as prime minister you are| tax. yet as prime minister you are

for all the talk of the eu and gear up not having that much power in defence it does have power whene us. after all europe have got my trade with russia and in particular it's a huge relationship in terms of energy. it depends on russia for a lot of its gas and that's where i think europe has a big well to play and run of the most controversial issues is the new pipeline that has been built between russia and germany and there's been a lot of pressure coming from washington to use this leverage to stop it if russia invades ukraine so the new german government in berlin it's a very tricky issue for them and and get america was accused of being too soft on russia because of this dependence on gas so again the german government are in a tricky position and they are saying they're not going to do anything unless russia invades ukraine and at the end of this week it's the threat has not gone away. we have a few minutes left so you have to be quick but i want to ask each of you if there is a story we should be focusing on more than perhaps we have been? i think very quickly it is it's and

as you say, most of the eu member states — 21 out of the 27 — are members of nato, and again, like adifferent opinions. the countries to the east, the baltic nations like lithuania, latvia, estonia, they are very, very worried about what's happening close to them in ukraine. and it's this difficult balancing act, because on the one hand you've got countries like france who wants the eu to have more power and defence, and try and improve its strategy and its autonomy when it comes to security and foreign policy. but on the other hand, you've got countries in the east who don't want to duplicate or challenge nato. nato's everything to them. they want the us presence there. nato is very important and they want to keep the russian issue right up on the agenda. so, yes, to answer your question, there's a lot of fear here around europe. i think the talks effectively ended in a stalemate. there's been no developments. and then, on friday, the ukrainian government announced that it had been subject to a major cyber attack. now, we don't know who's responsible for that but that is another con

of course, as far as my readers are concerned, as soon as borisjohnson goes, the best it is for the eus there not some advantage in having a prime minister like him for france? no, there is none, because, you know, you want a good relationship back on rail and you want a good relationship with britain, because of all the terrible challenges we all now face. isabel, that quotation i mentioned, by david davis, the words of leo amery, who was an ally of winston churchill, aimed at neville chamberlain, who was gone very soon after, that must have really hurt, mustn't it, for a prime minister who deified churchill? well, indeed, and david davis, i am sure, knew that it would hurt, because he said, before he delivered this line, that this would be a quotation with which boris johnson was familiar. boris johnson then pretended that he did not know what he was talking about, which rather raises the question, did boris johnson actually write the biography of churchill that carries his name, because if he did, there is no way that he could avoid knowing that quotation, which was in turn a quotat

the pandemic had the spanish economy harder than any other in the eu in 2020.s making recovery an uphill struggle. retail sales injapan rose to 1.4% in december from a year earlier. that's according to data released by the government on monday. it's the third straight month of increases, but december�*s figure comes in below a median market forecast rise of 2.7%. that is some of the latest economic news out ofjapan. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: roam if you want to but it will be more expensive — vodafone joins the mobile phone companies re—introducing roaming fees for brits visiting the eu. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: spotify says it's working to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about covid — after a row about misinformation. north korea is thought to have tested one of its most powerful ballistic missiles in years — the us urges pyongyang tojoin direct talks without preconditions. shares in the casino thank you for dropped by as much as 30% on the news of the arrest of its chief executive on

and eu were failing to take his security concerns into account, and a call with french president mccall-- macron had not addresses demands. the president had also spoken with his ukrainian counterparts to continue to de-escalate tensions. he urged his western allies not to create panic. >> the feeling you get from the media is that we have a war, troops on the road, was asian, people are going somewhere -- mobilization, people are going somewhere. >> senior fellow for the center of european policy analysis, thank you for being here this evening. diplomacy does not seem to have produced huge results so far, is the time for talks past? >> i do think so, because putin came into these negotiations with nonstarter demands, it clearly shows he has no intentions and having diplomacy work. all we have seen is him continuing to increase the military on ukraine's borders. all the signs are looking like a clumsy, -- dipmacy, the window to diplomacy is closed. on the russian side that they never had truly the intention of diplomacy. >> what you think his a is in all of this? >> i honestly think, be

for me, the extension of the eu is very important. at the same time i think the eu and the u.s.y follow not only eu countries but also the region. there is beenry a very strong chinese influence. hungary is something like -- because once represented the influence in the eu and this way -- the international alliance. >> thank you so much. i yield back. >> the chair now recognizes ms. titus from nevada for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you to our mayors. it's been most interesting and very impressive as we see democracy backslide in so many parts of the world, to hear your values and what you all are doing. we heard a littlee bit about the harassment, but speaking politically, being such a popular mayor in your city a good stepping stone politically to run for national office where you might find yourself with some support over here? >> well yes. of course there is this understanding, increasing understanding that democracy at the local level is very important. so very good job at your hometown or your regional level, that allows you to actually carry the let

there is a lot of ongoing eu work.le for six months, and actually you do need to work with the countries that have the presidency before you and after you to make sure that there is some consistency, so yes, it gives you a little bit of influence but certainly you want to make sure that you can achieve a lot during the six months so you need to work with the two years beforehand to make sure that the discussions that he will inherit are actually already happening. inherit are actually already happening-— inherit are actually already haueninu. , ., ., happening. georgina, we will leave it there. _ happening. georgina, we will leave it there. georgina - happening. georgina, we will. leave it there. georgina wright in paris, thank you for your time. ., . . in paris, thank you for your time. ., ., . ., ,, time. from france to the us, where wall — time. from france to the us, where wall street _ time. from france to the us, where wall street is - time. from france to the us, where wall street is awaiting | where wall street

border if it wanted to could cause the eu really serious problems.bout the balkans and warning about unsettled picture again they are. picture again there. almost as if a kind of political challenge that we thought her rather challenge that we thought or rather than economic challenge which we thought had been done, we got liberalisation and replace the old soviet system, but the politics never quite got resolved. could any of this develop significantly in 2022? this is the 30th anniversary- of the collapse of the soviet union and president putin has been waxing lyrical, - nostalgically and with anger about the fact that he wished that it had never happened. - this is going to be a testing time. president biden's, the american withdrawal from afghanistan - and we understood why it had i to happen and for the troops had to come after 20 years, _ the rest of the nato forces but how it was done and how it resulted in eight caliban take over, - in a taliban take over, a reversal of what had happened 20 years earlier which cost the us - to go in and the f

others have simply stopped trading between britain and the eu altogether.20, trade between the uk and the eu did not. and it is almost certainly going to stay that way. the government says that traders need to get used to new rules and focus on new trade deals and on the other side of the world. but two years after britain left the eu, the idea of seamless trade across this narrow stretch of water, that ship has already sailed. four days at the border they are! stay with us on bbc news, still to come: are you ready to go nolo? we look at the growing thirst for no—or—low alcohol drinks this is the moment that millions in iran have been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid, and the anc leader nelson mandela is to be set free unconditionally. mission control: three, two, one... a countdown to a critical moment — the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 of its engines a

it is| all very well blitzing eu red tape in our legislation, but if you want to do trade with the euthe border. it is almost beg _ —— in 0mos beggars belief we are at this stage _ —— in 0mos beggars belief we are at this stage i— —— in 0mos beggars belief we are at this stage. i have to say, i am rather— this stage. i have to say, i am rather cynical. boris is returning to brexit. — rather cynical. boris is returning to brexit. it— rather cynical. boris is returning to brexit, it is, i am rather cynical. boris is returning to brexit, it is, lam in rather cynical. boris is returning to brexit, it is, i am in trouble, let's— to brexit, it is, i am in trouble, let's hring _ to brexit, it is, i am in trouble, let's bring out some brexit news, and those — let's bring out some brexit news, and those promises, which felt very, very hoiiow— and those promises, which felt very, very hollow over the last few years. it is interesting the papers talk about— it is interesting the papers talk about red tape. i suspect most business — about red tape. i suspect most business in this country have fac

within the eu and this way they weaken our international alliance. >> thank you so much. thank you, mr. chairman. i field back. . >> mr. mayor, the chair recognizes representative titus from nevada for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you to our mayors. it's been most interesting and very impressive and reassuring as we see democracy backslide in so many parts of the world to hear what you all are doing. we heard a little bit about the harassment of the kwun presidential campaign. but being such a popular mayor in your city a good steppingstone politically to run for a national office where you might find yourself with some support over here? >> well, yes, of course, there is this understanding, increasing understanding that democracy at the local level is important. when you're doing a good job at your hometown or at your regional level, that allows you to actually carry the banner of democracy and values. that's true. >> let me ask you this, in the u.s. with your federal system, there are a number of laws and constitutional provisions and systemic fea

>> russia is one of t eu's largest trading partners, not only in energy.de between them in 2020 accounted for over 170 billions euros. they are also germany's largest gas importer, so the economic cost to europe would also be dire. this is why we have not seen a clear line yet, but this is hopefully what secretary blinken is pushing for with the quad group and at the eu level to make sure that, at least behind-the-snes, that we agree on a price tag that europe and germany are willing to pay economically to preserve security and peace in europe. >> jessica, it was important for anthony blinken to stop in berlin today to talk with the quad group, but there are still some doubts. further europeans really on the same page as -- are the europeans really on the same page as the u.s. on what to do if russia invades ukraine? >> not yet. even yesterday, we saw from present macron in france proposing that the eu should also open up a bilateral channel of dialogue with russia. this obviously did not help project the uty that the united states was hoping for. also, pr

the hungarian government is trying to get the eu to join the summit and say that the eu cannot represent all countries, since hungry is not invited. this is a typical reasoning from -- he always equals himself to the nation and the whole of the nation. he says that he is representing all of us. as a government, if they are criticize, they will be -- every criticism is directed to the hole of the nation. he is trying to look at the eu participation on the summits, and to say that the eu cannot talk on behalf of hungry. i was invited to this forum. i'm not speaking on behalf of hungry, i tried to speak on behalf of the population of budapest we and about the values that i believe. of course, the democracy cannot represent everybody. everybody has the right to express their opinion. the fact that the hungarian government is blocking the eu participation, i think it is a message to all the friends of democracy about the hungarian government's opinion on democracy. i'm sorry that i have to apologize, because of this project. i ask you not to equal hungry to viktor orban and his government, th

many— the eu and with nato on this issue. many visit— the eu and with nato on this issue.ad this opportunity to meet together with finland, as always we co-operate — together with finland, as always we co—operate very closely with finland _ co—operate very closely with finland. we are closely following developments, carefully analysing the russian military build up and we are preparing fora number of scenarios _ are preparing fora number of scenarios. today, we also discussed the proposal put forward by russia. the core _ the proposal put forward by russia. the core of — the proposal put forward by russia. the core of the proposal is to attempt _ the core of the proposal is to attempt to rewrite what we call the european _ attempt to rewrite what we call the european security order, the arrangements for europe's security that were _ arrangements for europe's security that were agreed after the cold war. one of— that were agreed after the cold war. one of the _ that were agreed after the cold war. one of the principles is that every state _ one of the principles is that eve

what is the eu's largest economy doing?are anticipating christine lagarde to speak later, and the big one with u.s. earnings. that is coming up later in the market. this is bloomberg. ♪ every day in business brings something new. so get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. introducing comcast business mobile. you get the most reliable network with nationwide 5g included. and you can get unlimited data for just $30 per line per month when you get four lines or mix and match data options. available now for comcast business internet customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. gdp to see how things are fleshing out in light of all the restrictions and concerns around the pandemic and how that is for the picture of growth in europe. energy is down 0.5%. you have that read across, despite sap reporting an upgrade. utilities is also lower. francine: we will get an update with germany publis

the eu really serious problems...cture again there. it's almost as if a kind of political challenge that we thought — or rather the economic challenge which we thought had been done. we got liberalisation and replaced the old soviet system, but the politics never quite got resolved. could it — could any of this develop significantly in 2022, do you think? well, it is the 30th - anniversary of the collapse of the soviet union - and president putin has been waxing lyrical, nostalgicallyl and with anger about the fact that he wished that it had never happened. j this is going to be a testing time. . the — president biden's — - the american — the american withdrawal from afghanistan — we understood why it had - to happen, that for the troops had to come after 20 years, l the rest of the nato forces, . but how it was done and how it resulted in a taliban takeover — a reversal of what had - happened 20 years earlier- which had caused the us to go in in the first place — has raised questionsj about american commitment. we wi

now the hungarian government is trying to ban the eu to doing this summit and say that the eu cannot represent all countries seems hungary is not invited. this is a rather critical way of reasoning. equals himself to the goal of the nation and always says this is presenting all as a government if they are criticized, he always says that every committee -- all of the nation and now it is trying to block the eu participation on this summit and say that you cannot talk on behalf of hungary. when i was invited to this forum, i'm not speaking on behalf of hungary. i try to speak on behalf of the population of budapest and about the values. of course in a democracy, you cannot represent everyone at the same time. but everyone has the right to express their opinion and to the fact that the hungarian government is blocking the eu participation in this summit, i think it's a message to all the friends of democracy about the hungarian government's opinion of democracy. and i'm sorry that i have to politicize because of this approach and i ask you not to -- hungary to -- government, thank you.

so bringing together the us, yes, nato, yes, and eu countries. i the us, yes, nato, yes, and eu countriesink that is a smart question. - countries. i think that is a smart question. there - countries. i think that is a smart question. there is l countries. i think that is a l smart question. there is no doubt that putin is trying to drive wedges between the united states and our allies in the eu. they are not succeeding in the present crisis which is why they have a problem. they are concerned about the sanctions and my understanding is that antony blinken and others in the state department are working closely with the eu so that there will be punishing sanctions if the russians invade ukraine again. sorry to interrupt. _ invade ukraine again. sorry to interrupt, the _ invade ukraine again. sorry to interrupt, the ukrainian - interrupt, the ukrainian government has its own views, of course, the defence minister today said that there should be sanctions now on russia, pre—emptive, if you like. they are very much, they are not even the man in the middle, are they? it is all going on above t

to begin to move closer to the eu, closer into the eu's orbit and to cooperate further. is moving to the west. they are not looking east. that is also what is very much getting under vladimir putin's skin. [30 what is very much getting under vladimir putin's skin.— what is very much getting under vladimir putin's skin. do you think conflict is inevitable _ vladimir putin's skin. do you think conflict is inevitable or _ vladimir putin's skin. do you think conflict is inevitable or can - vladimir putin's skin. do you think conflict is inevitable or can it i vladimir putin's skin. do you think conflict is inevitable or can it be i conflict is inevitable or can it be averted? i conflict is inevitable or can it be averted? ., , conflict is inevitable or can it be averted? . , ., averted? i have been heartened in recent days _ averted? i have been heartened in recent days by _ averted? i have been heartened in recent days by the _ averted? i have been heartened in recent days by the conversations, | recent days by the conversations, particularly the conversation between the mi

putin will not look at nato or the eu for that matter and pick us apart against each other. the first and foremost thing is work on our solidarity alliance and solidarity mission and the solidarity of purpose of what we're doing and then we begin to look at the military options that we can do. mr. putin in the two documents, which you may or may not have read, that he sent to the west to nato, and focusing on america, you know, he said, these are the things you have to do. it's all or nothing. if you don't agree, we're going to invade. and of course, na started a dialog, which is going forward today. but in those, two of the things that he's says he's most worried about are forces forward and weapons forward in the bordering nations. and so, one of the things that various authors of that document that we worked on together, one of the things that we said is that we need to show him that if he continues with his bellicose path and invades, that he will get exactly what he didn't want, and that is more forces forward and more weapons forward. you know, if you raise children or