nbc news foreign correspondent, jim maceda is live for us now in moscow.et's look ahead to secretary kerry's meeting in paris. any hope of progress or is this just more posturing from both sides? >> reporter: hi, thomas. well, i think you can feel a sea of change in the past 24 hours. you cited some of putin's comments yesterday. some of them troubling, no doubt. he also said he saw no need for use of force in ukraine and had no desire to annex the crimea peninsula, really allowing that cold war style military confrontation that we've been reporting on to take a step back from the brink. we've seen that in the reaction of the world stock markets already. and even though rhymea remaicri very tense on the ground, those pictures prove that, even a report of russians seizing two more crimean anti-missile posts, the perception is that ukraine is spinning not toward war but some kind of diplomatic solution. secretary of state meeting with count counterpart sergey lavrov. this is the first time since the current crisis escalated that they've had a face-to-face to

nbc's jim maceda is in moscow watching the story for us. presidents obama and putin have that one hour long phone call, that happened thursday. some asking what's next now. >> hi, richard. that's right. president obama reached out this time to president putin at the end of that thursday day, a busy one it was, that saw the crimean peninsula voting to secede from the -- from ukraine. that was followed by obama's executive order to slap sanctions on all those who threatened ukraine's sovereignty, at least in theory. potentially, by the way, including putin himself. it was the second long call in six days but, again, there was still a huge gulf between the two leaders, just how to resolve the crisis with obama calling the pro russian crimean government illegitimate and putin returning the favor by claiming that the government in kiev is unconstitutional. now, this morning the kremlin issued a statement here at moscow saying that while the two sides were far apart, putin did stress that u.s./russian relations were too important to be damaged by

nbc's jim maceda for us in moscow, jim, thank you.et's turn now to nbc's chief global correspondent, bill neely, who's in crimea. >> reporter: the crisis here in crimea is deepening. but so, too, worries of an imminent russian takeover. we have seen russian boots on the ground here today, well-armed, well-disciplined men ringing key sites. they're at the interior ministry with rocket-propelled grenades. they're ringing crimea's parliament, machine guns on the ground in a show of force and they're also at crimea's main military airport. there overnight, up to a dozen russian aleutian transport planes brought in, including russian attack helicopters. ukraine's defense minister says around 6,000 additional russian troops have arrived. no confirmation of that. he calls it an invasion, whether you agree with that word or not, it certainly is an intervention. and the new ukrainian -- untested ukrainian government has to some degree lost control of this region already. big pro-russia demonstrations here today and there will be a vote at the

jim maceda is in moscow for us now. we talk about that latest development there, the parliament in crimea making that vote. >> reporter: well, that's right. but i would say that's probably a symbolic vote. it is a rough parliament, the crimean parliament has only pro russian representatives. and it is symbolic because while it was practically unanimous, 78-0, with eight abstentions, still they realized they would have to be referendum for that to have any teeth. and the referendum now has been moved up from march 30th to march 16th and in that referendum crimeans will vote on whether they become part of russia or stay part of the ukraine. meanwhile, in terms of the flurry of democracy going -- a flurry of diplomacy, i should say, going on throughout europe, we have talks today again in rome. there were talks yesterday in paris. secretary of state john kerry characterized those talks as tough, but constructive. the they probably will be tougher, probably not as constructive today. it is very, very hard to get russian for

jim maceda joins me live. you saw pietin, the speech, the ceremony. i guess the question is, do you take putin at his word about what he says is russia's interests in the rest of ukraine? >> yeah. i think you have to take putin at his word. but with the stipulation, chuck, that it is his word. and what i mean by that is that this was vintage vladimir putin. it was full of fanfare, chandeli chandeliers, deep drilling down into ukraine, soviet history to explain what ukraine and crimea specifically is to russians. he spoke for about an hour. i suppose you could say he was setting the record straight but again this was from his point of view. in great detail he explained why crimea has always been russian, 60 years of ukrainian territory was an illegal abberation and echoing what clinton just said about never embarrassing putin in public, putin tore into the west, calling them cheaters, the west betrayed russia over the years, allowing nato to expand to its very borders, acting irresponsibly recently in ukraine by allowing those ultra nationalists to tak

jim maceda, thank you so much.e appreciate that. >>> back in the u.s., a bill that would provide aid to ukraine is on hold for at least ten days after congress recessed thursday without reaching a deal. both the house and senate passed bills, but neither chamber would agree to advance the other's legislation. now, the house bill included aid but no sanctions. the senate bill includes both, but its proposed changes for the international monetary fund that's drawn republican opposition. >> the imf money has nothing to do with the ukraine. i understand the administration wants the imf money. but it has nothing at all to do with ukraine. >> so we now have russian forces about to invade a sovereign nation. and what are we talking about? an imf fix. where in the world is our priorities? where in the world is our sympathy and our concern and our need to support the people of ukraine in this hour of need? >> joining me now, ohio democratic congresswoman marcy captor whose grandparents were born in ukraine, and she is the c

option for action, jim maceda in moscow for us. jim. >> reporter: well, over the weekend, we've seen various western officials led by secretary of state john kerry, mobilizing a kind of diplomatic blitz against putin's actions in ukraine. but besides this war of words analysts have been telling us the u.s. and its allies have few options when it comes to pressuring putin and putin knows that. diplomatic sanctions like boycotting the upcoming g-8 summit in june, sochi, they dent putin's pride but it's symbolic. economic sanctions, the u.s. has little leverage over russia. eu sanctions might have teeth, we're told at least. but it's reluctant to go there because putin could retaliate, spike natural gas prices. finance sanctions, like freezing putin's assets in u.s. banks might work but recall last year, the u.s. act did just that, to certain russian human rights abusers but the only tangible result was a russian ban on u.s.' option. what remains what we're seeing, diplomatic pressure. kremlin, we're seeing from here, hearing kerry's

. >>> let me bring in jim maceda from moscow. m, you heard -- you heard some tough rhetoric from vice president biden, and he brought up the nato treaty, obviously beingan states, they are members of nato. drawing a line in the sand, is it one that will be heard by moscow? >> reporter: well, the nato line in the sand for moscow goes much further west, and it's putin's -- it's putin's worst nightmare to see -- which is why he probably got involved in ukraine as he did in the first place -- to see a country like ukraine taking over with these so-called ultranationalists in charge, taking over the crimean peninsula, taking over the black sea fleet, effectively kicking the russians out of that area, geostrategically, and then joining nato to see, as he suggested in his speech yesterday, walking to -- waking up in sevastopol and seeing nato ships offshore. that for him is the problem with nato. there's been no specific reaction at all at this point from the kremlin on biden's comments, besides the warnings of countersanctions from serg

we'll see you again, jim maceda, live out of moscow.avid levowitz is still with us here in the studios. given that you are a global market strategist, david, the ukraine situation, did that change the way of your positioning, of your way of thinking about europe? and will it continue to influence you now if it has at all inspect. >> i think when you think about what's going on in the ukraine from an investment standpoint, it was certainly a shock that wasn't needed to emerging markets after what cm has gone through over the past six to nine months, it's been a bumpy ride. this is one of those shocks that nobody saw coming that affected the market. but when you think about emerging markets, these shocks are always the things that catch you off guard. so from an investment standpoint, i think the surge to remind us that not all emerging markets are created equal and it's important to pick and choose whether investing over whether whether it's investing in debt. >> how about getting into russia? >> it's very cheap. but when you look at the

nbc's jim maceda. let's go from there now to nbc's kristen welker following the latest developments from the white house for us. kristen, what are you hearing from the obama administration and all the options that it may be considering? >> reporter: well, alex, a little bit of breaking news at this hour. according to a senior defense official, defense secretary chuck hagel, had a it telephone conversation with his counterpart today. we're still waiting to get details about what specifically was said during that conversation. but, of course, the white house monitoring the situation quite closely, in consultation with its partners abroad. for days, the administration has been warning russia against intervening in ukraine. of course, on friday, it was clear that that diplomatic strategy had failed, so president obama came out with a strong warning to russia not to ramp this up any further. he said there would be costs. here's a little bit more of what he had to say. take a listen. >> throughout this crisi

jim maceda, with where do we go from here. that was some press conference. >> reporter: yes, it was. you summed it up very well. it went on for an hour and a half. it was the first time we've seen him speak about anything, much less ukraine, over ten days. putin, couple of things, chuck. putin called the military intervention in crimea extraordinary, but legitimate. rehashing old ground. but i think his key comment came when he asked about what happens next. he said he didn't think the use of force was necessary at this time in crimea or elsewhere in ukraine, leaving open the possibility but only as a last resort. now that signal, coupled with images today of russian forces returning back to their bases, after putin announced late yesterday the end of those war games along -- not by accident, ukraine's border with russia. those two signals could potentially, potentially lower the temperature in the standoff which obviously has become extremely tense. meanwhile, you talk about the u.s. and its allies, struggling to come up with

joining me from moscow, nbc's jim maceda. jim, how is putin reacting to this criticism? >> reporter: hi there. well, karen, first of all, putin wouldn't call what he's doing an act of war or aggression, with all due respect to secretary of state kerry. as putin told german chancellor angela merkel in a phone call this evening, he believes mos w moscow's actions are appropriate, and they're more about self-defense. from his point of view, the new pro-western government in kiev poses a threat to his interest in ukraine. that's primarily crimea, where today there were even more troops roaming around going from ukraine army or military post to post, as you mentioned in your lead, trying to disarm the ukrainians. when they wouldn't agree to that, surrounding them and neutralizing their bases. but crimea gives putin the essentials he wants and needs. a base for his black sea fleet. he just doesn't seem affected by all the criticism coming from abroad. putin doesn't seem to believe that the u.s. or its allies have the kind of leverage to hurt him, especially when he sees the re

jim maceda there. steve is still with us, we saw the impact of the yukrainian crisis impact slightly, but are we going to get higher yields from the u.s. data? then what happens to the dollar, how supportive is that going to be? >> i think it will be pretty supportive for the dollar. i think when we were getting higher yields on optimism when it looks as if the ukraine crisis was going to be diffused, there was a risk positive event when all the assets went up. if u.s. yields are going up because the market is beginning to be afraid the fed will tighten rates, that's not a risk positive. and it tends to be much more dollar positive, certainly against currencies like the yen, but also against currencies like aussie where you have the china hanging over it plus higher rates will be a negative. canada where canadian dollars also non-come pettive outside of commodities. so we would think it's a dollar positive. more ambiguous against the euro because a lot of people are trading the euro rate differentials

jim maceda joins us live from moscow with more on the diplomatic efforts under way. jim, what's the latest? >> reporter: hi, there, tamron, well, that meeting you referred to was indeed brief, kerry did urge lavrov to have direct talks. that seems to be an important theme now, unifying this swirl of activity. it was their first face-to-face since the ukraine crisis escalated. that is just one example of this, again, this flurry happening over the past 24 hours, tamron, the chances of avoiding war in ukraine seem to have gotten a boost from vladimir putin's comments. yesterday if you recall, he said he saw no need for the use of force in ukraine, had no desire to annex the crimean peninsula, and really that's a sigh of relief has been resinating in the international financial markets, including here in russia in moscow after historic drops on monday. that's just one example. the perception today, tamron, is that ukraine is spinning now not towards war, but some kind of diplomatic solution. in addition to kerry/lavrov meetings, more importantly, you've made reference to

. >>> let's turn now to russia where nbc's jim maceda joins us from moscow. at's the latest from there, jim, particularly in the wake of the news conference that putin held yesterday? >> reporter: hi, kristen. well, from the -- certainly from this perch here, it does feel like a flurry of diplomacy in the past 24 hours. the chances of avoiding war in the ukraine seems to be getting a boost, particularly from putin's comments yesterday, tuesday, that he saw no need to use force in ukraine and had no desire to annex the crimean peninsula. those two comments really allowed the military confrontation that we've been reporting on to take a step b k back. and even though, as ian reports, crimea remains tense on the ground today with a new report that russians had seized two ukrainian anti-missile posts, the perception still is that ukraine is spinning now not towards war, but towards some kind of diplomatic solution. secretary of state john kerry's meeting with sergey lavrov, for instance, starting in paris in less than an hour, is their first face-to-face since the

joining me now from moscow is jim maceda. putin's show of force and strength today was really apparent, first in the kremlin itself and then red square, to the multitudes. instead of backing down, he's doubling down. jim? >> reporter: that's right, andrea, he is definitely doubling down and it was a vintage vladimir putin performance, full of sound and fury and fanfare and history, all by the way from putin's point of view which many officials in the west which biden would called flawed and deep in the cold war and in any case great nflourish, he explained it's 60 years as a ukrainian territory and it was time for crimea to be unified with russia again because that's what the people's will was. at his most emotional putin tore into the west for cheating, betraying russia over the years, allowing nato to expand to russia's very borders and acting irresponsibly, and ukraine by allowing those ultranationalists and anti-semits to take power in a coup with no regard at all for the interest of millions of russians who live there. he

jim maceda joins us. >> reporter: what a difference a day makes really. putin's comments on tuesday that he had no desire to annex the crimea peninsula, to take a step back from the brink. even though crimea remains tense on the ground today there's a new report of russians seizing two ukrainian anti-missile posts. still it feels like ukraine is spinning not towards war today but some kind of diplomatic solution. for instance, after secretary of state john kerry's visit to kiev yesterday, where he did show support for that new pro-western government with very strong words against vladimir putin and a promise of a billion dollars in loans, today kerry meets for the very first time since the current crisis escalated with his russian counterpart to talk exit strategy. more significantly, the ukrainian and russian governments are talking on a cabinet level today for the first time. and then there's a russian defense official discussing ukraine with nato members in brussels as well. of course, there's only one man who can make or break any deal. that's vladimi

nbc's jim maceda has more on what this spokesman was trying to say from moscow. >> reporter: hi, chuckl, kremlin watchers tell us putin is genuinely frustrated by the apparent gulf between his position on ukraine and obama's. putin wouldn't understand why after so much talking obama still sees the crisis uniquely as a russian military intervention, or why a pro-western, pro-nato nationalist government in kiev is such an existential threat to russia's interests. meanwhile, putin's actions in crimea clearly resonate inside russia. his latest approval rating is a whopping 70%. i mean, that's the highest since he began his third term some two years ago. putin's tough stand on crimea with seemingly little care about world reaction really does appeal directly to the large majority of russians who believe that crimea was, is, and will always be russian. back to you. >> thanks, jim. i'm joined by a man you may recognize, born in the soviet union, garry kasparov was a chess grand master at 17. world champion at 22, the top player in the world for two decades. he famously split two matches again

jim maceda is live in moscow. what do you know? >> reporter: there is positive news. the kremlin saying it's ordered all armed forces involved in those war games along the russian/ukraine border to return to their bases, meaning that huge show of force, 150,000 troops of 900 tanks is over now. if true, we haven't seen confirmation yet, but, if true, that should take the temperature down somewhat. that said, russia has built up the forces to division size. russia is now completely in operational control of the peninsula and poised to strike elsewhere in ukraine if vladimir putin decides it's in his interests. in response to all of this, the u.s. and its allies are struggling to come up with a package of diplomatic and economic sanctions like freezing russian assets. vladimir putin seems largely unworried to say the least about the prospect of sanctions. with secretary of state john kerry in kiev today to discuss certainly ways to end the crisis, there's emerging now moscow's end game. it's becoming much clearer. according to senior russian officials only way out of the

nbc news foreign correspondent, jim maceda. explain the calculus and the latest moves over the weekend and what it will take to move them back across the lines with the border of the crimea region and russia. >> reporter: hi, thomas. as putin told german chancellor angela merkel yesterday, it's more about self-defense. this new pro western ukrainian government in kiev poses an existential threat to his and russia's interest in ukraine and that means primarily, crimea. why? crimea gives them an essential warm water port, it gives them a base for the black sea fleet. so putin's nightmare sees this canceling russia's lease on the black sea fleet base and taking over cry meimea and bringing th enemy up to russia's border. for him, it's a double whammy. in terms of clearing russian forces or pushing them back, neither the u.s. nor nato are contemplating a military action and talking about ukraine's military quite quickly, it's the second largest european military apparently. it's too weak. it's certainly too low tech to take russia

. >> nbc's jim maceda is in moscow. jim, putin said in his speech yesterday that he didn't have troops in the crimea. he also acknowledge the idea, perhaps, of a further dialogue. so what is the situation here? and do you believe in a diplomatic solution given what putin was saying yesterday? >> good morning, julia. what a difference a day makes. based on putin's comments, many would say that they're taking them with a grain of salt. but he did say tuesday that he saw no need for the use of force in ukraine, he had no desire to an ex the crimean peninsula. that has allowed in people's perception for a stepping back from the brink. this cold war style military confrontation seems to be yesterday's news. and even though crimea remains tense today on the ground, there have been more exchanges of fire, there's been an approach by the russians to take over a ukrainian post again. still, even though these forces are locked in a standoff, it now appears as if ukraine is spinning not towards war, but some kind of a diplomatic so

nbc's jim maceda is in live in moscow. what do you know about this hour-long phone call between presidents obama and putin? >> reporter: hi there, betty. well, we know that president obama initiated the call to president putin. as you suggest in your lead, it was at the end of an extremely busy day. first of all, that crimean parliament vote effectively voting to secede from ukraine and join russia was followed later in the day by president obama's e.o., that executive order to at least potentially lay the groundwork to slap sanctions on all those people and entities who threaten ukraine's sovereignty. so the stage was set for that phone call. as you say, it lasted about an hour. it was the second call like that in six days. but what came out of it was an understanding or a lack of understanding, really. in fact, the kremlin today said that putin, on a number of occasions, tried to explain his position, and he felt like obama just was not hearing him. the two leaders have a huge gulf between them. obama calling the pro-rus

nbc's jim maceda joins us from moscow with more on the situation. jim. >> reporter: hey, becky. you can feel a sea change in the past 24 hours, and that clearly stems from vladimir putin's comments yesterday that he saw no need for a use of force in ukraine and had no desire to annex the crimean peninsula. and that really has allowed, in my sense, at least, that cold war style military confrontation to take a step back from the brink, if you will. and even though crimea today remains a very tense place with a new report of russians seizing two ukrainian anti-missile posts, i believe, the perception today is really in ukraine, i believe, that it's spinning not towards war but more towards a kind of diplomatic solution. now, secretary of state kerry's meeting with his russian counterpart later today in paris, sergei lavrov, that's their first face-to-face meeting since the current crisis escalated. no doubt they'll be talking exit strategy. the russian and ukrainian governments are talking on a cabinet level today, and a russian defense official is discussing ukraine with nato mem

let's bring in nbc's jim maceda from moscow who has the latest. een a flurry of diplomacy as you say in the past 24 hours. the chances of avoiding war in ukraine getting a boost one believes from putin's comments yesterday that he saw no need for the use of force in ukraine and has no desire to annex the crimean peninsula. that really has allowed the military confrontation that we've been reporting on now for ten days to take a step back. and even though crimea was tense on the ground today, there was a report of russian seizing yet another anti- -- another ukrainian anti-missile post. the perception really is that ukraine is spinning now not towards war but some kind of diplomatic solution. secretary of state kerry's meeting with his russian counterpart expected in about three hours time sergey lavrov is there first face to face since the current crisis escalated and no doubt that they'll be talking about an exit strategy. perhaps even more importantly the new ukrainian and russian governments for the very first time are talking at a cabinet level

nbc's jim maceda is with us in moscow. inian president flies to washington, what's going on in moscow? >> hi there, ross. well, the duma or the russian parliament has a law an exing crimea sitting on the table, ready to be passed after the sunday referendum, one that looks increasingly like a foregone conclusion. and here is why. apparently there will be two options on the ballot. they'll ask crimeans if they want to be part of russia or if they want to be independent with links to ukraine. but if they vote for independence, the crimean parliament has already said that as its first act of independence, if you will, it will declare itself part of russia. so as one ukrainian crimean put it, quote, we are voting for separation or separation. but what complicates are matter is that neither side recognizes the other. kiev, of course, calling the current cripplean parliament illegal because it wasn't elected. meanwhile, moscow where i am claims that kiev is illegal, the keyest government is illegal because it's based on what they

jim maceda joins us now. m, give us the latest you're hearing on the ground in moscow. >> reporter: hi, julia. it's too early to be talking about a tipping point, i suppose. but this is potentially very positive news. the kremlin confirming that it has ordered all armed forces involved in those war games that began last week war games along the ukraine/russian border to return to their bases. and we're talking about -- if it's true, we're talking about a huge retreat, 150,000 troops, some 900 tanks, 200 warships and aircraft. so a retreat like that is certainly going to take down the temperature more than just symbolically. that said, russia has now -- up its forces on the crimea to division size, 15,000, 16,000 according to the ukrainian. that is, of course, poised to strike elsewhere in ukraine if vladmy putin thinks it is in his or russia's interest to do. the u.s. and allies are struggling to come up with some effective package of diplomatic and economic sanctions. i'm sure you've been talking about this a

jim maceda is live in moscow with more. we're learning the white house is announcing new visa restrictions and new sanctions. how is moscow reacting this morning, jim? >> reporter: we haven't had a reaction yet, kristen, from moscow on that specifically. but just to back up a bit. this diplomatic fleurry of the last 48 hours has been about creating a united front with the united states and europe trying to make vladimir putin and other russian and pro-russian officials pay a price for what the west sees as a violation of ukraine's sovereignty. and while the e.u. talks today that ian referred to seem to already be hitting headwinds from countries like germany who believe sanctions will backfire, today, as you say, the u.s. upped the ante somewhat against putin, first with the state department announcement -- visa bans on a number of ukraine officials -- and the executive order that president obama signed authorizing sanctions, and we assume that's freezing assets on certain individuals, punishing them if they threaten ukraine

jim maceda has more for us right now. ow do you think they'll react to whatever comes out of brussels? >> well, the russians are going to react negatively to anything positive coming out of brussels. i think they're watching the eu leaders meeting today. but most people here suspect that there won't be a decision as you just suggested. even though everyone is talking, everyone in the eu is talking about the eu's need to be united for sanctions like freezing european assets to have any teeth. there are growing signs. people coming from moscow can see these signs of contention within the ranks. germany saying sanctions against russia will only back fire. the russian parliament as we speak is preparing a tit for tat bill which would allow the seizing of european countries doing business in russia. kerry said his talks with his russian counterparts were constructive. even that never happened. the russians say that the new intrimt government in kiev was put into place by an unconstitutional coup, so what lavrov was apparently a

for all the latest let's get to jim maceda in moscow, hey, jim. >> reporter: hey, carl.ament has voted today to basically secede from ukraine and join russia effective immediately. that vote doesn't have any real political wait until the referendum you referred to on the peninsula's future whether it joins russia or whether it stays as part of ukraine. it will be a two-part referendum or two-question referendum and that takes place in ten days. and the parliament is not recognized by the ukrainian government in kiev. still the vote is certainly going to raise tensions. and the temperature. especially among the 40 or so percent of crimeans who are not ethnic russians or pro-russians. by the way, some of those pro-russian mps today are already warning that this vote means it's the russian soldiers in charge and the ukrainian soldiers who are on the peninsula will be regarded henceforth as occupiers. meanwhile president obama signed the executive order today authorizing sanctions he said presumably the freezing of assets in the united states to punish individuals and entiti

>> nbc's jim maceda, jim, thanks. >>> i want to bring in ohio congresswoman marcy captor. the congresswoman is a co-chair of the congressional ukrainian caucus. congresswoman, you know this region very well. what's your take, first of all, just initially to what you just heard, the latest from our man on the ground there in moscow about what's happening in the crimean region and what's your take on what president putin is trying to do here in ukraine and can he succeed? >> well, it's a great tragedy. it's a great tragedy for the free world. it's a great tragedy for ukraine and sadly shows us that the russian bear is on the loose again. that is the history of russia. never a free nation. no knowledge of democratic institution building, never were her people free. those of us who lived through the cold war years and had the great moment of the berlin wall coming down fully understand what that nation of russia is capable of. in fact, inside her borders during world war ii, she killed 14 million of her own people, including ukraine. no nation suffered more than ukraine and be

let's get to jim maceda of nbc news in moscow. we are looking at all the different ramifications and details. and one of them, jim, is the lock that russia has on energy in ukraine and the west would have to there eticly make up for that if they don't go with russia. so now we are looking at the details, and once again, a lot of it is about money when it comes right down to it. >> reporter: it's about money, it's about energy, and right now it's about president putin holding all of the cards, joe. we're only six days away from the referendum you referred to in your lead. taking place in crimea. but with those international monitors now prevented for the third time from entering the peninsula over the weekend, there's no reason to doubt that the final result will be a vote in favor of seceding from ukraine and becoming part of russia. those russian or pro-russian, if you will, troops continue to consolidate militarily. they are controlling crimea. the figures are astounding, 20,000 to 30,000 forces, that's two to three divisions now

jim maceda is joining us now. where are we, jim?lia, we shouldn't overstate this, especially on a day when those pro russian defense groups are rate for the process of crimea's annexation to work its course and they're cleaning out the remaining signs of resistance in crimea. and despite promises or more and stronger sanctions by western officials on one side and a warning of countersanctions from russia's foreign minister lavrov on the other side, it is true that both sides are now sending out signals, however weak, that they want to resolve this diplomatically. in the last 24 hours, we've heard from the ukrainian prime minister trying to allay russian fears, saying ukraine has no intention of becoming a member of nato, which, of course, has to be putin's worst nightmare and kiev would disarm its national militias. we've heard putin speaking directly to ukrainians in his kremlin speech yesterday telling them russia doesn't want to an ex any more ukrainian territory. there are other sides, as well. also, they are still not meeting f

jim maceda. the markets ended the day in the red thanks to a softer export funs out of china and amid broader global growth concerns. joining us now is allison deenz. also david kelly, chief global strategist at jp morgan funds. i'd like to ask you what you think is the most important factor for the markets right now, is it geopolitics or earnings of these companies. >> i think in the short term it could be geopolitics but longer term it's a combination of the economy and companies. companies have been doing relatively well. for us to start seeing more consistent improved returns and better top-line growth we need to see the u.s. economy and some of the other overseas economies start doing a bit better. i expected it to happen earlier this year, i think the weather has pushed out a little bit, much of a big boost in economic growth. >> how about you? what do you think is the driving factor right now? >> i think it will be the economy. i think we went into this year with a lot of pent up demand, h

suh we go to nbc news correspondent jim maceda in moscow. jim, russia's president vladimir putin is facing pressure from the u.s., much of the western world. we mentioned some of the back and forth here and some of the symbolism at the paralympic games. what can you tell us on the ground? >> reporter: hi, ari. well, putin's been responding to the pressure like vladimir putin. whether it's diplomatic pressure from secretary of state john kerry or man to man pressure, if you will, from those two phone calls with president obama or economic pressure in the guise of sanctions or the threat of sanctions, putin has been and will remain defiant warning that sanctions against russia will only back fire on the united states. for instance, if the u.s. freezes russian assets in u.s. banks the kremlin is saying that it will freeze the $22 billion in u.s. assets exposed to russia. so putin really seems confident that the west will not be able to deter him from what appears now to be his main goal, and that is to control the crimean peninsula, and eventual

. >>> situation in ukraine and russia tense, jim maceda is live in moscow with the latest. ent today was putin's command performance, hour and a half press conference that he gave here in moscow, putin called the military intervention in crimea extraordinary but legitimate. i think his key comment came when he asked about what happens next. he said he didn't think the use of force was necessary at this time in crimea or elsewhere in ukraine leaving open the possibility of force but only as a last resort. now, that signal i think coupled with images of russian forces returning to their bases after putin announced the end of the war games along ukraine's border with russia, the two signals, carl, could really lower the temperature in the standoff that, of course, has become increasingly tense. meanwhile as the u.s. and its allies struggle to come up with an effective package of sanctions, putin addressed the sanctions issue as well warning the west and i must say in a calm and unthreatening tone in today's interconnected world sanctions can equally hurt those who impose them.

. >> we go directly to nbc's jim maceda in moscow. jim, what are we to make of president putin's actions here? >> reporter: hi, eric. so far, it's playing out very much along the old soviet playbook, isn't it? you have russia asked to intervene in crimea by russian compatriots under threat. putin had got the use of force and 24 hours later, russian forces have pretty much neutralized crimea without firing a shot. so he's already attained his key short-term goal, anyhow, and i think that's reminding kiev and reminding the west that vladimir putin can't be cut out of ukraine's future. and that he truly is prepared to use his facility anywhere in ukraine, if used to defend his interests. and that doesn't seem to worry him at all, this idea of consequences, for him not going or going to the g-8 or whoever comes to the g-8 doesn't seem to be a big issue. his larger goal, analysts tell us, is to bring ukraine into a kind of soviet economic union, something that would rival the eu. okay, that doesn't look very likely now that kiev is going pr

jim maceda has more on what's going on from the point of view of moscow. >> reporter: the ousted ukrainiandent, viktor yanukovych appeared again in southern russia. he told journalists he was still the only legitimate leader of ukraine, echoing the kremlin's position there. in kiev sumarily firing government officials and that mass men were patroling the streets of he kiev and that crimea was about to secede from ukraine. meanwhile, russian or pro-russian forces have taken control of virtually all the ukrainian military bases in crimea amid reports that ukrainian journalists and activists are being beaten or kidnapped by unidentified gunmen. five days before the referendum there, chuck, tension is at a breaking point. back to you. >> that's for sure. thank you, jim. >>> our next number in your tuesday data bank. 29. as in 29 days. that's the number of full days that the house or senate has met or held votes this year. 29 days. it's march, folks! it begs the question, congress hard at work or hardly working? day 29 in the senate, though, did stretch into an all-nighter. we'll have more on t

here's nbc's jim maceda who has more from moscow. >> reporter: putin now has his hand on the russian crown jewel. crimea gives putin an essential warm water port, and it counters in his mind the nightmare scenario. that's what he sees as an ultranationalist government suddenly cancelling russia's lease on the black see base and kiev taking control of crimea and then joining nato down the line, bringing the enemy, in his mind, right back to russia's doorstep. so vladimir putin has made that calculus, and it's now unclear just what the west can do about it. chuck, back to you. >> thank you, jim. right now, according to folks i've talked to, the u.s. has three options, none of them involve the u.s. military. the first, the u.s. could move along with european allies to officially suspend or kick russia out of the g8. that would be symbolic. second, the administration could pursue its own sanctions that target russian banks as well as international sanctions, targeting russian oil companies. third, the u.s. may convince the european union to cancel some of its energy contracts with russia

joining me now from moscow is nbc news correspondent jim maceda.iven that the referendum vote seems to be a foregone conclusion, what's the sense in moscow regarding putin's next move? >> reporter: hi, jonathan. well, this is when putin's chess game, if you will, gets interesting. let's start with the latest twist. that is as russia builds up its forces in crimea and along its border with ukraine, we're learning it's reportedly agreed to a truce with kiev, a government it doesn't recognize, saying there will be no military measures taken against ukrainian military facilities before march 21st. so what does putin do now? well, analysts say that he has two choices. he either accepts crimea's vote to join russia, in other words annexes it outright, or he acknowledges the will and desire of the krooe mi yan people to join russia but doesn't actually annex the region. i have to tell you, the vast majority of public opinion here in russia expects putin to annex crimea, even if that triggers a wave of u.s. and u.n. sanctions. we're not -- now talking abou

. >> nbc's jim maceda has more on the situation from the point of view of moscow. >> reporter: hey, chuckx days now before the crimean referendum, and russian and pro-russian forces are further tightening their hold over the peninsula. ukrainian sources saying there are now 20,000 to 30,000 russian troops -- that's two to three divisions -- on crimea, and controlling at least 11 ukrainian border posts. even the stretch between crimea and ukraine proper has become a de facto border with reports of fresh minefields between the two sides. and with no international observers allowed in and putin showing no signs of flexibility, despite all of the diplomacy and threats of sanctions against russia, it looks pretty clear that crimea, a week from now, will be russian and putin's calculus, and in the minds of the ethnic russian crimeans, even though kiev and washington still say they will not even recognize the vote. chuck? it's a mess. back to you. >> that's for sure. the question remains, no matter what happens with the vote, how do you get putin to withdraw from crimea? former defense secretary

. >> jim maceda for us in moscow, thank you. i want to bring in kristen welker for us at 1600 pennsylvania. we know that president obama was on the phone for 90 minutes yesterday afternoon with vladimir putin. what do we know about that conversation? >> reporter: well, craig, we know that the conversation is being characterized as testy and tense by the white house. president obama warning russian president vladimir putin that there will be a price to pay if russia doesn't withdraw from ukraine and saying that the u.s. has already decided it will not attend preparatory meeting for the g-8 summit. by the way, other countries are saying the same thing. britain, canada saying they're not going to attend the preparatory meetings and then you had today secretary of state john kerry appearing on a number of sunday shows continuing with the tough talk, saying that the u.s. will isolate russia, economically kerry saying he had spoken to ten foreign ministers today all on board with the plan of isolated russia if it doesn't stop the inte

ian williams and from moscow, our nbc's jim maceda, first to you ian in crimea. i know there's a satellite delay. u.s. officials are casting so much doubt not only on the legality of the crimean vote but the technical aspects, the fact in one city, 170% of the known population voted. that said, there's no question that crimea is overwhelmingly choosing to join russia. >> reporter: that's right, i think even if you look at those figures and think they do seem rather high, almost north korean style vote in favor, it is the case that the population here is overwhelmingly in favor of rejoining russia. and the reaction to threats of sanctions and other pressure from the west has been to have them speed up the process of moving towards joining russia. parliament today was working overtime. they declared themselves an independent autonomous state and then appeared to russia to take them in as part of the russian federation. mps are traveling up to moscow tomorrow to deliver that request. at the same time, they have decided to bring back the ruble to nationalize ukrainia

and nbc's jim maceda is joining me from moscow. is there any hope to resolve this diplomatically? >> reporter: hi, alex. well, secretary of state john kerry and his russian counterpart sergei lavrov are still trying, and yet another phone call today, literally as crimeans were voting, those two diplomats agree that the ukraine crisis must be resolved through "constitutional reforms." now, that's pretty vague and it's about all they have agreed on. but then there was this latest twist. even as russia is building up its forces in crimea and along, of course, the border with ukraine, you've made reference to it several times, moscow has reportedly now agreed to a truce with kiev. a government that it doesn't even recognize. saying that there will be no military action taken against any ukrainian facility before march 21st. so where does that leave us? analysts that we've been talking to now for days say that putin has two choices. he either reacts to crimea's vote to join russia by annexing it forthright or he acknowledges that the will of the crimean people, but he doesn't actually

jim maceda is in moscow.e talked about last week, that we thought was a long shot, is sort of happening before our eyes, isn't it? >> reporter: hi, joe. it is playing out before our eyes, though, of course, we don't know whether it will continue playing out or not or whether putin will decide that he's made the west blink and then step back from the brink. russia, however, is how firmly in control of crimea. its forces have either occupied or surrounded all government buildings, ukrainian military bases, posts, ports, telecom towers. they are firmly in russia's hands. putin now has the russian crown jewel. it gives putin, as we talked about before, an essential warm water port, a base for his fleet and it counters what must be in putin's mind the nightmare scenario. that is that what he sees as this ultranationalist government in kiev suddenly cancels russia's lease on the black sea fleet base. then, according to the nightmare, kiev takes over control of crimea and then joins nato down the line, bringing puti

. >> so joining me now from moscow is nbc's jim maceda. jim, with a good evening to you.eing tossed back and forth here. but what's happening on the ground in crimea? >> reporter: hi, alex. you're right. it's hard to keep up with them all. tonight, crimea looking pretty much neutralized. russian forces have now been moving freely around the peninsula for a couple of days because they are mostly off the streets. they and the armed vigilante groups, if you will, are in control. airport, the telecommunication towers. today as you alerted, units of russian troopser driving to various ukrainian military posts trying to persuade the ukrainian soldiers to hand over their weapons. and then surrounding the posts of those who refuse to disarm. just taking them out of operation. so despite all of the appeals that we're hearing from the united states, from kiev. from the west in general, those diplomatic salvos, as you call them, to put his forces, putin's forces back, to pull them back, crimea today effectively is in vladimir putin's hands, alex. >> okay. so, jim, the new ukrainian

back to you. >> jim maceda in moscow. smartest guy always. thank you.the crisis in ukraine remains a focus for the markets this morning. joining us now is patrick chovanec. patrick, how big of a deal is this? it's hard to measure but in terms of what it means to the markets. >> geopolitically this is significant. putin wants ukraine to knuckle under. i don't think he backed away from that economically, it's not as significant. the economic impact, ukraine is a smaller economy than greece, smaller than algeria, smaller than peru. even when it comes to energy, europe is actually insulated from supply disruptions, you know, they've had a mild winter. they have generous stockpiles right now of natural gas if there was a disruption. they also have other alternative means of accessing russian natural gas. i think there was an overreaction in the market yesterday. and i think we're seeing calming down, partly reading into putin's motives but partially also getting back to the facts of what the economic impact would be. >> if there was some sort of change in th

jim maceda joins us from moscow. m, the political talking is being ratcheted up after the hour-long conversation. one can't escape, though, the fact that we're going to have a referendum in the crimea which surely pushes this into a new phase. and one wonders how everyone is going to react to that. >> exactly. it is a new phase. you're talking about a crimean parliament now that effectively voted to secede from ukraine. in ten days' time, there's going to be a referendum. and the russian parliament said today if the crimeans decide in that referendum to become part of russia, the duma, the russian parliament will not resist that or object to that in any way. so that conversation between obama and putin came at the end of an extremely, busy, difficult day. and obama apparently spoke with putin. he initiated the call. they spoke for about an hour. it was the second long call in six days. but there really is still a gulf between the two leaders on how to resolve all this. but obama in the course of the conversation calli

. >> jim maceda joins us from moscow. a "new york times" article quotes angela merkel having had a telephone conversation with vladimir putin saying she's not sure he is in touch with reality and he is in another world. what does this mean for an escalation of the situation here, do you think? >> what it means is we don't know what will happen next because we can't really anticipate what putin will do. putin is a product of the cold war. for him, no matter how you try to convince him otherwise, anything west of ukraine is enemy territory for him. and he in his own mind is seeing nato creeping up ever so closer -- or closely to his boarders. now, you mentioned secretary kerry going to kiev. that hopefully will calm the waters a little bit, at least keep kiev from doing something unintentionally or that unintentionally as ka lates the situation. but it is now true that the west has mobilized at least diplomatically against vladimir putin's military takeover of crimea. as you say, it's not firmly in his hands. that it's real