we have common positions, minsk agreements of 2015 should be implemented.administration has settled bilateral contact between washington and moscow in addition to four party... we have felt the desire of the current administration to continue contact so that we could help looking for practical steps of full realisation of minsk agreements. we will continue to welcome these agreements and efforts to participate in them. we have also talked about the situation in the korean peninsular which is very troublesome for all of us, russia and the us. i speakfor implementation of the un security council resolution and we were talking about finding ways of getting out of the spiral of escalations and moved towards the negotiation process of demilitarisation of the korean pullin sealer through political and diplomatic efforts. —— korean peninsular. also marked the special responsibility of russia and the us in military, political, security, both regional and global. we have checked our clocks about implementation of strategic i’ , implementation of strategic weaponry,

an minsk, week considered the importance of the accord.mentation by de—escalating violence and taking steps to withdraw separatist armed forces and heavy weapons so that observers can fulfil their role. until full progress is made under the minsk accords, the situation in ukraine will remain an obstacle to improvement of relations between the us and russia. i thank the foreign minister for a productive round of discussions and look forward to future conversations. thank you. translation: dear colleagues, we moved to a question from a russian 24 tv moved to a question from a russian 2a tv channel. question to rex tillerson. over the last few days we have heard from washington contradict tim and aggressive state m e nts contradict tim and aggressive statements from mr trump who called mr assad and animal statements from mr trump who called mrassad and animaland statements from mr trump who called mr assad and animal and mr spicer who compared assad with hitler with the caveat that hitler never used chemical weapons. how do these uttera nces

that's a precondition for any effective minsk agreements. >> students, i see in the third row in thee can take this one here. >> given the current euro skeptic and anteglobealist governments in poland and hunga hungary, the elections in france, do you think there are any internal threats to nato. >> we're going to take a couple. there is another one in the center soocenter aisle. >> since the end of the cold war, what do you believe has been nato's biggest mistake in its interactions with russia and what do you believe has been nato's biggest success in its interactions with russia. >> we're stay in the center aisle for now, in the very back. >> thank you for coming to speak here. i had a question in regards to how nato is going to respond in syria. you spoke about successful interventions in the balkans as well as afghanistan. given in mind the nato bombing in libya, how do you plan to respond to the chemical weapons in syria. >> you can see why students in this school go places. >> it's more difficult, the questions i get from the journalists, so this is -- no. internal threats and

the only basis for that is the minsk agreement's. and we are calling on russia to use all of its influence on the separatists in eastern ukraine to make sure they respect the minsk agreement. that means respecting cease-fires, which are not respected now. withdraw weapons from the contact lines and allow the international service to do their work and observe the cease-fire, because that is a precondition for any effective implementation of the minsk agreement. mr. volker: thank you. students? third row center. >> given the current governments in poland and hungary, the election in france, as well as the german president's comments on warmongering, do you think there are internal threats to nato within its members? mr. stoltenberg: -- mr. volker: we're going to take a couple. to your left. >> since the end of the cold war, what do you believe has been nato's biggest mistakes have been in its interactions with russia, and also successes? mr. volker: and we will stay in the center aisle now, the blue sweatshirt. >> thank you for coming

on the separatists in eastern ukraine to make sure that they fully respect the minsk agreements, meaning respect the cease-fire which is not respected now, withdraw all heavy weapons from the contact line and allow the international observers to do their work, to absorb the implementation of the cease-fire because this is a precondition of any effective implementation of the minsk agreements. >> thank you. all right, students. i see and the third row here in the center. we can take this one here. >> given the current eurosceptic and at the globalist governments in poland and hungary, the election in france as well as german president steinmeyer comments on nato as warmongering, do you think that there are any internal threats to native within its members? >> so enteral threats from within members. will take a couple. there's another one in the center aisle. to your left. >> since the end of the cold war do you believe has been nato's biggest mistake in its interactions with russia, and what do you believe has been nato's biggest success in its interactions with russia? >> we will stay on

on minsk, we considered the importance of the accord.a can make progress and implementation by deescalating violence, by taking steps to withdraw separatist armed forces and heavy weapons so osce observers can perform their role. until full progress is made on the minsk course, they remain an obstacle to improve relations between the u.s. and russia. i thank the foreign minister on the product ty rounds of discussions and i look forward to future conversations. thank you. >> i look forward to future conversation. >> >> mr. tillerson, over the last few days from washington, we've been hearing mr. trump calling assad an animal as well as mr. spicer who compared mr. assad to mr. hitler who said that mr. hitler never -- >> the united states, supported by the facts that we have, our conclusive, that the recent chemical weapons attack carried out in syria was planned and it was directed and executed by syrian regime forces. we're quite confident of that. this is just the latest in a series of the use of chemical weapons by the assad regime. no

that get into the whole question about whether the united states should joined the minsk format, whether it will continue the bilateral sunkses. the russians imposed their over sanctions and have helped the russian economy. they stimulated agricultural production, you can get cheese now. and they don't want to list those because they have been good for russian. what you might see after the elections in france and germany, greater flexibility in terms of negotiating. >> two points. one is i agree, the sanctions on russia have not succeeded in getting russia to reverse course. there is the question of absent the sanctions what russia might have done, and we don't that. the sanctions could have deterred rescue from further aegregious actions in ukraine. that's make a real cease fire happen, which the russians could make happen if they wanted. let's withdraw heavy arms and the russian forces on the russian side of the border make clear to ukrainians you can't take advantage of this and then tell the ose monitors good where you want to verify this. then russia would transfer the entire respon

tickets in the poll question about whether the traneight should join the minsk format, whether it will continue its bilateral discussion on ukraine with russia. the other thing, don't forget the russian sanctions, too. so the russians impose their own sanctions on european food imports and those of actually help the russian economy. they stimulated agriculture production. you can get russian parmesan now which you could never get before. then the clash would be are the russians going to be willing to let those? other sets that we don't want to look to those because those have been good for us. i think what you might see it after the elections in france and germany these greater flexibilities in terms of negotiating it. >> i guess i would make two points. one is i agree, the sanctions on russia have not succeeded in getting russia to reverse course. but there is the question, after the sanctions, what russia might have done. we don't know that. the sanctions could have deterred russia from further more egregious actions in ukraine. the second point i guess i would make would be, if the

on minsk, we considered the importance of the accord.lementation by de-escalating violence and taking steps to with you draw separatist armed forces and heavy weapons so osc observers can fulfill their role. under full progress can be made under the minsk accords, the situation in ukraine will remain an obstacle for u.s. relation and russia. i thank the foreign minister for a productive round of discussions. i look forward to future conversations. thank you. >> translator: now we get down to questions. russia 24, please. good afternoon, about russia 24, a question to mr. tillerson. over the last days from washington we've been hearing contradictory and aggressive statements like mr. trump's calling mr. assad an animal as well as mr. spicer's saying, who compared mr. assad to mr. hitler, who said that mr. hitler never used the chemical weapons. do you think the rhetoric can change? is it helping the diplomacy? thank you. >> well i think the perspective from the united states supported by the facts that we have are conclusive. that the rec

and that is that the 2015 minsk agreement should be fulfilled.e remembered how the previous administration of the u.s. had established a two-way channel of communication between moscow and washington. and we have also worked, of course, within the format of the normandy arrangement. and we undertook to continue contacts in that format in order to find practical ways forward to fulfill the minsk agreement. so we greet and applaud such efforts. of course, we are fully in favor of them. this russia and the u.s., particularly are committed to trying to find solutions to problems. we will try to avoid confrontation in kia, the korean peninsula, and to start a negotiation process in order to settle the question of stabilizing the korean peninsula through political and diplomatic efforts. we are particularly concerned, of course, about the regional and global military political build-up. we need negotiations about strategic reductions, where we do have agreements between our two countries where there has been a pause in this process for objective reason

out, tillerson said until such time that you do what you're supposed to do with the minsk accord andyour troops out, this relationship will never improve. david: wow. >> and then he called them out for meddling in our election. so they've got russia finish.el david: i'm going to mention a very minor point. he never smiled. you saw the big smiles of hillary clinton and president obama in front of these guys. they knew they were taking him to the cleaners. rex tillerson has decades of experience dealing with these guys. he knows how to deal with them straight. that's a small point, but it shows his experience. >> gone is the phony platitudes of john kerry and the coddling that would always go on in public, even though lavrov was always lying to us and certainly trying to cover up war crimes and this aggressive, assertive behavior.. that's all over. david: we've got to leave it but, general, do you feel safer now with trump in office? >> absolutely. because all of our adversaries are reevaluating and assessing. and he's got them back on their heels, and that's a good place to be. david:

on minsk, we consider the importance of the accord.a can make progress and limitation by the escalating violence taking steps to withdraw separatist armed forces and weapons so that the observers can fulfill their role. until full progress is made under the minsk accords, the situation in ukraine will remain an obstacle to improvement in relations between the u.s. and russia. i thank the foreign minister for a productive round of discussions, and i look forward to future conversations. thank you. >> now we get down to questions, russia 24. >> reporter: a question to you, mr. tillerson. over the last days from washington, we've been hearing contradictory and aggressive statements like mr. trump calling mr. assad in animal as well as mr. sean spicer who compares mr. assad to mr. hitler who said that mr. hitler never used the chemical weapons. do you think the rhetoric can change? and is it helping the diplomacy or not? thank you. >> i think that perspective from the united states supported by the fact that we have are conclusive that the

the protest is directed at the government in minsk, who they make responsible for the poverty, unemploymentnd heavy-handed policies, such as the notorious presidential decree number three. >> this policy is wrong. >> where does our money disappear to? >> down with the government. >> dark times for this country. >> our weapon is solidarity. >> officials are parasites. reporter: the evening before the protest, we meet svetlana in brest on the polish border. she doesn't want to say her last name. svetlana suffers from severe arthritis and had to quit her job as a sales clerk. now, she's unemployed, an invalid, and unable to take many of the few jobs available. the government labels her a parasite and threatens to impose penalties. svetlana: many are poor, many are hungry. some even kill themselves because they're unemployed. and they're going to punish these people? yes, i have a car -- am i supposed to sell it? or sell my kidneys? or the sofa my daughter sleeps on? yes, we've got a nice sofa, but we bought it long ago when i was working. reporter: svetlana's husband is a truck driver and the

to show how there's an exciting spirit of protest these days, and that pepsi is right there in the minskknow, now, the whole ad was a little tone deaf, but the part where people really lost it is where kendall jenner handed a pepsi to a police officer in a scene that looked like an iconic image of ieshia evans being arrested in a black lives matter protest. but, guys, i don't know why pepsi got hammered so hard. in fact, i think all brands need to become more woke. let's see coca-cola address climate change, yes, that's what we should see. that's what we should see. let's have a wedding for mr. and mr. clean, yeah. ( cheers and applause ) or why don't we enjoy a gender fluid bar, yeah, yeah? sure, those college juniors ads are sexist, but just a little tweak, and now they're feminists, yeah, yeah. think of all the iconic moments for brands to celebrate-- black power with a white smile. i like it, i like it. why move to the back of the bus when you can uber. i'm enjoying this a lot. going to an all-white school is hard, but lunchables are easy. when your country is divided between black a

until full progress is made under minsk accords, the situation in ukraine will remain an obstacle to improvement between relations of u.s. and russia. i thank the foreign minister for rounds of discussions and i look for to future conversations. thank you. >> [speaking russian] [inaudible] do think the rhetoric can change and is it helping the diplomacy or not? mr. tillerson: i think the perspective of the united states supported by the fact that we have are conclusive. the recent chemical weapons attack carried out in syria was planned and it was directed and executed by syrian regime forces. we're quite confident of that. this is just the latest in the series of the use of chemical weapons by the assad regime. notwithstanding, they use them in more than 50 occasions. chlorine bombs, cluster bombs, and other types of weapons that are intended to maim and kill in the most were thick ways. i think the characterization is one that president assad has brought upon himself. >> there needs to be an investigation between u.s. and russia and elimination of syria's chemical weapons and recor

observe the cease-fire, because that is a precondition for any effective implementation of the minx -- minsk agreement. mr. volker: students? governments current in poland and hungary, the election in france, as well as the german president's comments on nico as warmongering, do you think there are internal threats to nato fromng -- its members? mr. volker: one more, to your left? >> since the end of the cold war, what do you think nato's biggest mistakes have been in his interactions with russia, and also successes? mr. volker: and we will stay in the center aisle now, the blue sweatshirt. >> thank you for coming to speak here. i had a question in regards to how nato is going to respond in syria. you spoke about successful interventions in the balkans as well as preventing conflicts in afghanistan. 2011 natond the bombing of libya, how to you propose to respond to syrian use of chemical weapons and the united states' missile two days later? mr. volker: terrific questions. is betternberg: this than the questions i get from the germans. first, on internal challenges, it is important to rememb

on minsk, we considered the importance of the accord. russia can make progress and implementation by de-escalating violence and taking steps to withdraw separatist armed forces and heavy weapons so that o.s.c.e. observers can fulfill their role. until full progress is made under the minsk accords, the situation in ukraine will remain an obstacle to improvement in relations between the u.s. and russia. i thanked the foreign minister for a productive round of discussions and look forward to future conversations. thank you. >> translator: now we get down to your questions. russia, 24, please. good afternoon, and about russia 24, a question to mr. tillerson. over the last days from washington we've been hearing contradictory and aggressive statements like mr. trump's calling mr. assad and animal as well as mr. spicer saying who compared mr. assad to mr. hitler who said that mr. hitler never used the chemical weapons. do you think the rhetoric can change and is it helping diplomacy or not? thank you. >> well, i think the perspective from the

clearly, it has not broken the stalemate, the minsk accord is still kind of out there, not quite enforced. but i do think it affected appetite for going further into ukraine and for increasing the level of economic pain it would get. even though it did not lead to the ultimate goal, it had a tempering effect. the dprk is really hard. the dprk is not connected to the world in a way that normal countries are which is why the u.s.-china corporation is so important. -- cooperation is so important. there are not many countries that can put meaningful pressure on the dprk. that is why the bilateral relationship between the u.s. and china is of paramount importance. president nowe a that is keen on implementing tax reforms. is adamant that they are driving the train, in their words. how much of that would fall on the treasury department? have heard the report that offices are empty, positions have not been filled. how handicapped is the treasury department at this point going forward with tax reform? jacob: anyone who looks at the real strength institutionally of the treasury department has to l

from , ajing is randall phillips chief are presented in china and now with the investigation from minskup. thank you for talking to us. let us discuss the situation there in syria and what does this mean for diplomacy in the region as we see more confrontational tones coming out of russia? randall: thank you very much. i think certainly this response by the u.s., very proportional response to the chemical attack. for the most part, in the region, it will be seen as something that was indeed proportional and something that will receive support, but certainly a lot of eyes will turn to what does this mean for north korea? i think that is one of the implicit regional issues that will come out of this of the president showing that the ability to respond and respond quickly and proportionately to the situation in syria, what implications does that hold for north korea? that will be some of the questions that come out of this. shery: -- david: you spent 30 years with the cia, and your most recent post was chief cia representative in china. what this morning thomas is what that line in the san

urgent need for all sides, particularly the russian-led forces to implement their commitments under the minskreements chl agreements. we're also aware the reports of the citizen being detained over the weekend. i would direct any further inquiries to the state department. also the white house campus will play host to a briefing for all u.s. senators on the subject. the briefers will be secretary tillerson and mattis. director coats. this is a senate briefing convened by the majority leader, not a white house briefing. we are just serving as the location. for further questions i would direct you to the majority leader's office and the office of the fore briefers. with that i'll take a few questions. >> talking about the budget, how committed is -- you talk about how committed the president is to having the border wall funded this week or having some funding in that spending bill. and if it is not in there, will he sign it? >> again, there's negotiations continue with house and senate leadership. obviously the money for our military and our border security and wall have been part of that reques

all sides, particularly the russian-led separatist forces, to implement their commitments under the minskment. and we are aware that a united states citizen was detained by north korea over the weekend. also on north korea, wednesday the white house campus will play host to a briefing for all u.s. -- 100 u.s. senators. the briefings will be secretaries mattis and tillerson. we are just serving as the location. for further questions, i would direct you to the majority leader's office, and the office of the four briefers. with that, glad to take a few questions. >> talking about the budget, how committed is the president to having the border wall funded this week or having some funding in that spending bill. and if it is not in there, will he sign it? >> again, those negotiations continue with house and senate leadership. obviously the money for our military and our border security and wall have been part of that request and that's something that is the president's priorities. we feel very confident where we're headed, and i'm not going to get ahead of that. director mulvaney has been very

. >> until full progress is made under the minsk accords, the situation in ukraine will remain an obstacleimprovement in relations between the u.s. and russia. >> reporter: lavrov gave no ground on ukraine, or on russian meddling in the u.s. election. the two men did agree to establish a working group to try for progress in stabilizing relations. for the pbs newshour, i'm margaret warner. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, china's leader xi jinping told president trump that he's willing to work with the u.s. to stop north korea's nuclear program, peacefully. the two men spoke in a late- night phone call after mr. trump's twitter warning yesterday that the u.s. might act alone. in beijing today, the chinese foreign ministry said the call was a positive sign. >> ( translated ): on the nuclear issue, president xi stated china's stance, that we abide by the objective of de-nuclearisation on the peninsula, continue to maintain the peace and stability on the peninsula and continue to resolve the issue peacefully via dialogue and negotiation. the u.s. clearly understands this stance. >> woodru

for all sides, particularly the russian led separatist forces to limit their commitment under that minskwere also aware of reports of united states citizen being detained in north korea over the weekend. the protection of united states citizens is one of our government's highest priorities. i would direct any further inquiries on this matter to the state department. also on north korea come on wednesday, the white house campus will play host to a briefing for all 100 u.s. senators on the subject. the beavers will be second tillerson and second mattis, director codes and general dunford. this is a senate briefing convened by the majority leader, not a white house briefing, we are just serving as the location. for further questions, and direct you to the secretary's office and the office of the four brie first, with that, i would be glad to take some questions. >> reporter: talking about the budget, how committed -- we talked about this earlier, but can you talk about how committed the president is to having the border wall funded this week or having some funding and that spending bill, an

undermines urgent need for all sides russian separatist forces to continue the agreements under the minsknts. protection of united states citizens is one of our government's highest properties. i would direct any further inquiries on this matter to the state department. on north korea, on wednesday the white house campus will play host to a briefing for all 100 u.s. senators on the subject. briefers will be secretary tillerson and mattis, director coates and general dunford this is senate briefing convened by the majority leader. not a white house briefing. we're serving as the location. for further questions i direct you to the majority leader's office and office of the four briefers. with that, glad to take a few questions. yeah. reporter: talking about the budget, how committed is -- can you talk about you how committed president is to having the border wall funded this week or having funding in that spending bill? if it is not in there will he sign it? >> again, there is negotiations continuing with house and senate leadership. obviously the money for our military and our border secur

complexity of this matter and u nfortu nately the complexity of this matter and unfortunately that the minske has been significant cohesion among g—7 countries with regards to our shared values. the territorial integrity of ukraine being first. i wish to thank all those who have contributed to this common effort. and i repeat reflect this in our final declaration and in the two additional declarations so this is the result of our work not only from a political perspective, but also organisationally i would say that the result has been exceptional and much of this is due to the wonderful work carried out by our law enforcement operatives, our fire department and last night i had the opportunity to thank the prefect franco gabrielli, the director of the public safety in parliament, and the public safety in parliament, and the prefect of luca, who is here, and they also thanked the police commissioner of liquor and all the representatives of law enforcement and we know that yesterday there was some disorder outside the city and there were six injured and clearly this was due to our events, but