mr. yanukovych's authoritarian policies. to help mr. yanukovych deal with the crisises mr.utin offered a loan. he said he would like to take that loan but the people of ukraine said they don't want mr. pute rn's money they want a free ukraine. host: let's to -- go to nicholas. caller: i appreciate you allowing me to speak with you here and having this opportunity. there's three issues here. so if you -- three. i agree completely with the saudi what i call their petro islam assault on the u.s. shale industry. because of thiffer with a has beenism, they're directly linked also to isis. so saudi and let's just say one could say that the whole of opec is behind isis and against the u.s. so that's a big problem we've got there. host: let me take that point because we're short on time and ask you about the other players he indicated. guest: other players. host: other countries. for example, is it in iran's best interest to see the instability in this region? he mentioned saudi arabia. guest: again, i think saudi arabia doesn't have strong view on what's happening in ukraine. i do

cnn, president obama acknowledged united states played a role in the ouster of viktor yanukovych last february. >> mrutin made this decision around crimea and ukraine not because of a grand strategy, but essentially he was caught off balance by the protests and viktor yanukovych fleeing after we brokered a deal to transition power in ukraine. >> president obama's comments read headlines in russia. this is russian foreign minister sergei lavrov. >> i have two comments which are important. there's been confirmation the united states was directly involved from the very beginning in this antigovernment coup d'État. and president obama literally called it the transition of power. secondly, i would like to know obama's rhetoric shows washington's intention to continue doing everything possible to unconditionally support ukraine's authorities who have apparently taken a course toward a military solution to the conflict. >> that is the russian foreign minister and before that president obama. >> president obama said something that undoubtably he was later told he shouldn't have said because he wasn't clear w

mr. president, who should answer for those people? ♪ ♪ >> welcome back to "inside story." on al jazeera america. i'm ray suarez. it was only a little more than a year ago that viktor yanukovych president of ukraine and protesters stormed the may maidan demanding change. russia instituted a political land grab in the crimea, taking the peninsula away from ukraine. began armed uprising and mysterious military columns in unmarked tanks unmarked military uniforms moved in to fight. using economic sanctions to ease russian pressure on the new ukrainian government. late machining members of congress have been speaking up. >> let me demonstrate will not allow the ukrainian military to defeat the russian military in a full fledged war. but will decrease the risk and pierce the veneer that there are no russians in ukraine. >> what is this not? this is not a fight between two friends that we should not take sides. this is not a fight between two friends. this is a fight between a struggling democracy and an autocratic dictatorship and we should take sides. >> joining us for rest of the program, frederiga bindi she's also the former senior advisor to italy's foreign minister. and john

mr. putin made this decision around crimea, and ukraine, not because of some grand strategy but essentially because he was caught off balance by the protests then yanukovych after we'd brokered a deal since that time this improvisation that he's been doing has gotten him deeper and deeper into a situation that is a violation of international law, that violates the integrity -- territorial integrity and sovereignty of ukraine, has isolated russia diplomatically, has made europe wary of doing business with russia, has allowed the imposition of sanctions that are crippling russia's economy at a time when their oil revenues are dropping. there's no formula in which this ends up being good for russia. the annexation of crimea is a cost not a benefit, to russia. the days in which conquests of land somehow was a formula for great nation status is over. the power of countries today is measured by your knowledge, your skills, your ability to export goods to invent new products and new services your influence and none of those things are provided by his strategy. now but what is absolutely true is that if you have a leader who continually drives past the offrampsof