polluting the interests of the russian federation actually the interests of the russian federation so people could say whatever they want to climb by about collusion he said any leader in the world can express an opinion about any country it's their right and britain can do it america can do it and so can russia and some people choose to see this as meddling merely speaking about another country well their opinion. most of it will just go to you of the virtue of them are you still in u.k. politics or political ticker today. just regarding interference or non interference many times official authorities and their representatives of various countries including the great britain made assistance of what is happening in russia is this interference. if you. to express an opinion regarding what is happening in our country we reserve the right to behave in the same way towards you it seems to me that this has nothing to do with interfere. while it isn't over yet 3 over 4 hours in. this this could be a record the record is 4 hours 40 minutes again i've just reminded you 1895 journalists in att

and the russian federation will not be destroyed, but will just not be enforced anymore. we are prepared to do that even today. the ball is in our american partners' court. as for china, the president spoke about that multiple times. china is prepared to engage in that, and we will support such an approach. and in that case we will need to look at other nuclear powers, both official and unofficial. china spoke clearly that they will not take part in any negotiations, because neither on the number or structure of the nuclear arsenal they are not on par with russia and the u.s. we spoke about that today, we looked at statistics provided by swedish research for peace, provided for china on chinese nuclear arsenals, in comparison with russian and the u.s. arsenal. of course, we are talking about big figures, a big difference in figures. of course, if china is prepared to do that, we are prepared to review a multilateral process and nuclear disarmament. nevertheless, as secretary putin said to secretary pompeo in sochi in may of this year, this situation requires negotiations

the last instrument of arms control to the us and russian federation . it will not destroy but it will, not be enforced anymore and we are prepared to do that even today and the ball is in our partner's court. and for china, they spoke about that multiple times. china is prepared to engage in that, and we will support such an approach and an investigation will need to look at other nuclear powers, both official and unofficial. china spoke clearly that they will not take part in any negotiations because neither on the number or the structure of theirnuclear arsenal . they're not on par with russia and the us. we spoke about that today. we looked at the statistics. provided by this swedish research for peace divided on china. on chinese nuclear arsenals in cooperation with the us and russia arsenal and of course we're talking about big figures. a big difference in figures. of course, if chinese china is prepared to do that we're prepared to review multilateral process in good faith disarmament but if president putin had tried to secretary pompeo later this

with the president of the russian federation as well as our meaningful negotiations. we meet each other regularly and we regularly talk on the phone when necessary. today's meeting has confirmed that it is useful to talk to each other. however difficult this period in our relation is and including the global affairs, talking to each othersatther is always betn not talking to each other. we have thoroughly discussed bilateral association in our affairs and spoke about strategic stability, arms control, and we spoke frankly and businesslike. we're trying not only to hear -- not only to listen to each other but to hear each other. it's an open secret that we have different views on different things and it would be naive to think that overnight we could achieve mutual understanding on key issues, but i believe that was always so to want more or less. there is not 100% coincidence in positions and the diplomacy basically tried to find solutions that would not infringe on vested interests of each other's side, but that would allow to avoid conflicts and promote cooperation.

as for us missions in the russian federation 155. that work relations because 155 diplomats is a number of representatives. and we were. bringing the diplomatic bringing them to parity we decided to examine. those diplomats. active relations and they have no right to deal with it so we have $155.00 diplomats less than the last has in russia. unfortunately. citizens. if they want to receive. 300 days in. explain that as. to define this diplomatic mission. however. it is. important between people. sports and all kinds of exchanges the. perspective. of the questions you presented to me. differently. i don't want to get into the numbers but we measure those numbers of who's got diplomats and a very different way.

and russian federation will not be destroyed but will not be enforced anymore and we are prepared todo that even today. the ball is in america's court. >> president of trump spoke about that several times. china is prepared to engage in that approach and in that case we will need to look at other nuclear powers both official and unofficial. china spoke clearly that they will not take part in any negotiations because neither on the number or the structure of their nuclear arsenal they are not on par with russia and the u.s.. we spoke about that today. we looked at the statistics provided by the swedish research for peace provided on china and in comparison with russia and the u.s. arsenal and of course we are talking about a big difference in figures. of course if china is prepared to do that we are prepared to review a multilateral. as they said in may of this year the situation requires negotiations because there is no specific offer on the table by our american partners, and it will take some time. but in the meantime they could talk about the expansion of the new s.t.a.r.t. treaty

believe that they have some evidence to prove that this murder is connected somehow to the russian state. the federal foreign office today declared to employees of the russian embassy in berlin to be persona non grata with the steps the federal government reacts to the fact that the russian authorities despite repeated high ranking and in fact it requests did not sufficiently participate in the investigation of the murder of tony k.k. in berlin zoo there are sufficient real indications that the killing is either on commission well done by state agencies of the russian federation or such of the autonomy's chechen republic as part of the russian federation. germany says that they have enough evidence to prove that this mortar was indeed connected to the russians they'd but this all comes after a article was published from the investigative group called the. cat which represents to be pointing fingers on moscow for taking part in this killing but what we also know about this group is that the somehow have close ties to. western secret services and have been taking k. involvement in too many of the major

for all to see in this whole switzerland where meanwhile russian sports federations have been quick to question walters decision. there's decisions a biased inexplicably there to politicize them prejudged that punishing russia is the state which was connected to this story without showing any credible evidence is an absolutely normal transparent organization punishing the states and clean sportsmen and women why should that be considered for. them absolutely sure it's wrong to punish and impose severe sanctions against those 100 percent meeting every one committee requirement. what is decision is unfair it's wrong to treat sports men and women on the basis of their nationality i believe all sports participants have the right to represent their country on the international arena. and there has also been reaction from the sports world to the verdict the u.k. is anti doping agency has welcomed wilders decision saying it's the only possible outcome the head of the united states anti-doping agency has said the measures taken by water aren't enough he branded russia's escape from a complete

foreign office today declared to employees of the russian embassy in berlin to be persona non-grata with this step with the federal government reacts to the fact that the russian authorities despite repeated high ranking and in fact it requests did not sufficiently participate in the investigation of the murder of tony k.k. in berlin zoo there are sufficient real indications that the killing is either on commission or done by state agencies of the russian federation or such of the autonomy's chechen republic as part of the russian federation germany's prosecutor say or they have enough evidence linking the murder to moscow in article recently posted by the investigative group at the pointing finger is that there is a link between the kremlin and the murder of the chechen ethnic last august here in berlin but let's talk about a little bit of what this group the what we know about them so far is that they are of course ties to western secret services and they have played a major role in major cases that involve the moscow case and the delany of h. 17 in ukraine russia has come out with their own statement about the

seen as an indication that may suspect some level of involvement for all of the russian state in this killing . the federal foreign office today declared to employees of the russian embassy in berlin to be persona non-grata with this step as the federal government reacts to the fact that the russian or thora teas despite repeated high ranking and in phatic requests did not sufficiently participate in the investigation of the murder of torn a k k in berlin zoo there are sufficient real indications that the killing is either on commission or done by state agencies of the russian federation or such of the autonomy of chechen republic as part of the russian federation. pretty direct remarks there from berlin what do we know that decision is based on do we know well we know that germany's prosecutors have said they have sufficient evidence to point the finger at russia said of having some involvement in this case but it's interesting how it comes hot off the heels of a new article published by bell england which also presents indications that moscow had a hand or played a hand in the killing of belling cat as w

not only does the russian federation make life at home painful for the average russian, but putin is also making life hard for people around the world. he's met with an american and european elections s selling political chaos. he's pumped up the murderous regime of the president and sells arms to human rights abusers in africa and missile defense systems to u.s. allies and adversaries alike. and in venezuela, he continues to hang on to power as people suffer thanks in large part to the russian assistance. of course we all know about the invasions of georgia and ukraine over the years, and about the place and planting of russian people in london on other sovereign soil. the world today is more dangerous and less free because of the russian federation. as a result the u.s. relationship with russia is at a low point during the height of the cold war, our leaders have a lifeline to ensure that neither side made a disastrous this population, the famous red phone. today our engagement with russia are few, and there is a growing risk of a strategic miscalculation on the seas, the ground or

murder in august was either tied to the russian state order or tied to the russians they or delivered by chechnya the federal foreign office today declared to employees of the russian embassy in berlin to be persona non-grata with this step of the federal government reacts to the fact that the russian authorities despite repeated high ranking and in fact requests did not sufficiently participate in the investigation of the murder of 2 an a k k in berlin zoo there are sufficient real indications that the killing is either on commission or done by state agencies of the russian federation or such of the autonomous chechen republic as part of the russian federation. but such a decision taken by the german authorities are triggered a reaction from russia from moscow as are all of the kremlin calling berlin's this isn't groundless this is absolutely groundless speculation this topic is being somehow whipped up by german media but it does not mean it this is how things are. but it's not only that moscow and the kremlin taking a stance on this but also german politicians themselves a german politicians and member of

received confirmation that there was indeed just still want to sail into and that's according to the russian federal security service and he has been they killed and dan's already mentioned the latest news that's one federal security officer has been killed and 2 critically injured and the doctors are now we're working to save their lives now in terms of where we are at the moment we are indeed in the center of moscow right behind me this is a main federal security service building the crim than it is the about the 500 meters that way to the a right of me is russia's central joy store but once again this is a thursday evening new year the holidays are just around the corner so a lot of people are shopping and so once again this is a toy store so a lot of people are here with their kids so there could have been a lot more serious injuries and even face to face how is he spots now thankfully the assailant cell was killed and a lot of lives were probably saved at the moment the traffic is. he is back to normal once the the shooting occurred the whole area was cordoned off all the metro stations have be

the same state including the soviet times when the crimea was formally transferred from the russian federation to the ukrainian republic at that time by the crucial in the 1950 s. and of course the vast majority of the population in crimea is russian ethnically russian and they are russian speakers but the main reason why russian and leadership decided in 2014 to to take crimea was gypo it ical because the russian leadership the kremlin at that time believed that if crimea remained part of ukraine after the change of power after yanick which was ousted in kiev then. believed that the russian black sea fleet that was based in ukraine would no longer be able to function would need to be moved to different bases and russia did not at that time even have bases where we could cause the russian black sea fleet and the kremlin it was also concerned the phrase that you had to interrupt your mother. with respect because back to your question with respect i have to interrupt you we don't need a history lesson we need because we know the history of the region with respect so the question again is. how do

sailings and this remains to be found out and we're waiting for official information from the russian federal security service from the russian investigators. committee who have already qualified this as a terrorist act and as soon as that happens as soon as we find it will make sure to let our viewers know as well if it was mine closer there in central moscow with that report thank you. ok let's head to the studio now because staying in all cases are you compiling information from various news sources as we try to get a clearer picture and it is changing it's been just under 3 hours since this attack 1st took place a different picture now from what we had then i just want to say this point let's pick up on something the romance said and i say this with no kind of emotion all the way and it just it's an observation it is incredible. how quickly the people of russia return to normality very and it's not insensitivity it's just incredible . kind of stoic nature that they have and i've seen it in previous terrorist attacks that the authorities get things under control very quickly and people car

it is to confirm steep de facto control of the russian federation over crimea as we say in international law. they have to they facto control but not the you it so it is illegal but in fact they are there and that's something which historically is not unusual we've seen that before but it is unusual that we have seen that before . for example with the israeli occupation of the better state in territories since that in 67 they have the correct role international community united nations recognized that. annex asian if they call 'd it it's illegal same thing russian federation with the baltic states between $140.00 and their independence in $170.00 they have difficult role at for example the u.k. recognized but not their you it not legally united states for example never recognized even de facto role of the so the baltic states so that makes a difference. well living there joining me from amsterdam olivier thank you preliminary results show respect to stan's ruling party has won the most part of entry so far after sunday's election however the liberal democratic party has yet to secure and

not only does the russian federation make it painful for the average russian but also makes it harder for those around the world he has meddled in american intellection's sewing chaos propping up the regime of the syrian president selling arms to africa and missile-defense systems us allies and adversaries alike and continue as people suffer in large part through russian assistance with the occupation of georgia and ukraine over the years and the russian people in london on sovereign soil. the world is more dangerous and less free because of the federation the relationship has hit a low point during the height of the cold war they ensure that neither side made a disastrous miscalculation our engagements with russia are few with a growing risk of a calculation to be clear with putin and his cronies they have been pretty tough since 2014 sanctions on dozens of companies that have been involved in the illegal takeover of crimea with the human rights abuses in russia in 2018 after russia use chemical weapons we close to russian consulates to help coordinate the undeclared russian spies th

some money france russian federation ukraine were discussed and we can to an agreement upon extremely important matter 1st of all the specific steps to stabilize the safety situation the east of ukraine which is for lead cease fire in the stuff ukraine which must start before the young of 2019. for monitoring and control in the regime of ceasefire all the member countries all participating countries have reminders about the importance of safe axes. on the whole territory of ukraine and the main. city of increasing their mandate. for the opportunity to provide monitoring 247 but also bodies development of new plan. for moving landmines from the territories but dissipating countries. are working on the releasing. the prisoners of war until 20. 1st of december 29th teen with a principle of exchange we exchange everybody for everybody also we had to publish full lists and provide full access to representative self international committee of the red cross to all the prisoners of war. and we have also discussed and agreed upon contact group about additional zones of. separating the troops w

receive this award information send and here with us we have the minister for support of the russian federation is to cough cough on the outcomes of the water meeting that took place unless everyone knows probably the executive committee will be to. take back the status given previously to the russian anti-doping agency probably their decision was quite predictable for of the whole history every decision that compliance committee made was later on adopted by the executive committee and so what are the next steps that russia is going to make and this question goes to the minister for support so like to thank you for being open and ready for discussion for coming here at such a short notice and this purse conference is here for you we used to work with you really have time to organize it but we're here thank you for that may you say couple of words about the format of the today's obviously with the go or indeed as we agreed. what we all missing officer was his decision has been announced i've come here on purpose there is a lot of speculation in the media a lot of rumors opinions. on confirmed in

surprise here but a good deal of disappointment and the degree of anger put at the head of the russian swimming federationsian boxing federation said it was a sad and stupid decision and said, "our boxers don't want to go to the 0lympics without their flag and national anthem." the head of the gymnastics federation talked about political motives behind the decision which was echoed a few minutes ago by the russian prime minister, dmitry medvedev, who talked about anti—russian hysteria and said russia should appeal the decision. but there is another view as well. i spoke to a russian hurdler a few minutes ago who said he was deeply disappointed of course but he blames russian sporting officials who he believes wasted the last four years and did nothing to clear up the mess around this doping scandal. steve, many thanks. steve rosenberg in moscow. with just three days to go before the uk goes to the polls, the parties are making theirfinal pitches to voters. the shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell, says labour will deliver a budget to "end austerity" in its first 100 days of government, if it wins on thursday

that's right russian federation clearly after $24.00 to seize this part of russian territory so it's going to increase the political and then of course military support it's increased it's not very present crimea and so the economic element is critical without a bridge crimea is essentially isolated and increasing russian tourists and economic links to the mainland is critical so many ways something that is expected but it's still violates international law the other piece about this bridge i think is critical as 'd it's military so in a way that it practically creates a choke point as are her ukrainian ship and that this bridge was construction in agreement with ukraine it would've been a lot higher and so in many ways the russians are using this group's choke off ukraine economically just like they per create as a lifeline of crimea we keep talking about international lore and sovereignty and we've seen the sanctions that are imposed on firms involved in building this but we also know that the fact of the matter is it occupation matters and yes there has been protest and yes there

iran, china, and the russian federation.articular manoeuvre is really quite a political statement, to say that we are united in a way. it is a show of support for iran in a way. it is also a show of... trilateral solidarity in the face of the united states. we often hear accusations from iran about us hegemony. we often hear accusations from the russian federation about us unilateralism, organisations can be heard... that really is the political component of the manoeuvres. what is it about that pa rt manoeuvres. what is it about that part of the world that draws in the armed forces of countries from right around the world, what is the significance of that part of the world ? significance of that part of the world? i think as an oil-producing region it probably is that single factor that drives the militaries of the world to either be present in the world to either be present in the region, as is the case of the united states, or to exercise in the region as is the case of china and russia stop what you've mentioned it's qui

is of course the russian federal security service it's the equivalent of the american f.b.i. the building is in a very central area little because netsky most area is a very busy area right now it's rush hour people will be leaving their offices their places of work to get home to go about their evenings business that would explain the panic that eyewitnesses have described described people running away shouting and hiding inside nearby inside nearby buildings now we understand there are at least 3 casualties at this stage we don't know how many of those are fatal with it how many are really should we do understand at least one is suspected to be an injured officer we do have some videos coming in now as we can see from the site there can't really make out a lot of them there is a strong police presence there an emergency emergency regime has been declared across all f.s.b. buildings and other sites in moscow now as well as a saw an operation that is when special forces police swat teams are scrambled to the location to find suspects bit of a shaky video there but you can see

it is that confirms deep de facto control of the russian federation over crimea as we say in international law. they have they fucked control but not the u. and so it is illegal but in fact they are there and that's something which historically is not unusual we seen that before but it is unusual but we have seen that before. for example with the is radio could break your beristain in territories since that in $67.00 they have the proper control international community united nations recognize that it's an exaggeration if they call it it's illegal one of ecuador's most active volcanoes has erupted in a region of the amazon lighting up the night sky the red enters our volcano spewing incandescent vox and lava down its hopes its last major eruption was in 2002 when a cloud of ash reached the capital affect 2000000 people. at least 16 inmates in a prison in honduras have been killed in fighting between rival gangs violence comes less than 2 days after 18 other inmates at a separate facility died in a prison riot the president of honduras has ordered the army to take control of the country's 2

the russian federation will not have a team in need of those events. reporterd walsh is for the l.a. times and the author of "l.a. confidential: lance armstrong's secrets." what is your reaction to this decision? reporter: my reaction is it is a good day for sport because considerable power in the world of sport and the olympics mean a lot to russia. what the world agency as saying today is tokyo was going to happen and you guys are not going to be involved. you will not have your officials at the olympic games. this is quite a significant punishment. it is deserved. people would have feared that t russia was to bigo be sanctioned in this way, but dopingd havave a state system and thehey did everything up.ir p power to cover it for me, the punishment that they than is theour-year least they deserved. anything else would have been wrong. genie: will this decision force russia to clean up their game? hopefully. but that's not something we should presume upon because this is addicted toat cheating. a lot of athletes who became great athletes did so on the

>> well, these are right out of the russian covert action or active measures as the russian federation likes to refer to them playbook. this is the way the russian intelligence services try to deflect. and think about it. your enemy is coming at you, and so what the enemy does is says, oh, we're not the ones who are attacking you. it's these other people, the ukrainians who are attacking you. it is designed precisely to have us drop our defenses. so every time the president or any of his allies say, no, it was the ukrainians who attacked us in 2016, not the russians, in essence we're rendering ourselves defenseless. >> and susan page, you'll refer a chapter on this strategy, the pelosi versus mcconnell tba, the fight that's going on now? >> well, you know, she's never afraid, and she's rarely surprised. >> yeah. so i heard. to susan page, to lanhee chen, to jeremy bash, thank you all. happy holidays to you all. greatly appreciate you coming on as always. >>> and coming up for us, the president fires back after a scathing editorial that reveals something of a split perhaps in evangelica

after russian troops annexed crimea area -- crimea, a vote was announced to join the russian federation. and putin announced a plan to build a bridge without the consent of ukraine's government. spending 19 kilometers, it is the largest in eastern europe. last year, putin drove a truck over it. sanctions on companies involved in its construction. now trains are running from st. petersburg to crimea. and from moscow. says the of state railway shows russia's control of crime area -- of crimea. isthe economic element vertical. without a bridge, crimea is essentially isolated and increasing russian tourism and economic links to the mainland is critical. in many ways, it is expected. it still violates international law. utility in a way that creates a chokepoint and a hazard for ukrainian shipping. in bridge was constructed ukraine, it would have been a lot higher. russia is using this to choke ukraine economically. increasedes russia's -- continued interest in decreasing ukrainian sovereignty and territory and also rejecting the international sanctions against russia area the international

relationship between russia and the european union and it's interesting to remember that the russian federation. incarnational russia and the european union is a contemporary incarnation of european integration were born. it was emerged on the wall stage in late december. and european union formally was established. so we are. of course. very long tradition the russians or this need have been integration the relations on. what will happen inside the european union. and we need to know what kind of transformation. before we or we can speculate what kind of relationship we can build between russia and when you talk about a new dawn which is you know it carries a positive meaning i think you're somewhat suggesting that the whole to the e.u. enlargement actually preserve a chance for improving this relationship whereas the continuous expansion i would presume would have. jeopardize this relationship even more. yes it would. even more in. extension or the logic. is officially called in the european union would continue i doubt because i think the era of. growth of the european union is over we see t

the russian people are inhumanely imprisoned and tortured for daring to disagree with the government. not only does the russia federation make life at home painful for the average russian, but vladimir putin is making life hard for people around the world. he has propped up the murderous regime of the syrian president, president assad. in venezuela, the president continues to hang onto power thanks in large part to russian assistance. we all know about the invasions of georgia and ukraine over the years and about the poisoning of russian people in london. on sovereign soil. moreorld today is dangerous unless free because of the russian federation. the relationship of the u.s. with russia is at its low point. during the cold war, our leaders had a lifeline to make sure that neither state made a disastrous calculation. risk of a growing strategic miscalculation on the ground or in the skies. to be clear, our problems are with vladimir putin and his cronies. our allies have been pretty tough on his regime. we have imposed dozens of sanctions on many russian companies and nationals involved in the takeover of crimea, the wa

it is the home of the russian federal security service, fsb, and its communist era predecessor the kgbhen reportedly fled to a neighboring building, barricading himself inside. himrity services then shot dead. ambulances were on the scene to help several casualties. >> there were gunshots. i didn't get any closer, because it wanted to live. i hid around the corner, and watched from there. emergency services came later. before that, police officers rent to an ambulance unloaded somebody onto it quickly. i don't know for sure, but apparently he was already dead. reporter: the shooting happened on the same day vladimir putin was holding his annual showcase, screened live on russian television. thes unclear what attacker's motives might have been or whether he was acting alone. sirens]cy authorities are trying to establish his identity. in attack took place here front of one of the most important institutions of the country, the institution where vladimir putin worked for 16 years. this incident will be taken extremely seriously, especially since it took place during the fsbal celebration

state, john joseph sullivan of maryland to be ambassador of the united states of america to the russian federation. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of john joseph sullivan of maryland to be ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the united states of america to the russian federation, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session and consider calendar number 543. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. those oppos

also have a question to the president of russian federation are you. controlling their borders. us during the elections. so seriously this is such a cornerstone and this is the issue that might. very serious question in. difficult situations on points why is it so difficult. to change your stories. having russian speaking we have the russians pretty green. including the southeast. i will answer as a russian speaking president of ukraine. people. russian raney iranian language today i mentioned to you in prison. not for my russian. and i can continue continue russian in russian and in everyone speaks if you peoples weekend legal age to understand me so i wanted to say. i want to talk about beautiful conditions there are no for the next 3 conditions for the next meeting day. to day. of all it was is when is a long long. and that was. to be speaking of. this but we are not doing. any specific course else and according. to handle the current situation. there is no hope for further talks no there's no strings in turning into this president frankly speaking. we have version. of the bo