and now we're hearing from the ukrainian acting leader, we're hearing from sergey lavrov, the russian foreign minister. moscow is insisting it isn't behind the unrest in eastern ukraine, but ukraine and the west don't believe them. a lot of new details this morning. sort through it for us. >> reporter: well, sergey lavrov has just been making various statements, accusing the west of hypocrisy in this, saying that russia does not want to destabilize ukraine, that it's not in its interests to see the situation there unravel further, and really, that the question should be handed over to the ukrainian people about how they want to devise their future. russia's saying that the west really needs to take responsibility for any calls to use force against their own people. now, russia considers the government in kiev to be illegitimate. they characterize them as neo-nazis and fascists, and that kind of language hasn't changed. but you know, what we've seen from russia over the last few weeks is a shift, really, from what they were saying, which was that they could intervene militarily, should

the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov said the big concern now is that all of this will add up to basically the provocation that the u.s. fears russia has been waiting for in

officials released a statement saying sergei lavrov stressed the need for the the military to cease operations against the pro-russian separatists in the eastern part of the country. those groups have seized land and government buildings and they refuse to leave. meanwhile ukraine's prime minister says russian military aircraft crossed into and violated ukrainian airspace last night. russia has denied violating the airspace. >>> back in this country, the nra finds itself in a dogfight this year. it's being challenged by a new antigun lobby backed by billionaire michael bloomberg. but the nra and about 70,000 supporters meeting in indianapolis this weekend aren't flinching. executive director pierre says the organization faces a do or die challenge. >> we trust in our freedom, and

sergei lavrov claimed the fighters were unarmed civilians. sergei lavrov insisted that russia had no forces in ukraine and was not trying to manipulate benefit. >> officials released a series of pictures, including these, showing a special forces soldier, who seemed identical to this soldier in ukraine. >> the u.s. is monitor, according to jay carney, and threatened russia with more sanctions. david rhode joins us, an investigative reporter for roit jers and a 2-time pulitzer prize, who wrote about the unhappy relations between russia and ukraine. how the u.s. made the putin problem worse. i'll get to that in a minute. first the pictures - the white house believes these are russian special forces in ukraine. we know sergei lavrov denies it. he and vladimir putin denied there were special forces in crimea. they have since admitted it. is there doubt at this point that the forces are russian and they are trying to destabilize the situation in the east. >> i think there's no doubt that russia is trying to destabilize the relations in the east. t

we'll hear from the russian foreign minister, sergei lavrov. we'll bring you that live when it happens. >> plenty more ahead on al jazeera. including... >> illegal fishing - one day the people of guinea passau will no longer be able to fish in their waters. >> guinea passau's fish stocks are being depleted by foreign trawlers. >>> and - it's banned, illegal, but the pakistan black market gambling industry is doing a roaring trade. >>> hello again, the top stories this hour on al jazeera. the president of south korea compared the actions of the captain and crew to an act of murder. four crew members have been arrested as divers retrieved bodies from the wreckage. more than 200 are missing. >>> opposition activists in syria for the latest barrel bomb attacks in aleppo kill 50 people. government forces have been dropping barrel bombs on rebel held areas in the city in an intense campaign that began in september. u.s. vice president joe biden is due to arrive in ukraine. forensic experts investigate a shooting in slovyansk. three were gunned down a

so, comments from sergei lavrov here in beijing. >> bucket -- take us to the birth -- the importance the economic and political ties between china and moscow. >> lavrov says it paves the way for putin to visit your later. they want closer ties financially and economically. they are working on a gas bill pipeline that will be finished in 2018, that is something they are looking to finalize the spring and that could help export the market to china, a huge amount of energy that russia aims to deliver to china, and also, russian officials have talked about china's investment crimea,e to invest in and in russia as well. paveds why lavrov really the way for political and economical deals that may be enforced later this spring. >> thank you very much, shannon, reporting from beijing. next, in the u.s., one year ago today the country was hit by a devastating attack in boston, at the finish line of the boston marathon. 2 pressure cooker bombs went off, killing three people and injuring 260, but one year later the investigation is still underway. 10:03 in the afternoon on the april, there was

today he spoke with sergei lavrov. what did kerry and lavrov talk about, mike?rst of all this situation is exactly what president obama and secretary kerry and other officials have been warning about for weeks, a pretext of provocate provocateurs, and the troops that president obama has talked about repeatedly massed on the ukrainian boarder, could come spilling over and it would be crimea all over again. jay carney said that these instigators were not local, there is evidence they had been paid, and jen reported on that call between john kerry and sergei lavrov, and here is how she described the conversation. >> he noted that ukrainian government leaders are en route to all of these cities to try to negotiate evacuation of government buildings and deescalation of public tensions. he called on russia to disavow the acts of provocateurs and called on all parties to refrain from agitation in ukraine. >> top officials from vladimir putin to the minister of defense to sergei lavrov have assured american officials that they have no intention of sending troops into uk

. >>> some tough talk from russian foreign minister sergei lavrov says moscow will defend its citizens from attack. >> the warning comes as u.s. troops are in poland. chief u.s. foreign correspondent jim sciutto has more. >> reporter: u.s. troops landing in eastern europe counter the threat from russia. these pair a troopers from the 173rd airborne are the first of 600 soldiers deployed for exercises in poland, latvia, lithuania, and estonia. all nato allies, all nervous about where russia could strike next. and it could be here, tens of thousands of russian troops conducting their conducting their ownwn exercise today just across the border from eastern ukraine. russia minister sergei lavrov appeared to lay the rhetorical groundwork for russia to invade saying russian citizens in the ukraine are under threat. >> i don't see any other way but to respond to protect russian law. >> his comments sparked buittal from washington. >> many claims are ludicrous and they're not based in fact of what is happening on the ground. >> reporter: on the ground the situation is becoming more violent. a

at a news conference after sergei lavrov said the differences were internal and the country needed to be left alone to deal with the situation. >> translator: interference into ukrainian internal affairs should be stopped. but what we see happening is that the west has taken the role of somebody deciding the fate of that country. meanwhile, the current authorities in ukraine do not show themselves as very independent. >> russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov there. medical teams dealing with ebola in west africa are trying to confirm whether it has spread to a new country, mali. nearly 90 people have died in neighboring guinea and at least six in liberia. there are more suspected cases in sierra leon and gambia. i have been joined by ibrahima. this deadly virus seems to be spreading. >> it has not been confirmed yet. but there are signs. fever is one of the signs. and the bleeding is the other sign. that hasn't been seen yet. they are still putting these people in isolation and under control of medical teams. but you're right. this is terrible news for people in that area. there are

meanwhile russian foreign minister sergei lavrov has accused ukraine of crudely violating an accord reached in the last week after a shootout in eastern ukraine involving pro russian separatists the russian foreign ministry has blamed the ukrainian far right party property sector russian media showed pictures of a perfectly intact the business content to leave your cropping sector that was purportedly found at the scene you should go to meet her until cards envelopes and said this was evidence the group was behind the attack. twitter users have poked fun at the accusations posting pictures of various popular figures with the profits to their business card at least thirty six thousand runners taking part in the one hundred and eighteen boston marathon year after two homemade bombs were detonated just prior to the fishing line killing three people and injuring two hundred and sixty four. thousands of spectators lined the twenty six point two mile course in good when your teacher and participates over five thousand of whom were forced to abandon last year. kenya's read it you two won the women

russian foreign minister sergei lavrov said those two and current ukrainian all parties to use force to suppress protests in the country's eastern regions should be held accountable. well the deadly yet the deadline robert i even went for prior russian activists to leave the government and police buildings. off to hide in the east of the country. and so far there's been no sign of the promised crackdown by kiev. that was meant to stop all monday morning. instead activists have occupied the more buildings continue to fall from grace will totally unpleasant ties with russia. the country in control of official buildings in around ten towns and cities. russia protest is false police offices out of their headquarters in for the town hall monday and activists are still hope to find buildings. it is the gaps. many protests to say they don't believe the key of all parties to act violently towards them. in central high school barricades and tents have been set up by people calling for a referendum on the region's future the current crisis comes up to the annexation of crimea following a refer

and this as just hours ago sergey lavrov said in an interview that, basically, the united states is using ukraine as a "pawn in a geopolitical game." the state department firing back at those comments. and now you have hundreds of u.s. troops landing in poland and the surrounding countries. i mean, it is -- the developments here. give us a sevents feelinse of t on the ground there now that you have u.s. troops not in ukraine but nearby. >> reporter: yeah, you're absolutely right, it's very significant and the situation here remains tense. the u.s. troops that are being deployed, it's only 600, and if you look at the broader picture, it seems a pretty lopsided thing. you have 600 u.s. troops on the one hand and 40,000 russian troops on the border with ukraine. however, that deployment is still very significant and it's hard to overstate how significant it is. look at nations poland on ukraine and russia's border, estonia. they've for years been calling for more u.s. involvement on the ground and for them, they believe every u.s. soldier is a deterrent against russia. it also does a lot to

he's echoing basically what sergey lavrov, the russian foreign minister was saying on wednesday. he said russian citizens being attacked is an attack against the entire russian federation. so escalating words here, russia still referencing the fact that it's still prepared to use military force if it feels it is necessary, and don't forget, along that border, there are 40,000 russian troops deployed. >> and peter, now we have u.s. troops arriving for military exercises in poland, more on their way. they're heading to estonia, latvia and lithuania, yesterday dutch fighters scrambling and rushing two russian military aircraft out of its air space. what is being said about these developments involving the west? >> well, i think moscow and the kremlin is very, very well well aware that those nato and the united states have both said that military option is ending the escalating crisis in ukraine is not going to get to that stage. what we're seeing now is calibrated deployment of american forces, just to give a bit of reassurance to poland and to the other eastern european countries o

not so said sergey lavrov. we've got no agents in the area, no intelligence and no troops. this is of course not what kiev is saying. but lavrov was saying what the west doesn't understand is the people of eastern ukraine have got their own protests and being carried out by the people of eastern ukraine and not by people in moscow. lavrov went on to say it is in the interest of russia that ukraine remain stable. that only if all the people in the country, talking about the people in the east the russian speakers there are treated equally. and he had this message to the u.s. and to the eu: >> it should be recalled that violence in kiev's independence square which has resulted in dozens upon dozens of deaths was branded a democracy. while the peacefu peaceful protn the are southeast are considered terrorism. this is hypocrisy beyond any limits and i really hope we'll hear an honest and coherent reaction from our western partners. >> it's been a busy day for lavrov. he had talks with the french foreign minister in paris, calling on what they could to try and halt any military o

sergei lavrov made it very, very clear and he always has and so has putin that they reserve the rightintervene in ukraine to protect the rights of the russian-speaking citizens there. quote, russian citizens being attacked is an attack against the russian federation. and he warned there was a pressi pressi pressing -- press dense for that. a previous attack lead almost immediately to a war with georgia. lavrov particularly firm and forthright in his comments about the meeting yesterday between the vice president joe biden and -- and the kiev interim government. he said that it's pretty clear now that in his words, the u.s. is now running the whole show. i think relations now between the u.s. and russia have hit a post cold war low, and they don't seem to be talking to each other. they just seem to be talking at each other. >> indeed, and with that in mind, what is the mood on moscow's streets? what are people saying about this? are they worried? >> i think they are pretty sang win actually, you just have to look at putin's ratings, 80% approval rating the last time they carried out a

on wednesday sergei lavrov warned to moves to counter moves in eastern ukraine could trigger a russian military response. >> if we are attacked we'll respond. russian citizens attacked is an attack on the russian federation. >> forces on the border backed up the words with a series of military exercises including mobile rockets and air to air missile launches. 150 u.s. army paratroopers arrived in pole aned for -- poland, for the first of a series of deployments. we are joined by kiev by a senior associate editor with "the washington post." along with the latest threat to ukraine, russian foreign minister "my only love" says where the government of kiev is consouth-easterned: -- concerned: >> with vice president joe biden, and c.i.a. john brennan, a billion dollar loan, how much influence does the u.s. have in kiev, what does the kiev government want from washington? >> i think the u.s. has some influence. officials you mentioned have been here. president obama ruled out all military force. vladimir putin of russia, on the other hand annexed crimea, which is significant part of ukraine

sergei lavrov denied this emphatically. he said we have no agents troops or intelligence there. what the west doesn't understand is that the people of eastern ukraine, that is the russian-speaking people of eastern ukraine, pro-russian supporters, they've got their own grievances and they mount their own demonstration and protests without the involvement of russia. he went on to say that a really an united ukraine, a stable ukraine is really in russia's interest as long as all groups in the country are represented fully. and he had this message to the u.s. and the e.u. as this crisis worsened. >> we need a honest reaction from the west without double standards and without shifting blame to moscow. they didn't listen to the people in southern and eastern ukraine, now they're using military force to put down the protests. i think it's very dangerous and people who are planning to do so should be punished. >> in the last few minutes members of the foreign ministry office in moscow had been in touch with their counterparts in paris, and they're looking for france to use whatever mea

and a late phone call to sergei lavrov u.s. secretary of state kerry urged moscow to quote stop escalatory rhetoric earlier sophie shevardnadze discussed the foreign minister's response and more. these are fairly russian officials to interview because he's always very straight to point he doesn't give you those vague layered answers that most of the russian officials do obviously focus around ukraine and he made some really good points. what difference this is between my don and what's going on right now and it's to me a frame because a lot of people watching t.v. in the west right now are thinking that you know what's the difference it looks the same he also said that he can't really put pressure on mr ukraine unless the other side starts to fulfill its problems isn't taking the steps that they promised to take during the geneva agreements we spoke about geneva agreements and he's out that one thing is to put this agreement on paper but the other thing is to actually start fulfilling the promise is in geneva we all agreed that

speaking in china sergei lavrov denied russia is stirring up the unrest in ukraine. >> translation: you can't send tanks against your people and at the same time hold talks i have said it before - the use of force will sabotage the talks planned in geneva later this week. they make up lies to justify the aggressive plans. they are spreading lines. the russian federation did not organise it all, i have never heard such. what it is is refuse one's own people the rites to protest opinion and protest against lawlessness. >> the latest from fred weir in moscow. russian officials strongly warned ukraine all along against using force on pro-russian protesters. what more are we hearing from moscow? >> well as you heard, they are absolutely denying any involvement in the revolts that are spreading across the eastern ukraine. like you heard lavrov say it's a load of nonassistance. very have also been, in another direction, saying that they really encourage signs, and there have been signs that kiev reached out to the eastern ukrainians and negotiate grievances, let them have a referendum on feder

part of the obama administration, kerry spending endless hours in concentrated negotiation with sergey lavrovhis counterpart, and poof we have no agreement. poof, i think, poof,. poof. >> now you see it, now you don't. i have to agree with bob more mats you -- hormats you had on the show. lou: did i? i was so busy on my google glass. >> with your glasses i think both sides have interest in the agreement holding but they don't control the players. lou: do you really. >> they don't have any interest in that. 50, 50, if works. >> is think anything about the administration indr intended to function correctly? is there any results oriented aspect of this administration? if it is it has alluded many people's comprehensive shun? >> p on your google glass and ask. lou: i will. >> i difficulty -- lou: i will put these damn things on, ed and i will excuse you. >> the difficulty, now, the president has is that they for all practical purposes they're almost lame duck. nothing will happen between now and midterm. all the dialogue about immigration reform, what have you, there will not be a budget agreemen

russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov said that's a sign kiev is not disarming political groups. >>s is useful to those hah want to put an end to this geneva accord. this shows kiev doesn't want to continue the extremists calling the shots. we're worried instead of accepting responsibility, kiev and backers who brought them to power, namely u.s. and european countries are trying to put the blame on russia. >> sergei lavrov clear message from the russian foreign might be administer minister. thanks for being with us here on "gmt." still to come on bbc world news, she's famous for her famous faces. she will talk to us about her career and celebrity subjects. good job! still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. two full servings of vegetables (dad) just feather it out. (son) ok. feather it out. (dad) all right. that's ok. (dad) put it in second, put it in second. (dad) slow it down. put the clutch in, break it, break it. (dad) just like i

secretary john kerry spoke by phone with sergei lavrov on tuesday. he urged moscow to tone down the harsh rhetoric and called on them to lay down their weapons and give back the government buildings they've seized. >> ukraine's interim president is urging a crackdown on the places he's gathered. authorities say the bodies showed signs of torture. meantime, nato is deploying part of its nato action resource to the baltic sea. russia has deployed tens of thousands of troops in cities along its border with ukraine. moscow says that's all part of a military exercise. >>> the u.s. is taking steps of its own to try to send a message to moscow, do your part to ease the tensions in ukraine. besides boosting u.s. forces in neighboring countries, vice president joe biden paid a visit to kiev. chief u.s. security correspondent jim schuter reports. >> reporter: mass gunmen still walk the streets in the east and occupy government buildings there. it's a situation the vice president demanded russia stop. >> we call on russia to stop supporting men hiding behind ma

sergey lavrov, the foreign minister, has said on many of thens that it is none west's business what russian troops do inside russian territory, but of course in a situation where crimea has just been annexed, where there is huge unrest in the east of ukraine, which many people -- in a situation where it have these deep divides, can be seen as a prerogative measure and putting huge pressure on the government in iev. >> more ethnic violence has had this central african republic. fighting between the christian militia and the minority muslim fighters. the first european troops have arrived there hours before the u.n. is set to vote, sending in some 12,000 more peacekeepers. the vote at the u.n. later today comes after forces from chad began withdrawing from central african republic. that was following reports some of chad's soldiers had killed dozens of unarmed civilians. divided where chaos rules. thecan union troops patrol capital. any piece here is fragile at best. forces are struggling to fill the gap after the withdrawal of 850 soldiers from the mission. the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. sa

the running to show you are very close with sergey lavrov also that ukraine's interim government pushing further with its military operation in the spotlight the geneva peace accord. surfing countries gather in south america to look at whether it's time to break america's stranglehold on the internet in the wake of the mass surveillance scandals. scaring scotland into staying former u.k. prime minister gordon brown warns fellow scots from voting against breaking away from britain in the crucial upcoming referendum. you're watching r.t. international first this hour russia's foreign minister has exclusively told r.t. that he believes washington is deeply involved in the standoff between kiev and protesters in eastern ukraine just some of what sergei lavrov had to say in his interview sophie shevardnadze. no the joe biden visit to this government that there is to ration was the clue with the extra fees again well it's quite telling that they chose the moment of vice president of the united states visit to the unknowns the resumption of the ration because the launching of this would be rati

secretary of state john kerry spoke with his russian counterpart, sergei lavrov, by phone. he warned of additional consequences if russia did not take steps to de-escalate the situation. erin mcpike has more on washington's response. >> reporter: we just learned that vice president biden will travel to kiev ukraine, april 22nd to meet with government leaders there as they try to move forward with their new government and have elections plans for may 25th. he also will be focused on the latest outbreak of violence in eastern ukraine. and talk to leaders there about how to deal with it. that comes on the heels of a statement from the white house from national security council spokesman laura lucas magnuson who says we call on president putin and his government to cease all efforts to destabilize ukraine and caution against further military intervention. we all know secretary of state john kerry will meet with russian foreign minister sergei lavrov and members of the eu in geneva on thursday as they try to work ahead to a diplomatic solution. obviously with the latest outbreak

president biden is supposed to meet with the acting president and prime minister yatsenyuk now sergei lavrov, russian foreign minister, sailed that he would like to see the u.s. pull its weight and i think one of the main issues here is that there is a discrepancy in understanding that agreement as far as kiev is concerned the agreement only concerns the buildings that have been seized here in the east and southeast of the ukraine. whereas moscow and anti--pro russian protesters say no, that agreement is for everyone, and they would like to see those who are barricading themselves in kiev to evacuate that public space. they also say that so far they have not received any kind of assurances from the government, only talk, and with the level of mistrust they're not going to leave this building any time soon. now the organization i has been meeting with leaders of several of these buildings, trying to show them that that agreement was dismissed as some of the protesters where we were not represented there, so who talked in our names even though just before that agreement they were looking to de

sergei lavrov has backed off a little bit, and saying he will attend if the ukrainians start to taken to account the wishes of the regions and various ethnic groups inside ukraine. clearly that is a reference to the east and to the ethnic russians out there. moscow would like to see a federalization, so there can be governors in various parts of the country, more autonomy, and many critics say that that is just another attempt by moscow to create a situation so that they can have their puppet governors out in those important parts of the country that they would like to see under their control. >> phil thank you very much. >>> israeli prime minister saying that he has now ordered his negotiators not to meet with their counterparts. john kerry suggested on tuesday that israel was to blame for the breakdown in negotiations. lisa what exactly did kerry say about the israelis that they are now walking back? >> del, kerry was testifying on capitol hill and asked about the ongoing peace process, and kerry did say that he felt both sides had taken unhelpful actions, but he also said the even

but it was sergei lavrov who categorially denied they were taking part in the destabilization in easternkraine. he said we have no agent there is. we have no intelligence and no troops. basically saying the west don't really get it. but the people of ukraine of eastern ukraine, those russian speakers, they have their own point of view, protests and grievances, and they're carrying out their own demonstrations in the government of kiev in pro russia support. basically lavrov said it's in russia's interest for ukraine to be stable, united as long as all the people are treated equally referring to the eastern russian speakers. he also said that--called on had a message for the u.s. and e.u. as this crisis continues to worsen. >> we need an honest and coherent reaction from the west without any double standards and without shifting blame to moscow. they didn't listen to the people in southern and eastern ukraine, now they're using military force to put down the protests. i think it's very dangerous and those people planning to do so should be punished. >> well, lavrov, it's been a busy day f

is engaging in with both unireian leaders and sergei lavrov.e did have some words though about the relationship with russia. take a listen. >> russia's clear and unmistakable involvement in destabilizing and engaging in separatist activities in eastern ukraine is more than deeply disduring. no one is fooled. equally clear must be the reality that the united states and our allies will not hesitate to use 21st century tools to hold russia accountable for 19th century behavior. >> there is the classic divisions of democrats versus republicans the two main members of this committee bob menendez and senator corker are often very united. so they are able to speak with one voice in a way that is not always seen in the senate. senator corker, though, was pretty tough in his line of questioning going after senator kerry relating to syria. he said the administration has no strategy in syria. pretty harsh walls, and he says the administration has been stone walling his committee. he is looking for more classified information. and we heard a little bit abo

. >> russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov speaking out about the decision to send the troops in to east. warning military deployments would derail the talks planned in geneva. >> translator: we are sure the attempt to resolve the situation through force is unacceptable, and the key to settling the crisis is to begin working as soon as possible on real constitutional reform. >> lavrov criticizing the deployment, but he says the dialogue is a step in the right direction. >>> now prosecutors have finished their cross-examination of oscar pistorius. he was asked to recount every last detail of his moments with his girlfriend before he shot and killed her on valentine's day last year. >> once again we shouldn't blame you for the fact that you shot her? >> [ inaudible ]. >> who should we blame then? we should blame somebody or something. who should be blamed? >> i'm not sure my lady. >> pistorius saying he believed she was an intruder when he shot and killed her. he faces life in prison if convicted >> the 73-year-old man accused in the shooting of three people in kansas city could be ch

touch with my sources in the russian foreign minist foreign ministerry, and they are saying that sergei lavrovill at end talks. and they will be sitting across the table from the ukrainian foreign minister and that has been a pretty rare occurrence it. it has happened once before, but it does not happen often. but also in addition to that, secretary of state john kerry will be there, and eu -- >> we seem to have lost our feed coming out of london with phil ittner. once again positive news concerning the developments coming out of ukraine. russian foreign minister saying he will meet with ukrainian officials. >>> there's also more positive news coming out of australia in connection with missing malaysian airlines flight 370. the australian vessel ocean shield saying it heard two pings on tuesday. the transmissions are from the area where similar pings were heard. >> reporter: the search for the missing airliner is weeks old and has already covered a vast area of the ocean. now officials believe they are much closer to finding out what happened to it. the sonar device can detect the pings sent o

meanwhile russian foreign maybester, sergei lavrov says troops massed near the ukrainian border willurn to their normal post as soon as they quote complete their task. david chater reports from moldova. >> reporter: a special forces battalion in the mall doe van capitol. these men have all received their training in the united states, and now form the elite corps of the country's armed forces. the rioting tensions following moscow's takeover of crimea have stoked fears here that russia will attempt to destabilize the country as it moves towards closer ties with the european union. >> we have special missions like [ inaudible ] special reconnaissan reconnaissance. >> reporter: the special forces being trained in america will be more than a match for the russians. these are russia's special forces. and it is feared they are already based in an area that broke away from moldova in a bitter civil war. the conflict has been frozen ever since, but ukraine has warned that attempts are being made to smuggle weapons and men. they are banning russian passport holders from crossing the border.

foreign minister sergei lavrov called for a more moderate tone. >> now is not the time for exaggeratedhetoric, not at a time when we're trying to de-escalate tensions. this language is over the top and must be toned down. it is evident that some people have lost all sense of reality. >> but the russian foreign ministry's rhetoric is hardly subdued. it says wolfgang schÄuble's comments are pseudo-historic references and the gross manipulation of historical facts. >> israel says it will not release 26 palestinian prisoners as part of confidence building measures aimed at peace talks. >> the announcement came thursday, with israel hauling it -- calling it an effort for palestinians to get notice from the united nations. >> there are signs that the u.s. mediation efforts are close to collapse. >> the u.s. secretary of state john kerry went ahead with a visit to algeria on thursday. but his thoughts remained fixed on saving the mideast peace talks. he said it would be a tragedy to let procedural bickering stand in the way of a peace deal. >> the is agreement between them is not over the fun

up with a solution between european union members, john kerry -- our secretary of state -- and sergey lavrovart from russia. the breakthrough is that they have all decides that there should be -- decided that there should be armed pro-russian bands giving up the government buildings they have seized in eastern ukraine. it has escalated the crisis, they apparently want that crisis to simmer down, so there is a pact. however, the tensions are still there, and it brings up the question what does deescalation mean on the ground anyway after days of worsening violence? three people killed last night? what does this mean for global markets? we know that the russian ruble has come back, and we though that russian etfs are coming pack right now, up 6%. joining me now wisdom tree executive vice president, head of sales and chief investment strategist, and peter kenny, clear pool group ceo. good to have you both. let's go macro first here and, peter, you know, to hear this development is certainly good news. our markets are up, could be that. our guys at the che in chicago didn't -- cme in chicago did

and sergei lov sergei lavrov weo the groups, the deposing of victor yanokovych, proposing that the groups at the time, the people on the side of the protesters in independence square, he said they should be disarmed because part of the russian narrative has been there are armed groups in the western ukraine. and they are a threat to the russian speakers in the east. and un said that that has not been the case, but they hope that they will be able to bring about that convergence. convergence. >> the hope is that with the regional authorities in donetsk. any guarantee that the protesters will be able to accept this? >> that's the question really. it's so granular on the ground, with the protesters, but if you believe the american and the european and the ukrainian government version of events, which is that these people are essentially remote-controlled from moscow, instigated by offers from moscow, yeah, they would accept it if they're receiving orders from the kremlin, which the kremlin denies vehemently. but the kremlin says that they expect it, i would think. >> one of the protesters, t

secretary of state secretary of state john kerry and russian foreign minister sergei lavrov spoke by phone on wednesday. the summit should focus on constitutional eform, not a russia ukraine stand off. it comes as the interior ministry gave pro-russian activists 48 hours to negotiate a solution. the state department says russia is fuelling the unrest inside eastern ukraine. >> this was a very carefully orchestrated well-planned, well targeted, well coordinated effort to take over buildings in four cities. >> al jazeera's kim vinnell has been tracking the story from donetsk and has this report. >> with a 48 hour ultimatum issued by the ukrainian interior minister, the pressure is on in donetsk. pro-russian activists in control of the state administration building are on high alert. negotiations are under way for protesters agreeing to carry out property, saying they don't want state workers to lose their job. >> some signs of negotiation. many of the people we spoke to say they remember the soviet era as the golden years, and the only outcome they'll be happy with is if eastern ukrain

in fact, there is still quite a good working relationship between russian foreign minister sergey lavrov and secretary of state kerry. they talked last night. right now they're still pretty far apart, but certainly, the u.s. working a two-pronged approach on that. but you're absolutely right, the leverage at this point in time is limited, and the u.s. believes if there is any sort of leverage, it's going to have to come via moscow. >> and moscow showing no sign they're trying to influence those russian militants at all. fred pleitgen in kiev, thanks so much. >>> he's lucky to be alive. a 16-year-old stowaway who hid inside a wheel well on a flight from california to hawaii. and this morning, we're taking a closer look at how he may have survived being 38,000 feet in the air. that's next. your education is built to help move your career forward. here's how: we work with leading employers to learn what you need to learn so classes impact your career. while helping ensure credits you've already earned pay off. and we have career planning tools to keep you on track every step of the way. plu

the eu, russia and ukraine would be at the table but sergei lavrov accuses the west of hypocrisy. he says the eu and the u.s. are creating instability by pursuing their own interests in the former soviet bloc. >> this less than a half hour oscar pistorius is expected to testify at his trial. >> we have just gotten word the story has arrived at the courthouse. on monday, the defense presented its case and called him to the stand as the second witness. it falls on his team to show he shot her by accident. he began with an emotionally charged apology to steenkamp's family. listen. >> there hasn't been a moment since this tragedy happened that i haven't thought about the family. >> the defense spent much of the day painting pistorius as a dedicated athlete, deeply in love with steenkamp. at one point his childhood you brought up and hiss torous described how his mother would wake up their children thinking they were being robbed. listen. >> we grew up in a family where my father wasn't around much. my mother had a pistol and she would often get scared at night and phone the police. >>

foreign minister sergey lavrov russia's foreign minister says american mercenaries are now active on the ground in eastern ukraine something in the u.s. is saying it cannot confirm what this surprise you. wouldn't surprise me i guess what surprised me is the lover of most recently said well he accepts the assurances of kerry that this is not the case if it is the case this would be. on the part of be crazy on the part of the americans. you know the one thing i would point out here is that the press is is reject kilis on our side of the ocean here they talk for example about the pro russian ukrainian singing. from from or want to ok and everybody in the united states has all those or those rock. but i know it's a love song but. grew she. you know the rest of it they're actually not until they were. well thank you. i'll sing the rest the rest of it later if you wish. ok for get back to you crane do you feel like ukraine's foreign forces need a helping containing protest in the east or can they handle it on their own. well i think they can i think that there's probably some reason to be

there are worries, increasingly widespread worries, that sergei lavrov, the russian foreign minister,ot actually speak for anyone more than himself, that he may look like a diplomat but his diplomatic actions don't actually bind russia as a nation. there are real questions right now as to whether anyone but vladimir putin speaks for vladimir putin and now that he's speaking in four-hour bursts on russian television, can we see anybody else in russian government as binding russia -- as binding the russian president by anything that anybody else signs? so sergei lavrov signing on for this agreement on behalf of russia, on paper this did look like a breakthrough toward de-escalation of this very scary situation in eastern ukraine. but the white house made clear today that that breakthrough might just be on paper. >> russia right now still has its forces amassed along the ukrainian-russian border as a gesture of intimidation, and it is our belief and not ours alone but i think broad portions of the international community believe that russia's hand is in the disruptions and chaos that we'

sergei lavrov, the foreign minister said that on tuesday, saying that basically they have failed to take accountability and responsibility for the russian speakers in the east, the demonstrators' inability to control the country. when the talks start, that line will be drawn already by russia. so it just does not accept the interim government and it says any attempts by the e.u. and the united states to legitimize the government will doom the talks to failure. hopes for the geneva talks are starting tomorrow and thursday. they are not high. >> for now, thank you very much. peter sharp, our correspondent in moscow. >> now to nigeria, where the army is searching for more than 100 girls who were kidnapped in the north-east of the country. this abduction happened at a school in the chivok area. gunmen stormed the premises and opened fire on soldiers guarding the college. we have more from the nigerian capital abuja. >> a police spokesperson confirmed to al jazeera that the attack happened late monday night, into the early hours of tuesday morning. the premises were apparently stormed by arme

who will use the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov has today been speaking to his opposite number in washington john kerry in a bid to try and defuse the crisis in ukraine so excited to put on each other to try and use their influence on the rival parties result the situation also under discussion between the two men a group over its national observance of the captured by for most the rebels. i got smacked with russia but also small the kremlin rebels and sunday and continued to hold a group of international ministry of service. they say on the ten spies. they assess the condition for their release. a prisoner swap then they toast parties we list it will be exchanged for all prisoners who wanted to eat it. i don't see any other solution. this attempt to make fine day they belong to the mission link to the osce moscow fast to secure their release. we think that these people need to be freed as soon as possible to russia as a member of lists eu will undertake all possible steps in this matter. however with the ukraine crisis is worsening. she certainly does have agreed to be the evi

while sergey lavrov and john kerry may be trying to put something in play that looks like diplomatic progress, vladimir putin back home is continuing to roll against ukraine. >> while that happens you have a situation of trying to decide what happens next. the president talked about that yesterday on cbs. let me play that. >> each time russia takes these kinds of steps that are designed to destabilize ukraine and violate their sovereignty, that they're going to be consequences, and what you've already seen is the russian economy weaker. >> so, ann, what's the administration's options here? what's the next move? >> the administration's options are really diplomatic which is what they're trying to do today which only goes so far and economic. there isn't a military, a true military option. they are talking about adding some additional nato sorties and other things that are mostly for show and mostly to show the other states near ukraine and the baltic states primarily that nato and the united states have their back, but that isn't really anything approaching an actual military protecti

. >> we heard from sergey lavrov, the foreign minister. the sticking point appears to be that the signed agreement on thursday in geneva last week calls on separatists to vacate the buildings and give up their weapons. what sergey lavrov is saying it is implicit in the agreement that kiev must first of all clear independence square, which was the focus of the revolution, it must get their supporters out of the illegally occupied buildings in kiev, and they should disarm the right sector, that's the right wing radical group. he said if that happens, then the leaders in the southeast of ukraine will follow suit, give up the buildings and undear their weapons. so you're getting one line there from lavrov putting at least something up. meanwhile, or rather sort of almost hysterical warning saying moscow is ready to start world war three. >> the situation in ukraine having an impact on the russian economy after being slapped with stricter rating on foreign occurrence, trim b. negative is the rating for russia, just above junk status. stay with