we need to work with ukraine. we need to be a partner of ukraine, a stronger, more prosperous ukraine stands a better chance of turning putin back. speaking of putin, we need to let him know we will never acquiese to his position on crimea. any talk of sanctions relief for russia is premature, so long as ukraine doesn't control its own eastern border. we must do more to counter russian propaganda, we feel very strong about the fact that people in the russian language sometimes only hear on the air what putin wants them to hear. they get a very unbalanced view.

another country wants constitutional reform in ukraine. i think you understand how difficult constitutional reform is in any country. we can't do that overnight. it is a matter of time for that purpose. the thing that russia wants is to delay it, delay the reforms. >> yoare you afraid that the crisis in the middle east has distracted world leaders from what's happening in ukraine and that's partially what's leading to the continued fighting? >> the sad part is these crises have happened in almost simultaneously. what we've had in syria is ever since the beginning of the ukraine crisis people have been telling us in congress wait we have to work out syria, putin has helped us in syria and he has played both sides successful trying to delay the process. >> is there anything because of what's happened in ukraine and russian sanctions have hurt the russian economy that he might be any more inclined to change his position on ukraine? >> this is syria once rudd russt involved in ukraine, that's the eighth conflict zone. whether it is the crimea

charles stratford, al jazeera, eastern ukraine. >>> manager of the ukraine foreign house and joins uson, thank you very much for taking the time out to talk to us. so one year on it's clear the ceasefire is not holding and what in your view is the problem, what is going on? >> i think the key problem is that russia supported separatist and russia is not de-military with the region and the occupied territory is full of men and the numbers are 40,000 with weapons, there are hundreds of more vehicles and fires that are being hit all the time and there is no willingness actually to settle the conflict under the terms where it will be an integral part of ukraine and with the delivery of humanitarian assistance and this is the most traumatic thing for me because as we see in the episode these two children and elderly people cannot receive a basic assistance from international humanitarian assistance. >> do you see any change if the political situation remains in the state that it is in? >> well, i think in ukraine there is determination to compromise on the way to providing a special status

neither the people of ukraine or their partners believe that enough has happened in ukraine either. ukraine has responsibilities with respect to this agreement. it is critical that kiev upholds its end of the bargain. ukraine's democratic potential is far brighter than it wasn't several years ago when we met. for writer even then it was before the brave -- far brighter even than it was before the brave protests. 2016 has all the potential possible, all the groundwork laid through the good work of germany and france and of the normandy format and through the support of other countries, to be able to make 2016 a year that ukraine proves reform can triumph over corruption. we call on all of the countries elected leaders to demonstrate the unity and integrity that their people are demanding. in addition to our joint focus on ukraine, the u.s. is significantly upgraded our commitment to european security. with a plan four fold increase in our spending on the european reassurance initiative. from just under $790 million to $3.4 billion. this will allow us to maintain a division's worth of

neither the people of ukraine or their partners believe that enough has happened in ukraine either. ukraine has responsibilities with respect to this agreement. it is critical that kiev upholds its end of the bargain. ukraine's democratic potential is far brighter than it wasn't several years ago when we met. far brighter even than it was before the brave protests. 2016 has all the potential possible, all the groundwork laid through the good work of germany and france and of the normandy format and through the support of other countries, to be able to make 2016 a year that ukraine proves reform can triumph over corruption. we call on all of the countries elected leaders to demonstrate the unity and integrity that their people are demanding. in addition to our joint focus on ukraine, the u.s. is significantly upgraded our commitment to european security. with a plan four fold increase in our spending on the european reassurance initiative. from just under $790 million to $3.4 billion. this will allow us to maintain a division's worth of equipment in europe, and additional combat in e

already this morning there has been a meeting of foreign ministers, the germany, russia, ukraine, the french foreign minister was given there, but he has moved on from his position a few days ago and his successor is not able to attend. later on we will be hearing from the president of ukraine and also from the prime minister of russia and the russian foreign minister. it is worth making the point that this normandy format is pivotal insofar as the situation in ukraine is concerned. we know that both the french and german governments have invested a lot of time and effort in trying to bring all the sides in the conflict together to try to find a ceasefire, to find a solution that will permanently resolve the situation in ukraine. we know also that chancellor merkel says there is a possibility of a resolution of the situation. we know also that all sides in the normandy format want to continue with this. they have arranged a meeting in march and hoping that similar meetings can be held throughout the course of the year and certainly here we can expect to hear much about the situation i

neither the people of ukraine nor their partners believe that enough has happened in ukraine either. ukraine has responsibilities with respect to minsk and it is critical that keev yup holds its end of the problem, but ukraine is clearly far brighter today than it was when we met several years ago, far brighter even before protests and with our transatlantic support, 2016 has all the ground work laid through the good work of germany, france in the normandy impact, so we can try umph over corruption. we call on all of the countries' elected leaders to demonstrate the unity, the integrity and the courage that their people are demanding. now, in addition to our joint focus on ukraine, the u.s. has significantly upgraded our commitment to european security with a planned four-fold increase on our spending on the european initiative. from just under 790 million to 3.4 billion. this will allow us to maintain a division's worth of equipment in europe and an additional combat brigade in central and eastern europe making our support and nato's more visible and more tangible. meanwhile, and i

political turmoil in the ukraine. government surviving a vote of no confidence after the governor asked his prime minister to resign. now with markus karlsson. we arealking aut majoril prucers of the world, ying take acon of the w price of the valuablproduct. >> we are hurting in the oil markets. russia, venezuela, and qatar have agreed to freeze production for the firstels time since a price slide started. for the freezets to go ahead, other automakers makers like iran and iraq will have to join in, easier said than done. games on news of the deal fizzled out. we take a closer look. reporter: smiling faces from behind closed doors. oil ministers from saudi arabia, venezuela, and qatar are expected to freeze oil output at general levels. >> this is meant to stabilize be beneficiald not only for producers and to the world economy. reporter: in a context where a supply glut sent oil prices to 13 year lows, this is the first step to rein in production, but more will have to be done. is dependent on other producers agreei

two years ago, progression fighters took parts of eastern ukraine.lages were destroyed with thousands of lives lost. a formal cease-fire was announced. but for those people trying to return home, there is little sign of peace. among the thing the price of war are ukraine's disabled athletic team. finishing fourth at the london 2012 paralympics. these athletes are living and training far from home. the continuing conflict has meant they lost funding and access to their craft. but, they have not lost their winning spirit. >> tim is one of the team's greatest hoax. a group of young, disabled athletes from northern ukraine are highly motivated. many of the young athletes were orphans, or placed in children's homes by their parents when they were babies. now, the coach is like a mother to them. >> she helps make sure we get vocational training. at the same time, we prepare for competitions. first at the national level then for the european championships. >> she is hoping she will be able to take her youngsters to italy this summer. just taking part would

turkey recognizes ukraine's territorial integrity and consider crimea as a part of ukraine. >> reporteroing to leave him there as he speaks in kiev. we are going to keep our eye on it though because as soon as the prime minister mentions anything regarding the conflict in syria of course we will go right back to it but the meantime a look at other news and the government under pressure after a hospital refused to discharge a migrant baby forcing deportation and one-year-old girl has been treated for serious burns after being accidentally scalded with hot water in a refugee came and we are from brisbon and rights groups are supporting for the baby and her family. >> reporter: inside the hospital is a baby whose situation has come to personalize everything that is controversial of australia's policy to refugees and the crowd protesters of 300 or more people are here to support her and stop the baby and parents being defored to naru and came to australia in 2013 and the top policy to refugees were immediately reported to the pacific islands of naru and there the mother got pregnant and bri

we meet the children caught up in ongoing fighting in eastern ukraine. >> the only live national news show at 11:00 eastern. >> we start with breaking news. >> let's take a closer look. >> again a reminder to all the top stories. bashar al-assad has vowed to retake the entire country. comments come as world leaders agree to aim for a temporary halt of hostility in syria within seven days. >>> violence in athens between police and thousands of farmers during an anti-austerity protest. >>> and in an historic meeting pope francis and the orthodox patriarch meet together, the first time in almost 1,000 years. >>> thousands of egyptian doctors have been protesting against alleged abuse by the police. they say certificates who attack their colleagues have not been held accountable. the doctors are now threatening to go on strike. >> this is a rare scene on the streets of kay row. thousands of doctors say there has been abuse by the police. their accusations come after two doctors were reportedly beaten by police. at the headquarters of the doctors' union, doctors threaten to begin a gradual

there's the normandy format of these meetings which involves france, germany, ukraine and russia, and the four foreign ministers were due to be here today. the french foreign minister will not be here until later on this evening. so he will not be taking part in the discussions this morning, but the other three foreign ministers will and they will be trying to see what further progress they can make insofar as ceasefires in ukraine are concerned. we know that chancellor merkel earlier this year spoke about how she felt that progress could be made. she was optimistic about the future. it has also been suggested that regular meetings of the normandy format will continue. next month there is one scheduled and the four parties are keen for this to continue with the hope, perhaps, they are able to unfreeze this frozen ceasefire agreement that you've referred to >>> for now, thank you very much. one other side note on the conflict, the international body that is charged with establishing who is responsible for chemical attacks in syria says its investigating five potential cases. the group

we need to work with ukraine. we need to be a partner of ukraine, a stronger, more prosperous ukraine stands a better chance of turning putin back. speaking of putin, we need to let him know we will never acquiese to his position on crimea. any talk of sanctions relief for russia is premature, so long as ukraine doesn't control its own eastern border. we must do more to counter russian propaganda, we feel very strong about the fact that people in the russian language sometimes only hear on the air what putin wants them to hear. they get a very unbalanced view. we need to move in there and make sure they get a balanced view. let me applaud president obama for what he's done over the last year. we should support the president's billion bill for south america. fewer children will attempt the dangerous trek. our top ally in the region colombia is nearing a historic peace agreement, just after we've supported colombia throughout this conflict we should continue to stand with colombia's people. turning to argentina. the

my name is stanislav khristneko, and i'm originally from ukraine. i was born in ukraine. in my opinion, one of the reasons that many countries have problems these days is that they don't get enough events that have art, and that people can really get positive emotions, get really great feeling from. we have five pianists from five different countries. we haveur artistic director, a wonderful pianist from russia, alexander ghindin. francios-xavier poizat from switzerland. we also have a piano duo from israel and palestine--yaron kohlberg and bishara haroni. and myself representing ukraine. alexander: when i bring is isarali and palestine, russian and ukrainian, i want to say that our countries has difficult time, but it is not forever. that's why the message is that our countries are not in the best relations for this moment. first of all, it doesn't affect the people of art or any human beings. the other part of the message, that thanks to the fact that we're musicians, we can bring it to stage. stanisv: i hopthat thi concert here that they're going to present here in gen

revolution against the regime in ukraine. and people who stood up to the people still in power. >>> we get a look at two famously troubled singers, amy winehouse and nina simone. >>> and taking up the fight against mexico's brutal drug cartels. the films are breathtaking. and we start our look with the remarkable 2014 ukrainian revolution. ordinary citizens took up arms to win their freedom against a brutally oppressive government. winter on fire. in its peaceful start to the bloodiest of battles. the document's access was unprecedented and provided a witness to the revolution. the director takes us inside the story. >> european union leaders and ukraine have failed to sign a

we need to work with the ukraine. we need to be a partner with stronger more prosperous ukraine. and speaking of putin, with he need to let him know we will never acquiesce to his illegal occupation of crimea. that's why i'm glad we're bolstering nato in eastern europe to deter further russian rah depression and any talk of sanctions relief for russia is premature so long as ukraine doesn't control its own eastern borer it. but mr. secretary we must do more to counter russian propaganda. the chairman and i feel strong about the fact that people in the russian language sometimes only hear on the air what putin wants them to hear and they get a very unbalanced view and we need to be able to move in there and make sure they get a balanced view. here in our neighborhood, let me applaud president obama for what he's done over the last year. we should support the president's billion-dollar request for central america. if we're getting to the root causes of child migration from el salva dhar, guatemala, honduras, fewer children will attempt the dangerous trek. our top ally in the region

the prime minister of ukraine says it means additional jobs, enhanced export potential of ukraine and further proof of a real partnership between ukraine and the u-s. the sioux city farmers market held it's first organizational meeting of the year last night. the meeting was open to vendors interested in joining the market this year. organizers are looking for vendors of all kinds, including fruit, art, and dairy products. "it's a really great place for people to launch their products, so i think that's enticing for vendors. it's also a place that they can get their name out there." said stacy orndorff, market manager for the sioux city farmer's market. may 4th and will run each wednesday and saturday through october. << >> stocks posted slight gains in early trading as several companies reported encouraging results and outlooks. who is the most-hated retailer in america? a new survey says it's abercrombie and fitch. customer satisfaction index, abercrombie earned a score of 65. that's almost 10 points below the entire retail sector's overall score. walmart is close behind at 66. walm

. >>> we meet orphans caught up in the fighting in eastern ukraine, even though there is supposed to be a ceasefire. >>> >> a u.n. task force on syria is set to meet in geneva to bring relief to thousands caught in the conflict following an agreement by world powers in munich to put an end to the civil war. the leaders agreed to halt has stilts within a week, but armed groups, isil and al-nusra front are not included in the deal. the deal includes the deliver of human aid in besieged towns and villages. all this will be monitored by the task force by russia and united states but r.b.i. is pressing on with air raids on cities including homs. we are a report from the syrian border. >> rebel fighters understand the need to hold ground on this front line. if they are defeated, the syrian government and allies will be one step closer to aleppo city where tens of thousands live. after losing much territory in this northern province, the opposition is trying to prevent its stronghold inside syria's second largest city from being besieged. >>> they are killing us, but we will remain steadfas

neither the people of ukraine or their partners believe that enough has happened in ukraine either. ukraine has responsibilities with respect to this agreement. it is critical that kiev "it and of the bargain. -- kiev upholds its end of the bargain. ukraine's democratic potential is far brighter than it wasn't several years ago when we met. for writer even then it was before the brave -- far brighter even than it was before the brave protests. 2016 has all the potential possible, all the groundwork laid through the good work of germany and france and of the normandy format and through the support of other countries, to be able to make 2016 a year that ukraine proves reform can triumph over corruption. we call on all of the countries elected leaders to demonstrate the unity and integrity that their people are demanding. in addition to our joint focus on ukraine, the u.s. is significantly upgraded our commitment to european security. with a plan four fold increase in our spending on the european reassurance initiative. from just under $790 million to $3.4 billion. this will allow us t

to standup for ukraine's fundamental rights. rights that have been accepted since world war ii and were part of what the great battle is about. russia has a simple choice. fully implement this or continue to receive sanctions. the path is clear: insure all ukrainian hostages are returned, give free access to occupy territotea territo territoryies, support free and fair and monitored election under ukrainian law, and restore ukraine's control of its side of the international border which belongs to it. put plainly, russia can prove by its actions that it will respect ukraine's sovereignty just as it insist on respect for its own. after two years, ukrainians still have work to do. neither ukraine or the partners in the international community believe enough has happened inukraine either. it is critical that kiev upholds its end of the bargain. but ukraine's democratic potential is clearly far brighter today than it was when he met here several years ago. far brighter than the brave protest and with our transatlantic support 2016 h

ukraine also factored in. he was critical of russian saying that the minsk agreement needs to be implemented fully otherwise sanctions are going to be maintained, robust sanctions are going to be maintained against russia. again, syria seems to be the all consuming topic that has up so much of the time of the delegates as they attend this conference. our correspondent is standing by and will keep us updated on the developments coming out of munich as this conference comes to a close at al jazeera. so remember, don't go away. stay with us here at al jazeera. and psychopaths who try to hijack it. isil is as much islamic as the kkk is christian. stoorgt tonight, th"on target" r of two evils, assad or i.s.i.l? the united states, rid russia and others involved in syria's war have agreed to implement a, quote, cessation of hostilities, end quote. that after diplomats met in munich to restart peace talks. sending a hopeful note, staffan de mistura said, quote, sustained delivery of assistance is expected to begin thi

in the past for safety violations. the ukraine fell this morning in lower manhattan killing a people. it had been in place since last saturday and being moved this morning because of some high winds and that's when the 560 foot ukraine plummeted crashing into an entire block of cars. >> almost split in half from straight down. complaining about the korean crane services but the investigators visited the site and claire -- declared the crane safe. >> with abc is not budging saying carli fiorina has not met its criteria, a top three finish in iowa or top six average in the national polls. she's not happy about that since she got more votes than kasich and chris christie and she's not the only one not pleased. >> she has worked hard, ran a diligent campaign and inspired a lot of people and deserves to be up on that stage, so i encourage the organizers of the debate to include carli there debate. >> fiorina is behind rand paul who is already out of the race and jim gilmore is the only one still in. >> this has been an unnecessary skill that students need and considered dead. >> it's unfo

they're concerned about the situation in ukraine.translator: i hope the participants in kiev, meaning the government and even more so, the parliament, realize the importance and significance of the road to reform and are able to get back on track. reporter: the french foreign minister stressed a solution to the crisis must be found in kiev. the situation there has worsened. at the weekend, two years since the riots, hundreds of demonstrators demanding the government to step down. police say most were from the nationalistic camp. the government crisis in ukraine has become increasingly volatile. the pro-western coalition in parliament no longer has a majority. steinmeier and ayrault knows that germany has been dealing with the refugee crisis and hasn't been able to deal with the crisis in the ukraine. brent: you can get "d.w. news" on the go, download our app from google play or the apple store, giving you access from the latest news around the world as well as push notifications for breaking news. you can use the app to send us photo

. >> reporter: still to come, we meet children caught up in the fighting in eastern ukraine.ope francis is on his way to cuba where he'll be meeting the head of the russian orthodoxsy. the first such meeting in almost a thousand years. ♪ the conference call. the ultimate arena for business. hour after hour of diving deep, touching base, and putting ducks in rows. the only problem with conference calls: eventually they have to end. unless you have the comcast business voice mobile app. it lets you switch seamlessly from your desk phone to your mobile with no interruptions. i've never felt so alive. make your business phone mobile with voice mobility. comcast business. built for business. ♪ >>> the syrian president bashar al-assad has said he will retake its entire country. as world leaders agree to aim of a temporary halt in hostilities in syria within seven days. >>> thousands of egyptian doctors have been protesting in the heart of cairo in the wake of repeated attacks they say against medical staff. >>> there have been violent scenes in athens during an anti austerity prote

two years ago, progression fighters took parts of eastern ukraine.es were destroyed with thousands of lives lost. a formal cease-fire was announced. but for those people trying to return home, there is little sign of peace. among the thing the price of war are ukraine's disabled athletic team. finishing fourth at the london 2012 paralympics. these athletes are living and training far from home. the continuing conflict has meant they lost funding and access to their craft. but, they have not lost their winning spirit. >> tim is one of the team's greatest hoax. a group of young, disabled athletes from northern ukraine are highly motivated. many of the young athletes were orphans, or placed in children's homes by their parents when they were babies. now, the coach is like a mother to them. >> she helps make sure we get vocational training. at the same time, we prepare for competitions. first at the national level then for the european championships. >> she is hoping she will be able to take her youngsters to italy this summer. just taking part would be

angrier and more sad about the situation in ukraine?king foreign language] correspondent: there are only 18 people left. 3000.ewar population was conditions are much harder. why are you staying? [speaking foreign language] correspondent: their neighbor has moved to one abandoned house to another after own was destroyed. she cares for her own 53-year-old mentally and physically disabled son. habit.ce is not a it is what is left when there is no other choice. [speaking foreign language] correspondent: since our first visit nearly two years ago, the demonstrations and civil disorder a boy to all-out war. and disorder gave way to all-out war. 2 million people have been displaced. the front line is dividing communities and families. every night and rebel held donetsk, the sounds of battle echo. it is here that we met tatyana, the daughter of the beekeeper. her job as an engineer vanished with the war. s.w she makes and sells doll you must worry about your parents? language] oreign correspondent: this is what passes for peace in the towns of

reforms were on the agenda along with the simmering conflict in eastern ukraine. with a fractured government and growing resentment, you can understand the german foreign minister's closing comment. ukrainian politics reminds one of a stump. reporter: and for demonstrators on kia's independence square are trying to keep up the pressure. they are demanding the resignation of the prime minister. he barely survived a vote of no confidence last week. even as he remains in parliament without majority support, he was the first to meet the german and french foreign ministers. then it was the turn of the president who has called for the prime minister's resignation. the power struggle in tf pits the oligarchs against reformers hoping for foreign assistance. >> the economic reforms must be carried out on the basis of the dates agreed with the imf. and there must be a policy driven by the principal of zero tolerance for corruption. reporter: and the inability to an act reforms threatens the minsk agreement arbitrated by germany and france one year ago. >> there is still a g

eckstein: this is babiyar tside of kiev here in the ukraine. one of hundreds of killing fields from world war ii's holocaust throughout the former soviet union. there is a traditional memorial prayer of the dead that is recited when we come to visit this site. (speaking hebrew) lord full of mercy, remember those who died here. (singing hebrew) it was here in 1941 hundred thousand jews were killed here by the nazis. holocaust survivor: they were all brought to babiyar and they were all undresd, everyone, and then they were killed. you can't, you can't even imagine, a lot of people can't imagine. announcer: those who managed to survive the nazis then suffered the post world war ii persecution, indoctrination and anti- semitism of the counists. jews were forbidden to practice their faith and were denied education and denied jobs. they lived in fear of the soviet people who were encouraged to roam the streets to find jews so thathey could ridicule and beat them. hoffman: the elderly jews were victimized throughout this century. and now tragically,

he has been able to very effectively get everyone to if not forget ukraine, then put ukraine on the backner. >> right. >> while we focus on syria and what russia is doing in syria, that can only be level for him. >> i guess i'm having trouble figuring out what's the bad part for him? >> in the long run, much as the u.s. got bogged down in iraq trying to rebuild that country after the 2003 war, russia is going to be stuck helping assad regime to rebuild if they're lucky enough to keep them in power. help the military suffer casualties, suffer losses and it's costly in the long run. but in the short term it's a diplomatic win for them. >> you've said recently that the u.s. administration has been slowly coming around to the view that assad regime is not the most important things in syria, something that can be sorted out later in the peace process. do you think working with russians to implement this cessation of hostilities implies that the obama administration has come around to this view that keeping assad in power is okay for the time being? >> i think so. it may not be being stated ex

ukraine late were a special program on "inside story." examine why the two sides keep violating the ceasefire agreement and whether there is any hope for peace, that is on 1730gmt here on al jazeera. heavy snowfall is causing widespread problems across india and kashmir and jamu and brought relief from a long spell of dry weather the snow blocked roads and caused some minor land slides. workers were seen lighting bonfires to keep themselves warm as they try to clear the snow away and wonder how long the snow will stay there and maybe you can tell us. >> reporter: it's moving away but not completely dry. if we look at the satellite picture we see there is an area of cloud here drifting its way to the east currently working to afghanistan and tailing across parts of pakistan as well. it's fizzling out as it edges its way to the east but there is a risk we could see a flurry of snow there through the next couple of days and elsewhere across india and sri lanka fine and dry. out to the east here we have cold weather but now it's got a lot war

even as ukraine is facing some significant challenges, they can continue to rely on the united states to be there to support them as they navigate this difficult situation. reporter: you said that they're not fulfilling their responsibility when it comes to the president's supreme court nominee but under the constitution, congress' only responsibility is to give advice and consent. clearly senate republicans are opting not to consent but do you feel they're defying their constitutional responsibility or simply breaking precedent? mr. earnest: i think it's a little of both. both when you consider that every nominee put forward by a president since 1875 that wasn't later withdrawn by that president has received a hearing and/or a vote in the united states senate. it may go back farther than that but that's as far back as our records went. so i think that is an indication actions are their not consistent with more than 120 years of precedent here. what's also true is that, you know, republicans, in offering an excuse, suggested there's an 80-year precedent of not confirms -- confirming s

ukraine later with a special program on "inside story."ll examine why the two sides keep violating the ceasefire agreement and whether there's any hope for peace. >>> the world health organization says it is looking more and more likely that the zika virus is indeed linked to birth defects. an outbreak of the disease is affecting many countries in the americas, and could sprengd to other parts of the world. >> reporter: this is china's first zika patient. he was venezuela when he got sick. infection with the virus is not usually life threatening for adults, but it is a concern to pregnant women. the latest out break of zika began in brazil nine months ago. health authorities are pushing to distribute more effective test kits and working on possible prevention. >> translator: there is great optimism that we could develop this vaccine in less time than originally foreseen. we believe within a year we could have the vaccine in its developed form. >> reporter: but it's likely to be 18 months before a vaccine can go to large-scale trials. 4,000

we have talked in the ukraine, if we get russian to leave ukraine alone, ukraine survival depends upon the internal reforms in its own country where the people have an honest government and that is one of the major reasons for the protest that occurred in ukraine. when we look at countries we are dealing within asia including the tpp, we have countries with serious corruption problems within the government and we try to take steps with the tpp to deal with the issues. we deal with a contractor country with the impunity of central america of people being held to the crime without any accountability. i would hope this year we could work together. this committee and your leadership to develop a protocol where we make it clear that we will not tolerate the government that does not move to deal with the corruption problems, were talking about developing an index similar to what we do with trafficking persons of corruption. there's been transparency evaluation done with countries can you share with us steps that you are taking to provide a more permanent structure within the state department

we have some experience on russians' respect for national law as they intervene into ukraine.have some experience on monitoring cease-fires. ce, which is supposed to monitor the cease-fire in ukraine, has not been able to do it because of russian proxies. we should go into this cease-fire with our eyes open. we should expect the russians to make it difficult to verify. but if the russians conform, if they can get -- can perform, if they can get bashar al-assad to get things like leave, it will be worth it. katty: why you think the russians -- we heard vladimir putin sound optimistic and confident about the cease-fire going into effect on friday -- wide you think they agree to it? >> the russians are hurting at this point, economically. they have one thing going, and that is the military. they put a lot of resources into the military and they have done this since the badge showing of the military in 2008 against georgia. they have been very nimble and quick in ukraine, and they have been capable, but it is costing them a lot of money. oil prices, on which they depend, and sanct

evelyn farkas just left her post as assistant secretary of defense for russia, ukraine and eurasia. >s is something that i think we absolutely need to do. it is a sign of our resolve. it's a sign that the united states is there with our nato allies. that we're there also to send a signal to russia. i mean it's clearly a deterrent effort. >> warner: but jack matlock, ambassador to the soviet union from 1987 to 1991, warns it will simply provoke russian leader vladimir putin into further aggressive moves. >> i think it's a bad idea. i think it's not necessary. i think it's going to lead to even more confrontation with russia. probably, simply they will move more of their military equipment to the border. >> warner: estonia's ambassador to the u.s., eerik marmei, echoes all three baltic nations in insisting they need the protection. >> it a very clear sign of the u.s. commitment to enhance the deterrence in europe, especially in the eastern part of europe in the coming years. >> warner: why do you need more? >> what we have seen in recent years is the change of security environment in eu

russia to leave ukraine alone, ukraine survival depends upon the internal reforms in its own country where the people have an honest government. that was one of the major reasons for the protests that occurred in the ukraine. when we look at countries in asia, we find countries that have serious corruption problems within their government. we tried to take steps to deal with some of those issues. we go through country after country where the impunity in central america and people being held to commit crimes without any accountability. i would hope this year, we could work together. this committee and your leadership, to develop a protocol or we make it clear that we won't tolerate the government that doesn't move to deal with the corruption problems. we are talking about developing an index similar to trafficking persons and corruption. there has been transparency evaluations done of countries. can you share with us the steps you are taking to provide a more permanent structure within the state department to deal with the problems of corruption and good governance? sec. kerry: senato

i think that the russians consider ukraine little russia.think it is deeply steeped in their history and culture. to they are going to attempt -- attempt to sustain influence basically in the two separatist republics. obviously what they most fear hisare most concerned about ukraine gravitating towards the west more than it already has. becoming a part of the european union, or worse, nato. will continue to, through proxies, separatists, sustain their influence in ukraine in that manner. rep. quigley: do you see the status continuing the way that it is? obviously there is renewed conflict at different times, but no dramatic change recently. that's right. for now i think they will be maintaining and a lot of the issues that are occurring along the line has been drawn via the minsk agreement are occasioned by upstart separatists who russians do not completely control. john, you want to add to that? dir. brennan: there has been movement as far as the agreement, but there are still shortcomings. but your characterization, i think there is still

and ukraine, others elsewhere in the region. we wanted to make sure that russia didn't do anything to our allies. we did not recognize the russian annexation of crimea, but there's -- i don't think anyone expects there to be a change there. the russians are, of course, still supporting the separatists in eastern ukraine. we wanted to keep the russians from going further than that, and so that has -- you know, we've been able to do that. but on the specific challenge of the russian support for separatists in eastern ukraine, on the challenge of trying to get the russians to truly support some kind of solution that would allow ukraine to move forward, when we're looking at the role of our sanctions policy -- and there are -- and the other challenge is, of course, trying to figure out with respect to russian calculations, you know, how much of their calculations, as their economy struggles, is due to the sanctions and how much is due to the drop in oil prices. >> sure. >> which, you know, is helpful, so who's going to complain abou

. >> an agreement signed one year ago is supposed to end fighting in ukraine but as both sides accuse each other of breaking that deal, orphans who are still suffering. >> these children used to live in an orphanage, now they live in a war zone. they will now live with their adoptive parents in the sow called gray zone between pro-russian separatist fights and the ukrain ukrainian army. the fight conditions, especially at night. >> nadia is always very afraid when there is shelling. she cries and screams at night. we try to keep the girls calm. we try to show them they're not afraid. >> heavy weapons are supposed to have been withdrawn as part of the midfield, but both sides accuse each other of breaking that agreement. this area has seen some of the fiercest fighting since the conflict began. now the ukrainian army regularly target our weapons. they also tell us that the two towers there on the horizon are two and a half kilometers away and they say that the separatists use those as lookout posts and sniper positions. they've moved 78-year-old grandmother sonya to so-called safety fo

all this was amazing unity. >> how's ukraine now? >> you know what i just recently been in ukraine. fight still going on. and the people still trying to do more and more changes in a society itself. but they knew since maidan, they started, they are the real power. this movie depicts this, the government's only representative of the people. they fighting the corruption these days. they trying to bring more changes into the government. it's taking time but they are believing in the future. and they standing their ground. so for me it was fascinating to observe this. >> winter on fire, now available on netflix. >>> the crisis of on america's border with mexico. cartel land goes inside two such groups on either side of the border. they have taken up the fight against drug cartels because they say their government has abandoned the fight. we go hint th behind the scenese film's director matthew hineman. take a look. >> they are taking back what is theirs from the cartel. it is way it should be done up here too. >> anybody touches me, drop 'em. >> there's been so much coverage of the dru

the government held the ukraine to avoid default. a major disease here. brent: yes or no? will he resign anyway? >> it will remain. he lost the biggest support in the party. so the policy remains as such. brent: thank you very much. the european parliament has given prime minister david cameron a major boost by backing his plans for reforming the european union. he wants concessions for britain on eurozone governments and welfare pavements payments on if the u.k. will stay later this year. >> david cameron is a man on a mission. he's clearly got a lot to say. he's in brussels trying to get enough support. at the top of the wish list is limiting benefits for migrants entering britain from the eu. he also wants britain to opt out of closer integration and be exempt from contributing to eurozone bailout. >> the parliament will do the utmost to support. once more, once the institutions agree, it is a good direction. >> it sounds reassuring but they said negotiations are still fragile. >> what i have put on the table is a fair and balanced one. it helps all the concerns by prim