can't be avoided there may be additional time for diplomacy so long as it coupled with strong, united position of europe and the united states because russia has to take additional steps before annexation of crimea into russia. >> president obama was sitting across from the interim prime minister, but he wouldn't have been sitting across from ukrainian leaders of similar talent for much of the last 20 years. does it weaken america's hand in this instances that ukraine has been pretty badly run since the break up of the soviet union? >> well look, the problem that the united states faces and europe faces that ukraine at this point is pretty much a basket case, and it needs a tremendous amount of monetary assistance to deal with this set of pressing problems. but you put your finger on a broader issue. what has been problematic in ukraine for the past 20 years are elites. the elites who have spent much of their time actually in corrupt practices, stealing money from the state, and not building up the institutions of power that would make ukraine governorible. we came to this crisis in the past t

he broke off german counter attack firing on heavily armed troops charging his units position, and killing more than 30 enemy soldiers during the action. all while heavily wounded. latinos in the armed forces on this edition of inside story. professor schwartz let me turn to you. there were irish immigrant units on both sides in the civil war, there werener german speaking units in the union army. and they went on to join veterans organization and become american citizens. has this been historically part of the role of military service? >> it has been. it has been the idea is that the military is a pipe of melting pot of bringing together different ethnicities and creating an american citizen ship. it hasn't always worked very evenly. african-americans fought for the union during the war, they didn't necessarily though receive their full citizen ship after the war. so it's not been always a smooth process. the 20th century, though, i think it's taken on that element of the word war one saw a fusing oa lot of the different groups that fought in europe. world war ii even more so. the end of

on above the of the united states positively services i want to welcome you to the 19th luna celebratione 7 stamp in the series we're truly honored to be hosting this selection celebration let me begin by thanking the white crane dance group and the hosts of the performance. they've helped us today only today but year after year so what a wonderful vaccination and a applause. you'll be meeting our guest and other people a few people in the audience. first someone who i work with frequently is san francisco marketing manager is martha she's right there. martha played a large roll in the success and she is retiring at the end of the month for or after 2 seven years of dedication so thank you very much martha. also in the audience today are jeff managing director of the investment and a doris the hilton director of community affairs. thank you, again, for supporting the lunar event and, of course, we're honored to have the artist who designed this today mr. kim.

tkufplt if that's the understanding on the ground i would have thought that would contribute to a united position here to say they don't regard what they are saying today as a legitimate stunt. >> given the eu's energy from russia, how united are the 28 countries of the eu about what to do in terms of sanctions all morning? >> you're absolutely right on the energy side. a third of the gas is snide by russia. in some countries it's an awful lot more. in some it is 100% is supplied by russia. there's the energy side. russia is the third largest trading partner. so, you know, any sanctions and reciprocal sanctions from the russian side obviously have to be thought about carefully here. that does feed into this debate. and you have opposing sides in many ways. you have the eastern european countries. most notably poland, which want to see a tough stunt. it looks as though britain is going along with that. david cameron said there needs to be a clear, unambiguous message. but it can't go without repercussions. at the same time you have angela merkel saying that russia is violating the territorial sove

special relationship has a very significant impact in terms of the position of the united states takesn the key legal issues involve the in the conflict, and, in general, they say our positions are out of step with the positionings of most of the world community, and that it's one of the major reasons for the negative perception of the united states in the region. that you've heard about this morning. i want to go through a number of key legal issues. the first, on this one, i think the administration is not quite as negative as you'll find me saying than the others. relating to the status of jerusalem, the congress passed a law a couple years ago to move the u.s. embassy to jerusalem, and success of prosecute now resisted. doing that, we have a general in jerusalem which reports directly to the state department. it has not been put under the embassy tel-aviv, and so as a technical matter, the executive branch has preserved positions that the status of jerusalem is not determined, and we've not given into the israeli's position on that. similarly, with respect to as passports, congress

from the other central european nations like for instance the four countries or indeed from the united position of the european union. >> thank you, foreign minister. thank you, foreign minister carl bildt, pleasure to have both of you on. so are sanctions against russia having an effect? what would make president putin sit up and take notice? next up, i'll ask someone who knows, one of russia's top economists who recently fled that nation. looks like you started to make something. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] cheerios. with flavors your heart will love. [ female announcer ] cheerios. hey there cashhhhhhp you? (whispering) sorry hi, uh we need a new family plan. how about 10 gigs of data to share and unlimited talk and text. oh ten gigs sounds pretty good. yeah really good. yeah and for your family, it's $160 for four lines. (breaks whisper) what! get outta here! (whispering) i'm sorry are we still doing the whisper thing? or? o! sorry! yes yes! we'll take it. introducing our best-ever family pricing. for instance, a family of four gets 10 gigs of data, with unlimited talk & text, for $160 dollars

. >> the united states' position on that referendum, i must say, is clear, and it's clear today. we believe the referendum is contrary to the constitution of ukraine, it is contrary to international law, is in violation of that law, and we believe it is illegitimate. and as the president put it, illegal under the ukranian constitution. >> steve sedgwick is in the ukraine capital of kiev and has more on how things are shaping up ahead of sunday's referendum. >> reporter: here in kiev and throughout the ukraine the country remains tense after talks failed. possible an nexation may take place on the 16th of march. john kerry said russia should have to look at the consequences from their actions, and he still believes the vote would be illegal. sergey lavrov foreign minister of russia said the vote was legal and backed up by the u.n. charter that said there was a right of self-determination for the people of crimea. he offered some hope, though, by saying russia would not look to expand its military activity into the mainland east of the ukraine despite military maneuvers within the

on the united states was when the man about its intention to reject the fact the united states' position on the referendum i must say is clear as clear today. we believe the referendum is contrary to the constitution of ukraine. this cut trade international law is in violation of the globe we believe it is illegitimate monsoon crime and preparations for sunday's referendum continue. no one hand down to the bank will take place all want its outcome will be. it wouldn't be able to offer people a very active to cancel all people want to they want to take part in the pressure and it's easy to see the kitty kitty litter. i know what to be so wordy. we are going into russian weren't going home with them. as referendum day and juice and some western leaders have been wanting to moscow will face painful sanctions if it recognizes the crime and friends. that's now looking home is certain to happen the boss has been following developments for us in london then joins us now. it is a surprise that the talks hit a wall. moscow had already made it quite clear that it would recognize a referendum thoug

position. we will keep in close coordination with the united states on this. she will have to wait for the council on thursday. economic sanctions would be very counterproductive and would require the much bolder approval of the entire eu members, but surely there is a case of targeted wine until sanctions against members of the russian elite living in the u.k. involved in the illegal invasion ofthe ukraine and suspected efforts made. >> there is a case. including the house, my friend make it a case as well for certain measures. i am not excluding the possibility of any of those. i simply return to what i was saying about it being well judged, well targeted, legal. these will be important considerations of the next few days. >> russia is increasingly belligerent foreign policy, military aggression in crimea and georgia is funded by the exporter of gas and oil. what can the european union due to make particular countries in central and eastern europe lest appended upon oil and gas from russia and ukraine as well less dependent? >> there are many things they cou

the united states position on that referendum is clear today.e believe the referendum is contrary to the constitution of ukraine, is contrary to international law, is in violation of that law, and we believe it is illegitimate. >> simon while these talks didn't go anywhere today, did you get a chance that there perhaps could be some room for negotiation? >> well, i think that that was very clear -- a message that john kerry wanted to make clear. one of the things he said repeatedly was that the west, the united states in particular, understands russia's legitimate interests and concerns, they just disagree about the ways that should be gone about to guarantee those concerns. he did raise serious concerns himself about russia troop buildup in crimea and in particular these new military exercises in russia on ukraine's eastern border. he said he received assurances face-to-face from sergei lavrov. and that was something that sergei lavrov himself made clear during his press conference. >> translator: the russian federation does not have any plans

the special relationship has a very significant impact in terms of the positions that the united states takes on the key legal issues involved in the conflict, and in general i think one can say that our positions are out of step with the positions of most of the world community and that it's one of the major reasons for the negative perception of the united states in the region that you've heard about this morning. so i want to go through a number of key legal issues. the first i'll mention, and on this one i think that the administration is not quite as negative as you'll find me saying on the others, relates to status of jerusalem. the congress passed a law a couple of years ago to move the u.s. embassy to jerusalem. the president, successive presidents now, have resisted doing that. we have a consulate general in jerusalem which reports directly to the state department, though it has not been put under the embassy in tell avive. so as -- tell avive -- teleavive. so as a technical matter, the executive branch has preserved the position that the status of jerusalem is not determined,

kerry said the vote in crimea will not be recognized by the international community. >> the united states position on that referendum, i must say, is clear. we believe the referendum is contrary to the constitution of ukraine, contrary to international law, is in violation of that law, and we believe it is illegitimate. and as the president put it, illegal under the ukrainian constitution. neither we nor the international community will recognize the results of this referendum. and we also remain deeply concerned about the large deployments of russian forces in crimea and along the eastern border with russia. >> on the eve of the vote, russian forces seized a natural gas terminal in ukraine, just outside crimea's regional border. minister sergei lavrov defended the referendum vote in crimea saying there is a historical precedent for peoples and regions pursuing self-determination. as far as statements by our western partners on the acceptability of the referendum, i have already explained our view on the subject. we based our position on the fact nobody canceled the right of people to self-determi

speaking over the phone with russian president's vladimir putin on thursday, stressing the united states position on ukraine. the white house says the president indicated the need for a diplomatic solution. maligned the i s curve pistorius trial is getting back on the way. this video is of the track star arrived in court in south africa this morning. a neighbor who heard screams denied that his grown son was shot and killed is expected to testify again. he said that he saw the victim, and reeva steenkamp, line on the floor and that pistorius was praying for her to live. >> the manufacture of a roller-coaster from which it woman tells her dad is blaming six flags for the accident. this video is from the taxes gerstlauer amusment rides sought court papers say that the ride was not defective or unsafe in any way. it blames six flags workers for not properly checked in the women's safety belt or stopping the ride woman supervisor noticed that the restraint bart was too high. >> coming up on the kron4 new spread we are live on the scene of a fire that is born in hayward right now. what you're for neig

of the territorial integrity, and could crimea. -- included crimea. >> it will be our firm position as the united states position that russia needs to withdraw its troops and crimea is part of ukraine and that issue is not up for debate. >> as you know, russia has a basing rights agreement with ukraine and crimea. -- in crimea. the president has been pretty clear on our position that the sovereign integrity of a sovereign nation has been violated. >> russia has a base there and they are entitled to the rights given to them under the ukraine andtween russia. that does not give them any right whatsoever to occupy that part of the crimean peninsula. am i correct? >> that is right. >> gel dempsey, -- general dempsey, we've had some information about the russians violating the imf treaty. you were not chairman in 2010, but if you had been aware of any potential russian violations of the treaty during consideration of new start, you would have recommended that the information be briefed to the senate, would you not? >> i think i would've made a recommendation that it be briefed in a closed classified s

both sides can hurt each other, but the united states basic position on this is to speak loudly and we have not made any direct commitments to the region. we have not even developed a coherent strategy and we have not tried to whip them into line. what we really have here are every measure that doesn't mean anything and therefore the russians won't respond. lou: as we hear the president continue with language at the very least it seems like there's a lot of risk of unintended consequences. pushing russia into the arms of china, if you will, at least a day or arm in arm. that would be a formidable alliance, would it not? >> we also have to remember that russia has options independent of china. they can bring pressure to bear in the baltics and all of these places, right now our basic problem is that russia has a lot of pressure points to bring on the united states and it has not really positioned itself to be able to block them. so if we actually frighten the russians, their actions they would take that would make them very uncomfortable. lou: it's good to be here and good to talk to yo

the united states' position on that referendum, i must say, is clear and is clear today.e believe the referendum is contrary to the constitution of ukraine. it is contrary to international law. it is in vitolation of that law and we believe is illegitimate. as the president put it, illegal under the ukrainian constitution. neither we nor the international community will recognize the results of this referendum. we also remain deeply concerned about the large deployments of russian forces in crimea and along the eastern border with russia as well as the continuing provocations and some of the hooliganism of young people who have been attracted across the border and come into the east as well as some of those who have lived there. i was clear with foreign minister lavrov that the president has made it clear there will be consequences if russia does not find a way to change course. and we don't say that as a threat. we say that as a direct consequence of the choices that russia may or may not choose to make here. if russia does establish facts on the ground that increase ten

china stated its position. the united states stated its position. unfortunately, after the meeting between the two presidents, the chinese foreign ministry released a statement that willfully mischaracterized u.s. as if our taiwan, position on taiwan had somehow changed. it has not. these kinds of actions are unwelcome and it fosters mistrust between the united states and china. we believe it is also unhelpful for china's and goals. china should focus on winning the hearts and minds of the people of taiwan as opposed to making them insecure about u.s. we haven as if somehow changed our position on taiwan and are saying things differently in meetings with resident -- with the president which wee do publicly, do not. it is important to pay attention to the fact that not only is of4 the 35th anniversary u.s.-china relationship, it is the the 35th anniversary of taiwan relations act, which is we remainnd in which firmly committed come along with the six assurances. the taiwan relations act is an important and enduring expression to the people of taiwan

the united states' position on that referendum i must say is clear and it's clear today. we believe the referendum is contrary to the constitution of ukraine. it's contrary to international law. >> woodruff: if crimea secedes, the u.s. and the european union plan to impose sanctions on select russian officials and businesses, as early as monday. that threat hit russia's main stock index again today. it's down 16% in the last two weeks. we'll return to the scene inside crimea, where margaret warner is on the ground, later in the program. the u.s. government will give up direct control over administration of the internet. the commerce department announced the decision today. the practical effects were not immediately clear, but news accounts said a new oversight body must be created. that group would work with icann, a california non-profit that oversees assigning internet domain names and web addresses. a watchdog group now claims the problem behind a major general motors recall may be linked to 300 deaths. the center for auto safety says it studied accidents where a fault

the united states' position on crimea all but mirrors that of the european union and the white house has issued numerous statements found to reject. top u.s. senators are currently in ukraine with senator john mccain calling for the united states supplied with lethal weaponry and as for why america has been has been saying set against the referendum serbian political analyst and bush in mileage off of this his opinion debate or justification of u.s. foreign policy is because we say so there's really no guiding principle to it the only guiding principle is that is the power of washington you had to have violent jihad ists in syria you had al qaida in syria openly backed by the us government which is supposedly at war with al qaeda and has been ever since two thousand one hundred your score that simply because those rebels in syria as it were were serving the interests of washington at a given time same thing in ukraine nazis great we can work with nazis as long as it accomplishes our purpose it doesn't matter who these people are we'll call them something else we'll get the media to s

it's a difficult position for the united nations because russia has veto power there over the security. we'll keep an eye on that and bring you any other developments that come our way. >>> moving stateside, though, to california. recent drought is giving way to a relentless downpour prompted mandatory evaluations in los angeles suburbs and triggered landslides and heavy flooding. rains are expected to last through today before moving east and over the rocky mountains, stephanie stanton is in california. what are you seeing out there? >> reporter: well, right now surprisingly, it's clear. but this is how it's been all day. it will be clear, and then we'll have these short bursts of downpours and that is what is the concern here. this entire area, this is a fire burn area, this is under mandatory evaluation orders about a thousand homes in fact, but interestingly, only about 25% of homeowners are heed that go warning. let me show you what's happening behind me here. this is rainbow drive, this street is of particular concern and you can see that there are rails and sand bands and let's

the united states' position on the referendum, i must say, is clear and it's clear today.he referendum is contrary to the constitution of ukraine, contrary to international law and is in violation of that law and we believe it is ill legitimate. the president put it, illegal under the ukraine constitution. neither we nor the international community will recognize the results of this referendum. we also remain deeply concerned about the large deployments of russian forces in crimea and along the eastern border with russia. as well as the continuing provocations and hul beganism of young people attracted across the border and come into the east as well as those who live there. i was clear with prime minister lavrov that the president has made it clear there will be consequences if russh does not find a way to change course. we say that as a direct consequences of the choices russia may or may not choose to make. if russia does establish facts on the ground that increase tensions or that threaten the ukrainian people, then obviously, that will beg an even greater response and

>> then without warning, just as police begin moving the canine unit into position, the man lets the at this point police move in. >> shoot me, mother -- >> he makes a run for it into the woods, the police and their dog give chase. >> let the dog go! >> meanwhile, sarah, the hostage, is reunited with her parents. in the woods, a photographer from a local newspaper captures the moment police taze the suspect and take him into custody. he's identified as 24-year-old joshua robert terry. his next stop, prison. in another taser incident in may 2009, matt edmonds wrapping up his bar tending shift at the lakes hotel in australia when out of nowhere a masked man accosts him. >> the gunman grabbed me, put a gun to my head, and told me to get back inside. >> the gunman then grabs two more hostages, both of them hotel employees. >> there's me, the manager, and the security guard. and he was just asking for and he was just asking for money. >> sergeant steve dilorenzo of the new south wales police department is the first officer to arrive on scene. >> i saw there was a man with a high caliber s

if it can't be there'll be additional time for dip loam as which so long as it's coupled by positions, by united states. because russia has to take additional steps before any annexation of crimea into the russian frigs. >> president obama was sitting across from an interim ukranian prime minister. the well-educated talented tech no accurate. a guy that understands the financial system. he wouldn't have been sitting across from ukrainian leaders of similar talent. does it weaken america's hand. ukraine has been pretty badly run since the break-up of soviet union. the problem that the united states and europe faces is that ukraine at this point is pretty much a basket case economically and fiscally, and it needs a tremendous amount of monetary assistance in the first instance to deal with the problems. >> i think you put a finger on the broader issue. the elites that have spent much of their time in corrupt practices, stealing money from the state, not building the institutions of power that would make ukraine governable. in a sense we came to the crisis over the past three or four months for tha

it's a balance that put the united states in a strong position. >> do you think our military power is deterrent? i was troubled when this syria thing kicked off in the last year. the washington opinion was that it was the military threat that -- put syriaroad on the road to looking at it a certain way. the argument was the military crisis.elped deter this it seems to me it wasn't necessarily the military threat as much as it was the conversation, getting on a playing field where diplomats could have their say. maybe it's not either/or. that's a long way of getting at whether we really do believe our factor is a deterrent. >> our military power is still really important in these conversations. part of why diplomacy works is the alternative is military power and people don't want to go there, so that creates an incentive for diplomacy. it the old carrots and sticks. the deeper point i think is there are a lot of places where we actually do have shared interest. even with a country like russia. we have an interest in cleaning up chemical weapons in syria. the military option has to be th

the united states' position on that referendum i must say is clear and is clear today.e believe the referendum is contrary to the constitution of ukraine, is contrary to international law, is in violation of that law, and we believe it is illegitimate. as the president put it, illegal under the ukrainian constitution. neither we nor the international community will recognize the results of this referendum. we also remain deeply concerned about the large deployments of russian forces in crimea and along the eastern border with russia as well as the continuing provocations and some of the hooliganism of the young people that have been attracted across the border and come into the east as well as some of those who live there. i was clear with foreign minister lavrov that the president has made it clear there will be consequences if russia does not find a way to change course and we don't say that as a threat. we say that as a direct consequence of the choices that russia may or may not choose to make here. if russia does establish facts on the ground that increased tension

this unit is taking up positions outside a ukrainian army base. the objective? to take it from troops who were once their comrades in the soviet army. but times and loyalties have changed. the russians have come prepared for a fight. behind the gate, the ukrainian troops are dressed for combat but look bewildered. and no wonder. their country has been invaded, their homeland, crimea, taken over. two armys in a tense standoff. it's been decades since we've seen as clear a russian takeover in eastern europe as this one. and so far there is no sign whatsoever that the ukrainian soldiers behind that gate are going to put up a fight. the russians ordered them to lay down their weapons or there'd be trouble. minutes later, the ukrainian armor was gone, the gate manned by men carrying knives who looked just as anxious about the enemy facing them. the ukrainian base, one of crimea's biggest, is now surrounded. there's no word on whether the garrison mazz has been ordered to fight or surrender. russia has taken crimea without firing a shot. it's taken just three days. ru

united kingdom. >> president, as the permanent representative of russia has suggested that some e.u. member states were somehow involved in making the crisis in ukraine worse, i should like to set out clearly my government's position. the united kingdom is deeply concerned by the escalation of tensions in the crimea peninsula and by the fact that the russian parliament has authorized russian military action on ukranian soil against the wishes of the ukranian government. this action is a grave threat to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of ukraine. we condemn any act of aggression against ukraine. we have therefore sought an immediate and full explanation from the russian federation for the decision to authorize -- >> you've just been listening to an emergency session of the u.n. security council there discussing the situation in ukraine, really a riveting back and forth between the ukraine's representative, russia's representative and u.s. representative, ambassador is a man th samantha power. let me briefly summarize. samantha power, the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. saying it is time for russian intervention in ukraine to end, and she argues that it is as dangerous as it is destabilizing. and

if we complete these agreements, we will have positioned the united states at the center of free trade and goods with nearly two-thirds of the world. we will increase our exports, and we will have put in place the pieces that we need to accelerate the return of jobs and growth to the united states. thank you. [applause] >> well, good morning. it's a great pleasure for me to be able to participate again in the economic policy conference. i've done it on a number of occasions in the past, and it's always been a very stimulating and interesting one where i've learned a lot from the other speakers in the conference. so i hope to reciprocate a bit and offer you a few tidbits of insight on the issues that miriam has just talked about. it's also a great pleasure for me to join the podium withmy yang. she's -- miriam. she's finishing up this week more than four years of very distinguished service as deputy u.s. trade representative, and i want to thank you personally, miriam, for all the contributions you've made to u.s. trade policy and the u.s. economy over this period and thank you very muc

there's not a leader in the world who wouldn't trade positions with the united states. listen to maury povich say, woe is me. come on. i have a simple closing comment. get up. get up and get out and win in 2014. talk about what we value. get up. [applause] [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> democratic senator tom harkin is the author of the bill to raise the minimum wage. he is our guest this weekend on "newsmakers," here is a preview of what he had to say. now to getyou do more support within your party and get this bill to the floor? otherwise, it seems it is a bit of as a delay bringing it to the floor and is not quite happening. >> i do not understand why the so in lockstep against increasing the minimum wage. all of the studies show it is a pro-growth policy and will increase the gross domestic product of the gross national product, and raise millions, and people will have more money to spend. low-wage workers tend to spend extra dollar and they spent it locally. they are no

units, csb. their position is -- >> no, no, we are still doing forensic. we have been very consistent.e prime minister indicates that we're going to expand our search and rescue operations. on that day, also, we made a statement to say that there is a possibility, and on that same day, too, we expanded. i indicated to you the number of vessels and also aircraft in both areas. we have as of today not found anything. so basically, we have been very consistent in what we have been saying in the last two days. [ inaudible question ]. >> aim afraid not. >> when and where did it last transmit data? and did it stop at the same time as the transformer's box? >> okay. in our -- in our -- we look at our data and about 1:21 in the morning and it disappeared at 1:30 in the morning. and that is because we have a secondary data. then the -- and there was an indication of a indication and possibility. [ inaudible question ]. >> what is the altitude when it was in the threat -- could you access the altitude on the other side of malaysia? please tell us why the information data, aircraft data, communic

united kingdom. >> president, as the panel presented that some eu member states were involved in making the crisis worse i would like to set out my government's position. the united kingdom is deeply concerned about the tensions in the crimea peninsula and by the fact that the russian parliament authorized action on ukrainian soil against the wishes of the ukrainian government. this action is a grave threat to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of ukraine. we condemn any act of aggression against ukraine. we have therefore sought an immediate and full explanation from the russian federation for the decision to authorize military action on sovereign ukrainian soil and the basis of it under international law. earlier today my prime minister called on all parties to think carefully about actions and think to lower and not escalate tensions. yesterday my secretary spoke to the ukrainian acting president and made clear the united kingdom support for the new government. he urged him that the government takes measures to unify the country and protects the rights of all ukrainian citizens including those from may north groups in the spiri

>> there is a deep fear on the arab side that the united states really wants a positive relationshipith the wrong -- iran and is going to abandon them in favor of a positive relationship with iran. i think it is far-fetched, but that is their perception. that iran has a culture, language, cuisine, and art. feel thearabs americans would like the relationship like they had with the shah, and we will be left alone. >> is it undermining for the u.s. is becoming more intergender dependent? >> they worry about it. the more asia gets its energy from the middle east, the u.s. commitment to asia will need the left will mean a commitment that will endure. have the possibility of developing their own unconventional gas reserves. the saudis are not going anywhere in the global energy markets. >> thank you. you are watching "bbc world news america." still to come, the mind of the future. a new book says the time when the human brain is transformed by technology could be closer than you think. we will talk to the author. hearing for the first time after a lifetime of silence. life wasar-old's tran

them to decide if they want a free trade agreement and association eu.ement with the the position of the united states was not that it would be done to the exclusion of a relationship with russia. the historical ties and economic ties between ukraine and russia are substantial and will be ongoing. the united states and eu did not consider the association with europe to be exclusive. it.n would not tolerate his view was a relation was going to be exclusive to the relationshipsther with the europeans. and of course, what he understood, charlie, if in fact the ukraine oriented itself, it would not be part of any type of eurasian union. and it would trust toward -- drift toward ties with europe which is where the country wants to go. instead of being in favor, he is in favor of exclusion and keep in the countries as close to him and under his domination. >> what is going to happen in crimea? >> it is not clear. they set this vote to decide whether or not they wanted to associate with russia or the ukraine. like the president said earlier and the europeans, it is blatantly illegal under the -- const

the united states position on that referendum is clear.sbelieve the referendum contrary to the constitution of ukraine and contrary to international law and is in violation of that law. we believe it is legitimate. as the president put it, it is illegal. neither we nor the international community will recognize the results of this referendum. remain deeply concerned deployment of russian and then crimea continuing provocations and some of the hooliganism young people have been attracting across the border. host: that's john kerry from yesterday. the financial times has one more story. a picture of the secretary of state with the prime minister, talking about the reactions coming from the russian side. pullingcompanies billions of dollars out of western banks, fearful that any u.s. bank could lead to painful asset freeze. data published by the federal reserve of new york sparked speculation that the russian central bank was reducing vulnerability to potential sanctions. the data showed a drop of 105 billion dollars in treasuries. that we ca

so it's easier in a way for the united states to 0 take a tougher position because we do have less at cost. but i do think that the situation that is unfolded between russia and ukraine with russia's violation of ukraine's sovereignty and tegraty with the buildup of forces on the eastern border with ukraine and possibility of further problems in moldova and else were, europe is really going to be forced to take a strong position. don't think there will be much choice they will have. >> david, what's your hunch on other areas russian might have its eyes on? >> i think there is real concern about the possibility of even an accident or provocation, whether in crimea where the situation is still not completely under control, though it fortunately has been rather nonviolent. or on the border, if the buildup of ukraine combran forces to try to keep russian forces from crossing the border, problems in moldova with the separatist regions. but even in nato member states, e.u. member states such as latvia or estonia, where there's a sizable ethnic russian population. kazakhstan also should be c

. >> is the united states, they are in a position of being a bystander in all of this? is the president doing something or not rote now? >> no u.s. president is ever willing to ittous the military. president didn't when they went in hungary and president bush didn't when they went in georgia. but the russia is tied in the economic international situation than they were ten years ago. and fully half of russia's foreign trade is with western ourp. if the europeans were to get serious about the embargo of russian gas which they could do now. russian doesn't have the monopole. it is possible with the sanctions that president obama announced that we could begin to change the calculation in moscow. we need to spend diplomacy in the days to come with the european allies as we do with the russians in moscow. >> mr. ambassador thank you for your invite. we appreciate you being with us today. >> and a senior pentagon official said going to the war over ukraine in the u.s. best interest. what happens next? if you would like to comment on the show and share with me your thoughts. g

this unit is taking up positions outside a ukrainen base. the times and loyalties have changed. the russians have come prepared for a fiechlt behind the gate, the troops are dressed for combat but look bewildered. and no wonder. their homeland has been invaded. their homeland, crimea taken over. they've been ordered to lay down their weapons or there'd be trouble. minutes later, the ukrainian m armor was gone. the ukrainian base is now surrounded. there's no word on whether the garrison has been ordered to feet or surrender. russia has taken crimea without firing a shot. it's taken just three days. russian troops occupying a region that's pulling away from ukraine fast, with the full support of most of its people. pro russian militias have formed. these men making sure no one pulls down the statue of lenin. the navy chief defected to russia today, and his orders may now come from moscow. the russian takeover amounts to a declaration awar. ukraine's army in crimea is pinned down and humiliated. and the rest of ukraine, its army has been put on combat alert. its prime minister say