vladimir putin. india's finance minister present the first full budget of the government, headed by prime minister narendra modi. it includes health insurance for india's poor. >>> back to the top story - a political analyst and former russian diplomat - a lot of speculation about a political motive for boris nemtsov's killing. >> in russia there's quite a lot of versions about the reason why boris nemtsov, himself, was killed. me personally am sharing political reasons, because he was a political figure one of two or three main political groups that criticize vladimir putin, and russian government this year. i don't think that he is so popular through threatens the regime, or vladimir putin's government. oath it's some kind of provocation. boris, himself, was a close friend of all ukranian presidents. and now petro porashenko he was a close friend and close ally to ukrainian leaders. it is one of the reasons, and he was killed in the breach with ukranian girl was strolling in the street late at nigh

vladimir putin is a common criminal dressed up as a head of state. that is the kind of person we are dealing with. how does one deal with that? there are a number of ways. the sanctions that have been introduced are biting. yes, they are having effect. the russian economy has been hit. we are seeing the oligarchs lost billions in the value of their assets. we saw the russian currency the rouble knows dived. is that enough? >> no, there needs to be more. we need further sanctions. what kind? with iran when the united states and the world switched off the the interbank payment system the swift, it got iran quickly to the negotiating table. if we talk about switching off swift, this important interbank payment system for russia i am sure that would have a massive effect on the russians and vladimir putin will see that the west is serious. >> andy joins us from london. thank you for being was. we'll be back with more "inside story" after a short break. when we come back opposing views on how the world got here and what the take holders have to do if peac

but nothing seems to stop vladimir putin. >> that's a good point. i think that what this is going to do is harden feelings in europe and the united states about russia because, in fact nemtsov of well known in western european capitals well known in washington. he spoke very good english. he had been around for a long time. this was not an obscure figure. this of somebody that people out of russia knew. and when they see this happening in such a cold-blooded calculated way in the dead of night, in the shadow of the kremlin, it will reinforce a sense of animosity or distance in the move between russia and the rest of the world. i don't think it helps russia in the sense of patching thing up with what's going on. it may have the opposite effect. >> the white house condemned what it calls the brutal murder of boris nemtsov. president obama is calling on the russian government to conduct a prompt impartial, and transparent investigation of the murder and ensure those responsible are brought to justice. mr. obama also said he admired nemtsov's courageous

vladimir putin signed economic deals in hungary. we have this report. >> reporter: vladimir putin is not welcome at some european capitals. in budapest he was treated like an old friend. the prime minister hailed the visit as a success for hungry. the two reached agreement on gas and other deals. vladimir putin hinted if only hungary was willing, more cheap gas could come their way. we can use the agreement to join hungary with serbia and other partners. >> this visit is not unnoticed. there are critical voices saying that victor is talking to the young guy. vladimir putin had more officials sanctioned by the e.u. over ukraine. the argument goes that he is trying to tie countries like hungary into dependency, energy dependency, it's a strategy to divide europe. to make that point, 2,000 people protested on the eve of the visit to show solidarity with ukraine. hungary's disrupted gas supplied to its neighbour. they were unhappy about orban's domestic policies. >> becoming friends with vladimir putin, taking on his idea >>> vladimir p

he is a former deputy prime minister, a long-time critic of vladimir putin. dana lewis has more from london. >> it is a shock not only to me as a correspondent who has covered boris and interviewed him many times, starting as far back in the 1990s, when he was the deputy prime minister under boris yeltsin until the time he ran for a mayor in sochi, to expose corruption in the olympics, and trying to start a real opposition movement from sochi, that would have free media and free speech in russia to criticize the kremlin vladimir putin, which he has done for the last two decades. he is i think, the tallest, highest profile political opposition figure in russia. the timing is extremely sinister. he was about to be working on a report. it is said that directly it points the finger at vladimir putin, for pulling the trigger on the events in ukraine, causing the events in ukraine, and putting troops into ukraine, despite vladimir putin's denials, and told a magazine this month, earlier this month, boris told a russian naga zone that he feared for his life because

not from us but pakistan. >> vladimir putin has allies in europe a right-wing hungarian prison. >> vladimir putin is not welcome in the european capital. he was treated like an old friend. the visit was hailed as a success. the two reached agreements on gas. they were waiting for gas to come its way. >> actually implementing part of the south through turkey. we can use the agreement to join serbia and other part ners. this visit has not gone unnoticed. there are critical voices in europe sighing victor is talking to the young guy. the arguments go to countries are into dependency and that it's a strategy to divide europe. >> to make that point, some tested on the eve of the visit, showing austerity with ukraine. they were unhappy about orban's domestic policies. >> i don't like the eastern direction of hungary, becoming friends with vladimir putin. >> mr vladimir putin has shown while they are looking for a unified front against perceived aggression. he has allies in europe. hungry's government is doing what is best for hungary. >> a 3-day summit is under way. they are trying to stop young

one of two or three main political leaders that criticize vladimir putin and russian government this year. but i don't think that he is so popular that, in threaten the regime threaten you putin's government provocation he was killed one day before -- >> a lot of things are pointing to vladimir putin because apparently he was preparing to reveal proof of russian troops in eastern ukraine and he had been very, very critical of vladimir putin's policies. >> that's right. >> in eastern ukraine. so a lot of conspiracy theories looking at the kremlin as a possible reason for why he was killed and he himself told a newspaper he felt vladimir putin would have him killed because of that. >> that's right. boris himself was very close friend of all ukrainian presidents. yushenkov and petro poroshenko. he was killed in the breach nearby kremlin with ukrainian girl strolling 1:00 a.m. so i think putin -- it is not profitable case for putin. who it profit from his death? those who want to antagonize him as a political figure on russian be sin. he wasn't so. he was mairnl known as a political figur

and vladimir putin, if there's no peace deal they'll pay a price. talking about increased sanctions from the u.s. and the european union. there was no talk about providing defensive weapons to president obama. they are under pressure essentially they are saying to vladimir putin, if you don't do a deal. you'll pay for it financially in the short term. >> they were reporting that the ukranian president said that ukraine is prepared to introduced martial law in all regions, as the crisis in the east goes. the prospect of the intructed of martial law. there's more on that as we follow the process that it gets under way in minsk. in the meantime we'll look at our other main story, a situation in yemen there. the country is on the brink of civil war. houthi rebels consolidate their hole. they have been attending talks involving the rival groups in the capital sanaa. >> the situation is a result of previous situations. violent and militant groups in the south. they are all negative indications. we stress the need for all parties concerned to look at the p

just out of shot is the russian president vladimir putin.stand that he has according to two sources, that is the a.p. news agency and russian tv, he has said in the last few minutes that there will be a ceasefire. a ceasefire in eastern ukraine starting it at midnight on saturday. a massive delegation inside the presidential palace in belarus. president poroshenko there meeting and greeting not for the first time the russian president vladimir putin. and this was the location where we were expecting to hear any announcement after all-night talks involve the leaders of france germany ukraine and russia. and we were told early on there were a couple of sticking points well, more than just a couple of sticking points, but at one point the ukrainian president petro poroshenko describing russian conditions for any kind of ideal as unacceptable. so we'll go back to that as soon as we get a signal that they are about to say something. >>> president obama's request formally to authorize military force against isil could face opposition in congress.

nemtsov was a thorn in the side of the kremlin and vladimir putin.but in the 90s boris nemtsov was very much part of the russian political establishment. he was elected to parliament in 1990 and then seven years later he became a deputy prime minister under the watch of president boris yeltsin. in the last few years he had become a prominent critic of the russian leadership. >> he is a man of principle. he stood up for the values in favor of ordinary people, having their say in the way that russia should develop in the need which i think is very profound need for any country to have a dialogue between the rulers and the ruled. so in general yes you might call that justice. >> nemtsov refused to be silenced. he tried to expose corruption in the run up to last year's sochi olympics. and more recently he had been a leading voice against russia's alleged involvement in the conflict in eastern ukraine. in the hours before his murder, nemtsov, who had four children, gave his last radio interview using it to once again call for political reform. he had been

vladimir putin to look at.r number one is the reauthorization of minsk, and i think it will have to provide for ukrainian sovereignty and territoriality, and a certain amount, of course, of autonomy. >> they have not agreed on sanctions. >> vladimir putin is a hard man. deeply dug in. he is now married to his policies, and to some extent, one of the great problems we have in the present situation is there appears to be growing rigidity on both the sides. the president said of course that it was a vladimir putin's aggressiveness that was driving germany and the united states the united states and europe closer together, and i think he is exactly right but we have to find a way of seeing whether there is a diplomatic door at this stage or not, and much of that depends on the mood of vladimir putin. he has dug a hole, and is the latter big enough to get him out, and is there a latter -- a ladder? >> thank you very much. hsbc is at the center of a global row about tax evasion after documents have been released that

the leaders of germany and france will arrive in moscow to meet with russia's president vladimir putin. angela merkel has promised to use all her power to get president putin to sign a peace plan. let's go live to moscow. you've got president hollande saying he wants not only a ceasefire, but a comprehensive peace agreement as soon as possible and angela merkel saying she doesn't even know if it is possible to get a ceasefire. what kind of reception will they get in moscow? >> when they get here, they were supposed to be arriving about this time, but running slightly late. when they get here, they'll drive straight into moscow and into a meeting with vladimir putin. ellis to what they've got to say and offer a plan of his own. he has submitted that plan to

to alter strategy if vladimir putin doesn't stand down. >> the solution a political diplomatic one, butsident putin has got to make the decision to take an offramp. we have to make it clear to him we are committed to the sovereignty and interntegrity of ukraine. >> reporter: ukraine does have the right to defend itself but they are trying to stop short of creating conditions for an all-out war. although as some republicans are now calling on the administration to provide that lethal aid, it appears some officials are opening the door to options. >>> thank you. jeh johnson says now is not the time to play politics with funding for homeland security. some republicans are trying to reverse the executive action on the president's immigration. dhs funding dries up in three weeks. the secretary says if that happens, dhs workers will have to be furloughed and america's security will suffer. >> just say, we will just make them come to work without pay. first of all, is a real challenge for the working men and women of my department. and it means furloughing at least 30,000 of our department and

and vladimir putin has offered budapest a sweeter deal. >> reporter: vladimir putin is not welcome in most european capitals, but in budapest he was treated as a friend a success for hungary, the two reaching agreements on gas deals. vladimir putin hinted if only europe was willing, more russian gas could come its way. >> if no one hinders us we can implement part of the stream through turkey. we can use the agreement with other partners. >> this visit has not gone unnoticed. there are critical voices in europe that say that viktor orban is friends with the wrong guy. vladimir putin has given more official sanctions and that he is trying to tie them into dependency, energy dependency. and that it's a strategy in europe. >> to make that point, some 2,000 people protested on the eve of the visit to show solidarity with ukraine. they are struggling and happy about the orban domestic policies. >> i don't like the eastern direction of hungary, becoming friends with vladimir putin, taking on his idea. >> but vladimir putin showed that while they are looking or not happy with him in europe h

have a heavy lift, having to convince vladimir putin to budge.here has been no signs that he has any plan to budge whatsoever. ryan chilcote is in moscow looking back over a darkened kremlin. he has been -- reporting on the content area ever since it began. does anyone have any hope of anything to happen in that building behind you this afternoon? ryan: the hopes are not high -- i guess the hopes are high, but the expectations are low, kisses conflict, if you will, -- conflict -- this conflict, if you will, has been going on for a year. we have had a lot of peace talks -- not just in moscow today, but in minsk, the capital of belarus, in milan. the last time angela merkel solved vladimir putin in normandy, and even in geneva going back to the summer. none of those talks have actually produced a lasting peace. it is not clear what the french and german leaders are bringing to moscow today -- if it is anything the russian president is prepared to accept. stephanie: father there any real prospect to a deal -- that's the honest -- are there any real

tragedy but said it's being used to damage egypt's reputation during a visit by russian president vladimir putin. al sisi seen here with putin offered his condolences and promised an investigation. after the deaths on sunday, the public prosecutor ordered the arrest at the head of the supporters group and the egyptian football federation has postponed all league matches indefinitely. al jazeera. >> the canadian government is calling for the immediate release of mohamed fahmy the al jazeera journalist and canadian citizen has been in jail in egypt for 409 days, along with his producer, bar mohammad. the junior foreign minister tweeted prime minister harper has personally raised the case of mohamed fahmy with the highest level of the egyptian leadership. canadian officials raised the case of mohamed fahmy with egyptian officials 15 times in the last nine days. we understand this is an upsetting time for the family, we continue to call for mohamed fahmy's immediate release. the two are accused of supporting the outlawed muslim brotherhood, charges they and al jazeera deny. their earlier conviction

if someone going to ask me for a diagnosis was, i would say my diagnosis is vladimir putin.he speck truck of vladimir putin. >> yes. there the foreign policy here. if you need to do things with putin, you don't want to be in a big state affair but more of a one-on-one situation somewhere else. you don't generally want to do that? not doing it in the big room. do you think that's a strategy we pursue regardless of the conclusions of this report? >> yeah. yeah. i mean you took the words out of my mouth. i don't know what leaders take it to discuss fine points of policy. no i don't think we do. vladimir putin likes being sur round surrounded by people. think about the olympics a year ago. he loves that stuff. in terms of discussing sensitive matters of foreign policy, i don't think there's any leader in the world you would talk to in a loud crowded space. >> he also sang on blueberry hill. do you remember that? >> not exactly the behavior of someone who does not like big crowds. but then i don't know. go ahead dr. frank. >> can i say? >> go ahead. everybody does have -- a lot o

, yet he was a critic of vladimir putin. are there those that believe it could be a fair investigation? >> well it depend who you ask. certainly the people that have come down here to where boris nemtsov was shot - they would believe that an investigation is going to be essentially a whitewash, and have come to pay their respects leave flowers. vladimir putin is saying it will be a thorough investigation. investigators are coming out with various theories at the moment about why boris nemtsov may have been shot. maybe it was a personal issue, maybe he was a man with many girlfriends, one could have become overly jealous, maybe it was something to do with islamic extremism, that possibly it was to do with ukraine, that he had varies friends, powerful businessmen in ukraine, powers within the ukranian administration that wanted him to upset the apple court in russia create a bit of domestic dissent and they had him killed. the third is this is an act of provocation, and that they were - whoever killed him was trying to make vl

war, has vladimir putin done enough. unfortunately they didn't do enough. in russia a lot of public people demand him to intervene deeper stronger. this is the position because if they are not doing this russia is becoming like asaad the butcher. because according to german security sources - i don't know where they get this information - 50,000 killed. many others in america claimed that bashar al-assad is a butcher. nobody is telling petro porashenko he's a pucker. he has to stop shelling and this artillery and multiple rocket launchers, launching the rockets and killing the civilians. >> you are shaking your head. >> i am. petro porashenko is defending his country, of course there'll be casualties on his side. this war, at this point, is being fought on all sides dirty, because there's no rules for the war. very little humanitarian assistance intervention. sort of to respond to him here. russians sight that the russian language is in trouble. no one is attacking the russian language if not forbidden everyone could spe

this is not vladimir putin callingbarack obama calling up vladimir putin this is him calling him up about the peace talks in minsk on wednesday. barack obama knows that the damage sanctions have done to the russian economy as he told vladimir putin if there is no peace deal then the russians will continue to pay a price for the ongoing violence. he's talking about increased sanctions both from the u.s. and also from the european union. there was no talk providing defensive weapons to the ukrainian army, although barack obama is under increasing pressure domestically to do just that. he said to vladimir putin look, we want to deal. if you don't do a deal at the very least you're going to pay for it financially in the short term. >> well, putt someone on a diplomatic offensive as well. he just finished his two-day visit to egypt his first in ten years. the russian president has been holding talks with his egyptian counterpart on a number of key issues. and he had a special gift for his russian host. >> when your adversaries are trying to isolate you internationally, go visit your friends. e

does vladimir putin even know the real vladimir putin? , we will ask chris granville, a man who spoke years working in the british and the sea in moscow. we will ask them who putin is and what that means for russian politics. that brings us to our twitter question of the day. can there bps withe peace with putin. ? tweet us @bsurveillance. ♪ tom: good morning, everyone. "bloomberg surveillance." i am tom keene. olivia: janet yellen facing the armed services panel. yesterday she paid a visit to the senate banking committee and the federal reserve chair indicated that patients have the limits on it comes to higher interest rates and greece, severally, gets a warning from its creditors. economic policies are only the beginning. athens is urging traits for new reforms tied to its bailout extensions. at the imf and ecb say actions speak louder than words. also on the bloomberg terminal right now, a jury in texas convicted a former marine in the killings of american sniper author chris kyle and another man. jurors rejected the insanity defense,

russia and that he made an enemy of vladimir putin, and ended up dead. we are hearing various people arriving. victories of boris nemtsov, and victories for liberal russia. this was the final nail in the coffin in the hope that russia may become a liberal democracy along western lines. >> 11 killed in western iraq a car bomb went off in diyala province. a second vehicle exploded. 50 have been hurt. >> condemnations come in about the destruction of iraq's ancient relics by oil fighters. the minister for tourism and intick wities says the country needs help from the international community. >> what happened is a cross violation not only to the human heritage, but gross vial agency. the minister -- violation. the ministry will adopt measures it will come together and support iraq. on our part we'll open the museum and promise the iraqi people that the answer was to open more museums and shape the future. the united nations envoy is heading to damascus for two days. trying to get the rebels and the government to agree on a truce. last week he said the syrian

he's essentially saying to vladimir putin look we want to deal. if you don't do a deal at the least you'll pay for it financially in the short term. >> on the ground in ukraine. 12 people have been killed after a rocket attack deep in government controlled territory. >> ukranian president arrived in kramatorsk to inspect the damage. talks in minsk aiming at ending the conflict. charles stratford reports. >> destroyed tank and weapons abandoned in the snow. the town is virtually deserted. fighters with the donetsk people's republic took control. they say they are advancing. tightening the noose around the strategically important down of debaltseve. >> translation: debaltseve is important. we want to line rate it. we want to liberate all the territory. people believe in us. they voted for us in a referendum. they trust us. we want to bring them freedom. >> it's not known how many civilians were killed. >> this is a town around 10km as the crow flies. it was taken over by the separatists. we are hearing a lot of outgoing shelling, and an increasing a

what other means can be put in place to change vladimir putin's calculus. >> reporter: the so-called lethal defensive weapons include antitank missiles stopping a tank in its tracks. tracking radar, that can stop fire and return fire. and anti-aircraft systems that can shoot down spy drones that have been providing intelligence. on the munich conference on security problems john mccain argued while there may be no military solution there is a military dimension. >> how long can vladimir putin sustain a war that he tells his people is not happening. >> at the same conference angela merkel voiced a firm opposition. standing next to president obama at the white house, lee merklinger made clear the two leaders could agree to disagree. >> no matter what we decide the alliance between the united states and europe will continue to stand, or continue to be solid even though there are certain issues we don't always agree. many feel betrayed by the u.s. which was a signatory to russia for the agreement under which in return for achoournss sovereignty would be expected. ukraine gave up its enti

this was not president obama calling up vladimir putin, asking about his trip to egypt. that is him laying down what he'd like to see from the peace talks. ukrainians and russians are in belarus. france and germany have come up with something they think will lead to a ceasefire and demilitarization aft conflict. president obama knows what sanctions have done to the russian economy, and told vladimir putin, if there is a peace deal the russians will pay a price for ongoing violence. he's talking about sanctions from the u.s. and also from the european union. there was no talk about providing defensive weapons. president obama is under pressure do that. he's essentially saying to vladimir putin - look we want to deal if you don't do a deal at the least you'll pay for it financially in the short term. >> the u.n. envoy to yemen warned that the country is on the brink of civil war as a hold is consolidated on large parts of the country. u.s. u.k. and france closed their embassies, and nine people have been killed 15 injured in fighting in the central province of al-bayda. ho

given skepticism that russians will have, and those that say this has got to be connected to vladimir putinwhat does that have to do with putin's standing in russia, request putin has a very high political standing in russia. this was a voice that was listened to, this was a albeit minority voice, a voice that was listened to when people wanted to see reform in russia moving towards perhaps a more western-style democracy. a stronger parliament, less powers to the president these are things that boris nemtsov stood for for a very long period of time. there were those who advocated that, wanted to see that happen. with the death of boris nemtsov you now have a vacuum within the people who want to see those kind of reforms happening within russia. clearly because he was in strong opposition to putin's kremlin there will be fingers pointed. but at this hour too early to say who may have been behind this but certainly this leaves a vacuum within the russian political system at a time when russia is clearly a major player within the geopolitical system with the crisis in ukraine. david. >> phil i

he was an out outspoken critic of vladimir putin. he was shot dead just hours before a a march. >> boris nemtsov had received death threats before. he brushed them aside and said if he were afraid he would not be leading an opposition party. he was shot and killed by a passing car. >> we needed him very much. >> this is a new spiral in russia's descent into a fathers state. the mastermind of the crime is obvious. it's a mastermind from the political opposition. >> it comes just two days before he was supposed to lead an opposition march. some are calling his death an assassination. this is a man once considered to be a potential successor to former president boris yeltsin. but instead yeltsin chose a little-known spy chief vladimir putin. but the opposition he fought so ladder for had recently found it harder and hard for make itself heard in an increasingly patriotic and anti-western russia. president vladimir putin offered his condolences and called the murder a provocation. he ordered a full investigation into nemtsov's death. he

we have more from moscow. >> if this meeting does go ahead and vladimir putin has suggested it will only happen if certain agreements are reached first then the russians are hopeful that big decisions will be made in minsk wednesday a small reminder of how we got here. after discussions friday night led to a phone call on sunday between the four leaders. out of that phone call came an agreement to meet again in minsk on wednesday. now, various things are going to be discussed at that meeting. we are pretty sure those things will be talk of a ceasefire talk of how to uphold the minsk memorandum from last september and discussions about the special status. the various leaders have their own suggestions. president hollande is talking about a demilitarized zone in ukraine. petro poroshenko doesn't want to have u.n. peace keeping forbes on the ground but will consider a wrench did you in ukraine on the federalization of the country, but western leaders will certainly be looking towards vladimir putin be looking towards russia to bring its influence that bear on the fighters on the rebels in t

they're set to meet with vladimir putin. year's worth of pressure has gone basically nowhere. we have this story covered from all angles beginning with cnn national security correspondent jim sciutto in kiev. >> chris and alisyn we have the french and german leaders arriving in moscow within the hour. their effort there they say in the simplest terms, to end a war in europe. the german chancellor talking about ending the horror on the ground in eastern ukraine. those are the stakes right now. the focus is on resurrecting a peace agreement negotiated in september. the trouble is they're going to be sitting across the table from the man they accuse of breaking that agreement repeatedly russian president vladimir putin. there's been no doubt about who u.s. officials, including u.s. secretary of state john kerry as well assigned the blame for this acute escalation in violence just in recent days that is russia. russian force, russian heavy weapons. some minor progress today. a small cease-fire in some of the smaller towns that h

vladimir putin. >> reporter: yeah. pole and down here, making us appreciate any temperature before sear rove degrees, and it's going to be continuing and folks are not happy, except the travel agencies that are seeing a surge in business as folks are coming in trying to find somewhere south to head. this weather has proven to be deadly. at least 20 storm-related deaths so far in chicago this year. so officials are encouraging people, stay indoors of you can, have the heat on, dress warmly and be safe. >> spectacular advice, further i suggest not standing next to ice michigan. that's just me. inside. away you go. >>> some people are having fun with the freezing temperatures. one police department issuing an arrest warrant for a character from the movie "frozen." probably underneath that costume was vladimir putin. what too you have here? >> well, elsa from disney's "frozen" is being blamed for the cold. in kentucky the harlan city police department posted on affection, all points bull continue. an arrest warrant for que

vladimir putin and russia's position is simple. protection of russian speakers and russians over there. keeping their language. some self rule and status of ukraine. this is the modest demand on behalf of russia. washington and brussels turned that down. as a result we got what we got. russians and russian speakers decided we don't want to live in kiev and extreme nationalists. they organised anti-constitutional coup kicking out the president. after which all this mess started in ukraine. which meant this is short sited approach on behalf of european union, washington and strat eejists. >> you say it's not vladimir putin's war, has he done enough or should he be involved? >> unfortunately, he didn't do enough. because in russia, a lot of politicians, and a lot of public opinion demand him to intervene deeper stronger and that larger degree. this is the position because if they are not doing this they are becoming like asaad the butcher. because according to security sources. i don't know where they get that information. 50,000 kill

a vocal critic of vladimir putin. he spoke out against russian involvement in the war of ukraine and the annexation of crimea. he served as a prime minister under boris yeltsin. early on saturday morning he was shot dead in central moscow, hours ahead of a massive opposition rally. we have the latest. >> reporter: boris nemtsov received death threats before but pushed them aside and said if he was afraid he wouldn't lead an opposition party. on saturday morning, the 55-year-old was shot four times from a passing car and killed near the kremlin. >> translation: he was big, handsome, bright and talented - the kind they kill. we needed him very much. >> boris nemtsov was killed a day before he was supposed to lead on opposition rally. thou there's anger -- now there's anger in the movement, some calling his death an assassination. >> this is a new spiral in the dissent into the state. it is a political murder of one of the brightest politicians. >> vladimir putin offered his condolence and called the murder a provocation

. >> sanctions against russia were taking their toll and exerting pressure on president vladimir putin. he suggested there were others that can see the damage being done to the russian economy. ukraine could never defeat russia militarily, even with american help. he stuck to his guns on keeping open the option of sending military aid. >> one of those options are being examined. >> and then, they went to see russian president vladimir putin to try to get them to talk pace -- to talk peace. she is looking forward to the meeting with france hollande. we have to put all her efforts into a diplomatic effort to solve the situation. she is still devoted to seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict but said the principal of territorial integrity is crucial in europe. she said that no matter what obama might decide to do, the most important message to send to russia was the united states of the u.s. and europe. >> richard walker has been following the press conference. richard, what is your take? have both sides agreed to disagree on weapons for the ukraine? >> you can certainly see it tha

however the president has been threatening vladimir putin for months and months now. sanctions have been biting putin but nothing the president has said or done has gotten putin to back down just yet. so we have to take this with a grain of salt. >> ed henry at the white house. thanks so much. mean time lawmakers are debating authorizing this battle against isis. officially. america's top military officers are warning congress that recent budget cuts, they say, could threaten future operations. leah gabriel is a former fighter pilot herself intelligence officer with the navy speaking with her sources where does the military the military always wants more money that's not a new thing. where does it stand on this matter? >> shep, a former senior defense official today said there is a growing problem in terms of readiness. listen to what she said the impact of those budget cuts is having right now. >> only half of the marine corps's home station units are at acceptable readiness levels. less than half of the combat coded units in the air force are fully ready for their mi

we're looking at live pictures in minsk where vladimir putin is addressing a press core. e fire agreement has been reached between president putin of russia and president poroshenko of ukraine. angle merkel the german chancellor was also present. a significant development in cease fire negotiations this morning. we're listening or looking at president putin as we talk. >> various leaders committing to respect ukraine sovereignty and territorial integrity. the leaders also agree that regular meetings would be held to ensure the fulfillment of the minsk agreements. this cease fire will commence on february 15th which is this sunday. >> indeed we heard one of the main developments was that we would see heavy artillery withdrawn within two days of the cease fire. that would make it next tuesday. that's a significant development. still remains to be seen what happens in the region but great development to hear both ukraine and russia reached an agreement. we're waiting to see what flashes come out of what mr. putin is saying. he's speaking live at the moment. for now let's focu

in front of the walls that he had been trying to break down. >> live to london and critic of vladimir putin who is blackpool listed by the russian government himself campaigned with boris nemtsov, and red a book called "how i became putin's number one enemy." i guess in your mind there is no doubt--maybe not specifically who murdered mr. nemtsov, but where the orders came from? >> well, i mean, it's pretty clear there is a very strong incentive from putin or putin's regime to do this. boris nemtsov was actively involved in organizing opposition which putin is scared off. much nemtsov was producing a report though prove that russian troops were in ukraine which putin didn't want. and boris was constantly being a thorn in the side of putin. and i believe killing him right in front of the kremlin. >> how then, bill n today's russia do you prove such a thing, if this is the case how can anyone prove it? there are calls for a transparent investigation, but it seems that most people think that that won't happen. >> how can you have the murderers do an investigation? the only way this could be don

vladimir putin will arrive to sign a new energy deal. we have a report from budapest. >> this old russian tune affairs hit for everyone who lived behind the former iron curtain. these days, though, hungarians have mixed feelings about what russia and president vladimir putin has to offer on his visit to budapest. >> it's not a good idea to make bargains with putin no. >> they need to work together to get some kind of consensus. >> it makes sense to solve our economic and political problems with the european union. >> putin is not a communist. >> communism is still a dirty word in hungary and you won't find many soviet symbols except here. >> tens of thousands of soviet and russian troops last their lives liberating budapest from the nazis in 1945. this monument pace tribute to them. hungarians also remember the soviet backed communist repression and invasion of hungary in 1956, following the uprising, so the relationship between moscow and budapest is historically a complex one of antagonism and depends. in brussels and berlin, alarm bel

vladimir putin has now ordered a full investigation trying to distance himself from any unwelcome speculation looking his way. >> yes, if you want to point the finger of ultimate blame it was putin who created this one-man rule state. with a criminal underbelly as it has. but the murder of nemtsov i think it has to be said is not at all in putin's interest. i mine forensics mean forensics will hopefully eventually tell us who did it. because his facade of stability and total control has been completely erased by that murder literal in the shadow of the kremlin. >> fred thanks very much indeed for that. fred weir in moscow now. >>> heading to damascus for atwo day visit. trying get the parties to agree to a truce in aleppo. he said last week, the government had agreed to a temporary ceasefire. >> kurdish fighters backed by u.s. led air strikes fighting its way into a syrian town, links territory droll by i.s.i.l. between iraq and syria. close to where more than 220 crifnlts werechristians were abducted by the group two days ago. >>> president obama is given one more day of funding for homeland

do european allies trust vladimir putin? will the deal lead to the end of the bloody crisis in ukraine? a lot of questions. former senator joe lieberman will join us in a few minutes to give his take. >>> now let's turn to the fight against isis and president obama's war plan now in the hands of congress. the debate really centers on ground troops whether congress will limit how and where the president can send in u.s. forces. the debate already raging on capitol hill. >> the president trying to thread a congressional needle here. he faces opposition from both parties. want to bring in white house correspondent michelle kosinski. this operation has been going on for six months the bombing going on for six months. after all that time you might think official authorization might come quickly. you might think that but you'd be wrong. >> reporter: when you think about it it's not really necessary. the white house says the existing authorization which, by the way, in this request still stands, gives them all the authority they ne

allies and the russian president, vladimir putin. cnn's national security correspondent jim sciutto is in the nation's capitol. aaron mcclauf lynnlaughlin is in moscow. let's start with you, jim. >> reporter: they're arriving in russia shortly. they're going to end a war on the ground. the focus is now resurrecting a peace agreement negotiated in september. the trouble is they'll be sitting across the table from the man, russian president vladimir putin who they accuse of breaking that piece agreement agreement. no question who they blame for an acute escalation. that is russia. that is president putin. minor progress today. cease fires in some of the towns worst hit, but the worry is that with each of these smaller cease fires that the front lines move further ahead. that leaves more territory under, in effect russian control. two questions still not answered. one, will there be another round of economic sanctions against russia but also unresolved will the u.s. send military aid to ukrainian forces. that decision still has not been

i'm betty nguyen. >>> just moments ago russian president vladimir putin announce add cease-fire in the ukrainian conflict. lit begin this saturday. ukrainian president poroshenko says both sides will start sending out heavy artillery. the cease-fire comes after nearly 16 hours of talks. we will have more details on this ahead in the show. >>> also breaking this morning, legendary 60 minutes correspondent bob simon has died. simon was killed in a car accident in new york city on wednesday. he was the passenger in a car sitting in the back seat. police say the driver lost control, slammed into another car and the median of the west side highway. by the time officers arrived, the 73-year-old was unconscious and unresponsive. he later died at a hospital. his career with cbs spanned over 47 years and won him 27 emmys and four peabody awards. he started as a reporter in 1967. it was his war reporting that put him on the map. his book "40 days" chronicled the time he spent in an iraqi prison. in 1996 he joined "60 minutes," a feature on the oscar nominated film "selma" appeared this weekend.

vladimir putin is visiting hungary. >> putin first pay tribute to the soldiers that defeated hungary's nazi occupiers. the russian president then met the hungarian prime minister for talks on energy issues. yes faced heavy criticism from within the european union for his perceived closeness with putin. >> russian backed forces are poised to take debaltseve. the russian president is an hungry. could you tell us what is vladimir putin's strategy when it comes to hungary and the eu? >> letterman -- vladimir putin's visit caught the government by surprise. he invited himself to hungary. he said he would like to come a few weeks after chancellor merkel and the government was not in a position to say no after flirting with russia for so long and after talking about eastern partnership, eastern opening. he is coming to hungary to show that he still has a friend and ally in the european union. this is the first time that he comes to an eu capital since last june. >> was this a big step for people? what set of support is there for him? >> well, it is a very delicate situation. he tries to cut b

good to see you. >> there could be clearly a clinical explanation to try to understand better vladimir putin'sehavior. as we just suggested a freedom of information act request by "usa today" uncovered studies from an expert in movement pattern analysis theer rising that the russian president may have asperger's syndrome putin's neurological development was significantly interrupted in infancy. ray locker broke this very provocative story and joins me now, on the front page of usa today in the print version. ray, fascinating stuff. we know this is thee receiptical and these analysts don't know putin per se. but this is the kind of stuff that our intelligence agencies and pentagon do all the time. it's government funded pentagon is saying well it wasn't study by the highest levels of the pentagon, the defense secretary never looked at it but -- clearly, tell us what you know. >> so they had been studying putin for a long time and other world leaders from a program called body leads. done in newport rhode island through an internal -- >> taxpayer dollars. >> taxpayer dollars, of course. as the a

she's from east germany and vladimir putin from his team in the kgb also speaks german.. so the president going to have a critical decision to make. officials here say he is not prone to make this hastily or lightly although we did get an indication as you know from secretary of state john kerry that he was not going to wait a long time after this meeting. tamron? >> i'd like you to hang on with us, chris. let me before in senior editor mark murray. one of the questions that ask in today's first read and people can go online and read it why is angela merkel so important? >> she's important because essentially germany is the bedrock of europe. when you talk about europe, you're talking about a score of different countries with different makeups and all of that. but germany is the economic powerhouse of europe and what europely usually agrees to or eu would agree to has to go through germany and angela merkel. it is important when merkel as well as france ends up saying that we're not 100% behind arming ukraine in their fight against the pro russian separatists that all of

guest was saying, the red carpet has been rolled out in egypt billboards on the street with vladimir putin's face all over them. in one of the egyptian newspapers putin was described as a hero of his age. putin brought a gift for sisi, a kalashnikov rifle showing the mindset of these two men what they think each other will appreciate. beyond that, beyond the personal connection that these two leaders have, they are as they were professing their deep strategic interest they have in maintaining and bolstering friendly relations so egypt is very keen to keep its supplies of russian wheat coming and some fort% of egyptian wheat imports come from russia. since the embargo that russia has put on fresh goods fresh produce from western countries europe and the united states and australia and new zealand and the like. russia has been looking to source fruit and vegetables. a lot now come from egypt. there were things like they were talking about an economic zone in egypt that will be shared between two countries andens the big issue of arms. they've been working for the last few years on a big $3.5 b

he was russia's deputy prime minister in the 90s but joined the opposition after vladimir putin came into power and was jailed several times for criticizing the government. putin condemned the killing and offered the family his condolences. he also launched an investigation into the murder and said it bears all the hallmarks of a contract killing aimed at provoking unrest. ilya yashin is a friend and political ally of nemsov. he was first at the scene of the murder and strongly criticizes russia's government. i don't know who pulled the trigger or did the shooting but i strongly believe it's the government and vladimir putin responsible for it vladimir putin is responsible for creating the atmosphere of hatred in our country. they've incited hatred for all dissidents and for boris nemtsov. nemtsov was set to take part in a rally criticizing russia's role in ukraine this sunday. instead there will be a march of mourning for one of russia's opposite voices brutally silenced forever. fred pleitgen cnn, moscow. >> coming up next we'll speak to a friend of nemtsov. >>> congress dodging one

the key figure of course in all of this is vladimir putin. he is the one who will have to give thumbs up to this plan if it will have traction whatsoever. we haven't received confirmation they have got under way. what the russian foreign ministry says is that vladimir putin is prepared to talk constructively with the european leaders and that russia will do everything in its power, coming from russian foreign ministry to resolve conflict in eastern ukraine. there have been truces signed before but they haven't made a difference to fighting on the ground kate. >> that's right. let's talk about fighting on the ground. matthew chance thank you so much for us in moscow. let's talk about exactly that. the fighting on the ground. parts of eastern ukraine are being pounded and continue to be pounded by shelling but the self-proclaimed donetsk people's republic says it offered kiev the chance for civilians to leave an area northeast of donetsk. >> cnn's senior national correspondent nick paton walsh live from donetsk right now. you have seen the situ