leader kim jong un next month to discuss pyongyang's nuclear missile program separately the us president told trump or said that he'll meet kim by the way. on your dime a year or so you and north korea u.s. summit would be a historic event in itself fallen into korean summit depending on the location it could be even more dramatic and depending on progress it may lead to a three way summit between the self north and the united states in syria at least sixty civilians have been killed in the last remaining rebel held parts of eastern guta they were killed in attacks by the syrian military and its allies another thirty five people died when a rocket fired by rebels landed in a market in government controlled damascus and israeli military censors have lifted a decade old order that had barred from discussing its bombing of a suspected nuclear reactor in the south of syria in two thousand and seven that israel announced the bombing after its release to declassified videos said to show the moment it destroyed the al khobar facility. those were the headlines and back

with more news in thirty minutes next hour al-jazeera is the stream to stay with us . just. saying. from journalists decided to sacrifice their integrity. in the media listening to most at this time on al-jazeera. hi emily could be in the stream live on al-jazeera and you tube today what does the future hold for ethnic russian non citizens of the baltic states amid tensions with moscow. the presidents of its stony alot spea and lithuania are preparing for a key summit with u.s. president donald trump in april and the country's tense relations with neighboring

russia will be high on the agenda become trees are western facing nato members but is stoney a lot we are still wrestling with how best to integrate non-citizens most of whom are ethnic russians lithuania latvia and estonia declared independence when the soviet union dissolved in the early one nine hundred ninety s. many ethnic russians who had settled in the baltic states during the soviet era remained lithuania granted citizenship to all residents but lots of stony require non-nationals to pass language and history tasks to be granted citizenship well today about twelve percent of lots of us population and six percent of us don't the us population are non-citizens the vast majority are ethnic russian so here in our studio to discuss this in the spring is an award winning investigative journalist and broadcaster and as one of the two founders of the baltic center for investigative journalism from the left to be on capitol regard we're joined by old

up scott an educator and entrepreneur and from brussels we have told and the stony and politician and member of the european parliament welcome to. this stream all of you now i want to start with the new studio to give our viewers a look at how some people became non-citizens in the baltic states after the fall of the soviet union alexander is zuckerman is a journalist in the estonian capital tellin and he lays it out for us here when the stony gained its independence in one thousand ninety one day it was it was ability to those people who got a sneak a story and to get a story in citizenship or to make shifty but some people russians had serious hundred thousand russian speaking people in the story at that time so many of them decided to get citizenship to pass examinations and to get a story and possibles some of the end so that it's better for them to have

a russian passport so they got russian citizenship but for the rest who couldn't pass an exam there was another possibility to get this temporary document so-called great or islands passport business prospered they can leave in the store near by they can to be elected to their parliament they cannot participate in the elections through the parliament they can only vote for the municipal government now behaved eighty five thousands of these people because it's quite strange still when you we should be a member of european community yeah i know you saw the report there what is daily life like for these non citizens who hold this great passport. first let me clarify the make a little bit of a geisha sure we have at the moment thirty two percent of russian speakers and half of them are russian citizens half of them are national citizens almost half and

half of them are not citizens. and we have almost nine percent of russian citizens and six percent are not in a sense so it has begun in terms of integration of belonging to european union and so i said for the capital to remember the sings and as you know a few days ago there were elections are president of russia and twenty two thousand dollars still no living russian citizens voted on this elections and we'll have ninety four percent of those who voted let us look at which is which is another another part of this puzzle so to say but if west begin about to nasa designs the they are they have no political rice they can vote only local elections they cannot candidates or be elected or vote in europe and parliamentary elections and actions of the national parliament they cannot exercise regularly moment for instance

if you are not citizens and since it is until go into the work to fill and you have to be a mission to work after ninety days the kind of texas says the right to free movement of services if you move your. company to another member state you can move your company but you couldn't move yourself which is kind of absurd. and they have a lot of other small or big restrictions like they kind of work at certain positions like i don't have a list man or fireman for instance and in general russian speaking population have a lot of problems and fortune and hold we know ingo there are similar restrictions in latvia but i wanted to bring in this to you via twitter my diary or says i. i agree that this topic has to be talked about but i completely disagree with framing this as non-citizens are the victims narrative that gives a very crippled picture of how things actually are she goes on to say that my personal opinion russian citizens are not so much excluded as they have excluded

themselves by not wanting to become citizens and by not learning and speaking the law to me in language it's a choice that being said civic society unlocks could be more proactive to make conscious steps towards including non-citizens more by reaching out and listening to their opinion do you think the majority here has a point what is the router i totally agree with to eat because i think that are kind of two sides one side is that when politicians are bringing up this issue and the foreign media maybe also like you are kind of exploring this issue also kind of locally i don't see it so much as any sure i can hear is it no russians would say i am so i don't understand because i am. but i think yes like this lady in twitter saying at russians in a stone and also russian said a lot to me as they have rights if you'll want to have all the same words like six cents you have read you can go on and have all these things about janet almost no

saying what's kind of impossible to do for them now there's a question of why is there done go on don't don't do this and it's kind of this historical perspective why else a bit of a variable be my answer when i think it's kind of on the dissolvable issue about integration because fifty years a lot to be aware and also estonia about on that occupation by russia it was called soviet union so a lot to me and so like no one point one million people still in families to me now family members who were deported to siberia there are still exists a sense a sad feeling so we feel like like a lot to be and feel like we are under strict and we still see as this russian people here as occupiers not so much as liberators meanwhile russian people who there are generations who have been who called being. warnin lot to say feel legs they add a lot to us people and there is a seal said kind of offended many people if you will ask why you don't go bandung boss would say it's a question of principle i was born here i came here i liberate does this country i

build cisco during soviet union dams and though you asked me to go on. so on just a citizen level i can people level i don't see that that is kind of a big sure there are two nations to be feel totally different but i think we'll leave quite well but then set out politicians like i'm sorry young tom and also a lot to be a house the same but jenna's done of course also a long time parliament the new a parliament member in the union men and they bring it up as a political issue and i think this is where a lot of problems i want to give a chance to respond to that we honor you know. to respond to that. things it's not just to sort of say i was elected to parliament stood. for as i said before. that this is an issue for me it is a strong signal. and also what. that solve the problems

russell's not there is only two alternatives. if we do not do it somebody else will help us then in fact i would rather that it is not do that but then you don't please can you answer the question of why is this people they have a right to go on bars why is they don't do it if they can get at the. ok there's going. to be so in a sense is not and i will get your view yana but i want to hear what all the house if they all go ahead. ok this is a very nearly barrel approach like everybody can do can become a millionaire a way they all don't go and do this the problem is that. there are hard feelings on both sides so latvians feel offended by russians historically but his story but russians feel offended by allowance as well unfortunately for example by

the fact that during the liberation from soviet union the promise was made by by a major political force that all no one would be left behind all would be citizen sever bun will have the same rights and then this promise was broken and and this lays very very hard on on russian community and i. as someone who has received her citizenship to magically by and by. by birth i can quite understand somebody who is not really willing to go through. a certain procedure that also requires investment from from the person sides like for example you have to pass a language test but not all three courses state funded courses were provided all this time so if you are somebody working on two jobs like trying to make a living you would probably not have money to go to courses and to pass the exam.

in this very independent fashion. yana. yes i absolutely agree and there is another thing i don't know about like then i mean language i'm not a linguist but i know what to still in this is really really complicated. and it's absolutely there's not that nothing common it was russian language and it is not what it is if you want to have a stillness citizenship you have to look at it example on the one the one is enough to study it at the university in a country i mean if i if i want to do that to study it i don't do talent. whatever i have to know it's still the language and be one it's not easy and for some people who are living for instance see in the market in a stone or whether higher than that of a stupid man to seven percent of russian speakers. does not have to speak a stone and wit and there is no it was absolutely right there's no quarter which

will be free of charge and it is it lasted for twenty five years but the only thing which will have to do with have to teach our people to speak the stillness but will feel to do so in more than twenty five years so yeah this is not like you are saying about the difficulty it is to learn a new language and i want to get the view of what it's like to take the task to citizenship test as well we sent a team to the streets of tallinn estonia to hear what residents think about this citizenship issue and we heard a range of opinions we put out just to for you have a look. my personal experience is that passing the exam is quite possible if you want to do it have to make an effort but if their requirements to pass the exam were reasonably lower the number of people to pass the exam and get citizenship would be high. they have to provide citizenship to anyone who wants it then the problems would be over everyone would

just be a citizen i was born here i was raised here if there were such a ship without the need for exams third be nothing bad enough to do. so you know those are two burying views there in the last person said that he thinks that everyone should be given that studentship of course that is something that both law to be and study and politicians. can you and you have that reasoning badly on sort of what the country's politicians would accept as what young fellow mentioned at the beginning ninety two percent of people in a stone the whole went to participate in the national elections voted for putting as you know from foreign policy. i'm sorry even more than in chechnya it's a joke for us i'm sorry but you know those even though those are not non-citizens those are russians to live in a place of business if the men were saying to giving all of them like citizenship at the cli i think this would be used as a reason for more politicians why are we not going to go because they will measure

the loyalty of people buy homes out of all things they support love them and vote then we in a lot to me and also raise your minestrone an issue and if we see russia well they may put in the spot the for russia like kremlin i would say russia is russian people is like in general but the kremlin says its right so this is the one of the thing so what latinas would say also from. what they show about the difficulty of the test i also described the many times from people when i'm doing my research our stories like it's so complicated language also lesbian as it is this old lady and she should learn a lot to me in between. been independent for twenty five years that of us i had quite enough time my mom went to work in norway as a host the region in fifty five when she was fifty years old i don't buy it as an argument but i where i agree result. i also what they observed in my that there is this kind of attitude which comes from a lot to be ends which makes the russian speakers feel offended because as they arise as i said at the beginning many of these people have been born in

a lottery and no beef like popular nationalistic politicians are saying go home you occupants where they should go a lot to get a home and this is it is there not much of an airboat all the sees what we should give money for russian dancers song first of all which is always been about integration programs as just the same as as one of the same day i was a is enough russians and i think if i may just shortly be that planning to do an education and quality in law to be and we ask these parents why you send your kids to russian schools. and the russians not do a lot to be a school lot and schools they say because we had a phrase it or kids will experience the attitudes in latin schools all you are russians even like when children level and said don't ones that you haven't experienced this so i'm not saying that there is no problem but i disagree because this problem which is a political issue which is using the book you listed. here your new i see you mention something about measuring loyalty and i'm going to direct this to you but

we've got several people talking about russia this is a tweet we got from who says many ethnic russians in the baltic countries have parents or uncles who served proudly in the soviet red army also remember they still have a cultural connection to russia and don't want to be part of an anti russian military alliance russia knows this fact and will use it so that's one view but although we also got the view on the other side from a journalist this is the editor of the moscow times and he says that isn't necessarily true have a look. very sporadically the russian government or the kremlin and the kremlin's news networks point to the phenomenon of noncitizens dystonia and latvia as an example of the european union's failure to uphold the basic principles applied to mental human rights moscow has typically fold those accusations by saying that if the west is unwilling or on able to resolve the issue then russia will be required to address it for many in the west that's an alarming proposition precisely

because it sounds as familiar as it does to russia's justification for and axing the crime crimean peninsula in two thousand and fourteen when it said russian speakers where under the threat of prosecution feeling disenfranchised by life in society does not necessarily mean that those populations are prepared to take up arms for russia so what do you make of his point this isn't exactly the same issue that we saw in ukraine or crimea. and in fact that has been a research into that. after the onyx ation of crimea there was huge social sorry there was funded by government applied mia and there is old was that russians . want to keep their russian identity but they don't want question any russian tanks in latvia and they feel quite comfortable with their european lifestyle and they wouldn't want to slap it or living in russia living standards there is there

and. i see that it is a huge problem that russians in estonia and latvia seen all the as sort of extension of the kremlin and they are denied the agency or they own and they identity all their own whereas in fact when i go to moscow for example they can immediately tell from my accent that i'm not russian russian and i use certain words which they don't even use and they tell me that i dress differently. so. and of course russians here they have no other home as blood here or a stone you know. and i think that will be another problem right now because we will have parliament elections and a job or and secession issue will be a big topic because now or national parties in maine on sort of dimensional parties they propose that all studies in their russian schools and secondary school should

be only latina languages if you read my mind take a look at my laptop as you're talking here this is a headline i pulled up that's because the next election date decided and that is october and this is the headline that's been circulating bill against russian language schools passed in second reading so go on and the point is that the last year of this policy is that eighty percent of glasses had to be a lot to me and twenty percent was in russian but now like national both vicious want to change at all it should be only in a latino language in state funded schools if it's just to make. a little clarification but those still want to keep segregated school system when russian kids learn in separate schools but they only do it in latvian but they still they don't merge with kids. as if he really was. and who are not allowed to speak as mythical called believing

in latvia but almost all of their lives and ok you can say like. you are saying that there is not about like much as population russians i don't talk about to speak but many russian schools in riga and it's not like russian society you have opportunity to speak because it is a questions these teachers had the opportunity to learn proper love to and to teach these kids but that isn't as it again so it is a problem maybe there is not such a good quality of life to be a language because again about speak of. liberal so the level of latino language and secession schools are really on that all over i'm sorry i mean is this one who are not actively governed goten protests are going to think you are. doing a deaf and as it away house they are trying to improve quality not like you only see on what it was and get this politically sure and using a propaganda tool and today also i hear your point there and you mentioned

elections you mentioned parties using this is it the police came out a lot fans or said that it will be used as propaganda tool from russia. you know this russian issue about schools so it is a concern for take a look at this week here kerry kasparov says integration will be possible in a stony are when politicians start using ethnic tensions to divide the electorate during elections more efforts are also needed to address segregation in all areas of life and workplace discrimination so yada. elections coming up in lots of someone here is talking about the politicians in a stone do you think that this is being used as a political issue to tear people apart absolutely soul is used as a political issue. which is not. we just do not have a still no language teachers i have five children and my youngest children are studying in it's clark last he is twelve years old in russian speaking school and i

just see mistakes in hughes in his school books which are done by the lady who is teaching the student my students but. this is not normal this is about this is about equality this is one thing the second thing is that. you can you can start of this language and you will learn it but the problem is what will you be able to see after it during soviet times you were excited at the bishan. ten years in russian school and eleven years in the stone in school why it was there was so many russian lessons that they just needed this extra year. in the proper way their own language is still not language now always children do not have the support you endure in the town but they're still known as tone and children are learning some fun things like i don't know programming computer whatever else our children are learning i don't know geography in

a still no where else will it's not easy and in fact if we look at these our tests you know what is these are tests then we see that still no answer from a student school and doing much better that you're going from national schools. gonna normal i hear your point about it not being normal there pulled up here because this is something that you are working on especially for this year it's only an m.e.p. and to latvian members of the european parliamentary minding european parliament of the topic of what's called here in this article stateless residents what some would say are non-citizens you sent in this reminding them that this is an issue that you're pushing where are you with this. well we are waiting i also call this got here yes well waiting for. a workshop in which will be felt in april. i believe that we will have also hearing. beginning got jewel and

the problem is for me that you know we. don't know a lot. but here in brussels where speaking about citizens of europe but not speaking about national identity this is a problem of law to understand that we don't have political nation still don't want it all nation was speaking about latinos and not lot about the stillness and not stillness and this is this is a problem for us but here in brussels it was about the citizens of europe was thinking about everybody about old europe i am a guy i want to live in the german time i think we've had about twenty seconds go ahead so if i may i don't think i've really also be talking about political nations because of a lot of area night one point nine million be a shrinking country we are dying are to there to show that in two thousand and thirty almost half of what their population will be fifteen years and older that will be less born babies so far that is the irony. of bills and till

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