, public safety, education, all the initiatives that really keep , can reallyrobust be derived from broadband. how do we make sure policymakers make infrastructure beyond just a road and bridge? >> watch the communicators monday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span two. >> on wednesday, russian foreign minister's -- following his meetings with president trump and secretary of state tillerson. he commented on the investigation of russia's role in the u.s. election and the firing of fbi director james comey. this is about 25 minutes. >> [speaking in a foreign language] today, we have had a

bilateral meeting with rex tillerson and the state just been and we have in talks together with him. confirmation on the special arena is to doubt that this part is all difficult. our country can and should contribute to the settlement of the most urgent issues. we discussed syria in quick details in the context of the ideas that have been put forth regarding the area. be contributing to the cessation of our violence throughout the territory of syria to contribute to the settlement of humanitarian framework.d with a

unity. to achieve where the u.s.rk is an observer. we appreciated the constructive contribution of the u.s.. at this meeting, we will continue in the geneva process, which resumes next week. we hope that all the participants of the talks will be constructive. both the government and all positioned groups. we also discussed many other inues and challenges communities facing other stakeholders. in thed turn the tide issue for both israeli settlements and afghanistan as

withas the compliance agreements regarding the ukrainian settlement. we agreed to continue our working contacts in order to issue the conversions of the positions of all of the participants involved. these relations are not very encouraging. the reason of the duration of the relations is well known. it undermines the full foundation of our elections and from now, we have to start the low level of our election, to understand that the russian and american people want to live remove allwant to the barriers. together with rex tillerson, we

discussed the outcomes of the meetings of our deputies that took place in new york yesterday where they reviewed the state of our relations. when all the problems have been solved, i would rather say the pace is quite motivating. we agreed to address the year attend summer artificially introduced in our relations. abelieve that is businesslike, fruitful approach. we will not be able to address all the problems overnight. it is obvious that there is a desire to move in the direction of a settlement of the problems. president trump clearly stated buildterest to businesslike diplomatic relations with russia and to settle outstanding issues, which is truly important that both president trump and president putin are willing to obtain concrete results that would help

removing problems from the international agenda. that's what we wanted to start with. any questions? newspaper. please use the mic. russian]ing in translator: have you discussed sanctions and the issue of restoring seized russian property? if my second question is, this situation is not settled, what would be the situation from the russian side? it is not our problem as a result of unilateral actions taken against us. regarding our property, well, indeed that is an issue that is a priority in our talks.

it is our property, diplomatic property. that is recognized by legal documents given to us. it is our property and no one denies that. it is our property. it is clear the outgoing obama administration undertook dirty tricks against our diplomats and our property. our diplomats reported to get out of the country and they were given only 24 hours to do that. i hope everyone understands in trump's administration that these are illegitimate actions. as president putin said, we have the right to retaliate. as of now, we decided not to be

hasty with retaliation because president putin does not want to follow the lead of those who are trying to poison our relations to the point of no return. they are aware of our position , they know about right to retaliate, to reciprocate. we would not want to use this right when we hope we will be a ble to settle the situation without deteriorating relations any further. >> thanks very much. in your discussions about syria, did you talk about the political way forward and what role assad would play in your view versus the u.s. view? what progress would you say you made in this discussion since the last time we spoke just a month ago? here in the united states with so much focus on contact that the trump campaign people may

have had with russia, do you see that affecting the relationship much going forward? thank you. anchor: -- translator: this is regarding the noise about our contacts. those fake information according to which we are allegedly in control of. the domestic policy -- it is and abnormal background for relations. it is stimulating for the american people to realize the russian federation controls the situation in america. how can it be possible for such a great power and great country? i believe that politicians are damaging the political system of the u.s., trying to pretend someone is controlling america from the outside.

now, regarding syria, first of we are focused on the ideas that we discussed during rex tillerson's visit to moscow when he briefed us about his idea s regarding the creation of this security areas, de-escalation areas. that was the idea mentioned by president trump when he was on the phone with president putin. rex tillerson gave more details about this idea in moscow and now the are being implemented thanks to the demonstration where the idea was put forth for four collusion areas. that is including in the south, which is of particular interest for the u.s.. they have particular interest in capitalizing the situation on the border with syria and israel. today, we have discussed the specific ways to jointly

implement these agreements. and as you mentioned, the political process is of fundamental importance. we feel we should not take that welcome. we should resume the geneva talks in a couple of days. we would hope, as mentioned, that the fair works within which this process is evolving are going to be acceptable for all the sides of the government and all the opposition groups. we hope all the political talks are going to walk on the issues of governance, the development of a new constitution, elections and the fight against terrorism. of course. [speaking in a filing which] -- in a foreign language]

translator: russia today. you mentioned these areas in syria. recent pentagon statements on the fact the details themselves are quite ambiguous. who is going to ensure the security of this area? how are these going to work in practice? is america doing enough and that direction? one more question. since trump's inauguration, a lot has taken place in america. have you felt any changes in the rhetoric in the u.s. after the airstrike in syria? minister lavrov: [speaking in russian] translator: your first question had to do with it collusion areas. it's a fundamental truth and we are guided by this. as of now there is an agreement, a conceptual agreement for those areas. it has become more practical. the memorandum signed outlined

further steps in that direction , according to which, they begin to agree how and who is going to control security areas, security zones around the de-escalation areas. it is our interest for the u.s. to make an active contribution particularly with affect in the , southern area. we believe regarding the south, they are interested in that,, and regarding the south, they are going to initiate this. we hope of the other areas i am talking about, the u.s. will be able to make a contribution into ensuring security, monitoring the compliance with the cessation of hostilities, and also contributes into addressing humanitarian issues, because that is one of the goals behind which represents behind the

establishment of the de-escalation area. regarding the general background tomorrow and fair work correlations, i would say that as of right now, our dialogue is free from ideology typical of the obama administration. most trump's and the secretary of state, his administration, as i realized today are , businesslike people, and they want to reach agreement, not for the sake of demonstrating their achievements to anyone in terms of their ideological preferences. they are willing to negotiate, to come to an agreement in order to address and settle certain issues which are key for the development of our country, the prospect of their people and are , instrumental in the settlement of conflicts in various parts of the world. >> mr. foreign minister, nick from bloomberg news. in your meeting with president

trump, did he raise u.s. concerns about russian interference in the u.s. elections? thank you. minister lavrov: [answering in russian] translator: i have answered that question repeatedly. we are watching everything going on here with regards to russia and russia's role in your policy. we discussed specific issues and did not appraise those absurd issues. >> thank you very much, mr. minister. president trump has said he think this is a hoax. i'm wondering if you're in a -- your private meetings with president trump, he gave you any assurances he does not believe russia was involved in interfering with the campaign in any way. i know you just found out fbi

director comey was fired. hear this news? [laughter] minister lavrov: [answering in russian] translator: well, you seem to be all grown-ups. i never thought i would have to answer such questions, particularly in the u.s. taking into account your highly developed responsible system. president trump publicly stated on a number of occasions what he thinks about accusations and allegations regarding russia's meddling into your diplomatic affairs. and that is why there is no need for him to tell us anything or to give us assurance behind closed doors. there is not a single fact, no compelling evidence given to anyone regarding russia's intervention. and that is it.

if you are talking about international affairs, why don't you try to find out the truth and get those facts? and this is a question that has nothing to do with my authority. i can give you a lot of examples where in russia, france, in britain, people are dismissed or over internal issues. [speaking in russian] translator: have you discussed the possibility with president putin and president trump? when will it take place? has an agreement reached? [answering inv: russian] translator: well, in their recent conversation, the president confirmed they are

going to meet on the sidelines of the g10 summit in germany at the beginning of july. today with rex tillerson, we discussed the ways to get progress on issue of our agenda and international agendas, including syria, so we would be able to come up with tangible results by this meeting. anyways, they are going to see each other in july. for minister lavrov martha raddatz from abc news. , would you tell us a little bit more about the meeting and your relationship with president trump? what that was like, and why you think beyond the fact of , president trump was a businessman, your relationship might be better than that of the obama administration? did he give you any assurances about that? minister lavrov: [answering in russian] translator: you know i have

, already answered this question. i believe every time people are doing business and set of trying to control their ideological preferences and to practice propaganda, it is always much more useful in foreign relations. that's where our expectations are. reporter: i am from fox news. sir, what is russia's exit strategy from syria? and what about charges that russia is supporting the taliban in afghanistan? if so, why? minister lavrov: [answering in russian] translator: on the issue of the taliban, we have mentioned that on many occasions. just give us one fact. those working in afghanistan, they are fully aware of what is and they have, not found a single serious expert records state that we are transferring arms to the taliban. we are working with the taliban with the view to implement a

decision adopted at the request of the afghan government, after after which the taliban should become the party to the political process. if they recognize the current constitution, if they give up violence, and if they have nothing to do with terrorists. that is the only goal we are pursuing. and this is the only ground for everyone to work with the taliban. based on this the afghan , government is ready to negotiate. the taliban is an important part of the afghan society. i can hardly mention any settlement without their participation. americans have stayed in afghanistan for many years. and they have not settled any issue that i saw into afghanistan. they can't be able to successfully address any of the issues and goals that put they put forward. we need to bring together all

the afghans based on the criteria i mentioned. what was your second question? reporter: what is your strategy in syria? minister lavrov: [answering in russian] translator: well we don't have , such a notion as exit strategy. all of us should deliver on what we agreed upon. we need to implement security -- u.n. security council resolutions to suppress all terrorist activities in syria , to prevent it from turning to the hotbed of extremism, of instability. we need to prevent the development of what has evolved in iraq and libya. assad.sked about both in respect to iraq in syria, the international community was upset with the idea to oust one person. saddam hussein in iraq, gadhafi in libya, and everything else this has been led to. that is why when we are talking

about the syrian settlement, why try to learn from our mistakes, and why don't we try to focus on the settlements rather than on ousting a certain person? why don't we focus on exterminating the threat of terrorisys? president trump once again confirmed today that it's more important to defeat terrorism and we are in solidarity with , that. reporter: [speaking in russian] translator: it means your meeting with president, he did not raise the issue of russia's involvement in the election last year. so, as i realized, you had not discussed the topic or have , you discussed it?

minister lavrov: [answering in russian] translator: well, i just answered that. president trump publicly says all of it is false news. just give me one fact that will prove that. everyone keeps saying everyone knows everything, but giving no proof. well it is not serious. ,and the final question? >> barbara from the bbc. you said you wanted american input to help with the security zones. can you tell us what specifically you are asking or for and whether mr. tillerson or mr. trump suggested in any way they would be participating with you in these zones? thank you. minister lavrov: [answering in russian] translator: well first of all, , the very idea of setting of those areas put forward by president trump and rex tillerson -- this was the start implementing this idea in practical terms. and we would be happy to welcome

any contribution. and the experts on the ground, they discuss the details and parameters of this contribution. we have all the channels and the way to promote this process. both now and in geneva. today, we have to come to an understanding that is active participants of the syrian settlement process. we will continue this context together with key stakeholders, including other countries in the region. thank you very much. it is high time for us -- >> secretary of state rex tillerson talked about the state of u.s.-russia relations on nbc "meet the press today, while nikki haley previewed president conn's upcoming overseas trip on

abc's "this week." >> i don't understand how this is not a top issue for you to in order toth them essentially start with a clean slate. cannot start with a clean slate until may be they either own up to what they did, or we punish them in a way that they are not going to do this again. i think it is important to understand we are not trying to start with a clean slate. ares like having a reset overused. you cannot reset or erase the past. you cannot start with a clean slate. we are not trying to start with a clean slate. we are starting with the slate we have it all the problems are on that plate, we do not dismiss any of them or give anyone a free pass on any of them. they are part of the entire nature of the discussion we are having with the russians, and yes, there are a large number of issues we have to get around to addressing in order to put this relationship back together, if that is indeed possible. >> an amazing first trip.

he's going to saudi arabia, israel, and rome. think about that. three of the strongest religions, he is going to go together, talk to all of them, and his message will be about unity. he's got to show what american leadership looks like. i think he's going to talk to them about where we can work together. we had to get unity across the world. we have to make sure we are doing everything we can to unify everyone against isis. we have already started to be very strong in our attacks against them around the world. this is our way of solidifying our relationships with saudi arabia, with israel, and also -- >> but no threat to cut off oil purchases? >> anything is on the table. i would never say there is anything off the table, but that is not the intention of why he is going. >> tomorrow, the center for strategic and international studies previews the president's upcoming trip to the middle east

and europe. our live coverage of the discussion begins at 8:30 am eastern on c-span two. on thursday, vice president mike pence spoke at the world summit in defense of persecuting christians. he talked about isis action by christians in that part of the world. this is under 30 minutes. [singing] vp. pence: good morning. >> good morning. >> this is a great privilege to welcome today the vice president america.ited states of he is the 48th vice president.