hello and welcome to crossfire all things considered i'm peter lavelle ukraine a country divided its government's decision not to pursue integration with the european union and opt for russia instead as western politicians and media in an uproar brussels feel snubbed while moscow has a wait and see approach as ukrainian politics is anything but stable the so-called struggle for ukraine is far from over. to cross-talk ukraine i'm joined by my guest live would give or give in london she is a senior economist at i.h.s. global insight in paris we have john laughlin he is the director of studies at the institute of democracy and cooperation and in moscow we cross to mark sloboda he is a senior lecturer and researcher at moscow state university all right folks cross talk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want john if i can go to you first all of this media coverage of this for the past week it's the tussle between the european union and russia for control of ukraine it's put very much in cold war terms here but very few people want to focus on the real deep deep troubl

interest if ukraine is seeking economic convergence european union cannot really. afford the association agreement and what it involves but at the same time and the short term it appears the russian deal would have a piece because we don't really have the details it's probably more suitable for good economic and political needs of the current ukrainian government ok we'll talk about the future and leave this point exactly a little bit later marc if i can go to you i want to ask you a question that nobody in western media wants to touch really because it doesn't suit their their agenda but the party of regions at the end of the summer all the way to the president was pushing for this to happen this is you know cold which is party and almost no one wants to say well the party of regions is run by a group of oligarchy they don't want to reform the economy and they just want to get in bed with the e.u. so they can clean their money and clean up their reputations because they're not so interested in integrating with russia is well another note you never really come acro

because ukraine becomes a part of a free trade zone with the e.u. and the russia still has an open border with ukraine and then you know the goods the merchandise from the e.u. will be sold all the way. you know devastating the russian industry without a new customs duty for the russian budget so it became clear to me that his losses would amount to about eight million dollars before their end of this year he made it clear to the u.s. officials they didn't listen to him instead they just demanded more time with their ukraine really is a steamer and that was you know the straw that broke the back of the camel the deal was suspended dimitri of brussels is saying that it's very disappointed with kiev for doing this last hour u. turn does that sound sincere to you considering what you just said that they were offering ukraine very little in the first place. well it's very interesting that the process of sun washington are usually very concerned about ukrainian soldier in kiev. ukraine has some kind of a problem with russia but they make such statements

interest if ukraine is seeking economic convergence european union cannot really. afford the association agreement and what it involves but at the same time and the short term it appears the russian deal whatever because we don't really have the details it's probably more suitable for economic and political needs of the current ukrainian government ok we'll talk about the future and leave this point exactly a little bit later marc if i can go to you i want to ask you a question that nobody in western media wants to touch really because it doesn't suit their their agenda but the party of regions at the end of the summer all the way to the president was pushing for this to happen this is you know cold which is party and almost no one wants to say well the party of regions is run by a group of oligarchy they don't want to reform the economy and they just want to get in bed with the e.u. so they can clean their money and clean up their reputations because they're not so interested in integrating with russia is well another note you never really come across in western m

interest if ukraine is seeking economic convergence european union cannot really. afford the association agreement and what it involves but at the same time and the short term it appears the russian deal would have a piece because we don't really have the details it's probably more suitable for good economic and political needs of the current ukrainian government ok we'll talk about the future and leave this point exactly a little bit later marc if i can go to you i want to ask you a question that nobody in western media wants to touch really because it doesn't suit their their agenda but the party of regions at the end of the summer all the way to the president was pushing for this to happen this is unocal which is party and almost no one wants to say well the party of regions is run by a group of oligarchy they don't want to reform the the economy and they just want to get in bed with the e.u. so they can clean their money and clean up their reputations because they're not so interested in integrating with russia is well another note you never really come across

ukraine scraps preparations for a trade agreement with the. parliament rejects the bill which was one of europe's main. controversial demands for u.s. soldiers to remain in afghanistan a wrangled over at a key gathering of tribal elders. the. major concerns. peaceful. twenty four hours a day. ukraine has decided to hold preparations for trade agreements with the e.u. it comes after the country's parliament rejected a bill which would have allowed the jailed former prime minister yulia timoshenko to receive medical treatment abroad. he has more tricky relations between brussels . it is a sharp turn around for ukraine's aspirations to sign the e.u.'s association deal next week in vilnius now the ukrainian government says that it has suspended all preparations for signing this document during the eastern partnership summit mostly as the statement from the government says to nullify any potential economic threats to ukrainian economy if this association deal is to be signed basically this means that ukrainian government believes that the economy i

the problem is that ukraine is in dire economic straits ukraine is that say three to six months from these are. just downgraded by moody's again and kept on negative rate watch which meant that they were soon going to be in in the in the sea they cannot raise money in the markets they're running a deficit they're having a lot of trouble keeping the parents of stable so the problem is the european union offers a lot of words offers a lot of you know lots of thousands millions of pages of documentation where they don't offer is what new ukraine deeds and that's money. and just ok and that money though clearly here's a country that is virtually bankrupt surely the european union doesn't want to start bailing out a new member would be crazy for the for ukraine to join and that wouldn't that's absolutely the point. the thing is that ukraine is not vital to the east it's part of a geopolitical chess game. and they'd like to take that piece but they're not going to spend a lot of money or they can't they've got portugal they've got greece pretty soon they've got france and they've got to th

ukraine's stalling of signing an e.u. association agreement here in vilnius threatens to turn this summit into somewhat of a damp squid kiev cozying up to the eight was meant to be the highlight of the two days here. has been keen to stress that the deal can be signed any time and that the latest development is just a postponement and not a council ation a move seen by some as a winner for all concerned buying them vital breathing space they're very uncomfortable with the idea of ukraine coming into the e.u. the e.u. right now is used with the crisis in the pigs countries portugal italy and greece and so far they don't have money to do anything ask if you're crying the only thing they can do is try to take advantage of the weakness of ukraine so i don't i don't like the e.u. as a whole is. the financial implications of such an agreement may have even been misjudged by the e.u. with the president of the european parliament martin schulz saying the e.u. may have underestimated the drama of the domestic political situation i

why is ukraine so important for moscow? >> of course, traditionally ukraine is seen as part of a very -- area where russia dominates not only politically and economically but culturally. e with thes association agreement, i think the final push has been made -- something -- [indiscernible] the european union was that eager to get ukraine on its -- it was this typical zero-sum game on both sides. >> we have seen russia flexing its diplomatic muscles of late. this issue of ukraine but also syria and iran. are these adding up to victories for vladimir putin? -- putin. reject puttingly syria and around the ukraine in the same basket but syria has serious international problems, tragedy, and there are issues in iran but ukrainian is nothing, -- i'm surprised the passions became so hot. nothing changed and nothing happened. for russia to demonstrate the european union the whole eastern partnership policy was a fake. here and the european union. >> thank you very much for that analysis from a russian perspective. where thelatvia s

government to rearrange budget priorities you continue down the path of economic reform on top of this ukraine is back in the news in a very big way and talks with iran move the oil price. to discuss these issues and more i'm joined by dimitri baba he is a political analyst with voice of russia radio station we also have jacob now he is the chief economist with morgan stanley russia and we also have got us off lisa volek he's the chief economist at deutsche bank russia the state of russia's economy flatlining well i mean look we've had we've had maybe three disappointments this year i think when you sort of put it on the table one is growth we all know about that investment being negative but but other sources of growth also not not far on all cylinders we've seen also the current account decline it's not so much on the trade side but it's more in services and income it's gone down to under two percent of g.d.p. and we've also seen inflation yet this autumn pick up again despite having a pretty good harvest so so that's that's that's three pieces of of unfortunate economic news but i think act

the real deep deep troubles that are occurring in ukraine and how ukraine is trying to get itself out of a really nasty fix i want to point out to our viewers here that the i.m.f. is knocking on the door if they don't do certain things are not going to get any more money there's hardly any money left in the bank and they have a lot of foreign reserve debts to pay in the first quarter of next year it's dire straits in ukraine and in brussels as blaming moscow go ahead john i think you put the question peter in exactly the right way. this whole issue is being talked about in cold water but in fact ukraine's real interests are being completely neglected i've had occasion to say this now in several other interviews people have asked me whether ukraine has an interest in joining the e.u. and my reply has always been that from the u.s. point of view the only interest is in the political defeat that ukrainian signature would inflict on russia in other words the e.u. does not have ukraine's interests at heart what it has at heart is a geopolitical program of ideological and geopolitical stren

reporting from kiev in ukraine. are i then and who is a blackmailing who president of lied to me period has addressed and i gave shows that russia forced ukraine into a u.-turn of its integration plans with the. content of has been listening to what the russian leader had to say so hi there lucy claims and counterclaims was indeed did putin have to say that. certainly a war of words here in st petersburg now we're actually here to cover the high level economic meeting between turkey and russia the turkish prime minister erdogan is here meeting with president putin they had a joint press conference where the ukraine issued actually did come up in one of the questions mr putin was actually asked about allegations that came out in reports earlier on friday suggesting that the ukrainian president had spoken to his counterpart his lithuanian counterpart in a phone call in a which he brought a moscow pressure on the ukraine to scrap plans for participation in this trade pact here's a mr putin responded to a question about

reporting from kiev in ukraine. protesters say ukraine's leadership ruined hopes for a better future by rejecting the e.u. deal but the government says they were economic dangerous to making a case to agreement kiev says it will review the deal next share his pulse caught takes a look at what went wrong this time. in. a moment of un paralleled access to the ukrainian president viktor young a cold which comes face to face with e.u. leaders for the first time since stalling on an historic trade deal the whole thing caught on camera. i. think. it's clear that kiev decision to hold proceedings has rankled e.u. leaders following years of negotiations the e.u. senses outside influence we have to set aside short term political calculations. and we may not give in to external pressure not the least from russia. says the financial deal on offer isn't large enough to prevent damage to ukraine's flailing economy of course neither ukrainian businesses nor the government have this amount of money or will have any time soon that'

interest if ukraine is seeking economic convergence european union cannot really. afford the association agreement and what it involves but at the same time and the short term it appears the russian deal whatever peace because we don't really have the details is probably more suitable for economic and political needs of the current ukrainian government ok we'll talk about the future and leave this point exactly a little bit later marc if i can go to you i want to ask you a question that nobody in western media wants to touch really because it doesn't suit their their agenda but the party of regions at the end of the summer all the way to the president was pushing for this to happen this is you know cold which is party and almost no one wants to say well the party of regions is run by a group of oligarchy they don't want to reform the economy and they just want to get in bed with the e.u. so they can clean their money and clean up their reputations because they're not so interested in integrating with russia is well another note you never really come across in weste

and ukraine without each other. e.u. doesn't need the ukraine really i mean the e.u. is close to bankruptcy itself a lot of the country the e.u. are bankrupt or very close to it and you think the e.u. will be concentrating on trying to save for france in portugal italy and spain but it is they want to expand to right the west of the e.u. fanatics to sit there in brussels or london to say ukraine should join he signed his trade but he thinks he impractical to do the disaster for the ukrainian people it would be gas prices going up here prices going up unemployment going up. and so i think you have a choice. ukraine refusing to sign trade and association agreement with the year live now to patrick young he is a writer and financial adviser and he joins me now live from poland mr patrick young welcome to r.c.s. great to talk to you as always so the european council president has called the deal the most ambitious offer ever to nonmember state maybe ukraine or should have taken a more long term perspective here well i think it's very interesting because of course i mean p

congo and merkel says she wants to have a word with lot of mir putin over ukraine that's up to the e.u. and russia accuse each other of meddling in the country's foreign policy to ensure its cooperation. and the olympic torch is on another leg of its epic journey to plunging to the bottom of the deepest like on earth after conquering open space. fly from our studio center in moscow this is our team with you twenty four hours a day and when the friends thanks for joining me. there is an air of anxiety in geneva where a long anticipated deal on iran's nuclear program could potentially be signed although foreign diplomats on the iranian delegation sound optimistic no further details about just what's happening have emerged polly boyko has the details for us from geneva. talks between the p five plus one foreign minister have broken up for a short while at the moment presumably for those foreign ministers to go and get a bite to eat before they go back into these very tense negotiations now we know that they will be reconvening in a short while but we did hit from the rainy and foreign min

ukraine association deal so to find out more of what's behind kiev's u. turn it on line to walk the dog. thanks for joining us here in r.t. international news just in thousands of protesters in thailand to force their way into the royal army headquarters crowd stormed the compound reportedly demanding they want to know whose side the army is on meanwhile hundreds of people seeking to prime minister yingluck shinawatra gathered outside the building of her ruling party in just the last few days protesting crowds of besieged several ministerial buildings and cut the power at the police headquarters of the mounting violence has sparked fears of a possible military coup. i did so shift gears now to egypt we go where a student demonstrator has been killed as cairo university becomes the latest battleground of anti-government protests against a brutal police crackdown. you know the pictures are basically speak for themselves officers clashing with youths tear gas used to disperse the crowds who were chanting down with military rule the protesters fury was fueled

ukraine's stalling of signing an e.u. association agreement here in vilnius threatens to turn this summit into somewhat of a damp squid kiev cozying up to the eight was meant to be the highlight of the two days here. has been keen to stress that the deal can be signed any time and that the latest development is just a postponement and not a council ation a move seen by some as a winner for all concerned find them vital breathing space they're very uncomfortable with the idea of ukraine coming into the e.u. the e.u. right now is used by crook would lead the crisis in the pigs countries portugal italy and greece and so far they don't have money to do anything asked if you're crane the only thing they can do is try to take advantage of the weakness of ukraine so i don't i don't think the e.u. as a whole is usually written gotama from the financial implications of such an agreement may have even been misjudged by the e.u. with the president of the european parliament martin schulz saying the e.u. may have underestimated the d

reporting from kiev in ukraine. who's blackmailing president vladimir putin is address recent allegations that russia forced ukraine into the u. turn. in petersburg and she's been listening to what the russian leader had to say turkish prime minister erdogan is here meeting with president putin they had a joint press conference where the ukraine issued actually did come up in one of the questions mr putin was actually asked about allegations that came out in reports earlier on friday suggesting that the ukrainian president had spoken to his counterpart his lithuanian counterpart in a phone call in a which he brought moscow pressure on the ukraine to scrap plans for participation in this trade pact here's a mr putin responded to a question about that let's take a listen. i don't know what the ukrainian president was talking about with his lithuanian counterpart maybe we should ask our american friends about it but so far they haven't told us anything now he was of course joking but what he was referencing there is th

one reason ukraine shelled the e.u. deal was the international monetary fund severe in terms of an aid package it included the freezing of salaries and additional harsh budget cuts we've got more analysis on the story plus all the latest updates had to r.t. dot com. and police in the egyptian capital cairo have used to tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds protesting against a new law that restricts public gatherings. dozens of demonstrators have been arrested in the operation the bill requires police approval for public protests of more than ten people critics say the law is a major blow to democracy in egypt now reports. protesters today who took to the streets in defiance of this very oppressive new law they told me they felt like egypt could turn back time to the mubarak days when these kinds of rallies were swiftly moved from the streets by security forces who are in fact to be given carte blanche to use violence to move people on so certainly feels like we've moved into a new era here in egypt people were f

is ukraine jumping into bed with the e.u. and cozy up to russia instead brussels accuses moscow of meddling or president putin says europe using the dirty tricks. of the olympic torch is on another leg of its epic journey to sort cheap plunging to the bottom of the deepest lake on earth after conquering open space. from a student center in moscow this is r.t. with the twenty four hours a day there is an air of anxiety in geneva where a long anticipated deal on iran's nuclear program could potentially be signed although foreign diplomats in the iranian delegation sound optimistic any further details about just what is happening there at the moment almost impossible to extract is there in geneva for us so there's been so much waiting and yet still no clarity any idea what's happening. well the p five plus one foreign ministers have been meeting that's all the world powers negotiating here in apart from iran but we did hear a little bit earlier from iran's foreign minister zarif and explained that the agreement being discussed t

to ukraine although we have to organizing mass protests this is pressure and blackmail. exactly nine years ago hundreds of thousands of the greats took to the streets only. to change their political life political life was changed back to the country was set on the integration course anything of this sort will happen during these protests both boys will have to wait and see. party dot com melissa financial hurdle is standing in the path of ukraine's way to the e.u. one of the factors named there is their rising price of gas and its impact on the cost of utilities. can have may just find a way around it by drilling for cheaper shale gas this here in ukraine signed cooperation deals with oil giants shell and chevron which could help the country lower the gas price by as much as three times the current level but sharon wilson who had to abandon her home because of onsite fracking says the benefits will not cover the damage. i've learned about this industry the hard way i worked for industry first and then moved out to the country and bought my own place and then i experienc

reporting from kiev in ukraine. where not he's been gathering expert analysis on how kiev could benefit from signing potential trade pacts and here's what we've heard the opportunity to be part of an absolutely huge free trade zone it's a fantastic idea but the problem we really have is that already the european union model has been deeply compromised by the addition of countries that weren't ready such as belgariad and rumania the european union itself really has to concentrate on its own internal economic problems to say that this is a. unexpected totally unexpected move is very strange because of course you can quest to balance and see whether it's interesting as well. as for example the european union to dictate to greece. or to perth to grow into other countries and as i stated to you and friends and millions of people losing their jobs. i think that it became clear to the ukrainian president that if you signed their deal he is not going to get anything financially the e.u. so basically office things which are

putting quotas on agricultural exports from the ukraine to the european union really in the group. published of a quarter in february twenty twelve saying that you know the whole process of enlargement to the east and the eastern partnership was in danger because of the way that the european union was treating ukraine and of course the fact that ukraine's trade or in taishan isn't one that having close relations with the european union three quarters of ukraine's exports go out side of the european union don't go to war you go to other countries and you've got far more or trade links with the post soviet states that's where the best interest of ukraine's exports lie and of course the issue of the costs of the european union will place upon ukraine it really is not in ukraine's interests to be subservient towards the european union it does find itself doesn't it in the center of iraq at the moment between russia and the e.u. . why is this country seeing a such an important partner for both those sides. well ukrainian exports have a great deal of money involved in going towards russi

ukraine g.d.p. by six to twelve percent and quite frankly signing of free trade deal with the deal is better because of the earth five hundred millions you customers compared to the one hundred seventy million. customers and you know. and b. and below us of course right that's your take on it so is it dead in the water yet that's the big question now we're hearing it's off the marriott maybe on the e.u. saying it's still on the table even up until the end of the week of course there's the eastern partnership summit coming up in building us on thursday and friday so it could still happen do you think or more i'm sorry i didn't hear you yet the e.u. saying that the offer is still on the table up until the end of the weakness eastern partnership meeting is happening in vilnius at the end of the week and it could it be signed then you think. well i mean all the weight for you nick of each . step do you have the foreign minister of ukraine saying that agenda which would actually go in values on thursday

ukraine has suspended work towards a free trade deal with the e.u. the country's parliament voted against a draw that would have let the jailed former prime minister yulia timoshenko get medical treatment abroad and europe had demanded her release as a prerequisite for further integration. looks at kiev's decision. two months ago it was talented as a done deal on thursday ukraine's government all but completely ruled out that an association agreement with the e.u. would be signed next week instead regarding trade ties with russia and c.i.s. was made the priority. some stage of ascending to the top in this order is unfavorable. the one hundred eighty degree turnaround comes after months of openly voiced concerns that ukraine's economy would simply collapse if it forms a free trade zone with the e.u. which in turn promised no compensations on potential losses you think it is a lucky escape really because i think that this deal was bad news for the ukraine it would be like somebody today go back in time to nine hundred twelve buying a ticket for the tit

we have to fight for tomorrow other people believe ukraine may have in fact dodged a bullet. you decision to suspend the preparation of signing the association agreement and zone of free trade with the e.u. is the only one possible in the current difficult economic situation which we now have in ukraine do you have a delusion that life will be better in the e.u. talk to polish people talk to gary and right now the e.u. is in a kind of a death spiral the e.u. has little right now to offer craning hours after the korean government's decision reports emerged that unocal beach told his lithuanian counterpart in a phone call that russia economically blackmailed kia out of signing the deal with the european union. i don't know what the ukrainian president was talking about with his lithuanian counterpart maybe we should all scar american friends about that well of saying that ukraine would not enjoy trade benefits with russia if it formed a free trade zone with the e.u. is blackmail how would one describe these statements by european officials the signing of the most ambitious agre

for an independent ukraine we have to fight for tomorrow other people believe ukraine may have in fact dodged a bullet. the decision to suspend the preparation of signing the association agreement and zone of free trade with the e.u. is the only one possible in the current difficult economic situation which we now have in ukraine do you have a delusion that life will be better in the e.u. talk to polish people talk to gary and right now the e.u. is you know kind of a death spiral may be you has little right now to offer craning hours after the korean government's decision reports emerged that unocal beach told his lithuanian counterpart in a phone call that russia economically blackmailed kiya out of signing the deal with the european union. i don't know what the ukrainian president was talking about with his lithuanian counterpart maybe we should all scar american friends about that well if saying that ukraine would not enjoy trade benefits with russia if it formed a free trade zone with the e.u. is blackmail how would one describe these statements by european officials i disagree tha

it is cause for ukraine to this site. tickets to the bean soup wouldn't hold discussions with the copics i would say is that the european union still gets old. georgette called to the top selling potential but it's the association of treatments that but it's not the non ukraine's the state sanctioned deal its decision not to sign was to be criticized but that he charts tenth to queueing at each of the eu presidency. it's not about to get up to be disciplined. i think that that today's print edition don't think that way which is going nowhere because knowing challenge any chance of a deal that operate its ukrainian protested outside the venue desperately cold for a change of heart. yet i cut it to sunday night's battle. they are inky at thousands of ukrainians continued to protest against the government's decision to hold off on signing a deal with the eu. with some keeping around the clock vigil. as endemic with its claims he cannot afford to attend his back on the sky for the protest is with robin to the plants. mike is

ukraine stalling of signing an e.u. association agreement here in vilnius threatens to turn this summit into somewhat of a damp squid kiev cozying up to the e.u. was meant to be the highlight of the two days here. so why is he attending the summit where you nikolaevitch has been keen to stress that the deal can be signed any time and that the latest development is just a postponement and not a council a sion a move seen by some as a winner for all concerned buying them vital breathing space they're very uncomfortable with the idea of ukraine coming into the e.u. the e.u. right now is. with the crisis in the pigs countries portugal italy and greece and so far they don't have money to do anything ask if you're a crane the only thing they can do is try to take advantage of the weakness of ukraine so i don't i don't think the e.u. as a whole is going to go down this road the financial implications of such an agreement may have even been misjudged by the e.u. with the president of the european parliament martin schulz saying

tough words from moscow after ukraine turns its back on brussels. russia is accused of bowling the the country.llying of killing aed soldier in broad daylight. we will have the latest in just a few moments. changing the way france cockles prostitution. the lawmakers debate a bill which would see clients being punished. the trial of minutes used of the gruesome murder of a british soldier got underway today. they are accused of drying their cart to directly at lee rigby before setting upon him with knives and a meat cleaver. they have tweeted not guilty to the charges. -- they have pleaded not guilty to the charges. incredibly shocking, this case, not least for the relatives who had to sit through that horrifying footage once again today. >> that is right. it is the first time they have seen the tv footage. it was a very difficult bit of evidence, especially for the family. ,he prosecutor of the trial back in may, at outlined the case against them before a jury at the old bailey. ,he prosecutor accused the men they both deny murdering the soldier on

joining the eu is vital for the cash-strapped ukraine. was jailed three years ago in a controversial abuse of authority case. the ukrainian president, his main opponent look a refused to back all six bills in the deal today. this is the second time the vote enko has notymosh gone through. let's get more reaction from brussels. >> there is outrage in brussels. they are wrapping up discussion. they have always said that the ukraine must fulfill all the conditions or there would be no free trade agreement at the key meeting you mentioned on november 27. the strategic agreement was meant to open up any future for the ukraine and give its business and people new opportunities. but the release or treatment of alwaysnko in germany was a precondition for signing the dotted line. >> what does it mean for the future of ukraine in the european union -- is it over? >> i would not say it is over, but it does not look good. the signing of the free trading agreements was being held is the first step towards entering the european union. the head of the e

ukraine and russia to sit together and find a solution. i would remind you that just one hundred years ago before the first cold war there were very difficult problems there was the portage problem the ukrainian problem this sort of problem but as it turned out it's possible to seek to solve these problems if all the parties sit together and just come up positive and that there are many thanks to our guests and thanks to our viewers for watching us here on the money see you next time state park. for probably the most complex. in the phenomenon of friendly fire probably extends back to the invention of gunpowder. killed a bunch of people who don't want their families or really us people. reading. this some shoots my brother in the leg not intentional because it because it was night time or in the morning even the best even the best soldiers. are going to make mistakes this is this whole idea of brotherhood. and camaraderie in this sense it was in this context it has absolutely no place. dramas that can't be ignored. stories others refuse to

and ukraine are better off without each other e.u. doesn't need the ukraine really i mean the e.u. is is close to bankruptcy itself a lot of the country the if you're a bankrupt or very close to it and you think the e.u. will be concentrating on trying to sell the form of its products in portugal great to spain but it is going to get added to right to west of the e.u. fanatics to sit there in brussels or london to say ukraine should join the e.u. treaty so on this trade deal putting things in practical terms would be a disaster for the ukrainian people it would be gas prices going up the prices going up unemployment going up the industrialisation so i think you have a choice. and peter and his guys debate ukraine's rejects it easy your bed and just how attractive the deal was for cave in the first place that's in today's crosstalk . the european union doesn't have money to hand out ukraine needs an awful lot of money and everyone knows that the european union and its member states are broke they have debt up to their eyeballs and they can't afford to pay their own bills let alone o

in ukraine so stable and on. the european union. at the center in the philly on their part in all of these issues the things they did they lose track of something to be overestimate their chances i'm thinking now is they see this play at. it's the only sane than any city or peanuts it was always the kind of a political move to sydney and tracy's kind she said this is studying in the middle the middle somewhere. an ac say that by not answering some of the christmas it's to be honest i still dun understand some of the things that not the same way interesting i don't know is that in the recent incident in an analysis they came back and since these fears that the many uses and i can do with it. don and i think that would've been a bad year steadied see in the face of russian goalie much non existant i made it into an argument that saying we had known and unknown in the midst of a crier. oh yes it's that adding whatever that could've been. you can keep your ration market and it's not this is germany doesn't read this

ukraine's current preparations for trade agreement with the eu offered to parliament rejects the bill which was one of europe's main conditions for the deal. making afghan rooms and immunity from local lols but what about the u s soldiers to remain in afghanistan. i wrangled either the key gathering of tribal elders. he's been so gorgeous and try to prevent forget major concerns the doctor this morning will be no guarantee to be used for peaceful purposes call he's been through criticism he would be a difference a day. ukraine has decided to pull operations for trade agreement with the eu comes off the country's parliament rejected a bill which would allow the jailed former prime minister yulia tymoshenko to receive medical treatment abroad. the cynics the shift he has more on the crikey relations between kiev and brussels. it is a sharp turnaround for ukraine's aspirations to sign the eu association deal next week in vilnius. now the kenyan government says that it has suspended all preparations for signing this doctrine during the eastern partnership summit of mostly as the statement

has little hurt offer of that so i don't think ukraine has lost anything. the afghan president suggested advice from the country's influential council of elders known as the jirga that he signed an important security pact with the u.s. soon as possible because i told the three thousand strong meeting he would not ratify the agreement with america till peace returned to afghanistan but washington said any accord must be reached as soon as possible but if the deal is sealed up to fifteen thousand u.s. soldiers will stay beyond the twenty fourteen withdrawal of nato forces they'd support afghan forces but would still be able to carry out military operations against al qaeda and its affiliates it includes keeping to the right to raid homes that's an issue that's enraged the afghan people there's another contentious point as well the deal would give american forces immunity placing them soley under u.s. military jurisdiction political analyst and former afghan lawmaker daoud sultanzoy says that if u.s. troops do remain it'll only be to protect the government's i

mix your chest your team reporting from kiev ukraine. nazis been gathering expect nemesis and have kids could benefit from signing potential trade pacts and his ball with it. the opportunity to be part of an obsolete the huge free trade zone it's a fantastic idea but the problem we're in the hub is that already in the european union mobile house being deeply compromised by the addition of countries that more ready such as bulgaria and romania the european union itself when the house to concentrate on its own internal economic problems could say that this is a sieve into a unexpected and unexpected moment is very strange because of course you could pass to ben since he met its interest lies ready and mammograms for example the european union to pick today in many countries and led them to insist that she and thousands of millions of people losing their jokes. so instead i think that it became clear to all of the ukrainian president datuk chua teach her that if it signs the deal is not going to get anything. offering mentioned in the eu sa

our top stories today ukraine does a u. turn on a free trade deal with the huge as the country looks east to say with ailing economy . the political rift over the decision calls projects inside parliament and on the streets with massive rallies planned over the weekend. and economic goals of vs political differences the turkish prime minister isn't russia to discuss business but stark disagreements on syria could dominate. international news live from moscow this is archie with me hello and welcome to the program ukraine has suspended work towards a free trade deal with the e.u. the government says tough regulations on lack of financial guarantees from brussels are forcing key have to look east to keep its economy about water but. not everyone is happy with the outcome. protests began in kiev during the night at some point there were more than three thousand people at the independence square in central ukrainian capital the place the epicenter of the two thousand and five orange revolution now several dozen still remain the

reporting from kiev in ukraine. opposition lawmakers have opened friday's session by waving flags and shouting shame the chant had already been heard within the walls of ukraine's parliament the day before. that was after draft allowing child former prime minister yulia timoshenko to receive medical treatment abroad it was scuppered the documents were such as a precondition for integration with europe but it ended up just over a century of votes away from being approved the outcome was mostly due to the ruling party his refusal to pas the bush. since ukraine's decision not to integrate with the e.u. is believed to be based on economic matters i also venture capital hose cases failed them was that the country will regret it in the future. the e.u. have said that they're not going to be compensating ukraine for the money that would be lost from not doing business with the c.i.s. countries so i'm talking about no longer privy to the likes of gas discounts as well as twenty five percent of ukrainian goods make their way

ukraine's decision not to push for closer association with the e.u. could turn out to be a blessing for those european countries there was going to have to be some two hundred thousand pieces of regulation that would have had to have been changed to allow ukraine to fit into this new partnership all of which would have had to it being paid for by the european countries now these pieces of regulation range from quite big issues right down to things like the type of screws used on road signs and the gauge of railway tracks and those are things that really european countries can't afford to be paying for right now we're seeing eighty four million people on the brink of poverty across the european union this is according to euro star the european union's own statistics organization youth unemployment is endemic across most of europe all of these things are leading europeans here in berlin to tell me that well europe should look to put its own financial problems correct before it starts taking on the debts of others. so it's not the e.u. already has plenty

to ukraine it will be up to organizing mass protests this is pressure and blackmail . so it's just exactly nine years ago hundreds of thousands of the greats took to the streets only. to change their political life political life was changed back that the country was not going to cure integration or swear that anything of this sort will happen during these protests broke bush will have to wait and see. party to accomplish the financial hurdles standing in the path of ukraine's way to the e.u. one of the factors named there is the rising price of gas and it's in bad on the cost of utilities. may just find a way around it but drilling for cheaper shale gas this year ukraine signed cooperation deals with oil giants shell and chevron which could help the country lower the gas price by as much as three times the current level but sharon wilson who had to abandon her home because of onsite fracking says the benefits will not cover the damage. i've learned about this industry the hard way i worked for industry first and then moved out to the country and bought my own place an

ukraine after the e.u. and russia accuse each other of meddling in the country's foreign policy to ensure its cooperation. which is on another leg of its epic journey. to the bottom of the. space. from a studio this is r.t. with twenty four hours a day so there's an air of anxiety in geneva where a long anticipated iran's nuclear program could potentially be signed although foreign diplomats and the iranian delegation sound optimistic and a further details about just what is happening at the moment have been almost impossible to extract. in geneva for us. tough diplomatic work clearly progress what do you know what's happened so far. between plus one foreign minister have broken up for a short while at the moment presumably those foreign ministers to go and get. very tense negotiations now we know that they will be. in a short while but we did hear. foreign minister a little and he said that the agreement that's being discussed today consists of three stages and he said that he can reassure that that potent

protest in ukraine with a speaker of the twenty in parliament joining the rally adding fuel to the growing diplomatic stand. by by their looks county italy's former prime minister is expelled from parliament over his conviction for tax fraud by the values to remain in politics. and that's the sound of a do it yourself gun three d. technology now allows weapons of any shape to be printed in metal. exposed twenty five to thirty five hours depending on the machine we put it on and what materials. we talk to engineers of printed three d. firearms and find out whether that acknowledging it could be about to get out of control. what you are to international live in moscow with me marina joshie welcome to the program the protests continue great against the government's rejection of an e.u. trade deal and assess a nation and association agreement and that as an summit is set to start in the us when ian capital vilnius where ukraine's president promised to explain to the blocs leaders why they turned down the path well for more on this now we can cross live to a correspondent here she asked who is

reporting from kiev in ukraine. so who's blackmailing whom president vladimir putin is address recent allegations that russia forced ukraine into the u. turn. back and she's been listening to what the russian leader had to say turkish prime minister erdogan is here meeting with president putin they had a joint press conference where the ukraine issued actually did come up in one of the questions mr putin was actually asked about allegations that came out in reports earlier on friday suggesting that the ukrainian president had spoken to his counterpart his lithuanian counterpart in a phone call in a which he brought moscow pressure on the ukraine to scrap plans for participation in this trade pact here's a mr putin responded to a question about that let's take a listen. i don't know what the ukrainian president was talking about with his lithuanian counterpart maybe we should ask our merican friends about it but so far they haven't told us anything now he was of course joking but what he was referencing there is the

in fact it was the european union blackmailed ukraine and would had been blackmailed in ukraine all throughout the negotiation process let's have a listen to the russian president when i heard that ukraine has suspended not cancelled but suspended negotiations with the e.u. he wants to review everything we heard a threat from the e.u. to ukraine all the way up to organizing mass protests this is pressure and blackmail first gets more thought would could lie ahead for ukraine next and alexander ross on the line he's research director of the german russian forum alexander thanks to make of the time to be with us that i mean this isn't the final cancellation of these so-called association talks towards a deal is it it's just merely been perspired and yes what's your understanding. well we don't know but one. scenario could be that everything. can be resumed at the next e.u. korean summit in the eagle which will be organized next year and the crane will say now they are ready to sign and the european union will agree with that this is one of the good possibility the possibility that the

and ukraine to discuss potential. compensations of those damages and risks to the cranium economy and how these things could be avoided we understand at the moment that the e.u. have is hasn't promised any kind of compensation to ukraine the m.d.i. in the next seven years is. or to be expected at the level of round one really you agree your and brain is estimated to be losing more than three billion euros a year if it severs it straight dies with russia so this is basically the only option for ukraine or was dressed to me how did they avoid those losses because essentially we understand that do you still looking to sign the association deal in the future only with those there were just three great are going to be alexei thank you for the day to the right i really appreciate it go in size and have a cover to get warm today the south stream will begin broad channel to serbia and they do two point four billion dollars construction is now underway for the natural gas pipeline to run under the black sea to bulgaria and hun

has little dirt offer of that so i don't think ukraine has lost anything. the afghan president has rejected advice from the country's influential council of elders that he sign an important to cure the pact with the u.s. as soon as possible amid karzai told the three thousand strong meeting that he would not ratify the agreement with america until peace returned to afghanistan but washington has said any accord must be reached as soon as possible now the proposals would see up to fifteen thousand soldiers stay in the country until two thousand and fourteen they would support afghan forces but would still be able to carry out military operations against al qaeda and its affiliates now this includes keep in the right to raid homes something that's been a big problem for the afghan people and there's another contentious point as well the deal would give american forces immunity placing them only under the american military jurisdiction political analyst and former afghan lawmaker to hold sultanzoy says that if u.s. troops do remain it will only be to protect t

ukraine has chosen most. brussels is its main business of mass the peaceful protesters in thailand and on the headquarters of the ministry to support that a couple missing in action watch. changing the way from prostitution to make and if they can build upon each custom as a mother and son sweatpants. and auntie demonstrations take to the streets. the thinking what to post things. one week it's the eu against my shirt it was quick to see who was on the amazing and it's right yippee me to struggle to put a positive spin on russia to be in a landmark summit even before participants arrived in duties for the two day gathering in the ukraine chairs and most of the brussels as its key economic times. she chatted on the bronx easton don't reach class. yet last minute and around at present and it hasn't gone down well during that time he deemed the pulpits. since its nineteen key is that the leaders saudis is willing to back starting point. these have been dispatched to key as the independence square and another cre

debating ukraine's rejected e.u. bid and just how attractive the deal was for kiev in the first place all that's up for debate in today's crossed. the fact is the european union doesn't have money to hand out ukraine needs an awful lot of money and everyone knows that the european union and its member states are broke they have debt up to their eyeballs and they can't afford to pay their own bills let alone other people's both russia and the european union like integration with ukraine but unocal overture to the end of the day just said it's not a good enough deal i think the only quality of government trying to probe and see where that the european union would be able to provide some financial assistance and also whether it would be willing to nudge the i.m.f. to be more lenient and maybe have preconditions for unlocking the loans however the european union made it clear that they're not going to make any concessions. on our website r.t. dot com we've gathered expert opinion on the e.u. ukrainian association deal yo