as the iron curtain fell here in europe. the iron fist was unclenched and nelson mandela emerged upright proud from prison to lead a multiracial democracy. latin american nations rejected dictatorship and built democracies and asian nations showed that development and democracies could go hand in hand. the young people in the audience today, young people like laura were born in a place and a time. when there is less conflict and more freedom than in any time in human history. but that is not because man's darkest impulses have vanished. even here in europe, we have seen ethnic cleansing in the balkans that shocked the conscience. it is amplified by the worst economic times of our life times and stirred the rise of a politics that too often targets immigrants and gays and those who seem somehow different. technology opened up opportunities for trade and cultural understanding. it has also allowed terrorist to kill on a horrifying scale. around the world secitarian warfare and conflicts claim thousands of lives. and once again

both between north america and europe and within europe. and developments in ukraine are a stark reminder that security in europe cannot with taken for granted and that neither europe, nor america can come up with a solution alone. that's why i will continue to remind european nations that they these to step up -- they need to step up politically and militarily to hold the line on defense cuts, to increase their defense spending and to work together to fill key capability gaps including missile defense, cyber defense and joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. later this year in wales in the united kingdom, we will hold our next nato summit. >> they're seeing a lot of colleagues and friends here. good morning. just for those of you who are joining the second part of our, of our conference, my name is heather conley, i'm senior fellow and director here at the europe program. at csis. for the last several days, we have brought together an extraordinary group of europeans and americans, and we've taken them to beautiful colonial w

>> we have allies in central and eastern europe, we have allies in western europe, who are asking the question, where is the line? and what we're trying to do is to work with the administration, give them tools to stand up to putin's aggression. and i don't -- i'll let the administration talk in terms of what their rules are. our -- what their goals are. our goals are to make sure the administration has the tools, the most effective tools available to deal with a very difficult situation. >> if he doesn't pull back, that means crimea is gone, that means that, you know he, won. >> we'll continue to work with the administration to put them in as strong a position as possible. >> on health care you said, what the hell is this a joke? what are you talking about specifically a delay, the signup? >> march 31 is the end of the signups through this year. the administration last night came out and said, we're going to give you to april 15 if you started the process but it's nder the honor system. why don't they just say, we moved the date to april 15, because that's what they've done. is ore p

here in europe and around the world. those ideals have often been threatened by an older, more traditional view of power. this alternative vision argues that ordinary men and women are too small-miami-danded to goverr own affairs. that order and progress can only come when individuals surrender their rights to an all-powerful sovereign. often, this alternative vision roots itself in the notion that by virtue of race or faith or ethnicity, some are inherently superior to others. and that individual identity must be defined by us versus them. or that national greatness must flow not by what people stand for, but what they are against. in so many ways, the history of europe in the 20th century represented the ongoing clash of these two sets of ideas. both within nations and among nations. the advance of industry and technology outpaced our ability to resolve our differences peacefully. and even among the most civilized of societies on the surface, we saw a dissent into barbari barbarism. this morning at planders field, i wa

is not effected directly by prices in europe. but a sharp and sustained prize in energy prices in europe would raise the unlikely but scary possibility of europe's fragile economy being pushed back into recession that could deal a direct blow to u.s. companies, investors and consumers. calls for sanctions are increasing. sanctions worked against libya and iran, but russia is closely tied to europe through those pipelines that carry crucial natural gas, so while the idea may appeal to americans, they are a harder sell in europe. the european union gets a quarter of its natural gas supplies from russia and half of that is routed through ukraine's pipeline network. any disruption would hit germany which defends on the gas to run its factories, especially hard. and if prices of germany out put increases that would rock europe. russia could shut off supplies pre-emptively in response to the threat of sanctions or step things up militarily sending troops into eastern ukraine which is part of the natural gas transit route to europe. >>

europe has significant exposure to russian gas. we rely on one third of our gas imports from russia. to what extent is it seeing that that may strengthen the hands of the european foreign ministers? >> russia for its part is reliant on the revenues that it gets from that cas. 20% of its export revenue comes from that cast. russia needs that money, as well. there's going to -- it is going to be key to see how both sides negotiate. one of the other things to watch for is what the foreign ministers decide today. we will be meeting in brussels a little bit later. john kerry was speaking last night, he said he spoke to the russian foreign minister plus other foreign ministers, and they are all willing to do what they need to do to isolate russia. meandoes isolating russia in that diplomatic language? does it mean sanctions? if so, how will the europeans target those? that is what we need to hear from the foreign ministers today, guy. >> thank you very much, david. monitoring the european situation from berlin for us is david tweed. what

has been exporting coal to europe. it wasn't for the market we would have no market in west virginia. and in fact, the all of the above strategy that you indicated that the administration has been pursuing here in america is one that probably makes sense for many countries. >> do you truly believe that we are pursuing this policy? >> i'm going to stay out of the policy. the bacher question of the energy mix. >> we have been pretty straightforward. >> what we see is natural or renewables moving forward. >> anyone that doesn't think that is true, they are deniers. >> right, but the overall mix of fuels in the united states changes somewhat. even in 2040 we will be very blind on fossil fuels for energy consumption. >> we should tell some of our friends that surely don't want to hear the facts of how we can deal with that much better. there's more demand around the world than ever before. >> demand in general is rising very rapidly. we think overall energy demand between now and 2040 will be up by more than half. a lot of

and across the atlantic, we embraced a shared vision of europe. a vision based on representative democracy, individual rights, and a belief that nations can meet the interests of their citizens through trade and open markets. a social safety net. respect for those of different faiths and backgrounds. for decades, this vision stood in sharp contrast to life on the other side of an iron curtain. for decades, a contest was waged, and ultimately, that contest was won, not by tanks or missiles, but because our ideals stirred the hearts of hungarians who sparked a revolution. poles in their shipyards who stood in solidarity. czechs who waged a revolution without firing a shot. and these berliners who marched past the guards and finally tore down that wall. today, what would have seemed impossible in the trenches of flanders, the residents of berlin, a dissident's prison cell, that reality is taken for granted. a germany unified. the nations of central and eastern europe welcomed into the family of democracies. here in this country, once the battleground

g supplies to europe. in the u.s., we know we have approved l and g exports, and when we'll see those l and g ships go to europe, that's going to lessen their dependence on russia. >> so the balkin fields, and the northern midwest could end up getting burned in cookers, in central europe? >> yes, maybe. if the market demands it. >> and valerii, how would you describe the move right now in kiev? this was a government that was in control for a matter of hours, when already russian flags were flying over town has in crimea. are they consolidating their grip on power? are they acting with more command, solidifying their rift in the nation? >> now the government and the parliament control the whole country, where we have russian troops. it's true that the russian troops have no specific signs of arms, just people in -- let's say people in military uniform without any specific signs. and president putin will say that there are no russian troops there, but today, many russian people, who are members of these -- w

and europe more broadly? >> indeed, but the point is that the current situation isn't purely economic. when speaking just about the economy, western countries, european countries are interested in keeping close ties to russia in importing russian gas and exporting technology and investing into huge russian potential. but at the moment since last week we have geopolitical military situation and it prevails on economic. that is why european leaders change their minds and their statement become more and more strict, and more and more firm against russian invasion into ukraine. >> certainly as valeri suggest there is a military and political dimension to this. but coming back to economics we kept earring over the past couple of days how dependent europe is on russian. >> russian's largest trading partner is europe. and russia is the third largest trading partner for europe. most of the energy russia by itself is the largest supplier of energy beyond just gas to europe. the gas discussion is the elephant in the ro

and across the atlantic, we embraced a shared vision of europe. a vision based on representative democracy. individual rights. and a belief that nations can meet the interests of their citizens through trade and open marks. -- markets. a social safety net, respect for those of different faiths and backgrounds. for decades this vision stood in sharp contrast to life on the other side of an iron curtain. for decades, a contest was waged. and ultimately that contest was won, not by tanks or missiles, but because our ideals stired the hearts of hungarians who sparked a revolution. poles in their ship yards who stood in solidarity. czechs who waged the velvet revolution without firing a shot. and east berlinners who marched past the guards and finallier to down that wall. -- and finally tore down that wall. today, what would have seemed impossible in the trenches of flanders, the rubble of berlin, a dissident's prison cell, that reality is taken for granted. a germany unified. the nations of central and eastern europe welcomed into the family of democr

that's what will make europe strong. that's what makes us who we are. just as we meet our responsibilities as individuals, we must be prepared to meet them as nations because we live in a world in which our ideals are going to be challenges again and again by forces that would brag us back in the conflict or corruption. we can't count on others to rise to meet those tests. the policies of your government, the principles of your european union will make a critical difference in whether or not the international order that so many generations before you have strived to create, continues to move forward or whether it retreats. that's the question we all must answer. what kind of europe, what kind of america, what kind of world will we leave behind? i believe that if we hold firm to our principles and our willing to back our beliefs with courage and resolve, then hope will ultimately overcome fear, and freedom will continue to triumph over tyranny. because that is what forever stirs in the human heart. thank you very much. [applause] >> it is is now 153 east

we do have ample opportunities to grow the brand in europe. we don't need to go beyond. ironically two percent to the sales the day that they are in europe are you looking to diversify your position away from the continent. we actually focusing on both sides that we do have read them but you need to grow within europe that sell focus a care in on the one that obviously we have some very strong at first was held outside europe we have a strong position also africa now we have one of a major base of the players get jerry and not get their young grandmother five percent said that the casino industry off that north africa. looking now at six found that stand the whole every generally have strong base is set for us in the history of the psyche i very strongly the stuff growing markets with the potential for this huge of an embassy we are playing overseas and then mexico where we have i done brad said when he started ten years ago party now a strong day it was two percent staff very key position. what in the last minute snag on the awesomeness of this law made up words outside

growth in europe's demand for natural gas will eat up much of the new potential supply. >> europe is still primarily still a pipeline gas market because the domestic supplies from these critical producers are declining. really the pipeline supplies that we'll be available for europe will be largely from russian gas. >> european leaders understand this, and that's why they're calling for dialogue with not sanctions against russia. u.s. sanctions against russia could have implications for a variety of american companies doing business there. they range from energy giants like exxon consumer companies like coke and pepsi and ford. all told, the u.s. chamber of commerce says american businesses have about $10 billion invested in russia. that's a figure some analysts say is way too low. now to ukraine, which is a country on the brink of default. this week the european union announced a two-year aid pack of $15 billion to ukraine designed to make up for a russia package of the same amount that had been forthcoming until the events of the past few weeks. also, secretary of state john kerry

this story of human progress was by no means limited to europe. indeed, the ideals that came to define our alliance also inspired movements across the globe. among those very people ironically who too often had been denied their full rights by western powers. after the second world war people from africa to india threw off colonialism to secure their independence. in the united states citizens took freedom rallies and endured beatings to secure their civil rights. as the iron curtain fell in europe, the iron fist of apartheid was unclenched, and nelson mandela emerged up right, proud from prison to meet a multi racial democracy. latin american nations rejected dictatorships and built new democracies and asian nations showed that development and democracy could go hand in hand. the young people in the audience today, young people like laura were born in a place, in a time where there is less conflict, more prosperity, and more freedom than any time in human history. but that's not because man's darkest impulses have vanished. even here in europe we

in europe too, you know? e.u. bashing is a great british sport and not only a great british sport -- and the e.u. has had enormous problems as everybody knows over the last few years. nevertheless, i think countries want to get into the e.u., and it's not for nothing. serbia and kosovo have resolved their difficulties having been at war recently. why is that? because they both want to get into the e.u., and they know what they have to do to get there. so, you know, e.u. communications are weak. the e.u.'s efforts to build its image and to have a global image that reflects its actual importance, weight and achievement -- and we've just been talking about this, is there a european narrative. americans know what they celebrate on july 4th. what do europeans celebrate? how can we revive this remarkable but amorphous thing? and i think those are issues going forward. just finally on the -- and by the way, macedonia, you know, what i said about leaving the door open, certainly, that applies to macedonia. there was a que

we had no idea we would face such a security crisis in the heart of europe. nato under obama has been allowed to become a hollow shell. defense spending in almost all the european countries and the united states, as well has been declining very dramatically for most european countries. it's below 2% gdp the baseline for nato memberships. we just had a month ago chuck hagel, secretary of defense, announcing brand-new huge steep cuts. no wonder russia is looking at this saying it has the military wherewithal to act. >> matt, does this mean we are going to go back after a little interval here to sort of what it was before putin gets to keep crimia? >> we want this to go away. the europeans don't want to deal with this problem any more. vladimir putin is not being punished as we said he would be. he has thousands of troops amassed along ukraine's eastern border in the south, too. it's a green light for him to move ahead. judge, that's the place to watch. as europe faces a russian oil gas squeeze will america shore up allies with u.s. energy exports or will domest

tall the only major speech of his sat score of europe. us president barack obama before flying off to rome moments ago you saw here on false event at top speed basically spending all of the time reviving. what's a modern equipment said he said it was not another cold war. but he said we must meet our ideals with strength and conviction when it comes to russia russia's leadership is challenging truth that only a few weeks ago seem self evident the twenty first century. the borders of europe cannot be redrawn with force. international all matters. the people and nations can make their own decisions about their future in embracing stage barack obama telling his nato allies so that payments to do more when it comes to defense spending earlier today said that freedom is not free obama now on routes to italy where he is a tasty john kerry is curtailed his visit he has moved on to the middle east is trying to salvage that middle east peace process. kerry currently meeting with mahmoud abbas the palestinian president now the first time in fifty d

the web work of pipelines going into europe compromises europe. and makes it impossible for the individual european countries to enact the sanctions and level of punishment on russia that president obama would like to see. >> are we looking at a president, the reason he came into office was to get his out of war and conflict, and not engage in conflict because he wanted to give it to asia, and do some nationbuilding at home. >> yes. the pivot to asia is 20 years late. after the berlin wall fell, the americans wanted to pivot to asia. the problem was saddam hussein invaded. he had to be kicked out. then there was the no-fly zone instituted by the air force and navy. after that came 9/11, afghanistan, and iraq. finally we are out. we are getting out of afghanistan. the american security bureaucracy wants to pay more attention to asia. the problem is, we're in a geopolitical world where we have a rivalry only with china, but with russia and the middle east. >> you argue that tribes and younger can become more important because of the arab spring. >>

expect more from europe? this is the front page of "the -- york times" next up at is this headline as the president renews his commitment to the nato alliance. join in on the conversation, our phone lines -- this is from "the wall street journal closed quote -- -- "the wall street journal" -- our next caller comes to us from southaven, michigan. good morning, you're on the air. everybody is down on obama. i say the president has a great idea. we do not need to send aid to from here to ukraine or russia. we can't beat russia anyway. >> enqueue so much for the call. -- host: thank you for the call. kevin drum has this analysis piece -- is analysis "france has threatened to cancel the sale of two warships come of the g8 has effectively kicked russia off the club, ukraine has power to crimea, the russian economy is hardly robust in the first place and has already begun to tank. what has russia got in return? 10,000 square miles of territory that nationalistic pride aside mostly represents a political and economic

>> well, in europe there is a very big debate going on as far as what europe can do. europe faces a serious situation, and there are many similar potential dangerous points in europe that coul could--europe is trying to find it's own way. a project of sanctions, no names yet, but it was tough by european standards, which does not mean that it has the potential to reverse the situation on the ground in one night, but i think europe has learned that russia got away too easily in 2008, and if it gets away again, then we'll face even more grave consequences some years down the road. >> well, mr. ambassador, you wonder when you hear putin and other members of the russian leaderships speaking, and you hear president obama today, whether there are positions now this late into the crisis are so mutually exclusive that somebody is going to have to climb down. >> well look, president obama has been very, very firm, and as you said, tough. this meeting in the oval office with the interim prime minister of ukraine sends a very, very strong message of support for ukraine and the p

europe needs to diversify. he said we are making the tough choices on energy, you are talking about politics. a lot of republicans will jump on that and point to the keystone decision. >> mike viqueira for us following the president right now in brussels, belgium. our jennifer glasse in sevastopol in crimea, she has been following this story since day one. as we continue to follow the crisis in ukraine here from new york. i'm del walters in new york. as always there is more news straight ahead. >> it's christmas eve, and us soldiers are preparing for their last months in afghanistan. about forty thousand are still here - by the end of the year, there'll be just eight thousand. we traveled to afghanistan in the midst of this transition. but on the base we found a story that isn't being told. the people doing the day-to-day work here are mostly civilian contract workers - men from india and nepal, who traveled to a war zone just for the promise of a good job. for many of them, that promise turned out to be a lie.

>> well, in europe there's a big debate going on as to what europe can do. europe sees the seriousness of the situation. and there are many similar potential dangerous points in europe, that could see the president. europe is trying to find its own way. today in the media, the project of sanctions, no names yet, but it was - it was tough by european standards. doesn't mean it has the potential to reverse the situation on the ground. but i think europe has learned the lesson. russia got away too easily after an incursion into georgia, and if it gets away again it faces grave consequences some years down the road. >> mr ambassador, you'll wonder when you hear vladimir putin and other members of the leadership speaking and you'll here president obama today. whether their positions now, this late into the crisis are so mutually excusive that someone will have to calm down. >> president obama has been firm and tough. and the meeting in the oeble office with the interim prime minister of ukraine sends a strong message of support for ukraine and the people of ukrai

it is a major trading partner for europe. they have demonstrated their willingness to use their resources and power in the past, and we have made russia a partner in the broader issues of dealing with anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing, so turning our attention to russia as a financial rogue can be done. it would be costly to russia, but as you indicated there would be supreme costs on our end and a boom rang effect we need to take into consideration. >> tell me more about this. when this started we realized that the u.s. doesn't do an inordinate amount of trade with russia, so what is the influence that russia can impose on the west in places where they don't control, for instance, the production of natural resources or gasoline. >> they can impact influence in russia. tax investigations, they indicated they would be willing to expropriate property. so they can harass and interfere with interests in russia itself. so that's one thing. they can begin to impact where russian investment goes. this is importan

considering the other leaders in europe? >> well, del, we are initially getting some of the reaction. you have heard from vice president biden and saying they have invoking more sanctions. that is clear. he's called it a land grabby putin and reassuring poland and reassuring lith wane ya and the baltics and that the united states is standing by them and nato is strong and a lot of discussion about okay if we move to more sanctions and the situation is in a deep spiral at this point and appearing to a lot of people in europe, then what happens to the fact that russia is supplying so much energy to the rest of europe and so poland is really pushing for as well as as tonians and the other countries not only in the short term looking after ukraine and getting them the energy and poland is exposed and asked the u.s. the help out and withdrawing is rethinking. the foreign secretary of britain spoke in the house of commons and used similar language as biden and putin is denying the citizens partnership with the international commun

the united states in europe staying united on this issue. twenty eight members of the european union are united were united in our determination to isolate russia and impose costs for russia's actions. thoughts on sanctions against russia the eu is not as united as the us president would like it out to see increases in the czech parliament has spoken out against introducing penalties against most kind in the latest twist german towns on the buckle says that of measures to ease the tension should be taken rather than punishing russia father taken. he hasn't decided to forget that we haven't reached the level of economists actions yet. i have no interest in an escalation. i was pretty scary. on the station tx when johnny is not the only country reluctance get on board with the eu sanctions blind spots and all treachery britain plans to stop bringing gas directly from russia. and as for the rest of the new alternative supplies are still off at his aunties nor smith expects that the rest to make this rice it doesn't back down on you crazy the eu

. >> europe is, excuse me, russia is making a bet that europe is too linked in with russia because of the energy needs. russia is the top dog natural gas market. ten years from now that won't be the case anymore but it is now. the web work of pipeline going into europe essentially comprises europe and makes it impossible for the individual european countries to enact the sanctions and level of punish that president obama would like to. >> rose: are we looking at the president too because since he's been in the office and because he came in office in part was to get us out of war and conflict and not engage in conflict because he wanted to, one, pivot to asia, and b, wanted to do some nation building at home. >> yes. the pivot to asia is actually about 20 years late, 25 years late. after the berlin wall fell they wanted to pivot to asia. he had to be kicked out of kuwait. then there was 12 years of a no fly zone instituted by the air force and naviment after that came 911, afghanistan and iraq and finally we're out of iraq getting out of the afghanistan so the bureaucracy wants to pay

this is the site of europe's largest iron ore mine. every day thousands of tons of ore are dug up loaded onto trains and carried to the port of norvik to be shipped abroad. it generates millions for the government. there's just one problem, the mine has caused a fissure to open up, and as mining continues, this fissure is spreading towards the city. as extraordinary as it sounds, the entire city has got to be moved. kiruna is also an important sami cultural centre - there is even a sami theatre, one of only two in sweden. >> we all need culture - and a sami theatre makes it possible for the samis to raise their voices in a way we couldn't have raised and if we didn't have the theatre. >> sadly this may well be one of the last plays to be performed here, for like everything else in kiruna - the theatre will have to go. >> it's weirder to move a city than to go to the moon - its all about the money and they don't care who its affecting and i think it will effect more than people probably realizes -ok to move a house but what about the la

president obama touches down in europe. in terms of what he is going to do next and what the european leaders are going to do next, what is the read across into european and u.s. business? germany is exposed. that is obvious. president obama wants to see that europe and the g7 is prepared to come shoulder to shoulder with united states of america. at the moment, the inner circle around. putin,around vladimir it's mining and energy. he wants to curry favor with europe and see if they are prepared to step up with united states of america in terms of the action that we are here to take oath up what's give us some perspective. what does that mean for europe, in terms of real business? what it comes down to finance and banking where you see the most exposure. they have over $50 billion in liabilities for banking and exposure. europe is a major foreign direct investor in russia and exports could come under pressure. they could drop 2.5%. are the most exposed. if you want to understand the real risk, finland energy ifosure is with

since the close of the second world war and that's a free, undivided europe and a peaceful europe. george h.w. bush at the end of the cold war said we want a europe that's whole, free and at peace. rewe've had one the last 23 yea. now with this invasion of the russian special forces into crimea and the threats they are making to go further, europe is being divided, in a way, again, and the president needs to lead the rest of the alliance on this issue. as i said before, charlie, we're not quite in sync with the germans, they're the most important ally, so that's task number one for the u.s. >> charlie: were there signals we could have somehow, in some way, played a different role before the crisis got to where it is now? >> i think this was really provoked when the deal that had been worked out between the europeans, the russians and the americans about a transition that would have left yanukovich in power at least through the end of the year stripped him of a lot of his power. when that was rejected by the demonstrators in the square and fell apart and they basically made it clear

or europe? what is the price point needed where existing natural gas facilities like this can export to europe? i don't have those numbers in front of me, but might guess is that gas from trinidad and tobago is going to european markets. there are also a couple of that might be available. lng markets are developing rapidly. even with the estimates that exports, made for u.s. that is still a fairly small portion of the global market. many other competitors in that market, including australia, indonesia, some of the west african countries, and others entering the markets. you could tell me, how would russia react if we were to start permitting the process and signal was sent with prices drop? would russia act like opec did ?t earlier or any cartel that would discourage investment in other facilities elsewhere? how would russia react? how much lower with the prices have to be to discourage >> thank you for the question. i only went to law school and did not get my phd, but first russia has not show

for a variety of reasons jews in medieval europe and in early modern europe tended to be disproportionately involved in commercial sorts of activities even when commerce was the sort of island within a larger non-commercial see. they tended to be involved, especially as merchants, a small number, but the salient number of them were involved in various forms of lending money and then eventually various forms of finance. so one reason is because they came with -- they came to the modern european societies and american society with a much greater emersion in commercial culture that people who came from more pleasant backgrounds. that is one factor. secondly, among jews he tended to have very high levels of female literacy in societies in which most people were still littered. and you had -- tended to have a high respect for the written word and for systematic learning which came ultimately from the culture of which jews were expected to try to achieve some mastery of, but only a small percentage are in a position to do so. as they say in societies where most people were aliterate, among jews h

what we are talking about the europe. we're talking about the preservation of the order, the norms put in place in the post-cold war era and they are being violated here you know in an attempt by one state through armed force to lop off a piece of another state. so this is an important leadership moment for the united states, and the united states working, obviously, with it's european allies, it's going to have to work through this problem, that's why you've had the president take a lead on political embrace of ukrainian's interim government, you've had secretary kerry leading the negotiations in europe on trying to get to an agreement on an end state here or at least an interim end state. so it's an important leadership moment for the united states. this is europe. >> charlie: and the russians, you know the president, you saw him, i guess, last may -- >> yeah. >> charlie: -- tell me where you think his head is in this. >> well, you know, as a general matter, you know, the concept of the sphere of influence, balance of p

. >> the president swept into what some here call the capital of europe. to the rush-hour traffic and into the headquarters of the european union. last year, he would not faced -- he would not have faced such a warm welcome with allegations american spies had tapped phone calls made in this very building. this year, they are united -- united against russia's takeover of crimea. >> if russia continues on its current course, the isolation will deepen, sanctions will increase, and there will be growing consequences for the russian economy. this reflects a growing commitment to the goal that has brought the united states and europe together for decades -- a europe that is whole and free and at peace. >> there were no new sanctions, no new threats to russia's president putin, but the consensus is developing -- that europe needs to reduce the amount of gas it gets from russia, and the u.s. will help to do so. >> certainly good news that the united states have this policy of putting gas on the international market. european countries and others will be less depen

on the other hand, russia is entirely dependent on europe to sell its natural gas. russia's biggest market is ukraine actually followed by germany. so if russia were to cut off its natural gas supplies, russia would stop getting revenue. >> but russia is already trying to squeeze ukraine by raising prices. >> that's a purely political move. the price they charge is a fictional price. remember that russia cannot live without getting the revenue for its energy supplies. so this is a really a two-way street. russia is a far more energy dependent economy. it's a petro gas state. >> how much of a difference can u.s. energy exports make? >> i think it can make a difference over time. this is -- it takes a while to create infrastructure to allow these sorts of things to happen. >> sure. >> so you need to approve the liquid natural gas in the united states, you have to set up the pipeline infrastructure europe. it exists but has to be adapted to this. the point is someone has to lead and allow the markets to go forward and start this process. once those market forces are in

a europe that is free and at peace. as you preparele to conclude your ten yours, thank you for the outstanding work that you have been able to do together. we have gone through some very rocky waters. we have persevered through some very difficult economic times. process we t this have been able to deepen the ties between the european union and the united states. we have been able to advance the cause of security and human dignity around the world. i'm personally grateful to both of you for your leadership as well as your friendship, and most importantly for the purposes of our countries that we represent here today, your dedication to the transatlantic relationship. thank you very much. >> thank you for your statement, president obama. now it is time for and most importantly for the purposes of our countries that we represent here today, your dedication to the transatlantic relationship. thank you very much. >> thank you for your statement, president obama. now it is time for two questions. thank you for your understan

we're united in our commitment to europe's security. we're united in our determination to isolate russia and impose costs for russia's actions. every step of the way, i've coordinated closely with our allies and partners in europe, and i want to thank the presidents for the leadership they've shown during this time. i want to commend the e.u. for the important steps taken already to make sure russia feels the costs of its behavior in ukraine, by implementing visa bans and freezing assets and designating individuals for sanctions. the consequences for the russian economy will continue to grow. of course, all this comes atop the measures and sanctions that the united states and others around the world are imposing on russia and taken together, they are the most significant sanctions russia's faced since the end of the cold war. moreover, russia stands alone, when defending actions at the u.n. security council. the 28 members of the european union are united, the members of nato are united. every member has imposed sanctions on russia, as

there are different views from europe and western europe. you have used coming from the united states, which is why i'm the analystk to from the german marshall fund. you have looked at the relationship and there is a perception among many in europe that there is a lot of space between the views and the way of approaching this whole crisis. is that the case? >> i would not agree with that. i think we're more or less on the same page about the crisis. there is a debate about what to do now. i think the parameters are the same on both sides of the atlantic and they're looking for a way to diffuse and re-stabilize. but what should be happening? >> it is a good question. i think of the united states and others will be looking for a sign that europe is on the same page with the situation. >> on the table, there is a talk of sanctions. we have united states saying that there is a possibility of andtions on russian banks banks doing business with russia. differencelike a big . >> this is inevitable and the basic parameters, there are no doubt about

in particular, oil and natural gas being shipped here to europe, and particularly eastern europe, and that is part of the negotiation here. the europeans would like to have more american energy, the united states becoming the world's largest producer of oil, and the europeans want to become less dependant on russia, and for that they are looking to the united states. >> and mike, the president pushing back against his critics here in the united states specifically former presidential candidate mitt romney indicating that he is more concerned about a nuclear bomb going off in manhattan than he is about russia being a security threat in the united states. elaborate more on what he had to say about that. >> right, which provoked the inevitable picture on the cover this morning with a mushroom cloud over the center of manhattan. but republicans have been hitting president obama over the course of the last weeks since of the advent of this situation, when mitt romney said that russia was the number one political foe of the united states. the president knocked it down yesterday, and he knoc

we are talking about europe. the preservation of the order and norm put in place in the post-cold war era. and they are being violated. in an attempt by one state armed force to lop off another state. this is an important leadership moment for the united states. the united states is working with its allies. to work through this problem and that is why you have the president taking the lead on political embrace of the ukrainian interim government as secretary kerry leading negotiations trying to get to an agreement at least an interim state. it is an important leadership moment for the united states. >> the russians, you know the president, you saw him last may. tell me where you think his head is in this. >> as a general matter, the concept of sphere of influence, balance of power, zero-sum games, these are very real concepts to president putin. he has set about trying to do fine russian policies separate and independent from the foreign policy of the west. he has defined it as a counterpoint to the u.s. and in w

by europe. and if ukraine is left now without any help during these hard times, that will be very cruel to those who already spilled their blood in this revolution. believing in the true values and the true standards of peace and quiet reigning throughout the world. >> you're talking about the people who died here in kiev? >> yes. you know the revolution started the moment yanukovych actually stopped the process of signing the agreement with the european union. he stopped the movement of ukraine in the direction of joining europe. it triggered the revolution. and this movement was for ukraine to be part of the united europe and for european values. >> do you want to see ukraine laying towards the west? or stay where it's been, which is a middle road between the west and russia? >> i know that russia has partly achieved its objective by means of this aggression and the majority of politicians and analysts monitoring the situation in ukraine have begun to say ukraine is better left in this gray zo

not just inert united states, but europe as well. and i've been very impressed with prime minister and his efforts, and it's going to require a lot of courage. but keep in mind, what prompted the protests that led to the previous president leaving was an objection about the same corrupt practices, an economy that was completely inefficient, that led to a situation where poland's gdp had skyrocketed and the ukrainians had plummeted when they started off at the same place, just several years ago. i think the prime minister understands it, and the italian people understand it. but prime minister renzi is also making tough discussion. we have had to make suf decisions. that's the nature of political leadership. and i think what the ukrainian people are seeking is a better future, even if it means short-term changes to business as usual. >> to me, it is clear -- >> you've been listening to president obama, meeting with reporters in rome at this hour. that's prime minister, matteo renzi, if he looks young, he's 39 years of age. and our mik

the dependency of europe too. yes this russia is even more dependent on you to buy new scans seventy percent of the russian budget. anti riot from taxis onyx cost of the majesty of commodities so on. the free if putin wants to help the russian economy cannot tell you he will he needs good relations with ukraine made the ingredients. that's a pretty nice too. to kill the will of his friends that live in the um the interest of gas from him cause he cannot he needs to make sure that working relationship with the rope goes on and outs of these visa. supplies of gas. i'm going for a father makes a few years i'd like to put that sat down to me she needed to join this from london that the danger of the deteriorating relations between moscow and the west. the real danger from moscow would be at the end the sanctions that could funnel against at gazprom exports to with the youth for instance what's the over us. it's early days out. carver is due out tomorrow. one house of russia's export revenues the burden should be point

for a variety of reasons, jews in medieval europe and in early modern europe tended to be dispropositioner nately -- disproportionately involved in activities even when commerce was a sort of island within a larger noncommercial sea. they tended to be involved especially as merchants. a small number, but a salient number of them were involved in various forms of lending money and then eventually various forms of finance. so one reason is because they came with, they came to modern european society and to american society with a much greater immersion in commercial culture than people who came from, say, more peasant backgrounds. that's one factor. secondly, among jews you tended to have very high levels of male literacy in societies this which most people were still l illiterate. and you tended to have a high respect for the written word and for systematic learning. that came, ultimately, from rabinnic culture which jews were expected to try to achieve some mastery of, though only a small percentage were in a position to do so. but as i say, in societies where most people were illiterate,