politically, diplomatically, and economically. i would emphasize to the leaders of russia, this is not something we are seeking to do. this is something russia s choices may force us to do. so far we have suspended participation in the preparations for the sochi g8 summit. we have suspended military contacts and we have suspended bilateral economic dialogue and we are prepared to take further steps if russia does not return its forces to the barracks and engage in a legitimate policy of deescalation. at the same time the united states and its partners, our partners, will support ukraine. we will support it as it takes difficult steps to deal with its economy. and i appreciate the meeting that i just had with the acting president and the prime
crimea, they try to squeeze ukrainian efforts, come to seize ukrainian property, tried to disarm the ukrainian army. reporter: there has been tough talk from western leaders like brit intaken s foreign britain s foreign secretary in the hague. secretary of state john kerry said world leaders are prepared to go to the hilt to isolate russia with respect to this invasion. g7 countries are suspending preparations for the g8 summit that is supposed to be held in sochi. besides sanctions there is little else they can do to apply pressure to russia. it is clear diplomacy is the only way to work this out but it is not clear what the sharpest, most effective tools in the diplomatic tool box. russia is paying price for its actions. the stock market went down 10% in moscow. that is the worst hit since 2008. it is down $58 billion since the close of business on friday. that is more than the
summit held in sochi. it s going to be hosted by president putin. so, of course, under normal circumstances, the two leaders would meet. right now, there s a question mark surrounding that. the united states discussing exactly how to handle that situation. but if president obama doesn t meet with president putin on the sidelines of the g8 summit, that would, of course, be seen as a huge snub. but the situation underscores just how difficult it is for the united states and how difficult it will be for the united states and russia to mend this their fractured relationship. tj? kristen welker for us at the white house. thank you so much. going to turn now to indianapolis, where we are expecting a media frenzy. any time now that the nfl combine michael sam will speak with reporters for the first time since announcing he s gay. this morning, our betty ngyugen spoke about it. i think they ll treat him
disagreements over a number of issues, including iran and syria. president obama, president putin also discussed those two issues. president obama congratulated president putin on the olympics. but the focus of that conversation last night was on ukraine and how to bring about stability. but, of course, they also believe that the deal that was struck is incredibly fragile, and so that means that both leaders are going to continue to monitor the situation, and it could continue to be a source of consequence itter nation between the united states and russia. and we re talking here about a phone call. but any plans for the two men to meet face-to-face? reporter: well, it s a good question, tj. we know that officials have been talking about that. you ll recall that last summer president obama cancelled a planned bilateral meeting with president putin amid these mounting tensions between the united states and russian. also, of course, over the issue of edward snowden. now, the two men w
president obama and putin did put on smiles for the cameras today, mindful of the fuss the press may have had over their cold demeanor at the g8 summit in northern ireland. mr. obama s own comment about putin looking like the bored kid in the back of the classroom. the two men are not arguing whether there was a chemical weapons attack but they disagree over who was response with the u.s. saying intelligence points to assad s general and russia sending a report to the u.n. that blames the attack on rebels. they disagree over the value of punishing syria. here s the president from last night. anytime you re involving military action, people will ask, this may do more harm than good. i understand those arguments. i wrestle with them every day but i do have to ask people, well, if in fact you re outraged by the slaughter of innocent people, what are you doing about it? and if the answer is, well, we should engage diplomatically, well we ve engaged