to protect the civilian inside syria and i mean. i mean like my family friends i mean there are living there and there are regularly reporting there about the violence that is going on there and their response that they are they are facing i think to protect these civilians we have there have to be some sort of. international intervention in there it could be. there it could be no fly zone or it could be. a group let me point out to my viewers that nato intervention into libya killed lots of civilians so that's what you get when you get outside intervention even if i go back to you in washington i mean is this whole thing it's not about assad it's not about democracy it's not about any of these things it's all about you randi breaking the bridge that iran has through syria to hezbollah and you can even throw in if you want. in gaza this is it's all geo political it has nothing really to do with the interest of the syrian people. well i think that's true the united states policy is usually a rhetorical aid to support democracy but us

this is not the west telling syria what to do. it is not the permanent members of the security council seeking to impose their view. this is the arab nation's calling on the u.n. security council to help address the crisis in syria and the threat that it poses to the stability of their region. and the secretary general has come here and urged us not to let the syrian people down in their plight. members of the council have often called for arab leadership in the past and that should be respected now, by all nations of the world. can any member of the council today claim to have a better -- be in a better position to judge how best to support peace and stability in syria, than these arab nations themselves? the resolution does not propotion imposing change on syria from outside. it calls for the syrian people to be allowed to make their choices for themselves. it does not call for military action and could not be used to authorize it. indeed, the secretary general has stressed the plan of the arab league specifically does not inclu

and that meant kind of dealing with iran doing with syria and turkey and syria had a rather complicated relationship over many many years. and so these problems were resolved and they did lead to very good stable business relationships with syria and with iran in particular and all the sudden the policy was reversed instantly like turkey did a sharp right hand turn i think the turkish government seemed to think that the syrian government for the protest movement got up and running and i think the turkey gobbler calculated that's only a question of time before the syrian government goes and therefore i think it want to put to be it want to be riding the wave ok put on the crystal the way the question of the wave of reform and change in the middle east and to be seen as a leader of this movement. turkey legacy but the fact is that. syria's assad himself said. this is not libya. if anyone interferes with us like across our borders to cause an earthquake in this region so the stakes for everyone including turkey in this situation very very high the turkey made this decision that i think tha

eastern syria and so on. whether it's a full blown civil war, it's closer to that in areas of homes where you have different communities, a lot of tension fighting each other. it's not there yet. we're heading in that direction if the regions crack down on the protest movement and the opposition continues. i think that's the reason why you've seen this strong show of force at the security council today. >> let me ask you, because we know up until this point russia has opposed this resolution. secretary of state clinton working with france and great britain to try to craft a resolution moscow would not block. what do we have to do, western nations have to do to get moscow and russia on board? >> i think what you saw today was an effort at diplomatic shaming and perhaps indirectly arm twisting by saying the security council needs to take action by endorsing a plan by a regional body. the head of the arab league emphasized this. there's another way to get the russians to move and doesn't seem to happen this time

syria as i constructed. this is not libya if anyone interferes with us like across our borders to cause an earthquake in this region so the stakes for everyone including turkey in this situation a very very high the turkey made this decision that i think that affable go therefore we support the opposition therefore we put we support the syrian national council of space and istanbul therefore we support free syrian army do you think that was a wrong decision in doing so they have antagonized iran they have antagonized iraq . because now iraq has come out quite strongly in support of syria and of course to live in his government by his support has also been very critical of turkey so the change in foreign policy has kind of that dump the zero problem policy and what they've done actors create problems now if if if our side goes ok then so we're tough but if if if he doesn't somehow manage to ride this out. well then i suppose it's going to be on someone's face you know and they'll have to pull back position bu

syria and they have. sorry to interrupt here i mean these are i don't understand when we use the term protesters civilians i mean a lot of these people are armed and they're no longer civilians or protesters they're come back now and this is turned into a civil war and some western powers are supporting certain elements within syria taking a side in the civil war would you agree or disagree with that. crosstalk is that later today here on r.t. but for now serbia's hopes to join the e.u. you are one step closer to realisation and you lawmakers have called on the european council to grant to belgrade long anticipated candidate status that ascension session in march but it's cause of zero that remains of the main obstacle to accession and local serbs living in the disputed region say concessions for members. are not helping them as an easy go to never points. the agony it's a checkpoint in northern kosovo may not look like an obvious triumph of peace but here is the same spot just two weeks ago since a summe

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and in syria, we don't have a majority and a minority. there are syrians only in syria. i say "the homeland" it is owned by all and it is the property of all and it is a trust, a trust even if somewhere misled and even if some defied what is right. syrian patriotism rejects external intervention and stresses that syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity is a red line. syrian patriotism stresses that syrians will stand one rank against descent. rejecting violence and rejecting resorting to arms while calling for reform. homelands are built by their citizens. we, as syrians, have have an tupt to undertake a sincere national dialogue and expedite the pace of reform. so that we can establish a genuine national partnership that preserves the security of the homeland and that of the citizen as the only way out of the crisis. one that responds to the legitimate aspirations of the syrian people without necessarily undermining the homeland. future generation also hold everyone who lost this opportunity accountable. mr. president, the arab people would have very

syria is as i would just said. this is not really a. if anyone if each of us like across the board has to cause an earthquake in this region so the stakes for everyone including turkey in this situation is very very high but turkey made his decision that i think that as a blogger therefore we support the opposition therefore we support the syrian national council but the office space in istanbul therefore we support free syrian army do you think that was a wrong decision in doing so they have antagonize iran they've antagonized iraq. because now rockets come out quite strongly in support of syria and of course the lebanese government stomach by his blog has also been very very critical of turkey so the change in foreign policy has kind of that dump a zero problem policy and what they've done act is create problems now if if if assad goes ok then so what us but if if if if if he doesn't somehow manage to ride this out. well. you know. that's what. the last six months. but. they. were talking to taking the lead. box. you know. you know. b

how's that affecting the ongoing situation in syria. well the u.n. has been playing a bit of a we cruel sword for it should have been much more more influential actually according to the accidents and the military clashes are actually inside syria no the un is urging is pressuring but is not taking the leading role such as the u.s. or the europeans and even the russians let's say the russians have been dealing with syria independently independently and of an as a as a friend as an ally also towards the syrian regime now what we need to have is a certain balance between superpowers here in order to create a certain. a certain angle or a certain dollar for an open dialogue between all parties concerned i do not believe that the arms and the and the military clashes will eventually solve the problems of social economic and political crisis inside syria today only dialogue and only peaceful movements thank you for your thoughts on a progress appreciated there live from beirut dr mayer salute appreciate it. another arab country libya still r

syria to settle the crisis there. never insisted return as. a condition of peace. in the syrian opposition has rejected a chance for talks with the country's president instead threatening. with a brutal and bloody end the. plans to expand the u.s. military presence in asia pacific threaten to backfire on the philippines as some in china call for sanctions against the. station more american troops. and this is first exposed as deep in divisions within the union despite most members agreeing to fiscal restraint that critics say is an affront to sovereignty . top stories this hour. international news and comment live from moscow. a fierce battle is unfolding at the u.n. security council where discussion is underway on a new resolution on syria western and arab diplomats and launching a major offensive to overcome russia's strong opposition to a text calling for president assad to go it also doesn't rule out the use of foreign force. is monitoring developments in new york. the reality is that russia has maintained a posit

the looks of the security council will never approved bombing syria i guarantee it . russia's foreign minister rules out use of force against syria to settle the crisis there but says moscow never insisted retaining the assad regime was a condition for peace. and a syrian opposition has rejected the chance for talks with the country's president instead threatening the sound family with a brutal and bloody and live analysis of what's happening in syria the moment very shortly. and this is first summit exposes the deepening divisions within the union despite most members agreeing to fiscal restrictions that critics say is on the front. of democracy our top stories this hour. international news and comment live from moscow this is. a fierce battle is unfolding at the u.n. security council where discussion is underway on a new resolution on syria western and arab diplomats are launching a major offensive to overcome russia's strong opposition to a text calling for president assad to go the draft motion also doesn't rule out the use of foreign force. is monitoring developm

and syria accuses the u.s. of interfering of the arab league observer mission that's designed to end the violence in the country something washington said last this is not complying with the arab peace plan and it's sending an envoy for talks with any. other developments in egypt and elsewhere in the arab world come into sharper focus next as we talk to middle east politics professor jeremy salt. thank you jeremy for joining us here on r.t. my pleasure as well as call put it when it comes to the middle east there west talks idealistically and acts brutally if it's true if you agree with this what should be done what can be done to prevent syria from falling into these patterns look at what's been happening in the middle east and the policies the western governments of followed since the beginning of this year they have always had the the noble motive we're doing this for this very very good reason but we don't have to be terribly skeptical or cynical to understand that actually behind the noble motive is self-i

they have had this meeting with the arab league they are concerned actions against syria and the key ally in the sense of brize turkey has been involved in arming the free syrian free syrian army and training them and we know there are also american advisors in those camps in turkey training and i think when you combine. that all together. deploy the diplomatic route but also the involved with the free syrian army it begins to create a dynamic with actually american one for the moment to be involved in military operation in syria be comparable not typo in that direction where you support it is clear that you have. and on to the support of the security forces and is not in immediate danger of toppling from power it also does not look like the free syrian army have the ability at the moment to overthrow or defeat the security forces in an open conflict and therefore more if they want to keep going down this road war western intervention via talk in jordan that we needed that is a very dangerous dangerous dangerous road as we know from previous history of a conflict going on in viet nam

failed in syria will the western powers change that tactic i think that libya was the template for syria they kind of went to the u.n. they got the no fly zone resolution and that opened up libya to aerial attack and i think they thought that they could repeat this in syria but it didn't prove to be possible largely because of russia actually because russia made it plain that it would not support another no fly no fly zone resolution in the security council so this left the government of britain france and the u.s. in particular with you know they had to work out what policy they were going to pursue you know still think they would like to intervene in syria but they realize it's not the same as little or nothing as in libya is a different situation altogether stakes are much higher the risk is much greater the dangers are much greater because intervention in syria how would you describe that whether you're talking about a buffer zone or the top american military humanitarian causal as a french foreign minister does it still at the same thing the invasion of another country and syria wou

some voted with syria. the arab league is the reflection of the arab situation. the arab league is our miserable situation. the consensus that looks into the arab situation is going from bad to worse. it's happening in secret now. it's done in the open. has the arab league carried out its decision and managed to fulfill the aspiration of the arabs or did it manage to implant a city of sedation? did it manage to bring back a tree of olives to the palestinians from the israelis? did it manage to unify the sudan? did it manage to stop the war on iraq or manage to feed a somali person? i am talking now because i managed to -- when you are sitting around the arab summits and the people shouting in the arab -- between the arab are talking freely, therefore, to suspend the syrian membership of the arab league or throwing it out, dispelling it will sort of be losing or will arab be the loser? we have been trying for the past toop ma too many months our losses, but we need to ask -- and we need to ask can anybody li

pushing for stability through dialogue in syria calling for no military action against sovereign states russia's top diplomat also criticize western sanctions against iran as he faced media questions on the issues wasco was busy with in the global arena and twenty seven well arty's peter all of us at the foreign ministry for us now. the situation in syria dominated the issues posed to the foreign minister the washers keeping efforts to bring peace to the troubled country very much alive is until. well that's right so he allowed for all of really reiterating what's been russia's stance on the ongoing situation in syria from the beginning saying that well both the governments the assad government and the opposition have to bear responsibility for the violence that is still going on a little eastern nation and that they need to come together and talk to try and find a peaceful solution that they're not going to they shouldn't try and find a solution to violence to the church be through dialogue now what was new. speaking about proposed arab league talks that would take place in cairo betwe

nicolas sarkozy paid more than one visit to syria the i am then was to decouple syria from the resistance axis and particularly from iran you know by communication by dialogue by incentives when syria made it clear that it would not be decoupled from the resistance actors and from the iranian led axis there now we have this new approach of the in trying to decouple syria by changing its regime by changing its regime in this way so we hope by thing that into consideration i think the solution to syria will come more as part of a broader regional solution for example when the u.s. and iran reach some kind of draw a grand bargain when there was some kind of a agreement reached between the u.s. and iran if that is possible then i think you'll see a whole all in agreement great regarding syria so when we speak about the syrian foyle you can speak of it as a separate issue from the ball broader region i think you have to speak about it as an issue related to iran to hezbollah more broader issues ok despite all the pressures in the intentions from foreign countries we are seeing this this rebell

and the first foreign journalist killed in syria. was mortally wounded by a grenade along with at least eight locals the country's blamed terrorists for the . opposition groups which are blamed for instigating the violence. and with the implications of the ongoing bloodshed in syria still hard to predict we sat down with a professor of middle east politics dr jeremy sold to get a broader view of what's really going on in that region you're watching. thank you jeremy for joining us here on our team as well as call put it when it comes to the middle east there west talks idealistically and acts brutally if it's true if you agree with this what should be done what can be done to prevent syria from falling into these patterns me look at what's been happening in the middle east and the policies the western governments of followed they have always had the the noble motive and we're doing this for this very very good reason but we don't have to be terribly skeptical or cynical to understand that actually behind the noble motive is self-inte

watching r t how many say now i with our top story and moscow is pushing for stability through dialogue in syria calling for a no military action against sovereign states russia some diplomat also criticize western sanctions against iran as he faced media questions on the issue of moscow was busy with in the global arena in twenty eleven artie's peter oliver is apa foreign ministry and now joins us live for the latest peter the situation in syria seems to have dominated the issues posed to the foreign minister how is russia involved in africa to bring the peace in perth bring peace i should say to the troubled country. of used his statements in the questions that he was asked today the answers they give to this question of a good man to be iterated russia's stance when it comes to syria well that stance is that they want the russia blames both the assad government and the opposition for fighting continuing in the country and moscow wants to see both sides put down their weapons and come together around the table to try and hammer out a peaceful solution to what's happening there now what was new

syria isn't playing out the way the united states is this is a u.s. foreign policy in tatters as afghanistan pakistan iraq they all turn their backs on the united states previous kweisi allies so obama and secretary clinton better do some quick thinking because it's not going well for the u.s. or. nato at the moment always could hear thoughts after return to live in london thank you. but we're always interested in your opinion too and today we're asking you what is next in store for iran as tensions around it reach a point in point where you can log on to our website r.t. dot com to participate in our latest poll we have seen the results so far over half of you think the u.s. will attempt to provoke iran into an all out conflict movement in washington stright say that washington will strike first and worry about the consequences later and some feel in the rubble claimed to have nuclear weapons to get the west to back off and the minority believes the country will defend itself by forging an us alliance in south america go online to culture vote while

and that meant kind of dealing with iran doing with syria and turkey and syria had a rather complicated relationship over many many years. and so these problems were resolved and they did lead to a very good stable balanced relationship with syria and with iran a particular all sudden policy was was reversed instantly but turkey did a sharp right hand i think the turkish government seemed to think that the syrian government before the protest movement of government money and i think the calculated it's only question of time before the syrian government goes and therefore i think it's more the put to be it want to be riding a wave ok put itself on the crest of the wave the quest of the wave of reform and change in the middle a sin to be seen as the leader of this movement so. make decisions but the fact is that the syrians as i will tell said. this is not libya if anyone interferes with us like across the borders to cause an earthquake in this region so the stakes for everyone including turkey in this situation is very very high but turkey made this decision that i think that as a ball g

tell us that it's economically the biggest game in the world that the syria. other syria. you can make it a lot of people in syria. out of solidarity with their arab brothers the owners of the shop have even put on display the syrian rebels tricolor but they're very firm on where the revolutionary support should be and we don't want syria and its soldiers we have. and our people subject syria these are just. wrong if this soldier we have we have enough but i think yeah we want we. in less than three months libyan rebels have gone from being celebrated as liberators to being called occupiers tripoli residents rally almost every week calling on the armed militia to leave and for some of these young men who are on adrenaline and willing to part with their rifles syria seems like the next logical destination. we're all ready to join the syrian revolution and with the help of all along we will make sure that what happened in libya will repeat itself in syria. over the portraits of shaky bar i now ubiquitous on the streets of tripoli some rebels even styling themselves to resemb

so this is your the council will never approve bombing syria i guarantee it russia's foreign minister rules out use of force against syria to settle the crisis there but says moscow never insisted retaining the current assad regime was a condition for peace. and the syrian opposition has rejected a chance for talks with the country's president instead threatening the assad family with a brutal and bloody live reaction on syria shortly here on r.t. . plans to expand the u.s. military presence in asia pacific threaten to backfire on the philippines as some in china call for sanctions against the island nation for offering to station more american troops. and this year's first e.u. summit exposes deepening divisions within the union despite most members agreeing to the fiscal restrictions that critics say is an affront to sovereignty and democracy our top stories this hour. international news and comment live from moscow this is. a fierce battle is unfolding at the u.n. security council where discussion is underway on a new resolution on syria western and arab diplomats are launching a m

position on syria depend on the arab league's missions observations in a country. well first of all the arab league is hardly an objective observer they have been serving the western interest particularly the gulf cooperation council states saudi arabia qatar i mean if they're going to do that first let's send an arab league delegation into bach reign where the saudis and qataris have cropped up the regime against a genuine populist uprising and you know let them do a report there that talks about. removing say the u.s. navy from the middle of that kingdom let's see saudi arabia and qatar be examined by the arab league or by some other international observers for their human rights records and let's have a discussion of the entire area perhaps even some could come visit the united states stop off in kuantan tomorrow and look at some of the things that have happened in the congress recently with respect to civil rights human rights indefinite detention and now they're looking at stripping people of their citizenship ear on a declaration by the president you know the

it's our land it's our home syria ok we cannot we don't want to leave our homes we don't want to go to school we just want to leave peacefully people have been telling us that the sky is to leave their homes across the city water shortages food shortages power cuts are extremely common winces here and it's hard for some people to even heat their homes survival head in the city of homs has already been taken back to basics the city that's been at the heart of the arrest is much like the rest of the country right now divided you can travel from one area to another hand some streets simply t.j. enjoying. the armed conflict in syria right now is looking increasingly like a civil war in the towns and cities like homs to the shame resistance is in the rules and thousands of people have fled the city can't imagine anyone wanting to live here now not everyone can leave across the country right now civilian safety is hugely under threat outbreaks of violence seen cayle sick and fractured and cool between the conflicting sides is the people like this who is suffering are not completely with or w

damascus syria. could start paying iran to end gold for its crude oil purchases that is according to israeli website file the move as an attempt to work around the same actions imposed by the west over to iran's nuclear program effectively bypassing the freeze on iran central bank assets and as priya sridhar reports china could follow. india actually has already bought iranian oil using gold instead of u.s. dollars and this is extremely significant because every year india actually spends twelve billion u.s. dollars on iranian oil and now actually beijing is also saying that it might want to jump on board with the new delhi and also look into some sort of agreement with iran to continue to get oil new delhi and beijing actually account for forty percent of the imports of iranian oil the e.u. only counts for twenty percent obviously we've been talking about all week about this oil embargo that the e.u. announced on monday that they're hoping to roll out and put into place by chill live first and obvio

what with the implications of the ongoing bloodshed in syria still hard to predict has been meeting with the professor of middle east politics dr jeremy salt to get a broader view on what's going on in the region that interview next. thank you jeremy for joining us here on r.t. as well as call put it when it comes to the middle east there west talks idealistically and acts brutally if it's true if you agree with this what should be done what can be done to prevent syria from falling into these patterns look at what's been happening in the middle east and the policies the western governments of followed they have always had the noble motive and we're doing this for this very very good reason but we don't have to be terribly skeptical or cynical to understand that actually behind the noble motive is self-interest if we look at what happened in egypt the west backed mubarak right to the very last and there was no longer possible to back him while it was indefensible they dumped him and with him with the president of tunisia and then they moved very very quickly on libya what was happening i

but not a syrian regime we are protecting syria of the country we are protecting syria as a nation we want to help syrian people and syria as a country so you bring up a very important point because at this point if you look at it from the outside it does look like a full fledged war that's been going on for a while do you think a regime change in syria in order to protect the syrian people it's reasonable i seriously think that today the syrian political elite has to understand that the civil war will not lead to any political solution it will produce more blood from both sides between the hatred and it will make national reconciliation more and more difficult i think that i was here in france from all the camps involved in this fight should look at iraq a scenario should look at the libyan example should look at other sand examples and this woman's world of a set examples in africa we have serious thing. of that the civil war can all be a political solution do you think finances and arms the free syrian army a syrian opposition delegations and we were meeting here in moscow i think