dialogue between plan and provisions set in geneva communiqué. relief. what was just clarify for me the last forty eight question what would make the syrian people. have any more why should the showing people have any more confidence today that what you have announced hopes for a conference by the end of the my. perhaps and a joint effort to try to encourage both sides to come to the table is any more likely to stop the violence given how many deaths have occurred and given particularly that your view is that assad must go and why should the assad government go to a negotiation that entails its own demise well the let me begin with the alternative. the alternative is that there's even more violence the alternative is that syria head sql oser to an abyss if not over the abyss and and into chaos the alternative is that the humanitarian crisis will grow and the alternative is that there maybe then a break up of syria or. ethnic attacks and. ethnic cleansing and. other assaults which threaten the stability of the region and challenge the conscience of good p

-- planning to attend the initiative in geneva? >> they would like to see the makeup of that syrian delegation which would attend the geneva conference, they would like to see people mandated by bashar al-assad to take major decisions like transferring power to a transitional government and could and end to the era of bashar al-assad and establish a democratic state in syria. as we speak, the syrian opposition is now undergoing massive transformation, debating to expand the highest authority within the opposition which is the general committee. but there are huge differences. there is an attempt to add a new block of secular's into this authority, the conservatives and the islamists are very concerned. they say that the secular's might undermine the opposition. there is a lot of internal debates within the opposition. the moment they finished, they will come up with their final decision about the geneva meeting. question is where the opposition stands right now in terms of forming this interim government. they are over there in tur

the conference in geneva is a good opportunity to find a solution to the crisis. pressure on the syrian coalition to decide whether they will attend those talks in istanbul. it is trying to widen the group's base and elect new leaders. what has been the response to the syrian government announcing it will attend those talks? >> well, the syrian coalition, the opposition coalition, has not issued a final decision yet on geneva ii. but we did hear remarks from one of their spokesmen responding to this statement by the foreign minister. he said that all along the coalition agreed in principle to attend in geneva ii pending clarification from the regime. so far, according to the opposition, the signal has not been posted. dialogue witht a the opposition. we are not looking for a dialogue. it presupposes that we agree on a lot of issues. we are interested in negotiations that lead into a transition of power and democratic transitions. that is not clear on the part of the regime. >> explain to us why is it taking so long to agree about this? >> well, there are deep divi

on the basis of the geneva communique will have the full executive power and we are convinced that it will be the best ideal way to settle the syrian crisis . that's what i want to turn ons to give the floor to draw on. thank you very much there good thank you very very much thank you for a very generous welcome it's been great to be here with you today and we've had very thorough very cooperative and extensive conversations and i'm deeply appreciative for the hospitality. that the foreign minister and the president have both afforded to me today. i might comment that it was a beautiful day here in moscow. with. a good feeling as i sense people's anticipation for the celebration of victory day that's a great honor for me to be here to celebrate the victory of the great patriotic war and russians russia's enormous contribution. in that war many people have never focused on the extraordinary losses almost thirty million people. lost to russia and its then accompanying states and it's particularly poignant for us to be here at this point in time where we are considering how to resolve ye

we should be skeptical of the geneva. >> the stakes are even higher than the first geneva. there has already been a conference. what is different this time when the opposition insists that bashar al-assad goes and he's not going to go voluntarily? >> the international community does not really have a strategy. the u.s. does not quantico in militarily. all they have to fall back on its negotiations and diplomacy. is there a broader vision? i don't think the u.s. has really articulated. there is some debate to what extent would the u.s. accept elements of the regime staying in power. that's not clear. for the syrian opposition, they are going into geneva with very little expectations. they are going the u.s., britain, france, and other powers are pushing them to do so. >> should the u.s. intervene militarily? well, part of the reason why bush our side is not willing to make concessions if he does not think the international community is serious. if he saw there was a credible military threat, he might be more willing to meet the rebels halfway. now that's the debate in the u.

those are the problems they face trying to get parties around the table at geneva. the problems once they get to geneva will be even harder. hasakistan's military confirmed that u.s. grown strike has killed wali ur rehman, the second-in-command of the pakistani taliban. his men say he is still alive. and after sungard -- and afghan guard was killed when the international red cross was bombed. syrian opposition groups say they want peace talks to lead to the end of president-are alice thought's rule. but they in the syrian government said they are willing to attend talks -- the end of president bashar al-assad's rule. thousands of troops were sent to the region earlier this month that the government declared a state of emergency in three states. at ans video shot unidentified location in northern nigeria reportedly shows rebel fighters standing near what appear to be military vehicles. on the ground lay dead men who they claim were soldiers in nigeria's army. this is the first statement since the nigerian government declared a state of emergency on may 14. thousands

the coalition has yet to decide whether to attend talks in geneva. foreign ministers are in brussels discussing whether to lift the arms embargo on rebel fighters in syria. britain and france want to ease sanctions so weapons can be supplied to opposition fighters. the colombian government is a step closer to reaching a peace deal with rebels. negotiators have agreed to reforms that would redistribute land to the poor. that has been one of the main sticking points in the efforts to end nearly 50 years of conflict. south african police are escorting foreign shop owners johannesburg for their own safety. were attacked on sunday night. people began looting during a protest over the killing of two men. it is thought they were shot dead by a shopkeeper after an argument we have this report from the crime scene. >> the violence started late sunday night into monday morning. things on the street are tense. though locals have, in big numbers. they want to know what is going there are some somali nationals hovering. he says locals came in and destroyed this s

leaders are hoping to bring both sides to the table at a conference in geneva that is supposed to be held next month, but it is still not clear if that will happen. >> inside this istanbul hotel, syrian opposition leaders find themselves between a rock and a hard place. the international community wants syria's national coalition to sit down to talks with the assad regime in geneva next month, but the coalition is not sure it wants to risk alienating rebel fighters on the ground. >> we have a lot of unknowns about the geneva conference. we are for any conference that helps the transition the situation -- helps transition the situation away from the dictatorship. >> the coalition insist that the geneva conference must -- insists that the geneva conference must be in that assad's removal. -- must be aimed at assad's removal. russian minister live rock -- lavrov say they value receptiveness to talks and hope the opposition will react similarly. 1.5 million syrians have already fled the country. human rights group amnesty international has called on the year in union -- on the european u

leaders are hoping to bring both sides to the table at a conference in geneva that is supposed to be held next month, but it is still not clear if that will happen. >> inside this istanbul hotel, syrian opposition leaders find themselves between a rock and a hard place. the international community wants syria's national coalition to sit down to talks with the assad regime in geneva next month, but the coalition is not sure it wants to risk alienating rebel fighters on the ground. >> we have a lot of unknowns about the geneva conference. we are for any conference that helps the transition the situation -- helps transition the situation away from the dictatorship. >> the coalition insist that the geneva conference must -- insists that the geneva conference must be in that assad's removal. -- must be aimed at assad's removal. russian minister live rock -- lavrov say they value receptiveness to talks and hope the opposition will react similarly. 1.5 million syrians have already fled the country. human rights group amnesty international has called on the year in union -- on the european u

apache helicopter fires again and kills the rescuers so that's the second great breach of the geneva conventions which constitutes a war crime and the third is defacing the dead so a u.s. army jeep rolled over one of the dead bodies cutting the body in half and that also would constitute a war crime if bradley manning had committed war crimes instead of revealing them then he. be a free man today mainstream media helped obama in the attack on monday now the government turned on the new republic says the current worst type of news agency associated press could be the tip of the oyster that pulling has had the desired effect to soil and the nation eric lichtblau won the pulitzer prize for national reporting exposing bush's massive illegal wiretap program when the government snell spying on him he quit the beat of almost war and dissent has won for suppressed and public is much less likely to report any government crime. if i were one of my sources i would never talk to me again even stories that really would have been a public service obama is worse than richard nixon says the pentagon

syrian government confirming that they will in principle be willing to attend peace negotiations in geneva. i'm wondering what hope for that process -- if you've got these opposition leaders meeting in istanbul, unable to agree on very basic issues. >> this is why western siplomats attending the meeting are pushing the opposition to come up with a deal today to expand the coalition, form a new government, elect a new leader, and then come up with a roadmap for geneva. the problem here, this is a really delicate issue for the opposition, because the events on the ground, the fighting in quasyr, the involvement of has a lot. -- hezbollah. and handuld step down over power to a transitional government, that is there one demand. the presence of the syrian delegation in geneva, not mandated to take over power, will not make any difference. this is why they are waiting for there waiting for a to say that he will honor the commitment -- assad to say that he will honor the commitment and step down. >> thank you, from istanbul. india havels in th attacked a government convoy and killed at least 27 p

parties tobring the a peace conference in geneva are ongoing. members of the syrian opposition met in turkey were later in the week to decide if they would attend. the russian or the ministry said al-assad's government was willing in principle to go to the talks. marks the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the virus that causes aids. on the 20th of may, 1983, sicence published two articles on hiv. the virus invades and destroys the cells of the immune system. the pandemic has killed more than 30 million people with the worst infection rates and sub- saharan africa. visited theesident white house. is the first visit to washington by a leader of the country in 50 years. his efforts lauded to institute democratic reforms. the general was once part of the ruling junta, but has led the transition toward civilian government. >> raymond -- >> the co founder of the 1960's rock group the doors died on monday. he was the keyboard player behind their distinctive sound. fronted by jim morrison, the band sold 100 million albums worldwide. ♪ come on baby

led talks for peace is to convince everybody to be on the same sit down for talks peace talks in geneva and now washington did indeed express their support for the rebels and this could prove to be a problem in trying to get all sides involved in principle had said that he will attend those talks however the opposition has said that they will only do so if bashar al assad steps down we go back again to these pre-conditions these differences in before making any steps or progress into the peace process and we've already seen that everybody agrees essentially to have a solution for syria the crux of the matter here is how to go about doing so each country seems to have its own vision of how to accomplish this goal and this is already what we've been seeing for the past couple of years and we can say that it has been hampering any substantial progress in syria. and let's now get some reaction from middle east expert professor jeremy sold and joining us now live professor sol very nice to see you as always on r.t. of course we know there's a strong opposition from within the e.u. against ar

bargo could do rail next month syria peace conference in geneva more details are now from. the united states is showing no concern over the expiration of the e.u. arms embargo on syria which is set to lapse in the coming days the deputy spokesperson for the state department patrick ventrell says that washington welcomes this step because it would give greater flexibility of specific e.u. member states to support the opposition as they see fit now of course that greater flexibility means that countries like britain and france will be able to ship arms and ammunition to to the opposition groups in syria which would then use possibly in an effort to overthrow the government up and then went on to say that easing the arms embargo sends a message to syrian president bashar al assad that support for the opposition will only increase but the u.n. meanwhile is sending its own messages of double standard let's remember that washington has been fiercely critical of russia's transfer of anti-aircraft aircraft missiles to the assad government now while moscow's maintained that it has b

deteriorated, syrian's embattled opposition has been under pressure to commit to the peace talks in geneva but they are the ones trying to exert pressure and while they may not get what they want in terms of ending involvement of iran and hezbollah in the conflict, they may at least manage to secure humanitarian measures from the international community to get injured out and bring food and medicine in. al jazeera, istanbul. >> let's focus on president assad now and he's -- hear some of what he had to say in an interview with hezbollah tv channel. translator: it's a world war being waged against syria, where confident of our victory and i reiterate syria will remain supportive of resistance more than ever in any place in the arab world. hezbollah is willing to defend syria, they will defend a number of fights, a couple of hundred to 2,000. we're speaking of tens of thousands of forces and tens of thousands of armed terrorists. hezbollah could not send enough fighters given enough terrorists and size of the country. we don't engage in fighting in order to divide the country. if we meant to

a task to convince all sides of the syrian conflict to sit down at the negotiation table after the geneva communiqué was adopted last june to damascus express their willingness to work according to this plan solution afterwards the government established a committee which is responsible for dialogue with all syrians and yesterday the foreign minister of syria confirmed that they are committed to dialogue on the basis of the communique of the limit but these are just words in order for the words to become actions to slow and we need to hear from the opposition as well so far we haven't heard a word from the opposition to the will which would confirm its commitment to the geneva communiqué but the press conference took an even more interesting twist when john kerry was asked a question by a journalist. about the proposed legislation in the u.s. congress to support the syrian rebels with weapons and even military training john kerry's own sister jested that despite the obvious closing in on positions on syria between washington and states there's still a loophole remaining in the u.s. stan

carlos is it is withdrawing from a second week of the nonproliferation treaty talks in geneva in protest against what it is calling the failure to implement a nine hundred ninety five resolution for a middle east free of nuclear weapons now the cairo argument is an implicit reference to israel that has never either confirmed or denied having nuclear arms and it is also not a signatory to the nonproliferation treaty arab states and iran say that israel's presumed nuclear arsenal poses a threat to peace in the middle east as well as security in a statement by the egyptian foreign ministry its it was pulling out of the talks to quote send a strong message of non acceptance of the continued lack of seriousness in dealing with the establishment of a nuclear free zone in the middle east caro went on to say that it cannot continue waiting forever for the implementation of this with a new show and now the egyptians are calling on member states and international bodies to be able sponsibility again quoting implementing legitimate international resolutions the argument however from the israeli sid

absentee ballot in geneva all parties involved to be concentrated. to flee from the syrian. opposition groups. i think. it is and we believe that this circle could be. arms embargo is running out on friday and that is a matter of great concern for russia and the united states because we have france and the united kingdom already. arms to the syrian opposition is something that they are looking at it and that is something that neither russia nor the united states believe is a good way to solve this situation as we know. the. rebels who are closely linked. in syria and are working with. to other countries. he believes the geneva peace conference will put washington in the toilet spot over syria. now with these planned talks that are scheduled to take place next month between foreign minister lavrov and secretary of state kerry the u.s. and russia are going to have to come up with some type of political roadmap for settling the military conflict inside of syria and i think the u.s. is very concerned about this because they know they really don't have any really keen political p

congress is it is withdrawing from a second week of the nonproliferation treaty talks in geneva in protest against what it is calling the failure to implement a nine hundred ninety five resolution for a middle east free of nuclear weapons not a cairo argument is an implicit reference to israel that has never either confirmed or denied having nuclear arms and it is also not a signatory to the nonproliferation treaty arab states and iran say that israel's presumed nuclear arsenal poses a threat to peace in the middle east as well as security in a statement by the egyptian foreign ministry its it was pulling out of the talks to quote a send a strong message of non acceptance of the continued lack of seriousness in dealing with the establishment of a nuclear free zone in the middle east karo went on to say that it cannot continue waiting forever for the implementation of this with a new show and now the egyptians are calling on member states and international bodies to be able sponsibility again quoting implementing legitimate international resolutions the argument however from the israeli sid

well i believe it's the geneva talks about it gold's boys the european union says the decision to ban the involved only shows that the e.u. believes in the military solution of the conflict and is not small to believe in the peace talks while the ministry of foreign affairs on its head mr lavrov mr kerry agreed in paris on the need to have another conference peace conference with more stakeholders from the regions involved and so it's actually a deplorable decision again stating that you does not believe in the peaceful resolution of the syrian conflict would risk the u.k. and france are running deciding to arm the rebels. well actually first of all it's important to say that we need to remember the libyan conflict and speaking about france and you can we should remember that they were involved in the conflict with the military i mean now the libyan conflict and it's no surprise that again we see these two countries. proposing to sell weapons to the rebels and the danger of it is that you can also actually identify the is so-called legitimate rebels for all the terrorists and does the

well we want you to tell us what you think about this forthcoming peace conference in geneva hosted by russia and the us will achieve anything is your thought so far online poll at r.t. dot com it's on our home page we can see that the majority fifty two percent believe in the cheve nothing because it won't go ahead meanwhile just over a third think a peace plan could be formed but question whether the syrian rebels will stick to the plan but already down there seven percent believe that perhaps this could lead to the end of western backed support for the rebels and four percent are of the belief that a sad could resign those are your thoughts at the moment dot com let us know what you think well after the break we'll be finding out whether this syrian conflict is now spilling over the borders and what impact it's having on its neighboring countries that's after the break stay with us in moscow. speak your language. programs and documentaries in arabic it's all here on. reporting from the world talks about six of the i.p.t. interviews intriguing stories are you. trying. to find out mor

the next meeting will be the one held in geneva in june. international players will try to create a transitional government with full executive control. the question is whether president bashar al-assad will be present. >> the u.s. has the knowledge for the first time that four american citizens have been killed in drone strikes in the past four years. attorney general eric holder said the government targeted and killed and more al-awlaki in yemen. three others also died but were not specifically targeted. >> this letter by the u.s. attorney general is the first actual confirmation by the obama administration that american citizens have been killed in drone strikes. what was generally known was that anwar al-awlaki was the first targeted assassination by the administration that had been killed in 2011 in yemen. but this was confirmation also that two other people, his son and another man, were also killed in yemen in 2011. the administration says that they were not intentional targets, nor was the fourth who with a north carolina president,

next month in geneva for the first time international community was about getting. peacefully. now the result of actually the possibility of it taking place or in question and also. the whole idea to supply weapons to troops. to any state or rebels. against all international laws and is russia taking any direct action in response to this. counterbalance. to. moscow will ship. three hundred. reached back in two thousand and ten before the. even. that first of all if this doesn't go against any international laws and regulations and secondly the air defense systems could be used. for attacking any civilian objects. despite the fact that. thank you for that. website has more stories. including. a prominent regime. covering. these border details. hundreds of protesters rallied in london the monday after the cold blooded murder of a soldier last week ten people have been arrested in connection with the case and a new force has been set up to focus on radical preachers. the first time the home secretary theresa may proposed the data and communications bill came under so much criticis

along balboa park station, geneva, san jose, pushing hard to get a ramp for pedestrians. right now, it is dangerous to cross the street, especially if you are pushing a stroller or are in a wheelchair. you have to go further than you but typically have to. there is so much more to do. we have to figure out how to calm the traffic. a lot of cars, speeding through and make it unsafe for pedestrians. sidewalks are not very convenient for people. it takes a lot of money to do that, but it is really about being vigilant and looking at the fund the come through the transportation authority. we have been extending sidewalks in some places to help with pedestrians, trying to put in islands, plantings to slow down traffic. bike lanes have helped. a bit controversial where i live is a bike lane. people do not see as many bikes, but we are seeing more and more common now that the bike lanes are coming in. that makes it safer for pedestrians. we have a bike way on a major street. you do not have as much time to cross, and you cut down one lane for the cars and a pedestrian can then w

aimed at the eu saying that they aim to derail peace talks in geneva next month. >> the european union is pouring more fuel on the fire of this conflict. it is damaging how specs to convene a political settlement in syria come in the success of which the eu should have been very interested. >> they have been very coy about the exact location of the s 300 s. either way, as europe lifts its ban on supplying arms to the opposition, russia also appears to be increasing its efforts to influence the course of the war. so what exactly is an s 300 missile? it is a surface-to-air missile with a range of 350 kilometers, more than 30 years old, still regarded as one of the most regarded antiaircraft systems available. hundred targets while engaging 12 at a time. the israelis are so worried of the sale of these missiles to syria. >> the s 300 is a defensive weapon system. it is basically designed as an air defense mechanism. it will be a significant piece of weaponry in the hands of the syrian's should nato decide to do an air campaign or in the event of an israeli airstrike. it could pose a ferme

the upcoming conference in geneva is the best chance to do that. most people think that is likely to fail. the opposition wants assad to go. assad isn't going to agree. we have to plan for options after geneva. it is not just the no fly zone. they are also considering opposition, elements that are moderate and support the united states and switching recognition from the assad regime to the opposition. there is a menu of options the obama administration is now considering more than ever if and when the political solution becomes more and more unlikely. >> you had another scoop yesterday about senator mccain a leading republican visiting with the syrian rebels in syria, the highest ranking u.s. official to do so. tell us about the significance thaf visit. >> john mccain is doing two things, communicating to the syrian rebels there are people in washington who support arming them and greater intervention. he is also collecting information to bring back about who they are, what they want and how they're working together. he also proved you can go into

international peace conference on syria brokered by moscow and washington it's likely to take place in geneva next month russia and the u.s. are turning that diplomatic efforts to finally bringing the syrian government and the opposition to the negotiating table now u.s. secretary of state john kerry has warned washington will give additional help to syrian rebels if the assad regime backs out of the talks russia's foreign minister insists the syrian government is positive about the prospect of negotiations simply laughed off also explained the likely format of the conference or so to say it's as though with. regarding the composition of the participants the conference should be at the level of ministers all the deputies we discussed the possible formats of the conference the general opinion is that those who were in geneva in june last year should be at the new conference as well as russia believes that a few important players should take part two including iran and saudi arabia most import. late we need to ensure that both the government and the opposition support the initiative the governm

she spoke to members of the human rights council in geneva. she said she is profoundly disturbed of the human rights use of drones. she's disturbed the human rights implications of the drones in counterterrorism and military operations. she raised concerns about the rising number of states acquiring the weapons, saying the lack of transparency undermines the legal basis of drone strikes. u.s. president barack obama said last week that the use of drones against al qaeda, the taliban, and affiliated groups is justified, but he promised to improve transparency and tighten controls.

the peace talks are tentatively planned for mid-june in geneva, but obstacles are mounting. it is by no means clear the two warring sides will hit -- sit down together. both are hinting at preconditions, and internationally, tensions are rising. britain and france are talking about army rebels, and russia seems intent on sending president assad those missiles. now other countries are getting directly involved in the fighting, too. it in recent battles over the strategic town, syrian rebels have found themselves outnumbered and surrounded. not only by syrian government troops, but by hezbollah fighters, the shia movement from across the border in lebanon, which has close ties to iran. >> we always feared that the serious crisis might turn into a proxy war. it has not done that yet, but it is closer to it this week that it was a couple of weeks ago. the real danger is that it becomes deeply sectarian, and that will affect the politics of the middle east right through to the gulf. >> it is partly because negotiations may be in the offing, but the fighting and posturing over the

they expressed support for an international conference in geneva next month. the conference will be organized by the united states and russia. they hope to bring president bashar al assad's administration and its opponents to the table in geneva. >> it is a path that leads to a political solution and a political transition to a renewed syria. >> the delegates also demanded the immediate withdrawal of and iranian troops. rebels have said iranian and hezbollah fighters have intervened in support of assad. the meeting was divided on how to support the syrian rebels including whether to provide them with weapons. >>> white house officials are opening up about something they have been keeping secret. for the first time they've acknowledged that four americans have died in drone strikes since 2009. attorney general eric holder says the drones were being used to pursue terrorists in yemen and pakistan. holder wrote a letter to congressional leaders acknowledging details that were previously classified. holder confirmed that drone operators targeted and killed the lea