christmas lull without but is now threatening to ditch the eurozone unless the e.u. and i.m.f. from a more bailout cash into its collapsing economy. and the chip should head back to the polling stations for the third and final round of a parliamentary election the first vote since president mubarak was toppled in february last year. and developments in egypt and elsewhere in the arab world come into sharp sharper focus next to on r.t. as we talk to professor of middle east politics jeremy salt. thank you jeremy for joining us here on r.t. as well as call put it when it comes to the middle east the 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 fallen 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-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 when 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 in libya that was actually terrible in many cases in the name of human rights they kind of attacked libya the same with syria you know it's kind of it's a it's a protest movement it's democratic change and reform which are very worthwhile motives to support but there is another agenda there which has to do with broader global and regional strategies what has the libyan scenario failed in syria will the western powers change their tactics i think that libya was the template for syria they kind of went to the u.n.

they got the no fly zone was lucian 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 and no fly zone of a solution 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 some of the not saying is libya is a different situation altogether thanks so much for the risk that much greater the dangers are much greater because intervention in syria how would you describe it whether you're talking about a buffer zone or you talk american military humanitarian causal as the french foreign minister does it still adds up to the same thing as the invasion of another country and syria would resist that iran will get involved actively get involved it's hard to take the fallback position i think is to support. certain activities

inside syria which are calculated in the downfall of the assad government and its replacement by. government will be formed presumably from the exiles from the agitating against the prison would take take over in your book the unmaking of the middle east you chronicled alone in a bloody history of western invasions in arab lands with all the efforts by the u.n. and arab league of arab league is the threat of foreign military invasion for syria is in the past right or not here of course is still a possibility of course as to the possible to put their body rather do because it's so risky for intervention would be. done would be to kind of maintain the support for what's happening inside syria on the side of the opposition like the calculation would be that sooner or later these precious if they maintained results

in the collapse of the assad government well as compare syria with the lead and iraq to what extent the syrian national council similar to libya is national transitional council or iraqi national congress rocky national congress was almost a fiction the leader no support inside iraq whatsoever. iraq for a long long time has pumped up because they want to create this exiled body called the iraqi national congress so there was an iraqi voice in the propaganda war against saddam hussein the libyan situation the lives of the libyan transitional council as you know basically would affect us from the government tripoli jump ship when it got too hot they took it really for me even went to benghazi and the transitional national council four of whom we didn't know we knew someone from all the places we can't say the syrian national council is largely composed of the

mixture of people who have the roots who are inside syria but the dominant i think exiles. has been in paris for a long time like read one. who's based in washington and has very very close ties with the state department you know what kind of clout what part of hold of these people have inside syria i would say not much. you know so there are similarities between these councils and of course you know that the transitional national council on national transitional council in libya. recognize the syrian national council as a legitimate representative the syrian people it's not that simple as that but so it's kind of part of the campaign against syria of which that that that now the lead part is now the libyan government is now part elections at various levels are currently on to go in in syria with more had so what do you think will bashar al assad remain in power as a result and we have a very very dangerous situation in syria which could have exploded into

a very very nasty. total breakdown inside the country it could lead to regional war so in this context let's see if this you give me a few months and see how the process works for bashar does have. a base of popular support so i don't think you can say that the party would be doomed the moment they call free elections that could do well why do you think human rights watch talks and for media neglects the damage done by militant groups in syria it's somewhat of a mystery to me it's a mystery and the city has made some pretty. provocative claims in with regard to syria one of them is that i think it was military people dressing up as doctors in homs hospital because any verification of that it's a claim made on the basis of online people. and similar claims have been made by other human rights organizations human rights watch the. u.n.

human rights council it's committee is all one way it's all about what the government is doing and making very very extreme claims the government response was there for two hundred fifty six children for example. four thousand five thousand of dart there is no desegregation which is what the critical reader would want you know you see these because were they coming from doesn't even know how many people have been killed in syria so far in its report. the human rights council report said four thousand but there was no explanation of that figure where they go. a few days later lovely people are usually un human rights commissioner for the security council and so far for. the figure it goes around the world and i think it lodges in the popular imagination it's five thousand people being killed by the syrian government but security forces by the nature of whatever whereas in fact i don't think it's any doubt at all that

a large number of military of civilians have been killed by armed gangs about of it but by defectors so what we actually need to do is to aggregate these figures like how many people have been killed by the syrian army how many of them were innocent entirely innocent how many of them were men who picked up arms. how many civilians have been killed by armed gangs so forth and so on you need to break the whole thing down but these figures are not broken down since we are in turkey let's talk about turkey a little bit turkey definitely wants to be associated with the changes in this region to be seen as a leading play in this movement so may turkey he use this moment to its advantage turkey before the policy for the last seven years of creating zero problems on the borders. 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 go therefore we support the opposition therefore we support the syrian national council but of space in istanbul therefore we support free syrian army do you think that was a wrong decision in doing so they have antagonize iran the event agonized iraq because now iraq is come out quite strongly in support of syria and of course the lebanese government by hizbollah has also been very very critical of turkey so the change in foreign policy has kind of they've dumped the zero problem policy and what they've done that is create problems now if if if our side goes ok then so what us but if it if if if he doesn't somehow manage to ride this out. well there are those is going to be on someone's face and there had to be a pullback from a position that you had to clear it actually is not really terrible any longer

you've got to deal with this government if you like it or not is turkey being sincere in its intentions saying it wants to billet in syria instability in the region the line with with qatar with saudi arabia with united states britain and france but that's where it is that's what stands and so the rhetoric about humanitarian intervention a buffer zone humanitarian strip has been a kind of simple thing in discussion about syria over the last six months and took along with that but they know the dangers they do of course they know the dangers that if there was a move across the border if turkey somehow we're talking to taking the lead. it would open up a pandora's box. of problems you know and i thought you know turkey itself was said you know there's no question of intervention but it seems to me that is definitely a big and difference over this issue that somehow still there however it might be carried out.

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markets why not scandals. find out what's really happening to the global economy cause a report on. the top stories the u.s. says its war ships will stick to their missions near a crucial or laying out of the persian gulf despite warnings to stay away the standoff continues to drive up oil prices on tension. the republican presidential candidate race gets underway in earnest but voters remain indecisive over just who to put forward to capitalize on disillusionment with barack obama. here as well as flare up again after a christmas lull with athens now threatening to ditch the eurozone unless the e.u. and i.m.f. problem or bailout cash into its collapsing economy. and egyptians head back to polling station for the third and final round of the parliamentary election the

first vote there since president mubarak was toppled in february last year from their headlines now the latest poll with andrew. hello there welcome to the sport and these are the headlines three uneasy managed to city beat liverpool three neal to raise clay at the top of being leashed premier league. while title rivals manchester united have the chance to get level with a trip to newcastle. and basketball kings him key off on the weekend after a fourteen month winning streak in russia's top flight. but first russia have reached the finals of the under twenty world ice hockey championship speaking hosts canada six five and a real thriller in calgary the russians had been six one up after

a hard turn from you can you please not itself but the host then stormed back with four goals in five minutes in the final period to set up a really tense finale however russia managed to hold on i'm defending champions will now face sweden in the final after they came from you know down to beat finland three two in a shootout. while on to the football where the city have beaten liverpool three nil to go three points clear at the top of the english premier league city had to go to sunderland just forty eight hours before this game but put that disappointment behind them with goals from sergio where ya touré on the james milner penalty the only blip the sending off of sitting midfielder gareth barry in the seventy minute liverpool were playing without striker luis suarez after deciding not to appeal against his eight match ban for racially abusing manchester united's patrice evra elsewhere spurs the third six points behind city after their one there when i will west brom and sunderland continue to impress under new manager martin o'neill with

a four one victory over struggling wigan but it is city who are leading the way. if i remember. but. we were really lucky to get a game and tonight that in that also if you had some problem in the second out we did a good performance a most assured school in the flights really game way though obviously it's a most images have to run but. i think the lesson above lead from today's. be doing that for no clinical we're going to suffer i think. there's a lot things out today that really. rikan correct well it's an hour of its intake on bolton amongst united have the chance to get back on level terms with sitting they travel to newcastle for both sides looking to banks back after disappointing

defeats at the weekend. here with all that you know the clubs like ourselves you know. the big clubs come along and you go get yourself up and ready for and we're looking forward to tomorrow night minority of the back of a disappointing result fancy they'll be more might be fired up for as we are after game be more livable so i think you'd be a good guy well players in the russian premier league is still enjoying their winter break at the moment so it is an opportunity to look back at the pick of their goals from twenty eleven with a net but we're going. to. few

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was. out. cold. cold. some crack is that including a couple from cabana who are currently managed by former chelsea star to tresco he got been promoted to russia's top flight and earlier in the season he spoke with artie's consenting to top off. he's done you left chelsea three years before i'm on about the club do you feel any regret that you weren't there when salaries went sky

high and the blues finally and won the league. yeah i think it was about time for me to leave the club but i didn't know at the time that a bit of which was going to come and also. in this time i was not in the good relationship with the coach who was really them i had to leave but i was sorry for sure because after the two years i lived chelsea won the championship you spearheaded the only team which played in the champions league so why did you decide to make a move to combine a team which has been just relegated the owner of the club and the governor to the region come specially in a manner for me three times in my house on the street to come here i think that was fantastic season and then the club i was working i was sure it is going in the wrong direction because they finish the money and in this moment this club disappear from football and i think i did the right thing to move in the right time

before they come to bonn and they had five coaches in one ear and i was going to be scared about the situation but they said they want to change something and leave even when we lost three games in the road and there was the pressure a little bit last year i know that the owner of the club said. that respond to be the new fed was sort of the bomb and shoot asked me do you think that the world twenty team can change something in this i'm sure i'm hundred percent sure after the world cup russia will be much better not just in the national team but also in the club competition and they will learn a lot from this and it's good for the country because it'll be a new stadium of snow airports new streets new hotels i think it's fantastic for russia that the world cup will be here and i wish after the world cup i'll be russia because that will be the time to be here and i was about manager dan prescott speaking with artist constantine the top of the in the season now let's switch to tennis and the council open where defending champion roger federer has

brushed aside twenty ten win in a kind of a. genki to reach the second round the swiss maestro also beat the russian in last year's final missing period again this time around federer able to breeze through the gate set in a mia twenty two minutes taking it sixty genco was unable to regain his composure after that poor start with federer taking the first round match sixty six two in just under an hour this was saying to win the capital title for a full time distance elsewhere yes she coached poland a lot he was among those watching six the. lot for junior the russian getting a comeback win over phillip over landry also in round one the tally won the open set seven five but all of them began to show the resilience which earned him eighteen pins most of the year award the twenty eight year old making a swift turnaround in the second set to close out a five seven six four six two when i was while rafael nadal is staying on track to become the first spaniard ever to win the katter open the top

seed appeared to be heading for an easy first round victory after winning the eight being set against felipe call schreiber the german veteran however was able to take the second thing down the tempo when the two eventually grind out three set win in just over two and a half hours i and we will end with basketball where him key have suffered their thirst league defeat in fourteen months in russia's top flight but it was by the now wrist of margins top four so i could see clearly getting a sixty eight points to sixty seven victory in the league seemed like business as usual for him first as a rule to a fifteen point lead after the first quarter to tally for his then leading the charge of getting high sixteen points but the men from south america kept chipping away at the deficit thanks largely to brian rush not to me again high seventy pinky led by four at half time but couldn't hold off a surge from the visitors the size went back and forth in the final pool to be. it

was korea sixty eight sixty seven minutes. while the memphis grizzlies rediscovered their rule i really n.b.a. following a certain point loss against chicago on sunday to get twenty three points to help you so i put away the sacramento kings. some young another celtic contributor to the home team exasperates adding twenty points off the bench that steal lie and lay out making five sixty forty christmas i think dominating hundred thirty ninety six the final school state kings have not lost for either that loss by winning the series and i know. that's all we've got time for with the weather coming.

the u.s. warships will stick to their missions. out of the persian gulf. away continues to drive. the republican presidential. pick.