destiny into their own hands against the wishes and interests of foreign powers that have been propping up vile dictators the special mission. control in syria how would you evaluate their work the results of their work well it's interesting the report hasn't been published it has been leaked and it seems to be much more balanced. than the reports about the report we've been seeing in the process i would say that i think the arab league has increasingly become an instrument of several key arab states particularly the g.c.c. states and cannot unfortunately be seen to be a neutral party in the syrian crisis so so so. when the arab league monitors in syria there were only as you put it they report saudi arabia and qatar withdrew their prisoners for the reason you just mentioned law i think if you look at arab

states like saudi arabia and qatar i think from their point of view the arab league initiative and the sending of monitors and so on was never really about resolving the crisis i think it was about laying the groundwork for international intervention or at least the internationalization of the syrian crisis that came to an end with the russian and chinese veto of the united nations security council is for this reason that as we were talking earlier i think it's increasingly likely that they will now start to look at ways of for example sending arms to the syrian army. impression general is like a period like twenty three days this is the nerve to evaluate the situation twenty three days since the army i mean well again i think unfortunately that the arab league mission was never or at least for some key players it was never about the objectives that were stated what about the so-called the you and me. iraq and syria

many say only way gives way to normandy mission do very well i mean i think when you have a u.n. security council resolution that basically calls on the head of state to relinquish power and it's clear that number one the head of state is not only not going to relinquish power but retains sufficient. armed force and support to stay in power for a very long time and at the same time that the opposition doesn't at least have the wherewithal to eject him from power it's certainly in the groundwork for heightened conflict and in that context it could eventually lead to covert or perhaps even more overt forms of armed intervention i have to say i think it's a very good thing first and foremost for syria that the scenario has been prevented will you. for the second time in this program you say you sound like an optimist to

say that the military is being prevented at least for now but we can remember that some thirteen years ago there was the chinese russian veto yugoslavia but the western countries disregarded it and so bombed use language so work on this happening you know well again it could happen again it could eventually happen again i think in the short term the more likely scenario will be covert support to the. two armed opposition elements i also have to say that i very much hope that one of the well let me take a step back and say that the problem here is that there are very few potentially credible mediators left certainly not the arab gulf states certainly increasingly less turkey given its growing hostility with syria russia is one power i think that can bring sufficient weight to bear on damascus to persuade if not the syrian president then at least the syrian politically about the urgent need. for

a genuine political transformation that could prevent some of these catastrophic scenarios that you've been suggesting believe me being here now in moscow you probably have heard the opinions of russian russian experts and politicians that into syria would totally miss balance the whole region that this is some actually think that that an intervention in syria would be the first step to further attack iraq is that true and why what makes people think well first of all i would say that foreign intervention in syria or indeed anywhere on less there are truly exceptional circumstances bordering on the unique who is something that should be rejected and the pose is a matter of principle i think of the specific situation in syria there are all kinds of additional reasons to reject and oppose any attempt at foreign military intervention in syria regarding your question about iran. i think those who have

iran in their in their sights certainly would see. regime change or you know the destruction of the syrian state or whatever as as a good prelude to an attack on iran but i'm but i think it may be exaggerating a bit to suggest that iran is motivating current western policy towards toward syria i think it's taking place more on its own terms with the potential fallout so so so you don't see a direct connection well i think i mean i think there is a connection in the sense that you know the same region i mean well iran has has has very few allies in the arab world in syria one of them in syria in the you know for all intents and purposes the only one would be partial exception of iraq and lebanon and clearly removing syria from this equation would be seen as a important and substantial benefit by by many. western powers but to suggest that

that is what's motivating western policy on syria i think would be probably going a bit too far and. the head of the pentagon said recently that he is expecting israel to attack iran sometime between april and june and how should the statement be taken is won't again only more as a threat again it's very difficult. to to read the coffee grinds of the tea leaves if you will my sense of it and again this is speculation on my part is is that the u.s. at this point has no intention of attacking iran and it is genuinely concerned about an israeli attack on iran precisely because. the americans seem to have come to the conclusion that the purpose of an israeli attack on iran will not be to attempt to destroy the iranian nuclear program but rather to provoke an iranian american conflict armed conflict in other words if israel attacks iran it will be

impossible for america not to become involved in this the seems to be a growing concern in washington particularly during an election year and perhaps one element of such statements is to try to forestall such a scenario but why is america concentrating its naval power after the year a new coast to to try out to the peacekeeper work no matter what prevents a conflict well i'm not suggesting that the americans. don't have their own conflict with iran but i think. in terms of your specific question about an armed attack taking place in the spring there i don't think the american who don't know you may be right because because the really and they don't seem to be more worried about about this this naval activity of this year are they i mean. they're reacting rather calmly to that well i think what you've seen in iran recently is is that they're getting increasingly concerned about the expansion of sanctions you

recently had american sanctions on the iranian central bank you have the europeans adopting a resolution to stop the imports of iranian oil and so on and so you are now in a situation where in fact you do have all these heightened tensions and a growing possibility of perhaps and inadvertent move by one side or the other leading to the armed conflict the recent the recent attack on the russian embassy in damascus how do you think it is connected with do with the whole situation you with the world russia is trying to play well again i think there are clearly. why there are forces in syria see the russian veto in the u. . one and perhaps russian policy more general us generally is somehow a betrayal of the syrian people but i think there are also others who view the russian role as having prevented the type of internationalization of the syrian

crisis and foreign military intervention that they would dearly like to see thank you thank you very much for being with us and just a reminder that my guest today was moved by the middle east report contributor and that's it for now from paula spotlighted pulled back with more first on comment on one thing going on in and outside russia unfold then stay on our team to take a. the

violence in syria asked for later but the world is left guessing about what's actually happening as opposition forces offer contradicting plates over just how many people are dying in. the e.u. gets the shakes over its own embargo in the rain as well as officials expressed concern europe could and up be the loser. pakistan's foreign minister tells r.t. that america's drone strikes are pushing new recruits towards the region's militant groups as a new report claims the support of the civilian deaths in u.s. led attacks.

ten am in the russian capital you watching r.t. was marina joshua into the program now the u.n. says it plans to team up with the arab league and restart a monitoring mission and conflict or in syria that follows russia's and going calls for the international community to support moscow in efforts to mediate a peace deal in syria government forces are shelling several areas including the flashpoint city of homs damascus says it's conducting and take terror operation there but activists are accusing the government of a massacre and say hundreds of civilians have been killed over the past week series and there are foreign media blackout making their reality on the ground hard to confirm and the opposition is making the. and easier as in our user we're just how many people are being killed other than reports. the syrian observatory for human rights it's one of the most widely quoted sources of syrian casualty figures but it's not always telling the truth and ownership the syrian observatory for human

rights is left several media outlets quoting false information as to rivals fight for the same name the original group was hijacked by opposition activists are posting military deaths alongside civilian ones both sides claim they're the official observatory this is the original site in arabic with an english version on facebook and this is the fake site launched in the center and mostly in english several foreign news outlets have assume they are one and the same thing quoting the fake sites casualty figures the consequence of a very different perspective of the crisis the original sites latest figures showed just over five thousand one hundred civilian deaths against almost two thousand military casualties the rival site claims well over six and a half thousand civilians have been killed and barely six hundred troops a difference many claim suggests this is a lot more than just

a numbers game i don't think even the people using these figures are have any objectivity really they have an agenda a clear agenda is there just the fire by any means possible that assad regime is a brutal massacring regime and it needs to fall a soon as possible and we can see the united nations security council when that human rights strategy for regime change doesn't work how annoyed western governments are how have got syrian observatory the original observatory strictly opposes military intervention the man who hijacked it's name disagrees. used to translate at the real observatory he was fired after falsely claiming to be an official spokesman and using a live interview to call for an. no fly zone since then he's launched a smear campaign against the original group claiming they're the impostors as are we and these figures have been quoted by the b.b.c. c.n.n. and a.b.c. australia the other groups say they tried to pass some political views so far by

calling for no fly zone for international intervention and we made the clear a sit up there for three for human rights. origin organization is that we are i guess an intervention we are against the no fly zone all we need is to stop the bloodshed in all that is going on in syria as always and his group refused to speak on camera stating i cannot waste my time talking about this is the moment whilst people are dying in homs they're my priority right now he did refer us to another opposition group based in london and they too refused to comment on the ownership of the observatory but they did confirm that reporting military deaths was not in their interest it's not our position to report. these awful for government troops the b.b.c. and the guardian had to withdraw material after falsely quoting as always the human rights observatory the un stopped counting the death toll claiming it's too

difficult to keep track of but its human rights chief also said five thousand civilian deaths should be enough to provoke international action the real observatory still documents the deaths civilian or otherwise but it may be too late for the numbers to matter either bennett party. or syrian journalist camilla trotty says the outside meddling already underway in syria's fuelling the conflict by making the rebels fired on against the regime. we're a year after the beginning of the crisis it's created that foreign intervention in syria and affairs has not been very constructive because the interventions taking place by the most motivated players and they're motivated for their own reasons we have turkey the gulf arab states the international community which is the united states and its allies in europe and they are all interfering with the whole of

weakening the syrian regime weakening its ties to iran to hezbollah. i mean we have to i mean this is their view motivation it's not helping the syrian people they've started intervening when we've had one hundred or two hundred casualties and i don't believe this is to remove the thing which made them concerned so you know with the vision is not is it's got a team that intervention would not be for the right reasons and it's been a very negative until now they've been they've been pushing the opposition to another state to speak to the scenery jeem they've convinced opposition that the syrian regime's about to forward and therefore there's no need to talk to them so we know where there was a intervention even if it's not for by using force has been very negative how moscow is condemning all sides of the syrian conflict for instigating violence while saying president assad is ready for talks with the opposition and political analyst abraham believes russia's approach will actually help solve the crisis by

leaving the rebels in syria no choice but to negotiate. if there are so many a months of military operations by the rebels in syria at this is pretty clear that what we are dealing with here is definitely not a peaceful protest but an armed rebellion supported from abroad we are dealing with western military political and security. and to syria both russia and china have create the butler conditions for the opposition to accept dialogue with the government the veto is helping peace more than anything because at the sterling the forum by a position that cannot count on the foreign intervention as happened in libya and iraq the top of the regime and therefore and fuck the veto is creating better conditions for the opposition to come to the negotiating table and in that sense as

fostering peace. as the u.s. and its allies pile sanctions on iran over its nuclear program the country's president is set to face pressure on the home front to iranian lawmakers have some of the had of the state to parliament for the first time since the islamic revolution in one nine hundred seventy nine mahmoud ahmadinejad will answer questions on his management of government and economic policies this comes amid the latest oil route between iran and the west the european union is preparing to stop importing rain fuel from july e.u. consumers account for a round twenty percent oil output islamic state warns you are extruding itself in the food by cutting off trade and that you shared by the spanish ambassador to iran hundred based journalist miguel on your morocco says the e.u. embargo was actually masterminded in washington and serves u.s. interests. what we're seeing here is not a decision that comes actually from european countries to spain never want to

disembark go to to prove to be put in place this is something that comes externally from the united states pressure on the european union european union actually had a very good relationship in terms of the economy and trade with iran it was retrieved in the last twenty years the connections that have been lost after the iranian revolution and the situation was improving until we came to these new tension and he's not just to spain and italy also greece imports lots of oil from iran and it could be hard hit in a way that would bring them bankrupt in the coming future that would be a complete disaster for the european union and for the euro and that can happen because of these of these political move it has now become an economic issue and can have even more. destructive effects if the iranians decide to say cut of the strait of hormuz or even if they now decide to beat europe

to it by. by by cutting off their oil now because we need this time to find alternative supplies if they cut the supply now we want to be able to find them there will be a huge recession in europe. and coming your way later in the program their legal addiction the counter and craving for more american opens the market to new energy boosting fixes but there is a hidden danger also ahead here on our team always edition of our russia close ups here. the closer has been to the bar of scripture where the country's little wealth starts its way across the ocean. now our team goes to the area. was named after plenty of good looking to a different character to represent itself. for local businesses are striving to build the aviation capital of russia. that's where the four by fours are made and can be tested to the limit. welcome to the region. russia close up.

now three people have been killed in a drone attack in pakistan the victims have yet to be identified but are believed to be militants the latest attack comes after a record by london's bureau of investigative journalism which uncovered dozens of deadly drone strikes carried out by the u.s. in pakistan president barack obama has claimed the attacks only target terrorists but the findings suggest the strikes have also killed scores of civilians and rescuers who rushed to help those had by missiles chris woods who compiled the record thinks it won't be long before its own galaxy of using unmanned drones is tested in court. the cia has been citing for some time that it hasn't killed a civilian in pakistan. and every agency. every credible news organization that's looked at this is not the case we know that civilians are being killed pakistan is clearly very unhappy with the strikes

there's an interview in a british newspaper the. high commissioner to london describing the drone strikes as same effect traditional execution right. state sanctioned executions does seem to be an indication that these drone strikes are happening despite what you know because of what pakistan wants united states court has ever looked at the legality of these drone strikes and there's a reason for that every time a case has been brought in the united states that is attempted to look at whether these strikes are legal or not the united states is claiming something called state secrets privilege that that's where they say actually this is a covert operation and we can't discuss it really does need to be an accounting here and an examination by the u.s. courts about the legality of these drone strikes which are various. additional legal questions that they raise and that time i suspect is coming quite close given

the pressure in the u.s. right now. coming up later in the program pakistan's foreign minister tells r.t. that drone strikes are actually counterproductive to the war on terror here's a preview. region has some serious problems but into terrorism and pakistan has always maintained that it is important to have collaborative joint efforts to be able to rid this region rather than follow sort of unitary approaches. in how we want to rid the streets and in our view. not only completely illegal and awful and have north resolution to be used within the domains of international law but even more importantly they are counterproductive to your objective of getting this region rid of militancy and terrorism and extremism because if one strike leads to getting you target number one or target number three today you're creating five more targets with ten more targets in the militancy that it breeds in the in the

for doing that it gives to the militants to attract more people to join the ranks. america's trying to keep up in the rat race are looking for a boost the united states is now the world's largest consumer of coffee it's a passion pushing people to devour caffeine and potentially dangerous about artist marina for now reports on the country's craving. in the city that never sleeps our perpetual craving for energy never eases i nearly every man had street you'll find two things a coffee shop and customers cupping their fix a liquefied legal stimulant that most can't envision quitting i feel like you know i get it wrong. so i just have to are both of these real yes actually yes i don't know if i could give a. five or six cups

a day yes i'm not good to much of anything like this we're going to drink three cups of definitely. americans consume four hundred million cups of coffee per day making the us believe in consumer of coffee in the world according to medical experts daily intake of caffeine should stay below three hundred milligrams or fifteen ounces of coffee one large cup of starbucks contains more caffeine than the daily maximum recommendation however in recent years the country's addiction to caffeine has grown both in portion size and means of consumption consumers no longer have to down twenty ounces of starbucks or sixty four ounces of soda to get an energy high. unconventional products such as five hour energy drinks and stimulant least gum have made caffeine america's most marketable legal drug because of the work and heritage in america who are working really long hours people are chronically sleep deprived also so they're reaching

for stimulants to get amid ongoing economic instability u.s. energy drink sales increased more than thirty percent between two thousand and ten and two thousand and eleven. the newest stimulant hitting the market is a slim a plastic inhaler called aero shot each squeeze dispenses around forty milligrams of caffeine in your mouth one country. american is captivated. by the generation of americans. consume that caffeine meanwhile multi-tasker is feeling for the biggest serving are turning to a product called fifty one fifty juice one gallon contains sixty four thousand milligrams of caffeine the equivalent of four hundred red bulls whole objective is to create repeat customers to get people to their product. is clearly an addictive

substance and by creating all these products they're definitely appealing to a wide range of consumers and feeding into the larger problem which is you know happy over consumption of coke and it can be while going after new consumers one u.s. company created national controversy by packaging caffeine and liquor together there's nothing crazy about ok we took two legal products that americans love and combine them caffeine and a butt load of alcohol heavily marketed among college students it turned out to be a deadly mix one family in florida who say four loko killed their son police say dozens of students had been sent to the hospital from these drinks amid lawsuits mounting criticism and eventually a federal ban the company subsequently removed caffeine from the drink but the national demand for the natural stimulant remains uncompromised with more and more americans looking for their legal high. r.t. new york.