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russia's foreign minister says the libyan scenario of foreign intervention or risk being repeated in syria as a cases built against the assad regime to justify external military action. a fresh wave of downgrade sweeps the struggling euro zone six nations get their debt ratings cut all while greece faces further bailout hurdles from the e.u. this fight the latest harsh austerity plan. and russia's military predicts the west might decide on a strike against iran before summer is clouds gather over terror on following israeli accusations that the islamic state was behind monday's attacks on diplomatic personnel.

one am in moscow i matter as a good to have you with us here on r t our top story moscow says there is a significant risk the libyan scenario of foreign intervention could soon be repeated in syria russia's foreign minister warned that a case is being built against the regime in damascus that could be used to justify external military action sergey lavrov was speaking to journalists during a trip to the netherlands or to his going off has more. russia's foreign minister a lot of press criticize the idea to put together the so-called group of friends of syria which could meet as soon as by the end of february would include several western nations including the u.s. and france arab countries and representatives of the syrian opposition and said you are better off says if this group will not include representatives of the syrian authorities it would mean the international community is taking a certain side in this internal conflict russia and china they stand for peaceful

dialogue between both sides of this conflict especially with the syrian authorities saying now that we are ready for this dialogue the russian foreign minister also said that right now it's very important to establish who controls these heavily armed militant groups within the syrian opposition another issue touched upon by in the russian foreign minister is the recent proposal by the arab league to deploy a u.n. peacekeeping contingent into syria and according to the russian foreign minister there are several issues which may be of concern the first one is that such a peacekeeping contingent would have to be welcomed by the receiving side meaning by both sides of this conflict and the opposition which brings us to the desperate need for dialogue between them and secondly with the aim to protect civilians this contingent would have to be armed as well which also causes concern and also the no fly zone operation in libya also initially started with the aim to protect

civilians but ended up with the international community also taking a certain side in that conflict syria says that perhaps instead of looking for new missions the arab league should resume its currently frozen monitoring mission especially with the syrian authorities giving the green light for having more observers in the country including in the most hostile areas patrick ase a reporter for the on line magazine spikes tells r t that he thinks the west is using the pretext of humanitarian intervention to promote its own agendas. the removal of diplomats from syria. the desire to arm the free syrian army from the west and to basically support them to give them kind of sectioned off training areas where they can develop a strong opposition apart from the kind of threat of a sad all suggest that you know the west isn't willing to have you know encourage any kind of dialogue or discourse and to ultimately they want you know they've now

polarized the situation they've now said you know. these evil we need to get rid of him they use those kind of terms evil you know the. ogre all bogeyman and you know the syrian people are vulnerable victims who need to be protected by the west now i think we saw the same thing with good athlete and it's always very striking that you know it was only two years ago that assad was seen as the group's reformer in syria the west were basically queuing up to talk to him and engage in dialogue and now they've been in now he's completely been for straight as this absolute this absolute figure of evil that needs to be kind of tackles and i think the west has this tendency to polarize these situations and again that can cause massive problems later on syria's opposition says the rest of city of homs has come under some of the heaviest attack yet from the government forces rebels claim around four hundred have been killed and several days of an intensified assault and shelling

syria authorities blame violence on armed terrorists operating in the city with al qaeda now adding to the increased turmoil the country there are fears that syria could soon plunge into sectarian chaos or to sarah for more. the predominantly christian town of milly lies in the syrian mountains it's even here in this hauntingly beautiful place and the signs of the polarizing conflict that is tearing apart much of the country right now creeping in and the sense of foreboding hangs heavy locals tell us they don't travel out of this area much longer feel it's safe we speak to the nuns at the monastery here they tell us about the town's preservation of the ancient aramaic language and like their cherished tongue they hate the fine balance of religious groups in the country can be kept even in these difficult times we have been living here with all people regardless of their religion ethnicity in peace for a long time. back in the center and damascus is known as

a melting pot of religions allawi sector a minority in the country but despite making up around just twelve percent of the taito population and always have occupied elite positions in the government and the military for decades and now there are fears that resentments among the majority muslim sunni sex could or ups the country that until this crisis break out was religiously diverse as the tolerance now the current increasingly polarized genuine fears about just where those divisions my lead here's a sectarian tensions being further exploited have been staked by the emergence of an al qaeda video calling for holy war through the assad regime violence is just not going to end we see it happening and iraq neighboring iraq sectarian violence that is catastrophic and nobody is reporting on that the reporting on syria and they're not focusing on the potential problems that syria could lead into another

iraq on the streets through an increasingly desperate population has called for help in whatever form it comes as long as it stops the violence there's little time for them to think about long term sick carrion rests. well as many of them are worrying about daily survival anyone home. we are ready to hear to say yes to anyone over there so far this regime yes i do on in syria right now the split still largely remains along political lines but there's concern that is this increasingly bloody conflict continues it could turn into a sectarian one as well south r.t. damascus syria. still to come on the program warm despite a chilly relationship beijing comes to washington to discuss cooperation while the u.s. moves military forces into the chinese backyard. and with the few weeks left before russia's presidential vote we take

a look at who exactly candidates are appealing to in their media campaigns and add the somewhat unconventional tactics that some are used. but first the debt ridden suffers and other blow from rating agencies moody's downgrades the debt ratings of six states including vulnerable portugal italy and spain this is the bloc struggles to prevent greece from default by offering bailouts in return for more austerity or he's jacob greaves has more from ethics through. the system on the c h m p's drowned out the pleas of tens of thousands of demonstrators massed within a short passing another round of them popular cuts. the results proved incendiary . that uganda protests turned violent as protesters including fringe and a kiss clashed with police again leaving their mark on athens. today on this is the

remnants of public anger the glasses of the only thing that's being broken as governments passed increasingly unpopular austerity cuts will be left asking who can they trust serve their interests the measures and then that's part of the poor people especially and this is the reason that they would still. be today and i think more measure will have been taken and it's not going to work in the end it will be another bill. and. oh i hope for the best but i don't see it coming. under pressure from brussels and the international monetary fund the greek government has cut more jobs to slash funding for. nation's pensions a minimum wage but current policy appears to mainly expose those most vulnerable to crisis conditions is a mindset some feel is doomed to fail and they already have destroyed the whole generation of young people in their dreams they will destroy. the

infrastructure of the whole country we know that it is. a nice day that we have now signs that the disease. we cannot continue like that because the policy that the government is following actually increases the day instead of finding a solution at the heart of activists claims is their search and they've known austerity for the best part of five years now and that time taxes have risen incomes have full but the country's deficit only seems to grow and in this austerity cycle is something sought by an increasing number despite the turmoil the government warns will follow but what is above our political system is the exact date even more. going to come the only way out of this point is the default default is going to be very tough for us but

there's going to be a better solution than this so slow death for now relative calm has a turn to the streets of athens smashed buildings have been patched up the signs of damage swept away but the simmering discontent hasn't been and was forced medicine appears to bring nothing but pain many are continuing their call for terms of treatment greece athens as international pressure on iran mounts russia's military has assessed the probability of a western strike against the islamic republic is being a high concerns of pending military action grew after israel blamed terror. for two bomb attacks on its diplomatic staff in one day and today's blast in bangkok or he's peter all of us more. the chief of staff of the russian armed forces is said on tuesday that he thinks a plan for a western attack on iran could be in place by the summer of this year and he's

basing that statement on the fact that since the arab spring started a year ago russia has been monitoring the area of the wider middle east very closely enough to looking at the findings from that monitoring this is what he's come up with now and this comes just a day after two israeli diplomats were targeted with car bombs in the capitals of georgia and india now the bomb in georgia was able to be defused however in india that car bomb exploded very very close to the residence of the prime minister of india and injured several people now israel was very very quick to point the finger of blame for those attacks at teheran despite terror experts looking at the findings and coming up with saying well there's pretty much no evidence that was behind those attacks this is all really part of the ongoing blame game between tel of the terror and the iranians claim that the israelis have been behind a two year campaign of assassinations on their nuclear scientists well on choose

day in bangkok what we've seen is a rainy unmanned taken into custody by thai police after an explosion two explosions in bangkok injured several people there now it's really media very very quick to point the finger of terror towards that iranian man who's being detained there so this is all part of as i say a blame game that's ongoing between tel of eve and terror on. russia's central t.v. channels have come under criticism for an alleged probe bias ahead of next month's presidential vote a group of activists standing for a fair election says reports about the current prime minister and presidential candidate of what amir put in are far too positive undermining other contenders chances are his diary pushkov looks at how election hopefuls are making good use of their allotted airtime. you know right now here live here days he did so for the most eccentric video in russia's presidential campaign urging to vote for

the country's top populist legend is it enough skin famous for his showmanship and occasional fist fights with fellow the make is. so you will see soon that this little mangy donkey has become a symbol of our country the whole country has gone to a standstill like this animal if i become president i will get moving again. less than a month to go and five candidates have blasted the streets with election boost is deafening view is what t.v. promos heated discussions have become part of everyday life. i don't horse in the race the billionaire businessman mikhail prophet of promises their arrival of a new russia with a new president known for his height riches and playboy past he's the only new face on russia's political scene formally and a tourist party animal his reputation was once dented by an international sex scandal which has come back to haunt him on the lead we are vegetarian with all our

body and soul as for the elections will win them anyway you can buy anything so you can buy your victory to the remaining candidates are some of the a crowd united gun of the old time communist party leader has always relied on the pension of voters who form about one third of russia's population now his laurels all contest is once again middle of from with a russia polity is the notion of being so you can't even afford to. with our pension. the competition has made you gonna reach out to younger generation and offer them a brand new slogan there's always a choice to bloody made putin running for his that time has refrained from getting involved in the campaign directly he has controversially refused to take part in any t.v. debates sending his representatives instead and his promise to never show his face . when he doesn't go to television when he's part of st politics where he's

a part of television coverage of he's job as prime minister he is there is the only one let's say the only kind that with so many resources so much media attention i think that he wants to show that he's the only real candidate precisely by not going there as the come pain picks up steam it's expected so will the number of street protests both for and against putin and it's likely election two thousand and twelve will be remembered as one that got russians on their feet however the latest opinion polls also show the level of putting the support keeps on rolling across the country despite the wave of opposition protests i think that process tend to mobilize his core electorate because when people like drew her are saying that you know the social benefits would be caught that factories that are inefficient would because that stage would not interfere so much i think that the

message that people get across russia is like we should keep putting busied in a song and recent online suspicion praising the prime minister's virtues sung by supposedly migrant worker it claims to. be by his initials was sent to russia by god. but she. died. yeah let's. not have the many say the song is clearly too much and is just a clever headaches in the meantime the electoral counting will its own little surprises like leap along the way down a fish goes up party. u.s. president barack obama has criticized china's currency policies but voiced hope for a future economic cooperation he also said chinese vice president xi jinping in washington with rising tension between the two because of a u.s. military buildup in the asia pacific region paul craig roberts who served in the

reagan administration says there's an uneasy relationship between the two the united states says is responding to china in two ways one it's trying to reduce china's independent access to oil and the united states is responding to china also with increased military presence united states says that the south china sea is an area of national interests to the united states their course that doesn't make any sense it's like china saying the gulf of mexico is an area of national interest to china so the united states is asserted that chinese territorial waters are in any matter of national interest to washington so i think these types of. militaristic statements.

encourage china to build up its military and so the americans essentially may be drawing to start another arms race. some say the noose may be tightening around iran for more on this we speak with brian becker a member of the antiwar answer coalition interview up next.

thank you for joining us on r.t. thank you but does the united states want from tightening the sanctions i mean. even beyond tightening the sanctions now indeed it is the united states government has created an artificial crisis that's first and foremost it's a manufactured crisis iran is complying with the i.a.e.a. iran does not have a nuclear weapon iran is not threaten its neighbors iran has not started a war with any of its neighbors israel on the other hand has hundreds of nuclear weapons and unlike iran refuses to sign a nuclear nonproliferation treaty does not allow. inspectors into its country so there's not really a nuclear menace or a nuclear danger from iran and so what is the cause what's the cause of the crisis of the artificial crisis the real goal is the united states government has embarked on a course of extreme economic aggression against iran with the hope that by creating

economic suffering economic isolation economic misery that part of the population will rise up or become disenfranchised with the government. so that the u.s. can do as it has in history carry out regime change they deny that the us tonight that it's trying to carry out a regime change in iran right i mean we have to take that with a very very big grain of salt because we know that since one nine hundred seventy nine the united states refuses to have relations with the islamic republic of iran why is it because iran is a dictatorship well it's actually a democratic government it has democratic features far beyond some of america's most foremost allies in the middle east such as saudi arabia for instance since one thousand nine hundred eighty nine iran became an independent government before that between one nine hundred fifty three and one thousand nine hundred seventy nine when the shah was there the shah basically is a proxy or a puppet or a client of the american power and so the u.s.

says they're not carrying out regime change but in fact everyone who's watching knows that indeed is the u.s. policy to create pressure on iran carry out overt operate covert operations economic sanctions and now these new sanctions are not really even a like the old saying they are saying to the rest of the world if you dare do business with iran central bank if you buy iranian oil which constitutes half of iran's g.n.p. if you have any business with iran whatsoever you will not have access to american banks to american corporations to the american market this is in fact a blockade something like an economic blockade of iran and by international law in economic blockade is an act of war and so we should understand it just like that so what do you think iran's response is going to be well iran so far has been very

prudent even though they said that they would consider closing the strait of hormuz that six mile stretch of the persian arabian gulf where twenty five percent of the world's oil. supply goes through. and even though much was made of that in the western media in fact iran has not done anything to give the us. pretext an excuse a provocation so to speak that would allow the united states or israel to trigger a set of military actions iran i think is also telling its people that we are not panicked we the iranian government are not panicked that they're trying to show that they have a serenity and a calmness and a confidence and that they will weather the storm but in fact economic sanctions are taking a bite on the iranian economy right now the sanctions the tightening of the sanctions the. coalition that the u.s. is trying to build against iran what is iran going to do to face all of this

pressure well iran has certain allies to iran has russia and it has china increasingly it has venezuela and cuba another words those governments in the world in addition of course to syria which has its own problems right now but the countries in the world don't want the entire world to be dominated by one power the united states of america they recognize that the existence of iran as an independent government is something that is positive meaning that if the united states were were were to be successful in carrying out regime change in iran they would be emboldened to carry out further destabilizing efforts against other powers including russia and china by the way even though there are great powers that presidential elections have any say in what's going on in and what's going to happen with iran and tens of washington. i think the presidential elections in the united states definitely play a role in u.s. policy towards iran that by the way has been the case ever since the iranian

revolution iran has factored into american politics in this case the republican candidates are sort of baiting obama and suggesting that if obama is. reelected we will have a nuclear iran someday soon well i do something just to counter at their statements because it's an election year i don't think so i think that it's not out of the question that obama could opportunistically up the ante or even escalate tensions or even allow some sort of limited military attack against iran in order to show how tough he is and how why he's not a liberal or something like that but i don't think so this is a very big project for the pentagon for the cia for the us establishment i think it goes beyond electoral politics and i think the obama administration and the pentagon are having a carefully calibrated approach that won't again with regime change the republicans and democrats share the same objective one is more demagogic we militant against

iran they both share the same objective which is to bring a run back into an american spear of influence and i think the republicans can't move obama that much because obama actually has the backing of the pentagon in terms of this particular approach the pentagon is bogged down in afghanistan they really were pushed out of iraq they have a lot of a lot of military problems a major full scale war right now which could happen even if they don't intend it by people climb the escalation ladder. wealthy british style.

market. why don't what's really happening to the global economy. thanks culture for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into kaiser report on r g. resistance is not a politics but a culture. is couldn't cast. on its own. i am. cultures of resistance on the march in. any match once lived is planned. to burn for ever more eternal for.