welcome back you're watching r.t. live from moscow here's a look at the top stories rush of remembers a victory day on the heroic deeds of their grandfathers who put an end to the bloodiest war of the twentieth century celebrations a massive military parade and spectacular fireworks will mark sixty seven years since the end of world war two. the u.n. envoy to syria warned civilians are in danger accusing damascus of failing to curb violence despite it being nearly a month since a nationwide truce was imposed by the regime as it's facing terror threats from armed groups. and israel's military aren't buying the politicians threats from iran

with some high ranking generals casting doubts to ron is building a nuclear weapon the country's former top spy said he has no trust either ship the prime minister and the finance minister. historian and political analyst pierre putin who has recently meant to syria says the same powers who backed the un peace plan are also fueling the conflict. today we're sitting down with pierre pitching in he's a historian and political analyst specializing on the arab world he's traveled extensively to the countries that have gone through since so-called arab spring and he's also written extensively on these countries the most recent one being syria thanks very much for joining us today thank you and first question we'd like to know with we've been to syria the most latest country you visited a couple of times what was your goal in going to that country let's say the.

syria is a country that is very much diverse in terms of ethnic and religious groups you have to be inside syria to understand what is really happening there on the ground my goal was to get reliable information so i had to screen all the reports coming from the western news agencies magazines and other media i did some research and found out that there are actually two rival syrian human rights groups that monitor developments and supply the bulk of information to the west you know what i discovered too was that the uprising was supported by a minority of the population which differs from what the western media are saying when they quote the syrian observatory for human rights also this eerie and opposition is very much divided they do not share the same goals and they use different methods to reach their goals but actually i never question the credibility of the information that was coming from the region on my way to syria i thought i would see a country torn apart by a raging conflict a country aflame with revolution

a country where it would be extremely hard to move around so i was very much surprised when i was given a visa and i mean these stories that it's so difficult to get into syria are sort of near you you know ok some all right so you've talked to the opposition and various members of the opposition can you tell us about what you discussed with them and how you would assess them. with your saying here you first there is no such thing as a single opposition in fact. there are many opposition groups and some of them are in conflict with each other. i'll try to present you with a clearer picture there are two hot beds of discontent that one in the city of hama where the muslim brotherhood led an uprising in the one nine hundred eighty s. there are demonstrations that took place there were peaceful in july the syrian army surrounded the city but stopped short of occupying a city early in august the army moved into the city and establish control over it and they've been demonstrations are continuing the army and the police are present

there to prevent the protesters from accessing major squares in the streets with the protesters to throw stones at the police from time to time but it's a sort of intifada what if these rallies are a very moving and exciting event but they never turn violent so the army does not have to respond although the media often say it that the police opened fire on protesters and yeah it's not true at least i mean i have never seen any use of weapons then of the homes and other historical center of discontent has become the fighting ground for many armed rebel groups you know you know so i was there with the residents of homs i would call the members of the civil opposition because these were ordinary people who took up any weapons they could find and defended their neighborhoods from the army in fact they were very badly aren't as you however along with this civil uprising we have witnessed a much more dangerous one gash i'm talking about the islamist movement which is fighting in homs it's mainly represented by the foreign brigade which originally even before the revolution was

a terrorist and the shiite organization does operate in homes too but the rebellious city residents do not want anything to do with them also there are insurgents who call themselves the free syrian army it has been active on the border with turkey and lebanon mean the free syrian army has been using refugee camps in northern lebanon and turkey's have type provinces as their bases and they get food and training there they're trained along with urban guerrillas and helped by the french army and you can read about it in the french newspapers. for example in luck. of this if these rebels then cross the border and again raid neighboring towns and cities in syria you know who are they so we're desert but there are not many of them the syrian army has largely remained loyal to the government there are fighters who came from libya qatar and saudi arabia so it's not quite clear what kind of force the free syrian army is sort of with me as for the armed opposition groups inside syria there are also several salafi groups who are responsible for

terrorist acts and times of commit her renders atrocities while they may kidnap their opponents execute them cut corpses into pieces and leave them in the neighborhood. how do we classify this movement in syria then is it a civil war is it an uprising is it a revolution. i think it is a revolution i think we can say that it is but there are islamic groups in syria that are trying to use this situation and turn syria into an islamic republic something like a salafi caliphate in a way this is similar to what happened in libya there was a civil war between tribal clans and now a group of salafi is represented in the new government of libya so the same is happening in mali this problem has recently become a popular topic of discussion islamist groups spread throughout the sahara and got it to sub-saharan african countries. there is something unhealthy about these groups acting alongside the revolutionaries ordered field it's impossible to identify or contact them if they are truly secretive groups. now you've been

critical about the usage as well as the reports on the syrian observatory for human rights but in scenario like this it will be very difficult. to clarify very fly every single death in the country and what would the fifty deaths how would it be different to five hundred deaths how do you put that into context of what you said what is your criticism based on. first of all reason i don't think it's too hard to have a more or less clear idea about what's happening in syria i've been able to visit the country twice in the last six months i rented a car drove all over syria was able to go even to hama and homs i was never detained at any military checkpoints the western media choose to rely exclusively on the syrian observatory for human rights of and i publish the results of my investigation in the africa magazine last month there i say that there are two such

observatories and that they are both connected with the opposition and that in reality these organizations are the oppositions propaganda agencies propaganda tools i don't understand why the media choose to use them as a source says it is part of the. journalists job to think critically verify sources and be extremely cautious but if they decide to just spread the information they received from the syrian observatory for human rights without asking any questions to let me give you a clear answer to your question i am saying that several dozens were killed in the armed conflict and even if they were journalists are talking about reprisals by the regime if the government attacks peaceful protesters we can call it reprisals but if the syrian authorities are dealing with an army based in refugee camps in lebanon and turkey financed from qatar and trained by the french army it's not repression the regime is defending its territory from foreign aggression since the beginning of the crisis the government has always stuck to one line which is these

armed groups are there they are supported by outsiders by foreigners. are they blind to what is happening in the country to the past or the possibility that this is a we will revolution are they right are they how would you assess the government's stand. and also could you took away a lot first of all as for the government's rhetoric i don't believe the syrian government is blind you know rhetoric and reality are two different things syria's government is in denial of the fact that a revolution is taking place they are talking about some foreign conspiracy about israel and the us plotting against syria more than any my analysis of the situation is completely different and i think that starting with two thousand and one after nine eleven the us chose to cooperate closer with the syrian government and they both discovered a mutual enemy in the islamic values and i think that the us is very unhappy with what is going on now. israel is also very concerned now on should the syrian regime collapse the country could sink into chaos and then israel will have significant

problems with what and where is now despite the prevailing anti israeli rhetoric in damascus israel is in fact quite comfortable with the current regime in reality you know they're getting along pretty well at the moment we see that the. regime has successfully established control over most of homs as well as over it leave in hama and is fighting the free syrian army on the borders of them or the regime is far from collapsing it's nowhere near a downfall the only fish are sad has a lot of sunny days ahead of him many people ask me how can you say such things you're advocating the regime because you know i'm not advocating the regime i'm doing my research and i want to see what happens on the ground and i take the facts and i draw conclusions that are going to fish. assad has agreed on the piece by presented by coffee at nine but bashar al assad has made a lot of promises in the past and a lot of them who did not do you think is going to make good on his promise this

time for a cease fire on this this place where. they move in a more kofi annan plan wasn't very well timed but the more as far as the syrian government is concerned you can't really demand things from the government when it has the upper hand and is defeat on the free syrian army at the moment the government biggest problem is cross border raids from refugee camps in turkey and lebanon that so what happens is that if you well the government gets the upper hand and is defeating the free syrian army a demand comes in to stop the violence and it comes from those who helped the free syrian army conduct their training guitar and france were directly involved in helping them get new arms advanced and heavy weaponry and help them reorganize and review their strategy you cannot demand this from the government it is certainly a dictatorship but it's a legitimate government according to international law and the westphalian system and it's suppressing an armed revolt to reestablish control over its territory i

understand that bashar assad said yes we should comply with the plan and will stop the violence because he wanted to buy some time but in reality they continue their offensive against the free syrian army and frankly speaking i find it quite consistent and logical that. so how do you see the syrian conflict. at all. unless of course there is an intervention from outside office i expect that the baathist government will be able to control the situation with military force after that i think it will conduct progressive reforms to develop democracy this may even be a formal democracy at the initial stage i believe a large degree this democracy will be formal yet civil society is awakening to making its position known and in the future the government will have to make a turn towards a real democracy but how can we speak about democracy or democratic change with new constitution approved in syria what allow bashar al assad to stay on for many more

years. it is a transitional period which is absolutely necessary when the you can't expect too much straight away you saw what happened to margaret duffy in libya you saw what happened in tunisia and egypt but i think the situations are similar neither the government of bashar assad nor any other government is ready to allow bloodshed i also think that the moderate opposition and there is moderate opposition in syria which is not ready to take up arms the moderate opposition realizes that a transitional period of five to ten years will be necessary in order to accomplish this change peacefully without the country being engulfed in civil war. here pitched him thanks very much for your time.

fifty two meters. more than eight thousand tons. skin thickness thirty centimeter. whole. commemorating. up. to build. mission to teach. only. british.

economy. sixty seven years of world war two. the un envoy to syria war and civilians are in danger of damascus of failing to. being nearly a month. from armed groups. casting doubt tehran as. the country's. prime minister. as we have. both next with.

thank you very much marina welcome to the world of sports page was coming up almost back to ask our moscow move second in the russian premier league with one game to go despite being held to a goalless draw at home by cuban krasnodar. then there were two spanish geo athletic bilbao an athletic coma grade prepared to go head to head in the europa league final. and paying respects russian footballing legends gather at moscow's victory park monument to pay their respects to those who fell during the second world war. before sas can moscow have missed a glorious opportunity to take a giant step towards champions league football next season they've been held to a goal a stronger home by cuban cross and are in the russian premier league

a place in next season's champions league qualifying stages the prize to whoever finishes second a win would have moved the army men three points above spartak moscow with only one game to go however they had to settle for a point on tuesday it means the race for second place will go to the final day when for task. would secure them the runners up spot if they slip up and spartak would need to win a locomotive to leapfrog their rivals. meanwhile a new manager will be leading spartak moscow on to the field next season you know emery the outgoing valencia coach saying he has reached an agreement on a two year contract with the red and white strip place. team mate valerie karp in full two year old entering will reportedly double his salary two point four million euros a year under the deal. meanwhile in england chelsea i now know who they need to win the champions league in order to qualify for the competition

again next season they can no longer finish fourth in the. premier league after suffering a one defeat a little hole just days after beating them to lift the f.a. cup the result is only liverpool six home with next season. meanwhile later on wednesday a little bit of spain will descend on bucharest the romanian city is hosting the all spanish europa league final between athletic bilbao and athletico madrid madrid actually won the competition two years ago after beating fullam in the final diego simeone a side will start as light favorites their on beaten in seven matches and also on the verge of qualification for next year's champions league they will have to find a louis player available after recovering from a thigh injury but midfielder tiago is suspended while striker falcao is looking for his second title in a row having won the competition with porto twelve months ago. but i think to feel a little bit nervous when playing a finalist natural and with this would be historic to win two consecutive titles

with different clubs all i'm trying to do is keep really focused on what our coach wants and what the team needs from me and what we need to do is the team on the pitch and let's hope that we can reach our target. well this year is the first time the bilbao have reached a european final since one thousand nine hundred seventy seven marcelo b.l. so has a fairly squad to choose from and rested certain key players in the league over the weekend on the back side have the chance to do with double this season as they are also in the final of the copper del rey where they'll face pass alone or. but is it ok well it's true that we've dreamed of these type of victory for many years but it's to have a good omen to talk about victories before actually winning anything and i think it's better to focus on the game on the pitch and then hopefully we'll be able to celebrate because that is a dream we've all had for many years now. now a host of russian footballing legends have paid tribute to those who fell during the second world war members of the soviet union's and then pick on european

championship winning teams gathered at moscow's victory park monument to pay their respects michael reports. it's pretty much the dream for any boy growing up to become a football hero but few would have had as difficult a time achieving that dream than those growing up during wartime you know when i was four and living in rust off in selfies to russia when the war broke out but despite the fact that the far shoes had taken control of the c.t. we boys continued to play football you know courtyards because advantage we had no idea what was going on is exactly kids like victor when you're dealing with then went on to create the us is a golden era in football. during a ten year period the national team won olympic gold in one hundred fifty six became european champions in one thousand nine hundred sixty and then came second in the same competition four years later legends like goalkeeper levy ashton and

strikers victor twenty genic and nikita simonyan all grew up having no idea what the outcome of the war would bring them over but that didn't stop them from daring to dream. we even played on them to storm accts they fed us only once a day and still we continued to play football and once the war was over every single yard was full of children playing football and the most famous footballers came from these yards in stark contrast to those who were directly affected by the tribulations of war and there were some who were more fortunate because of the us is a vast territory it meant not all of it was directly in the line of fire and. i was very young when the war began so i have a very fuzzy memory of how it told was back then i lived in but to be a coastal city in what is now the republic of georgia and people even peacefully although there were many refugees there was no actual war there so luckily breena

was also quite peaceful. while calm as a steely had the luxury of relative freedom and open space those closer to the front line had far fewer comforts nearby than you do if there weren't any sports schools or the fantastic jean halls we have today we didn't have any protective gear or even boots at times we played their food we played with empty cans as food bowls or to sort that mom would give us feel it with straw and use that with that kind of spirit it's little wonder these boys managed to achieve what they did. some lucky ones were even torn between vocations. i spent my childhood juggling the desire to become a food bloke with that of being a singer. from food books a cd. back to food bill again but in the end call it was food bill and soon it became a girl keep if you do not believe. whether or not these great footballers were affected directly by the war collectively they managed to channel any fear. into

the beautiful game and it's these legends that prove that despite great adversity not even rule can rip children of their dreams michael christian. well elsewhere russia has maintained that one hundred percent record of the ice hockey world championship after winning their third game in a row. men have beaten germany to know in stockholm culture nicholai. gave russia victory denmark are up next for the russians in the meantime in the other group. italy by five goals to nil. in helsinki defending champions finland had no problems against switzerland running out five two winners popular exclaimed the three two win over kazakhstan. in the n.b.a. playoffs the indiana pacers are through to the second round after winning their best of seven series with orlando magic this after a one hundred five eighty seven win in game five it's the first time the pacers

reach this stage in seven years darren collison george help in buying for thirty four points meanwhile the atlanta hawks are back in contention in their series with the boston celtics play the deficit three two after a thrilling eighty seven eighty six victory the chicago bulls kept their series with philadelphia life following a seventy seven sixteen i mean win in game five new york's andres lakers know when i'll give them a nugget and see them through to round two where they currently train. now in golf tiger woods is back in action this weekend he returns to the p.g.a. tour and the players championship in florida it's fair to say the former world number one has been inconsistent so far this season his five shot win a bay hill for his first p.g.a. tour title in thirty months was followed by his. worst ever masters performance but the thirty six year old isn't concerned by his lack of consistency. because i've done this before and that's. been through this and you've actually a lot of the guys i lived with me went through those periods where i wasn't quite.

where i wanted to be and i had some pretty good runs after that. and this is this is no different takes all the time now finally for those fancy failed to secure their seat for the upcoming twenty twelve london olympics don't despair because nine hundred thousand additional tickets will be made available from friday the initial distribution process received no end of criticism with twenty thousand initial applicants missing out due to booking issues however there's now a thirty one hour window starting early this friday to purchase up to four tickets for a single event a million other unsuccessful first ballot applicants for nine hundred thousand tickets and then apply starting on saturday on a first come basis. and good luck with that one that's all the sport i'll have more for you know around four hours time to join me.

question is that so much of a moment actually are some interesting for me even a lot of people are curious turning to the russian presidency for the third time find amir putin has pledged to unify the country and continue me forms to expand the economy.

more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations are relieved a. plane .