there is an overriding russian sentiment in the u.s. congress the view of russia's foreign minister american counterpart on the sidelines of a major security forum. also in the week's top stories president. bill. declaration of a full scale war. against north korea as well as the u.n. security council votes unanimously for tougher sanctions on.

the venezuelan president is also targeted by us. over his formation of a controversial new legislative body that will rewrite the constitution. believe this development some a look back at the last seven days you're watching the weekly here in r t international our top story moscow's top diplomats say strong russian sentiment in the u.s. congress has led to the latest turn in relations between the two countries. made the comment on a meeting with his american counterpart rex tillerson on sunday and takes a closer look at the story. it was a very lengthy meeting it seemed like

a very friendly meeting the two gentlemen seem like they were getting on very well lots of laughing and joking and i also need to point out it was the first face to face meeting after a new russia sanctions between impose so what did they talk about first well surprise surprise sanctions lover of explained why russia decided to take the action that it did following the imposing of those sanctions. he was interested in our response to the and see russia sanctions bill that was passed in the u.s. congress we explained to him what was behind the actions that we took after long expecting that the u.s. would not choose the path of confrontation but unfortunately the resupply of attitude of american lawmakers prevented that what's interesting about this is that prior to this meeting in manila to listen has been very vocal publicly about his discontent about the new russia sanctions let's take a listen to their action by the. part to put these charges implosion the way they do now the president nor are very happy about that we were clear that we didn't

think it was going to be helpful to our efforts but that's the decision that i made that made it very overwhelming. one of the areas that they talked about was syria they agreed that they would continue dialogue about how they can go forward with the peace process they also talked about north korea both sides opposed the missile testing and the military exercises and again they agreed to keep the dialogue open between the two countries now we can't ignore the fact that the u.s. russia relations are at an all time low as is seen by the international community at the moment so the question is will the actions come to fruition following this what seems to be a very positive meeting. or journalists martin summers told us that the talks between lover off until or seven are a good sign considering the tension between moscow and washington. the fact that meetings taking place at all given the rhetoric that's been coming out of the

united states over the past week or so is a positive development and all of those many things about which obviously there is no agreement and the situation has become much more tense as a result of these votes in the congress in the senate on sanctions on russia that doesn't mean that some business can't be done and as we saw in the u.n. security council there was a unanimous position on north korea. which the american side wants that sort of cooperation to continue it's very disappointing that the political class in the u.s. seems have collectively lost its marbles in this way i mean they've tied the hands of their own negotiators which you know you don't usually do that if you've got any common sense so we're now stuck in a bit of a bit of a norm pass so as we've been hearing relations between russia and the u.s. took another hit on wednesday night is donald trump and his signature to the new

sanctions bill the measures i'm going to number of america's allies in europe to say their economic interests are being ignored president trump himself was reluctant to sign the law saying it limits his power to shape foreign policy. well i favor tough measures to punish and deter aggressive and destabilizing behavior by north korea and russia this legislation is significantly flawed and its haste to pass this legislation the congress included a number of clearly unconstitutional provisions those provisions purport to displace the president's exclusive constitutional authority and those comments live a lot of questions and the way the president states that even though he stands for legislation that's unconstitutional he signed off on it as president trump swore an oath to preserve protect and defend the constitution of the united states but he seems to be openly doing the opposite upon approving the thanks that this bill of course is it is a terrible bill. it benefits the people of no contrary not

the united states not germany not all three or in a way not russia not syria not not any of the people is the constitutional crisis our government is set up to where there are three branches that constantly struggle one against the other. so that in itself is not totally unexpected but i do believe that the side shows are out of heaping with the traditions of the united states and how our government functions but what looks like a constitutional crisis brewing in the us is not the only problem trump is facing sanctions that hit russia's energy and defense sector are in theory being america's partners in europe those who work with moscow and those areas. the sanctions passed by the u.s. congress and accepted by the u.s. president mean that we have abandoned the concept of unity foreign policy issues or

other deadly connected to american economic interests to say we want to limit russian gas in the european market so that we can sell american gas here instead is something that we cannot accept so these sanctions seem to be leaving her. anyone happy trumps being forced to go against its constitutional beliefs america's closest european allies go on the defensive counter what they see as a matter is potentially in violation of international law and us worse revelations taken for their head first there is no hope for any improvement of our relations with the new american administration second a total trade war has been declared on russia the trumpet ministration has demonstrated complete impotence and the good of all executive power to congress in the most humiliating way when these statements from trump and it with the president claiming that he can make far better deals with foreign countries than congress but with measures such as these being passed could maybe prevent it from doing just that the deep state the need. and the media are very very powerful and

they can put a lot of pressure on the president so they ganged up on him he went ahead and signed it i think it was more like a political thing but there are some those who koch qualified to be her participants in the deep state they are determined they are determined almost obsessed with making sure that there is no friendship between the united states and russia between putin and trump even when the russian the soviet union existed we actually were quite willing you know when necessary to talk and work out some problems but now we're moving in the other direction. poulder well the new sanctions law gives congress the power to block the president from easing sanctions on mosco donald trump has branded the legislation constitutional breaking down what's happening in washington d.c. . to try and go. i guess no president would like to be.

shoes right now times really are getting tough as they can get for the president you know being america's top man in charge but at the same tommy think of it not being able to exercise his power and even worse being cornered into making the decisions he doesn't want to make just to keep order and as we've been hearing from the white house spokesperson who's been explaining that very signature under that sanctions bill the president signed that countering america's adversaries through sanctions act congress has encroached on the power of the presidency and he signed it in the interest of national unity as we have been seeing both the democrats will that is kind of obvious but also of course the republican party which is technically trumps party teaming up against the president and giving him quite a month after month week after week and the criticism and the pressure has been building up what was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for i worry

about the president's understanding of some of these issues and a ludicrous pretend for his hate campaign this president does not care about the united states of america so in these kind of circumstances under so much pressure it is little surprise that donald trump is giving in to the congress and you might argue that this really puts america on the brink of a constitutional crisis. sweeping new sanctions against north korea said i would in the u.s. drafted resolution were unanimously agreed on by the un security council late on saturday. the asian nations exports of coal metals and seafood meaning its export revenue will be cut by around a third amounting to roughly a billion dollars per year foreign investment has also been blocked the move comes in response to pyongyang's continued missile tests russia believes sanctions should be the starting block for future dialogue with north korea other un members agree

but there are signs that washington is still considering a more direct response every military expert says there is no good military option they are wrong. to destroy north korea's program and north korea itself he's not president trump the ability of this madman to have a missile that hit america if there's going to be a war to stop it it will be over there if thousands die they're going to die over there and they're not going to die here in these told me that to my face that may be provocative but not really or for america's top diplomat rex tillerson sais his country would like dialogue with going out some point although one expert told us the chances of that happening are diminishing. if you're thinking in terms of dialogue no if anything from. life like where you've been before but if you're mean effective for the important collective punishment i'm going to hire north korean

population and bring your boat the economic collapse of north korea may be a factor of course unfortunately but if you want thanks to the thought draconian mates are. the only increase the likelihood of a conflict or increase of tensions that the very least. let's turn our attention to south america authorities in venice way less say they have foiled a terror attack on a military base close to the capital it comes after a group of men in mood for uniforms released a video of themselves a non-singing op rising against president mature oh witnesses reported hearing gunshots during the night officials of the report the situation is not fully under control and that several people have been arrested the incident follows the inauguration of a controversial new legislative body on friday its formation which critics say will strip the opposition of power has led the u.s. to play sunshines on the president as

a result of today's sanctions all assets from a door subject to u.s. jurisdiction are frozen and u.s. persons are prohibited from dealing with him in the new assembly will be tasked with rewriting the constitution and will have the power to dissolve the current parliament the opposition has to find a ban on public protests and deny it's the election is a power grab by matua to police in the capital deployed tear gas and rubber bullets in clashes with furious opposition activist during the week and people are now gathering to rally against the government side the gates of the compound which was attacked over night. well the u.s. state department for its part branded last weekend's vote illegitimate it also

describes nicolas maduro leadership as a dictatorship are when it comes to the sanctions there does seem to be one spear that's all for limits. what sanctions against oil for i'm not going to comment on that what i will say is we will monitor all of our options it seems we all knew about this relationship. is a dictator who disregards the will of the venezuelan people not obviously such only to me that they'd rather determine a short on a deal without noise or do they mean the the have to put them into it probably did the government. is violating its own constitution. limits. pump oil into the equation and politics is brushed straight under the carpet his facts of how black gold unites them. protect a discount american states being the third largest exporter of crude to the us and

numbers are growing up seven percent to around six hundred seventy thousand barrels a day but when it stopped that absolutely know the citgo petroleum corporation based in texas belongs to wait for it venezuela's state owned oil company which means the country has access to these refineries the total capacity of about seven hundred forty nine thousand barrels per day so far the sanctions that have been a mention have been against refined venezuelan oil products and against individuals in the venezuelan government they have not been for the importation of crude the fact that they're not including crude speaks to that interdependence and the fact that us all producers and export are don't want to up in the market and potentially that ten percent extraction of venice on oil could spike us gasoline prices as well so i think that that is the concern. another story we're closely following french

police have opened a terror investigation after an incident at the eiffel tower or amman attempted to force his way past six. with a knife the suspect reportedly shouted gold is greatest in our a big county look to barge his way into the landmark parra so he suffered a night while no one was injured the eiffel tower less of i.q. it initially the instead wasn't being treated as terrorism but now french prosecutors have begun an investigation juge of the suspects reported links to radical groups france has been in a state of emergency for more than a year and a half not following the if ever twenty fifteen terror attacks in the capital political analyst says nickel america bitch told us the issue of security isn't just affecting big cities in france. i think well it's impossible with today's reduced circumstances enter a need to say that the capital is safe what can you do against

a lone wolf this is not the first time that we have along with attack areas don't forget a couple of months ago out there who have the same type of attack somebody who attacked military men in the mover and we've had other cases maybe the international media is not aware in smaller towns of france which the most attention i know usual and in the south of france to definitely seeing what people can ask themselves what has happened since that terrible attacks against the about to come on standard. last time so that's no i wouldn't say it's it's a safe place but again i would say that it's not easy to fight against these lone wolves. an r t film crew has managed to get inside the latest time liberated from isel in syria we'll have footage from there and more stories after this.

in case you're new to the game this is how it works the economy is built around corporate perforations washington washington post media the. voters elect a businessman to run this country business if. you must it's not business as usual it's business like it's never been done before. here's what people have been saying about rejected in the senate it's full on. the only show i go out of my way to launch you know a lot of the really packs a punch. yampa is the john oliver of r t america is doing the same we are apparently better than. the c. people you've never heard of love back to the night i'm president of the world bank

so take. me seriously send us an e-mail. ninety minutes into the program welcome back artie's rock believe video agency has shot exclusive video from inside the syrian town of. after its liberation from by the syrian army. good stuff. but often. the operation to clear the last remaining terrorist is on going. is the last islamic state stronghold in homs province on sunday reports emerged that syrian government forces have surrounded this nomics they don't three sides now the retaken ton is about fifty kilometers from the border with terrorism or province which is still mostly

under eisel control. the syrian government has called on the un to end what it calls washington's massacre's against its civilians the us led international coalition continues to commit massacres against innocent syrian civilians but conducting systematic as strikes those attacks contributed to the spread of chaos killing and destruction six hundred people have been killed in u.s. led coalition airstrikes in syria on iraq over the past three years although four hundred reports of possible civilian casualties are yet to be examined but those figures are according to operation in her resolve. the u.k. based transparency group early ways estimates instead the run five thousand people died in coalition urban bartman since the start of the operation not as civilians in may the u.s. defense secretary said such losses were inevitable. two billion casualties are

a fact of life in this sort of situation in syria thousands are still fleeing the ravages of war plus in neighboring iraq one british aid worker describes scenes of armageddon when she visited they liberated city of mosul geo political analyst patrick henningsen sees americans only see military successes on their t.v.'s not the full picture. no surprise the coalition's going to want to under play any of the sort of casualty numbers for civilians from the operations in mosul and in iraq as well and because it's political you know the whole operation against isis is political if you're in the united states it's all about the theater of what the u.s. is achieving whether it's under president obama or whether it's under president trump and everything's kind of viewed through that weird kaleidoscope in the united states and it has nothing to do with what's going on the ground. a monument

commemorating a russian army servicemen who sacrificed himself in a battle against islamic state in syria last year has been unveiled in the tuscany region of italy alexander died while coordinating air strikes on ice on militants near the city of palmira it's not she was arrested after the initiative. in a park of heroes this is what the mayor have to say we decided to pay tribute to the hero he sacrificed his life in the fight against the evil which is islamic states and see moots allies seize memory. the details are quite remarkable while helping the russian air force hit extremist targets the twenty five year old soldier found himself surrounded by isis fighters realizing escape was impossible he ordered an earth strike on his own position alexander died along with the islamist militants as a result he was posthumously awarded the title of hero of the russian federation.

it's really said temps to get a grip on the migrant crisis have hit another setback after aid groups carrying out rescue missions in the mediterranean sea refused to sign a so-called code of conduct the new rules state police must be allowed on board rescue boats rescue ships excuse me boats then would be prevented from transferring refugees to other vessels insisting non-governmental organizations take migrants to italian ports themselves and also phone calls or flourish would be by alleging they're used to signal to people smugglers when the coast is clear now italy insists the migrant rescue code is in fact mandatory and anyone refusing to sign it will face consequences however the medical charity doctors without borders believes they could put people in peril so goes against our mission which is to save lives

and it goes against this really goes against the hearts of what we are as a medical and humanitarian organization and it's not something that. well the code was partially drawn up after some n.g.o.s were accused of acting as a taxi service working alongside people traffickers to get migrants into europe and that's a concern that's been repeatedly voiced by a group known as the fend europe the anti migrant movement even cried funded a mediterranean mission to monitor the work of the end you. but because we are against mess immigration to europe to be it wants to stop this madness and she'll madness in the mediterranean and because everybody's just walking in the what is acting feeling you're stepping in what you're doing you're going to do is who are going to all watch t.v. and jewels and i think what they're doing there is is nothing to it because they're actually us a pull factor and basically they had a reason for this mess migration the other recent people joining and the op making

a fortune for this human trafficking rings in libya destabilizing the country i think the future for africa can't lie and europe the future of europe cannot speak to become a second africa. live from moscow this is r.t. international i'll be back in one thirty five minutes time with the news making global headlines stay with us. when else truths seem wrong. but all roles just don't hold. any world yet to seep out these days because active. and engaged equals betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground.

it was you know provision of my point i wanted to. ask but i. know i lost his boss because i just got. out of the media sources you know. any of those in person but the best honest i don't think it's been. so nice is you know if i was you know. you know just i mean what a lot more people have spent the better of me just a lot of the media. has been up and i must admit that he feels i just don't get off on getting the rest but those were the old. people are going to respect i'm one of those but i was just. my family feisty credible but just but that's already yes it will be and he thought of getting out there calling you seem to mean ticket.

yes it's worth a special. piece. for me an exit out of the reservation to the south of this arizona sonora does sonora there's a checkpoint leading to the north to hillah been there so you know the checkpoint leaving to go to grandy there's another checkpoint and then that's north and east two to soft there's another checkpoint. so. within that small space we have we're completely surrounded.

me my daughter was working in tucson so we're driving. back to tucson and we got pulled over by a border patrol and he immediately asked me. to state my citizenship whether i was a u.s. citizen or a mexican citizen and i said i'm an all. among all of them you know mine meant. where are you from. so he merely unclipped this his pistol on this side and he put it in my head he said you will say you you are.