retreat in face eradication but the struggle just far from over the war is essentially won the winning a lasting peace will be no easy task. across talking syria i'm joined by my guest adel darwish in london he is a political commentator and author of the book the edge of war in beirut we have come a was a he is a political analyst and founder of the center of american troops egypt studies in beirut and damascus we have any mackie here is the syria commentator and co-founder of syrian digital media group all right gentlemen cross talk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want and i always appreciate adel let me go to you the best dressed man in television love the bow tie of course adel you know we over the last few days we've seen a. whole series of diplomatic activity trying to bring some kind of closure to this

very long and bloody and destructive conflict in syria it's being spearheaded by the russians and the iranians and the turks they've been in consultation with other players in the region including israel and also a telephone call between putin and trump are the pieces falling into place go ahead adele well let's hope so we have. historic context. with russia ruled these two major developments in the region would have not achieved one is the celebrated and now counter version and the iranian. control over the program and second the ending of the war in syria by defeating terrorism it could have ended in different way the russians the main objective

as i can see is to keep the geographical integrity one country of syria which is on the objectives of the other says important. what happened between that phone call between mr trump and mr ford and very important the superpowers because this trump can actually pull the strings on regional powers that might have a different edge and i don't want to second guess whether there is but it is very actually important that all the powers that come thirdly you mentioned iran and turkey the are the neighbors in the region and obviously this controversial role for iran so let's hope again some russian diplomacy would kick them into she can let me go to you in beirut to reflect about what dell said because you know it looks like it is going to be the political will and i thought it was very interesting was the conversation between putin and trump here can trump fill any kind of obligation that he would like because his administration is very divided

and how to approach the closure of this conflict in syria we still hear this lingering assad must go i worry about that the political will on the west i think that putin wouldn't have come out with the iranians and the turks to be didn't think he had something more or less nailed down and with of course assad going along with it go ahead come on in beirut. well obviously american you cannot count on them in this because in the beginning they declared the war and and the theory and those terrorist organization and they didn't fell for any commitment of the opposite they helped these these and that into the last minute and the war and i will come that we know for fact that they have been helping. certain route so here you count beheaded bye bye bye bye bye syria and by that i from from syria obviously there's a security and of it there is the big call of the call process to continue as it's

supposed to so there is a lot of doubt when it comes to america and to really you cannot trust what they say today because he could change the dynamic of his tone but in the and i don't think a lot of people on the ground they can the american seriously they work in to actually to the end to make sure that first they liberate all syria and then they go into another venue where they start the dialogue to have a political discussion you know danny i fear that even if we do get to some kind of peace process the the trumpet ministration will somehow take credit for it but what i do worry about here in adel mentioned in his opening comments is this approach to a. a sovereign syria whole syria but the same time we have the pentagon coming out and saying they're not leaving militarily any time soon that is another huge

barrier to having some kind of peace process go ahead danny i mean absolutely but if you look at the groups the u.s. is working with and relying on to have their presence in syria and that is from the kurds the kurds actually have quite a consistent recent history of giving back territory to the syrian government and i'm sure that in the wake of what is a quite victorious syrian man. hizbollah and the russians and the iranians the kurds will definitely think twice about keeping some of these areas which will in the future continue to jeopardize the us is its presence within syria i can't see the us having forces in syria for a long time because. if you look at the trajectory of the crisis now and the nature of how the syrian forces were victorious the us really has nothing to leave their troops in for because the majority of terrorism is almost on the way of being defeated and i think the u.s. is just doing this just to save face because yeah we discussed donald trump on it

from the syrian military airbase which was you know twenty thirty kilometers away from isis so he's not someone who's fought terrorism successfully within syria and what they're doing at the moment is just literally attempting to show the world that they have some sort of a symbolic presence because after the russians intervened in september two thousand and fifteen the complete the balance of powers on the ground in syria has drastically began to change if you look back at the previous years in the situation in which the country and the government were actually end it was diabolical the half of the country was lost it was a it was defeat after defeat after u.s. plans for intervention and arming rebels and helping them and now you look at the situation it's it's a complete whitewash because yeah you've got one force on the ground in the syrian military which is now continuing to make advances and actually find some sort of military solution to next crisis where you know danny on one thought that was no

one done it was possible let me go down here because i think it's you know if you look at western mainstream media the united states is crushing isis in syria and there's no mention of you know iran there's no mention of his blog and if it is it's always negative there's very little mention of russia or of course they probably committed to human rights violations it's really remarkable how this is being spun in western media go ahead adele. yeah it's as. laughable actually as him for actually part of this western media but i think it's important issue to focus on a. until recently the americans specifically under obama the weren't quite serious about fighting terrorism fighting i said in fact of questions in the congress that some of the funding found its way and some of the weapons found it's only one of the website. and that there are a lot of the weapons and we never found out who financed that they ought to pick up trucks and send them it's but we're out of here now what's important now really.

the americans hopefully will have learned the lesson of iraq yes they've pulled out of iraq but look at iraq now so the important thing is you must work with the russians because the other main force the in order to have rican cellier between different forces of course icily these damage there is they should have been left i agree with danny that the kurds skipping territory for exchange for other political gains because you do not want to upset the. russians and their ricans the syrian president assad and the turks obviously the turks always suspicious of the kurds so they will give back the territory definitely for exchange of some political security and the role to play and here comes the lesson of iraq which is now descended into almost civil war and that the kurds we defeated

i still about to fly it with this year are controlled government in baghdad so we do not want that to happen in syria quickly conciliation other things doing grid job conferences and regardless what we think of the negative american rules well at least in the end maybe outside one of the thing and we got to go back to beirut here again one of the things that really bothers me when the last time we even had something remotely close to this there was a cease fire that had been a great two and then the the us attacked syrian forces i mean completely turned everything upside down all the gains that were gain up to that point were destroyed more mutual suspicions and even hostility here are you worried something like this could happen because the u.s. is staying in there are they going to have to do something or leave go ahead basically my my my ask them at the syrians so far declare that the forces american forces are illegal in syria. the clear is still i think it probably would lend. so

that by itself it's an obstacle to what the american basically tried to say they want to stay they have to mean they make an obstacle to the peace process the syrian actually insists and liberating all of their land and having all their land there was just a question my ass the american wanted a piece of the pie and they don't want to leave easily from syria they're there are probably they're there their approach and their doctor had failed in order to stand because they're probably they bush the president or the clear independent they didn't come to his backing right my ass them and here they can a bush the current in syria they can kind of like a game can i have my name as the. russian i have to jump in you know we're going to have to go to a hard break and after that hard break we'll continue our discussion on syria staying with our team.

they call me a useful idiot i mean you called me a useful idiot a useful idiot useful idiots go expressing my opinions on t.v. there's two things most doing it behind his record is the same strategy we attack persons instead of talking about the arc of what's next why stop will feel banned me from getting this close to the white house i'm with a group called pink why not ban the color pink one hour stretch beyond the rock i should be sent to the town because i want to try to break me on the wheel but out with my long time with this sort of nonsense you don't scare me and i'll continue to voice my opinion i'll continue to speak out in good company i'm in good company

you're going to lose me you want to do this because we are free thinkers. about your sudden passing i've only just learned you worry yourself and taken your last turn. to caught up to you as we all knew it would i tell you i'm sorry i could so i write these last words in hopes to put to rest these things that i never got off my chest. i remember when we first met my life turned on each breath . but then my feelings started to change you talked about war like it was again still some are fond of you those that didn't like to question our ark and i secretly promised to never again like it said one does not leave a funeral the same as one enters the mind it's consumed with death this one quite

different i speak to you now because there are no other takers. just saying that mainstream media has met its maker. applied for many clubs over the years so i know the game inside out so. the ball isn't only about what happens on the pitch at a final school it's about the passion from the fans it's the age of the super money just billionaire owners and spending two to twenty million fly a. book it's an experience like nothing else on earth because i want to share what i think what i know about the beautiful game like great so what all choices for the player. at least this morning too. seen years ago i traveled across the united states exploring america's deadly love

affair with a gun if a bad guy tried to get to one of my family members he would have better a lot better and i think they are inheriting whatever my my baby's says my book was published in the year two thousand more than half a million americans have been killed by falling into the us how to saute me as i did this is a middle school we go through drills and we put ourselves in real scenarios it was interesting to see who actually got hit. and i just saw i did to return to the subject to track down each gun owner who i'd met and photographed those years your god i don't know that but we are not. going to.

blow. up. the hill. welcome back across the uk where all things are considered. we're discussing syria . ok dan let me go back to you in damascus ok we've already talked about the russian iranian turkish initiative here but let's turn it upside down the other side as it were here saudi arabia are they going to go. all along with this is israel going to go along with this i don't think so these are the other obstacles here go ahead

danny i completely agree i mean it i mean we have to separate the israeli interest from the saudi arabian interests but saudi arabia will continue to have an intransigent start stance towards the crisis in syria as it has done throughout because it's syria for saudi arabia it's an issue of national security and the huge failures in saudi arabia from policy in syria have actually reflected so negatively on the state that it's now beginning to lash out regionally it's being to lash out in the media if it's even. a complete you know the arab spring peter if you look at it it was stopped in syria if if they are spring managed to get rid of the syrian government this would have continued on until we had a completely new middle east but it was stopped in its tracks in syria and that was the way the aim i mean syria was always such an important country reach indeed from a geopolitical level it was it was a gateway to iran it will have

a huge strategic significance because of its border with israel and the influence in lebanon so saudi arabia won't stop until we get it considers it's completely bankrupt and spent in terms of the syria crisis or is israelis for example they have a very i would actually say precise aims within syria and that is to continue this . kind of semi conflict on the borders between the jihadists and the syrian military and continue to target hizbollah targets within within syria but i don't think the israelis want more intervention i just think that they want to have a clear viewpoint of what's happening on the syrian side from the sense that hizbollah is their main enemy but saudi arabia will turn no stone until it completely seeks the destruction of assad even though it's lost and that's the issue here saudi arabia has failed diplomatically because it's had no faith in diplomacy it would have. at the start of the crisis had a peace process or or a negotiation or

a dialogue with all the rain and this wouldn't even happen but they chose this path way and in the end it ended in an absolutely stunning and embarrassing defeat for saudi arabia and its allies in the region which is why this proximity with israel is present at the moment and that is to attempt to undercut the iranian influence in the region and ok. you mentioned you mentioned iran let me go to adel because it always goes back to iran here ok so what are the pieces on the board here we have the american military that says it's going to maintain its presence and it's not given a real justification except to keep make sure there isn't isis two point oh ok fine we'll being there might create it ok that's what usually happens ok and also we have the israelis which i would say at the very least want to see a destabilize syria they can capitalize on that and we have the saudis that will not leave any stone unturned here and then we have someone like donald trump has

already been said on the program he might change his mind after his golf game we don't know i find this adel to be extremely dangerous even though we have i think the pieces coming together to seed some light at the end of the tunnel but there are some people that want to keep the darkness there and go ahead and. have to be a careful not to second guess because we in the media unless really we have a whole picture sometimes we'll get leaked in fairly sure that it's fairly you know it's fair. for now i've probably slightly disagree with that with well with than the on the saudi arabia which wasn't in their interest for the so-called arab spring which i don't call it that way anyway to continue because they have a stable monarchy so don't actually like that so stopping in syria as in their interest now let's look and to the american presence american press actually is not sanctioned by the e.u. and unlike the russian which was invited by the. legal un the cognized government of syria so the americans are in

a weak legal point there let's look at to this already visit to russia and meeting with president putin what actually was agreed there something very interesting syria must have been discussed sure the mutual interests of the two the more destructive rule was more qatar who would actually punching above their weight rather than saudi arabia and israel yes i agree i remember once and israeli of so thick in me to the border was a lever and said this is our front line with iran so they have always had this insecurity they always has in the back of their mind rightly or wrongly that hezbollah wants their total destruction so their interest is largely different from syria from saudi arabia home have seen their indian intervention because let's not forget the islamic revolution was for exports the three circles that khomeini want

that so the second circle is exporting it to the arab countries where there's shia minority give this year to our prize we have the during the program is a problem so slightly different problems there as seen from syrian point of view and i'm almost certain this issue was discussed when once a month ago libya visited moscow and there's some agreement must that be the reach ok i agree with you adel i'm going to come in the road i know ok go ahead jump in the audience a point of the program go ahead just really quickly but in the sense of you if you look at the region you look saudi arabia is arch nemesis is iran iran's best ally in the region is syria huge difference by huge miles so it's definitely in saudi arabia to be of interest from the inception of the so-called arab spring to make sure that this country but then you see an opportunity and you want to throw the dice i think that's what bothers me because it is as danny is pointed out i mean if you. look at the saudi foreign policy the last few years it goes from one blunder from one catastrophe to another and there doesn't seem to be stopping even though

they understand that they have these national interest visa v. has been law and syria here is saudi arabia to such a trustworthy enough partner go ahead in beirut well obviously. not happy about what is taking place that they feel that they lost the battle of this big battle for years they've been supporting the opposition in syria they've been supporting the opposition or whatever the activity that was taking place in in iraq so now you have you have that road that a lot of these country were afraid that goes from to lebanon can go through with with the with a victory because of the surgical operation that was done was supported by i have a iranian by liberating really liberating iraq and basically defeating in

iraq and now we have a major victory in syria so how much this would be can do about this not very much they already are of lebanon and they were not successful either i think the point for the cod is to make a compromise and well you know we would be really nice if they war in the end and yeah. thank you for four of them absolutely i'm glad you mentioned yemen delegate were rapidly want to i'm going to ask all three of you what about the future of assad because if you look at some of the communication coming out i guess for from sochi there is going to be political reform what does it mean to you because i'm sure it means something else to the americans go ahead adele. yeah it's an interesting point actually the future of us that. historically countries who want to play a regional mini superpower they never interested in destabilizing enabled because

that is the blazes then have refuses coming to their own problems etc but they might want to install a vision that actually can pull the strings so they want to rule out a regime that supports and further the interests rather than destabilizing it and here comes the point about the peace process again if we look from moscow point of view did our support as a percent say the want stability agreed the integrity graphical integrity of syria going to peace and obviously the legitimate russian interest because the american and your opinion expansion leaves only one business for the russian fleet which is in five sous and latakia that has to be respected as field of interest and ok gentlemen rerouted i one time i want to ask all three danny same question political reform what does it mean to you. it's an absolute must you couldn't have more political parties you could have a more liberal nature of of the ideology of the governing party but at the same

time in a great position because he can play the kurds off with the turks or he says he wouldn't take. one i mean he can play that card you know we don't want to jinx it but he has essentially won and it's been pretty if been convincing as well so what i would like to see as a syrian is more political reforms is more of a free media and free speech and this to happen gradually in the sense that we're going to see some of this happening because people haven't fought for seven years and find over something this type of political regime come out ok i'm going to give you the last forty seconds in beirut political reform or does it mean to you forty seconds basically this is a political process the democratic process i think will leave it to the people of syria i think. it has the upper hand because he has a proving that he has the interests of the country and i think in preserve the

country the war continue and basically i hope that their settlement political settlement well said that well gentlemen after so many years the syrian people should finally be given a voice and finally given a chance to have peace here i want to thank my guests in london beirut and in damascus and thanks to our viewers for watching us here r t see you next time and remember. i would not be surprised if ideal is made selling fannie mae and freddie mac. people's bank of china saw that especially china becomes america's biggest landlord

and keeping prices down and up to the name of jobs and global harmony and this is i think what we're can expect in the next few years because the u.s. is the world's biggest debtor china is the world's biggest creditor so you put those two together you have the biggest creditor taking on some of the u.s. debt caused by government guaranteed fannie mae freddie mac. all the people who love parling money on those games they they've got chinese landmarks. that's a move a lot more coming. decades dead. studying so hard it require the strongest. to go he through mediation to enter an elite society. and paci dead sometimes quite literally. wants of the true colors of universities in the us.

with germany still without a government on setting up a temporary fix just to keep parliament ticking over we look at how the french president might seize the chance to become the e.u. kingpin. also had to start the news all with a high security facility from which russia's most dangerous criminals can never escape we gain unique access to see what life is like inside the country's toughest prison it is. but some of the country's worst maniacs serials. terrorists and he would be. held.

in what's being seen. and israel wants. to secure.