in terms of the wind but in terms of confidence england not lacking that and pretty much so far enjoying the trip to russia that's what they said about it. oh i. i i i. just in time goes on my brush and the people absolutely love it. when some press for example talk about hooligans in russia. the english. the poisoning the well so what were the things that you were hearing about russia before game here i'd say. like it's like it's like stereotypes throughout some of my space ever got friendly and you know it's true let's get back pressure it was

staunchly but once people realized hey this is not because they were out there with pleasure we want to go on the world and the joy the world now with i think. i want to come over. here. but you know we speak to them pretty much every day if you see them off to the games as well you remember the case with. the world with. members of his family not to come to russia because a possible racist some like that having been here we are going to have anything to say about it but yeah. whatever was said before it's completely been out of the old by my experience here this week. you know probably.

people are mad and fantastic the food has been great the beers been great. and of course coming back again another time you russian spy possibly. you still got timing and fans coming to russia and was coming and coming. yeah he says it's coming home some people go further they think it's coming home it's become the anthem well it's you know the original lyrics you know this year and ninety six it first came about the song and they sing about thirty years of hurt now it's fifty years if you have to change the number of years after every patron for a major tournament so let's hear how it sounds these they. may have heard. the earth were. it is probably the best of a football song i have to say that it is

a song that's been written by but at the on the skin a. song by those two and the lightning seeds now see that was that was for the european championships in one thousand nine hundred six of the football football was coming back home to england for that tournament and he was and this is only the trophy that was coming home. since that song was written and england fans one thing and it kind of means that the trophy is coming home to england it's a great song and it's it's got different versions let's just listen to how some russians are into everything this great song. it's. just such success . so. the carrier feel

the feel. i feel the feel. of the second was. the feeling feeling. the thing. for the. love it love it folks version improvise ation our greatest version have the best scenes and follow you know you've got to keep it fresh keep it modern and new twist on it the reality is that might actually be going to france after they defeated belgium in the semifinal of the competition take us through the highlights of this one patient well this was you know much into that anticipated game belgium and france for me the best two performing teams in the whole competition so they

meet each other in the semi final which for many neutrals who doesn't have the country in the in the competition any more would probably think was the sort of moral final and they gave us a really good game we have some great individual performances and it's a great goalkeeper zone so i think both of the goalkeepers were fantastic waffle for belgium but all in main off he's team lost but the reason tottenham goalkeeper he was fantastic i mean really really fantastic yesterday and he made this incredible save. at a point where if belgium skoal you know that's been the theme in the interview i think this is incredible the way he reacts just have a look at how many bodies that will go through and he still manages to get both of his hands to it and and face it out for a corner he was really really good yesterday he had one of two interceptions from crosses where he comes out and just gets a little nick on the ball. just before

a belgian play and. i think one of the situation that was. right behind him it would have been a tap and things like that and you could see it some point vonnie looks back at him with admiration thinking my my my god i cannot believe i've got this guy behind me and it lifts everyone so i got a friend said. being under the cosh i would say i did that sort of opening twenty minutes and i remember saying on our last night if belgium don't convert one of these opportunities to have a lot of corners to still sort of thing that comes back to haunt you and racial say crucial saves and and you have to say that even has played an absolute blinding yesterday. unfortunately for him and the rest of the team was not up to his level when they everyone played well but he i think for me he separated himself yesterday he played mostly off the left and he was cutting in and he they were doubling and tripling up on him and still yet got into

a situation where you possible he crossed the ball and he had a few shots he was brilliant but. couldn't get past who can i just put the thing that a slight tangent but departing rounded off the event just think rail will now be eyeing someone like it and has after performance but we don't know it for now there was one hundred percent it's been rumored for a long long time that he's leaving real madrid and yesterday this story popped out but they agreed one hundred five million pound transfer. between events and and ran with it and of course you know need play is of you know highest caliber the question here is is even has a big enough name really sell the show so you ventures by rinaldo for that amount of money he's in football terms an old player thirty three years this year how are they have a car to make up that money the simple question to that question is they will sell

shirts and it will take them no less than a year to recoup that kind of money from sarah's short sales event to show that they remember a couple years back that completely rebranded their logo that the way they look can you imagine you were you eventually with a name on every now and then number seven on it that's going to be that's going to be hot property for people to own so that's how they make the money so my question is will have the same number of shirts is paris the president of groom but it is easy going to put his name. he's position on the line with with a player like i said i'm absolutely convinced that he would improve run of its team but they need to put use money out of the play a role in your stability then it's a business as well i'll tell you who did do the business let's get back to that semifinal add a goal can pace and of all the crazy plays on the page is the big sensible thing and the few. you can argue. the holes the whole

mocking in zones and not. mocking man for man you can argue that is a good idea in this case it wasn't a good idea because i'm t.-t. gotta run on. fellaini and fellaini is a big guy he can he can you know he can compete with the best of them but you know if you stood still and someone come running at you like on t.v. then you got no chance and i think the direction of yesterday in the game he was focused focusing so much on fellaini that i felt that he kind of kind of blamed fellaini for not having that ball away but for me you know it's absolutely impossible it's what happens you know in games that are so close and that's nothing between them. it's a set piece it's one lapse of concentration from from by the team and you know if you are a team with the quality of friends that exploit that one thing i've really taken out of your analysis during this competition those set pieces the advantage that

the forwards have running on to the ball they got that split second and obviously for the keeper it's like stopping a bullet from a gun you know it just comes at you from from point blank range and the fans of course they were ok whether it's and see whether it's reason it doesn't matter it's put them through to the final this was the scene in paris just imagine the celebrations. was . the law. and someone else will be celebrating tonight will it be cray should it be england that's the question it's heartbreaking isn't it for the country that that misses out at this stage it is so close and then the yet so far away and you think ninety minutes you know it's a long time in a football game but if you come off the wrong foot it is really a short time and yes as we saw with belgium yesterday you fall behind in the fifty

first minute you know that the clock is running down so. quickly. and to change from your plan a into its plan b. and that might not be the biggest difference between that but to change. it takes a little bit of time the manager in his plan b. needs to make the substitutions and will battle martin as he did yesterday but then the players they have to implement that and then in that period time just goals and then you look up at the clock and you get not panicked but you you kind of get this feeling you need to rush things a little bit and once you start with that very very rarely does anything good come off so you know you're close but you're so far away and you can probably feel. and their expectation and everybody singing that it's coming home suddenly that sounds a little bit louder there's so much more to talk about in the build up to this second world cup semifinal will be here join us shortly from.

thank.

twenty three how often is past midday here it's moscow let me bring you some of the day's top news stories now couple of anyway donald trump and the heads of other nato member states are in brussels right now at a summit of the military alliance the u.s. president's demanding that the allies spend more on defense he's already lambasted germany too for being virtually as he put it a financial hostage of russia over gas and oil supplies germany is

a captive of very distasteful i think really the call to get rid of the nuclear getting so much of the oil it gets for russia i think it's something that they are asked to look at it is very inappropriate they pay billions of dollars to russia and now we have to defend them against russia explain that to. you as you yeah then they go to the business to begin to turn for an eating their maps with a gesture now after it looks a bit awkward disney shall do penske's in paris for us what else is expected at this summit. well there's plenty to be discussed in a meeting that is expected to be incredibly tense over the next two days but it started with that to raid of donald trump accusing germany of being a hostage of russia this is to do with the nord stream to project this is a pipeline that will supply gas directly from russian gas fields to germany to supply reliable gas to central and western europe that's due to be completed in

twenty nine thousand so next year and donald trump and the us have long seen this is being a bone of contention between themselves and europe particularly germany because they feel that this pipeline which will surprise that direct gas to germany will actually embolden it will empower russia now donald trump also touched on the fact that he said germany had spent billions on that this project at a time when germany doesn't make the two percent of g.d.p. contributions to military defense to the nato alliance currently spend is around one point two percent of g.d.p. and donald trump went on to say that germany is a rich country of course we know it's the biggest the richest economy in europe and he said that germany could make those payments immediately rather than in the next ten years when they say that they will reach that two percent of g.d.p. target. market.

so we're going to have me. figure your workers are. probably going to be love. well this meeting comes at a time between tense relations between the yes and e.u. member states over things such as the trade wars that we've seen over the last few months the discord over the iran nuclear deal and trump seems to be content on continuing to make allies amongst the european members of the nato alliance and he's had a stark warning as a result from that from the president of the european council donald tusk who has talked about trump alienating his allies their president trump america does not target. than europe america appreciate your allies after all you don't have that money. well we know that washington has

threatened to withdraw its support for the nato alliance if other member states don't make that two percent of g.d.p. contribution currently we heard yesterday from the secretary-general around eight countries out of the whole block are actually making that contribution now this meeting was due to be tense anyway but it seems after that to raid from donald trump on wednesday morning before they'd even got down to the big business it seems that many believe that this now could be the most divisive meeting in nato's entire history you know we'll be following the help of the next couple of days as we get more out tell us all about it folks from from paris do bensky. let's focus on the states next with midterm elections in the u.s. to november it seems some of taken a doomsday approach when trying to appeal to voters caleb maupin explodes. the upcoming midterm congressional elections are certainly

a crucial political event but there's way more to it than you think according to nancy pelosi the minority leader on capitol hill civilization as we know today is a to risk in the selection we have to wing we have to wing civilization at risk goodness that sounds quite serious now she's not the only one to think that the upcoming elections are an existential importance and no less if you one of these folks who is watching cable news you cocktail parties with your friends and you saying civilization is collapsing and you're nervous and worried that that is not what you personally do time energy and money than either you don't actually think civilization is collapsing or you know pushing so hard enough and i would push harder the time for diagnosis is over it is cancer midterms are america's last chance at remission registered to vote we can be disease disease now filmmaker michael moore is urging the liberal rank and file to seize the moment what are we

willing to commit to what would you give your life for what would you be willing to do to actually put yourself on the line for that moment is now we are going to lose our democracy if we haven't already we have no choice my friends we all have to rise up so is the future of human civilization really at risk at the november polling place we decided to ask people here in new york city i would say oh yes possibly the fate of american civilization at stake i think set out. civilization this well i don't know i think it's a little over the top now not at all they were said kim jong un was going to blow up the world a couple i know how many months ago there hyperventilating they do this all the time why would nancy pelosi say that throwing gas on the fire now it's hard to tell if ordinary americans are is fired up as their t.v. screens and political leaders would like them to be let's not forget. yes the vote is still months away and the hysteria will probably escalate and pick up steam

kaleb mop and r.t. new york here in moscow and kevin oh and there are a couple of top stories for monte age q so far this wednesday lunchtime football headlining big time today of course but. in thirty minutes. twenty four seven. home. alone and welcome to cross talk we're all things considered i'm. a trumpy in kind of view it is an understatement to say donald trump is an unconventional and an orthodox political figure his critics do have a point when they say trump appears to be harsher with allies than with real or imagined enemies then there's the middle east and iran why is trump so obsessed

with terrain. across talking a trumpy and kind of view i'm joined by my guest peter ford in london he is a former british ambassador to syria and part rein in washington we have james jaharis he's a former u.s. diplomat and former advisor to u.s. senate republican leadership and in new york we have richard murphy he is a former u.s. career in bastard of syria and currently an adjunct scholar at the middle east institute right gentlemen cross-like rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want i always appreciate james let me go to you first in washington because you've rapidly become the donald trump sure for me. i know you're a supporter of the president and you have a great foreign policy expertise so i want to see if we can kind of. unpack a few things here first exam. will i give the president from kudo's with north

korea if something could happen there it's very very complicated the parlay is going to be long and hard but i think it takes a lot of courage to engage that unlike past administrations. in europe with his european allies doing nato tough love there i think he's doing absolutely the right things you want to be protected ok if russia is such a terrible threat but want to pay for it ok it's pretty simple but then the wrinkle comes in james i mean the middle east i mean the trump administration isn't braced israel and saudi arabia much more than passage ministrations iran is again on target with the rhetoric and the planning and all of that i don't see any rhyme or reason to it all can you is there a silver bullet for you to give me to make me understand it go ahead james well let me draw an analogy to start with people of notice that trump since the day he took office even before he has been under siege from people in the intelligence

community i think that's one reason why he and the sun the moon and the stars to the pentagon he had to have somebody who was on his side when we put it to the international context that you just raised look we've got clients and i do call them clients of not satellites in europe in the far east like south korea and japan i think he can afford to kick them around but when we come to the middle east and talk about israel and saudi arabia i don't think there's so much our clients as where their client given the kind of influence the israelis and the saudis have in this town it's not so easy to cross them so i think he is proceeding much more carefully there just as he indulges the pentagon i think he's indulging those countries but we're going to have to see now he can turn the corner especially if he can work out something with mr putin on syria with regard to essentially keeping the israelis and the iranians away from each other near the golan heights we might have to begin. something constructive in that region but that's going to be

a very tough row to hoe i think ok it's interesting peter what way and on that too because i guess if you do. restate my first question in a much shorter version is that trump is showing flexibility in some areas here but other areas he's seen these seem far more rigid how do you see it i mean particularly in the region of the middle east in iran go ahead peter. well i think the key to spending i say this with some humility but i think it does help him in america first first and foremost meaning. to use the term i don't like much myself i thought nation is the opposite interventionist let's recall you know the term america first the america first committee tried to keep america out of the war world war two and the things the spirit of john

quincy adams who advised again america going abroad in the sleigh this tradition to which should trump hark back which of people thought much i think through middle america and he seems to be consistent in that and almost all his moves can be interpreted in that spirit whether it's pulling back from korea pulling back from nato overreach in eastern europe. the middle east is a little bit different but maybe come back we will come back to that ok richard i mean considering what we just heard from james and peter i think both of them would agree that you know and i like how james put it you know indulging the pentagon i mean the pentagon's got a lot of money right now ok but what does that money for in a lot of people would say is for possible or continued military interventions which the president ran again. during the campaign and now we have massive arms sales to

saudi arabia saudi arabia and israel here and there seems to be a lot of ambiguity about what the u.s. policy is visa v syria how do you one tie all this go ahead richard. i don't think . serious situation is well understood or has been well understood for the percival years we made a mistake there's no other word for it back in two thousand and eleven assuming that the regime was very fragile and about to be blown away. it managed to survive and then it was bolstered by russian support and a rainy and support in the following years but the color of. washington observer tuj that. you had heard about during obama's time do not get involved in yet another middle east of the war. richard you're absolutely right and

that's exactly where i want to go here james they look at all of all of us are kind of more or less on the same page here but then how do you account for the bellicose attitude towards iran and i think richard's right donald trump knows enough about history is that that he doesn't want to be a president that's brought down by a foreign war that he really doesn't want to get involved in i mean cheri i mean he's old enough to know what happened to lyndon johnson for example or george bush jr with iraq he doesn't want to have that around his collar but james you know using sanctions to intimidate friends and foes not to import a rainy unoiled i mean i again you know you know and you look at the american allies in the region saudi arabia and israel which would love to see some kind of regime change or instability that's probably their first priority i mean this seems to kind of go counter what trump in islam is all about when it comes when it goes to foreign policy james. absolutely clearly and i think peter is

right absolutely it's america first policy i wouldn't call it isolationism i would simply call it a sovereigntists policy however there is one big fat exception and that is the middle east we don't have an america first policy in the middle east we have a saudi arabia and israel first policy in the middle east i don't know whether that represents where mr trump really wants to go or whether it is like i said an analogy to the pentagon whether he's indulging the realities that exist so he can do something else if he can get us out of syria i don't expect us to admit we made a mistake in syria of course we did a tragic horrible mistake but in politics people don't admit mistakes if he can slip us out of syria somehow the real question is will he take the bait on what has to be the red line that israel and saudi arabia want regime change in iran and if he goes down that road it's the end of his predecessor presidency he needs to understand that he ends up as george w.

bush if he goes down that road may be a lot worse i frankly don't think he's going to do that but he's certainly got a lot of people both foreign and domestic pushing him in that direction and right now he's indulging them the question is whether he will follow through with that i hope he doesn't you know peter one of the things i've noticed that's unique about this presidency. tweeting a sign is that i think serious people and not just pundits that are partisan one way or another i mean i listen to trump speeches particularly when he goes to the base and there's just a heck of a lot of hyperbole and it's kind of baked in for me ok i'm trying to understand the basis of what he's saying because well most of what he talks about is themself ok that's the trump way but i just have to wonder when you look at his foreign policy views i see that a lot of it is bluster because and i'm kind of agreeing with james here in the bark is really there but there's not always the follow up i mean with syria. we really don't know what's going on there they're not very saying very much because i think

there's going to be a withdrawal but i mean could we look at the bluster towards iran is this kind of bluster to keep the saudis and the israelis happy go ahead peter. yes i think it's primarily to keep the lead an israeli lobby in the u.s. happy because look at it this way trump is already got a lot of enemies back home that's what you're newsfeeds. he's got the securities bait on his back he got everybody on his back he cannot afford all flow of the israel lobby on his back so this combined with the fact that he has family links with israel pushing theme in the direction of being an iran hawk. now this is kerry and the b. gets dragged down that path we may be in for a very bumpy ride indeed. but i am not heard.