british prime minister visits the city of souls on the first anniversary of the poisoning of a former russian double agent and his claims that london is withholding the full truth of what happened twelve months ago we'll be hearing live from the russian ambassador to the u.k. in just a few minutes. from the news venezuela's president risks arrest for defying a travel ban although washington is threatened a significant response if anything happens to one. and an offshoot of the terror group stages a deadly surprise attack in syria as the u.s.

a million dollar reward for information on a. very good evening thanks for joining us this is r.t. international. first this hour britain's prime minister has visited seoul spree one year after the poisoning there a former russian double agent. and his daughter yulia reason may says that the city is recovering from the incident. there has been a tremendous effort here in salzburg the decontamination has now been completed that's a key moment for this city in order to move on and recover from what took place last year. joining me on the line now live is alexander get a thank you who is the russian ambassador to the united kingdom very good evening to you mr ambassador first i would like to ask you twelve months on what key questions would you say remain for you over the script poisoning.

we don't have any reports official reports and not a single note with our questions and there's something work or a hundred questions were answered this is first second in the where lucian of the international law we can have access to the russian citizens. we sent dozens of the requests but we don't have an excess and so this is the second problem and the third one is that everything what is one worry another link to the investigation. that's another problem it's pretty clear that the u.k. government blames russia for what happened here is there any information any evidence that they could disclose that would help russia to clear things up. they're not good they're not disclosing any information moreover we have the only

information that we have this is the leaks through the press there are a lot of them but many times we tried to check whether the this leaks really true they're supported by any evidence and every time we receive the reply from the foreign office that this is a matter of the public discussion and we're not really to confirm or deny the information that is published in the newspapers so on one hand we have a lot of articles a lot of points of view but on the other hand we don't have anything official and there's the major problem for us you talked about the media that what do you think of the way the u.k. media has reported on the script certain i've seen plenty of stories that have quoted the family of dawn sturgis one of the victims who've been very unhappy with the way that they're particular the parents very unhappy with the way their daughter was patrol eight in the media what do you think of the way the media's

reported. well i think first of all you know. i mean like like everybody here in the united kingdom we we saw this interview and what i have seen is that they're not serious five the way how the investigation is going on and that's why the if you you know really embarrassed we invited them to the embassy and now i'm going to send them the report that we released yesterday is souls weary and answered questions and it least we will try to share our views what happens really happens souls agree and that's a huge problem for us if you look at other people or if they are on the outside of this incident an investigation the u.k. government has it given an explanation for why refused to give said gays nice victoria a visa or why so gays mother still hasn't been given any information on her son's whereabouts. is not on the body visas i know that victoria.

applied for a visa two times and so she was denied without any explanations definitely somebody doesn't want to see her in the u.k. this is first of course the family didn't have any chance to talk to syria in yulia that's why we believe that the under huge pressure and they're isolated and basically we don't know their destiny you know what happened to them what is their health condition will be live with in the united kingdom everything is. covered you know with the secrecy what's the legal situation honesty you know the legitimacy of refusing the russian government access to its own citizens. from the legal point of view of this is the clear quirk of the international law in the vienna by the actual yannick whether to

a convention in the vienna convention from the one hundred sixty five where the embassy has a right under their convention to see russian citizens so britain is violating international law. why is this crippling to the cause far more international fallout than say the murder of the brutal brutal murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi and the saudi consulate in istanbul that when there was very different circumstances much more graphic and clearly a pre-planned killing of a journalist yet this story gets a lot more media attention why do you think. this is a good question but. it's a different story and in saudi arabia what i was suggest just to deal with the would be the real case because we have the incident and souls agree we we had a very serious accusations. which were please by the prime minister he meant that

that time was that russia is the only country where so-called david chalke could be produced but later on i mean the few weeks later we understood that something like twenty countries including europe most of the european countries they could produce novich org and by the way the president of czech republic confirm that york was was if you failed. it is said earlier it's been very clear u.k. government has decided russia is to blame and the press have gone along with that see yet we don't see the evidence why do you think the evidence isn't being produced what are they concerned about. well i think it is the minister for the affairs lover of said there is something to hide and we believe that something wrong in this would happen you know in salzburg and. there are a lot of points to you in russia that this way or one way or another was staged because in order to divert their attention from the braggs it this is you know one

at least one direction of thought and the other the direction is that. britain if you years ago adopted the national security strategy that was at the southern fifteen where russia and the isis when the is the major any abuse of britain just to support the kind of line of the government which was repeatedly confirmed by the prime minister several times the last time that was in the bible last year in her speak speech at the mention house so britain took a very un to russian stand so and everything what happened in seoul is barry this is there could be the support of the of very and to russian policy in if you look at the now let's see media in the u.k. you will never find any decent story about russia most of the stories very negative quite provoking and as american seat fake. you mentioned earlier about the way that

the press it covered the story in the government's reaction say well you know it's the press they're allowed to do this we leave them to their own job pretty much it's been twelve months now and the people of that that region certainly close to solve we will still be i'm sure very very concerned that maybe there could be another instance they never expected that what happened to dawn stages in a partner would happen do you think we will ever hear some kind of clarification from the u.k. government if only just to assuage swayed the fear is of u.k. citizens that everything's ok surely the citizens need some evidence and some clarification when we see it. well you know i think i think i hope i think that's exactly what the bridge is gone supposed to do but on the other hand we want to see the results of the investigation that's another problem because still quite a serious accusations on the table and we wanted to see the results and we

offered the the u.k. government the let's say some kind of a joint investigation that was a real proposal from the russian side because we wanted to help certain issues to investigate because this is the russian citizens but so far as. the british ambassador in moscow said a few weeks ago that britain is not ready for this kind of corporation so what we have to do today we have just to sit and wait but of course we're going to press the bridges government politically in order to be more open. compared to what we have today because the russian public opinion is quite disappointed i've seen today a lot of. talk shows when the people disc were discussing that incident and i would see that there will basically be asking for

a simple question why we do not know after a year of in the midst a geisha in any think about souls very incident what happened to our people so that's a huge problem for the britain for because in their eyes of the russian public opinion there is something wrong here and the british side is hiding something. yeah i mean that's pretty much the point i was trying to make the claims without the evidence to back it up it's leaving people quite concerned speaking of claims that without evidence u.k. media say you're a soviet spy who was expelled from the united states back in the one nine hundred eighty s. where you how do you respond to that. well first the war we will that official that it will be educated of the newspaper and stated that absolutely lie if the news people wanted to check them they could easily checked with the united states because there were no expulsion worked as the regular diplomats in in new york

but what is interesting it was launched here. let's see in a quite specific paper but immediately there were some requests from the certain m.p.'s. to check this and they requested also the the listener the reply from the foreign office so basically i believe that that kind of statement in the newspaper was part of the very serious and to russian complain where most of the diplomats which are working in the embassy they are spies so this is some kind of a witch hunt and now today. we're just facing. something which is really. unacceptable and i remember you know the famous the famous concept of boris johnson which introduced the six years ago about the death carrot when you have something wrong you know on the negotiations that's exactly what

boris johnson said you were you have to throw the dead get to the table and then everybody was going to talk about the dead cat so basically it looks like the souls agree you know the story about the embassy about me it looks like i did that scared story where you know certain stories were put to the table you know to to divert their attention from the results of the investigations which is different differently definitely is classified yeah i'm a final question i think it directly relates to the point you just made maybe pretty much discovered it actually and i'm sorry to say what might be another that kept you away because you know the u.k. media claim that the kremlin is infiltrating the british establishment through the imperial orthodox palestine society how do you respond to that. well basically it's another great story because. their society was this they are doing this or during the soviet union you know it disappeared and when the the democratic

russia emerged. the people came back to the society and that was the society it was established also with the help of the british royals the the aim of the society is to promote a cultural corporation nothing else is question sessile in the middle east and some other countries and we believe that way it's not successful the way shouldn't be successful here and even the if you look at the list of the people who participated in that kind of this establishment of the society it's not the say it is just the branch you will see that these people are sincerely interested in cultural ties and i would see that the cultural ties between our two countries between all the people to people contacts are really at the very high level so that was the purpose of the establishment but somebody in london doesn't like it and what we can do

mr ambassador many thanks for your time this evening was speaking live to see russia's ambassador to the united kingdom alexander thank you thank you thank you well even twelve months on the questions continue to circulate around events of march twenty eighth russia feet you case continued insistence that moscow is to blame for the poisoning with the kremlin noting that the most basic questions on the incident remain unanswered with more from salisbury is not his political. i've been talking to some of the people here and many of them say they're still processing what happened take a lesson. to teach your children. to. be great or i mean you really get it. made people see so. i put my bike from there the every day of what's

a mobile supporter with me so i just went straight back in for y. so i wouldn't pick anything up any more not less than i'm true to contamination is complete that's true i don't think so as the saying well one year ago you'd be hard pressed to find many people outside the u.k. that knew much about the town of souls very or perhaps the height of the spier of the famous cathedral here but the attack against the script files that took place have put this place on the map in the international scandal that ensued has really ensured that souls barry has stayed rather famous it was here it was actually on a park bench on this green that on the fourth of march last year so gay and his daughter yulia script file were discovered slumped unconscious they were taken to hospital and pretty soon afterwards it became clear that this wasn't an ordinary medical incision that they were dealing with the script had been poisoned with military grade nerve agent

a substance known as nova chalk that had been produced in the soviet union and pretty soon after that the prime minister to resign made pinned the finger of blame squarely on mosco and there were diplomatic expulsions and a war of words ensued over what really had taken place here london says the kremlin dispatched a hit squad to come here russian military agents arrived in seoul very they say shortly before the poisoning to. place they were armed with a toxic nerve agent and this is something that moscow denies and continues to press for information and access to the investigation saying that actually two russian nationals are involved here and we know nothing about what's happened to them take a listen to the russian foreign ministry spokesperson if people in the west in the u.k. and washington and brussels think russia will just let the slide they are mistaken sergey script files nice victorious great power has also been talking at

a press conference in moscow and she says that she still can't get hold of her relatives and she's been denied any information about how they're doing or their whereabouts take a listen. to the british embassy have been telling me since day one that it cannot help me that i have to call the russian embassy in the u.k. under pressure from the media they agreed to let me make a visa application but i was refused her visa twice on formal reasons and they even didn't return my passport to me personally they sent it fire mail i'm prohibited to even stay near the border of britain so diplomatic relations between london and moscow are still pretty much at rock bottom and this candle is the cause of much of the animosity between london and moscow and with the decontamination here declared complete reason made says she hopes that the town can put the script out saga by

hind them that this place will be known for the beautiful city that it is rather than the tragedy that is taking place here over the past year. and as well as self-proclaimed interim president. back in the country he left in late february in defiance of a travel ban imposed by the country supreme court related pictures from the airport in caracas where there's been touring latin america looking to drum up support his return opens the possibility the venezuelan or thirty's could try to arrest them. as glamorous lucas clearly believe those decision to defy the bomb was deliberate. i think that if this is clearly another media spectacle the damage to the legitimacy of democratically elected government i mean i invite your viewer to think a thought experiment if not nancy pelosi the house speaker and then i would have declared herself and current president of united states and was amazingly recognized by the kremlin and then when they left the country despite

a travel ban and proceeded to go on international or accompanied by a top russian diplomat and then returned to the country without a rat and then goes not a anti-government route and it would she would she be allowed to do this or would she be and i think the answer is rather on if they do it yet but we're at a very a constitutional grounds with regard to what the united states and the opposite doing here despite the john bolton efforts to can book a new coalition of the willing to see regime change in the. u.s. national security advisor john bolton's warned against attempts to prevent why does return on twitter he said be a significant response safety threatened in a recent interview bolton urges the international community to around the elected venezuelan leader i'd like to see as broad a coalition as we can put together to replace the door to replace the whole corrupt regime block in this administration we're not afraid to use the phrase monroe

doctrine this is a country in our hemisphere it's been the objective of american presidents going back to ronald reagan to have a completely democratic hemisphere mono doctrine was formulated by president james monroe in the nineteenth century it was to stop european interference in the if as nations in the americas many say though the doctrines just justification for america's own interventions in the region diplomats has been blunt about his issues with it. with all kirk since the creation of the united nations in one thousand nine hundred five international law has been regulated under the auspices of this universal legitimate organizational theory and practices backyards is insulting well according to the russian foreign minister the use of the doctrine is insulting to the regional powers to the countries in latin america and you said that this whole thing should also be concerning to other nations because right now the united states have an ambition change the venezuelan government to oust him adorable but

have already teased that they have a similar ambition for other countries in the region like cuba or nicaragua now the russian foreign minister also talks about john bolton's statements regarding russia's aid now john bolton in a recent tweet called ma duro a liar for saying that russia basically supplied the venezuelan nation with humanitarian aid sergey lavrov pointed out that russia did supply seven and a half tons of medicine through international organizations to sort all of that is easily tracked and monitored. the syrian army suffered heavy losses this weekend when eight hundred soldiers were killed during a surprise attack by. a syrian offshoot of al qaeda and the number of casualties were confirmed to r.t. arabic by the army washington recently put up a million dollar reward for information on the son the bin laden son and so looks like the war on terror has fresh impetus i guess he explains. the war on terror.

begins with. but it does not in there. the war on terror is almost a tradition now a part of the american way of life no end in sight either so traumatic it was nine eleven that it set america off on a seemingly endless crusade there's an old poster out west as i recall that said wanted dead or alive and the does seem endless no matter how many battles they win how many islamist sex they destroy how many bin ladens they kill is always someone else we deliver devastating blows to the car the leaders that attacked us on nine eleven. to live or justice to osama bin laden we have won against isis we've beaten them and we've beaten him badly now it's the sama bin laden's son

hamza bin laden and washington is afraid that he's becoming a new terror i called homs it is the son of the deceased a.q. leader some of the blood and is emerging as a leader in the a.q. french us has been has released audio and video messages on the internet calling on his followers to launch attacks against the united states and its western allies e's thirty also recently praised by the leader of al qaida blacklisted by the un married allegedly to the daughter of a nine eleven plane hijacker favored by his late father sama as his successor he's calling for attacks on the u.s. to avenge the killing of his father same crazy ideology what's unclear his whereabouts the u.s. seems to believe you could be anywhere in south central asia it all. leads to one

conclusion apparently al qaeda is coming back showing signs of confidence in a kurd and the threat from radical islamic terrorism a continuing threat posed by al qaida there are according to various estimates more than thirty thousand active fighters across a number of countries loyal to al qaida ironically the u.s. stands accused of arming them unintentionally in syria with weapons intended for moderate groups being seized by islamists in yemen c.n.n. reported with the saudis and their coalition partners handing american made weapons to oil qaeda linked fighters history it seems repeats itself in the nine hundred eighty s. during the soviet including asama bin laden. they called them freedom fighters the mujahideen the islamists when they were fighting the u.s.s.r.

but it didn't take long for those freedom fighters to morph into terrorists and the taliban into al qaida and they just won't go away no matter how many times you beat them it seems they just keep rising from the dead it won't get put back in the bottle if the us does not want to put it back in the bottle the us funnel funnel. thousands of tons of weapons into syria to our forces that it knew very well were. allied with al qaida and allied with the muslim brotherhood and so when it suits the u.s. purposes it will work with al-qaeda and other terrorists and when they become a problem after september the eleventh or after they morphed into islamic state in syria and iraq then of course it will it will attack them. i'm

staying with more news at the top of the. sophie shevardnadze the oscar winning drama green book cast racism in america back in the spotlight this is a problem with think of the past or is it still an issue very much alive well ask calvin alexander ramsey an award winning author and playwright who traveled across the united states collecting memories of the jim crow about. half a century after the victories of the civil rights movement. still. controversial presidency will civil rights groups find fresh campaign against

racial hatred in america. racism truly. from the united states. calvin alexander ramsey award winning writer and playwright welcome to the show it's really great to have you with us today mr ramsey know you have been digging into the green book for a long time the travel guide for african-americans during the jim crow laws that help them avoid painful discriminations and segregated south jame crowd may be a saying of the past but for instance film director spike lee believes racism is ingrained in the day and day of the united states days think it will ever be overcome completely. well it's going to take a long time because you know with the development of the i guess the you know the country with the native americans and with the you know the the

many many years of bondage by africans who were brought here you know and then you had the black codes after that and then you had. jim crow didn't you had reconstruction and so is you know it's a lie it's a lot you know and what i will say that is has gotten better during my lifetime. i've seen changes but they came about because people worked to bring those changes black people white people and people of the same mind so it wasn't easy the strides that have been made they were hard fought. it off heard that there are special projects and local director is like new orleans black book or black friendly flat project that comprised black businesses making it easier for black

customers to get certain services as is kind of the same thing as the green book. and i'm misinterpreting it well the green. well is it is similar and in a minor way is it's i guess spending dollars with people of your same race and maybe mindset but the green book was totally different green book was a it wasn't a luxury where you could just decide who you can spend money with where you want to sleep or a stay green book was really are you head.