you know pretty well when you are going into. the u.s. centers 2021 with a grim new record registering its highest ever covert daily death toll. pandemic restrictions take a devastating toll on the french hospitality sector a small business owner says his neighbor took her own life as many are desperate over the future of their businesses it was my neighbor who lived right in front of my house had a restaurant for 2 generations during the 2nd lockdown everyone had to close again but some roadside restaurants were authorized to open and as she was not on the list the next day she hanged herself. several countries consider introducing covert passports while companies develop mobile apps to enforce compliance but

there are warnings of significant complications. kevin no one has a global news update for you next hour right now though it's time for cross talk stay with us. hello and welcome to crossfire where all things are considered every year with great pleasure we answer questions from our viewers and this year is no different as usual your questions focus on future possible events my panel and i are happy to oblige.

my panel answering questions from our viewers include claimed eason in oslo he is an assistant professor at the university of southeastern norway as well as author of the upcoming book russian conservative. i'm in budapest we have george semi well he isn't up there any you tube or at the gavel and in moscow we crossed you maxime he is an expert at the russian international affairs council right gentlemen cross of rules of fact that means you can jump in anytime you want and i was appreciated ok george i want to go to you 1st let me give you the 1st question from sammy here he wrote and writes a very long one but i'll give you the 1st 2 parts of 2 sentences here well the biden ministration have turkey pushed further into syria and do you expect the war in ukraine to start again soon go ahead george. well i would think the onset of both of those questions is yes 5 i think that the people around bitin in particular anthony blinken have already made clear that they intend to pursue

their regime change in the in syria. they agree that. during the obama years they failed to achieve what they were often aimed at the toppling of charles and so therefore they think this is something that they would want to do i like and the same applies to ukraine and ukraine is really a. baby wake i mean he was that. point man on ukraine. and he was very involved in the post-coup regime and of course you know the whole story about. how much he was making in the ukraine so i would think that that is a personal project of bidens to try to push russia out of ukraine and try to fuel the war. to increase the likelihood of a more intense war between russia and ukraine and already the overall project i

think of the incoming biden team will be to make life as difficult as possible for russia and that i think will be driving force both in syria ukraine corpus says which is anything that's giving russia headaches is good for us and i think that's what is the driving there really care that much about syria ukraine but just to make life as difficult as possible for russia well it seems like wayne and you know i mean obviously it means that these are. points of contention here but what does the u.s. get out now other than just annoying russia and making sure that that violent relationship remains and happens i mean is that the ultimate objective and so in it seems to me that it's very heavy and it's quite all in it's not really or in policy going. well i will say that i agree with that with that with george when's that and i've syrian or ukraine are mostly kasuri integrated. due to answer your question i

think it's important for the united states to. work this very dangerous precedent that many in the in the washington think that russia is trying to set by challenging us dominance on the international agenda and i think syria in ukraine have both been issues that made life so the obama administration a lot more complicated. to answer the very question i and i think turkey comes as a very important elements to actually potentially both great in syria and as far as especially the black sea is concerned because there is a lot of at least from what we've gathered from the public statements. from the continent ministration that the united states is in line with the church's position on it. may be offering some some kinds of deals for the transfer fred it's issue so that these are potentially very tough issues for russia to deal with. and we've

known the trick has been a very important partner for foreign agents of the united states during the soviet union but after becoming. a party to power in the early 2000 and turkey has has shown a lot more willingness to play kind of its own game which concerns the united states and frightens europeans i would think but is also i think it a very complicated issue to deal with russia you know in the west they frequently doubt russian turkey relationship is a marriage of convenience and what if we continue with this matter for let's see the for now russian turkey relations is very much dependent and they didn't in this marriage which is you know their power plant the turkish stream the if the military deals. the there are low a lot of disagreement that's when a last one on the slate and i think this is one clue which where the administration will be very much willing to exploit ok another question actually

a number of viewers about me going to glenn on this one here what is the future of russia u.s. relations during a potential bitin ministration a is it isn't going to be a reset back to obama i mean why to be his change on the international stage that over the last few years can you actually do that and in again to towards what end i don't see the policy here i see more of a knee jerk reaction to punish the headline here just to 1st like to make one comment to regarding to syria policy which is that while the regime change might not be possible anymore and the us been very open about its objective which is the u.s. special representative to syria james jeffrey was there open about her business job which of his horse was now to create a quagmire for russia in syria so. the regime change it seems to work and obviously this has nothing to do with democracy or human rights it is obviously had

to bleed out the russians in syria and we can it internally by extending it overseas but i would agree that there won't be that much change the russian policy i think not everything or often our question of whether anything it ends on the us president i mean was there ever really a benign approach to russia so by the has been great changes in the world irrespective of our trial which is the world this now returning to great power politics us that unit polar moment fades away and the us was somewhat have to adjust to this now biden has stated that america is back through to lead wish seems to suggest going back to the vote obama age and seeking global dominance but this will not be possible as simply the world has changed. and there are some key components of u.s. global hegemony especially in the ratio you have russia in europe china and asia and iran in the middle east and these will be the main enemies of washington no

matter who is at the white house that being said i think at some point washington must realize that going after everyone at the same time nearly sent to us as these countries to come together and i'll against the u.s. so there is this argument even from this in schism that the u.s. should really. either accept a role for russia in europe so rethink the post cold war security architecture. otherwise it will merely here to bring just hours together so any u.s. can end up isolating itself so there's this difficult to say how this will work out i think come along point bit by has been our leading russia gator so he has promised to continue escalating tensions with russia that leads me to my next question you know to georgia your question here will we ever have any closure on spygate russia. and will anyone ever be held accountable for think segway georgia. the onside here is no. i think that given that.

the incoming byte ministration will want to sweep everything under the rug given that biden himself is very much involved in russia gate he was involved in the team meetings that plotted the entrapment of trump people we know that he was there he was the person who apparently suggested using the logan act against michael's lead he was personally involved in unmasking plan so biden will have every interest in sweeping everything under the rug and that's why i think that. was phase 2 at the very least publish a report before the election is a grievous because that me is that we really will never learn what happened in russia gate how this sphere not operation on the truck and they took place how

they set up to keep people how essentially a coup was plotted by the obama team and whenever the find out about it and and i think that that really is. the last thing at that out of bilbao are a terrible attorney general you know maxine let me ask you has a russian watching this all play out over the last few years and it has obvious policy implications and i think the people that designed and implemented this conspiracy did not take that into account and i think that was a major mistake and they should be held accountable or you know how do you see all this next because russia gate the hoax has nothing to do almost nothing to do with russia and there's hardly any russians involved i mean i was a russian looking at the america. it's play the issue right here how do you feel about how do you react to it i think is a very dangerous actually policy trap for russia to to to have been sattar in u.s.

domestic politics and this i think that issue when biden was a lapse it's or and there was some really short lived hope in moscow that you know finally russia will now be back to its kind of usual places of foreign policy adversary or in the longer be a factor in u.s. domestic arcs and i think that hopefully for a few weeks until the new scandal with these cyber attacks acking took place and even though there are some you know informed arguments that even if it was russia it should not be mixed with a cyber espionage. as opposed to cyber attacks there is a great concern in moscow these days that this again will be kind of strained and it actually did see the biting policy towards russia out of the next 444 years the problem i think here is that it actually is very the russian it is

a very well how shall i put it very nice thing for folks in la and washington we have to have because you know if the look at this the military and the the government have asked for more money and for more regulations. you you get a perfect story to distract american voters from from the damage and from other kind of domestic issues and you have the elites kind of a united iraq and some issue you know both republicans and. russia is a threat that should be countered so i think and also there are little economic costs very senior to china and you know that these chinese policy goal is to where china happy to be more calculated because you know it's an obvious economic die. you don't have that in case of rush so you can you do you can punish it as this much as you can without having and domestic repercussions and of course their

international assistance so here's that yes right ok you got let me go to the break russia. and well i think that now that to them. takes power so that the good news is that some of the incentive for going out to russia is gone because it was used as an instrument of buying or the had a chop saw while he was very much committed to russia being the source of all evil i think the incentive to bring it into domestic objects is still sonic's and also i think that's a pretty good it depends if he's beginning to get anything done domestically and then he has you know the the blue suit in it you know and foreign policy that's the danger cry gentlemen i'm going to jump in here we're going to go to a short break and after the actual break we'll continue answering questions from our viewers stay with r.t. .

this sport is nothing like football. league it's not a money spinner but it is expensive. mended some dangerous. this is on the speedway. and they have no brakes it's a. trip that cut some people. is your media a reflection of reality. in

a world transformed. what will make you feel safe. tyson nation whole community. are you going the right way or are you being led. directly. what is true what is faith. in the world corrupted you need to descend. to join us in the depths. or remain in the shallowness. welcome at the cross stop where all things are considered i'm peter lavelle to remind you we're answering questions from you our viewers.

ok let's continue with our viewers' questions here with the question will trump be able to stay involved in politics and run again in 2024 or will he be removed from the political landscape and like that be removed i think is open to interpretation and george is an excellent question because he obviously. intense to. stay involved and to run again in 2020 for his health obviously permitting and he's 74 years old so for us time is $78.00 so health issues are obviously going to arise the obvious the intends to do this and will probably announce that he is running on inauguration day however there will be forces powerful forces 5 seeking to remove him as the questioner suggests i think the republican party.

republican by the establishment hates him wants to see him gone they hate the kind of populism. anti interventionist stance is populist economics which is very much against republican orthodoxy and they want all of that done they were caught flat footed in 2016 much as the democrats accord flatfooted in 2016 and they are going to work very hard to push him out. and of course there's the democratic party establishment namely the various states attorney generals who may well bring criminal charges against him the biden d.o.j. may try to prosecute him so nothing in any real hope that they going to win but in order to make difficulties for him you know to tie him up in endless legal battles so it may be that he will launch a thought i mean if it seems like he's not getting anywhere within the republican body the mitch mcconnells of the color rose and the bushes and everybody is trying

to keep him out. of. party of his own you know maxine you know in the think can see if trump stays in the public eye which he will one way or another as a active candidate or just on the sidelines with his powerful twitter presence but i mean do you worry that in his involvement in public life continued involvement in public life that this whole russia game hoax will continue even though it's been completely debunked there's no forensic evidence behind it and as you rightly pointed out in the 1st part of the program is that as you know pearl harbor a cyber attack which it has never known has given any attribution whatsoever it is like and when it went well during the debate you know joe biden said you know 50 foreign policy experts you know debunked all that and i mean how they didn't see any evidence they didn't receive any emails they didn't have access to a laptop here i mean so that the moment my point is and it can trump state or if

it's actually as these days in public life do you think that this is a hoax will be continued in it could it motivate and influence of biden foreign policy reason to be russia will it i think sure the short answer is yes but i think it also depends on his particular rule and if you are already seen that is something to do with that you know boosting some of candidates that he lacks force in presence in nato and that in their runs we're congress that's that's i think obviously is one area where the things he does you're talking about the exploited if he's the star and of his own media something that is also discussed in a and kind of do this a lot of this information was fair on his opponents and both republicans and democrats actually i think that actually these 2 may be ducked is he not russian propaganda and that meant as société and it seemed so i think in both cases there

was it's a significant and objective tensional for his presence and be continued for a. and as you know as a russian influence it also i think is a lot depends on whether he's actually going to speeding to politics that's helping some of these candidates get elected or is just you know doing this kind of information warfare on he's a pro you know it's. just that this is not a very great victory for biden given that. america's about to enter 4 years and i can amik pain this will be very few years for us and people will blame that ministration top of that when you have this large portion of the 70 i mean are some formula people want to come believing this was stolen a lot of the reasons why trumka let's begin with a lot of those horses will really come back with a vengeance now i don't think he will be reelected again but i do think that trump is and will definitely survive and come back you know glenn you know staying with

this topic here. it seems to me the hoax has to have an afterlife even after trying because there's something called. and there's ukraine and it seems to me that the with that with this ply and media and supporting the by an engine door by harris or here is biden however you want to define it and that they will refuse to look at these stories here that could be potentially damaging to the president because of his son's behavior activity and the likelihood that he was aware of it all the way through and maybe even a recipient financially from it here and that that that would be the way to keep the oxygen out of that story in keep it focused on russia gate and and is as we well probably all expecting that you know the jury report will be just pushed aside so if these questions will always be open and that is intentional to keep things open so there's something to talk about or said otherwise things not to talk

about headline. yes so it will be the worst for russia i guess if yet if you continue to hold this window open because. i think if biden would decide to step down because of any health reasons maybe you could get over it by now he's going to and then the republicans will and definitely use this a ukraine scandal hold it over him and i think you by and by doing so the media will play off and they're all wish we had a few years back the democrats and not really hold them accountable so in and this will end there at the cost a little bit of the republicans will see this as being a further illegitimate government. and then the democrats again will accuse the republicans of criticizing biden that this is a. carrying water for the kremlin and we're going to have this in a difficult polarization and i think that russia right back into the domestic

politics of the u.s. . doesn't need this is not a good position to be with me i'm you know that is that you know the visual narrative of the folks there is that russia wants to bourse itself american domestic politics yeah but he has the right to do what doesn't want to be rolled into it ok that's the amazing irony of all he's going door to another question here now supporting why would you write me when they just grooves and he's like syria now ghana's and in the name of democracy don't you think it's i mean hypocritical that the mainstream media in the us are so afraid of the american right meanwhile he's not really sure i would be part of that means here we want to take a stab you know i think what the question is saying is that this pretense on the part of generally you know liberal elites that this horror of horrors that this threat of right wing religious sick fundamentalism extremism in the united

states while at the same time. thumb serving financing. and so on these exactly the same kind of forces and much worse because they have these aren't really truly violent forces elsewhere in the well i mean this started of course with ronald reagan in them with them which i did but even before that tractor i got about of the british and the americans sponsoring islam isn't in the middle east against the secular leaders such as. egypt and so on but it really kicked in with reagan's policies but the mujahideen and then it continued then the icicle sponsoring these these exact same type of islamised and in bosnia and kosovo and in chechnya now and you know we're not have at this in in syria and libya and then of course a variant of that in ukraine so i think the question is absolutely right there is

something very hypocritical by constantly posturing that this is this terrible thing over you know religious extremism here in the united states but it's great else left just like you know the new york times you can pick up ink copy of the new york times without something some story somewhere writing about the holocaust about naziism or about fascism but when it comes time to for a vote at the united nations to condemn 2 not islam in the glorification of knots isn't the united states votes against. it but that that it's not it's baucus that you know max you know we're looking at it from the russians perspective here is that if we look out the the middle east has been transformed in this century alone is that a. secular regimes have been targeted by the washington consensus i mean it's consistent there secular regimes which of course is an juxtaposition. you know

fighting the war on terror i mean it is actually it's borning these groups that are in. in the bin are actually against the democratic process because you have his man who won a one man one vote what's ok i mean it's really quite remarkable you know democracy promotion from the west on the ground it is exactly the opposite well if india is also going to be all systems the problem is not just that are targeting that it is secular regimes they're also targets in the 1st state to it and have a look around the state who are in the middle east or maybe you know. 5 or 3 states in the in the in the meaning that we think of states that are there others are just very either fragment it or you know. very simply family counter absolutely and. and but also it's the issue of how he's going to impact you know the promotion and those were for the right wing movements abroad and al equals back at home i

think i look at it as very much just kind of communicating rascal's you know your support of the radical movements someplace in say in the middle east you know that they did then a war and then the refugees come into your home countries and then the risk and its domestic uprising and among the right wing artists against this refugees did you know that they go and vote for right wing politicians i think. george mentioned you know that that you know jackie and us were for the discourse enough got a son to defeat the soviet union which came that to haunt in $911.00 another atrocities in the terrorist atrocities in the west and i think this has to be a very important historic lesson to bear in mind all. right and i'm just saying i mean i i know russian is about i don't remember which rambo film it was was it rambo 3 or something and you know they were fighting with to me the team ammunition

stuff i didn't want to direct respect that can be good if you know if i did. reverse or upside down or inside out everyone is really could use your right gentlemen and i have to jump in here we're running out of time i'm very happy to be answered our viewers of questions and it's a delight to see you for the 1st time in the new year remember. those changed american lives but pharmaceutical companies have a miraculous solution. based drugs to people who are chronic pain patients and believe that their prescription is working for them in the remedy he said to. price at the. close of dependency and addiction to opiates to long term use that

really isn't scientifically justified by now study actually suggests that. the long term effects may not just be the absence of benefit but actually that they may because they want to. join me every thursday on the alex salmond show and i'll be speaking to guest of the world of politics sports business i'm show business i'll see you then. i am max foster welcome to the economist their report 1st on the new year's day so we've got an excellent day on these christmas lights adorning the set i mean you know i took the money i save and i bought.