russia, ukraine, germany, france meeting here. what i see here, tell me what you think, there would have to be some major concession because there is no low hanging fruit here on which these parties can agree? >> well, i think everybody is clear that these are last ditch attempts to resolve the situation. one thing to consider is that our european partners are incredibly important because they have a tool at their disposal they have not yet used. they could kick russia out of the swiss banking system which would mean russian enterprises and industries that do any kind of international business whatsoever would not be able to send money through any kind of international banks and it was that step of kicking iran out of the swift system that had a very big impact on the sanctions in iran. there are alternatives here that the europeans could put forward. >> any indication they will do that? >> it's not clear. one thing to think about when we're talking about the possibility of sending weapons, it's also not clear that sending weapons

the problem is france and germany for example had their histories. in their histories they are each other's enemies. when you take a look at france and britain they have histories but they are against each other. histories of the european nations don't draw on a commonality. they drive on tension. europeans want to forget that history, people who work together, it was really let's not dwell on the past or our future. that is a good thing to do it your future is rosy and doesn't face crises. they only well on block promise that meant something, peace, prosperity, a kind of european civility, a decent society. the problem with that is it can handle everything but crisis and the europeans facing their first crisis found themselves unable to handle it together. there was no history to blind them. their history divided them. it is hard to think what they would have done otherwise. they used to have something called christianity. they don't really have that now. even christianity was divided between catholics and protestants and so on but these things that

first, leaders of france germany, ukraine and russia spoke on the phone this morning. they agreed to make a push to impose a cease-fire decided last week for eastern ukraine. the conversation came after a massive assault ride a pro-russian rebels on the railway junction of debeltseve that pushed kiev to pull thousands of troops out of the town. ukrainian president petro poroshenko is now calling for international peacekeepers to help. petro poroshenko: we think the best option would be a police auction from the european union. we are sure this would be the most effective and the best guarantee for security in a situation where the promise of peace is not kepyt -- not kept by russia. genie: let's bring in christina in kiev. the ukrainian president had a phone conversation with leaders of france, germany and russia. what more do we know about what was said? christina: mr. hollande said he spoke with the leaders about violations to the cease-fire and consequences. violence and -- violations according to ukraine would be fighting in debeltseve which the rebels now say is c

. >> now the leaders of the france germany, ukraine and russia held talks on the crisis in eastern ukraine. they are trying to reach a peace deal. sense the start of the year hundreds have been killed in fighting between troops and pro-russian separatists. rory challands reports from minsk. the leaders arrived self hours ago. we have heard through sources that they are prepareing a joint declaration, but it seems there's a lot more issues to be discussed. they have to talk about the lines of demarcation between the separatists, and ukranian army they have to talk about things like federalization. decentralization. petro porashenko said that he will flutely not count federalization. that would be some sort of break-up of the ukranian nation and he wants ukraine to remain sovereign, and remain whole. they have to talk about the border, what happens between russia and ukraine, how, according to the ukrainians how could they stop the flow of russian weaponry and men across the border. is it going to be monitored by the o.s.c.e. these are difficult issues there's difference between the various

but in europe the question in germany versus greece, france versus germany this was the question, no one went into the room not because it was just the bankers that were out of order but in the end it was a treaty of sovereign nations i could go their own way and it was not a united states of europe. that came out more and more and more. so here was the fundamental problem of europe. germany is the fourth-largest economy in the world that exports 50% of gdp. one half of that going to the free trade zone of europe. germany needs the free trade zone desperately, which is why angela merkel is so belligerent and it's a bit of a bluff if they lose the free trade zone they are in huge trouble. so imagine if the united states exported 50% of its gdp. we export 9%. and half of that -- what would be the condition of canada and mexico two and so the germans use the euro because they had to to set prices in such a way that facilitated the exports and protected them from inflation. but they also created rules that made activity almost impossible. the tax structure of europe doesn't mean that the

france and germany's leaders were also on the line. they plan to meet in minsk wednesday to discuss a new peace plan to halt the spiraling conflict. we have more from moscow. >> if this meeting does go ahead and vladimir putin has suggested it will only happen if certain agreements are reached first then the russians are hopeful that big decisions will be made in minsk wednesday a small reminder of how we got here. after discussions friday night led to a phone call on sunday between the four leaders. out of that phone call came an agreement to meet again in minsk on wednesday. now, various things are going to be discussed at that meeting. we are pretty sure those things will be talk of a ceasefire talk of how to uphold the minsk memorandum from last september and discussions about the special status. the various leaders have their own suggestions. president hollande is talking about a demilitarized zone in ukraine. petro poroshenko doesn't want to have u.n. peace keeping forbes on the ground but will consider a wrench did you in ukrain

but the question that germany versus greece, france versus germany, this was the question and the fact that going bankrupt doesn't mean the people you've laid off are not your problem. so you would expect massive risk-taking didn't occur because it could have been. when it occurred, it occurred on the black market because no one could afford the taxes. there was no google that was going to emerge in europe. though microsoft is going to challenge ibm and destroyed the mainframe business. a corporation today. europe was constructed in such a way as to ensure the existing additional corporations the massive ones was preserved and the wave of constant innovation that destroyed and created new companies didn't quite take place in the same way. when the banking crisis hit europe in the europeans try to solve the problem another banking crisis but to a sovereign debt crisis was simply that other countries in the periphery, a lot of them couldn't play back their loans. they couldn't pay off their bones. for me greece is the forerunner of everything that happens in europe could not be a liar. e

there was no question it does not want to bail out illinois but in europe the question of germany versus greece france versus germany, this was the question know one went into to our room because it was the bankers that were out of order but in the end the european union was a treaty a treaty of sovereign nations that can go their own way that was not a united states of europe which came out more and more and more. here was the fundamental problem of europe. germany at its heart is the 4th largest economy in the world. it exports 50 percent of its gdp. one one half of that going to the free trade zone of europe. germany needs a free trade zone desperately. so belligerent, a bit of a bluff, guys. they are in huge trouble. imagine imagine if the united states exported 50 percent of its gdp and half of that went to mexico. what would be the condition? the germans used the yellow because they had to to set prices in way that is facilitating both their exports and protecting them from massive inflation. the tax structure of europe and the fact that nearly going bankrupt does not mean that the people you ha

germany and france, france and germany shows we have made a contribution in accordance. >> we have been here before literally. minsk welcomes leaders. the ceasefire quickly fell apart, and the agreements were never properly implemented. you can sign as many pieces of paper as you want. it's what happens on the ground that matters. and this eastern ukraine, the fighting and the dying continue as the leaders talked. the separatists representatives signed the new minsk deal. in forcing the demilitarized zone pulling back heavy artillery, making sure hostages are released and pushing through assurancers of political reform in the east will be a tortuous process with opportunities for failure. >> the u.s. senate approved the pointment of ashton carter as the new defence ministry. defeating i.s.i.l. will be his top priority. he replaces chuck hagel, who resigned in november >>> police in the u.s. state of north carolina are investigating whether racial hatred played a role in the killing of of barakat, his wife and her sister. they were shot in their apartment in chapel hill on tuesday. craig

something we know germany and france don't want but what we could be seeing here is a good cop/bad cop situation, in that germany, you've got a chance to help sovm the situation and get some relief from those economic sanctions you're serving under, but this is the tough guy, the tough route we're going to take arming your opposition. >> is there a feeling, particularly among these european leaders, just arming the ukrainians they still have going to be dwarfed by what the russians have so it seems like a futile attempt for the ukraine to be able to stand up against russia. is that why they are against arming ukraine? >> in large part they're worried about seeing this situation deinvolve into a bosnia like civil war, where yes, the u.s. could agree to give limited aid to the ukrainians on the ground but the russians with all their resources right arrange the border can match that and overmatch that with so much more firepower, possibly bringing in their air force and then you've got an escalating situation, whereas, right now, you have an opportunity to keep it from sliding into that.

germany and france, france and germany together showed we have made a contribution in accordance with europe. >> of course, we have been here before literally minsk welcomes leaders for a peace summit back in the late summer of 2014, but the ceasefire quickly fell apart. the agreements were never properly implemented. you can sign as many pieces of paper as you want, but it's what happens on the ground that matters. >> in eastern ukraine the fighting and the dying continue as the leaders talked. the separatists' representatives have signed the new deal, enforcing the agreed demilitarized zone, pulling back heavy artillery making sure hostages are released and pushing through assurances of political reform in the east will be a torturous process with many opportunities for failure. rory challands, al jazeera minsk. >> the ukraine president petro poroshenko is now due to arrive in brussels, where european leaders are also gathering for their summit. it's just underway, i believe simon mcgregor wood is there. have the leaders who were up all night in minsk have they managed to get themse

ukraine and france and germany want a peace keeping force but they don't want russian troops as partthat. russia is not going to give that up. >> phillip breedlove, the nato commander today said that that cease-fire had never come into existence. it was signed in minsk. it never really happened. if now the west doesn't do something in response that france and germany, which signed on the this cease-fire agreement puts them in a very weak negotiating position, doesn't it, with moscow? >> that's right and i think the president of you cranial has to get some better military advice. i don't understand why he agreed to that 60-hour interim period in which the key railway hub was taken over. now the danger is the important which is 500,000 population that the rebels move there so what are the options? i think they are one, additional sanctions on russia. russia is being hurt by sanctions. the ruble is in trouble. oil prices have hurt them. that is something that has to be considered. secondary -- secondly, defense of weapons. anti-tank missiles. air-to-ground missiles. this will severely a

host: sharon mentions this diplomatic effort that is happening by france and germany. there is a plan to meet wednesday in minsk, the capital of belarus. france germany, the leaders of russia and ukraine, along with representatives of the pro-moscow separatists will all be there to discuss some sort of peaceful solution to what is happening there. so some in the u.s., many members of congress calling on this administration to arm the ukrainian forces. that will be part of the discussion this money with angela merkel, who believes that the u.s. and the west should not take that next that. in other news this morning front page of "the washington times" on the president's strategy against isi, "obama downplays islamic state risks alters language from destroying the organization to defeating them." "washington times" with that story this morning, as well as insider newspaper, a couple stores on this. secretary of state john kerry was asked about where we are with defeating isis and the strategy gary yesterday on the sunday talk shows and that is the headline in "the washin

britain, france germany, spain and italy expressed concern that the instability is strengthening the islamic state group and other terrorist organizations. the statement urged all parties to take part in u.n.-led talks for unity government. secular forces and islamic militants have been fighting in libya since the ouster of longtime leader moammar gadhafi more than three years ago. thousands of libyans have been fleeing the conflict. many of them are risking their lives trying to controls the mediterranean sea. officials with the international organization for migration say rescuers have saved nearly 4,000 people in the past five days. many of them were crammed onto rubber dinghies. the officials say more than 300 refugees died last week while trying to make the voyage to safety. they're calling on world leaders to help. >>> a u.s. state department spokesperson said the u.s. and turkey are teaming up to train and arm moderate syrian opposition forces. jen psaki says it's part of preparations for ground combat against islamic state militants. psaki told reporters that turkey has agree

night had fallen by the time the leaders of france and germany landed in kiev.were driven directly to the presidential palace, to meet with ukrainian president petro poroshenko, in a bid to stop the escalating war. before leaving paris, french president francois hollande spoke of the growing urgency. >> ( translated ): we will leave for kiev as soon as this afternoon. we will make a new proposal to solve the conflict. it won't be said that france and germany, together, haven't tried everything, undertaken everything to preserve peace. >> ifill: france, germany and other nations oppose supplying ukraine with arms. meanwhile, in brussels, nato defense ministers agreed on new moves to counter russia's aggressive actions by more than doubling the size of a ready response force, and setting up new command centers in eastern europe. as fighting in the east has escalated, both nato and ukraine charge the russians are supplying tanks, heavy weapons and even troops to the ukrainian rebels. something the russians deny. that's led to white house discussions of whether the

i don't know. >> the peace deal has been brokered by france, germany russia, and ukraine, desperate totop a conflict that threatens regional chaos. >> we now have a glimmer of. we have agreed on a conference of implementation of a conference of agreement, but of course, steps have to be made, and people will be facing big hurdles, but on balance, i can say that what we have achieved today gives us more help than if we had not achieved anything at all. >> the brief grip, but no grin, as the russian and ukrainian presidents met. kiev accused moscow of sending troops and weapons to help the rebels, an allegation russia denies. even so, this agreement noticeably deals with the role of outsiders. >> all foreign troops will pullout from ukraine's territory. all mercenaries from ukraine's territory -- they should be withdrawn as soon as possible. >> it was not the best night of my life, but it has been a good morning because we have managed to reach a major agreement. >> on saturday night the guns are supposed to fall silent, and the political process starts after that. perhaps most important

the leaders of france and germany are off to russia where they hope to convince president putin to agree to a peace deal. >>> the search continues for the victims of the transasia plane disaster as investigators confirm both of the plane's engines lost power moments before it crashedp. >>> the cup of nations is stopped when fans from the home team and equatorial guinea turn on supporters of the winning team ghana. >>> they have major decisions to make. are they prepared to travel for sunday's final or going to stay home and stay away from what should be a showcase and joyous event. >>> kicking out the clutter. we investigate the meaning of the stuffed paradox. >>> welcome to the program. >>> german chancellor angela merckle said a diplomatic solution is still the only way to resolve the crisis in ukraine. she was speaking ahead of talks with the french president hollande and russian president vladimir putin taking place in moscow in a few hours time. that meeting follows a visit to kiev where they put forward a new peace plan. no details of that plan have been released but some reports s

france follow the u.s. and close their embassies in yemen. >>> the european space agency tests technology for a new reusable space plane. ♪ >>> the leaders of germanyce, ukraine, and russia are now in minsk, the capitol of belarus trying to get a peace deal hammered out for eastern ukraine. since the beginning of this year hundreds of people have been killed in fighting between ukrainian troops and pro-russia separatists. rory challands with more on what the leaders hope to achieve. >> reporter: we're talking about things like ceasefire lines, where are the front lines that separate the ukrainian army and the separatists themselves. we're talking about things like the border between russia and ukraine, who is going to make sure that border is not the conduit for weapons and men as the ukrainian governments and western governments have been accusing russia of using that border over the last year or so and we're talking about self determination, independence autonomy for the self declared republics themselves. but it's the sequence of them how do these things get put in place, the order in which they happen that can allow a ceasefire to take place, h

the leader of france, germany pledge to save the cease fire. the fighters zone by one of the rival governments to drive out isil. a deadly winter for families whose homes were deviolent extremismed in the war with israel. plus. home to the highest concentration of war veterans. find out why they are getting extra attention at the oscars this sunday. greece and jeremy are headed for a show down, and the battle lines are drawn. earlier a since month extension of it's international bail out but without the spending cuts the predecessor signs up too. but minutes later germany rejects it saying it did not meet the agreed criteria. they now have two choices to object the request. expires on the 28th. without an exception it can run out out of money and may be forced to leave the euro. germany has already are ejected this latest events that sets off tough meaning for the ministers doesn't it. >> yes it does promise to be a stormny session the greeks gave this take it or leave it response saying since we submitted the proposal, that is the one we wish

the leaders of russia ukraine, france and germany have been having the talks. live from the french president francis hollande. >> translation:..and a good champ of what france and germany are capable to do. thank you >>> just a few problems with the connection with belarus at the moment. i believe we have vladimir putin, a few minutes ago. this is what he had to say. >> translation: good morning. i think everybody's interested in how - how - who is trying to make - it wasn't the best night in my life but morning is good. despite all the difficulties of negotiations we have managed to agree in the main thing. the reason why it took so long i think because ukranian authorities refuse - resent a direct contact with representatives of the republican - the republic. they are not even recognised yet. still there is a need - the need of direct talks. we worked in those conditions that we had. and agreed to - in my opinion, about many things. the first thing a ceasefire. 15th of february. secondly position and i believe - i believe that most improved very improved the r

leaders of ukraine russia, france and germany have been trying to iron out ideal in the belarus capitaly this year alone hundreds of people have been killed in fighting between ukrainian government troops troops and pro-russia separatists let's go to rory challands who has been monitoring those talks in minute being. sometimes when there are big delays it's because there are massive problems, sometimes it's because they are getting close to ideal. can you work out which it is here? >> reporter: well, i think they are definitely massive problems going on. there is also a huge of amount of hardball being played by the various people involved in these negotiations. more than 15 hours they have been going on for now. clearly the freeze inside is matching the chilly temperatures outside. we have at various points been thinking there there was some breakthrough imminent, all the journalists who are inside the presidential palace have repeatedly been scramble to go get ready for something and that something never happened. now, what we have heard the late zest that petro poroshenko has you hav

france and germany are saying no. take time. let's look for a diplomatic solution. there's going to b later on in the week with leaders of ukraine, russia france and germany, and merkel wants to tell the united states hit the brakes. >> those are the things we just saw there, that you expect her to talk about, including iran and also trade agreements with -- >> absolutely. a develop thing. the obama administration especially in asia-pacific wants to push these trade agreements. this is probably going to be something that was going to be on the agenda. over the weekend we saw diplomatic leaders talking about the situation? inn ukraine. that's the number one thing on the agenda. >> why is the u.s. considering arming ukraine's military and european leaders don't seem be to ready to go that way? >> on wednesday, leaders from france germany, russia and the ukraine are going to meet to talk about a potential solution to this violence right now. the u.s. says we really need to change putin's calculation, to stop this violence by making sure that the people are ukraine can d

the deal was reached after marathon talks in minsk with france germany, russia and ukraine. russia could face more european union sanctions if the cease-fire is not respected. what is the take on the lasting peace in ukraine? we have matthew chance joining us from moscow. matthew, we heard one hour yesterday morning from ukraine's president they were far from a deal. the next hour, they had a deal. what is russia saying? >> reporter: i think those comments reflected the reality of the negotiations because russia's president vladimir putin was the first of the leaders to come out and meet the press and talk about, although a difficult night, he jokes to the media he was happy with the result in the morning. he achieved the cease-fire. the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of contact in the conflict zone. this was something he was satisfied about. the ukrainian side less satisfied. you got the sense the prime minister saying it was a choice between bad and worse. you know the russians at the moment appear to think they had most but not all of their key points accepted.

germany and france france and germany together show that we have made a contribution in accordance withurope. >> reporter: of course we have been here before literally, minsk welcomes leaders leader back in 2014 but the ceasefire quickly fell apart, the agreements were never properly implemented. you can sign as many pieces of paper as you want. but it is what happens on the ground that matters. [ explosion ] >> reporter: and in eastern ukraine the fighting and died continued as the leaders talked. the separatists representatives have signed the deal though enforcing the agreed demilitarized zone pulling back heavy weaponry and pushing through political reform in the east will be a torturous process. >>> in northeast nigeria at least five people have been killed and eight other injured when a female suicide bomber blew herself up at a market. the attack took place in borno state, a boko haram strong hold. joining us on the line is [ inaudible ] to tell us more about that attack what you are hearing about whether there has been a claim of responsibility. >> basically our security sources

borderland only on al jazeera america >> ukraine's president meets with leaders from germany russia and france, fighting intensified on attacks of a donetsk bus station and 19 soldiers killed. this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up. 300 migrants feared dead after trying to reach italy in rough seas. >>> barack obama said he's not ruling out deploying ground troops as he receives authorization from congress to use military force from isil. >>> and 100 minutes after it launched europe's space plane splashed down on schedule in the pacific. >> ukraine's president has warned if a cease-fire deal isn't reached with talks with leaders from france, germany and russia they'll go out of control. the meeting in the belarus capitol of minsk discussed ending the fighting between pro russian separatests and ukrainian military. the separatests have been advancing on government-held territory. ukrainian forces said that force. five people have been killed and several injured in a bomb explosion in a bomb bus station in donetsk. >> the burned out wreckage in the city of donetsk just hours before

the deal was reached after the 17-hour long talk in minsk with france germany, russia and ukraine. some warning that russia could face more sanctions if the cease-fire is not respected. what is the take on the lasting prospects for peace in ukraine? let's go straight to matthew chance who joins us in moscow. matthew, what is the perception of the people on the ground there? the breaking news came here yesterday when a deal was reached and just an hour before both sides were far apart. >> reporter: the russians certainly have welcomed this. when both sides seem so far apart, it was the ukrainian delegation that had come outside. we have no good news. we are far from agreement. shortly after that they went back into the negotiating room with bruising diplomacy that took place. they emerged, the french and german leaders and president of ukraine and president of russia as well. it was a bleary-eyed vladimir putin who emerged. he joked to the press saying it wasn't the best night of his life, but the main issues have been resolved. he was talking about the cease-fire agreement. that's

the leaders of france, germany and russia spoke on the phone with support for a truce. >> sunday cease-fire deadline has come and gone. the his ukrainian -- these ukrainian soldiers say fighting is still going on. leaders spoke by telephone thursday to issue a statement of solidarity. it is one week after they met to broker the fragile agreement. then announcing all breaches as a truce, including the withdrawal of heavy weapons and the release of prisoners and a presence on the ground to prevent further military activity. this show of unity is for many only skin deep. they were engaged in the phone call. moscow accuse them of trying to sabotage the agreement. ukrainian president responded to the fall of separatist with a call for peacekeepers to enforce the increasing fragile cease-fire. the request is a move to hold the rebel advances. for rush it is a provocation. they were not against a u.s. presence in the region. with each side still accusing the other of engaging in peaceful rhetoric while supporting continued fighting the cease-fire hangs in the balance. >> turkey and the united stat

proposal by france and germany to end the violence in creurnlg eastern ukraine could succeed. >>> trust why millions of nigerians still have no access to power despite billions in investment. >> we given in yemen where shia houthi rebels take over, the coup has drawn protests across the country. these pictures are of the latest protests in the city of taiz. in the capital of sanaa dispersing demonstrations. the houthis say they intend to set up an interim council consisting of 551 members. they will also form five members to form the presidential council which will rule the country and form a transitional government. mohamed al houthi, will also head the defense department. and the rebels say they will hold power during a two-year transitional period. >>> the u.n. security council has asked the houthis to immediately return to the negotiating table. >> the members of the security council express grave concern at the announcement by the houthis to break off talks to dissolve parliament and to take over all of yemen's government institutions. the members of the security council call in th

here in germany they are saying it is important that some progress is made, that if the leaders in france and germany come home empty-handed, it would be a bad. angela merkel well aware that the u.s. is to send weapons to ukraine. they feel it could exacerbate the crisis. they hope to reach a diplomatic solution today. it is a sign she understands the seriousness of the situation and that there is a need for a diplomatic solution to be reached sooner rather than later. hopefully we will see process on a peace plan today. >> thank you. over 5000 people have died in the ukrainian conflict. civilians are caught in the middle. ukrainian forces have agreed to allow residents to evacuate. >> the offer was made to cease fighting as of 9:00 a.m. the ukrainian side agreed so the process of evacuation of civilians through humanitarian corridor doors will not be -- corridor doors -- corridors will not be interrupted. buses will be parked with signs. residents can decide which direction they want to go. >> the eastern town is a key railway hub. to an ongoing story at of jordan. demonstrations being h

germany and france, france and germany together show that we have made a contribution in accordance with europe. >> of course we have been here before literally. minsk welcomes leaders for a piece of its back in september of 2014. but the ceasefire quickly fell apart. you can sign as many pieces of paper as you want but it's what happens on the ground that matters. and in eastern ukraine the fighting and the dying continued as the leaders talked. the separatists representatives have signed the new minsk deal. they're enforcing the agreed demilldemilitarized zone. pushing through assurances of political reform in the east. will be a torturous process with many opportunities for failure. rory challenge, al jazeera minsk. >> still to come this half hour: as a funeral is held for three muslim students in north carolina did race motivate their killer? >>> walking out in protest southsouth africa's president delivers his state of the state address. address. >> hello again, reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon has called for immediate action to symp

the talks have been held in the belarus capital involving ukraine, russia, france and germany.ama's request to authorize military force against isil could well face some opposition in the u.s. congress. a number of republicans saying that they wilin sifter on changes to the president's plans. the possible use of ground troops being one contentious issue. >>> a retrial is due to begin in egypt for two al jazerra journalists, mohamed fahmy and bahar mohamed. they have been in prison now for 411 days. accused of colluding with the muslim brotherhood. >>> well, as i say diplomatic sources say it could be soon we see a peace deal sign today stop the fighting in eastern ukraine. all night talks there. let's talk to our defense analyst and column i joining us now from moscow. what does president putin want out of this, do you think? >> well, right now ceasefire seems imminent. that's everyone's interested right now in a ceasefire. the present rebel offenses began mid january has gone on for almost a month and most likely they have run out of steam. they need to regroup and the time ac

this much i can assure you, no matter what the united states, france, germany and our allies and partners, no matter what, we will stand together in support of ukraine and in defense of the common understanding that international borders must not, cannot be changed by force in europe or anywhere else. >> and coming up next half hour, you're going to hear from state department spokeswoman jen psaki about u.s. plans to deal with the ukraine crisis. >>> in syria, there are reports of explosions in the isis-held city of raqqa. >> not clear whether the blasts are from new airstrikes, but coalition aircraft have been pounding isis targets in both iraq and syria this weekend. from friday into saturday, there were 11 airstrikes in syria. 15 in iraq. >>> and now the coalition is getting a boost from the united arab emirates. the uae is sending a squadron of f-16 fighter jets to jordan. we're awaiting a news conference by the jordanian government. that should -- it's scheduled at least for next hour. we'll bring you the highlights of that. >>> now, the battle against isis is also raging in iraq's n

france and germany's leaders are on the line. the four heads of state plan to meet minsk orn wednesday. on -- on wednesday. >> we'll cross to rory challands. how is the meeting likely to play out, with the meeting? >> they planned to meet on wednesday. we heard from vladimir putin, causing a little doubt. he said they'll gather in minsk if certain agreements are made first. presuming that does all happen and they meet in minsk, russians are hopeful that there'll be something significant coming out of it. they are talking about important decisions, hoping to be made there. now, what they want to see is some sort of ceasefire, talk about special status for the don blask and protocols. that's what the leaders have been talking about. everyone will come to the meeting with different thinking slightly different requests. we have heard petro porashenko talking about how he doesn't want any sort of u.n. peace-keeping force on the ground in eastern ukraine, but may be open it a referendum on the federalization of the east. we have had fr

top officials from france germany, russia and ukraine are belarus. their goal is to negotiate a deal to end fighting in eastern ukraine. more than 5300 people have died in battles between ukrainian troops and russian-backed separatists. just in from capitol hill. a bill authorizing construction of the controversial keystone x.l. pipeline is heading to president obama. the house approved the measure this afternoon. the president has threatened to veto the bill saying he favors the traditional approval process. it's unlikely congress has enough votes to overcome a presidential veto. the national transportation safety board says metro needs to improve the way it ventilates train tunnels. the recommendations follow last month's deadly smoke incident near l'enfant plaza. they include the creation of a uniform ventilation procedure and the full review of exhaust symptoms. today, the ntsb said metro's response to the january 12th tunnel fire made things worse. >> that initial action of turning on the fans in the station actually sucked the smoke from the so

leaders from france germany and russia sat with a separatist leader trying to negotiate a ceasefire. no word if there was progress. an earlier ceasefire fell apart shortly after it took effect. the republican controlled congress is challenging president obama over the keystone xl pipeline. the house passing a measure allowing construction to begin. president obama promised a veto. as of now. there's not enough votes in the house or senate. an emotional day in the courtroom when the widow of sniper took the stand. heidi zhou-castro was in the courtroom. >> eddy ray ralph was in the court. with a shaved head and heavier is pleading not guilty by reason of ipp sanity. >> he took their lives. . >> the crime happened at a texas gun range. kyle and little field invited ralph to shoot targets. it was the first time they met rous. chris was in the driver's seat and he text chad littlefield. he had been released from a hospital, was treated for six rounds. his mother begged and pleaded for him to be talked to. per cent per cent the state said the mourning of the killing routh used marijuana.

they're due to take place soon in minsk between the leaders of russia ukraine, france and germany. the fact it's taking place at all is remarkable. there seems to be little common ground. what are the different sides pushing for? ukraine would like control over the break away regions in the east. they want rebel force disarmed and want to see russian troops pulled back. rebels want donetsk and luhansk to keep their area and amnesty for leaders. >>> and russians wants full autonomy of donetsk and luhansk regions and withdrawal of military from the combat zone. >> the eu and u.s. want to see russian troops withdrawn and see a demilitarized zone created. >>> lets ta talk to james reynolds our correspondent who's in the biggest held city donetsk. looks like these talks are happening but the violence -- there seems to be an upsurge in violence. what's been going on? >> reporter: let me take you through two particular things. first of all, what happened here in donetsk, this morning we understand there was a shelling attack which hit a bus station killing a circle bus driver in donetsk.

. >> the leaders of france, germany, ukraine and russia have got together in the belarus capitol minsk. they're talking about the crisis in ukraine and trying to reach a peace deal after a peace agreement collapsed. rory challands with more on what the leaders hope to achieve at this meet approximating. we're talking about cease-fire lines. where to separate the ukrainian army and the separatests themselves. we're talking about things like the border between russia and ukraine. who is going to make sure that border is not the conduit for weapons and men as the ukrainian government and western governments have been accusing russia of using that border for over the last year or so. and we're talking about self determination independence, autonomy for self-declared rubles. but it's not all these things. it's the secrets of them. how they're put in place, and how they're they happy and how a cease-fire put in place holds and delivers some meaningful situation by which a proper political settlement can occur. if they don't agree. if there is no deal, then we're in a very sticky situation. w

and despite failed efforts to broker a peace deal, we have just learned the leaders of france, germany, russia and ukraine have reportedly all agreed now to meet in belarus on wednesday. >> cnn senior international correspondent nick paton walsh joins us live in donetsk where that deadly shelling continues. nick, it's pretty difficult to forge a peace deal when each side is counting the day. >> reporter: well, certainly. and 8 to 17 wounded now. there have been over 200 killed so far this month on both sides of the line, say the united nations. but let's break into a little bit more of that discussion about meeting in minsk, belarus, on wednesday. it is still days away. you hear behind me that continued shelling being picked up on my microphones. we don't know exactly who will be there. the french government is saying it's a tri lateral group which includes the president there along with the monitors. although there's continued work being done tomorrow in berlin and a conference call today between key leaders to try and push this forward. but the question you really have to ask is what

the foreign ministers of france germany, russia and ukraine are urging respect for a fragile cease-fire. and they pledged more resources for the organization monitoring the truce the ministers met in paris for the first time since the peace plan took effect last week. >> we the four ministers call for the strict implementation of all provisions of the minsk agreements starting from a comprehensive cease-fire, and withdraw of heavy weapons. >> the ministers called for a cease-fire monitoring mission to be reinforced and extended for another year. ukrainian foreign minister hinted at a gap in opinions with russia over the capture of a strategic town after the cease-fire took effect. >> unfortunately, there was no political agreement on how to condemn what happened. all tragic events and all infringements for cease-fire. >> this week marks a year since an uprising in ukraine toppled a pro russian president and sparked a war. separatists and government forces have been battling over territory in the eastern part of the country. more than 5,600 people have been killed. an armed man opened fi

meanwhile, the leaders of france, germany, russia and ukraine have agreed that last week's cease-fire deal in ukraine should be strictly implemented. >>> greek government leaders have asked the european union to extend the bailout program set to end this month. the request triggered an emergency meeting of you're ozone finance ministers set for friday. the office of greek prime minister alexis tsipras said the request was made to euro group president dijsselbloem. dijsselbloem said a meeting of 19 eurozone finance ministers will take place in brussels. the ministers have already met twice to discuss the loan issue but they failed to narrow the differences between the two sides. they recently made some progress in peace talks, but the participants said if fighting continues it could be an obstacle to building peace across myanmar. violent clashes erupted on february 9th. on tuesday, the government declared a state of emergency and imposed martial law in the kolkong region. many have fled to the chinese border province of yunnan. the number of civilian casualties and details of the conf

. >> the leaders of france, germany, and ukraine are making a fresh attempt after a previous attempt failed. >> the german chancellor's office spoke ahead of the summit, saying the talks offered only a glimmer of hope. fighting intensified in eastern ukraine, both sides limning the other for trying to grab as much territory as possible. >> once again, people are dying in the city of donetsk. a rocket exploded killing civilians. government forces have launched an offensive along the city in an attempt to fight off separatists. president petro poroshenko visited the city last night. 50 people died there in a rocket attack on tuesday. officials say the region has seen some of the worst fighting so far of the past 24 hours. >> we have terrorists attacking the city, attacking the peaceful city. this is absolutely unacceptable. that is why we think these crimes should be punished and demand immediate and unconditional cease-fire for the talks. >> given the heavy fighting in ukraine, all hopes are pinned on minsk. german chancellor angela merkel and french president francois hold on to our

the leaders of france, germany, russia and ukraine gathered this evening for new talks to end the fightingstern ukraine. the summit took place in minsk, the capital of neighboring belarus. a cease-fire announced there last fall has collapsed in a new surge of combat between pro- russian rebels and ukrainian troops. another momentous meeting played out in brussels, as finance ministers from across the euro- zone focused on greece and its debt. the new greek government has vowed to renegotiate terms of the country's bailout. the international monetary fund helped fund the bailout, and its leader, christine lagarde, said today she's open to considering athens' ideas. >> ( translated ): they are absolutely competent intelligent, they've thought about their issues. we have to listen to them. we have to start working together and it is a process that is starting and is going to last a certain time. >> woodruff: greece's current bailout ends on february 28th. the u.n. refugee agency reports more than 300 migrants have died trying to cross the mediterranean from libya to italy. it is the latest in

in a phone conversation with the leaders of france germany, and russia, president poroshenko also demanded the release of all ukrainians taken prisoner by pro-russian rebels. the rebel advance into the strategic town of debaltseve came in spite of the peace agreement that was signed in minsk last week. let's take a look at some drawing footage of the town of debaltseve. it shows the devastation there after days of fighting. ukraine says that over 2,000 of its soldiers withdrew on wednesday and called for the deployment of u.n. peacekeepers while a rebel leader has just said that they would not object to that. >> translator: with regard to peacekeepers, at the very beginning when this whole conflict started, we offered at that time to the russian federation and all the u.n. security council member states to look into this issue and send peacekeepers here. we were told no at that time. so if they want to send peacekeepers, we are not against it. let them send them. >> well in a separate development, the british defense secretary, michael fallon has said that russia represents a danger to the

. >> the leaders of france germany, russia and crib will meet to discuss ending the chronapplicant in ukraine. they met by phone conference sunday. a new round of talks will take place in belarus. >> the phone call happened earlier on today on sunday. it was the same group of people who had met in moscow friday night. that's vladimir putin, angela merkel and president hollande, but also petro poroshenko was involved in that phone call, too, the ukraine president. so what they cussed was the various things that they were talking about here on friday and also how they are going to move things forward. it does seem to be a growing amount of hope in the various capitol city that is have an interest in this crisis to the talks in minsk wednesday are going to be a big deal. they might as well be quite cub standive. that was the impression given in moscow at least where the foreign ministry here thought important decisions would be taking applies in minsk. vladimir putin is not commit be fully to these talks. we hear comments that he made in sochi earlier on sunday now. >> conversation with