they wanted to bolster the assad regime, the assad regime was on its heels.y wanted to turn that around, get momentum on the ground, they did that. they wanted to protect russia'ss military base on syria. they're going to do all of that. it makes russia look like they have been an effective player, putin can make decisions, be active, move on, that's a great image of strength for russia in syria in the region as compared to what is united states looks like. putin, domestically, he wants to show he's strong and capability. given russia's other activities, it is a signal to people in russia's nakerussia's neighborhe ukraine and georgia. >> what does the u.s. look in the region? >> i think our regional partners have significant questions about how much they can rely on the united states. about the credibility of the united states. i think they have looked at how president obama has managed u.s. policy towards syria with a great deal of concern. they people quite strongly that -- they feel quite strongly that great powers like the united states should not draw re

i think the question is: what it actually means in terms of their support for the assad regime. in the hotel behind me, the syrian government delegation. led by the syrian ambassador for new york. i think this is rather uncomfortable to him potentially because not only has the russian military involvement been a game change are it also gives them diplomatic mat might aat these s and the ambassador should be pretty pleased at the announcement coming from moscow, the announcement by president putin himself. this is what he said. >> translator: i believe that the goal set out to the ministry of defense and the armed forces has overall been fulfilled and that's why i ordered the minister of defense as of tomorrow to start the pullout of the main part of our force he from the syrian republic. >> reporter: you've got to remember that the russians in many ways have been the trump card for the syrian regime throughout the conflict. which is coming up to the five year anniversary. first, they were at the security council they had that veto backed by china and they were able to support th

such concessions that are favorable even to the assad regime.ense is that the only reason to withdraw at this time, just on the eve of a major military operation to retake the city of palmyra, i think the only real explanation has to be that putin does not expect there to be a deal, and therefore, he is pulling out, saying we accomplished what we came to do, because that is the only political game he has been able to come away with. >> i'm asking you this as a former advisor and negotiator in the israeli peace process. what sort of impact do you think this would have had on the atmosphere today when this news was delivered, because our correspondent tells us that nobody new this was going to happen. >> i just don't think the peace talks in geneva are relevant or important. the former diplomatic process was never going to be where a political deal was struck. the key issue is whether the reached a common ground on what a peace deal would look like, in order to sell it or force it on the opposition and on the assad regime, the fact that russia is

>> well, we have reached out to the russians and to the regime of bashar al assad, and essentially what, we have never hit any civilian targets. we have never targeted any civilians. and that is also what the regime has been saying now for years. we did manage to get ahold of a report from doctors without borders for 2015, and in rebel-held areas in the space of one year, 82 medical facilities were hit. and if you look at the breakdown of those hits, there is a massive spike in the month of october. now for our viewers, it's important to remember, the russian military intervention began towards the end of september. is that a coincidence? i will allow our viewers to decide that for themselves. >> when you went undercover and we saw you there undercover and this is the third report that we have aired this week of your amazing work over there, it must have been so scary to be there, to be in the midst of the arrestelle strikes, what was it to find out what was going on? >> well wolf, this is a trip that took us six months to plan. i think that gives a sense already of how complicated the

the assad regime because the assad regime was about to fail. >> rose: it would have failed if they hadn'tome in. >> it would have failed that's true. so this is a fact. but a fact that russia is talking about the possibility that over time long term there is a future without assad because ofy5 both sides. i think it's wise not to aim that destroying destruction in syria because we've seen too many failing states, governmental fractures so it's wise to keep an eye on governmental structures not to be clear over time a long term future for syria cannot be with assad. >> rose: there's a need for some kind of structure there. the structure of the government would be gained by isis and libya. tell me what germany want to do not only in libya but in africa in terms of using its own capabilities. libya, central africa. >> one sentence can make one thing clear. germany is never acting on its own. it's always acting with partners and aliances. be it nato or be it the european union. this is somethingol3 which is absolutely clear out of our history but these indeed are alliances. for example they

>> maintaining the bashar al-assad regime or the regime in general and maintaining it as a satellite of russian in the middle east and maintaining bases in russia and maintaining its prestige and basically the opposition and cornering them in order to make sure that there is a regime that supports moscow's agenda in the region. the same thing applies for the u.s., but as you were saying and as we said repeatedly, there is a dissymmetry between the two. america, in terms of the syrian situation, talks of diplomacy, russia talks of military action. there is american words meeting russian bombs. for the time being there's so much more for russian at stake than syria and i think for the time being these negotiations that staffan de mistura is managing have been fuelled by american compromises and russian games >>> the russians say the kurds should be present at the talks which is a big no no for turkey, and what you think about the attack being pointed at pro-kurdish groups in turkey, do you think the turkey will change? >> there is no doubt that turkey does not want a new kurdish phenom

completely changed the fortunes of the assad regime.s doing very badly before the russian intervention in september but throughout the whole course of this war, five years of this war, in many ways the trump cards have been that they had air power and the opposition didn't. also, they had the vital support from russia, military hardware given to the regime, military resupplied but also diplomatic support and to the united nation in new york, the ability of the russians to cast a veto in favor of the assad regime and stop any stronger enter financial by the international community. >> that's the picture of mosque co and the picture out of geneva. thank you very much. live to damascus. we will taub to talib ibrahim. how is this being perceived where you are? >> reporter: >> it i right in the. >> yes, sir you are sir. the line is not very good. we will sustain our conversation as long as we can. >>. >> hello. >> i think we have lost that line there to talib ibrahim until dam avenge u.s. we will go back as quickly as we can before the end o

and by its arab allies like saudi arabia, to push the assad regime to actually sit down and negotiatehat would lead syria from the current state of chaos into some peaceful agreement. the assad -- the indicators we're getting from geneva right now, the assad regime is slow-rolling, dragging its feet. at the very at least, both sides are talking, and the reality, if we're going to fight isis, find a sustainable solution where we empower the syrian people to defeat isis on their own, we have to reach an agreement -- some sort of peaceful solution where the syrian people have a real stake and voice in the future of their country. >> as we mentioned, there has been a massive refugee crisis as a result of this. both on politics in the u.s. and europe. we know the eu is trying to carry out negotiations with turkey. one of the suggestions is to reject all asylum seekers, send them back if possible to turkey. do you think that is an adequate way to deal with the refugee crisis? >> i think we need some real introspection here. the refugee crisis today is a direct result of the inaction to incl

in syria there is a diplomatic one, and there's one on the table now, and the assad regime needs to getus about that. there's a road map, it's clear where it is going to a tradition aleck executive body, leading to elections and new constitutionings, and president assad is going to learn how to get with the program. >> foos nating. thank you. >> thank you. >> lots more ahead on the al jazeera news hour. including french government ministers are visiting the ivory coast which is in mourning after an al-qaeda attack. >>> i'm andy richardson in rwanda, a country with big plans for its cricketing future. ♪ >>> we have got more now on our top story. that shootout we have been hearing about in belgium. let's bring in jacky rowland live in paris. jacky what is going down? >> reporter: well this was a joint operation in fact carried out by belgium and french police, directly linked to the ongoing search for people linked to the attacks in paris on november 13th. police moved in on a building a district of brussels, and they were on the receiving end of gunfire. we understand that two suspects t

for the assad regime. it is a big victory. >> thank you, arwa damon. >>> syrian militia groups, armed by the pentagon and others by cia are fighting each other. that shows how little control they have over factions and tra training. the fighting has intensified in northern aleppo. this as the u.s. announced a top commander has been killed in an air strike by u.s. special operations forces. he was arrested the top financier. >>> dozens of world leaders will meet with president obama later this week with the goal of wiping out isis. the fourth and final nuclear summit beginning thursday with the special session on preventing isis on obtaining chemical or radiological weapons. the president will meet with president ky and hold talks. >>> and presidential frontrunners blaming each other for a nasty tabloid story. this race getting dirtier over the weekend. that's next. >>> good morning. new in the race for president. democratic contender bernie sanders challenging hillary clinton to a debate in new york before

out and expressing its desire to see what is existing and standing of palmyra preserved by the assad regime. the regime is using it to push forward the point that its strategy, along with russia's strategy inside of syria is proving to be significantly more successful than that of the u.s. coalition. this certainly is going to provide a much-needed moral boosts to assad's forces, though not necessarily a decisive blow to isis. arwa damon, cnn, istanbul. >> let's talk about this with our military panel. joining us retired lieutenant general, cnn military analyst, former commanding general in the u.s. army and retired admiral, dean of the fletcher school of law and diplomacy at tufts university. how important is the recapture of palmyra? is it largely symbolic or is thereny strategic value in it? >> i think is strategic value. anytime you take a significant city like this. but we are far from the end of this. what we are starting to see in this campaign, both in iraq, where there's real progress moving up to mosul, and in the syrian side of this. you are seeing isis is not ten feet tall. we h

charlie: they have propped up the assad regime.inister von der leyen: yes, they have pretended, and the majority of the air strikes went against civilians. this was atrocious to see that. at one time they were bombing aleppo, and another time they were agreeing to sit down at the negotiation table. it has stopped now. charlie: it is stopped now? they are no longer bombing the forces that the coalition supports? the moderate rebel forces? minister von der leyen: it is basically the cease-fire does work here and there. there are difficulties, but if you look at the processes for such a complex situation, over the next few days, it is going in the right direction. we should support that by all means. ♪ ♪ charlie: chancellor merkel and vladimir putin have a relationship. it is difficult, but she has been very tough, and what he considers in that relationship with germany, he has a certain kinship with germany, because he served there in the kgb. he speaks german and they talk in german. minister von der leyen: and she speaks russian. c

the momentum is on our side," even as we see the momentum may be coming from successes from the assad regime with support for russian forces. that is very much the sign of a state of play in syria since that cease-fire came into effect between the assad regime and the rebels, who are closer to the united states. phil: the islamic state claiming a victory tuesday in brussels' bombing. as an unflattering image emerges of brussels securities services, are there concerns in the u.s. that european security services cannot cope? richard: yeah, definitely there are very powerful concerns. one characterization -- europe is increasingly seen as the soft underbelly of the west and belgium as the soft underbelly of europe and concern that as islamic state comes under more pressure in iraq and syria, the incentive to strike in the west, particularly europe, will only increase. phil: richard walker, thank you. you are watching "dw news." still to come -- pope francis has joined christians around the world marking the beginning of easter. these are live pictures from rome and we will have live coverage of

the bashar al-assad regime, turkey and the u.s. have all condemned today's declaration. vladimir putin says he is hoping for successful peace talks in geneva. he made his first remarks since ordering the withdrawal of russian troops from syrian battle fields. he warned he could easily scale up forces again if needed. >> reporter: for the past three days pictures of soldiers and jet fighters returning to russian were shown on national television. mr putin did say that at this specific moment the mission was accomplished and the rest was really an closed affair, russia would not interfere with that. he said among the accomplishments was to reduce the terrorist's capabilities on the ground. he said, for example, supply roots were destroyed, oil tankers were destroyed, oil facilities under control of various groups were also destroyed. however, this is not a full withdrawal. it is just a pull out and there is a significant number even though undisclosed number of soldiers and military hardware that ask staying in russia. among it specifically under lined by president putin i

our people went back down to the streets and demonstrated against the assad regime. they still want to topple the regime even after five long years of can i go, barrel bops and shelling. >> we'll hear more about the refugees but first we have this update on the talks in geneva. >> i think the talks are certainly going to start, and i think one of the reasons for those strong words attacking the assad regime and the comments from the syrian deputy prime and foreign minister was to encourage the high negotiations committee, the main opposition block who are here ready for talks. there are actually some of them here, some arriving and the syrian government also here. i think it's definitely going to start these negotiations. if you listen to the special envoy, staffan de mistura, he is going to start with the main issue and the main issue is the future governance of syria and that gets you into the very difficult question of the parole of president bashar al assad. the question through five years of war is there is absolutely no compromise on that issue. the government

and to date, the single biggest violator of that, by allegation, is the bashar al-assad regime. >> he hit out at the syrian deputy prime minister, who at a news conference in damascus said that there could be no negotiation about the role of president bashar al-assad. >> a witness, the comments made yesterday, by the foreign minister of syria, clearly trying to disrupt the process. >> clearly trying to send a message of deterrence to others. >> his comments were clearly aimed as support for the main opposition block, the high negotiating committee whose members have been arriving for the talks. >> we want to see an end to this bloodshed in syria. we hope that we see a sears partner. >> what is different about the talks is that the u.n. special envoy, stefan de-mistura says he will get to the substantive issues - who will be in a new transitional government taking syria towards new elections. that, of course, takes us to the key issue of president bashar al-assad, and those around him. and on that, it seems right now no one is prepared to compromise. >> today turkey's president slammed

neave barker looks back at the relationship with the bashar al-assad regime in syria >>> russia's military intervention began with air strikes on september 30th and homs and hamas, a response to a formal request for help from president bashar al-assad. in the days and weeks, russia intensified its campaign, firing cruise missiles, hitting targets in syria. more than 50 aircraft, paratroopers and special forces were sent to the region. moscow insisted it was targetting the islamic state of iraq and levant. turkey said russia was targetting ain bashar al-assad fighters instead. including groups backed and armed by the united states. on 31 october, the shooting down of a russian passenger plane over egypt steered russia's intervention in a new direction. the attack claimed by isil killed hundreds of russian holiday makers. russia responded by ramping up the air operations in syria, deploying bombers for the first time, leading to gain by the government. in the crowded theatre of war, a sudden and dangerous escalation in tension. on november 24th, turkey shot down a russian fighter jet after i

as we've heard already today and yesterday from joffrey and from the spokesperson for the assad regime, their against that kind of a thing coming out of kurdistan. remember, it was the assad regime that gave in to some of these kurdish militias back in 2012, allowing them to control their areas and it's the regime saying we want to have a -- syria. the opposition is mother vehemently opposed to kurdish areas. how would it come about? now that there are a few machine guns in the hands of the kurdish militias, they think they can impose something of their territories. well guess what? they are not. they will have to take a lot of ethic cleansing opposed by syria, iran. >> if the russians have been talking to the kurds, the u.s. publicly has said we've not been talking to the kurds, of course there have been con do its, but the u.s. now has to, has to include them in some way, surely, because john kerry and everyone knows there is no plan b. plan b. is utter chaos. >> plan b. means more war with more sponsors and more proxies. it is supposed to lead to a roadmap going from a transitional

he does not consider the assad regime a direct threat to the united states.hink the administration would argue that they are grinding away at the problem. they have not succeeded in building a sunni army, a sunni arab army that will take on isis, but they are using a lot of the tools at their disposal, including special forces, special operators and drone strikes and the like to degrade isis. it's not going as fast as they would like, but one of the things that i did learn is that before he leaves office, he very much wants to see the leadership of that organization destroyed. so that has been a request or an order to his national security apparatus, to get that done, so his successor doesn't have to deal with at least a powerful isis. >> jeffrey goldbergoldberg, tha much. "the obama doctrine, how he shaped the world," thanks so much. >>> it's the third rail of american politics because if you touch it, you might die. we're talking about social security. >> there are more 18-year-olds who believe they have a better chance of seeing a ufo than a social securit

>> well, what line is the assad regime has specifically targeted sunnies. communities are never going to return and certainly never going to live under assad again. i don't think syria as a nation state will ever be the same again. i don't know how you have a country where sunni and shia will be able to live together again as long as assad is in power. he hasn't just killed. he has gassed and used.and barrel bombs against civilian populations triggering the fastest exodus of people since world war ii. irrespective of the civil war and its conduct, have you left behind the conditions for continues strife now and the foreseeable future. another -- if it's not isis some other radical group take ahold of these sentiments and have foot hold in syria for the foreseeable future. that means more instability in the middle east. >> thank you. and good luck tomorrow, sir. >> thank you. thanks, greta. >> winner take all states tomorrow and those results could make or break presidential campaigns. will we see any big shockers? we take to you those states next. also, hug

it is a strategic interest in maintaining the assad regime in place. they have been entirely consistent about this all along. and that is what allows them to work together. i'm sure, if i was reading the top-secret intelligence on the relationship, as joe said, the iranians do not want to be supplanted by the russians and they don't want the russians to call the shots. president obama is right about one thing. the russian and iranian position in syria is not that great. if you look at the forces that they used to take palmyra, these are not well trained come efficient forces that are capable of holding out over the long term against an aggressive and determined foe. and there is a reason why iranians are using afghans and iraqis. because they themselves do not want to die. assad andassad himself -- and assad himself cannot organize his own military. and think the russians iranians are stuck together for a very long time. anyone who says they will fall out anytime soon is selling us a bill of goods. lee: i saw two more hands. i want to get to these beca

and should part of the plan involve toppling the assad regime? >> i think toppling the assad regime is out of the question at this point. i think once a final solution is established or at least the first steps to a final solution are put in place, i.e. peace talks, and you start to negotiate the borders, the internal borders of the new syria in this new federal sereia, at that point, you can hold elections in the western end of the country and then assad will have to stand for election. the russians, they want to just keep a foothold on that mediterranean coast. the ports there. that's what's important to the russians. whether it's assad or someone else friendly to the russians, they really don't care, as long as it's someone friendly to the russians. >> so then what's the point of a multinational peace treaty? >> because the more you drag the, quote, international community, which really doesn't exist, but people like to pretend there's such a thing as an international community, but once you get more people involved in it, then supposedly you

the assad regime is far from alone. the regime is backed by the irradiance and ha hezbollah.important players are not involved in these peace talks, so even if they reached an agreement, it is not as though there will be total piece in eace in syria. it is hard to believe that nuzra and others will lay down their arms. manus: what will be achieved? is it a rapprochement with obama, with europe? know, i think that warming relations with the west, trying to improve the relationship, could be part of this. but what vladimir putin wanted to do was send a domestic message, that russia can project its hour. it surprised everyone with his intervention in the fall; it was the first we had seen outside the former soviet union since the collapse of the soviet union. what i think he wants to show now is that russia can exit that with just two fatalities. russian forces, as far as we two fatalitiesst during this intervention. it doesn't have to be a quagmire, as many people were suggesting russia's intervention would be. it could lead to better things. i was watching the russian news, ta

. >> we've talked about russia's military intervention to prop up the assad regime made efforts to have a political transition more difficult we'll have to see what exactlyw their intentions are. >> president obama spoke to vladimir putin today a russian spokesman says that the remaining troops will focus on enforcing the cease-fire. >> video shows la police officer have the driver escaped just seconds before the train hit it . >> announced a tractor-trailer flashing leaves on the tracks and i noticed an at&t vehicle come through after him against the flesh alliance he stopped andns appears that the driver may have panicked. >> brook park road mr. harold duncan says he we got to the crossing, hepa ran to get him out of the way, the driver says he is grateful for the officer's actions which earned the officer a commendation from the city. >> ntsb looking into whether another train crash mainly caused by damage trackshe amtrak passenger train derailment are toxic to cancer last night more than 30 were injured most were treated, two are in critical condition but trying to determine if a ca

assad and the syrian regime.his is the summer of chemical gas. this is when there were several chemical gas attacks against the syrian people by the regime. this is when there was the discussion over whether the red line was crossed. june 25, syrian death toll tops 100,000 syrians, by june 20 5, 2013. that was almost two years ago. so july 13, the u.s. alleges chemical weapons -- you will see that there is a lot of different discussions as to whether chemical weapons happened. if there was confirmed that there were. the western powers came to an agreement that there were. there was a lot of discussion happening. july 16, a militia kills a reconciliation team. again, intensifying attacks against you and officials and people working in private diplomatic circles. july 20, the syrian kurds plan a self-government. they have been playing the role in the conflict as well. the resolution has evolved the kurds. -- involved the kurds. on july 30, iran grants syria a $3.6 billion credit line. that is another show that the

this will serve to bolster the morale of the syrian army and the standing of the assad regime. they could not have made without that decisive support from russia. >> but arwa, your take on this is not to get too excited about this move. you're not seeing it as a turning point, any significant turning point? >> reporter: well, look, rosemary, isis still controls iraq's second largest city of mosul. yes, there the iraqi army has managed to recapture some villages and towns around it but those villages and towns are still 45 to 60 kilometers away. isis still controls significant swaths of syria, to include the city of raqqah. and these other areas isis controls are areas that it has fortified, it has dug itself in and areas that are going to be defended to a much more significant degree than isis would have necessarily defended palmyra. and some will say that isis moved into palmyra trying to push its own battle lines forward because, yes, it is being attacked by the americans, by the russians, by the assad regime, by the iraqi security forces and their various different militias.

the assad regime's position has been strengthened. six months ago president assad was on the ropes, looked like he could be overthrown or lose control of damascus. now the assad regime has been making advances with russian help. why now? it seems that russia, one, wanted to capitalize on some of the gains, cut back on some of the expenditures, cut back on foreign exposure, and also to strengthen both russia and syrian government's hand at peace talks that are now restarting. so, it's being described as a tactical move but one that strengthened both russia's negotiating position for syria's future at these peace talks and position of the syrian regime. richard engel, istanbul. >>> a major reversal for the obama administration. big victory for environmentalists. no oil drilling in the atlantic ocean after all. that decision reverses last year's proposal that would have opened up a wide area of the coast of drilling. the plan would have allowed drilling in sites more than 50 miles off of virginia, north and south carolina and georgia. the

for four years, this administration, this president, stood by as the assad regime slaughtered nearly a half a million people in syria. then when assad appeared weak, it watched, watched as putin intervened militarily and protected his brutal regime in a move that the president described as putin going into a -- quote -- quagmire. well, apparently now vladimir putin is leaving that -- quote -- quagmire, and he's leaving a solid bashar assad in a position of strength, he is leaving thousands of dead moderate opposition that he has indiscriminately bombed, and the united states with their begging bowl out asking and pleading that they somehow reach some agreement general in geneva. you know, it's really embarrass embarrass -- agreement in geneva. you know, it's really embarrassing to watch this secretary secretary of state as they continue to beg vladimir putin and his stooge lavrov as they continue to place russia in a position of influence they have not had since anwar sadat threw them out of egypt in 1973. they now have a major role to play in the middle east. they have a military bas

they're still refusing discussion on the fate of bashar al-assad's presidency. the regime asked to postpone the second round for two weeks but we insist on having them in due time. the regime is trying to avoid fulfilling all its duties >>> more from our correspondent in geneva. >> reporter: in the spotlight and under pressure at the geneva talks, the chief negotiator for the syrian government. while the opposition is presented by political figures, the bashar al-assad regime interests is in the hand of the ambassador. he is known for his loyalty to his boss epz in damascus. he is prepared to defend his country's case even when countered by clear facts to the contrary. these images in madaya he said were fabricated >> the best way to torpedo the talks to take place is by raising a humanitarian issue, defaming the syrian government, dem dem demonising the government and bringing us again to the security council as a guilty government to defend ourselves. >> reporter: but many observers believe that both sides are in geneva, it is he who is doing his best to torpedo these ta

. >> when they openly announce that they are disengaging with the assad regime, only then will they be welcomed with open arms in geneva. >> are the russians abandoning you? >> want government's chief negotiator, al jaffrey, ignored my question as he arrived here for his first session since russia started pulling out its forces. later, he explained that that was a joint decision. >> our friends and allies, the russians, came to syria, by a joint decision, and today they will leave. it will be done through a joint syrian and russian coordination and action. >> he then used the opportunity to. >> it's not an honor at all to sit with a terrorist in direct talks, he belongs with a terrorist faction in embassies that kill citizens, and that's why we'll never have talks until this terrorist apologizes for what he has done, and then he should shave his beard. >> those most undiplomatic comments showing the dig trust on the day where the announcements by the pyd only make the process harder. james bay, aljazeera. >> sirrians around the world are keeping a close eye on the talks now in switzerl

those vetoes that russia cost back by china very important for the assad regime and then the big game change are and that was in september last year as world leaders were gathering. russia sent in their military support, sood was o assad was ok burner. russia has achieved a change of the balance of power on the ground in syria certainly boosted assad and in fact boosted russia, an outcast, back at the international tom -- top table. what's not clear is why is president putin doing this now? has he just decide that he's done enough to hypothesis president assad and the odds are stacked in his favor, and they can lock in the games militarily or is it something bigger? is he thinking it is time to change horses and no longer back the president of syria? that's not at all clear. >> and james this news comes with the backdrop of staffan de mistura meeting different parties to this conflict. tell us what's happening there. >> reporter: yeah, we've been having the new talks because of course they collapsed weeks ago, they've reconvened these talks and both sides are here in geneva, i think a

the real purpose of the russian military was to prop up the regime of bashar al assad, and certainly in the province of ataxia, and certainly in aleppo, there were significant gains made by the regime on the back of that russian air cover. at the same time i think a lot of people were surprised by the announcement it was mission accomplished. because there is still work to be done in terms of if the assad regime wants to take back aleppo entirely, for example, so i think a lot of people are trying to spec late what was the real reason behind russia's decision. are they worried there's mission creep or are they worried they're hemorrhaging funds and their economy is hurting so much with the lower oil prices and sanctions? >> richard, what do you think? is this a success for putin? >> well, absolutely. i don't know if you want to call the powell doctrine-ski, but this was an attempt to use overwhelming military force for narrow limited political objectives succeeded. what's interesting is the russians were not trying to transform syrians into a jeffersonian democracy, for good reasons,

first of all, russia has been unwavering in its support of the assad regime really since day one.we saw happen back in september was an intensification of its efforts to bolster the assad regime, but for russia to say at this stage essentially, quote, their task is completed would still seem to be, you know, a little early in the game to make a statement like that. the stated goal of the russian intervention was to fight terrorism, to take out isis, to take out al qaeda affiliate jabbad al nusra and certainly think the russian strikes have had only limited effect on isis areas. it's had significant effect on the areas we spent time in, where jabbad al nusra does have a presence but certainly al nusra's presence still is strong on the ground. it hasn't been decimated at all by the russian aerial campaign. actually it's really the civilian infrastructure that has taken much more of a hit. a crucial issue there, the distinction. does russia ordering its ground troops out of the country mean they will cease and desist from this aerial bombardment? certainly it is fair to say since the

moscow is of course a key ally to president assad's regime, but has given assurances it will continuerespect the cessation of hostilities in the war-ravaged country. hollande says the only military action that would be tolerated in syria would be action against isil or the al-nusra front groups which are not involved in the pause in fighting. >> translator: any other action would violate the ceasefire. we have all agreed that there is a communal will and more or less on the ground it has been observed. we have also wanted for humanitarian aid to be brought to the civilian people. they are the victims of this conflict, and they find themselves without basic goods. >> reporter: paul brennan has been following events in the french capitol and joining us live now. another meeting about syria, paul, and again, a call for countries to try to do more to help the situation. >> reporter: yes, barbara, in particular for russia to bring its influence to bear on the regime of bashar al-assad. the foreign ministries involved here in europe, prime a marly, germany, france, and britain, met this mor

we have noticed the regime ask still refusing any serious discussion on the fate of bashar al-assad's presidency. we consider that these elections are not legitimate. the regime asked us to postpone the second round for two weeks. we insisted on having them in due time >>> james bays has more now. >> reporter: in the spotlight and under pressure at the geneva talk, the chief negotiator for the syrian government. while the opposition represented by committee of political figures, the bashar al-assad regime's interests are in the hands of one man, whose day job is syrian ambassador to the u.n. in new york. he is known for his loyalty to his bosses in damascus. he has shown he is prepared to defend his country's case, even when it is countered by clear facts to the contrary. for example, claiming that these images filmed earlier this year in madaya, a town besieged by his government, were fabricated >> the best way to tore people dough the-- tore people dough the-- important peed owe-- torpedo the talks, is demonizing the syrian government, defaming the people, bringing us again to the s

dictated by battle field conditions on the ground that lead toward a situation where the bashar al-assad regime and its backers agree to negotiate seriously the departure of bashar al-assad. until that happens, then i think we're simply living in a delusional world thinking that we can arrive at a peace agreement based on existing battle field conditions and based on the fact that right now it is iran and russia that are in the driver's seat and that are determining not only the battle field conditions but what is being debated and negotiated around the table. i don't think there's any prospect here for a break through. i think we're simply in a holding pattern until one of the sides, primarily russia or iran, decides to relaunchment war and fundamentally we're in a longer holding pattern here until the ne president of the u.s. to see whether he or she wants to shift u.s. policy and try and resolve this conflict in a more serious and substantive way >>> things have changed on the battle field somewhat in the last few weeks. this latest round of talks are starting over the most substantive cease

opponents of the assad regime say they have no choice but to take up arms.n the 5th anniversary of the syrian conflict, al jazeera's zeina hoda looks back at how it began. >> this is how the war began: sirrians demanded freedom. they demanded reform and they did so by holding peaceful protests tabdullah was among those with those with hope. >> there was more violence, and we were faced with no other choice but to carry on. >> it didn't take long before the images of peaceful protests disappeared. a fierce government crackdown and the bombardments were about silence, the voices of the opposition. >> abdullah, like many others found himself under fire in the popular up rises descended into civil war. abdullah says their goal has been to achieve democreallies. they find names complex war that has not only become sectarian but drawn in regional and world powers. >> we didn't think the struggle would last five years. we didn't expect all of this blood shed. we didn't expect the whole world to stand against us. we didn't think that we would reach the point that we

saves the assad regime from a military collapse. that talks are starting and the russians since -- sense assad is asking too much. >> when there was a decision made to deploy troops in syria, it was a decision between assad and putin. reporter: russia is not abandoning its ally. it's air force will carry out attacks against islamic state group and keep personnel and a pit -- and equipment to protect its bases in syria. catherine: barack obama has made some rare comment on the ongoing nomination for his successor at the white house. he says he's deeply disturbed by vulgar and divisive rhetoric directed at women and minorities as well as some incidents of violence. this is being read as a criticism of donald trump. he is protected to do well in voting today with several states taking part in primary polls. without mentioning any names, john kasich warned voters not to go to the dark side. he is up against donald trump in his home state of ohio. it's a crucial contest because the winner will take all 66 delegates and the winner for kasi

russian military pullout that they're announced and started in syria, maybe this is a signal to the assad regime we're not abandoning you all together. >> and our diplomatic editor james bays there in geneva. twitter turned ten years old today. a tech giant that struggles to lead an industry that it helped to pioneer. >> a group of millionaires has written to governor andrew cuomo asking him to raise taxes on the state's wealthiest residents to help with the poor and aging infrastructure. they had plans to increase taxes on millionaires, but the republican controlled senate opposes that idea. > today marks the major milestone for today's popular social media site. it was ten years ago that the first-ever tweet was sent. since then it has gone public and millions of people have signed up for it. we have more on how it is struggling to attract new viewers. >> it may not be a force of nature but over the last ten years the twitter board has become a force online. today, 320 million people use twitter every month, pushing out around 6,000 tweets every second. that's about 500 million tweets every da

to date the single biggest violator of that, by allegation, is the bashar al-assad regime. >> reporter: he also ht out at the syrian deputy prime minister who said there could be no negotiation about the role of preside president bashar al-assad. >> the comments made yesterday by the foreign minister clearly trying to disrupt, to send a message of deterrence to others. >> reporter: it was aimed at the members arriving for the talks >> we want to see an end to this bloodshed in syria. we hope that we see a series partner. >> reporter: what is different about these talks is that the u.n. special envoy, staffan de mistura, says he is straightaway going to get to the substantive issues, who is going to be in a new transitional government taking syria towards new elections. that, of course, takes us to the key issue of president bashar al-assad and those around him and on that it seems right now no-one is prepared to compromise. james bays >>> hundreds of refugees in a greece border camp have held a protest in the rain. the chanting the name of german chancellor angela merkel they demanded

the assad regime's position in syria has been greatly strengthened. x months ago president assad was on the ropes, it looked like he could eventually be overthrown or lose control of damascus. now the assad regime has been making advances with russian help. why now? it seems that russia, one, wanted to capitalize on some of the gains, cut back on some of the expenditures, cut back on its foreign exposure. and also, to strengthen russia and the syrian government's hand at peace talks that are now restarting. so it's being described as a tactical move, but one that strengthened both russia's negotiating position for syria's future at these peace talks and the position of the syrian regime. richard engel, nbc news, istanbul. >>> an american from virginia who allegedly traveled overseas to fight for isis has been captured in iraq. and his father lashed out at reporters. >> don't take the picture! don't take the picture! >> he sprayed reporters with water at his home in fairfax county. police came to break it up. his son was captured by kurdish fighters. th

>> we know the fact that pyd will not declare a federal system despite bashar al-assad regime, which we know the fact that it has been in a factor of alliance. if syrian pyd is going to declare a federal system in syria, this will not be at the expense of risking its relation with bashar al-assad regime >>> thank you very much for joining us from brussels. >> thank you >>> five states have been choosing their preferred candidates. donald trump has pushed one of his rivals marco rubio out of the race. hillary clinton built on her lead. john headron reports from washington dc. >> reporter: in florida faift sons go down fast. >> while it is not god's plan that i be president in 2016, or maybe ever, and while today my campaign is suspended, the fact that i've even come this far is evidence of how special america truly is. >> reporter: republican donald trump lived a rushing defeat to florida's own marco rubio forcing a bitter end to a campaign based on optimism >> the fact is we have to bring our party together. we have to bring it together. >> reporter: then there were three narrowing t

he started protesting against the assad regime and the the civil war. and since 2014, he has been fighting against isis at the risk of his own safety. >> they tried a lot. they did a lot of things, they started to cut off the wifi outside the coffee shop. then they spread security cameras all over the city trying to catch us. to catch my colleagues inside the city. reporter: in november, his courage was honored with an award. he says the syrian people have been abandoned. >> when the syrian revolution started to ask the arab -- we asked the arab countries to help us and they didn't do anything. only the speeches of the international world. they will defeat isis soon, that they will do something. but it was only speech, nothing more than that. reporter: ten members of his group have already been murdered by is. and his life is on the line too. but for him, his former home has become a symbol of courage. >> for the international world raqqa is the capital of isis and , of extremism, for me raqqa is the capital of their resistance. civilians are still livi

why did you decide to choose this moment to reward the assad regime with such a high-profile meet something our support to the opposition has not only been in place for the last five years, but is going to be there also for the future. and this is something we discussed. as i said, what i have done today is consist, fully consistent with what we decided together as the european union to actively support the work of the united nations and in particular of stefan de mistura in bringing the negotiations forward 67 despite high representative me reason reasomogherini'sfirm position ta change in e.u. policy. but i have spoken to diplomats from a number of different country who his say they are surprised she held this meeting. >> one added there is only supposed to be one mediator in this process. earlier ambassador jaffrey told reporters he would soon be return i to damascus, after almost two weeks in geneva, the opposition say he's not even started to discuss the key issue of political transition. they are angry a man who they say has been stalling and delaying has now been grant a high-level m