kofi annan is in beijing, as you said. he met with premier wen jiabao when -- premier wen jiabao when. and he released a statement they released a statement, kofi annan spoke, saying the syrian government accepted the six-point plan. it said mr. kofi annan views this as an important niche help that could end the violence to the bloodshed goes on that mr. kofi annan is quite strong and stresses implementation will be the key in creating the rid of the violence in syria. so kofi annan and his team, also caution that if a plan needs to be implemented if the violence is to stop in syria. >> and with beijing, what has changed? because after all most people think of beijing and moscow as a blocker of the resolution of the crisis. >> well, indeed, they were both china and russia both blocked two u.n. security council ideas and wanted something a little less tough. kofi annan's plan seems to be exactly something which they can accept, because it doesn't appear to apportion blame. he calls the cease-fire and calls for humanitarian

kofi annan is due to meet president assad tomorrow. why would he listen to him when he has not listened to anybody else? >> it is a good question, especially in terms of ending what the regime calls the security solution throughout the country, which includes shelling their third-largest city, as well as other attacks. kofi annan is someone who does have international weight, but it is hard to see how this will get in the way of the regime's plan to dictate a process to end the protest from above. >> you would hope the u.n. has some international weight as well. how does kofi annan's approach differ? >> it allows the u.n. to play a card without having a security resolution, which the russians and the chinese have vetoed. a number of which have been put forth by western countries. that has caused those countries to go up against the friends of sinn rigger. it allows the un to get into the process. the question is, will assad use that to change his approach, or will he play for more time, to kill more people, and try to impose his soluti

envoy kofi annan. hillary clinton says president bashar al-assad will be judged by his actions, not his words. more than 9000 people have been killed in the past year. the latest estimate came as president assad visited the city of homs. our middle east editor reports. >> the question is whether the president is playing for time or whether he is serious about finding a way out of the violence. that would mean concessions to the armed opposition. opponents the president condemns as terrorists. the regime has shown more enthusiasm for victory at the negotiations. -- vera negotiations. he congratulated the soldiers. >> some of the residents are coming back. it is thanks to you and your sacrifice. >> a soldier response. >> we're here to defend the country to the last drop of our blood. >> kofi annan was in beijing. he now has the support of china, as well as russia. he needs their help to keep the pressure on the regime. >> we need to see how we move ahead. >> this peace plan, now accepted by president bas

our correspondent in new york was kofi annan the u.n. security council member should overcome the differences and take a unified stance over syria how realistic is that do you think. i don't think it's realistic at all right now because the standpoint of france rather of russia and china is diametrically opposed to the standpoint of washington which is for intervention and regime change they've made it abundantly clear because this is a as i've said before and i documented in the full spectrum dominance book it's a part of a long term pentagon strategy the arab spring is it is a pentagon strategy to accomplish regime change throughout the islamic world and reorganize state so that for example syria there's a map that exists pentagon map that exists showing that syria under the proposed changes would simply have no access any longer to the sea to the mediterranean which is rich in oil and gas is recent discoveries of confirmed but it's being financed the opposition so-called opposition inside syria is being financed and weaponized by saud

arab league envoy kofi annan is that the u.n. security council to break the political deadlock on syria he said unity over the crisis will help his peace mission cohen said made securing his brief meeting to the body on his findings following his recent visit to damascus to your correspondent reporting i got the latest. kofi annan on has told the security council members that he plans to send a technical mission to damascus early next week so discussions can begin on a plan for international monitors to go to syria kofi annan the u.n. and arab league envoy to syria has now urged the security council to overcome their differences he said it is very important for there to be unity and consensus among the security council to help his peace plan become actual absolute success as we know for the past year the security council has remained extremely divided on how to approach the situation in syria with the u.s. and western countries calling essentially for regime change and asking for the charlotte side the syrian president to step do

how does kofi annan differ from anything they have already tried? >> allows them to play a card without having a security council resolution, which the russian and chinese have vetoed a number of resolutions put forward by the united states and other western countries. this allows the united nations to get into the process. the question now is will bashar al-assad use that to change his approach to the crackdown -- unlikely -- or will he just bargain for more time to kill his own people. >> kofi annan needs support of the opposition for this to work. >> that is right. the question is, what opposition are we talking about? the syrian council, who are mostly in exile, or the opposition inside syria. most of that opposition is now arent. they have had to pick up weapons to defend themselves inside the country. >> on the question of farming, there are increased -- farming -- arming, kofi annan says that is the wrong course to take. is that something you can see america eventually supporting? >> yes. just dropping a bunch of weapons on top of the free sy

russia and china continue to block efforts and the special envoy kofi annan has left without plans to stop the violence. >> deeply disturbing images from the town of homs, evidence, says the opposition, of a massacre by pro-government gunmen. monthlong siege has left neighborhoods in homs a bombed-out wreck. such scenes have spurred the world to act. >> this council has failed -- >> at a special session called in britain, they were countered by russian warnings about armed resistance. >> there is no doubt whatsoever the syrian authorities barrett huge responsibility for the current situation, -- bear a huge responsibility for the current situation, but one should not ignore that there is the activity of extremist groups like al-qaeda, which lately committed a series of murderous terrorist acts. >> but russia also spoke about agreement with the arab league on a broad set of objectives, similar to kofi annan's mission. >> we took note of the fact that this past weekend in cairo the arab league and russian foreign minister agreed on the necessity of an end to violence, full unimpeded hum

as he said this they are on side with the plan that's being put forward by kofi annan. every effort must be made not to to rail this plan to allow it to try and achieve peace in the country all right artist peter oliver and moscow. the u.s. has praised the u.n. security council unity behind the announcement as a positive step towards ending serious crisis but activists are worried over washington's habit of reading between the lines when it comes to resolutions so as we've seen in the past what the u.s. government does is it takes these what seem to be innocuous nice sounding resolutions and then drives you know a mack truck through them and says oh well this justifies military intervention this justifies bombing attacks and no fly zones and so forth i would assume that the russians are going to be very cautious about the wording of their resolution but but i think we should keep in mind that no matter what they do with these these resolutions these interventions they always end up with a worse situation where there's much more death and destruction is so forth if there

calls on arab and western states not show the war to kofi annan mediating effort in syria permitted high hopes the special envoys report to the un security council may bring the crisis closer to a solution. sparing no expense iran is exiled from the global banking system leaving oil prices soaring and western nations rushing to open emergency domestic reserves. egyptian authorities desperate to avert more on rasff crackdown on police brutality as unemployment poverty and disillusionment stoke tensions across the country. here's incumbent broadcasting to you live from the heart of moscow on charon taraji well russia says it won't give the green light to outside meddling in syria's domestic affairs and blocking any un security council decision that could see foreign interference the arab u.n. envoy kofi annan is due to brief the body on his findings following his recent visit to damascus batson it hopes his peace effort in the war torn country won't be in vain paula slayer reports. let's listen by the former head of the united nations is the latest attempt to solve diplomatically what is h

that is one of the ships the syrians to decide un an arab league envoy kofi annan says it's up to the syrian people themselves to decide whether president assad stays in stresses it is unreasonable to set an artificial deadline for a solution to the country's crisis. and pressure mounts on north korea over its controversial plan satellite market launch as world leaders gather in seoul for a nuclear summit. hello there my name is kevin i'm very good evening from moscow it's ten pm here now you watching our top story the former libyan prime minister who is the driving force against moammar gadhafi during the nato campaign is accusing the west of forgetting his country after toppling a colonel. told the security forum in brussels that the resulting power vacuum leaves libya open to the extremists a corresponding test for a seller asked for his thoughts about why gadhafi was killed in an exclusive interview for r.t. . that was something a very interesting the whole world was watching when it actually happened and to hear him have his theories on what could have been the cause or who was a

special envoy to syria kofi annan is the security council to speak with one voice to support his peace mission as russia calls on western powers to press the syrian opposition to cooperate that. the new march in riga commemorating events and falls on its list site draws condemnation inside the country and the war against backing from the left in leadership. and the u.s. identifies the soldier suspected of killing sixteen civilians in afghanistan in an afghan investigation means he wasn't working alone. you know without a very warm welcome to today on carrie johnson u.n. special envoy kofi annan has urged the books most powerful body to act cautiously on the syrian crisis and support his peace mission prior to his brief with the security council russia said it was using its contacts with the syrian regime to get him to cooperate with iran's efforts but also called on the western powers to do the same with the opposition parties report no i was the very latest now from new york. special envoy kofi annan said that he will be sending his team to damascus as early as this weekend to begin t

kofi annan has the whole world behind him. it is clear that peace is not going to happen quickly. >> there have been clashes between armed forces from sudan and south sudan, and on several disputed border regions. the cause of the fighting is not yet clear. it is believed to be the worst violence since last year. it has prompted the sudanese president to suspend a visit to south said on -- sudan. our correspondent has been following developments from the sudanese capital. he says that while something is clearly happening, both sides have opinions on precisely what is happening. >> that line about the worst clashes since independence, that comes from a military spokesman. he says his forces were attacked from the air in two places on monday morning, and then in the afternoon, by ground troops from the sudanese armed forces. it seems that they beat back to this attack and pursued it almost up to the oilfields. the sudanese perspective is different. they say they did not start the fight. they say it was south sudan's responsibili

. >> coming up in the next half hour -- >> kofi annan says syria has accepted his plan to end the bloodshedbut is it an empty promise? >> the pope continues his visit to cuba, where he has urged people to builetter and more open society. >> hundreds of flights canceled in germany as public sector workers staged strikes. ♪ >> could this be the break through the world is hoping for in syria? international envoy kofi annan says the damascus regime has accepted his plan to end the crisis. >> there has been cautious reaction from world powers. the u.s. says it could be an important step, but ending the violence will be a long and difficult task. >> the assad regime say they do not trust it to stick to its word. >> kofi annan has traveled the world this month to build international support for his peace plan. news that syria's response came as he was in china. beijing has previously blocked u.n. security council action against damascus. but premier wen jiabao said he was confident kofi annan's media should would lead to a proper and a partial solution but after the meeting, kofi annan outlined hi

un special envoy to syria kofi annan urges the security council to speak with one voice to support his peace mission as russia calls on western powers to press the syrian opposition from the dish it. on your march in riga commemorating those in force on hitler's side draws condemnation from both inside the country and abroad gets backing from that given leadership. and the u.s. identifies the soldiers to spread the killing sixteen civilians in afghanistan and afghan investigation claims he wasn't working alone. on air and online twenty four hours a day you're watching r.t. the un special envoy kofi annan has urged the blocks most powerful body to act cautiously on the syrian crisis and support his peace mission are proud of his meeting with the security council russia said it was using its contacts and syrian regime to get them to cooperate with their efforts and also called on western powers to do the same with the opposition parties the latest now from new york. special envoy kofi annan said that he will be sending his team to damascus as early as this weekend to begin to scuffing pl

president barack obama also on side with kofi annan peace mission to try. bring about that kid both sides to sit down and talk however the u.s. president has also continued to pledge his support for the the rebels and. the rebels. said that they will contribute they promised non lethal aid to the syrian rebels the united states of course was the seed pressure on this side step down as they back a back a regime change policy. peter oliver with the latest. from our perspectives on the peace process in the country i'm joined from damascus georgia job or the president of the united nations association of syria and independent ngo which promotes the work and awareness of the un so president medvedev says foreign powers should act cautiously and syria what do you think he really means. it means reason to you over the years there are a few good who are very honest used by the events in syria is there for or use the events but then reason should tell you we should. be with this region you see in the spirit this is what president. meant by it worked he said a key fo

calls on arab and western states not to thwart kofi annan mediating effort in syria amid hardball the special envoys report to the un security council may bring the crisis closer to a solution. sparing no expense iran is exiled from the global banking system leaving oil prices soaring and western nations rushing to open emergency domestic reserves. around the controversial tradition of remembering our son's veterans as heroes lockin nationalists and gather for an annual march couldn't damage by half of the population and see that as an inspiration for young elian nazis. thanks for joining us this friday five o'clock here in moscow on karen taraji russia says it won't give the green light to outside meddling in syria's domestic affairs blocking any u.n. security council decision that could see foreign interference arab u.n. envoy kofi annan is due to brief the body on his findings following his recent visit to damascus that's amid hopes his peace effort in the war torn country won't be in vain as archie's player reports let's listen by the former head of the united nations kofi annan i

envoy kofi annan. it comes on the same day the u.n. has increased its estimate of the number of people killed in the country to 9000. mr. anand acknowledges the proof will be in the regime's action. >> the question is whether president assad is playing for time or serious about finding a way out of the violence. that would mean concessions to the armed opposition his men drove out of these streets, opponents of president condemns as terrorists. up to now he has shown more enthusiasm for victory- negotiation. -- for victory than negotiation. some of the residents are coming back, he says, and it is thanks to you and your sacrifices. a soldier response, mr. president, we are here to defend the country to the last drop of our blood. kofi annan, peace envoy for the u.n. and the arab league was in beijing. he now has the support of china as well as russia, syria's two diplomatic supporters. he needs their help to keep pressure on the regime. >> we need them for this agreement that they have accepted. >> kofi annan's peace plan, now accepted

kofi annan's problem is trying to get a unified voice of them. >> mr. alassane has to step down and -- >> each day at the dozens more to the grim death toll of the victims. 8000 so far, and that is the lowest estimate. it is clear that bringing peace is not going to happen quickly. >> the threat of famine is something that south africa's vast hill region struggles to cope with. it puts more than 16 million people in seven countries in danger of chronic food shortages. niger is particularly at risk, with a warning that the crisis could soon turn into a famine. here is this report. >> we need an armed escort to venture into the bering fringes of the sarah. islam is militants are a growing threat here in niger. so is the number. -- hunger. this 15-year-old powell grain. in recent years, she has lost her husband and six children to disease and poverty. now the rains have failed and they have enough food for a week. of course, we go hungry, she says. the rain did not come. in has been getting worse for years. >> there are almost no men left in the village no

special envoy to syria kofi annan says the security council to speak with one voice to support his peace mission as russia calls on western powers to press the syrian opposition to negotiate. an annual march in riga commemorating those who fought on hitler's side condemnation from both inside the country and abroad to get some backing from the latvian leadership . and the u.s. identifies the soldier suspected of killing sixteen civilians left gonna start with afghan investigation claims he wasn't working alone. costing live from moscow this is our team welcome to the program un special envoy kofi annan has urged the blocks most powerful body to act cautiously on the syrian crisis and support his peace mission prior to his briefing with the security council russia said it was using its contacts with the syrian regime to get them to cooperate and it's also called on western powers to do the same and the opposition teams report not the latest from new york. special envoy kofi annan said that he will be sending his team to damascus as early as this weekend to begin to scott saying plans his

moscow and washington see eye to eye over the role of special envoy kofi annan mission in syria as a first step towards peace as presidents would get even a bomber exchange their final handshakes also. it's easier to. deal with a dead soldier the kidnapped soldier. with criticism of a controversial israeli army policy which calls on soldiers to avoid kidnap at all cost effective means taking their own life or that of a comrade. international news and comment twenty four hours a day this is r.t. the man widely credited with spearheading a valiant against moammar gadhafi has criticised the west for abandoning libya in its time of need. to hold a global security forum but his country risks being taken over by extremists or correspondent. a former n.t.s.c. had an exclusive interview to share his theory on what was behind it often. that was something a very interesting the whole world was watching when it actually happened and to hear him have his theories on what could have been the cause or who was actually behind it was really very interesting let's listen to what he had to say there a

watching r t we're live from moscow welcome to the program you were in a special envoy kofi annan has urged the blocks most powerful body to act cautiously on the syrian crisis and supports his peace mission to his briefing with the security council russia said it was using its contacts in the syrian regime to get them to cooperate and it's also called on western powers to do the same with the opposition parties portnoy as the latest from new york. special envoy kofi annan said that he will be sending his team to damascus as early as this weekend to begin to discuss in plans his plans to deploy international monitors there he said the first objective is to of course stop all the violence and bloodshed taking place in syria and to establish an impended humanitarian assistance for all those in need in syria he said if the syrian conflict is not handled properly and handled quickly the end results could be disastrous for the entire region kofi annan the u.n. arab league special envoy to syria also pleaded with u.n. security council members to finally break their deadlock and come to a co

envoy kofi annan. >> first, kofi annan's proposals must be made public. second, the security council must approve them -- not as an ultimatum, but approve them, taking to account ongoing work, as a basis for further efforts. >> the security council is expected to take up the issue in new york this evening in hopes of making an effort to stop the violence. >> for more on this, we spoke with our correspondent in moscow and asked if this is an about- face for russian diplomacy. >> what we see right now is a change of tone. russia says its strongly supports kofi annan's peace plan, that it wants to help to achieve an end to the violence. so, the russian foreign minister lavrov criticized the assad regime for not implementing reforms. there could be a change in the russian position. moscow has not moved in substance yet. is still says what it did before, that it is ready -- it still says what it did before, that it is ready to support a u.n. resolution only as long as it does not contain any ultimatum for the syrian government and it has made clear that it wil

have supported kofi annan. the united states have pledged their support as well as non-lethal aid to the syrian rebels and just last week we saw the european union issue fresh sanctions on syria as well peter all of our correspondent there were more about syria going into the conversation diode professor of international law at georgetown university in washington d.c. professor very good to have you on the program side thanks for taking the time to be with us because as we just heard they cannot kofi annan says it's syria's internal affairs to decide who should rule their its country and yet washington the e.u. and some arab states are continuing their push against the regime no you're an expert in international law is it legal to back an armed uprising against a sovereign country's government just could you put that into perspective in the first place for. well general principle of international law. intervention. other countries are fair is not allowed. article two of the united nations charter. position and

special envoy kofi annan said that he will be sending his team to damascus as early as this weekend to begin to scotching plans his plans to deploy international monitors there he said the first objective is to of course stop all the violence and bloodshed taking place in syria and to establish an impended humanitarian assistance for all those in need in syria he said if the syrian conflict is not handled properly and handled quickly the end results could be disastrous for the entire region kofi annan the u.n. arab league special envoy to syria also pleaded with u.n. security council members to finally break their deadlock and come to a consensus and speak with one voice he said that will not only. give credibility to the international community but it will also help establish peace in syria and help his process just last weekend he did travel to syria he met with syrian president bashar al assad he also did meet with members of the opposition group he said that while there are clearly are differing opinions and a ceasefire has not been established yet he is making all the efforts that

well this mission by the former head of the united nations kofi annan is the latest attempt to solve diplomatically what is happening in syria and later today friday and then will brief and update members of the u.n. security council but guarding the latest proposals on the table and these include an immediate halt to the fighting in military assistance to civilians who've been caught up in the crossfire as well as political debate and political involvement not last weekend kofi annan was in damascus where he met with the syrian president bashar assad as well as the opposition and he went on record after those meetings in say that the board was open to a diplomatic solution and at the same time the syrian regime has indicated that its response to announce proposals is positive now the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov has urged all members of the international community to back this mission with lavrov saying that russia puts its weight behind it take a listen if. it's going to give us those special english i hope this mission won't be ruined and that all sides will support kofi

moscow calls on arab and western states not to look for kofi annan as mediating effort in syria amid high hopes the special envoys report to the u.n. security council may bring the crisis closer to a solution. sparing no expense iran is exiles from the global banking system sending all prices soaring and western nations rushing to open emergency domestic reserves. and the controversial tradition of remembering our son's veterans as heroes lothian lashon allies gather for an annual march can damage my half of the population and seen as an inspiration for young neo nazis. while global markets are moderately positive last year and the week with profits they keep the r.t.s. of my search fall by around half a cent more and there's been two incidents. thanks for joining r t news and common broadcasting to live twenty four hours a day russia says it won't give the green light to outside meddling in syria's domestic affairs blocking any un security council decision that could see foreign interference that's as of the u.n. and arab league envoy kofi anon is briefing the body on his findings f

team to discuss a plan for international monitors in syria the group is part of a special envoy kofi annan peace mission aimed at establishing a cease fire and getting talks underway between the government and the opposition russia gave its strong support to the efforts and warn against any attempts to derail them. because there's those species i hope this mission won't be ruined we have a feeling that every time we manage to achieve some positive change in the stance of damascus there's an immediate counterweight reaction any steps forward are dismissed i hope this won't be the case of how countries in the middle east and some western states treat the mission of kofi annan it was very strange that two days after his first visit to damascus the opposition syrian national council claimed the mission had already failed respelling definite signals to damascus to cooperate with mr nods and we hope that other members of the security council will also demand the opposition does not provoke the escalation of violence and cooperates with mr nonce mission to marcus public open to some analysts from

and i do think that should -- that the appointment of kofi annan and the efforts that he's trying to make provide a potential, underscore potential, point of convergence among the members of the security council. so we're discussing this week not a new resolution but a strong what we would call presidential statement to lend support to kofi annan's efforts. it will be interesting to see whether russia and china having supported kofi annan's appointment are able to agree on a statement. it would be the first unified statement out of the council of any substance since last august in support of what kofi annan is trying to accomplish. that will give us some indication potentially of where they're going on this. but i do think that with each successive effort to stand up to protect assad in the context of his atrocities it does cost russia and china in important ways that are not lost on them. let me turn, if my time permits, to dprk. the north korean announcement on friday that they intend to do a satellite launch at some point in april was highly provocative. it's absolutely in violati

the time that the united nations when kofi annan relays the findings of its mission i suspect it's going to strengthen it's going to add credence to the five point peace plan put together by russia and the arab league that's a week or so ago however the stumbling block really is going to be the permanent members the western permanent members on the security council who have made it very clear that president assad has to go from power so i think whatever kofi annan findings will be it's going to be limited by the western response. this is the weekly live here in moscow r.t. with you still ahead in the program hopes dashed to the ground the seldon's of illegal immigrants come to the u.k. to escape a life of poverty they find themselves in the squalor of the streets. but with western nations quick to point the finger at others who don't share their same ideals that leave some to wonder if it's democracy they preach or krissy. to the russian man convicted of last year's metro bombing in minsk had been executed the confirmation came from the country state t.v. channel brussels as criticized b

went out kofi annan and the u.n. secretary secretary-general ban ki-moon addressed journalists at united. nations mr anon said that his assignment is a very difficult one and it will be a tough challenge to bring peace to syria but he said the first thing that the international community must do is to help stop the violence and facility a humanitarian process and work in syria a peaceful solutions that mr anon says can only come about by bringing both sides to the table having the syrian authorities and the syrian opposition finally once and for all engage in dialogue kofi annan also said that if the international community is going to succeed we must accept one process of mediation otherwise the parties can play between mediators in the meantime there have been reports of a new security council resolution being drafted by the u.s. and france of cording to several reports this new draft resolution will reportedly concentrate on supporting the humanitarian access into into cities in syria the draft text also does indi

arab special envoy kofi annan is meeting russian leaders with the kremlin's priorities of being and of violence and get both sides in a conflict into talks more on this now from artie's peter all over peter the international approach toward syria seems to be leaning towards a diplomatic solution what can we expect from kofi annan meetings. well kofi annan has already held a meeting with sergey lavrov the foreign minister be meeting with the with president dmitry medvedev a little later on now from that meeting with love from all of we've heard the from the russian side saying that they are very happy with their meeting that they tell me such a. happy this kofi annan has said that in no way does he want to see any kind of military solution to the situation in syria and that it will need time though in order for this diplomatic solution that he's put forward to you to come to fruition now with that meeting coming up with president medvedev it in less than an hour expecting not to take place we heard from one of the president's foreign policy advisers he said that it's also plan to put fo

and i think kofi annan they supported me from the whole but. if you can make any mechanism on the land you don't see any support for him from the block from the west and and out. from the other person who. could be more school gave initiative more you said from day one that the only solution the mistress and the dialogue more school of to the table of the day i logged and was ready for the both sides and to sponsor it and know. what it will help. and if. i'm sorry to interrupt you but so you're saying kofi announce peace plans they do have wide global backing why do you think the syrian opposition is so reluctant to accept them. i don't see any syrian opposition syrian opposition are divided and you have the syrian inside who are. the opposition inside you have the syrian outside who are divided and you go back to but you find. so-called free syrian army which i'm not sure it would obey to the syrian opposition outside and beside the free syrian army you have many of insurgent you have. and sadr who came from iraq from georgia from libya. the q

kofi annan says he will plead with damascus to stop the assaults. >> the end of the nightmare journey for the costa allegra. >> and it is no joy as jermaine was to france in a warm-up euro 2012 -- germany loses to france in a warm-up your 2012. the indicted nations human rights council has condemned syria for what it is calling the brutal actions of the assad regime, but again, china and russia are not on board. >> they voted against the resolution despite reports that assad's assault on the city of homs is intensifying. >> the united nations' new envoy to syria says the killing must stop. it is a message he now wants to take to damascus. >> syrian artillery has been pounding the city of damascus for days. reports said the army has launched a ground effective to flush out the rebels. the humanitarian situation is catastrophic. kofi annan could travel to the middle east as early as friday for meetings with top arab league officials. he says he wants to meet as quickly as possible with president assad. the former united nations secretary general said that he will urge assad to find a pe

that is what the special peace envoy, coffee and non -- kofi annan wants to halt. he urged the populace and government to participate in a political solution, an approach he believes is the only practical way. >> we have to put proposals on the table that can be carried through. it will yield the right results. otherwise, we raise false hopes and create even more problems. >> kofi annan step sure, experience, an international backing. if he cannot make a breakthrough, it is likely no one can >> for more on the significance of today's defection and the international effort to stop the bloodshed, i am joined by the former american ambassador to syria. during a time as ambassador to damascus, you met many members of the syrian government. ari surprised that until now we have not seen more high-level defections? >> i am surprised. on the other hand, we have to remember, as the deputy minister said, he is going to lose his house. if his family is still in syria, they are in jeopardy. it takes tremendous courage to be in the capital, to be in an official position, and br

the mission carried out by kofi annan is absolutely vital. and she's really going to school thank you. well international peace envoy kofi annan is now headed for china having secured russia's backing for his efforts to bring bloodshed in syria to an end it comes as the syrian national council the rebel authority to be the country's true government calls for a pact among opposition groups since he has been losing support of more groups into a new way from it it's now invited a. turkey. to them its wing this blog says the opposition's internal bickering. one way western supports. their struggle to become a protracted one for syria to take such a particular path is the fact that there's no coherent opposition leadership has emerged aside from the fact there are political political division there isn't one political authority that has control over the armed groups whether it be a f.s.a. the free syrian army or other groups on the ground they haven't been able to expand their support base within the country and they haven't been able to unify pol

well for his part kofi annan has said that he hopes for russia's assistance and advice in going about putting his plan into place now the assad government seem to be willing to go to the table to have talks so russia have made a point of saying that the main emphasis should be on getting the opposition to get to the table and saying peace was impossible in syria as long as foreign weapons were making their way and help was making its way towards the rebels we heard from the united nations in the last week saying that they supported kofi annan proposals really a landmark when it comes to syria being discussed in the u.n. that everybody was singing from the same song sheet however we're still hearing from countries like the u.s. they say that they want to see regime change in syria that they want to be to be forced out have also seen fresh sanctions imposed by the e.u. on syria in the last week as well so. when it comes to the response and as far as the the choose it's being signed if you will by the international community now is also reports that the rebels have been receiving not jus

new international envoy to syria kofi annan balance to tamp launching dialogue between the syrian government and the opposition meanwhile the army warns it will cleanse a rebel stronghold in the city of homs where the worry is claiming armed terrorists of terrorists are operating. in the case of a palace c.d.n. hunger strike or draws widespread attention to israel's conversational detention policy holding palestinians without official charge or trial. in the russian capital you're watching r t with the ring and josh you all come to the program for greece continues this race for cash as the parliament approves the latest reforms needed to please international creditors the painful bill reduces health care services as well as cutting pharmaceutical spending and as lawmakers rush to fulfill promises made to get the second bailout anger grows among the greeks who call themselves captives of economic crisis are he's talking reports from athens. the greek parliament you can see behind me is no stranger to protests and indeed have been protests throughout the day and throughout greece doctors have

in the meeting with kofi annan, syria's dictator conceded nothing. the violence is being committed by armed terrorist gangs insisting his regime is not slaughtering civilians. despite that, people that have seen things up close, annan found reason for optimism. >> yes, it is going to be tough. it is going to be difficult, but we have to have hope. almost every syrian i have met wants peace. they want to move on with their lives. >> keeping them honest. the assessment treats the violence as if it came out of nowhere that it's just happening to the syrian people. it is not just happening. the regime is making it happen. the violence is being done to the syrian people as syrian sunnis afflicted on the syrian people. not one bit of it stopped while kofi annan and assad were talking. the videos we showed you, dozens more were killed over the weekend and dozens more across syria. in homs where the bodies were buried and the neighborhood pointing antiaircraft artillery. the syrian army is fighting back as you can see in this video, an attack on a tank, they