you have been listening to russian foreign minister sergei lavrov.e're now going to go back to the general assembly haul where prime minister alexis tsipras of greece has taken the stage. let's listen in to what he has to say. >> in the wake of this war, the under's noble declarations raised hopes for a common peaceful future based on universal values, social justice, and respect of human rights. much has been sensitive, but regrettably, the vision of the founders of the organization is far from being fulfilled. we witnessed today a large humanitarian crisis, unprecedented movements of displaced people, and -- and an increase of poverty, violence, extremism, and human rights abuses. nevertheless, the big question for us, is not to identify the challenges we face. the people of this world know very well what they face every day. the big question that this great organization was set up to answer is how do we deal with these challenges on the basis of our shared values on the united nations charter? importantly as years go by, we seem to be turning not

it will be interesting to hear what sergei lavrov has to say about these troops. the russians have been invited by the assad government to be in syria, and the u.s. has not. >> that is a difficulty. the russians have been asking you whether is your invitation or your u.n. chapter authorization. so that will play out over the coming days and weeks i suspect. >> i want to go to some of these diplomatic developments. we heard secretary kerry say what makes this round of talks different than what we saw in 2012, for example, when the ga nia communique come out, is all of the stakeholders on both sides were at the stable. did you hear anything else substantively that will move this forward? >> no, but finally we have everyone in the room who really plays. the opposition really has to listen to what saudi arabia and turkey and the united states have to say. and the regime really has to listen to what iran and russia have to say. and quite frankly if those five external plowers were to agree on something, they could probably impose it on the two sides. so i think it's im

were just watching secretary kerry at the united states with the foreign minister of russia, sergei lavrov. russia backs u.s.-backed rebel strongholds in syria. backing up syrian leader bashar al assad. to set the table with breaking news from the region, let's look back. three years and a month ago, president obama said this about syria's use of chemical weapons. >> we have been very clear to the assad regime, but also to other players on the ground that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons being moved around or being utilized. that would change my cal kuls that would change my equation. >> chemical weapons were used. in the weeks and months after that the president repeatedly insisted assad's days in power were numbered. >> i'm confident that assad's days are numbered. >> fast forward to this week and a day after president obama met with russia leader vladimir putin, russia acts on its own to start an attack. not on isis, but on syrian rebels who want to take assad out of power. including the u.s.-supported free syrian army. leaving u.s. officials today

it's not lavrov. it's vladimir putin. and lavrov will do exactly what putin tells him to do. guys are friends, they get along famously. liz: correct. >> in the realm of geopolitics, whether it's taking care of chemical weapons or getting a deal with iran or stopping the russians in ukraine, it all comes out of the brain of vladimir putin. lavrov is just doing what he's told to do, and i'm afraid right now, putin is on a roll, and he is not likely to stop, liz. liz: general scales, delta force, we've got to salute them for what they were able to do with the raid in iraq. >> can you imagine? liz: your thoughts on this. you cannot call it an outright success because we lost that u.s. commando, and that is a massive loss. but when you look at what delta force does in the mission, they did it right? >> yeah. couple of quick points, this was master sergeant wheeler's, this was his 14th deployment in 15 years. the other thing is, remember now, there's an old saying in delta that leaders die first. and remember, this master sergeant, 39 years old was a team leader, and he was the one

sergei lavrov said they had targeted isil and armed groups.s reports from the u.n. >> for over a week, worlds leaders have been in new york and all of the key figures have all saet their priorities. what's changed? the answer is this: whether the they were in time to co -- timed, russian airstrikes in syria are a game changer. the u.s. says they add gasoline to the fire of the war already four and a half years old. russia says it's a positive step aimed at those they label terrorists. begin that the russians were invited in, does that mean his enemies. i tried to get clarity from the russian foreign minister. >> in addition to isil, which specific groups in syria do you believe to be terrorists? >> well, if it looks like a terrorist f it acts like a te terrorist, if it fights like a terrorist, it's terrorist, it's a terrorist. right? the representatives of the coalition command have always been saying their targets are isil, nusra and other terrorist groups. this is our position as well. we see eye to eye with the coalition on this one. >> on

we're awaiting a news conference from sergei lavrov, and an address by greek prime minister.ng that coverage to you in just a moment. [ applause ] >> i think we're into something that's bigger than us >> that's the pain your mother feels when you disrespect her son... >> me being here is defying all odds >> they were patriots, they wanted their country back >> al jazeera america presents the passion.. >> onward! pain... >> it's too much though... >> and triumph... >> inspirational real life stories... >> all these labels the world throws at you, that's what drives me to push... >> of ordinary people >> i tasted the american dream. i liked it... >> living extraordinary lives... >> if we could multiply this program, we could change the world... >> from the best filmmakers of our time, >> i give al jazeera tremendous credit, because it's not traditionally what broadcast journalism does... >> the new home for original documentaries al jazeera america presents only on al jazeera america ♪ >> we are awaiting a news conference right now from sergei lavrov at the united nations. he i

and i want to thank sergei lavrov for his efforts to try to find that diplomatic solution, and for the commitment of russia, even as it is engaged in supporting assad, which is not a secret, in believing that we need to move towards a political solution. there is nothing inevitable in our judgment about the war in syria. the war came about because of choices that people made. and what people have the power to choose, they have the power to change. to change the pattern of violence in syria, we have to change some of the patterns of thinking. so that the choice is not between a dictator and daesh, but between war and peace. between destroying and building, between catering to the violent extremes and empowering the political center. frankly we spent a fair amount of time today making sure that the discussion didn't get bogged down in the past. and i appreciate the discipline and the effort that all of the participants made to look to the future, and to try to find the ways to move there. we have to be creative, and we have to be determined in deciding how we go from here and where we go

they have both raised the point, lavrov as well as a leading russian military officer raised this very point about whether the u.s. has measure mission to carry it out. this is raising questions yet again about weather the obama administration is stretching the bounds of the legal authority to carry out its counter-isil operation. while members of congress agree that isil is a threat, they also question whether the u.s. is doing so legally. the obama administration argues that the legal authority it was granted after the september 2001 attacks basically give it permission to go after isil. there are a growing number of members of congress that disagree and they want to actually try to deal with this issue of granting legal authority to the obama administration sooner rather than later. we don't know if that's going to happen, though. >> it's going to be a little reaction over the diplomacy from vienna and the announcements out of d.c. as well in the next few days. rosalynn jordan live for you in washington. rosalynn, thank you. >>> one of the terrible encompass of the war in syria is t

within the past few minutes, the foreign minister lavrov says he and the secretary of state, john kerry discussed launching a political protest between syria's government and the opposition. joining suss the coeditor -- joining us is the co-ered tore from a middle eastern magazine and head of the special envoy to syria. thank you for talking to us at al jazeera. this seems to be a process that started at the vienna talks a couple of days soing. >> that's right. the americans, saudis and turks held a meeting at the end of the last few days and great to reconvene because of an expanded fashion, including jordan, qatar and potentially also iran, and as john kerry and sergey lavrov stated, they agreed on everything, except the issue that's been at the center of the dispute. and that is the fate of bashar al-assad. what is happening is russia is seeking to take the initiative based on military intervention, seeking to take the political initiative, and it's an open question of how long that can be sustained because it will reflect, i think, closely on the progress that they and the syrian ar

foreign minister lavrov said he and the u.s. secretary of state have discussed launching a new political process between syria's government and the opposition. the co-editor of jabalia, an online magazine on middle east politics is the former head for the u.n.'s special envoy of syria. now that russia has taken on i military roll, they want to increase political pressure. >> the americans, russians, saudis and turks held a meeting in vienna the last few days and agreed to reconvene again within a week probably in an expanded fashion including perhaps jordan, qatar and potentially also iran. as kerry and lavrov stated at the end of the meeting, they agreed on virtually everything except the one issue that's been at the center of the dispute from the outset of the syrian crisis, and that is the fate of syrian president bashar al assad. what's happening now is that russia is quite clearly seeking to take the initiative based on its military intervention in syria that began a few weeks ago seeking now also to take the political init

lavrov uses ira libya. >> is libya a safer place? gadhafi murdered in front of viewers, is that a safer place? can we draw lessons you know. >> there have been two initiatives put forward in the general assembly but neither can stop the bloodshed in syria in my opinion. one is a draft resolution russia is putting forward to the security council on countering i.s.i.l. and one is a contact group involving key regional and national players. as representatives from syria arrive for a meeting, a diplomat told me, a contact group is used to advance a plan. but little u.s. and russia agree on and guid despite wo 250,000 , there is little agreement. >>> al jazeera am rosiland jordan ha's rosiland jordanhas . >> one that u.s. and russian military officials did have their first imfertion how to cot how to avoid getting into each other's way, and the u.s. does not plan to change its military strategy against i.s.i.l. nap said, peter cook was very reluctant to provide more details about what happens next. >> right now our focus is the fight agai

he engage with lavrov?ink the most important thing is to talk to them about an end state in syria and do they see a viable alternative to assad and getting a transition in the country. and unless you have that conversation, there's no way to square -- when assad only controls 20% of his country with all of that help, with all of the chemical weapons, with all of the scud missiles, in the end that's not something sustainable. we should not be picking a fight with the majority sunni population in the middle east. we have a hard enough time already. we don't need to hand them over to the iranians and russians. >> final question, you heard putin said in his interview with charlie rose on "60 minutes ". he said, yes, this is the legitimate leadership. it doesn't sound like from what putin said, he or lavrov are in that state of mind yet. >> they said they're legally intervening on behalf of assad. but if you use the same logic in ukraine, then russian intervention is illegal. they say in ukraine it's coup. it's

he is sitting down with sergei lavrov.here are growing concerns that russian's bombing campaigns are now giving the syrian government the upper hand. many displaced by the syrian war are part of this sea of humanity. the u.n. saying 5,000 asylum speakers are in a small town there trying to keep warm as the temperatures in that region continue to drop. so far the u.s. has taken in only a small number of syrian refugee. the michigan governor says his state should do more. not everyone agrees. >> reporter: good afternoon, del. this summit is an opportunity for american arab leaders from across the country to come together and focus on a platform ahead of the presidential election, and the conflict in syria has really taken center stage here, as you mentioned about 4 million, it's estimated 4 million syrians have fled the country over the past couple of years, and the majority are women and small children. the u.s. has pledged to take in 10,000 syrian refugees, but arab american leaders here in dearborn, michigan say more need

secretary of state john kerry meeting with russian foreign minister sergei lavrov in vienna right nowimportant meeting happening this morning. what they are looking for is common ground in the crisis in syria. the russians have been propping up the syrian leader bashar al assad with air strikes against his enemy. the u.s. insists he cannot be part -- assad cannot be part of a future syrian regime. cnn international diplomatic editor nic robertson watching this. they have friendly and have constructive dialogue often, but they have very seldom been able to most united states and russia together on key international crises points, nic. >> reporter: yeah, i mean, look, they have had a great track record in vienna if you look back to the iran nuclear talks this summer. the russian president is saying, and he met earlier this week with the syrian president, is that bashar al assad, the syrian president is willing to back rebel groups that will take on isis. well, the united states is doing that already, but here's the rub on all of that. bashar al assad and the russians are attacking some

that same day kerry and russian , foreign minister sergey lavrov spoke by phone. in a television interview, lavrov said the kremlin wanted syria to prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections. >> even with still continuing anti-assad rhetoric, i think the correct understanding of the situation is developing and this gives us hope to push forward the political process in the near future for using outside players and to bring all syrians to the negotiating table. because outside players cannot decide anything for the syrians. we must force them to work out their own future in such a way the interests of any group, the religious, ethnic or political, would be well protected. and of course we must prepare for the elections, but parliamentary and presidential ones. amy: sergey lavrov's call for elections came just days after a surprise visit by syrian president bashar al-assad to moscow. lavrov also said russia would be ready to help western-backed free syrian army rebels if it knew where they were. the syrian army has rejected the free army -- the free army h

. >> at the united nations, sergey lavrov insisted moscow and washington were confronting a common enemy. targeting terrorists. >> if it looks like a terrorist, acts like a terrorist. walks like a terrorist, if it fights like a terrorist, it's a terrorist. i would recall that we were saying that we are going to fight i.s.i.l. and other terrorist groups. >> the u.s. says it has no evidence russia has struck any i.s.i.l. forces. and it conducted its first direct talks with moscow over the question of deconfliction. sorting out issues such as which radio frequencies, and what language will be used when russian and coalition pilots talk to each other in the air. in one sense the u.s. and russian pilots are deconflicted with the u.s. flying over areas controlled by i.s.i.l. to the east, while so far russian attacks have been in areas not controlled by i.s.i.l. to the west. and the u.s. says despite conducting a handful of air strikes in syria in recent days, the russian air campaign is having no effect on efforts. >> it's lower than the average, only because these are dynamic targetting proce

russian foreign minister sergei lavrov says his nation has the same targets as the u.s.-led coalition forces. >> we are going to fight isil and other terrorist groups. this is the same information which the americans are taking, the representatives of the coalition command have always been saying that their targets are isil and other terrorist groups. this is basically our position as well. >> lavrov added russia does not consider the free syrian army to be a terrorist group. the anti-government group is backed by the united states. russia said it carried out its second day of air strikes on thursday. russia's defense ministry released new video of the attacks. syrian opposition forces are deannouncing the russian air strikes for killing civilians. a spokesperson with russia's defense ministry said their targets are based on confirmed intelligence to avoid harming civilians. the official told local media that tactical bombers and aircraft destroyed the headquarters of terrorist groups, a weapons warehouse, and a command center. he says the military will use four tankers

. >> the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov will also will be in vienna. they say they're looking for serious intentions from lavrov as well. >> they're going to find in the near future since they're not going to be able to resolve this militarily that they'll start to think about a political resolution. >> but there won't be any leaders of the syrian opposition attending the vienna meeting mainly because u.s. officials don't think they're unified. the obama administration is only willing to go so far for syria. >> al jazeera's kristen salommey has been at the united nations when she asked the saudi ambassador what he hopes will happen in these talks in vienna. >> iran is participating in those talks. i wonder if you have any thoughts on what you hope their role will be and what your apprehensions are, if any? >> we hope that all parties will help in contributing towards the establishment of a political solution in syria based on geneva communique one. it is very clear. it calls for transitional authority to be established with full executive authorities,

. >>> sergei lavrov says the u.s.as refused to send a military delegation to russia to discuss coordination in syria. >> translator: attempts by the west and particularly by the u.s. to put a break on this process, are leading only to chaos, anarchy, and rejection by many other countries. russia will try to make sure that security is observed throughout the world and in russia as well. >>> there are reports that iranian troops are arriving in jair to help a government offensive. the syrian army has been backed by lebanese hezbollah fighters, and the russian air campaign. zana hoda has the story. >> reporter: iran provided much needed support over the years, political, military, as well as financial, they don't hide the fact that they play an advisory role in syria, that they have military advisors on the ground, but they official line has been no, we do not have ground forces in syria, but we have been hearing reports from pro-iranian sources as well as pro-iranian media, saying that thousands of iranian troops have a

sergey lavrov acknowledged his country was working with iraq against i.s.i.l. earlier on wednesday lavrov had said that only syria had asked the kremlin for direct intervention. >> ththe author of invasion to controversy, said that you treas -- it was titled iraq should fear russia's help. i want to get to russia in a minute but in that op ed, you also address an issue we just heard about in imen imtiaz tyabs report. do you agree they can't even form a national guard to fight i.s.i.l? >> that's the heart of the problem in iraq today. the fact is that although we can have short term military successes against i.s.i.s, there is no long term political solution to the problem in iraq without getting the sunnis on board. and without making the sunnis a coor parcore part of not only ti government but also a core part and leading part of the military forces that seek to dispem i.s.i.sdispeli.s.i.s. from sunn. you're not going to be able to hold the territory that you make clear of i.s.i.s. elements and you're not going to be able to prevent i.s.i.s. from making a rear

though, lavrov did go on to say that russia is backing either assad nor the opposition.ut the preponderance of air strikes as people in the united states and europe believe, most of russia strikes are not against isis here that have been targeting groups like the free syrian army. so, language sounds good. look at the detail. >> all right, nic robertson. thank you so much. >>> all right. one of the nation's top basketball programs could be tarnished by a sex scandal. coaches accused of paying for prostitutes to recruit players. now a former coach is out of a job. >>> and one of the escorts from the so-called stripper parties is dropping a bombshell on what she says he and other coaches covered up. this bale of hay cannot be controlled. when a wildfire raged through elkhorn ranch, the sudden loss of pasture became a serious problem for a family business. faced with horses that needed feeding and a texas drought that sent hay prices soaring, the owners had to act fast. thankfully, mary miller banks with chase for business. and with greater financial clarity and a relations

i think they will be quizzing sergey lavrov about that intriguing meeting between president putin and assad that took place in moscow two days ago. to what extent did president assad give any undertakings that he might be prepared to step down, under what conditions and in what time frame. that's what they'll want to hear from the russians. when john kerry was talking in berlin yesterday, he was saying things that really the americans have been saying for four years, that there is a single man who stands between a peaceful democratic, plural and secular syria and that man is president assad, so it was clear from john kerry's remarks that they still see the syrian president as the problem. does that mean that they are utterly inflexible in terms of when he might step down? not necessarily. turkey, another vehement opponent of bashar al assad, as you well know have been saying in recent weeks, turkish government officials that they are prepared to be more flexible about a possible time table. some officials in ankara a few days ago talking a possible six month transition period. now how

lavrov said that russia and the united states-led coalition see eye to eye on targets. >> if it walks like a terrorist and fights like a terrorist, it's a terrorist, right? i will recall that we all said that we are going to fight isil and other terrorist groups. this is the same position which the americans are taking, the representatives of the coalition command have always been saying that the targets are isil and other terrorist groups, and this is our position as well. >> lavrov said that the jets targeted isille targets, and russia is denying that civilians were killed in the strikes. >> it's what do you call the people who are in support and fighting against the assad government, they turned terrorists, so that has allowed, i think, the russian direction on these people, to be more widespread than just an operation against isil. but it does appear that not everyone is talking on the same page here. we had sergei, the putin chief of staff yesterday saying that the attacks appear to be solely against isil. and then we have had other information that the russian intelligence units

sergey lavrov said his country was ready to help the s.a.a. if they attacked militants from the islamic state group. this is seen as a major shift after referring to rebels at terrorists, russia of course a key ally of the syrian government has been carrying out airstrikes in the country since last month. we've got the s.a.a. saying it hasn't been in moscow, moscow says they were. the s.a.a. saying it doesn't want russia's help against isil. what are you hearing about all this confusion? >> well, it was a rather sort of wooly statement by a foreign office ministerial official when he said that basically the f.s.a. are over here all the time, all claiming to represent the f.s.a. right after that, the f.s.a. was pretty definitive saying they had not been to moscow. >> russian aircraft in the last 24 hours have attacked moderate rebel positions south of aleppo, so as far as the other players are concerned, russia is no longer fit to take on the mantel of orchestrating these political talks, which is what saudi arabia and turkey will be maintainin

. >> reporter: the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov will be in vienna. of his country's financial and military support for assad. the u.s. officials say they are looking for serious intentions from lavrov as well. >> they are probably going it find in the very near future since they are not going to be able to volve this military they want to start to think about a political resolution. >> reporter: but there won't be any leaders of the syrian opposition attending the vienna meeting mainly because u.s. officials don't think they are unified. a sign the obama administration is willing to go only so far right now for peace in syria. rosalind jordan, al jazeera, washington. >>> saudi arabia's foreign minister says the involvement of assad's allies in the talks will reveal whether or not they are really committed to peace. >> the view of our partners in this was that we should test the intentions of the iranians and the russians about fair seriousness in arriving at a political solution in syria which we all prefer. >>> 242 people have been rescued by the gr

while lavrov did say russia would support the rebels, that support is intended for the effort against isis. elsewhere in the middle east, palestinian leaders are expressing skepticism about a plan to ease tensions in jerusalem. the plan, announced yesterday by israel, jordan and u.s. secretary of state john kerry, would install surveillance cameras around jerusalem's al- aqsa mosque, known as "haram al sharif" to muslims and "the temple mount" to jews. palestinian foreign minister riyad al-maliki said today the cameras are a quote "new trap" to arrest muslims. but israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said the goal is to retain the status quo for both muslim worshippers and visitors and to thwart any attacks. already, israeli soldiers are checking i.d.'s at entrances to the holy site. the measures follow a month of violence. today in the city of hebron, israeli soldiers shot and killed a palestinian woman who they said drew a knife and approached them. >> brangham: president obama and the federal department of education are calling on states to cut back on standardized tests in sc

lavrov also said russia is ready to cooperate with the u.s. on attacking the islamic state, or isis, in syria. the u.s. senate has scheduled final votes next week to pass a bill that would permit companies to share information about hacking attacks with each other and with the government, without fear of lawsuits. the so-called "cyber-security information sharing act," or cisa, has already passed the house of representatives. but several big tech companies like apple and twitter say it does too little to protect individual privacy. joining me now to discuss the bill is "politico" reporter tim starks. help me understand this. we like to think of legislation as trying it solve a particular problem. what is the problem that c.i.s.a. is trying to solve? >> the problem here is that there is some information that's shared now on cyber security threats but not enough. the idea of this bill would be to make it so that companies could send more threat information to the government without fear of lawsuits. it helps them solve the problem of where that

i will tell you something, i have known sergei lavrov for 2 a years. this was a moment of triumph for him today at the u.n. >> why is putin doing this and now? >> in the immorality words of bill clinton because he can. because he sees weakness on the part of the united states, sees irresolution in the effort to stop isis. he strongly wants to get assad boosted in power, to create an axis, which he has effectively done of iran, the satellite government in baghdad. the assad regime in syria and the hezbollah terrorist in will be none. he wants to strengthen russia's military position in the united states, which has done. sees no effective american pushback. we haven't seen the last of this. >> ambassador bolton, thank you, sir. and earlier secretary of state john considery went "on the record." now, is in new york city for the u.n. general assembly. weave spoke to secretary kerry just hours before russia began their surprise air strikes in syria. late yesterday, secretary kerry and i talked about vladimir putin and ice isis. >> mr. secretary, nice to see

russian foreign minister sergei lavrov defended the actions at a press conference this morning. >> if it walks like a terrorist, if it fights like a terrorist, it's a terrorist, right? i would recall that we always were saying that we are going to fight i.s.i.l and other terrorist groups. this is the same -- the same position which the americans are taking, the representatives of the coalition command have been always saying their targets are i.s.i.l, al-nusra and other terrorist groups. >> rose: russia and the united states are set to hold talks about their forces. mike morell, former deputy director of the c.i.a. he's a colleague on cbs. i'm pleased to have him back on this program. mike, let me begin with basics here. president putin telegraphed what he was going to do, increase military presence with equipment and advisors, and he began building up to that point, and then he launched air strikes. it is said these were air strikes against moderate forces, and some stories that they may have been against some people that the c.i.a. was engaged with. tell me what he is trying to do a

secretary of state john kerry met with russian secretary sergey lavrov at the u.n. the two agreed to discuss emergency situation in syria. for more on the perspective from washington, d.c. we go to al jazeera's mike viqueria. mike. >> toant, gooantonio, good even. the white house, pentagon, expressed frustration over the bombing campaign. there are differences of opinion who was targeted, what was the ultimate goal of the russian bombing campaign and how the russians informed the u.s. that the bombing was going forward. >> this was the aftermath, 20 strikes in all. insisting that russians hit i.s.i.l. targets. u.s. officials including secretary of defense ash carter were again taken by surprise by russia's swift and aggressive moves in syria. >> this is not the kind of behavior that we should expect professionally from the russian military. >> reporter: the u.s. was informed at the last minute say defense officials. a russian officer delivering a blunt message to the american embassy in baghdad. russian planes will fly soon, coalition forces should stay clear. it is

it was agreement as we heard from secretary kerry and foreign minister lavrov. they agreed they want to see syria remain a united country. they want to see ae-democratic and a secular country. but where they disagree is on the future of assad. we are at a turning point. if it goes one way, we are likely to see escalation and this escalation could become much more dangerous. on the other happened there lbt escalation. if there are agreements, new initiatives on how to get out of this tragedy, then i think we might be seeing the beginning of the ends. >> i also says rhetoric on assad has changed at first secretary kerry insisted the syrian leader must step down before any new government is installed. more recently, the glus has called for a managed transition in syria. stay with us in the next hour. we will speak to the former head of sentences tral xhabd about the russian airstrikes in syria. the first significant hurricane to threaten the east coast in more than a year strengthened to a major storm overnight. hurricane joaquin is now a category 3 storm. and it c

. >> in new york the tension between john kerry and lavrov was palpable. >> we all want syria, democratic, united, secular, syria which is a home for all ethnic and confessional groups whose rights are guarenteed but we have some differences as for the details on how to get there. >> even as we don't have yet a resolution with respect to critical choices in that political solution we think we have very specific steps that may be able to help lead in the right direction. >> hurricane joaquin is expected to strengthen as it heads toward the bahamas. it's a category 3 hurricane with winds at 120 miles per hour. they're forecast for up to 15 inches of rain. joaquin could be the first hurricane to make u.s. land fall in 15 months. it's unclear where it could land next week with storm warnings between north carolina and boston. >> forgive and forget. which two companies are calling a truce after a series of courtroom battles. we'll be back in two. >>> welcome back. let's get you the headlines. u.s. disputes russian targets in syria as the two prepare a meeting. hurricane joaquin strengthens as

. >> friday, secretary of state john kerry will meet with russian foreign minister sergey lavrov and others. on the table. the future of bashar al-assad, with no consensus that he should stay or go. the gamble for vladimir putin is he can wish a settlement that he can support bashar al-assad or someone else like him in power and do it quickly. >> what makes this a problem is no one knows how to put the border or states back together. into that will not be possible. >> the u.s. mourns the loss of the first uggs soldiers. josh wheeler. he died in a firefight with i.s.i.l., as they fought to release prisoners, as the u.s. considers increasing the numbers of boots on the ground, his death will certainly not be the last. >> joining us here. "america tonight"s sheila macvicar, there'll be talks, where is this going to go? >> well, the talks will by about the futures of syria. it is clear that does not include bashar al-assad. that's not the view of russians and iranians. if you evident agree vladimir putin can accomplish goals. which is what he says. seems to be expectation, there must be

. >> russian foreign minister sergey lavrov says the u.s. has refused to send military delegation to russia to discuss coordination on syria. we are live from moscow. did he say why? >> well, what the united states wants is to try and attract the -- what russia wants is try an attract the united states into its coalition in syria, its action, air campaign in syria. what we were told is that in september, russia made an offer to the united states and the offer was maybe the united states should send a delegation of military experts to moscow to talk about cooperation in syria and also that maybe russia should send the prime minister to washington, d.c. to talk about the same sort of things. now sergey lavrov announced earlier today when he was speaking that the americans have been thinking about this for a while and today they have rejected the proposal, rejected the offer. he had some other words, too. he said that essentially, this kind of behavior from the united states is part of its efforts to undermine what he and what the russian gover

the other thing is kerry and lavrov. remember last week we waited for them to come out and do their press conference? one of the things they said is we're committed to continuing to talk. we need to work on this deconflict ion issue. lavrov and kerry have not spoken since last week. the white house i understand what they're saying when they explain their point of view about putin's position now. that they think he's operating from a position of weakness, getting in too far over his heads. the thing is that's not how putin sees himself. while it's true that people in russia are less wealthy than they were even last year, they die at a younger age than even, every year it's like their life expectancy goes down. they do have a ton of problems, but right now i think that putin has calculated this just right for what he needs right now. we can't wait for the long arc of history to show that putin was wrong. that's why i don't know what the department of defense is doing because the national security council is supposed to rub

. >> well, lavrov made his comments with reports that iranian troops are arriving to support a government offensive in aleppo. the syrian government is already backed by lebanese fighters and a russian air campaign. it is following the story for us from bay root. >> providing military support, military, advisory and that they have other advisers on the ground. the official line is no, we don't have ground sources in syria. but i've been waiting for pro reports. >> talking about a positive outcome as a result of the coordination between russia, iraq, iran and syria. on the ground, yes, the assault led by the government as well as russian airstrikes have really pushed rebels back from a number of front lines placing the rebels on the offensive. they're no longer on the offensive. but these reports are undoubtedly significant. ever since russia joined the military efforts in syria, more information has been coming out saying that iran troops are on the ground and that they're helping the syrian government. many beef this is still a, they do not want to be left out of any political talks to f

and secretary of state john kerry discussed the conflict with his russian counterpart, serg gay lavrov. and the two will meet in moscow on friday to discuss the war. lav from the pentagon with more, jamie. >> reporter: well, tony, the united states and russia are not just at odds in the skies over syria, but engaged in a public relations war offering vastly different narratives about what's happening on the ground. the video from the cameraman went viral this week, showing a syrian offensive last week in a northeastern sub besh of damascus. it shows the extent of the devastation near the syrian capital after four years of war. misery, which the pentagon now accuses the russian air power of simply adding to. >> the russians have been indiscriminate and reckless in syria. and they have no difficulty dropping cluster munitions around where civilians may be, and based on their actions, they do not appear to be interested in defeating isil. they appear to be interested in preserving the assad regime. >> the white house says that bashar al-assad's red carpet resist to moscow ends the fiction

i would suggest that those are the questions that sergey lavrov, the russian minister who will arrive shortly, will have put to him. >> particularly the future of bashar al-assad. >> reporter: yes, exactly. and i suppose this is a question that those ar other three will have. what exactly do the russians want? are they looking for an international coalition against terrorism, as they said, are they defining that narrowly as i.s.i.l? according to the americans, the majority of those strikes have been against other opposition groups in syria and going forward, what kind of transition do they envisage, if there is to be some sort of peaceful resolution? president assad, does he stay, does he leave before it, how long realistically will he remain in power, these are the kinds of issues that will be discussed in vienna. >> barnaby phillips, live for us in vienna. >>> double standards in their support for the syrian opposition, he made the comments during a political conference in sochi. wider agenda in the middle east, russia's faced criticism over its air campaign in syria, some targeting

putin is not a man that we can trust on his word but we just saw that clip from lavrov's press conference. he came across as genuine in that. that these were targeting isil camps and the like. is that just a flat out eye? are we sure that this is russia pulling the rag over the eyes of the best. >> almost everything that comes out of the kremlin is a lie. it doesn't disclose that he's lying and hiding what they're doing. it's not fighting isil but fighting everyone they consider opposed to the assad regime. >> if he is lying, can we really here have an argument? because this is different from ukraine. ukraine a sovereign area where they welcomed involvement of the west, peace keeping forces and the like. syria is very different and our involvement already is not welcomed by assad where as he has welcomed russian involvement. so do we have an argument? >> we do. it's called responsibility to protect. it's a un doctrine in place for sometime. when a state is incapable of stopping genocide or acting in genocide on the scale assad is doing. we can intervene. so far we haven't done on a partic

but russian president lavrov said there's no difference between the ones they are hitting and the ones they are hitting. take a look. >> he said if it looks like it is, it acts like it is, it's a te terrorist. >> general, how do you answer lavrov? >> he's essentially right. now, frankly, isis doesn't put much pressure on the regime. isis is more concerned about its own caliphate and expandsing outside of iraq and syria from the headquarters of iraq and they've done that in seven other countries. the focus in russia will be whatever rebels are encroaching on that regime and that kind of pressure. >> ambassador crocker, you, as you mentioned here, said earlier that the president should impose a no fly zone over that section of northwest syria where civilians are, where the moderate -- relatively moderate syrian rebels are. he said, no way we're going to get into a proxy war with russia and said that they are going to ends up in -- should the president be so confident that this is going to end up badly for putin? >> that would be baking a policy on hope. that has never made sense and does

here's how russian foreign minister lavrov put it. >> translator: we are ready to provide aerial support to the patriotic opposition, including so-called free syrian army. but it's important to us to get in touch with people who are authorized to represent the groups that are standing against terrorism. >> the offer is being considered but with a good deal of skepticism. the united states has accused russia of using its air campaign to target rebels and civilians instead of isis. >>> al qaeda is also battling for territory inside syria, but its affiliate there, the al nusra front has been killed in quote, action. the group is not providing further details and there are conflicting reports on how al masri died. some say he was killed by syrian government troops. other report say that he died in a gun battle with kurdish rebels. this just in to cnn, an arab israeli man was spotted paragliding into syria late saturday. you see the map here. israeli defense forces tweeted late saturday that the man was spotted from a watchtower. a spokesperson tells the ju jerusalem post that he was going to

. >>> meeting between sergey lavrov and john kerry was announced after bashar al-assad made a surprise visit to moscow. bombs continue to fall in syria. today volunteers in a humanitarian mission in idlib were hit. jamie mcintire last more on washington's reaction. >> russiarussia and the united s are not only in conflict in the skies over syria, each are offering a vastly different narrative of what's happening on the ground. drone video from a russian state tv cameraman went viral this week, the video with an added sound track shows a russian offensive last week, and an aerial view of the extent of the devastation after four years of war. misery which the pentagon now accuses russian air power of adding to. >> the russians have been indiscriminate, reckless in syria, they drop cluster bombs where civilians are. they do not appear to be interested in defeating i.s.i.l, they appear interested in preserving the assad regime. >> bashar al-assad's red carpet welcome in moscow ends the fiction that russian intervention is about anything other than keeping assad in power. the pentagon conti

. >>> sergei lavrov saying russia is now ready to support syrian rebels in their fight against isis.oming one day after he and kerry discussed new ways to have trifg to reach a political settlement to the crisis in syria. joe daugherty joins us from moscow. this seems to be somewhat contradictory to people. we know that russia and one of the points of con tension is this. they are ready to assist them in some fashion? >> assist them from the air is what they are saying. it is not that surprising. they have been showing their hand on this all week. russians are continuing to bond. the mantra is putin as peacemaker. now, they are moving, they hope, towards some type of political settlement. let's listen to what the foreign minister, sergei lavrov said. >> we are ready to provide aerial support to the patriotic opposition, including free syrian army. it is important to us to get in touch with people authorized to represent these armed groups that are standing against terrorism. >> then, he went on to take a swipe at the united states by saying, yes, but that's difficult. the united stat