mr. bashar al-assad, which is necessary for not just moral reasons, but also ones as we have stressed ofveness. how could somebody bring together a whole people when he has massacred so many? and here whatever our ideas might be, we simply can't hide an undeniable political reality that is as long as mr. bashar al-assad's government continues lasting inning veritable reconciliation between populations and the syrian state would semen attainable. finally. allow me to share a few thoughts on the ceasefire. ceasefire must be national, fair by fryable for it to be lasting. we think that th that at least e conditions must be met the ceasefire accompany the trap since rather earlier than precede it. and that only this transition will provide the opposition with necessary security conditions. finally, we think there is a need to prepare the ceasefire with immediate humanitarian measures to alleviate the suffering of people and to add credibility to the political process. the compliance with international humanitarian law, in particular the immediate halting of indies creme natural attacks again

mr. bashar al assad's government continues lasting and veritable reconciliation between populations and theyrian state would seem unattainable. finally, allow me to share a few thoughts on the ceasefire. the ceasefire must be national, viable, verifiable more it to be lasting. we -- for it to be lasting. we think at least three conditions should be met. first, we think the ceasefire should accompany the transition rather than precede it, and that only this transition will provide the opposition with necessary security conditions. finally, we think there's a need to to prepare the ceasefire with immediate humanitarian measures to alleviate the suffering of people and to add credibility to the selection process. compliance with national humanitarian law is a seen quo nonbe, unhampered access for humanitarian assistance. to create a foundation for the ceasefire. and finally, after such violence monitoring of the ceasefire will be quite difficult. it will require creative solutions on the ground but also on the political front. it'll need a mechanism through which the issg members who are most

mr. bashar al assad's government lasts, this would seem unattainable.finally, allow me to share a few thoughts on the cease-fire. the cease-fire must be national, viable, verifiable for it to be lasting. we think that at least three conditions should be met. first, we think the cease-fire should accompany the transition rather than precede it and that only this transition will provide the opposition with necessary security conditions. finally, we think there's a need to prepare the cease-fire with immediate humanitarian measures to alleviate the suffering of people and to add creditability to the political process. the coimmediate halting of indiscriminate attacks against civilians. confidence-building measures would be most welcomed to create a foundation for the cease-fire. finally, after such violence, monitoring of the cease-fire will be quite difficult. it will require creative solutions on the ground but also on the political front. it will need a mechanism through which the issg members who are most concerned and permanent members of the security

ugly, i can say that i never really imagined the level of brutality that bashar al-assad, a trained eye surgeon had in him >>> mr bashar al-assad in a tv interview defiant saying russia's involvement in the war is shrinking i.s.i.l. take a listen. >> that coalition talks about facts not opinions, i.s.i.s. has expanded and the recruits increased. since the russians in the same fight, so-called against terrorism. i.s.i.s. has been shrinking and al-nusra. this is reality the facts are telling. >> the reaction - is the russian involvement shrinking i.s.i.l.? >> look, the number one brirty for russian intervention is saving the regime, everything follows from that. you can't understand the policy unless you accept that. >> the russians are concerned about the al nusra front, and other opposition groups that are threatening the alawite heartland in and around the port city of latakia. they have been hitting those targets from ibrahim abdeslam hard. and have been hitting some i.s.i.l. targets, but not as heavy. i saw some reports which pretty much calls them as they see them, saying that basically an equal number of op

side is saying it was a mixed meeting, that they still have disagreements on whether bashar al-assad should stay. mrtin said on the whole that they came closer to a better understanding, but on the crucial issue of whether you can have a broad coalition against isis, mr. putin suggested to the issue with turkey is a negative one. at kind of broad coalition can we talk about? president obama later in the evening have dinner with francois hollande, the top was how to deal with isis. hans, the german cabinet also approved the use of warplanes in syria. this is quite significant. hans: well, the cabinet hinted this. we still need the final approval from the bundestag. it is four to six surveillance planes. they will not be engaged in combat. all told, it will report that 1200 troops will be available, but we really need to stress that they are sending a frigate, the surveillance plane -- but these will not be involved in combat, and that is a crucial distinction. manus: as the united kingdom members of parliament look to vote on the same kind of issue, that is very relevant. let's turn our attention to

mr. obama claimed vindication for his august 2011 policy calling for syrian leader bashar al-assad to go. >> five years later i was right. >> but in another revolt of the arab spring in libya the president offered a mea culpa. >> the united states has some accountability for not moving swiftly enough and underestimating the need to rebuild government there quickly. >> but it is the aftermath of the san bernardino killings and how to stop lone wolves like the husband and wife accused of carrying out the attack that is front and center. mr. obama made a familiar argument. a balance must be found between a right to privacy and law enforcement'lawenforcement's ner social media and e-mail. >> we'll be engaging with the high tech community to find out how we can in a appropriate way, do a better job if we have a lead to be able to track a suspected terrorist. >> and antonio among the achievements that the president points to in 2015, the diplomatic opening to cube, the nuclear deal with iran, and the climate summit in paris. >> bill schneider his take in the bik fight for democratic race for pr

repeated three times the agreement reached with mr john kerry is to have conversations in the united syrian opposition with the president bashar al-assad. this is a new development. it has never been discussed before. it looks like it's a new achievement in the russian u.s. flegs. it looks tactically like it's been supported by the american side. >> vladimir putin painted a rosy picture of the economy. is that wishful thinking and do the russian peel believe him. on one hand he's corrects. for several months he allowed a food study to grow. in november, russian output went doing. and the crisis that was mentioned. it's ahead of us again. it's important to look how russian population ractedz to the words. today an opinion poll has been published. 80% of russian people think that russia is in the midst of the crisis. >> ukraine has all but been forgotten. i know you've said this the world does that at his own peril. you believe it would agree with the middle east and other members of the soviet bloc. >> correct, and vladimir putin's attitude towards ukraine has been, again, reflected in his words. he spent time discussing how ukraine was

conference there he does not expect vladimir putin to back off putin's support for syria's bashar al assad any time soon. >> mr. putin, i don't expect that you are going to see a 180 turn on their strategy over the next several weeks. they have invested for years now in keeping assad in power. their presence there is predicated on propping him up, and so that's going to take some time for them to change how they think about the issue. >> arizona senator john mccain chairs the armed services committee of course and is just back from a trip to iraq and joins me now. senator, thank you very much. >> thank you, andrea. >> first of all, your assessment of what the president said today and then i want to ask you about what the defense secretary, ash carter, said today on the house side about ground forces. what about the president's analysis of what to do now against isis and that it is going to take awhile to move putin to back off assad? >> well, first of all, it was obvious all along that vladimir putin wants to keep bashar al assad in power and that has been his whole m.o., including bombing operations not again

s attack on paris, mr cameron was steering his government to make this choice. a vote on attacking president bashar al-assad's forces in syria failed to pass in 2013. since then brittain has carried out more than 380 air strikes on iraq, but brittain, like many other nations is war wary. the conflicts in iraq and afghanistan still loom large. several hundred people had gathered outside parliament to protest against air strikes. >>> past experience has shown in iraq, in afghanistan and libya that bombing these people does no good at all. >>> there should be a cease fire in syria. there's no doubt about it. the international community has got to get together and stop automatic this bickering. -- automatic this bicker-- all this bickering. >> reporter: britain will take a bigger role in the coalition of nations trying to strike i.s.i.l. in both iraq and syria. here, at least, there is an acknowledgment that it could take months or even years to achieve military success >>> authorities have arrested more senior football officials in zurich as investigations continue into the corruption of the world governing body

mr. obama claimed vindication from his 2011 policy calling for bashar al-assad to go. >> five years later i was right. [ protests ] >> in another reas a result in libya, the president offered a mea culpa. >> i think the united states has some accountability for not moving swiftly enough and under estimating the need to rebuild government there quick. >> i but it is the aftermath of the san bernardino killings and how to stop lone wolves like the husband and wife acaused of carrying out the attack is front and center. president obama made a familiar argument. a balance must be found between right of private and monitoring social media and e-mail. >> one of the things we'll be doing is engaging with the high tech community to find out how we can in an appropriate way do a better job if we have a lead to be able to track suspected terrorists. >> and tony, among the things that the president says were big achievements, and the white house has been trumpeting these over the past few days. historic by many reckons, the agreement with iran, that is still opposed by many in congress, and of cours

mr. obama claimed vindication in his august 2011 strategy calling for bashar al-assad to go. >> five years later i was right. >> but in another revolt of the arab spring in libya, president obama offered a mea culpa. >> not moving swiftly enough and underestimating the need to rebuild government there quickly. >> reporter: but it is the aftermath of the san bernardino killings and how to stop lone wolves like the husband and wife accused of carrying out the attack that is front and center. mr. obama made a familiar argument. a balance must be found between a right to privacy and law enforcement's right to monitor e-mail. >> what we'll be doing is engaging with the high tech community to find out how we can in an appropriate way do a better job if we have a lead, to be able to track a suspected terrorist. >> reporter: mike viqueria, al jazeera, washington. >> congress passed a budget bill today, this time it came without threats of shutdown or partisan brinksmanship. the $1.1 trillion bill will fund the government through september. and $680 billion in tax breaks. >>> now to the presidentia

mr. lavrov to talk through this. but the question is what is the question of syria? does it involved bashar al-assad? we can surmise that the russian position will be that it does need to be with bashar al-assad. and if he is the answer then you're asking the wrong question. the question will be what sort of wiggle room, as it were, the americans and russians can play out with each other to find any sort of solution. the fact that mr. kerry is going at some point this week, whether it is immediately after this meeting or in the days to come to moscow may be seen by some as progress. but we shall have to wait and see how that works out. it's worth making the point that the e.u. foreign ministers have been meeting today in brussels to discuss the situation. we know that e.u. foreign policy chief has been outspoken about the situation, and we also know, of course, that the e.u. heads of government will be meeting in brussels on thursday and friday to discuss the situation vis-a-vis isil, vis-a-vis syria, and what it means for them in europe, where the situation of terrorism, as it has been described cer

bashar al-assad. the united states believes there is no future for mr. assad. certainly that's been their position for many years now. we can be certain they will be talking about the action that can be taken. we know that the two countries concerned have been taking action in syria and in iraq to combat isil as well. certainly those elements we can expect to be on the agenda. but as i say officials have been tight-lipped. perhaps if there is a news conference in the next few hours after the meeting we'll hear more whether anything more substantial has been discussed or as you suggest agreed upon. >> dominic can you talk about the feeling in france specificsly regarding syria and bombing isil? >> well, certainly speaking the french reaction to the situation in syria as far as bombing isil is concerned generally speaking is broadly supportive of the actions that president franÇois hollande called for, certainly in the aftermath of the attacks. the feeling was that this was something that needed to be done. certainly that's what franÇois hollande did, and there s

mr. putin wants, what he plans, and where is he going in this strategy? >> and jill, certainly the role of president bashar al assad, is really the main stumbling block, but the other issue is whether russia is targeting moderate rebels or the isis militants. how might discussions on that issue go down? >> reporter: you know, that's a very complicated issue, actually. it's become more complicated in the last couple of weeks. here's how. russia, for a long time was saying we're hitting isil. and that's it. we are hitting the terrorists. now, the united states has said, you are not hitting isis as much as you are hitting opposition forces. and low and behold, recently russia has started saying our air strikes are meant to help the free syrian army, fsa, which is opposition. so i think that's a place where they have to really drill down and say, who are the fsa people that you are helping? because theoretically, the free syrian army is fighting president asaad, so you can see how this is all very complicated, and it's all connected. so the idea is sit down, try to bat out these gaps, try to understand them, and then t

bashar al assad. some say that moscow has made it clear privately that it has no objection to mr. eventually stepping down as part of a peace process. it begs the question, what exactly is russia hoping to accomplish with the military campaign. matthew chance went to a russian military base in syria for some answers. >> the kremlin keeps saying that there can't be any military solution to the conflict in syria. has to be a political one. at the same time, russia has poured its powerful military into the country, bolstering its syrian governmental eye and making sure that any future peace deal, russian interest in syria will be paramount. i spent the last week with russian forces in syria. i saw first hand how moscow is aggressively intervening in that civil war. >> this is how the kremlin supports syrian allies and battles its enemies. we gained rare access to the syrian base, now the military hub of russia's air war. this really does feel like the center of a russian military operation. there's the smell of jet fuel and the ground shudders with the roar of the planes returning fro

mr. lavrov but also vladimir putin, the russian president. the preconditions may be we certainly know that the russian government believes that president bashar al-assad still has a role to play in syria and needs to be part of a post-conflict solution for syria. we also know that up until now certainly western governments have said that that is not kay e-case and we know that the french government prior to the meeting that was held at quay definitely orsay could not be part of a solution. the french government wanted to salute the efforts of opposition groups who met in ryad oin recent days to try to agree on a solution. so far from this meeting nothing concrete has emerged, julie. >> dominic kane joining me live from paris, dominic, thank you. >>> coming up this news hour, we report from the central o centrn republic on the efforts of peace keepers. >> preventing the media getting anywhere near the court. >> scuffles in china as a prominent human rights lawyer is tried mocking the government. >> in sport why tokyo is forced to downsize its plans for 2020 olympics. aturkey has withdrawn about 1,000 troops stationed at a camp in northern iraq. the dep

russia will ultimately see the need for syrian president bashar al assad to leave power to end his country's four--year-old civil war. >> on mr putin, i don't expect that you're going to see a 180 turn on their strategy over the next several weeks. they have invested for years now in keeping assad in power. their presence there is predicated on propping him up. and so that's going to take some time for them to change how they think about the issue. >> right now defense secretary ashton carter around joint chiefs of staff chairman general jose joseph dunford are testifying before the house armed services committee. t stepped up air strikes were credited. >> we're deploying a specialized expeditionary targeting force to assist iraqi and kurdish peshmerga forces and put even more pressure on isil. these special operators will, over time, be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence, and capture isil leaders. >> joining me live now to talk about it all, house armed services committee member, democratic congresswoman jackie speier of california. she also serves on the house intelligence committee. congresswoman, th

for the syrian president bashar al assad says the british prime minister's claims that there are around 70,000 moderate opposition fighters inside syria is wrong. he dismissed mr. cameron's position that those fighters could be part of a political solution. mr. cameron presented that if i can to the u.k. parliament before it endorsed airstrikes inside syria. >> about the statement that there are 70,000 moderate opposition fighters in syria, that is not accepted anywhere in this world. there is no 70,000. there is not even 7,000. there's not even 10 of those. the international coalition's airstrikes are doomed to fail. britain and france don't have the will and don't have the vision on how to defeat terrorism. >> venezuelans started voting in parliamentary elections with the country's economic woes, putting heavy pressure on the socialist government. the opposition is likely to gain a majority of the votes for the first time in 17 years but it's unclear how the votes translate into seats. president maduro's critics accused him of rigging the voting districts in his favor. the vote is likely to be one of the most hotly contested in recent years. lucia new man ex

bashar al assad. that's where russia comes in. that's where iran comes in. because they do have influence with mr. assad.t the table from the opposition? that has been a big sticking point. so it's not that hard to define some of the real terrorist organizations like isis. the al nusra front. everybody agrees on that. but there are other groups that come in like the free syrian army. most of them are actually acceptable now to russia and to the united states. but there are other groups as well. so that's where the rubber hits the road when you get into these really nitty-gritty details. george? >> and jill, when it comes to cracking down on isis and its funding, this meeting in new york, what more can you tell us about that? >> well, that's a very important part of this. and as you mentioned, that resolution was passed unanimously. and what it seeks to do is stop terrorist organizations. and a especially isis from using the international banking system as a means of getting funding. and a lot of it is focused on oil sales. much of the money that isis gets is from oil sales. russia in particular has been

bashar al assad would be able to run. let's bring in a msnbc contributor and am bas. i want to bring this up, mr.r, because it is the first time since the five-year civil war began that u.s. and russia were able to take this step to agree a plan for talks. >> well, is it is a a good thing when the great powers ingagree the security council of the unit united nationsing a e gree. we should applaud secretary kerry for getting to this point, but it is not an agreement to move forward or an agreement for cease-fire or new elections for the simple fact that neither president assad nor the opposition have agreed to the terms of deal. so all of the external watchers and observers if you will have agreed for a plan for syria to move forward, but the syrians, themselves, have not signed up for it. >> vladimir putin said that the russia and u.s. have narrowed the difference, and what does that mean for the future of the assad government in syria? >> well, it is a symbol, as a signal, a symbolic signal that a good thing and has to make assad a little bit nervous, but president putin has never said that assa

bashar al assad must go. she wasn't willing to do anything about it. of course, when she lied about the terrorist attack in bengh i benghazi, she invited more terrorist attacks. >> thank you. mrel differently. benghazi was a disaster because of libya. everything fell into place. it could not have been worse. what do we have now? we have nothing. we've spent $3 trillion and probably much more. they have no idea what we've spent. thousand and thousands of lives. we have nothing. wounded warriors all over the place who i love. we have nothing for it. and by the way, and ben said, and correctly, and i'm not s saying this as a knock. this is one of the finest men in. but i've been talking about oil for three years. i've been saying take the oil. take the oil. i didn't say just bomb it. i said take it, and use it, and distribute it. so that the wounded warriors and people -- but i've been saying this now for many years. now, all of a sudden everybody is saying take the oil. it wasn't so fashionable to take the oil six months ago. i've been saying it for years. >> we mismanaged going into iraq and out of iraq. >> dr. carson is the middle east better off with dictators? >> no one is

mr. earnest: it's hard to imagine that the syrian people, most of whom have been violently attacked by bashar al-assad, are going to be at all supportive of him having a senior role in their government. but again, the syrian people will have to decide that. it would be, i think i guess an irrational decision for them to suggest that he's somehow up to that kind of responsibility. reporter: it's going to be hard for the syrian people, four million of whom have fled the country, millions more displaced within it, to decide through voting. that's going to be negotiated. that's part of what's being negotiated, is who does what for how long in this new transitional government. is it not frustrating to president obama that there is no timeline still for assad's departure and we're about to enter on friday a peace process to hammer out, you know, a trajectory within that country? i mean, that's not being hammered out by the syrian people. that's being negotiated by this one. mr. earnest: certainly diplomats are going to put together a process that we believe can be effective in bringing about this kind of po