> that is our show for today, the hopes of a peace deal for ukraine butt country's president petro poroshenko is reportedly objecting to russian conditions. ♪ ♪ >>> good to have you with us her on al jazerra, i am david foster. also coming up in the next 30 minutes. >> our coalition is on the offensive. isil is on the defensive. and isil is going to lose. >> u.s. president looking for congressional backing to step up military operations against isil isil. >>> the retrial of two al jazerra journalists accused of colluding with the plus lime brotherhood set to begin in cairo. they have already spent 411 days in jail. jail for an ex-i can tiff who forced a jet to divert because she didn't like the way she had been served some nuts. ♪ ♪ >>> ukrainian petro poroshenko has reportedly called russian demands at the minsk peace talks unacceptable. diplomatic sources say they are close to signing a peace deal to stop fighting in eastern ukraine, despite many sticking points over the conditions. leaders of ukraine russia, france and germany have been trying to iron out ideal in the belarus capital. alre

russian president vladimir putin and ukrainian president petro poroshenko. down playing the chacheses of anychances of anysort of break through. any hope to last ditch effort to halt the conflict that have killed 5,000 even more? >> you're right, there's not a huge lot ever optimism. if you are going to draw optimism from anything, draw it from the fact they are all here, all sitting together, and all talking to each other. it's been a long not so far of negotiations has been taken up many hours. at one point, sergey lavrov the russian foreign minister, took a break, spoke to journalists, they asked him how it was going, his reply, super. they asked him to clarify what he meant, better than super. there is a possibility that these talks may not culminate on thursday night, maybe go into the next morning. >> the americans have not ruled that out, there is some talk that the white house is preparing some legislation unclear where that will go clearly they're thinking about it as a last resort. but does the idea of the west in some fashion tarming ukrainians ch

we are expecting petro poroshenko to be here this afternoon to brief eu leaders about the details of that deal. we will be hearing from angela merkel the german chancellor, later in brussels. we can expect the eu leaders here at 28 heads of state and government to cautiously welcomed the minsk agreements, but of course we are well aware that angela merkel and francois hollande are already managing exit stations, emphasizing that this is not a breakthrough. one official i spoke to yesterday was telling me very early litmus test if this deal is signed, which it now has been, would be a cease-fire, whether a cease-fire actually holds. of course european leaders are very aware of the fact that after the first minsk agreements was signed in september, that cease-fire did not hold. so there is plenty of room for pacifism here, but at the very least, eu leaders might be able to say in the short-term to the united states, hold off on arming ukraine and let's give this diplomatic push a more details. >> armen where has this minsk deal left sanctions on russia/ ? >> will at the last meeting of

now of course, it turned out that petro poroshenko was wrong. putting a good gloss on it, but this is a significant defeat for the ukrainians. >> thanks rory. >>> moving to other news myanmar's president has declared a state of emergency after an attack on a red cross convoy. government troops are trying to drive ut the mmdaa rebels. rebels who say they are fighting for the rights of the haan chinese minorities. recent fighting appears to have been triggered by the return of the leader from exile in china. it is the first widespread unrest in the region since a major offensive in 2009 when myanmar's army forced the group's rebel leader and tens of thousands of people from the area to take refuge in china. >> reporter: a barrage of bullets brings this red cross vehicle to an abrupt halt. it was part of the convoy attacked on tuesday in myanmar's eastern region where a new wave of fighting has broken out between rebels and government forces. >> unless there is a ceasefire called, there would be more attacks. ? the resistance experience red cross t

they have -- well angela merkel has been meeting with petro poroshenko in ukraine and kiev. she said that this plan will involve the territorial integrity of ukraine and essentially that it would not really have any dramatic territorial difference from the minsk peace agreements. by that, i mean that the front lines at the moment, which have shifted considerably since the minsk peace agreement was signed in september if there is a new agreement, it will be along the minsk front line guidance. that is going to be difficult for the rebels, the separatists to accept, because they have taken a lot of territory since then. they will want to hold that territory. russia, of course, has its own agenda, it's own ideas, vladimir putin has submitted his plan to the two european leaders so they will be talking about all these things at the moment, here in moscow. they will be talking about front lines, they will be talks the issue of federalization or you a tan my or independence of these separatists self declared republics and talk the pour rouse border between russia and ukraine which

i think francois hollande has arrived and petro poroshenko and other e.u. leaders here have delayed the start simply because of the all-night marathon talks in minsk and they will be keen to hear it firsthand in brussels around the table here, a firsthand account of what exactly happened and some of the details of the agreement that was signed in minsk. i think there will be some relief that the european leaders here will not have to talk about the possibility of increasing sanctions on russia today. that was one option if the machine ask talks had not worked. i think we also detect here a great desire to understand more about the details and why this minsk agreement should work out any better than the old minsk agreement, which didn't work out at all. >> ok. we'll wait and see then, simon mcgreg wore wood there live in brussels as europeans take on that debate about the situation in ukraine. we can go to charles stratford our correspondent in the eastern part of ukraine in donetsk. i'm just wondering first charles, whether news of the ceasefire due to kick

petro poroshenko is willing to introduce martial law across the state if separatist insurgency violence continues to rise. 16 people or killed in a rocket strike. -- were killed in a rocket strike. >> shells landed on this bus station in the center of donetsk. commuters were waiting for their bus to work. some managed to escape when they heard the first bomb. >> when i relies there was no sense standing here, i ran to hide. after that, i heard the shell. then you can see with their own eyes. >> more shells fell overnight but this time 100 miles north. the rockets were targeting the ukrainian army's eastern headquarters. civilians were also killed. ukraine's president rushed to visit the injured. >> this metal part was taken from people here. this is a crime against humanity. >> southeast lies another town where fighting has intensified. rebels have surrounded the town, which the ukrainian army still controls. >> up there, and enemy sabotage and reconnaissance group has snuck in and we are working on destroying it. >> on the rebel side they are still recruiting. >> we need drivers, mecha

angela merkel and french president francois hold on to our joining russia's vladimir putin and petro poroshenko for the talks. the goal is an immediate cease-fire. >> it is my hope that poroshenko listens. neither angela merkel nor francois hollande want a war. they know the consequences that could have. >> there is no way we can give back to the rebels. next they will want the whole country. that is just how it is in war. >> many ukrainians fear the summit in minsk will make no lasting difference. ahead of the meeting, president poroshenko said he is prepared to introduce martial law across the country should the peace talks fail. >> now for some background and analysis we are joined by marcus klein. welcome marcus. there has already been an minsk agreement last year. what is different this time? >> i think two major points will be added to a minsk ii agreement. first, a timetable, which was lacking in the first one. so for example, the withdrawal of heavy weapons by two weeks. the second step will be increased intervention, be it from the osc or the united nations. >> looking at the various p

-- francois hollande, petro poroshenko, and vladimir putin. some would say this is a mortal blow to minsk, therefore to the credibility of these leaders. the question is, what do angela merkel and francois hollande do next? we will have to watch the press conference to see whether they have any dance -- plans or whether they will wait to see if things calmed down after debaltseve. perhaps they will simply keep on insisting that everyone on her this unraveling peace accord -- everyone honor this unraveling peace accord. annette: armen georgian, thank you. fighting continues in eastern ukraine. all sides are still insisting they support the cease-fire, despite a number of violations. kiev says the rebels have shelled ukrainian positions more than 50 times in the last 24 hours alone. oliver farry has more. oliver: pro-russian separatists put on display their prisoners ukrainian troops captured during the battle for debaltseve, a transport hub located between donetsk and -- a total of 90 troops were taken prisoner when debaltseve fell to the rebel

ukrainian president petro poroshenko is now calling for international peacekeepers to help. petro poroshenko: we think the best option would be a police auction from the european union. we are sure this would be the most effective and the best guarantee for security in a situation where the promise of peace is not kepyt -- not kept by russia. genie: let's bring in christina in kiev. the ukrainian president had a phone conversation with leaders of france, germany and russia. what more do we know about what was said? christina: mr. hollande said he spoke with the leaders about violations to the cease-fire and consequences. violence and -- violations according to ukraine would be fighting in debeltseve which the rebels now say is controlled by then. there are issues on whether or not both sides would take away heavy weapons from the front lines. that was a major part of the cease-fire deal. there have been reports that there has been progress on that. ukraine said if the fighting continued it would not move away those weapons. there's a question of whether or not we are going t

in kiev, ukrainian president petro poroshenko called on the u.n.make the deal work. >> we think peacekeepers are needed to ensure the truce is observed in the region, and to monitor the russian-ukrainian border and the region around donetsk and luhansk. >> poroshenko wants the mission to include eu police, but that was met with opposition from russia. the foreign ministry says it does not like the idea, because they want to give the minsk agreement more time to work. moscow says ukraine's government must ensure the agreement is viable. but in donetsk the separatists seem to be expressing support for poroshenko's idea. the leader says the proposed peacekeepers months ago. >> so if they want to send peacekeepers we are not against it. let it go ahead. >> but even if they talk about peace, the separatists continue to establish forces on the ground. it is unclear if they will stop at debaltseve. >> our correspondent is standing by in kia. we heard that poroshenko is calling for peacekeepers. is this an admission that his own military can't stop the con

petro poroshenko doesn't want to have u.n. peace keeping forbes on the ground but will consider a wrench did you in ukraine on the federalization of the country, but western leaders will certainly be looking towards vladimir putin be looking towards russia to bring its influence that bear on the fighters on the rebels in the east because there's not much point in making high-level agreements if you can't get the separatists themselves to agree that this is the best course of action and vladimir putin, of course, will be tooking toward petro poroshenko to convince the ukraine army to pull back. >> the u.s. says nigerias decision to postpone presidential and legislative elections is deeply disappointing. the vote was supposed to happen next week but now delayed by six weeks due to security concerns. opposition parties are also criticizing that decision. >> it's a decision arrived at after long deliberations, and when he finally came to announce it the chairman had this to say about the decision to postpone the elections due to s

vladimir putin was saying to petro poroshenko saying, look, your troops are cut off. they're surrounded. do the right thing. don't let them die. let them surrender. but petro poroshenko denies what vladimir putin was telling him and did he not want debaltseve to be used as a bargaining chip. they lost it now. what happens now? it depends on the rebels, the separatests have as much ground as they want at the moment, and whether they'll start respecting the cease-fire as agreed in minsk, or whether they might think that they have the wind in their sails and will carry on pushing for other victories maybe down in the south places like mariupol. a lot of it depends on what the fighting conditions will be. is a thaw going to be immanent in which tanks would get bogged down in the mud. that is a fact. there is supposed to be a phone call later between angela merkel merkel, franÇois hollande and petro poroshenko, and there is going to be only one happy caller involved in that call, and that is vladimir putin. >> human rights says that 150 people have been killed since tuesda

. >> the ukraine president petro poroshenko is now due to arrive in brussels, where european leaders are also gathering for their summit. it's just underway, i believe simon mcgregor wood is there. have the leaders who were up all night in minsk have they managed to get themselves to brussels in time for this important meeting? >> yes, they have. just in the last few minutes angela merkel was the last of the three, petro poroshenko arrived, francois hollande arrived, so this delayed meeting, the summit is now underway in the next few minutes and they will get a briefing from the three of the four participants who were at the all night session in minsk. there is a certain amount of enthusiasm to find out the details here. european leaders want to know what's in the fine print if you like and the others walking in, david cameron and others have expressed some relief, enthusiasm that a deal was forged but quite a lot of skepticism as well about how durable it is and in what way we can justifiably be more optimistic about this minsk agreement over the last, which of course soon fell apar

petro poroshenko would say that is not the case. my troops are fine.m what we have said today, petro pore shanco was either trying to bluff his way out of that or he was severely mistaken. the rebels have taken one of their key strategic goals, and the ukrainians particularly petro poroshenko is looking at a very humiliating loss. >> the minsk ceasefire, when events like this happen what does this mean for the, quote unquote, ceasefire? >> reporter: well that is a big question, because it all depends on whether the rebels will be satisfied with debaltseve. they have said that they have started to pull their heavy artillery back in accordance with the minsk agreement in quieter areas of the front line. there has been a raising of the flag of debaltseve. it -- it is going to have -- we're going to have to wait and see, it remains to be seen whether they are going to keep on pushing for any further grounds, particularly in the south, or whether they are now going to do what the minsk peace plan required and withdrawal their heavy weaponry so the proper po

. >> and petro poroshenko suggests that if this violence continues he is going to impose marshall law says it will be across the country. is that enforceable? >> reporter: well the ukrainian army has been severely hampered in its campaign over the last few months by morale issues and -- and by the supply of men. it just doesn't really have enough men to wage a proper campaign of the type that it has been trying to fight. so petro poroshenko's claim that he is going to enact pass mobilization and a marshall law is kind of a last ditch attempt by him to win this campaign. it will have consequences economic consequences. he is trying to balance these two things, a, a military campaign to defeat or at least contain the separatists, but also he is trying to keep his country's economy on track at a time where the local currency has depleted by some 30 to 50% over the last week or so. and it is possibly got only about another five week's worth of reserves in which to buy imports. that is a powerless state for his economy to be in. if marshall law is declared that will hit the economy even mo

means it's not about the rebels seceding, it's about ukraine being neutral and pro-russian. >> petro poroshenkonian president, would he be acceptable to continuing his position to moscow or does moscow believe that he has to go? >> you know, poroshenko is acceptable for moscow. russian -- since his lex since september has been to kind and try to isolate him from other forces that we don't like, particularly the prime minister and his party. and connect poroshenko to pro-russian forces and to mr. med very sred who is also in russia who russia very much want to see in an important position in kiev and he's a pro-russian ukrainian. >> i want to tell you pavel butting in here that we are getting a report out of minsk that poroshenko now says russian demands are unacceptable. does that mean likely there is likely no deal or still jockeying for position? >> i think it's more jockeying for position. i believe some deal is imminent. right now to kind of continue the filing would mean to introduce mower russian troops, regular troops and if he introduce them without air support, there is going to be hea

. ♪ ♪ >>> ukraine's president petro poroshenko has told the afb news exactly at that russian conditionsminute evening peace talks are unend table. diplomatic sources say the leaders are close to saning a peace deal to stop the fighting ukraine. leaders from russia, france, and germany have been trying to get the deal done with hundreds of people killed between the government troops and pro-russian separatists. rory challands on the phone with the latest from minute he can. despite what poroshenko is saying we understand that they are back in the negotiating room rory. >> reporter: this is turning out to be an incredible difficult negotiation. it's been going on for well over 12 their hours now. [ inaudible ] various stations in hopings and he can peck take that some sort of deal imminent each team and hopes have been dashed. and. [ inaudible ] >> rory, we'll have to leave it there, i am afraid the quality of the phone line not good enough. thank you anyway. >> let's hear from pavel our defense analyst and columnist who believes ideal is on the cusp but that poroshenko must stand firm wh

now ukrainian president petro poroshenko is seeking help from the united nations. let's turn to erin mclaughlin with more from moscow. good morning erin. >> reporter: moscow is rejecting the ukrainian president's calls for a u.n. peacekeeping mission to be deployed. russian's ambassador to the u.n. is saying that would serve to frustrate the current agreement. the current agreement seeming frustrated with western officials accusing russia as well as the separatists of violating the cease-fire agreement in debaltseve. that key strategic transport hub. russian officials saying debaltseve was not subject to the cease-fire agreement. prior to the agreement. the separatists had the cities surrounded. russian officials accusing the west of using debaltseve as a pre-text for further sanctions. right now, given the fact debaltseve is currently in the hands of the separatists, the hope is the fighting will finally stop. the cease-fire might just take effect and agreement may be able to move forward. >> erin thank you. a lot of developments over the past few days in that sit

the meeting at the kremlin the day after they met with petro poroshenko. here is secretary john kerry. secretary kerry: there has been a number of offerings for russia to take over the course of the past months. unfortunately they have been left in the rearview mirror. olivia: nato weighs whether or not to arm ukraine forces against russian rebels. to athens supporters of greek alexis tsipras leader rallied in front of the parliament building. the central bank will allow emergency funding for the country's banks. the new prime minister is pairing to lay out his plans for reviving the greek economy. brendan: jobs day. be prepared to be underwhelmed by january numbers, they are often overestimated. the forecast is that u.s. employers added 230,000 workers in january on top of 252000 in december. the unemployed rate is expected to remain at 5.6%. anthem facing what could be the first of many lawsuits. a california woman filed a lawsuit accusing the health insurer of fairlyling to protected. the fbi is looking into the breach, being blamed on state-sponsored h

they were fighting to remove the tyrant who was ruling us. >> president petro poroshenko, booed by some of the crowd by his handling of the war in the east put the blame squarely on russia. he has other problems. an economy on the verge of collapse and rampant corruption. >> we will win no matter how difficult it is, how many disasters we face. i promise you that we will prove that those sacrifices won't go to waste. >> on the anniversary of the worst day of shootings and killings on this square, spot lights mark the places where protesters fell and an almost endless sea of people came to pay their respects. itthere have been layers of the old state still run deep in ukraine, cemented by corruption. eye gormaned the barricades. had he not been shot in the leg he said, he would be those manning the front lines in the east. >> i don't know how long it will take to have peace and victory but it could come soon. everyone is tired of this. not just us, the other side is tired of this as well. >> maidan was only half the job and possibly the easy part. building a new state maintaining its bor

they met yesterday with the an ukrainian president petro poroshenko.n kerry wants to discuss a new around of aid for ukraine. let's get the latest developments. cnn's erin mclaughlin is live for us. good morning, erin. >> reporter: good morning, john. the goal of the diplomatic efforts expected here in moscow later today is clear. that is to deescalate the conflict in eastern ukraine. we heard from president hollande yesterday saying what they are talking about is a german and french negotiation document developed alongside the ukrainians and russians aimed and based at maintaining ukraine's territory integrity. we heard from the spokesperson from vladimir putin and talking about the positive and welcome development. we saw the visit with the ukrainian president yesterday. out of that meeting, the ukrainian foreign minister tweeting things went well. ukrainians seem pleased with the proposal and process with the germans and french so far. as for the russians today, state media reporting that the kremlin still does not know the details of the german and

>> this can't be good for petro poroshenko. but they know it's a tough fight. the international community must support mr. poroshenko and the ukrainians against the russians. >> ambassador william taylor in washington, thank you very much. >>> a counteroffensive by nigerian forces have apparently killed hundreds of boko haram fighters. more than 300 rebels died during an effort to take back 11 towns this week. two nigerian soldiers also died during the offensive. cameroon and chad also carried out offenses against the group along the nigerian border. meanwhile, the u.s. launched annual training exercises with african forces in chad. including three countries where boko haram has launched ordinance, niger nigeria and cameroon. the united states is providing military equipment to the officers in their fight. >>> demanding answers in the mysterious debt of prosecutor alberto nisman. >>> the following day he was scheduled to go before congress to accuse argentina's president of conspiring with iran to cover up a deadly attack on a jewish center in 1994 in exchange

summit emerged this weekend on a conference call between he be angela merkel, francois hollande, petro poroshenko and vladimir putin. >> hopes of the meeting on monday in minsk are rising. however the russian he aren't fully signing up yet. we can listen now to some comments that vladimir putin made in sochi earlier on sunday. >> translator: conversation with colleagues from kiev, berlin and paris in the so-called normandy format has just ended. we have agreed we will try to organize the same type of format with heads of state in minsk. we will hopefully agree in some positions which we have agreed very intensively in certain days. >> nobody has said, we agree because there are clearly some details that have to be thrashtd out first. much of that will happen in berlin on monday where deputy foreign ministers meet there. then tuesday in minsk there will be a meeting of the contact group including the osce, and the donetsk people's republic and the luhansk people's republic. the main topic is going to be a ceasefire how that can be brought in. the terms of the minsk memorandum which was agreed back

ukrainian president petro poroshenko visited the hospital and spoke to some of the wounded. >> civilian people living in their house where is there is no military. there is 50 kilometers from the front line, and the russian rebels attacking the city. attacking the peaceful city. this is absolutely unacceptable. this is why we feel these crimes will be punished. we demand it immediately. unconditional cease-fire. >> the separatists denied the attack. it propertied ukrainian troops to bolster their positions close to the front line. the attack on the shopping center behind me happened yesterday. but the violence has dramatically increased over recent weeks. and the shelling, as you can hear continued right up to the peace talks. we went to a village close to the front line where countless homes have been destroyed. >> i want to live in peace. i don't want them to keep shooting to kill. >> nearly five and a half thousand people have been killed and almost 13,000 wounded since this conflict began. the political divisions run deep and have huge international implications. evidence so far sho

. >> in kiev president petro poroshenko has led a somber service at independent square, marking a year since snipers shot and killed protesters there. >> on kiev's maidan or independent square where last winter's anti-government protests took place the faces of the dead stare out through flowers and candle lit memorials. looking back at them motions are still raw of those who well remember the worst day of gunfire and bloodshed. here they call those who fell the heavenly hundred. and the year-on some wonder whether it was all worth it. >> i think this is very high price for the country's independence, and it still has not been achieved. >> they were fighting to remove the tyrant who was ruling us. >> president petro poroshenko, booed by some in the crowd for his handling of the war in the east placed the blame squarely on russia. he has other problems,. >> we will win no matter how difficult it is, how many disasters we face. i promise you that we will prove that those sacrifices won't go to waste. >> on the anniversary of the worst day of shootings and killings on this square, spot li

reports indicate that ukrainian president petro poroshenko left by plane from kiev to the front line and poroshenko told journalists that ukrainian forces were leaving the town. ukrainian press service confirms that poroshenko has flown to the front line. he has also been saying that fighting has been coming to a halt. we've been seeing a little volatility in the russian rouble slightly weakening against the u.s. dollar. all right. still to come on the show sony unveiling it's claim plan. we get an update from the electronic giant as the ceo attempts to reboot profits. that's coming up next. opportunities aren't always obvious. sometimes they just drop in. cme group can help you navigate risks and capture opportunities. we enable you to reach global markets and drive forward with broader possibilities. cme group: how the world advances. >>> welcome back. let's talk about sony. it has announced plans to spin off it's video and sound bisby october as part of the continuing restructuring efforts. they'll now focus on devices as well as games and entertainment. so for more on that story,

the warning from petro poroshenko that he'll impose marshal law if a peace deal is not kept. we have more from eastern ukraine from donetsk. how is that statement going down and what do you think has prompted him into saying that? >> well, i think the prompt comes from what has happened certainly in the last 48 hours or so since that truce agreements with signed. we've seen a big escalation in shelling certainly around hot spots in the town of debaltseve. it has to be put into context what have was said in recent hours. basically, separatests will stop shelling areas in the self proclaimed donetsk people republic. except for debaltseve. he said that it was not talked about in the minsk agreement. he said if any of the ukrainian soldiers and there are thousands of them reported to be surrounded in that town, try and break out then they will be met with dire consequences. he actually said if those attempts were made by the soldiers, they would be stopped and the enemy eliminated. so very harsh words coming from the enemy as well as president petro poroshenko. >> you've seen how

secretary of state john kerry is headed to ukraine to meet with petro poroshenko.ve matthew chance with latest on the story. >> reporter: it will have unforeseen consequences in moscow. the kremlin hasn't talked about it so far. pressure on the kremlin is pulling back support in ukraine. the big gamble is that if the u.s. government decides to provide military aid or weaponry to the ukrainian government forces in that civil war in ukraine, the russians could redouble their support for the pro-russian rebels. that could widen conflict in ukraine putting millions of lives at risk. that is the balance that president obama has to weigh on this important decision. >> matthew chance thanks for that. tense situation gets more tense by the day between the pro-russian rebels and ukraine government. >> we have remarkable images from the airport lately. >>> 25 minutes after the hour. record-breaking snowstorm pounds the northeast. this morning, the snow has stopped, but there are new problems because the temperatures are falling and they are going to stay low. the ice is thic

john kerry met petro poroshenko in kiev, saying he wants a peaceful solution but will not close his eyes to tanks. angela merkel and france president hollande plans to fly to kiev. the military alliance is plan to go strengthen its eastern european strengths. we have more. >> in driving snow, john kerry was the first to arrive in kiev thursday offering u.s. support to ukraine and warnings to russia. >> we cannot close our eyes to tanks that are crossing the border from russia and coming into ukraine. we can't close our eyes to russian fighters in unmarked uniforms crossing the border and leading individual companies of so-called separatists in battle. >> he'll be followed later by the leaders of france and germany, president hollande and angela merkel. >> we will present a new policial to resolve the conflict based on the territorial integrity of ukraine and we will discuss it with president poroshenko today and on friday in moscow with the russian president, because time is of the essence. >> this latest flurry of diplomatic activity reflection growing awarm at the escalating of fightin

moments ago, we heard from the ukrainian president, petro poroshenko talking about that delay until sunday said. >> we demand immediate cease-fire without any precondition. unfortunately, they demanded we have at least almost 70 hours before the cease-fire was launched. immediately after the deal was signed by the group, the russian terrorists stop the offensive operation. >> he makes a fair point, nick. why not an immediate cease-fire? >> reporter: it certainly seems that there was pressure on him from vladimir putin. not to do that. there was a moment in the talks here 17 hours of talks, a couple hours before they concluded, petro poroshenko said there just wasn't enough on the table pr him, the separatists saying the same thing. really looked like any kind of a deal wasn't going to be concluded. it's not just this delay getting to the cease-fire. everything is sequenced after that. it's all about building trust. you get the cease-fire if that's successful, pull back the heavy weapons. if that's successful you have this demilitarized zone. what was really telling at the talks here the on

now president petro poroshenko is seeking help from the u.n. and the european union.the latest from erin mclaughlin in moscow. >> reporter: that is right, john. more disagreement with moscow and kiev. russia russia rejecting calls for the u.n. peacekeeping mission to eastern ukraine. russian officials say it would hinder the current agreement in place. as for the agreements western officials as well as ukrainian open officials accusing russia of violenting lating the agreement. now yesterday, we saw the withdraw of ukrainian troops in debaltseve. russian officials were saying debaltseve was never subject to the cease-fire in the first place because the separatists had the city surrounded prior to the agreement being made. they are accusing of using debaltseve as a pre-text for further sanctions. today, the separatists are in control of the city and hope really being that now the fighting will finally stop. that cease-fire will finally take hold. john. >> thanks erin mclaughlin in moscow. >>> officials at ucla medical center scrambling to contain a drug resistant and p

in october l president putin petro poroshenko and vladimir putin met. the french president nato with announcements as well today, if you haven't been paying attention and you tuned in just a day this intensity in diplomacy tells us what about the situation in eastern ukraine? >> well, it's looking like the russians have decided to resume resumesupporting the ethnic separatists to launch their offensive. for a while around christmastime and so on it looked like we had reached ostalemate. that the ukrainian army had stopped advancing. the separatists held onto some territory and then we thought it would calm down. putin was make statements that it sound he like he was willing to back down and accept a compromise. now in the past month the conflict has been escalating and it looks like now the sprachts areseparatists are making a gain against one of the ports. whether the western army should arm the separatists a couple of weeks ago we were talking about eliminating some sanctions now we might impose some more. we are reaching this culminating point, where

petro poroshenko said there is not enough on the table for him to sign. we are hearing some separatists from southeast of ukraine said there is not enough on the table for them to sign up to yet. this at the moment it appears that a deal still cannot be reached. french and germans and ukrainian governments have not been heard from officially comments on the talks yet. vladimir putin's spokesman said this is the longest negotiates session he has been involved in. it seems an agreement cannot be achieved in minsk. the agreement last september fell apart. they could not agree to continue to hold off from fighting on the ground. at the moment it appears a cease-fire cannot be achieved and the agreement has not yet been reached in minsk. >> russia sending positive signs and ukraine saying no deal yet. we will bring you the latest. >>> also, the international monetary fund announcing a bailout. the imf is pledging $17.5 billion in aid to try to help stabilize the greek economy. this is an ambitious commitment and not without risk. >>> president obama adding the

meeting with ukrainian president petro poroshenko.den meeting in brussels to discuss aid for ukraine. we have the latest on the situation with erin mclaughlin. >> reporter: good morning, christine. the goal of the talks in moscow later today on deescalating the conflict in eastern ukraine. yesterday, french president hollande making the surprise announcement of a german/french led initiative. what they are calling negotiations document alongside ukrainians and russians rooted in maintaining the ukraine territory integrity. the question in all of this will the latest diplomatic effort actually work? especially when we hear from the defense ministry that russia is carrying out military drills today close to the russian/ukrainian border. we have heard from the spokesperson for the russian president who said that today that the initiative led by the germans and the french is a welcome initiative. they are looking at the visit as a positive step. russian state media is reporting that the kremlin does not know the details of the proposal an

that's something petro poroshenko doesn't want, but the rebels the separatists have said they do. there are many different suggestions floating around at the moment. those are the kinds of details that are going to have to be worked out in the following days if this talk from wednesday in minsk is going to bare any fruit at all. >> all right, thank you for that rory. >> the australian prime minister tony abbott has brought forward a confidence volt that could result in his replacement by one of his ministers. critics say he has lost popularity. >> out for an early morning jog the australia prime minister must have had a lot on his mind, just a few hours later he took to the podium in sydney with an announcement. >> the last thing australia needs right now is instability and uncertainty. on reflection and after talking to my colleagues, i've decided that the best thing we can do is deal with it as quickly as possible and put it behind us. >> he brought forward a vote that could force him out of office. it's been a dramatic fall for the once-popular prime minister. he came to power

it will involve all the people who are here in moscow this afternoon and it will also include petro poroshenko the ukrainian president. so obviously these talks have not been particularly fruit-bearing. very difficult. we know precious little what was going to be talked about going into it, we know precious little what was discussed going out of it. not many things reached so far. some of the things they talked about probably was the demarcation line between the separatist areas and the rest of ukraine. things already talked about would be the border between russia and ukraine and also how much autonomy could be granted for the separatists themselves. >> ukraine and its battle with pro-russian rebels, ukrainian prime minister arseniy yatsenyuk. >> i am convinced that no one in europe wants to see russian tanks on the border .1european union. >> meanwhile the truce began on tuesday night pnl meant to allow civilians to leave through a humanitarian corridor. ukraine's military and pro-russian separatists have been fighting for weeks. >>> killed at least 41 fighters, the military says air strikes

petro poroshenko said that he will not count federalization. that would mean the break up of the nation and he wants ukraine to remain whole. they have to talk about the border and what happens interest there between russia and ukraine. how can they stop the flow of russian weaponry and and men across that border. these are all difficult difficult issues. there are still some difference between the various parties. >> for more let's speak to an executive board member of the ukrainian congress committee of america. and he joins us from new york. welcome once again to al jazeera. so no resolution still no deal. are you hopeful optimistic that they will be able to reach a deal that will stick? >> well, all ukraine wants peace. what they've been talking about for months now is you cannot have a revolution if one side is escalating. there were 1500 more russian soldiers crossing across the border. and as we know most of these troops are centered in the conflict where over 50 people have been reported dead in the last 24 hours. but that could likely

this phone call was between petro poroshenko vladimir putin and angela merkle the german chancellor.e speaking about how to i am member the terms of the minsk agreement. they spoke about the withdrawal of heavy weapons, the cease-fire and how that's going to be addressed. they didn't give any further detail on what decisions if anywhere reached in that phone call. the good thing is at least they are talking. remember it's all sides that are engaged in combat around that strategic town. it's not just the rebels firing on the ukrainian government positions. it's other way around as well. so while you've got the eu and the united states calling on russia to call back its military and the rebel military there, you've also got the russians saying the same thing about the government side that all sides should stop the fighting now, but that doesn't appear to be happening as we speak. >> and we heard that both sides were supposed to withdraw their heavy weapons from their sides, but that doesn't appear to be happening. >>> coming up we'll take a look at americans' views on the war on isis.

involve all the people that are here in moscow this afternoon and it will also include prp petro petro poroshenko the ukrainian president. not necessarily fruit-bearing we know precious little about what was happening going into it know precious little coming out of it. things that were probably talked about were the demarcation line between the separatist areas and the rest of the ukraine. things also talked about would be the border between russia and ukraine and also how much autonomy could be granted for separatist areas themselves. so much more to talk about still of course that will happen on sunday. >> now this diplomatic push comes as washington considers arming ukraine in its efforts against the rebels. prime minister yatsenyuk. >> i am convinced that no one in europe wants to see russian tanks on the border with the european union. >> the white house says it cannot confirm if an american woman held hostage by i.s.i.l. has been killed in a jordanian air strike in syria. on an online statement the islamic state of iraq and the levant said the 26-year-old aid worker was buried under rubble

yushenkov and petro poroshenko. he was killed in the breach nearby kremlin with ukrainian girl strolling 1:00 a.m. so i think putin -- it is not profitable case for putin. who it profit from his death? those who want to antagonize him as a political figure on russian be sin. he wasn't so. he was mairnl known as a political figure --mainly known as a political figure outside russia. he wasn't so much danger for putin for government. >> how do you think his death will affect russia? there was a big rally called for tomorrow that he was calling for people to support. do you think we could see opposition growing in russia, could we see instability in russia? >> i'm sure it was aimed at instability in russian state russia achieved a certain political achievements because they settled this struggle acknowledge that strikes ever heavy artillery from both sides. and minsk agreement was imlemedded in someimplemented in some way begin to implemented. and i think this development on ukraine may have some reflection on the situ

we heard earlier as you said from the ukrainian prime minister petro poroshenko that that peace deal could be a solution and kiev is looking into it, even though we heard a conflicting statement from yatsenyuk, why should we have a deal if the minsk accord that was signed was a nonstarter from the beginning. he expressed concern signing one deal after another. russia is here germany and all the european partners, nato is here. not everyone grease on greez on grace on agrees on the way ahead for ukraine. we heard clearly from the german defense minister yesterday that sending more weapons would just pour more oil onto the fire and certainly would not provide a solution since quotas she said the procrastinates have separatists have unlimited supply, hinting at the russian supply chain. be. >> angela merkel will be speaking at about 0930 today. we'll come back to you for comment. hoda abdel ham inkd speaking there. >>> one of the biggest military operations in northern sinai calling itself the sinai province which has pledged allegiance to i.s.i.l. a soldier reportedly shot dead a numbe

that's what ukrainian president petro poroshenko is referring to. here what sounds like impact explosions here in donetsk. it could get messy quickly. wolf? >> what does poroshenko mean by martial law if there is no deal in minsk? >> reporter: there would be a tightening of security issues across the country. they have a military cordoned as best as they can, they are concerned about acts of sabotage. we have seen random explosions to the north. martial law would be intended to stop this separatism spreading elsewhere in ukraine. >> nick paton walsh, be careful over there. we'll check back with you. that's it for me. thanks for watching. i'll be back during our 3:00 p.m. eastern hour for our live special coverage president obama set to make a statement on his request to congress to authorize use of military force against isis in iraq and syria. for our international viewers, "amanpour" is coming up next. for viewers in north america, "newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts right now. >>> hi there. i'm brooke baldwin. president obama is getting ready to

petro poroshenko had been today to one of the areas in ukraine where civilians are being killed.e were killed in shelling just yesterday. he comes with moral authority to say my people are suffering. we have to put an end to this. he's also said that if there isn't a political agreement here he will implement martial law across the whole country and implications there are military confrontation and conflict would ratchet up. just in the last two or three minutes we've seen the german chancellor angela merkel and the french president francois hollande arrive here. we understand the russian president en route from the airport to these talks. that's when they can really get under way. some contentious issues there at the moment. one of them for one of those contentious issues for the russians is who would control the border between russia and separatist region of ukraine. the ukrainian government wants it to be done by international monitors. that and many other thorny issues here to be debated late into the night here. john? kate? >> nic robertson, thank you so much. all eyes on th

president petro poroshenko now wants u.n. peacekeepers to come to eastern ukraine. >> he's calling for firm world reaction to what he described as russia's brutal violation of the minsk agreements. after weeks of fierce fighting ukrainian troops have pulled out of the strategic town of debaltseve. >> and for more on the town's fall we are joined byet from pleitgen in kiev. -- joined by fred pleitgen from kiev. we know this is one of the worst defeats for troops in the war. what's been the reaction to this in keefe, and what's kiev's likely next move in the midst of this very shaky cease-fire? >> reporter: well, it's interesting, rosemary. one of the things that many people had predicted was that the fall of debaltseve would hurt poroshenko politically, but so far that's not the case. we spoke to parliamentarians and opposition leaders in kiev and most said the main objective should have been and was for pour shanky to save as many ukrainian lives as possible. they believe that the withdrawal from debaltseve did just that. the

petro poroshenko said this was not the case, his army was defending the town and would continue doing so, and the army was doing fine. obviously that was not the case, and now the ukrainian army is in full retreat from debaltseve. we're in a situation where the russians have and their rebels at least have a significant prize. they're not playing it in that way, of course. the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov has said that it's the ukrainian's fault for the situation in debaltseve, and they had essentially broken the ceasefire by trying to pull out by trying to break out of the kettle of the caused drop. we can listen to sergey lavrov now. >> in some areas separatists say they are ready to pull out heavy weapons. the only exception is the town of debaltseve with that we are very concerned about what's going on there. >> we can talk now to associate professor at the kiev academy joining us live now from kiev. where does this leave minutes minsk? >> in at that timers. i want to make one comment. these aren't rebels, these aren't represent are a activities, these are russian forces

if you ask the ukrainian president petro poroshenko he said it is absolutely key to get some sort ofcourse there were talks that happened over the weekend. a phone call yesterday between vladimir putin and petro poroshenko of ukraine that involved merkel and the french president where they decided to get the peace negotiations going for wednesday in minsk in the capital of belarus. this indicates the first order of business for the ukrainian government is freezing the conflict. getting the fighting to stop. one of the reasons for that john is because the ukrainian forces are on the defensive. they have lost a lot of territory in the past couple of weeks. therefore, one thing interesting in the talks in minsk is what sort of cease-fire lines will they agree to. there was an agreement in the past but since then the pro-russian separatists have gained a lot of ground. the fighting continues. a massive explosion this morning that would appear to be an arms depot that was hit by ukrainian artillery. both sides keep going at it in that region. on the one hand there is the cease-fire agreem