it's interesting that sergei lavrov has arrived pretty late in the day in vienna. but the russians are offer a particularly interesting solution to the stand-off between the two sides, don't they, jonah? if you can tell us a little bit about that. >> well, sergei lavrov always said he would only make the trip to vienna if he thought there was something to talk about. one of the options that has been floated, one of the proposals started since the round of these talks on tuesday is for russia to take all of iran's low enriched uranium turn it to nuclear rods and send it back to iran for use in the nuclear reactors, to produce civilian energy. >>, in essence, is what will iran insists its plan is all about, not to price a rweapon t produce energy. if russia were to accept and play that roll, it would, in effect, mean that iran no longer had any need to store enriched uranium or to enrich uranium to any higher grade than it is currently doing. and that would alleviate many of the concerns that the p5 plus one powers have about irants ability to break out to produce a

>> it would tend to suggest if mr sergey lavrov is on his way to vienna, and we will not know that until there's wheels up in moscow, that there is something to talk about, and something towards - despite suggestions in the iranian state media, quoting a source in the iranian delegation, that a deal is impossible. we hear that the french foreign minister is here. suggesting that the british counterpart is not far behind. and as they speak they are talking at the highest levels. zarif, his counterpart and katherine ashton sitting in a fifth trilateral meeting. they are talking about an extension, an option if no deal is reached on sunday. that may be the case. i will say this - remember, a year ago in geneva, when talks were at the same stage, there were similar jurisdictions for failure, a deal was produced at the last minute. it may well be what we have here. enormous stakes attached, cards held closely to the chest. a deal may be elusive. >> we have a reason to sit on the edge of our seats. if it doesn't fall into place, what sort of extension may be agreed to. do we know broad paramet

now we know that the russian foreign minister, sergey lavrov is intern the fray. what kind of aspects might that have? >> well it was always going to be case that at the end of these talks or towards the end of these talks when it came down to crunch time the ministers would need to converge, they would all need to be here because they come armed with the instructions of their leaders as it were and they come here with their countries' final positions. the arrival of sergey lavrov and the other ministers isn't in and of itself a surprise, final decisions must be made whether to reach a deal or extend. russia is a crucial component to all of this because potentially one of the options on the table is to send iran's enriched uranium so russian can turn it into energy rods to turn into l civilian nuclear needs. there would be a potential solution there. as you said we aren't being briefed. we don't know how far along they are on those proposals. they are one of many. >> they always try to manage our expectations. on the one hand they offer us a glimmer of hope, sayin

look, foreign minister sergey lavrov is a very good politician. he knows exactly what he is doing. he is also extremely well-connected in russia. when he deliver as threat it's real. they have continued, the russians continued to threaten ukraine and let's remember the context we're dealing with here. the russians have gone into a country that is next to them. they have taken over a wide area of the country called crimea. they have also helped shoot down a passenger jet, killing 298 people. for all of that the russians have gotten some sanctions, a couple of sector sanctions and harsh words, like what we saw at the g20 this past weekend. but that's about it, shannon. there hasn't been action. there has been very minimal consequences for the russians and foreign minister sergey lavrov and putin both see that there is not much, you know, downside to actually threatening your neighbors and trying to be on the offense. that's where we are. shannon: so as far as nato membership, they say they do not want ukraine getting any closer to that possibility. a lot of folks out there think it i

talking, and he did say that everyone is in the same position, and it is interesting to hear what, sergey lavrov said everything was on the table there for iran. certainly what we're hearing from all parties. we hear from the british foreign sent on friday, when he was here, he sounds very much in step with what we've heard from kerry, from lavrov. from the german foreign minister. they're all saying pretty much the same thing. so publicly, at least, they seem to be in lock step on this issue, despite obviously many differences on many other international issues. >> okay. we'll see what the next 36 hours bring, okay, nick robertson, we appreciate it. rhesa, the final decision remains with rouhani. how much pressure are they under? >> reporter: zain, he's under a lot of pressure. remember when rouhani ran last year, he promised better relations with the international community. he promised that he'd get these sanctions lifted with the agreement with the p 5 plus one. if this doesn't happen, if rouhani doesn't deliver, a lot of prime going to be disappointed, and perhaps hardliners who are against

he was originally scheduled to meet with his counterpart, sergei lavrov. >> the background, nato is reporting russian troops have moved into the ukraine and heavy fighting continues. they have called both sides to stick to the peace agreement. >> a bleak moscow greeted the foreign minister, frank-walter steinmeier. it is his first visit since february, the same month russian troops enter crimea. tensions threaten to escalate further. frank-walter steinmeier warns a dangerous situation was developing. >> 25 years after the fall of the wall we are threatened by speechless and is instead of dialogue. closing off instead of exchange. confrontation instead of corporation. >> there were signs of progress. he says both sides have agreed to stick to the cease-fire signed in september. >> regarding the discussions that we had about the ukrainian conflict, we agreed the accord should be the basis for it and it should remain, efforts in diffusing the conflict as soon as possible. >> whether that will come to anything is unclear. he continues his long day of diplomacy by meeting vladimir putin. >> chance

secretary of state, john kerry is already there and the russian foreign minist certaini sergei lavrov hull is in vienna and sent thus update. >> a flurry of diplomatic activity, there certainly seems to be here in vienna. the russian foreign minister is due and the british foreign secretary and french counterpart are due to have dinner with john kerry and the german foreign minister who is already here we understand that in the coming hours, john kerry will sit down for his first one on one private session with mohammed ja zarif. up until now, they have been accompanied at least by barones catherine ashton, the lead negotiator for the p5 plus 1. suggestions coming from anonymous sources that a deal is no longer possible, that an extension may be in the works. well, that may or may not be. but remember, there is still all of monday to come, including the long hours of monday night, and with all of the decision makers here in vienna for that time, i think it would be unwise to rule anything out. >> the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has weighed in, saying no deal on iran is b

. >> if mr sergey lavrov is on his way to vienna, and we won't know until there's wheels up, that there is something to talk about, to work towards, despite tensions in the iranian state media quoting a source that a deal is now impossible. we hear also that the french foreign minister is due here later, and that suggests that the british counterpart is not far behind. there are still people talking at the highest levels. john kerry, and zaharie ahmed shah, his iranian counterpart and katherine ashton sitting in his fifth meeting, that source quoted that what they are talking about is an extension, an extension that is an option and we'll begin to discuss it if no deal is reached on sunday. that may be the case, it may not. i will say this, a year ago in geneva, when talks were at the same stage, there were similar doomsday predictions of failure and at the last minute a deal was produced. that may well be what we have here. the talks have enormously high stakes, cards held closely to the chest, a deal may remain elusive until the final hours. >>> a key concern for the united states is

north korea's foreign minister visited moscow last month for talks with sergey lavrov and the defense minister met president putin last saturday. analysts view the meetings as a sign north korea is reaching out to russia amid cooling of political ties with china. >>> japanese foreign minister fumio kishida has expressed his hope for the realization of meetings between the leaders of japan, china, and south korea. >> translator: the current chair of the three-way talks is south korea. so i hope south korea will take an initiative to realize the meeting of leaders and foreign ministers among japan, south korea, and china. >> kishida spoke on friday with reporters. prime minister shinzo abe said on thursday that he hopes the foreign ministers will meet soon and he hopes their discussions will lead to summit talks. kishida said he's heard that south korean president park geun-hye respond positively to abe's call. according to the south korean government on thursday park said she hopes a meeting will take place in the near future. and that she hopes leaders will also hold summit talks. kis

russia's sergey lavrov and germany's frank-walter steinmeier met on tuesday in moscow.y stressed the need to implement the cease-fire agreement signed in september. they agreed to continue their efforts towards stopping the violence, withdrawing weapons and monitoring the cease-fire. russia has been demanding that ukraine introduce a federal system. lavrov said ukraine has an obligation to revise its constitution with all political forces taking part. but he added kiev has not shown any plans to do so. steinmeier said all parties including russia, should cooperate to resolve the situation. russia has defended the annexation of the southern region of crimea but germany and other countries say the territorial integrity and sovereignty of ukraine should be respected. >>> russian president vladimir putin met with north korean leader kim jong-un's special envoy. putin is believed to have received a letter from kim. russia's presidential office said putin met north korea's worker party's chair on tuesday in moscow. details of their meeting have not been disclosed but it's bel

. >>> russian foreign minister, sergey lavrov is accusing the west of using force to force a regime changen russia. >> the west does not want to change the policy of the russian federation which is an illusion. they want to change the regime. practically no one denies this. always when sanctions were imposed in the past when i was still working in new york, our western partners, whether north korea, iran, or any other states it was said that sanctions should be formulated in such a way they are in humanitarian limits so they don't harm the social sphere or economy but touch the elite in a targeted way. now it is the opposite. the leaders of western countries say there is a need to impose sanctions that will destroy the economy and cause public protests. >> current sanctions against russia limit access to foreign capital and impose asset freezes and travel bans on vladimir putin's allies. lavrov says they are sure to destroy the economy. >>> people fleeing their homes in the midst of shelling between russian separatists and ukrainian government forces are having to leave family pets behind.

return at some point later and a telephone call held between john kerry this afternoon and the sergey lavrov in moscow, this quoted by the russian state news agency, saying that the two agreed that additional efforts needed to be made in order to reach agreement in some suggestion in a statement from the russian foreign ministery perhaps on monday. there are big gaps and the search is on for political will to try and close them. >> you think there are always going to be difficult, intense situations in the final stages of these results. how likely is it that a deal den be reached? >> the iranians and americans, the americans have always held to the line that they are working towards a final deal. monday is the self-imposed deadline by which a deal must be reached. to suggest otherwise, to suggest that an extension was in the offering, to suggest that may may adjourn and come back to another point may give up any crucial advantage for pressure building for last-minute concessions. that said, i think optimism that a final comprehensive deal can be reached monday is he being somewhat. it's look

during the afternoon we are told he had a conversation with is sergey lavrov. but the possibility does remain, that mohamed zarif may yet go to tehran oconsult on iran's final position. the u.s. france britain russia china and germany, looking to end the long running crisis by limiting tehran's nuclear ambitions in return for sanctions relief. with the clock counting down to monday's deadline all efforts are focused on a deal. jonah hull, al jazeera, vienna. >> of course israel is watching the vienna talks very carefully and pressuring the u.s. not to give up anything to iran. nick schifrin has more from jerusalem. >> john, good evening. it could all come down to this weekend. officials here in israel and in the u.s. all agree that if iran were to decide to make a nuclear weapon it could do so in just a few months. and so what's fundamentally on the table this weekend, trying to remove iran's ability to make that weapon or make it much harder, in exchanges for crippling economic sanctions but making that deal is not going to be easy. for more than a decade, ira

the russian prime minister sergey lavrov is due, the british foreign secretary and his french counterpart are coming later. the german foreign minister is already here, and we understand that in the coming hours john kerry will sit for their one on one private session, the iranian foreign minister. up to now they've been accompanied by baroness katherine ashton, negotiator for the p5+1. in the face of these suggestions coming from anonymous source, that a deal is no longer possible, but an extension is in the works. that may or may not be. there are long hours to come, including monday night. with all the decision makers, it would be unwise to rule anything out. >> jonah hull reporting. in iran students rallied in support of a nuclear programme called no stop. it was organised by various universities in tehran. protesters carried banners, insisting on the removal of international sanctions, saying that they wanted to show support for the team of negotiators in viennament. >> israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu is urging world leaders not to fund a bad deal with iran, saying an agree

during the afternoon, we were told he had a phone conversation with sergey lavrov. he is said to have cleared his diary for app arrival in vienna for the talks. the possibility remains that zarif may go to tehran to result on the final position. the u.s., france, britain, russia, china and germany began the latest round of negotiations on tuesday, looking to end a long-running crisis by limiting tehran's nuclear ambitions in return for sanctions relief. with the clock counting down, all efforts are focussed on a deal. >> i'm here for a good deal, the french position is known, wise. iran can have still nuclear energy, for the atomic bomb, no. >> optimism is ebbing. there's no open talk. rather the hope that a framework agreement can be reached with key details to follow some time later >>> both sides talking about the gaps. what are the main sticking points? >> well, shiulie, remember, this is an enormous set of tech cole negotiations and a lot of the technical aspectve chnical aspects have been nailed down. look at the main goals. that's where the sticking points ar

. >>> russian foreign minister sergey lavrov is accusing the west of using sanctions to force a regimenge in russia. >> translator: as for the concept behind the use of coercive measures, the west is making it clear, does not want to try to change the policy the russian federation which in itself is an illusion. they want to change the regime, practically no one denies this. always when sanctions were imposed in the past, while i was still working in new york, our western partners, whether we were talking about north korea, iran or any other states, it was said that sanctions should be formulated in such a way that they remain within humanitarian limits so they do not harm the social sphere or economy but so that they touch the elite in a selective, targeted way. now the situation is completely the opposite. the leaders of western countries publicly say that there's a need to impose sanctions that will destroy the economy and cause public protests. >> current sanctions against russia limit access to foreign capital for some of the country's largest banks and impose asset freezes and tr

certainly you've got key players here in vienna like sergei lavrov, the russian foreign minister who, after the talks on iran, had a short meeting with secretary kerry. lavrov just on saturday in moscow meeting with the saudi foreign minister, they were talking mostly about the fight against isis in syria. that was the prime content of their conversation. both those men came here to vienna, both of them meeting with secretary kerry as well. so there is certainly an understanding here at least that the isis issue a big issue that isn't going away. the tackling of it needs to be reframed. how that gets affected by secretary hagel's departure obviously unclear. but the key allies in that fight, their part is unlikely to change in the short term, although they may now push for a sort of reframing of how it's all done. >> okay. i want to go to lieutenant colonel reese, another one of our military analysts. hi, colonel. a question for you, this definitely means a change in strategy. we don't know what the change in strategy will be but might it involve boots on the ground and more involveme

during the afternoon he had a phone conversation with sergei lavrov, the russian foreign minister in moscow clearing his diary for a possible arrival in vienna to attend the talks. the possibility remains that he may go to tehran to consult on the fiment position. >> reporter: u.s., france, china, russia and germany began the latest negotiations, looking to end the crisis by limiting tehran's ambitions in return for sanctions relief. >> with the clock counting down, all efforts are focussed on a deal. >> i'm here for a good deal useful for piece and security. the french position is known, wise and in line with the community. iran can have civil nuclear energy. the atomic bomb - no. >> but optimism is ebbing now. there's no open talk of an extension to the negotiations, rather the hope that a framework agreement can be reached with key details to follow later. >> iran insists its iranian enrichment capabilities are for peaceful purposes only. >>> c.i.a. and military responded in an appropriate manner to the 2012 benghazi attacks. a committee probe cleared them saying the c.i.a. ensure

what we have seen with the ukraine situation in the last couple of days, sergei lavrov coming out and saying the decision to cut off social services payments, it's precipitating military action. so i think unfortunately we're going to continue to see these problems going forward. >> hadley gamble, thank you so much. definitely a big story. we want to bring you the latest on the shooting incident at florida state university. police say the person suspected in a shooting on campus was shot and killed by officers after failing to drop his weapon. three victims were reportedly injured and immediately transported to local hospitals for treatment. the fsu released a statement saying all classes and exams would be canceled for the day. >>> goldman sachs has reportedly been fired. "the wall street journal" says the incident is coming to light as congress gets set to scrutinize wall speak fanks. >> and we've been bringing you the latest on the takata if you remember. the sneetd hearing is calling on untils made by takata. this affects nearly 8 million cars in the u.s. the hearing will focus on

talk to him to keep him closely in the loop about this, and the russian foreign minister, sergei love roh -- lavrov, has been instrumental in all of this. a lot of close contacts and a lot of presumably, martha, productive contacts. martha: we will see. amy, thank you very much. bill: we're also hearing about 10 a.m. eastern time, 50 minutes from now, john kerry will hold a press conference in vienna, austria, so we'll get the initial reaction, and k.t. mcfarland's on deck. martha: what israel might do as a result. all of that. bill: in the meantime, the house benghazi report is out. the report from the house intelligence committee basically clearing the cia of covering up the botched response on that terror attack. south carolina senator lindsey graham slamming the findings from that committee. >> i think the report's full of crap. >> why? >> quite frankly. >> why? >> to say that the deputy director of the cia when i asked him do you know who changed the talking points with senator ayotte and mccain and susan rice sitting by his side said the fbi changed the talking points when it came to referenc