people in syria really think. there's a media blackout i think it's still pretty hard to say ma if i can go to you in princeton has the west decided to support a side in this conflict in syria that is rapidly looking like a civil war well clearly there is an uprising which has continued unabated since about a year and now we're heading towards the first anniversary of the start of the uprising. there has been a brutal repression on the part of the regime and so far about six thousand civilian casualties killed in this repression so clearly there's a situation that here they are peaceful protesters who have been crushed by the regime security imperative and that has drawn attention internationally so there's been a site taken in the sense that there are human rights violations and i would say it's true that the uprisings have taken you know have continued and a large part of the population is supporting it you also have a part of the population which still doesn't know which side to take because they are afraid of

we told stories in our view i think here is a council meets on syria seeming to seek consensus rather than any action as a military intervention on sanctions against the country. between the opposition and end up with him. also if the raid south clashes between government forces and rebel fighters continue on the outskirts of the compas so will be the ship has returned to the channels for talks with the country's president instead of threatening the family would have. been sixty nine to haul from the people who are out of work in b. eurozone and then implement. ten points of the sound that was in the bathroom of a single person see the figures were released just today also e.u. leaders pledged eight billion viewers to agree more jobs about that summit of pointed out. the headlines for you know about and his guys discuss syria and what might lie in store. next. blowing welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle syria on the brink as violence escalates in this in battle country the calls for strong sanctions and even a military intervention grow in intensity what is at stake the protection

different syria's very good ties with syria they have good ties with iran they have access to the rest of the world so they're not completely isolated regime they can hang on i mean they they've proven determination hang on last time an uprising like this. ten thousand people were killed we i think estimates are about half that now so you know the regime may just hang on and crush everything else the regime may collapse and made of all that is so war but my guess is it's the internal events inside the country that are going to drive the future and the decision that the regime makes and the opposition makes and of course that's very complicated because that's a dynamic relationship neither one of them is and an actor but they're going to determine the future of this country much more than the rest of us are standing in the sidelines that's why i really think with what the rest of us are standing on the sidelines with the united states and other countries should be doing is you know we can work to ensure the stability of the region and to deal with this crisis with every direction it goe

time for your headlines diplomatic deadlock russia says no to regime change in syria. proposed a u.n. resolution calling on president assad to step down the kremlin's warning against using the world body to impose outside interests on the syrian people. are live pictures here coming in all over wiki leaks founder julian assange is in britain supreme court it's where he's appealing against his extradition to sweden and those are live pictures for you now back to. wanted for questioning over alleged sex offenses which he denies the allegations against him are politically. and that is really a pain in the u.s. backed by inadvertently insulting many jewish families across america many of criticized the commercials saying they use scare tactics to israelis jews to return to their. stay with us if you can hear when it's time for his cross talk the main subject for debate syria and what the future may hold in store. blowing welcome to cross talk i'm curious about syria on the brink as violence escalates in this in battle country the calls for strong sanctions and even a milit

sunni sectarian difference here which is playing a very big role in what's going on in syria right now. well peter let me just to get back to what was discussed previously before the interruption i mean there are two dimensions to the to the situation in syria now there is on the one hand a very legitimate powerful movement of civilians who are claiming in fact change in the country and access to democracy to social justice to economic and political rights and this should not be undermined this this is a powerful and legitimate movement which started peacefully it's been only since a month or a few weeks that it has become militarized which is in fact leading to the internationalization of the conflict but so far it has been in majority a peaceful movement now these movements are claiming change and access to power and the end of the assad rule over the country there is another side to the debate which is now the involvement of the international community and in fact the fact that syria is in a web of strategic alliances which is in fact trying to gain the momentum to take advantage of

hello and welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle syria on the brink as violence escalates in this one battle country the calls for strong sanctions and even a military intervention grow in intensity what is at stake the protection of innocence or regime change that transforms geopolitics of the region. to cross talk of ends unfolding in syria we have marwa dowdy and princeton she is a departmental lecturer in politics and international ations of the middle east at the university of oxford in washington we have david pollock he is a senior fellow at the washington institute for near east policy and in montreal we cross the maximillian forte he's a professor of anthropology at concordia university in montreal all right folks this is crosstalk that means you can jump in anytime you want and i very much encourage it but ok first i'm going to go to david david the the white house says that it is inevitable that assad will fall so by saying it does that make it inevitable now i don't think saying it makes it inevitable i think what makes it inevitable is the situation. where the syrian peop

we're talking about events unfolding in syria. ok david i'd like to go to you d.c. you know you've been on the program before and you know i'm a cynic so i'm going to give. a cynical comment and question this has nothing to do with the syrian people this has nothing to do with their rights it has nothing to do with the killing of innocent people eccentric cetera this is all about geo political change in the region you take syria down and it's a boon for israel maybe but certainly for other countries where hezbollah is weakened in the next target the great prize of the mall is a ran that's what it's all about isn't it yeah well that's. a point of view again has no connection with reality what i mean one explain yourself why do you say that you dismiss the jury when you don't know you're one of those who are rising up. as i started to say before you interrupted everyone can see that the syrian people are rising up and risking their lives day after day week after week month after month thousands of people all over the country tens of thousands of people so you think yo

resolution for syria. quite honestly no not unless the draft of this wreckage that unless the text of the draft of this resolution changes because a it calls for syrian president bashar al assad to step aside handover of power to the deputy make room for a unity transition government to be formed that is something that is a move that some members of the council consider a regime change secondly it has wording that allows for possible foreign intervention even though west major western powers as well as arab league representatives have for us have underscore the fact that no military intervention or foreign intervention would be allowed into syria a lot of a lot of countries are skeptical because of what took place in libya so unless the text of this draft resolution changes and holds both sides accountable and allows for mediation instead of you know a change in government then i don't see russia supporting this resolution or even abstaining from it i see russia casting a veto we're going to thanks very mu

letter national state from from syria the old syria to a new a new syria but the what are done by old what it is empowered the policies that is empowered by the u.s. and its allies in the opinion alleys it will make syria feel state and if syria is instability or goes in a tunnel of instability i think all the middle east will come and towards this tunnel also and the fundamentalism will raise and this will affect the whole world and especially specially it will affect europe eastern europe western europe and all all do region in a mediterranean region also right carter a very. rabbi a professor at lebanese international university thank you very much for your analysis. but with less than a month ago before russia's presidential vote emotions are running high i am a campaign shift up a gear following a day of demonstrations and. prime minister and presidential candidate for dinner putin continues to lay out his electoral program this time it's more about whether shape democracy with initiatives allowing the people to suggest their own laws online can offer has more for the main idea o

people pushing for intervention in syria saudi arabia. essentially they would like a syrian version of the muslim brotherhood to run the country and then the united states will do deals with them as it has done in the past. in america china as a vice president wasn't treated to the warmest of welcomes from u.s. officials vice president joe biden voiced the whole list of disappointments from beijing's economic policies to its stance on syria criticism was also level that china over its copyright in force and human rights record part from that brief exchange yesterday was largely ceremonial as american leaders sign stuck paying the man widely tipped to leave beijing over the next decade parties christine says our reports now on the rocky relationship between the two economic times. he loves me lets me know that age old question is one china at least has every right to ask regarding its relationship with the united states just in the last three years china has been wind. praised and envy for its ability to do whatever it wants right now in c

diplomatic deadlock russia says no to regime change in syria as moscow slams a proposed u.n. resolution calling on president assad to step down. but want to be out of wiki leaks founder julian assange is due out of britain supreme court shortly to appeal against his extradition to sweden. and israeli ad campaign in the u.s. backfires by inadvertently insulting many jewish families across america. what are they coming to you live from moscow i'm reading josh welcome to the program the u.n. security council has agreed it wants to avoid military intervention in syria but differences remain over the way had the u.s. as well as its european and arab allies one president assad out of power for its part russia says the u.n. shouldn't be used as a platform for excessive interference in syrian affairs has the latest from new york. the united states france britain could talk are. all those countries supporting this draft resolution said that there would be no military intervention imposed in syria if the draft resolution was adopted but the most important thing to note is that those sp

turkey and syria is the only. one i know you say their accent is regional implications here certainly regional implications when it comes to the a qana mees with sanctions or certainly with the west looking to get involved as you say i wish we had more time for this i'm afraid we don't talk to his army job or a director for the center for middle eastern studies live in beirut thank you for joining us on r.t. today thank you so. this is r.t. now the world's top whistleblower is taking his long legal battle to stay in the u.k. to the country's supreme court julian assange is wanted in sweden on allegations of sexual assault dating back to august two thousand and ten occasions that he denies the wiki leaks founder insists the case is politically motivated and in response to his website publishing top secret u.s. cables on the wars in afghanistan and iraq parties laura smith now reports from the high court in london. the building that you see behind me the supremes court could literally be last chance saloon full juli

to secure syria. the main objective of my visit to syria is to see the situation firsthand just as you know the russian state duma issued a statement on the situation in syria ten days ago speaking strongly against outside interference in syria's affairs and against the un and its security council siding with one of the parties in the civil conflict. we also believe that the syrian government should not be the only side obliged to lay down their weapons and that we armed groups opposing the government should do the same my task here is to conduct negotiations with the representatives of the authorities and the opposition to get a clearer picture of the situation and to give a report to the chairman and to keys of the state duma members as you know russians closely follow the situation in syria despite all the heated arguments in view of the upcoming presidential election of united russia for the ruling party and the opposition spoke in unison on this matter of what it was just about i don't rule out t

damascus syria. on the situation in syria i'm joined by sharmeen our one year middle east expert and senior associate at st anthony's college oxford so russia has warned of a repeat of the libyan style intervention in syria despite diplomatic efforts of moscow and beijing not to allow that via the un so how likely do you think it is that that may happen. you know i think i'm concerned about the discourse on syria i think we start the wrong starting point there's so much escalation of rhetoric. going on and i think you know the main thing to look at is that syria sits at a geopolitical fault line in the middle east and is at the center of. the struggle for of but the balance of power in the region. it's it's one of the few countries that has experienced a revolt in the region where people were actually discouraging for discussions or dialogue and negotiations i think what we first need to look at is what is actually happening in syria you know video photographs being beamed outside satellite pictures

it and the sooner they go the better for syria do you see syria as becoming increasingly isolated in the region and and what effect will that have on iran in turn do you think well i think they are becoming isolated i think the iranians are such an independent state to me one of the few sovereign states in the region that they can look after themselves i don't think the fall of us as such will affect iran because it will be in the interests of the syrian government if it is a democratic and representative government to maintain good relations with all these countries i mean you know i i have to say that when you look at what the west did in relation to the our pride sings in the crisis in the yemen where killing still go on and what they're doing in syria it just sort of stands the former yemeni president is having medical treatment from the united states. so this is double standards that operate make one who is suspicious of western motives and you say china and russia are in a very strong negation ating position now however. foreign minister lavrov says visits to syria recently see

damascus syria. they use continuing to put pressure on syria's president assad to step down confirming new sanctions against the country are on the way and political analyst dr omar says western powers are sending the wrong signals to the opposition should be encouraged by the announcement of a referendum on a new syrian constitution. the way forward is to have dialogue and i think in order to have dialogue there must be sacrifices on on on both sides here is the president making. a huge move forward by presenting a draft of the constitution and i think that that should be in his view in many people's view sufficient for to convince the other side to sit down on the table. and to have a serious dialogue. that would save syria the destruction and save the so many people. the syrian opposition is calling for reform what is the best way to get that done is it through cutting weapons and shooting at government institutions and targeting each other and having a civil war in syria of course not i think all

it is the bird fighters who have moved across the border from iraq into syria. have been engaging the syrian army joining the kind of resistance there to one who seemed that this is indeed the case no way that they will remain is not precisely the question issue is how they will begin to characterize an insurgency bid currently it has one or senior leadership structure that was the problem in libya in libya as well there was a horrific libyan elite it was the fear of the insurgency in washington in paris in london and then on the ground there was a dispersed impact your late resistance in which various squirms of radical islam were here. to prominence in a sense the syrian story is very similar the free syrian army is not a credible address it is not a single police where it belongs. to foreign journalists have been killed in syria's flashpoint city of homs the opposition claims the american and french citizens died when an army shell hit and makeshift media center the same accusations were leveled against the regime just over a month ago when the french governm

he is now doing the same and that this family's on acceptable in syria needs a nonsectarian national government to prepare a new constitution the arab league's reportedly calling for a joint arab league u.n. so-called peacekeeping force to be sent into syria president assad has already rejected the idea do you think it's a good idea i don't think it's a good idea to send any so-called peacekeeping forces i mean first we have to see what is the arab league the arab league is essentially amaury bond organization which is brought to life when the west needs it too it has no active role for the last twenty five years in any positive sense in the region it failed to stop the war in iraq it back the war. libya and it's probably being used as a surrogate to try and push through foreign troops an intervention in syria which i'm totally opposed to i think that is the one thing syria does not need is foreign armies we've seen what's happened in iraq and we've seen what's happened in libya but surely the involvement of the arab league which is kind of a local regional group is better than the i

and one sided reports from syria blaming only the regime for atrocities seen by some as an attempt to hide the truth of the conflict sweeping under the carpet. the next. talks to middle east expert tariq ali with turbulent situation in syria and the implications it could have for the entire region. i'm talking to tariq ali who's a historian and author and writes mainly on subjects to do with the middle east of course we're talking about events in syria tariq ali thanks very much for talking to us now president assad seems to be clinging on to power in syria do you think there's any chance of him stepping down in the near future well it looks on likely as if he'll step. of his own accord i think he has to be pushed out the syrian people who are of course doing their best in the country what is more dangerous is the pressure is being built outside especially in istanbul and by nato to try and organize an intervention that i think would be disastrous and lead to enormous bloodshed much much worse than what's happened in libya. so i think that be a disaster i think the best way is for pre

it is understood by many people in syria. that is one of the reasons why it is not possible just to say to people there is no problem. and the government is doing everything it can when they can see that it isn't acting in the interest of the peaceful transition in syria. so we will come to communicate and directly with the people of syria and the rest of the arab world, there is a lesson in that for russia and china in that. >> stewart jackson, thank you, mr. chairman. >> once we welcome the appointmentst special envoy to the syrian opposition, will that necessarily lead to the establishment of the contact group with the syrian national council and the syrian free army and the individuals in lieu of the establishment of free democratic government? >> we have to find out how much the opposition groups develop. i stress that the contact is with those advocating peaceful action. we have not had contact with the free syria army which is in a different position. >> stephen gilbert? >> mr. speaker, in his statement to my honorable

and is very weakly represented on syria's political scene as these. it is only one of the opposition groups comprised of syrians now have no influence or presence in the country there are other groups each one viewing itself as the most significant but again according to a representative of the opposition these organizations have no control over the whole insurgency going to the for instance syria has so-called protest committees and some of these aren't connected to any opposition groups of what will they have their own agenda so they demand that the regime change its policies they demand emote prosy and free elections are they do not necessarily identify themselves with specific opposition movements in other words the opposition is very fragmented their goals are different some groups believe in talks with the regime others think it pointless with a view that some believe the constitution would offer some grounds for political evolution and syria to dismiss others as i think the constitution will be worth less than the paper it's printed on some bel

and around syria well if i said finally quits. which is a possibility of course who do you think will pick up the pound the s.n.c. is most likely to become the the the the ruling party the country which is well first i don't think he will voluntarily quit and second of all it depends very much on how he eventually relinquished his power and you know some people have spoken of the prospect for example of a military coup perhaps coming from within and let's say the alawite security elite who will feel that if they can move him aside it will be much easier to. negotiate a transition that preserves their core interests there is a possibility of at some point you know a sudden popular uprising in key cities such as damascus and aleppo which we haven't really seen yet there is a possibility of prolonged conflict and civil war and ultimately what i think would be most beneficial to syria although looking increasingly unlikely is a negotiated transition away from this you know dictatorial one party rule and i think you know we have to adm

that would save syria the destruction and save so many people live lives because of the way things are today in cities it seems that the country has had to two words. total destruction and and that's for sure it is not to the benefits of the city of the third to all the nations who are truly friendly to the city of peace and not just want to use the trouble in syria to advance their own political objectives so that dialogue will have to move forward yes there's a significant number of syrians who still support assad and his reforms do you think that's sufficient enough reason for the opposition to lay down their arms and engage in dialogue to finally reach stability. well i don't think if perhaps if it was up to the to these persons themselves i think yes it would be sufficient but apparently. as we have seen in the past weeks and there is ample evidence to show this many of the groups who are fighting today in syria who are. bringing in weapons to this indian territory wm in gunmen they actually are not ready for dialogue they have they are working according to western agenda. that is

to you live from moscow our top stories syria's president announces a vote on a new constitution which would effectively end nearly fifty years of single party rule in the country amid escalating turmoil at rallies marking one year. marking the one year since the pro-democracy uprising in bahrain protesters face yet another harsh clampdown with police using tactics and weapons from the u.k. . iran says it will review its oil exports to six european states in retaliation against sanctions as international rhetoric is ramped up to further found the flames of friction with the islamic state. laura smith talks to me as expert tariq ali on the turbulent situation in syria and the implications it could have for the entire region. i'm talking to tara kelley who's a historian and author and writes mainly on subjects to do with the middle east of course we're talking about events in syria tariq ali thanks very much for talking to us now president assad seems to be clinging on to power in syria do you think there's any chance of him stepping down in the near future well it looks on likely as if

opposition our approach is based on a clear and simple goal to stop civilian deaths the region needs peace syria needs peace it is clear that efforts to end the violence need to go along with the start of a meaningful dialogue between all political sides today we've received confirmation from the syrian president of his readiness to participate in that process we will continue to work with various opposition groups but anyone who has more influence on them than russia should also work with them another important issue. forty four years between like so well before modern turkey following arab league or in fact the. most violent violent for good pete who are all married. to each and every issue there are four hundred there are mention quality here for that and. we would be commissioned to begin working on what we think our little community will be garnisheed people to meet with the commissioner need a new computer according to the works of the foreign minister. of aviation like little to write me that there are going to be analysis also quite short we. are over a hundred blogs. are you sure. const

is an issue here and we hear a lot of saber rattling right now in and so let's look at the issue of syria and iran because there's a lot of countries in the world including the united states would love to see the iranians punished somehow one way or another you know take down hezbollah you mention to masada ready i mean it's really has nothing to do about the poor people of syria or democracy it's a geo political play to go after to turn around and turn around would be oh i met loser if the regime in the mountain passes did fall well it's both exactly and which part of the reason why the united states would like to see assad go because then iran looses its only regional ally and it further isolates you are allowing the united states and israel to put more pressure on it to stop its nuclear weapons program suspected nuclear weapons program so there is a clear strategic interests go ahead jump in. i just want to jump in i do think there are any and they're greatly concerned here i think one of the problems at the top of their concern is if the syrian regime falls that in a sense the arab sp

going to reform a syria and it was born of intervention in syria's affairs will not stand the strain a scene or comment on the recent statements by the signature and trainer of the arab league below horridly a moscow and behind an actual science of their position might sunshiny arch you're the most. obviously did you get of the statement made by the arab league's representative expresses nothing but his own opinions so far i see nothing that could make moscow in beijing change the firm stance on the issue expressed in the recent vote on the resolute. on syria in which they called for was urging both sides of the conflict to stop using force rather than only the pro regime forces or should i think we currently have every reason to believe the russian delegation will continue its attempts to persuade the outside government to adjust their approach was the with respect to the use of military force when dispersing opposition groups on the other hand those with the ability to influence the armed groups should use it to ensure the violence is not regarded as the only way out of the conflic

and in syria, we don't have a majority and minority. there are syrians only in syria. i say the homeland is owned by all and it is the property of all and it is a trust, a trust even if some were misled and even if some defied what is right. syrian patriotism rejects external intervention and stresses that syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity is a red line. syrian patriotism stresses that syrians will stand one rank against dissent, rejecting violence, rejecting resorting to arms while calling for reform. homelands are built by their citizens. we as syrians have an opportunity to undertake sincere national dialogue and peckspedite the pace of reform so we can establish a genuine national partnership that preserves the security of the homeland and that of the citizen as the only way out of the crisis. one that responds to the leaget aspirations of the syrian people without necessarily undermining the homeland. future generations will hold everyone who lost this opportunity accountability. mr. president, the arab people would have very much hoped t

resolution on syria let's get more reaction on the situation in and around syria with dr omar to xabi a lecturer and professor at the lebanese american university of beirut so why do you think the u.s. and e.u. rushed to put the resolution on syria to a vote even to russia asked for a delay until foreign minister lavrov met with the syrian government. well i think there are some political objectives behind that but let's let's just clarify that the that the russian position and the chinese position was not to support the syrian regime or to support the. heart of is that are coming from syria on the contrary quite the opposite it was to stop this bloodshed and interview of russia and china to stop this bloodshed is to stick to the you and charter and the principles of the un charter and to stick to the united nations as an organization that works with peace and therefore that encourages dialogue and that with that i think is the position of russia by actually saying that there should be more time to actually for the attempts the russian attempts to model minister lavrov is going to be.

will syria get support from iran. of course that's clear iran did not deny its support to syria maybe did not provide syria yet by military aid but now the. sky is open between iran and syria of iraq and road is open and the iraqi regime you know did not done any conflict with the syrian regime because they have come and arrest and everybody knows the. influence of iran and also they can be provided by help from going on maybe because iran will not go into civil war because they keep on if there is no change in the regime and see it here unless it could be changed any peaceful way because by force by supporting that assertion that is no foreign intervention at all you know and even even trickier know that not stop to talk about. that of foreign intervention foreign intervention or not obviously there are a lot of external player playings going on here whether it's under the guise yes of a revolution as you said a civil war certainly there are some outside influences going on with dr i wish we had more time for this mi