and cruelty of the other side so my question to you is whether you think that the compliance with the geneva convention by one side gives a very strong incentive to the other side not to comply because ultimately that's the best thing they can get you know you you got the military strategic advantage but also you know those casualties that result from from the fighting could also be used for your own propaganda purposes i certainly believe that your reading of the geneva conventions is not accurate because it's to the very essence of the convention that it puts. obligations on both sides in armed conflict as well as signatories and as well whatever i would ask you think it makes sense for one side to comply when one the other side obviously doesn't come well of course not of course and that's the essence of the geneva convention to all actors in an armed conflict and all arms spears are subject to. two obligations stay have different they are in different parts of the geneva conventions some of them are explicit in the conventions others are customary international law but there is no questi

we tell them that it is a bio lation of the law to bring their arms to the hospitals so it's the geneva convention in term of behavior are very clear and it is also very clear that exactly the behaviors which are outlawed by the conventions are repeatedly developing as a pattern of behavior in the syrian conflict because both sides basically do behave according to patterns which are outlawed and by the geneva conventions and i think you can argue that because the syrian government is subject to international law because it's a sovereign government maybe the obligations and the pressure on it to comply with the geneva conventions would be higher but on the other hand you mentioned many conflicts and i covered quite a few of them what i noticed is that in any conflict you have one party that would be using the premises of a school of a hospital of a church to shoot in at another party and what you often have is you know some fighters on the upper level but some women and children hiding in the basement and one those women and children are killed there also used for propaganda purposes as

as civility can well in their only women is a honor the woman the wounded and sick according to the geneva convention have the same right to medical treatment as civilians have and i think this is it is due to the polities size zation and twist that the political debate over syria has brought that somehow conversationally and the international debate wounded soldiers today are treated as if they would not have any entitle mint to humanitarian aid they have what again i agree with you. it is of critical importance i think one of the problematics that we have been. and it from afghanistan to to syria to many other places is. combatants and civilians interchange and violate the gray zone speed tween combatants and civilians the opposition in syria of any of them has a pattern of bringing armed soldiers. into hospitals which entices attacks on hospitals by the government forces both are violations of international humanitarian law and it divides happens because of the fuzziness of the lines we are somebody is out of combat and still carrying weapons go into a hospital and you are going to have

meaning who are the parties participating in geneva. e these forces representing the syrian people or forces representing the countries that made it. if this force wanted to suggest some suggestion later in which basis do we answer it as a country? who does it represent? >> reporter: with all sides trying to dominate the planned peace conference, it is likely that no one side will come out on top, particularly since the key players such as russia and iran haven't been included. >>> all right. let's speak now to barnaby phillips who is outside of the talks in london. what is the position of the syrian opposition? >> well, we have just seen part of the text of the speech which the leader of the syrian national council within the national coalition will be giving -- or maybe he has already given it in the building behind me. and essentially he has reiterated their position, which is that they will not attend geneva talks unless it is clear that president assad going is the objective of those talks. he says the syrian opposition risks losing

purpose of implementing the geneva 1 communiquÉ. greed to increase today our coordinated assistance to the opposition, including to the syrian opposition coalition, the legitimate representative of the syrian people. and we also committed to do more to assist the brave people who are on the ground in syria. we also agreed to direct military aid exclusively through the supreme military council from those countries that have chosen to do so or are able to do so, as they fight, that is, the supreme military council fights to curtail the influence of extremists, to isolate the extremists, and to change the balance on the ground. now as these efforts all occur simultaneously, we are convinced, based on the meeting we had here today, that those increased efforts will create their own synergy that will help the opposition to continue to be able to grow stronger. so far, the united states has committed a significant amount of funding to both the humanitarian effort and to the effort to assist the syrian opposition. we've now totaled shy of $

to the syrian opposition. to come to geneva and sit down and negotiate with the government. the decision of a k c were in opposition group not to attend a russia you as a brokered peace talks and criticizes washington for failing to pressure about. the world's largest board days from defaulting on its debts international lenders begin to panic about the consequences of america's failing to reopen its frozen government. under murder in the south of moscow leads to violent riots with hundreds are arrested after angry mobs chanting anti margaret slogans storm a shopping center and clash with police. news on russia under around the world this is aussie with me hello and welcome to the program a car bomb in northwestern syria has killed over a dozen people and wounded many more the powerful blast came just a day after twin club bombs rocks they sent over damascus one knee a hotel where international chemical weapons inspectors are staying point to sneer brings us the latest from the syrian capital. car bomb has exploded in a rebel held northwestern town in the province of it whic

the syrian opposition. to come to geneva and sit down and negotiate with the government. moscow's slams the decision of a k c were an opposition group not to attend a russian you as a brokered peace talks and criticizes washington for failing to pressure them. now with the world's largest burra days from defaulting on its debt and international lenders begin to panic about the consequences of america's fading to reopen its frozen government. in the south the most violent riots with hundreds are arrested after angry moans chanting anti migrant slogans stolen shopping center and clash with police. news from russia and iran the while this is aussie with me you know thanks for joining us. a car bomb in northwest syria has killed over a dozen people and wounded many more the powerful blast came just a day after twin cobhams rocked the center of damascus one year a hotel where international chemical weapons inspectors are staying. in the syrian capital for us and joins us now live hi there paula nice to see it appears that a couple of things in syria happen on a daily basis and

some, not all, want to attend the geneva ii from the coalition. the syrian national council is a major player within the coalition but threatened to quit if it takes part in the talks. then there's the armed opposition. there could be as many as 1 thus different groups with between 70 and 100,000 fighters. of those, the free syrian army remains the largest group. many, but not all of its members support the syrian national coalition. and, of course, there are quarrelling factions such as the syrian islamic front, the nusra front and others. they agree they want bashar al-assad out, but don't agree on how. here is what some of the inside players told our program. >> translation: we, as all the syrians, are looking for a political solution for what goes on in syria for the last 2.5 years. we think the russian position that supports the regime in syria is one of the problems, the obstacles in syria >> our internal legal documents will not allow any group without a major voting from the general assembly of the syrian national coalition to go to any ge

ensuring that the geneva peace talks will happen next month. but still no confirmation from the syrian opposition. a report by amnesty international says cia drone attacks in pakistan are responsible for unlawful killings, some of which could amount to war crimes. this is going to be as bad as it gets. why are fighters bracing themselves in australia for yet another horror day as they brace themselves on the outskirts of sydney. first, our top story and the pressure on for the syrian opposition to attend planned peace negotiations next month. the opposition is refusing to talk unless president assad steps down. talks with members of the opposition with the aim of getting them to change their mind. let's listen to what u.s. secretary of state john kerry had to say. >> what we did today was increase our commitment to the convening of the geneva conference for the specific purpose of implementing the geneva one communiquÉ. we have agreed to increase assistance to the opposition including to the syrian opposition coalition. the legitimate representa

outcome of the friends of syria meeting we talked to a former pentagon official to assess whether the geneva peace talks might be under threat stories. from a studio this is. a day a russian court has dropped the charges against a group of thirty greenpeace activists who attempted to board a drilling rig in the arctic last month. outline the details to me. the latest information is of course the charges have been reduced so instead of piracy we now have hooliganism and this carries the maximum sentence of seven years instead of fifteen which is what of course if they weren't be charged with piracy this is what they would they would be facing and we're talking about thirty activists here from eighteen different countries and there's been a lot of speculation as to what would happen putin for this whole case he has always said well i don't see why they should be charged with piracy in fact he was supporting a different decision and we even had eleven nobel prize winners riding to vladimir putin urging him to drop the charges and now just to take it back in fact as to as to what happened over a

a key rebel group has refused to take part in the geneva peace talks planned for november there were russian foreign minister has blamed the western backers of the opposition for not putting enough pressure on them to participate in the talks middle east conflict analyst and more in a row who believes it's next to impossible to bring such a chaotic group to negotiate they've not come to the talks in june which was scheduled for june this year that they don't have leadership long term coherence strategy they did not enjoy any popularity among the civilians or the syrians within syria so. secretary kerry can get anyone from the syrian national council to a turned because they haven't been able to thus far. they're not the americans have not been the honest broker in the whole process so. the talks will be held in november as a result. and a fresh development in syria and kidnappers have released part of the humanitarian aid group abducted on sunday three international red cross workers and an arabic red crescent volunteer have been freed says they had their of the i.c.r.c. operations in

cross talk we're all things are considered i'm peter lavelle serious last chance is the dates for the geneva conference are being arranged there is every reason to believe the assad regime may sit across from an empty chair syria's rebel opposition is on the ground or hopelessly divided the syrian political opposition in exile is divorced from the brutality on the battlefield so what can geneva two point zero hope to achieve. across not geneva two point zero i'm joined by hilary leverage in washington she is a professor of international relations at the american university and author of the new book going to run and in new york we cross to richard murphy he is a reformer u.s. ambassador to syria and currently adjunct scholar at the middle east institute in washington all right crosstalk rules are the fact that means you can jump in anytime you want and i very much encourage it hillary fine go to you first in washington dates are being said but who's going to show up the assad regime is made it very clear that they would like to show up but who's going to be across the table and they are ther

that is the essence of the communiquÉ of geneva. talked about the creation of a transitional government with full executive authority including military security, all of those powers that existed in the presidency currently and then leading into a transitional period and then to an election. from our point of view, we believe that we need the support of key countries in the region. and we want their endorsement. that is why, during the meetings, the leadership had in new york, with different members of the international community, including our friends, we insisted that countries like turkey, saudi arabia, qatar, all of those countries would support our going to geneva. and we wanted the u.n. eventually to provide some guarantee that there would be a implementation of any arrangements, including maybe the need for some peacekeeping forces. from all points of view and we go through this with an understanding of not a when we say assad should not be part of the process, that is not a precondition. any political solution must begin wit

>> he does have a very difficult mission since the geneva one conference last year, nothing has reallynged in the positions of either side and i think this morning the state control department was very clear, sort of saying that he is welcome to come to syria but he should come with no preconditions and he should not represent the point of view of one party, that was basically the main complaint last time that he went to syria. some of the media went further and mocked him as an aging tourist so it will be very difficult, the opposition has said all along it will not go to the geneva two conference if there is no talk about assad leaving power and no talk about transition from the regime to the nu government and lately asaid indicated there was nothing to stop him from running for reelection next year in 2014 when they should be syrian presidential elections even though he did not say whether he would run or not but certainly brahimi will be very difficult. >> so prospects for geneva looking pretty dim. >> looking pretty dim also because of the fact the opposition doesn't agree on what

meaning who are the parties participating in geneva? what is the relation of these forces to the syrian people? do they event the syrian people or forces representing the countries that made it? if they wanted to suggest some suggestion later on which basis do we answer it as a country? who does it represent? >> reporter: with all sides trying to dominate the planned peace conference, it is likely that no one side will come out on top, particularly since russia and iran haven't been included in the preliminary talks by the friends of syria ahead of the geneva two conference. >> aljazeera.com is providing special coverage of the plight of the syrian refugees. it includes is stories and video reports of the situation facing millions of syrians who have been displaced from their home and country by the ongoing syrian civil war. >>> there is a new report out criticizing the u.s. for using drones to kill its enemies. they say the deadly strikes violate international law and could qualify as war crimes. here is a story of a family who's grandm

in syria to an agreement on a political settlement of the crisis in that country and convening the geneva two conference the supporters of the use of force in a resolution argue that at the end of the day with or without the resolution there is no mechanism to ensure that syria complies how do you respond to that. well there is a mechanism of course and this is what this w. organization is all about that our inspectors who are going to be there and there is a strong language in the documents of this organization on the book admission of chemical weapons strong language in there is allusion which has been adopted that they will have access to all the sites and individuals which have which are relevant to the. to the objective the elimination of chemical weapons so the whole thing will be very subtly verified it's not that. it's going to be done a done a random and. the words of the syrian government or anybody else will be simply taken in without checking on those words but the incidentally i have to add the initial information which was provided by the syrian government was very good it w

i think the syrian government will go to geneva without condition but the first question to go forward in syria it's to stop the violence how we will stop the violence we will stop the violence or through first of all. financial financing and. this is the first condition without stopping terrorism and there is to groups we cannot do anything in politics we cannot do anything in the economy and we cannot either do anything with the review jews which is the important question now what is your i think a lot of question but the main question is how will stop this violence anyone in the congress i think from opposition or. or there are these states in the region can recognize who is supporting the issue or al qaida or these. people who are. being. one or more toward three thorns in innocent people this is the first question which we should sort of after that we can go whatever they want for the constitution or for. for the other question it's all been for discussion but between the syrians themselves not between syria and other states in the region but some of the damascus center of studies

it's also not clear whether a political solution, if, indeed, reached at the geneva 2 conference would be applied on the ground simply because of the fact that many of the rebel factions, some of the more powerful ones on the ground have clearly said that it does not recognize that process, and it would actually consider anyone who joined that process as a traitor. >> egyptian students have stormed the university building damaging equipment and writing anti-government graffiti on the walls. >>> after the demonstration of ousted president mohamed morsi turned violent. >> reporter: this is the moment that hundreds of students tried to raid the administrative offices of the university. for ten days this place has been the focal point for protesters from the anti-coup alliance. on wednesday some managed to break in and set about destroying what they could. some used water hoses to prevent those outside from getting in. employees were harassed, documents taken and anti-coup graffiti sprayed on the walls. the head of the university called on the police to come to the campus, and he issued a

people are expecting concrete results from the geneva negotiations. om the foreign minister, i hope that is not completely mangled in terms of the pronunciation. they are pointing out that the steps taken by the iranians to shorten the negotiations is a sign of opportunity to arrive at the end of those talks. >> a different spectrum in terms of abuse. >> and the reflecting of the public desire for this deadlock to be broken, basically. if i could get this right, he is a professor of international law that said ths isn't a diplomatic negotiation. the very fact that we are around the negotiating table is a huge step forward, september and those viewing us as a winner and loser type of dynamic. that is what is playing out at the arabian press. one little detail from the foreign policy standpoint, cautioning against optimism about the new prime minister. saying he is a wolf in sheep's clothing, warning that the iranian regime made cosmetic changes. i suppose that is the cautious note being struck in the u.s. or the israeli press. half measures with iran wo

that is the essence of the communiquÉ of geneva. talked about the creation of a transitional government with full executive authority including military security, all of those hours that existed in the presidency currently and transitionalinto a bbd and then to an election. view, wepoint of believe that we need the support of key countries in the region. and we want their endorsement. that is why, during the meetings, the leadership had in with different members of the international community, including our friends, we insisted that countries like turkey, saudi arabia, qatar, all of those countries would support our going to geneva. -- we wanted the u.n. eventually to provide some aarantee that there would be limitation of any arrangements, including maybe the need for some peacekeeping forces. wem all points of view and go through this with an understanding of not a precondition. when we say that aside should not be part of the process, that should nothat assad be part of the process, that is not a precondition. any political solut

the objective of geneva 2 remains the same which is the implementation of geneva 1 which means a transition government arrived at by mutual consent of the parties. i don't believe anybody who ever believes that the opposition will consent to bashar al-assad being part of that government. and if he thinks he's going to solve problems by running for reelection i think i can say to him with certainty this war will not end. as long as that's the case where he is there. now, the geneva 2 process is a negotiated resolution of a war that is taking place because bashar al-assad decided to meet the demands of young people in this country for participatory role in the future of syria. he decided to meet them with bullets. and bombs. and artillery shells. and he has shelled universities. and killed innocent students sitting at their desks. he shelled schools with napalm and bombed nent children there trying to learn. he has bombed and gassed people in that country more than 150,000 or so are dead. how can that man claim to rule under any legitimacy in the future? i believe it is very clear what the pu

so we want the moderate opposition in syria to know we are behind them and going to geneva, and we will continue to help them in many ways, and of course to persuade them that this is the only way in the end to solve this tragic and bloody conflict in syria. >> international affairs editor douglas herbert told us more about the challenges facing the friends of syria. >> it is a grouping right of 11 coronations, western arab nations, including qatar the united arab nations. we have covered them in paris tunisia, istanbul. they have been meeting everywhere in the past few years. in the beginning there was a pretense where they were speaking to a so-called united opposition that was marching at least in their own words in lockstep towards a brighter future for syria, a future without bashar assad in it. that has become aggressively more difficult, or that vision is more out of whack with reality these days. john kerry is going to a meeting trying to face an opposition that within itself is divided on whether or not to attend this conference. the opposition groups that will be there in lond

we can talk about plans to hold the peace talks in geneva. what about the capacity to make peace, david? how is that looking? >> sammy we have had news from moscow today, from the syrian deputy prime minister. he was in formal talks at the ministry of foreign affairs here in moscow. he did not meet with sergei lav rof, but he said that the geneva 2 peace talks bill start on the 23rd of november and continue to the 24th of navy. now, we must caution about that date because this is not an official announcement now. the u.n. were hoping to start the geneva ii peace talks in the middle of november. we understand from a u.n. diplomatic source that they think the date will start on the 22nd and continue on the 23rd. we're roughly in the same ballpark there. we've been waiting since may for these peace negotiations to start. they're intended to get all sides around the same table and set up a transitional government which will take control of the country in the lead-up to democratic elections. they're one big sticking point, and that is getting all t

calling for a timetable to be said for the geneva 2 talks. he said there -- he said that any transition would not be possible without a transition government to replace the fruit visited -- to replace the current president. ruled out attending the geneva peace talks, saying it would go so far as to quit the umbrella of opposition should the opposition choose to participate. moscow has called on washington to bring pressure to bear on the syrian opposition so it takes part in these talks. moscow police have detained 1200 people in an anti-migrant rate on a produce market. the scene of a riot. 400 people were detained after the protest degenerated into a race riot. it stems from the killing of a russian man thursday that nationalists lamed on a migrant deaths blamed on a migrant. >> clashes and arrests continued throughout the night in southern moscow as anti-riot squads tried to prevent areas to be attacked where migrants are known to work. >> i want the police chief and everyone in services with the duty to handle this situation to deal with t

now he's going to hear what would be the conditions for the syrian government to attend this geneva twoonference, the syrian government has been very clear all along and really his position has not changed since the geneva one conference in 2012. they said that they would not sit with any civil factions that have foreign oh support. that puts out the entire syrian national council. what damascus has been trying to do is trumpeting its patriotic opposition, one that it would speak to, but many in the syrian national council that would tell that you this is a hand-picked opposition that in the end would actually put forward the interest of bashar al-assad himself. this is very difficult situation there coupled by the fact that you have an opposition that is fragmented, 19 rebel groups quite influential on the ground, had issued a statement saying that it would consider anyone who actually geese to those talks as a traitor, and that the geneva two talks if they happen, indeed, it would go against the aspirations of this syrian revolution. then you have amongst the players not much unity th

on another development a un source told al jazeera that a working date to hold the geneva conference ll be on november 22nd or 23rd. those are approximately dates, however, they are not confirmed. the syrian deputy prime minister said in a news conference, that they have agreed with russian officials and also with some un officials that the dates for the geneva two conference will be around the 22nd or the -- between the 22nd or the 24th of november. >>> and there is breaking news coming out of syria, state report tv reporting that a senior syrian army officer was killed on duty in an eastern part of that country. he was a senior syrian army general being killed on duty. >>> the latest information on the leak by edward snowden appears in the "washington post." the documents detail how the cia relies on the nsa's surveillance, that surveillance includes emails, phone calls, and other forms of communications. >>> and more news from the nsa, the commander is stepping down. his eight-year tenure was the longest at the agency. alexander has been taking a lot of heat because of the revelati

they are working on dates to hold the geneva conference on syria will be on november 22nd or 23rd. ose are approximate dates. and the syrian deputy prime minister said in a news conference that they having a agreed with russian officials and also with some un officials that the dates for the geneva two on for instance will be around 22nd or the 2 -- between the 22nd or the 24th of november. >> omar, thank you very much. >>> up next on al jazeera america, ebay is getting ready for a bad holiday season, and they are blaming the government shutdown for all of the problems. >> hi i'm phil torres coming up this week on techknow >> it's gonna get bumpy over here, it looks like... >> we dropped like a rock... ...and then you experience zero g's >> this is a modified dc 8 with about 28 different instruments on the outside... >> it's one wild ride... >> we're flying at 300 feet over the gulf of mexico... >> climb aboard nasa's laboratory in the sky... >> techknow - 7:30 eastern on al jazeera america >>> riot police have clashed with high school students on the streets of paris, they are prot

issued a statement saying it would consider anyone who goes to those talks as a traitor, and that the geneva two talks would be--go would against the aspirations of the syrian revolution. then also you have among the regional players not much of unity there, either. abrahami has been going to saudi arabia. the president of saudi arabia refused to talk to him. it he has angered about russia and u.s. not going ahead with that strike, and angry about syria's use of chemical weapons. it's a very complicated situation. there are talks about the talks. he is just trying to figure out whether he should issue the invitations to the conference in the first place, or if it is an useful effort. >> britain is getting ready for its worse storm in five years. winds expect to go hit 80 mph. well, it's turning into a nightmare for some people. here is more about the storm and your potential travel nightmare. how bad is bad. >> meteorologist: it's pretty bad. we continue to monitor the storm as it marchs across southern portions of england, across wales as well. take a look at the devastation. you can see tr

of course, there is a state in the region which is furious about the geneva ii peace conference. its name is saudi arabia. >> and in the middle of this difficult diplomacy and distrust is lakhdar brahimi, and rt future of the geneva ii talks. . >>> the united nations submitted its first progress report on chemical weapons. superiors have not been able to reach all the sites, other milestones are met. they are in the process of destroying equipment that mrures chemical weapons, ambassador richard butler is a former unchief weapons inspector. i asked what he thought about the report. >> you see, the chemicals are held in binary fashion, two parts that have to be mixed and filled into mun eyeingses. that equipment is crucial. this report shows that they have almost completed that already. so i think progress is quite encouraging. >> when we talk about this to begin with, you suggested this would be a very, very difficult process. it would be time-consuming. >> that's right. >> it might take years to wrap all of this up. so you are more optimistic now. >> well, having been around this

meaning, who are the parties participating in geneva? what is the relation of these forces to the syrian people? are they forces representing the countries that made it? if these forces representing the conference and the dialogue wanted to suggest something later, on which basis do we answer it as a country? who does it represent? >> it's like one side, particularly at the role of key player, such as russia and iran, haven't been included in the preliminary talks with the syrian group in the peace conference. >> a reminder that aljazeera.com is providing special coverage of the plight of the syrian refugees, with video reports on the situation that millions of syrians face as they are forced from their homes in the middle of the civil war fest >> dealing with a major security problem. agency said that mall ware has affected it's headquarters in vienna, and none of its data has been affected in. >> the owners of that colorado cantaloupe farm tracking the deadly outbreak of wisteria, they're expected to plead guilty that they allowed the t

of course there is a state in the region which is furious about the proposed geneva two peace conference and its name is saudi arabia. >> reporter: and in the middle of that difficult diplomacy and mistrust is this man, and the future of the geneva two talks, rob matheson, al jazerra. >> bringing all sides to the negotiating table hasn't been easy. the syrian opposition says it won't sit down to talks until bashar al-assad steps down. the president meanwhile doubts the talks will ever take place. >>> a suspect u.s. drone strike killed two alleged senior members of an al quada linked group in somalia. they were struck while driving in a car south of the somali capital. the u.s. does not report its activities in somalia, however drones about have been used before in that area. tuesday marks one year since super storm sandy slammed in to the east coast. in the u.s., 182 lives were lost. and the storm caused $65 billion in damage. making it the second costliest storm in this nation's history. while some victims have bounced back, others are still struggling to return to normal. during the pa

. >> rose: what the possibilities of a geneva conference on syria. we talk to lakhar brahimi special enjoy to virria from the united nations and arab league. >> we have said there is-- the government is not going to win. they may be doing better today. they may be doing better next week. but they are not going to win this war. nor is the opposition going to defeat, you know, actually defeat the government and have them you know leave damascus or whatever. >> rose: a look at egypt today, part two of my conversation with nabil fahmy, the foreign minister. >> in two and a half years we have asked two presidents to leave. we are going through a societal transformation. egyptians are trying to define who they are, politically in the 21st century. that's the debate. how do we draw the image of egypt. is it my image? it can't only my image. is it an islamist image. it can't only that. so this is what we are trying to do. it is an important, complicated but historic opportunity, which we have a responsible to pursue to the utmost. >> rose: shut down, syria an

for the parties that go to geneva 2, to be working on the basis of the geneva communique of the 30th of june, 2012. which was very clear about creating a transitional governing body with full executive powers, drawn from regime and opposition. but by mutual consent. and mutual consent when implemented means what it says. it means that those there from regime and opposition are there by consent of the others. that's very clear what that means for a future role for assad. but excepting that, the regime's acceptance of that or the russian acceptance that have is not a precondition of convening a geneva 2 meeting. next question. [inaudible] >> foreign secretary, you have managed to make some progress today on the agenda for geneva 2? isn't one of the problems that if talks are a big part of that, since president assad has made very clear as recently as yesterday that he has no intention of going, indeed wants to go up for a presidential election the next time, is no fundamental inherent problem with that kind of struck tier for those talks? >> i don't want to minimize in any way the diff

status or position in syria and that is why we recommitted today with very specific efforts to move the geneva process as rapidly as possible now it was undoubtedly a productive meeting between the two sides with kerry said it's been the most productive meeting in recent months between lavrov and himself and attention now turns to the possibility of a geneva two peace conference where it's hoped that by the syrian government all representatives of the syrian government on the syrian opposition will sit around the table for peace talks so says that he can get a delegation from the syrian government from damascus around the table in. the anticipated date for these talks and kerry says he's hopeful that he can do likewise with the syrian opposition. the world's largest oil does. has taken lives in the british scottish independence rousing you can imagine at a future without london when i was asian has extensive ties with the u.k. and its biggest export has a big fans of british weapons a london correspondent told me why opec swaying in. the british government's got tight links to opec and in fact

you know, in the geneva process elections are very important. but i mean the elections, geneva speaks about are not quite the same as the elections that the syrian government is thinking of now. >> yeah. >>> the united states. did it make a mistake in your judgement by not supporting early -- >> you know, from where i sit, my criticism of the international community as a whole, the united states included, i suppose, is that they haven't really put enough political will to find the political solution. rather than help one side or the other. >> and why is that. >> because you know, i think because they thought that, you know, this regime is going to fall just like the regime in egypt and yemen that it would be easy. it doesn't even need many weapons or something like that. so that was a miscalculation by everybody. i think nobody expected this regime to be, to last this long. but i think you know, the secretary-general of the united nations to his credit has been saying right from the beginning we need a political solution here. and we didn't have

and russia are determined the geneva conference must take place. his efforts so far have not born fruit. one senior security council diplomat has told me that if he fails, then he believes the deputy secretary general should put all of the rest of his work to one side and concentrate solely on syria. james bays, al jazerra, at the united nations. >> throughout the course of the syrian war, several countries have been giving military and humanitarian aid to rebel groups in the region the major donors including the u.s., saudi araba and qatar. ♪ ♪ >> meteorologist: the winter storm we were talking about earlier this week that was coming out of the rockies is now in the central plains and it is moving east, it's picking up a lot of moisture out of the gulf of mexico and what is happening is this will dump a lot of rain across the mississippi river rally, ohio river valley and also strengthen, we are going to get winds up here to the northeast across the great lakes 40 miles per hour winds, gusting up to 60, this is going to be a major problem, we are g

to have you were there's so these attacks well it seems that terror attacks are intensifying as the geneva two conference is drawing to is drawing closer do you think it's a coincidence. well no i think they're getting desperate it's the rebel terrorists in syria are getting very desperate because obviously that no help is coming from the americans to bomb locations or targets that they want so it's not surprising at all that there are now resorting to these sort of tactics killing a lot of civilians. frightening people all over the place it's just causing fear but they're not achieving anything because the syrian army has got the upper hand now one of the main opposition groups the national syrian council is actually refusing to take part in the geneva two conference do you think the talks can go ahead without them. well. they've not come to the talks in june which was scheduled for june this year that they don't have leadership they don't have a coherent strategy and they did not enjoy any popularity among the civilians or the syrians within syria so. secretary kerry can't get anyone fro

meeting in recent months between lavrov and himself and attention now turns to the possibility of the geneva two peace conference where it's hoped that by the syrian government all representatives of the syrian government on the syrian opposition will sit around the table for peace talks. says that he can get. delegation from the syrian government from damascus around the table in mid november that's the anticipated date for these talks and kerry says he's hopeful that he can do likewise with the syrian opposition. bring in more news after this break to stay with us here on r.t. . millions around the globe struggle with hunger. what if someone offers a lifetime food supply no charge. they can they're very strong against g.m.o. and we think that's. genetically modified products are. there is no. evidence for this any problem with genetic engineering when you make a deal. or is free cheese. i don't believe that. free. enterprise is profit. for. golden rice barkeep. thanks was a day with us here on our team libya is demanding an explanation from the us alliance forces kidnapped want to be a cit