there is very much high hopes that the turks are going to somehow sold the situation out and i think there is no one without even having to be native into it yes while the nato nato can can support turkey but the turks so far as far as i understand have not asked nato to intervene on their side in syria which would be unrealistic but i think when i talk to foreign policy that's a professionals in western european countries i think there is a certain to a certain degree still an unbroken solidarity with turkey to the extent that they say like it makes absolutely no sense to alienate the turks and to believe that we can do anything without at least having the turks aside or at least having to turkish support for a certain extent it didn't feel like as always it's great to get your insights we appreciate it thank you thank you for. the end we sold today had its beginnings last summer that was when democratic presidential candidate elizabeth warren emerged as the front runner among what was an unprecedented field of contenders in size gender and diversity looking back it becomes clear th

didn't hold for long this one different well look i think and a half i cannot figure out why the turks have agreed to this but something really interesting has come up today and i was very surprised to read this we've been talking for the last months about a highway the m 5 which is leading from damascus to a level which is considered by the syrian regime as the the useful syria that the axis of central syria and there's been a lot of fighting going on going on on this highway because the syrian regime wanted to secure this highway with russian support and push the rebels now there is an agreement to according to which the russians and the turks want to join the patrol and create a safe zone alongside another highway which is leading from the coastal city of latakia to aleppo and this would mean that by this safe zone and these joint patrols russia and turkey would split the rebel controlled areas into 2 this would be a major success for russian the syrian regime because they could divide the red. territory and progressively conquer the south which will be cut off from the other parts

on the part of the turks i mean a nato ally here but they already invoke article 4 for consultations which is only one step away from invoking article 5 of self defense for the entire alliance is anybody in nato going to listen to him outside of i know that the white house came out for absolute support but that doesn't mean material support no i think it's both a yes and no are there because foreign for nato and especially in the states a little bit of conflict here has not been a negative thing that is because. the u.s. has been very aware about this turkey and russia getting along too well in this they don't like the process gets along too well with serbia with china with germany like the you usually it's a problem across the board but with turkey. i guess some conflict has been good to the extent there. driven a wedge between the turks and the russians however you are correct i don't have an appetite for going to war against russia in order to protect a jihadi protecting every illegal invasion to a good 3rd country but i want point i think just to that i think it's quite important

agreement between turkey and russia was russia and syria would would halt it going into it in response the turks would separate you know what would they call the moderates from the geologist and thereby clean up the region and then you would have some form of for for diplomacy in solving this and no one who didn't do that he didn't want to make good things here glenn brings up such a good point 1st of moment and it's never mentioned in mr western media that turkey has invaded the sovereign country of syria and its military there is its presence is illegal and even. mainstream websites like like the b.b.c. designate the elements holding in the problems that it's in our jihad it's but you don't get any kind of pushback you know i mean it's so bizarre that here they are in turkey a nato ally is protecting and giving aid to what are deemed as jihad it's go ahead alex explain it to me. i wish i could but i mean i think that they're due on it and turkey have run out of road at this point and i think you said it best peter that he is definitely in a very tough spot a tough spot of his own making and i

given a lot of concessions in the north of syria allowed the turks the breathing space they need. to go this hard on the i believe it seems very foolish i did see irrational because i do because i don't see what the end game is i mean is the end game to maintain the status quo i suppose that's one option. let's not forget the. 5 percent or the syrian territory so if i break down wants to invade syria you know and reform it it in the way he wants then the best moment was in 2012 when all the west was against syria you know the russian troops there actually be actionable still not there was in the making so he didn't do it now there is a lot less opportunity for him to do this table think but i agree with that it's when he says these age should be given to syria but how don't forget syria is still under sanctions turkey is not under sanctions invading other countries scenery is under sanctions you cannot help 90 percent of the. syrian territory because of the e.u. and the united states have decided that they're not going to help let me let me. know when it's ever going to make me so

particularly after an air strike killed turks.ened is what we've been having is really a major nato power squaring up against russia. in any definition of the we re russia. in any definition of the were dangerous, that's dangerous. while many countries have intervened in the syrian war, they try to avoid fighting each other and a cease—fire has been declared today after a meeting in moscow. but, while the two sides are still there and still backing opposite side, the potential for more trouble has not gone away. isn't sort of in vladimir putin's interest to keep them on one side. doesn't he like having that through the partnership, kinda meddling hand and nato itself? that was kind of his intro into nato. he may nato va ry his intro into nato. he may nato vary upset. the russians have not plugged in yet, but it's certainly useful for plugged in yet, but it's certainly usefulfor prudent but plugged in yet, but it's certainly useful for prudent but he's been showing signsjudging useful for prudent but he's been showing signs judging

the turks countered with a message of their own force but nick employees based in turkey were arrested that was after a mob attacked 3 of their homes and those reporters say they didn't even produce the story in question that it was filed by sputniks international office in london collections and even in the homes of our colleagues were attacked by groups of 15 to 20 people making. racist. we don't know who they were or how they found out i advise my colleagues to go to the police and file a complaint but after giving their statements they were taken into custody thankfully lawyers from the report to the face the nation and uncover how. colleagues were released later in the evening there. with a. partner who became kind of the 1st target we've been turkey because it represents the russian point of view hands out of the gun it's kind of trying to show his muscles but since he cannot really get budget we can sell for russian forces so he kind of facts that we cast one and here the media spotlight is really popular in turkey and because of the tight control of turkish media by the turkish

33 turkish soldiers were killed in airstrikes in the province of it's been decades since that many turks have died in a single attack initial reports in the turkish media echoed the official line from on correct that the syrians were behind the bombing all too easy chief quote a little too keen need to be me up to. before long turkish news outlets were changing their tune. because. you can therefore. make me. couple of days you started to see this kind of analysis on who your daily by so that is a long time prominent journalist unobjective face in the turkish media pundit article saying that it's very clear that the ban this sudden regime planes bombarded turkey day were in formation with the russian planes so one way or another russians had information about this issue. and i think that just kind of a for other media for example the daily it's front page talking about the russian role in the syrian civil war basically killing the civilians and. it was as if a taboo had been lifted and turkish media outlets took the gloves off directly blaming the russians for the casualties standing up

the turks who chose to intervene militarily directly because they were doing so by proxy by cleaning organizing i mean. terrorist groups fighting the government. wants no quarter of the political reasons because the russians and the syrians didn't want to leave the region goodbye to. the residents and. get them it was not sanctioned by any un resolution and it was granted that. invasion order and occupation by your. 'd city and get it ready for we are getting reports too that turkey has shot down 2 syrian air force planes neatly province the aircraft were said to have been carrying out a counter-terror mission when they were brought down by turkish jets the pilots they reportedly ejected to safety now still to come for you on the weekly times in northeastern france accuse that belgium a visible easily dumping rubbish across the border we'll have a look at the details just awful. join me every thursday on the alex simon sure and i'll be speaking to us from the world of politics sports business i'm show business i'll see you then. the point is should we actually be charging for it beca

last october the russians and the turks agreed on the area that's russia's from toss a line which is in the north east some part of syria so you get of this if you get this indication that the russians and the turks will definitely have a bigger say in shaping the future of syria came however when it comes to the. permanent solution to the political solution to the crisis the 2 countries have different narratives president bashar assad has called for parliamentary elections in april the turkish government says the snottily just admit it has to be under the aegis of the international community and the opposition should be included in those elections but when we change the whole framework including drafting of a new constitution and rewriting the whole political establishment in syria russia on the other hand backs president bashar assad and says this is something that has to be decided by the illegitimate of thora t. in syria being president bashar al assad and i think the 2 leaders do understand that for the time being their drugs are meant to be in those recent gains particularly th

direct confrontation with russia so there's quite a lot of powerful voices in nato who support the turks desire to see the syrian army's offensive stopped but i'm not sure they want to go beyond words and perhaps symbolic gestures so it seems ever gone deployed another tactic trying to force europe's hand. what we did is we opened up orders because you promised us assistance but you did nothing and we would not close those doors because the e.u. must keep its word just hours later crowds of migrants rushed to the frontier buy food by bus by train even risking their lives at sea. and not all of them are from syria i'm from afghanistan we are going to greece for a better life the turkish government did right by opening the borders i have been in turkey since i was 3 i'm originally from afghanistan i want to go to greece because i want to move to europe living conditions are better there. but there wasn't exactly the warmest of welcomes on all for on the other side of the border greens even used tear gas in a bid to make the new comers abandoned their dreams of a better life is the damage m

and russians but the russians and turks are trying to keep the cease fire holding. for future there but of course when it comes to the syrian opposition groups inside it that it turkey has a critical position because it has observation observation post inside of the both down below them for haifa a highway and a border and for highway this is a for this is going to be a tough process for turkey and took it wants to keep its military presence but if the syrian opposition groups be a main. the group called h d s a a topper a sham a continues to be against this ceasefire signed between turkey and russia turkey might need to be. might need to make a choice between the opposition group and the russian side of course we will see what the ground the field will dictate to the players in syria for the update and service and consider that in istanbul israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu his corruption trial has been postponed for at least 2 months due to concerns about coronavirus meanwhile efforts to form a new coalition government in israel have resumed but the discuss

conclusion one is that turkey really needed an arrangement because it couldn't go on like this the turks have been losing a lot of people i mean they have been invested massively they have struck the syrian regime with all the had artillery drones air force but the turks have come under severe pressure and they want to somehow find a face saving temporary solution here and so do the russians i mean the russians haven't suffered much but they have recently in the last couple of days they didn't know what to make of this escalation then they started to put in all their packets all the air force and support the syrian regime it seems like they really wanted to come to a conclusion and demonstrate to the entire world we are in control of the 2 of us put in and out alone we are the ones who are striking the deals. the crisis on the border between greece and turkey is worsening turkey has deployed elite special operations police to the border their job is to block any return of refugees who've been pushed back by greek authorities after trying to cross into the european union migrants and refu

meeting and we came to a conclusion now it could be spun a lot of different ways but essentially the turks back down why. well i think the back down for 2 reasons firstly the the fount that militarily they were outmatched they're not in a position to take on the syrian army and the russian air force one on the same time and they were suffering casualties and i think that was one reason why they pulled back but the other reason was that they found that they had no diplomatic support or military support or political support from their western allies the united states ruled out any military action in support of turkey they refused to send it to provide air cover for turkish troops and turkey found that instead of europe coming to turkey support the europeans instead were very critical of turkey's actions in libya and along the border with greece where turkey has been allowing refugees to move migrants to move in their efforts to enter europe so i think the turkish government and president gun made the correct decision in the circumstances which is that turkey really was not in a position to a

turks who chose to intervene militarily directly because they were doing so by proxy by training and organizing mean. terrorist groups fighting the syrian government. for political reasons because the russians and the cities didn't want to leave the region. open. presence in. them it's not sanctioned by any u.n. resolution and it was going to the. region or. city in. the 1st days of july in the songes u.s. extradition case wrapped up this week the decision on whether the journalist will be handed over to the u.s. or not will be reached in may when for the hearings are to be held the prosecution argued that a stand knowingly put hundreds of lives at risk when he published troves of classified u.s. military files without redacting names our other sensitive information washington claims that following those leaks in 2010 sources disappeared in iraq afghanistan and iran that we can expand our is also accused of encouraging the whistleblower an army intelligence analyst chelsea manning to hack the pentagon's computer network as i'll just defense team have sought however to counter those a

with someone why you see in syria and says anybody gadget question this is a 3000000 what are the turks doing in syria is exactly the question but the more stable think is the edge over the western media and the western elite because i slightly disagree with that expense he says that they would get more support ever got me a call to the headline of the spiegel magazine right before the meeting between britain and why the europeans must support that's the kind of language they are going to do logical ok you're both right the article said that but i don't exactly care if i got because they didn't do i need to exactly but the more the more i see where you're sitting was the article from andrew higgins in the new times right after the meeting it will be prepared in advance most of it because it'd be a just you know minutes after the meeting and so he gets right russia so far has refrained from a take an inside turkey because putin was hesitant about making it and i'll try to tack on nato territory nato territory territory kind of weaponry and it leaves is need to take a tree this is how the

have the turks closed the border? catherine: at the moment that is not the case.he situation remains tense at the border in turkey. remain, according to migrants we have spoken to, ththere remain several thousand migrants insnside the no man's land between the greek and turkish border. there have been efforts to round up migrants who have been sleeping i in camps on the stres or the parksks around the zone, and several of them said that they were being told that they could either return to istanbul, or try their luck getting into greece. be very much thee line. there have been tensions atat ts border crossing behind me, which has been sealed off by turkish police, so there was tear gas fired at migrants, trying to get through the greek border. the turkish president told reporters on his plane coming back from the talks in moscow said that this was a done deal. we have open the borders and we do not want to waste anymore time talking about this. publicly he is not changing his tone on this issue. >> you have been speaking to refugees about the conditions that they

of the matter is if you look at the secretary mike pompei o during this process he was egging the turks on to confront russia because he believed that russia would back down i mean the thing is is that they don't they've never wanted a resolution in syria that they can't control well everyone lost control pompei or no one's going to listen to and of course you have the hot air from the e.u. no all of this is happening on the ground and they are going to determine the final outcome it's taking longer than we all thought but they will go ahead alex well that well this is exactly the point because of course what happens was that yes there were some people in the u.s. government and in and in the e.u. and in the media who wanted to give full throated support to turkey and not just verbal support the stronger support well designed however the pentagon clearly and. unequivocally said no they are not prepared to go head to head with the russians on turkey's behalf in india province and it's important to stress it's not just the syrian government that recognizes these groups in italy as terrori

>> i think it depends how much of a risk the turks are willing to take. as i say, my perception is it is for erdogan and political future for the party's future and if they're willing to take enough of a ri of a risk, yes, there is risk of escalation. i think we know the turkish/russian relationship is important for both sides and about much more than idlib. the turks and russians signed a huge gas pipeline deal which neither side want to see eroded because of an issue like idlib which to put it in cold terms isn't necessarily the biggest issue on russian or turkey agenda when it comes to the bilateral relationship but i'm surprised how hard russia has played this. my sort of understanding of the situation six months ago is that we would have already come to a compromised solution whereby the russians and say that is it, there is no movement. it would have been a terrible humanitarian situation. but we wouldn't be in a place where we were seeing the line continue to move north like we are now. so i think all of that together does risk escalation. i think