comply with the ceasefire? russia? they have a game plan in syria is to prop up the bashar al-assad regime. they're now also aiding and abetting the bashar al-assad regime in the military campaign. they're responsible for the killing that has happened in the country. u.n., the u.n. said that they cannot enforce a ceasefire. staffan de mistura said as much in closed door meetings. he was asking around who can enforce it. the u.n. cannot enforce it. the u.s. is the natural party who can enforce the ceasefire by putting consequences on the table if case the party does not. unfortunately, the u.s. doesn't seem to be interested in doing that. we are deeply sceptical. there are no guarantees >>> is that true that russia has no interest in making sure its partners stop shooting? >> russia primarily at this point wants to support the bashar al-assad regime. it wants to be sure the bashar al-assad regime captures aleppo. russia would like to be a major factor in whatever international political solution is developed for syria, wants to be a major player, but in terms of the cessation of hostilities

♪ >> you are watching "dw news" live from berlin. is it over before it began? president bashar al-assad 3000 to take syria, dealing a blow to a cease-fire deal to the civil war a few hours old. also, pope francis meets the head of the russian orthodox church in cuba, seeking to overcome a 1000-year-old rift between the churches. movie screenings start in earnest on the first full day of her lens international film festival. science fiction, family dramas, tunisian love stories, the latest from the berlin film festival. ♪ >> it is good to have you with us. tonight, syria's president intends to take the whole country from rebel forces. this possibly deals a blow to a cease-fire deal announced earlier today by the u.s. secreary of state john kerry. the deal was reached in munich between the u.s., russia, and more than a dozen other countries. let's go through what it calls for. it calls for a cessation of hostilities to begin in one week. the break in fighting should allow humanitarian aid into areas where it is needed. diplomats also discussed ways of restarting peace talks between the syria

news in a phone call. russia has been the strongest ally of syrian president bashar al-assad, in the country's 5-year civil war. in the last half hour, bashar al-assad denied there was differences twine himself and his russian counterpart. the development comes as talks take place to end the 5-year conflict. the special envoy stefan de mistura says all parties are facing a moment of truth. >> translation: i believe the goal set out by the military and armed force, that's why i order the minister of defence, as of tomorrow to start the pull out of the main part of our military grouping from the syrian arab republic >>> reaction from the russian announcement coming in. it's been said that russia's withdrawal can influence the conflict. >> whatever russia decides, this will affect the side and the other side will affect the regime. hopefully we, you know, see this on the ground. that russians are not in syria any more. we want - you know - russian people to be friends in syria, but not partners in killing the syrians. it will be important if this decision is taken - it will be more impo

are acting with the bashar al-assad government and russian agent. kurdish y.p.g. gained ground at the expense of i.s.i.l. they were supported in the push against i.s.i.l., but it has been taking on syrian opposition groups, especially around aleppo. these are pictures from one battle. y.p.g. gaining territories near the turkish border, angering ankara. >> my honourable friend is right the syrian kurds are an important part of the equation, they have to be brought into an enduring solution in syria, but turkey has a problem with links between p.k.k. and syrian kurdish groups. p.k.k. being terrorist groups in turkey and the u.k. there are overlaying conflicts here and the turkish conflict is a major factor. we have seen disturbing evidence of coordination between syria and the russian air force making us uneasy about the kurds role in all of this. >> former leader of the democratic kurdish party sis there's no such evidence. >> no coordination between kurdish forces and the regime. the only coordination is the forces and international coalition starting from the battle battle of kobani,

>>> ahead of talks the main syrian opposition says bashar al-assad must go but the government says that's out of the question. you're watching al jazeera. i'm jane dutton live from our headquarters in doha. also coming up, regional elections begin in three german states. it is seen as a test for angela merkel's open door refugee policy. a day of protests in venezuela, as the opposition ramps up calls for president maduro to step down. not good enough, afghan families who have suffered injury and loss when the u.s. accidentally attacked a hospital say the compensation doesn't go far enough >>> firstly, the war in syria and the u.s. secretary of state is meeting his european counterpart a day after the syrian government set its conditions for talks in geneva. pop sigs members arrived in switzerland ahead of meeting on monday. the government is due to arrive in the coming hours. it insist the president bashar al-assad's role is not up for discussion. lawrence, you saz john kerry meet leaders on saturday and today with the europeans. what has been on the table? >> reporter: yes. of cou

two powers are behind a u.n. peace plan that could see syrian president bashar al-assad stay in office at least during the transition period. >> translation: at the beginning the u.s. publicly stood against bashar al-assad, but they kept making false promises to the opposition and now their true position is out in the open. the u.s. is not against bashar al-assad. they accept him on the negotiating table. they consider him the leader. >> reporter: bashar al-assad's future has always been an obstacle on the road po peace. many in the opposition believe russia's intervention has changed the military and political balance in favor of president bashar al-assad. recent battle field gains has made the regime stronger and that is why the opposition believes it has little to gain by negotiating. it is one of the reasons why it is pushing for concessions before agreeing to talks. diplomacy has so far seen only failures in this conflict which has become an international regional war by proxy and many people feel their voices have become irrelevant. >> translation: syrians should be the on

christians and others. today activists and western leaders called for president bashar al-assad to face war crimes charges as part of the peace process and negotiators in gen eeve-- gen eve are-- geneva are focusing on others. >> reporter: several independent groups, including the halocaust museum say this is representing i.s.i.l.'s mass murder of christians and other religious and ethnic groups constitutes genocide. it took an act of congress of the u.s. government to agree >> reporter: the u.s. has been condemning i.s.i.l.'s brutal activities for years. it was only after the congress that the department issued a formal declaration that the murder torture and rape of groups amounts to crimes against humanity. >> d.a.e.s.h. is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control including yarzidis, christians and shia muslims. d.a.e.s.h. is genocidal by self-proclamation, by what it says and does. >> reporter: a march 17 deadline included last year in the government spending bill p and comes three days after the house passed a non-binding resolution saying it is commi

due to arrive in the next few hours. it insists president bashar al-assad's role is not up for discussion. the goal of the indirect talks is to try to end the five-year conflict. lawrence lee is live from gaziantep. today he is meeting with the europeans. what are the expectations >>> >>> >> reporter: it is very important for the americans to brief their partners and their allies before gen kerry heads off to gen eve. he het the saudis yesterday. the europeans are going to know from john kerry what the state is because it impacts on what has been sp of their own care campaign overs syria as well. i think if they're honest with themselves what they will want to know is to what extent the americans are trying to move very slightly more towards the russian position because it does appear to some extent that the americans have outflanked by the russians. the countries only have limited say in all of this because the crucial events in geneva is between washington and moscow and staffan de mistura is going to be moving between them. it is going to a question of whether the cessation

great. some paid with their lives. inside the fault lines between the bashar al-assad government and numerous opposition actions. >> the government propaganda machine has been reforcing military decisiveness. celebrating the losses, and making a larger point. syria is under attack by the outside forces. syria is fighting one of those wars on terror, so-called. >>> on syria's state-controlled media. aleppo and other forces went to areas that are rebel held. carefully taking it. >> the aim is military decisiveness. raising the use over and over again. >> show footbinge by the syrian army. >> they really almost entirely ignored the refugees, it's obvious why. whether there's a battle over territories. that pump or aleppo, this is very much that. it is seen as a nationalist battle territory. they are going aleppo, raising the syria flag. aleppo will return to the home ground. it is what is at stake according to syrian media. this is called an outside power. some media outlets acted as proxies. state funded channels from russia, saudi arabia and qatar have been accused of reflecting patro

lasting peace while syrian president bashar al-assad remains in power. >> as long as bashar al-assad is there, you cannot stop the war. because of the grievous event that have transpired over the course of the last years. people do not see how someone who has gassed his own people, driven so many of them into refugee status and displaced, tortured them, starved them. barrel bombed them - how he can be the glue that brings the place back together is behind anyone's understanding >>> the u.s. is discussing plan b option, but he didn't specify what options were on the table. and russian's president vladimir putin speaking with bashar al-assad about the truce. rory challands has more. >> moscow and damascus have similar points of view on the prospects of negotiating the syrian crisis. the point of view are not identical. russia essentially had to tell president bashar al-assad to shut up when bashar al-assad said that he was going to carry on fighting and retake the whole of syria. russia said "no, that's not on the agenda, bashar al-assad should take russian leadership on this. and all the

bashar al-assad fight what he calls terrorists. >> translation: i believe that the goals set out has overall been fulfilled. that's why i ordered the minister of defense as of tomorrow to start the pull out of the main part of our military grouping from the syrian area. >> reporter: the syrian government was told about the decision in a statement from bashar al-assad was a joint one. the syrian opposition is cautious. the timing of the announcement was significant as it was made at the same time as the geneva talks. >> our diplomacy has received the marching order to intensify our efforts to achieve a political result on syria. we believe that we've helped undercut their infrastructure and undermine their infrastructure, destroy much of their infrastructure. the fight against terrorists there is going to continue >> reporter: moscow will keep control of an air base in latakia and they still have control of a port. >> it is a good time because of the talks. the air strikes have already declined, so pulling out the air force is not a major, it won't have much affect on the battle. plus

really has visited in the favor of the president bashar al-assad. on the ground the government has made significant gains in the countryside of latakia province, they have recaptured a strategic town in the southern front, a number of u.n. negotiated deals that resulted as a result of the blockades and the starvation. fighters have abandoned positions and they've withdrawn. so the government is trying to neutralize areas around the capital, but a short while ago there were explosions inside damascus which shows this is an ongoing war, but people are worried and concerned that the outcome of these talks will not be in their favor. >> reporter: this is the reality in syria. the government backed by ration air power is on the offensive. their focus is on the south-west, damascus. they are attack the siege. the strategy is to isolate it from the area which is also under a government blockade. >> translation: when the regime entered the area, their strategy is to blockade and have the people into submission. even while negotiation is happening, they have air strikes are increasing. >> report

the things that the security council resolution 2254 talk about it will be respected by the bashar al-assad government. we've been five year and the bashar al-assad government doesn't care about the civilians. there is recourse that he is intense ugg fighting-- records that he is intensifying attacks on particular areas. this is why talking about lifting the siege on the areas and releasing the prisoners has to be respected before any negotiations can be started. if the international community cannot help fix from any further starvation, there is no point. this is why they ask what will achieve in geneva if just taking pictures or give the bashar al-assad to speak against the people against the other parties >>> france says it will recognise a palestinian state in a final push for talks for a two-state solution fails. there will be a conference to revive talks between israelis and palestinians. u.s. led efforts to broker peace colonel p appearsd in 2014 largely over borders and settlements. if france recognises a two-state area, it will see that the major majority of the nations have done the same. th

that diplomacy without sufficient leverage can convince russia and iran to abandon bashar al-assad and join the fight against isil. yet we read just this morning that russia's air campaign continues to target moderate opposition groups that may be gaining traction in stabilizing the assad regime. meanwhile, i've continues to metastasize across the region in places like afghanistan, libya, lebanon, yemen an and egypt. its attacks on the globe as we saw in paris, san bernardino, and most recently in istanbul. is attack should be a wakeup call that isil's threat to our homeland is real, direct comment growing. and that we need a strategy to destroy isil not ultimately as quickly as possible. the administration cannot continue to assume that time is on our site. one element of the administration's middle east policy that has been clear from the beginning is its policy toward iran. but instead of negotiating a deal to force iran to give up its nuclear program, the administration signed a deal that would, as dr. kissinger said, merely move from preventing proliferation to managing it. despit

bashar al-assad wanted elections for his rubber-stamp parliament in april. given everything that has happened in syria, there is not a great deal of optimism about the proposed cessation of hostilities, particularly as many observers believe there will be an flees in violence in the days before it starts >>>-- an increase >>> over to our correspondent who is on the turkey-syria border. what we're talking about here in the run-up to friday in the very early hours of saturday must be pretty fragile, even if it does lead to something much more durable. >> reporter: absolutely. with the fact that that cessation of hostility or the agreement excluding al-nusra front and i.s.i.l., which are the most powerful and biggest forces in syria tells you a lot. there is a significant loophole. there are details that need to be ironed out between russia and america. they need to call on the other rebel groups to accept the truce. those groups have three days to do that. the syrian opposition is very sceptical about this whole truce idea. it says that because there is disagreement between russia and

put it today evidence of that coordination with the syrian government. in fact bashar al-assad's senior advisor, a few days ago, described them as battalion of the syrian army, something which angered some of the kurdish fighters, because they wanted to insist on their independence from the syria regime, but comments like that go in line with the evidence that has been displayed by the turkish government to its allies that the ypsgshgz in cahoots at least on the ground with the syrian government, which really needs more boots on the ground, and that's why it has gone in an alliance with the ypg. >> what about the announcement that kurdish fighters are trying to change the demographic, if you would like of northern syria? >> reporter: this is probably one of the more significant accusations leveled against the ypg, and their political front, the pyd, the kurdish fighters have been looking for some sort of autonomy from syria, and they are linked with the kurdish fighters who have been looking for autonomy from turkey as well. and what they have been accused of by amnesty international an

victory for bashar al-assad forces. >> reporter: these pictures broadcast on syrian state television are said to show a significant advance. syrian government forces fighting to recapture the historic city of palmyra from i.s.i.l. state media showed helicopters ahead as soldiers were on the ground. many citizens fled palmyra. i.s.i.l. is resisting claims that it is losing control of the area. some analysts blooeflt syrian government advance will be a moral booster >> given all the bad news coming out of europe around the focus on i.s.i.s. as a terrorist organization, this focuses on i.s.i.s. as a military negotiation and a failed state, given that the u.s. and russia are working closely together in terms of air strikes and also the diplomatic channels of gen aef a. it is a significant setback for i.s.i.s. it is not the end but it seems to be to be the beginning of the end. >> reporter: it clues a world heritage site. a campaign of mass execution and destroying ancient sights has occurred. it is located between the government held capital of damascus and the i.s.i.l. stronghold of der

what they came to achieve. back in september that was helping syrian president bashar al-assad fight what he calls terrorists. >> translation: i believe that the goals set out the ministry of defense and the armed forces have overall been fulfilled. that's why i ordered the pull out of our military group possessing from the area. >> reporter: the syrian government told the decision and said it was a joint one. the syrian opposition is cautious. the timing of the announcement was significant. it was made at the same time as u.n.-led talks were going on in geneva. the message from putin to his diplomats, it's their turn. >> our diplomacy has received a time to march. so it should be - we believe that we have helped undercut their infrastructure, under mine their infrastructure, destroy much of their infrastructure. the fight against terrorists there is going to continue. >> reporter: moscow will keep control of an air base in latakia and they still have control of another area >> the air strikes have already declined, so pulling out the air force is not a major - it won't have much eff

president bashar al-assad at its helm. you cannot stop the war that way. yesterday we made progress advancing to of the main issues. now, immediately, stopping the violence. ceasefire. in the we hours of friday morning we agreed that the sustained delivery of humanitarian aid will begin this weekend. first to the areas where it is most urgently needed and then to all the people throughout the country, particularly in the besieged hard to reach areas and the u.n. has now said that the trucks are loaded ready to go and we also established a task force which has met already for the first time in geneva and we will report regularly on the progress to be able to guarantee the delivery of this aid. the i.s.s. g also agreed to implement a nationwide cessation of hostilities to begin in one week's time. why in a week? why not yesterday? for the simple reason that the modalities have to be worked out and people have to be communicated to in order not to have it start with failure. this will apply to any and all parties in syria with the exception of terrorist organizations d.a.e.s.h. and al-

>>> ahead of talks the main syrian opposition says bashar al-assad must go, but the government says that is out of question. you're watching al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. also coming up, we johnal elections begin-- regional stat states. a day of protests in venezuela as the opposition ramps up calls for the president to step down. afghan families who have suffered injury and loss when the u.s. accidentally attacked a hospital say the compensation does not go far enough. first, to the war in syria. the u.s. secretary of state has arrived in paris for talks with his european counterparts. john kerry is meeting foreign ministers from france, britain germany and italy as well as the u.s. foreign policy chief. the opposition has arrived in geneva where talks to end the conflict are due to begin on monday. the syrian opposition main oop sippings leader say bashar al-assad must leave before the conflict can be resolved >> translation: we consider that the transitional period begins with the removal of bashar al-assad or his death >>> james bays is in geneva for us. the opp

political transition, but without the presence of bashar al-assad. we will not accept him having a role >>> let's talk about these developments. what do we expect out of that meeting between staffan de mistura and representatives from the syrian government? >> reporter: that meeting will be happening in the next few minutes, in about 20 minutes time. in fact, i'm going to run from here around the other side of the building and try and shout some questions to the chief negotiator of the syrian gove governant when he arrives here. he has said absolutely nothing since the news of the russian pull-out was announced and since we've seen these phases of russian military hardware leaving syria. remember the financial line from the syrian government is this was an agreement that was done with president putin and bashar al-assad, they were both on board. i have to tell you, diplomats i've been speaking to say they're sceptical of that, most telling me that it is the one thing the syrian government wouldn't have wanted at this time as talks were started to have the rug pulled from under them by r

end hopes of overthrowing bashar al-assad, and fuel the criticism that the agreement negotiated by secretary of state john kerry in munich played right into the hands of russian president vladimir putin. >> we have seen this movie before in ukraine. russia presses its advantage militarily, creates facts on the ground. uses a denial and deliver of humanitarian aid as a bar anning chip, negotiating agreement to lock in the new south wales of war, and chooses went to resume fighting. this is diplomacy in the service of military aggression. >> president obama disputes the idea that he has been outfoxed by russian president vladimir putin, arguing vladimir putin blundered into a costly quagmire, and over time will train resources while backing an ally with little strategic value. >> what is it that rusha thinks it gains if it gets a country that has been completely destroyed as an ally. that it has to perpetually spend billions to prop up. that's not that great a price. >> the pentagon insists the agreement does not affect the war against i.s.i.l., and that u.s. forces will play no role

end game in syria, a fragile ceasefire holds. isil is still a threat. and bashar al-assad still has the upper hand. peace is elusive in syria, a cessation of hostilities brokered by the united states and russia is holding for a six day running. there has been numerous violations along the front lines separating government troops. the united states special envoy for syria, stefan de-mistura is hopeful and says the situation in syria is fragile. success is not guaranteed. progress is visible. a sign. process is the renewed shipment of aid going to civilians in some of the pors effected areas. now for the hard part, negotiating anend to a brutal war about to enter a sixth year. representatives are expected to meet in geneva next week, for a new round of talks shepherded by the unenjoy stefan de-mistura. the rebels broke up into competing factions. turkey, and, of course, the united states. syrian president regained the initiative on the ground. he has backing from russia and iran. complicating matters is isil, which controls up to a third of territory. and the al nusra front, an arm of

now swung decisively in bashar al-assad's favor. and the syrian president has vladimir putin to thank for it. in september the russian leader deployed his fighter jets into syria's war and now months of russian air strikes coordinated with syrian government ground offenses are starting to pay off. rebel supply lines to turkey and jordan are being cut and if the government momentum continues world powers will be left with two stark choices in syria: bashar al-assad or i.s.i.l. that's why john kerry and others have now changed their tune about the need for assad to go. making it easier for the syrian president and his russian ally to entertain this cessation of hostilities on their terms. for more on this let's go to jamie mcintire. >> reporter: russian war planes continue to pound targets in syria just hours after the munich agreement was announced. in the northern province of homs more than a dozen people were reportedly killed as russia continue to provide air cover for forces loyal to syrian president bashar al-assad. under the agreement hashed out between russian form minister sphr

issue is, of course -- the fundamental issue, of course, is that bashar al-assad is causing the fighting. the russians support bashar al-assad. we don't. the rebels don't. the militants are mixed. the complication is such that if you have a relationship with the russians, where you can count on them to abide by their agreements, that would be one thing. they have a demonstrated, sadly, that they don't abide by them. jane: it also raises the question that even if russia and america do agree to something, what guarantee is there that the many factions on the ground you just mentioned will listen? william: there is no guarantee, you are absolutely right. there is no guarantee that the people who are fighting bashar al-assad will listen to the americans or others that are supporting them. they have strong feelings. bashar al-assad has been killing their people, barrel bombing their people, chemically attacking their people. similarly, the russians have less than full control over their allies, the syrians. jane: very briefly, they have met many, many times before. what is your notio

government. what they can't agree on is probably what role would bashar al-assad himself have in that transitional government, but these are very important talks because ever since the russians and americans have been meeting, things have been moving a bit further. not as quick as many people would like to see it, but certainly there has been progress on the fact that humanitarian aid was supplied. it is a meeting also between kerry and lavrov that led to the cessation of hostilities. because there is some frustration in geneva at the slow pace, the procrastination taken by the syrian government delegation, i think kerry would like to press on lavrov that russia needs to tell syria to move quicker, to take these talks seriously and to come to the table with some serious proposal. on the other side russia has another interest here. russia wants to have also some substantial talks on ukraine. that was very clear when they both mentioned their opening remarks before going behind the closed door meeting which ask still on the way. lavrov said that he wanted to hear about what's going to h

bashar al-assad and the syrian opposition on the same room, same building and eventually on the same table. whether that will happen remains to be seen >>> you say there are too many players in this game. the russians and the americans, of course, are the two main players. the russians have a lot at stake. do you think that the russians are genuinely interested in ending this war in syria? >> i think everybody would be. if it ends to their favor >>> ending it in their favor would be what? >> maintaining the bashar al-assad regime or the regime in general and maintaining it as a satellite of russian in the middle east and maintaining bases in russia and maintaining its prestige and basically the opposition and cornering them in order to make sure that there is a regime that supports moscow's agenda in the region. the same thing applies for the u.s., but as you were saying and as we said repeatedly, there is a dissymmetry between the two. america, in terms of the syrian situation, talks of diplomacy, russia talks of military action. there is american words meeting russian bombs. for th

there's a deal between u.s. and russia. if authority of pa deal was for bashar al-assad to stay on for a time, would you be prepared to compromise on that? >> we don't know if such a deal, but we know that there is big efforts from the states, from the european countries that really made putin take this decision >> reporter: a diplomatic answer, but one of those representing the armed groups in the hnc was more forthright >> translation: we are for a political transition, but without the presence of bashar al-assad and we will not accept him having a role. >> reporter: the start of the russian pull out has changed things. how much is not yet clear. the government delegation are likely to be uneasy. the opposition are slightly more positive. they're still wary about russian motives. perhaps president vladimir putin has more surprises up his sleeve >>> the spokesman for the local coordinating committee is in syria. >> presumably the political process is the best way to end the issue in syria. we would say that the best way to end the conflict in syria is to remove the regime of basha

pressure on the bashar al-assad government. the u.s. steps up air strikes against i.s.i.l. in iraq as the pentagon deploys more troops on the ground. >>> announcer: animals are the latests victims of the blockade of the gaza strif the gaza str . >>> after half a century of hostility between the u.s. and cuba president obama is trying a different approach. he has become the first u.s. president to visit cuba in nearly 90 years. >> reporter: with this single step u.s. president obama is hoping to change the course of history. the first sitting american president in 88 years to set foot on cuban soil >> i'm glad that you had a chance to bring your feels here because i always like taking pictures with kids. that's the future that we hope for. young american children, young cuban children, by the time they're adults our hope is that they think it's natural that a u.s. president should be visiting cuba, they think it's natural that the two people's are working together. >> reporter: that wasn't the case here for more than five decades. his predecessors hoped to topple the government is econ

opposition confirmed it would take part but said president bashar al-assad should not have a role in the transitional period. staffan de mistura said elections will be held in 18 months. it was said he had no right to set a date for syria's presidential poll. it was added that breaking up the country was not an option. >> translation: we are adamant on holding the territorial integrity and sovereign ultimately of syria as one state. at least this is what has been intimated by the documents released, including those released in an attempt to resolve the situation in syria >>> live now to geneva and our diplomatic editor james bays. some issues looking positive, some issues looking potentially negative. i do not yes. it is getting to the crunch issue of the political solution if there is one in syria, and that's the future role of presidential bashar al-assad. certainly the u.n. have always said that all sides need to come here without preconditions. it seems the syrian government and their deputy prime minister and foreign minister is setting a precondition. the opposition is already

neighborhoods to fall to forces loyal to bashar al-assad. another is leaving with a different angle. tankan see a syrian army rolling through what was a rebel controlled zone. al-assad bashar triumph in the ruins of aleppo, reads the headline. headline, the desire to act, it is a damning piece about the consequences of western action in syria. obama's redline turned out to be not much of a redline at all. powerly international choosing to act in any meaningful way in the civil war was russia. and of course, to devastating effect. cartoon on that theme. we see bashar al-assad sitting on vladimir putin's shoulders as he wades through streets flooding with blood and corpses. long live free of aleppo, says bashar al-assad. to the u.s., where donald trump is trying to shore up support for his choice of secretary, rex tillerson. >> amid growing concerns that rex tillerson is to close the-- o cozy to vladimir putin. the interesting thing is a lot of these people, like jeb bush and robert gates have been critical of donald trump's decisions, but their endorsements of rex tillerson suggest they need don

zor. but it may not go as planned. tentative truce. syrian president bashar al-assad has told vladimir putin that his country is ready to implement a cessation of hostilities in syria. >>> iran elections. >> it's important for the future of the country. >> iranians get ready to vote in the first major election since the nuclear deal. and growing intolerance. >> the system to protect human rights is itself under serious threat and needs protection. >> amnesty international's annual report says attacks worldwide are at an all time high. good evening, i'm antonio mora. this is al jazeera america's international news hour. we begin by what might be progress in the effort to end the war in syria. ready to commit to two week cessation of hostilities. the saudi backed hnc says this will test whether the regime of bashar al-assad is serious about the truce. the kurdish ypg which operates in syria says it will also abide by the halt in fighting. , bashar al-assad told vladimir putin that he is ready too, to implement the truce. but the suffering caused by the conflict, aid trucks were

. the fall of eastern aleppo marks a major victory for syrian president bashar al assad and his russian allies. earlier this week, the foreign ministers of russia, iran, and turkey met in moscow to discuss the ongoing war. the united states was not invited to participate. amy: the talks came just a day after an off-duty turkish police officer shot dead the russian ambassador to ankara at an art gallery. the gunman yelled out, "don't forget aleppo, don't forget syria!" despite the killing, turkey and russia relations appear to remain close. to talk about the crisis in syria, what happened in berlin, the war's larger impact on the region, we are joined by two guests. joining us from istanbul is yassin al-haj saleh, a syrian writer, dissident, and former political prisoner. his forthcoming book is titled, "the impossible revolution: making sense of the syrian tragedy." and joining us via democracy now! video stream from the hague is mouin rabbani, the former head of political affairs for the u.n. special envoy for syria. he is a co-editor of jadaliyya. we welcome you both to democr

forces fighting in syria against the tyranny of bashar al-assad. they deserve our wholehearted support which regrettably was not reflected in this resolution. >> reporter: everyone knows there are bound to be violations of this cessation of hostilities. diplomats tell me the best they can hope for is a lull in the violence and then, perhaps, they can persuade the warring parties to resume those talks in geneva. a new date has been set, 7 march. james bays >>> our correspondent joins us from near the syrian border. what does it look like on the battle front. is peace still holding? >> reporter: largely it is. mainly from the air. we haven't heard or seen any footage that indicates there is any air strike either from the russians nor from the syrian government. activists reported that the mayhem military base, which is used by the russians in the province of latakia, was unusually quiet this morning and even at night when the truce started. however, we do have reports of a nourm of minor violations, some artill refreshings ery and mortar attacks, but they were minim minimal - art

argued the reason access has been denied, and indiscriminate bombing continued is because bashar al-assad and his allies believe that by the will of the international community in pursuing this policy. they can win the war. let me make it clear. i have been involved in the discussions around this war for 3.5 years now. i have taught it to every party. and i can tell you that no tactic such as those employed today will win the war. they will only create more refugees, more victims, more terrorists and in the end, more resolve by people who agree that they will continue to fight. all that through this kind of activity is to prolong this conflict. it will strengthen d.a.e.s.h. and it will compel tens of thousands more syrians to flee for their lives, and increase the problem of displaced persons and refugees. the path to peace, the path to isolate d.a.e.s.h., and grading and destroying dash, and giving the people of syria a real choice for their future is actually right in front of us now. now we have this moment of opportunity. and the united states is doing everything in our power to try to fu

. bernard smith is in turkey, with more on what has been a game-changer for the forces of bashar al-assad. >> up until october last year, the syrian regime's forces were looking at the risk of defeat in the syrian civil war. the russians stepped in. russian bombardment helped the syrian regime make territorial gains. a lot has been in the north-western mountains of syria, this is an area where the coastal areas are controlled by the regime and inland you have idlib controlled by rebel forces. important territorial gains by the syrian regime. and the latest capture, another significant territorial gain. the idea, of course, is that the more territory you control, the stronger your negotiating hand in any negotiations or talks that are going to take place on syria's future. >> bernard smith reporting from turkey, joining us tonight is larry korb, a senior fellow who served as assistant secretary of defense. good to see you. is the offensive push by the syrian government and the russians to strengthen their hands in vons of negotiations -- in advance of negotiations. >> there's no doubt about it. u

agents trance press, syrian president bashar al-assad spoke. >> translator: we have fully believed in negotiations and in political action since the beginning of the crisis. however if we negotiate, it does not mean that we stop fight are terrorism. the two tracks are inevitable in syria first through negotiations and second through fighting terrorism. and the two tracks are separate from each other. >> and tonight there are many unanswered questions about the new deal that is supposed to put a stop to the fighting in syria. al jazeera's jamie mcintire reports. >> antonio, if you cut through all the diplo speak, the potential for a ceasefire in syria comes down to how the russians define a single word, terrorist. russia continues to pound targets in syria even hours after the diplomatic meeting was announced. air cover for forces loyal to yrntosyrian president bashar al-assad. air strikes will continue but some groups will no longer be targeted. >> to that end we have also established a task force under the auspices of the u.n. and co-chaired by russia and the united states. over t