bashar al-assad is not going away. we could wish it otherwise, buts we have to deal with the world as it is. if there is ever going to be a negotiated solution, we are going to need to start talking directly to the syrians, not bashar al-assad, but members of his regime. >> you wrote that bashar al-assad is more rigid than his father and many westerners hoped he would be different. you were firm in that belief, that that has not changed, and you wrote that you think he'll end up winning the war in a bloody way, little by little as time goes by? >> i certainly do believe that he is more rigid, less flexible than his father. i was ambassador to syria at the time when his father died and he took over. i had the chance to have several one on one meetings with him, and i came to realise that he grew up under the system. his father had a relatively liberal education for the place and time. not bashar al-assad. i posited who outcomes. the one you mentioned the momentum may shift, and he may get it backyard by bloody yard. the

that means that bashar al-assad will not be part of that transition government. there is no way, no way possible in the imagine that the man who has led the brutal response can regain legitimacy to governor. >> but there are challenges. the supporters of assad suggest there had was a role for his government in transition. >> we count on syrians to come to agreement. >> and the russian foreign minister suggested again syria's regional ally iran should participate in talks iran's president expressed little hope for the talks. >> wishing for peace and stability and the end of internal war in fighting the terrorist. if such a goal is reached, then it can be an effective meeting, but the overall signs does not give much hope that this can be successful. >> reporter: competing for the world's attention is the publication this week of a large cache of videos and photographs pressurreported to be smuggled a policeman and released by lawyers identify by qatar, and opponent of the assad government and owner of the al jazeera networks. whether or not these attacks will resu

a government that would replace bashar al-assad. but as we talked about, assad refused to consider stepping down. in fact he's talking about running for election again. and so what the u.s. officials are trying to do is trying to get to two sides together, trying to bridge this huge gap between the two sides. as kerry and other u.s. officials have said today it is very, very difficult to make small steps towards peace. >> all syrian people at the moment want-- >> reporter: in a conference that is supposed to talk peace the two sides are yelling at each other. [ arguing ] the man is a pro-syrian government journalist. the woman, a member of the opposition. [ yelling] >> this may be one moment of a conference side lot. in the conference hall the diplomats are just as guided. the u.s. wants to create a transitional government and remove bashar al-assad. >> there is no way. no way possible in the imagination that the man who has led the brutal response to his own people could regain the legitimacy to govern. one man and those who suppor

al assad in any transitional government, that bashar al assad must simply go away. listen to john kerry. >> you cannot have peace. you cannot have stability. you cannot restore syria. you cannot save syria from disintegration as long as bashar al assad remains in power. >> in exchange for peace, is bashar al assad ready to leave office and give up power? >> i think you should ask a different question, wolf. in what light does john kerry say to bashar you can't stay in syria? can we do that to your democratic country, ask your president not to be there and not to save his country and not to be in power? is it john kerry who should say that? or is it up to the syrian people to decide who should be their president? isn't it a democracy? shouldn't it come through the ballot box or through what john kerry says? isn't this colonial, what john kerry said today? to me it's very colonial. >> but are you suggesting that there's real democracy in syria right now? >> well, do you think real democracy in the united states when they deal with countries like this? in syria, there

that would be a way of putting pressure on bashar al-assad. bashar al-assad is in the cat bird seed. he is the one winning. who is beginning to make ipp roads in aleppo and other cities that have been largely under rebel control. he is the one enjoying the sight of the rebels and the group known isis. he's in a strong position, backers in russia and iran see no reason to make the sacrifice of stepping down. he will not do so >> let's talk about long term. if the rebels come to the table and reach an agreement, does it matter considering how fractured the group is. there may be one group sign on, but there are others. how do you get everyone behind? >> we can say for certain that the foreign jihadists, fighting under the banner of isis, they repudiate talks and syria. they want to go back to the muslim calafat. outside of that, the rebels fighting under the banner of the free syrian army, which is the so-called moderate groups have been to disgusted over time with the syrian national coalition, the political grouping because they haven't suppli

that means that bashar al-assad will not be part of that transition government. there is no way, no way possible in the imagination that the man who has lead the brutal response to his own people could regain the legitimatesy to govern. >> the russians suggested there was a role for his government in the transition. >> translator: we cannot let all outside players to encourage the syrians in coming to agreement. refrain and restrain the parties predetermining the agreements. >> and the russian foreign minister suggested again, syria's regional ally, iran should participate in the talks. iran's president expressed little hope for the talks. >> translator: the islamic republic of iron wibs for peace and stability in the region, and the end of the internal war and fighting the terrorists. >> completing for the world's attention is the publication this week of a large cashe of videos and photographs, f the torture and murder of captives. whether or not these talks will result in the creation of leadership transition for syria, remains to be scene. meanwhile the nearl

. >> it has been a farce because anyone who believes that bashar al-assad is going to willingly transition out of power is obviously -- it's just crazy. >> senator john mccain weighs in on those shaky peace talks. >>> reports of concessions to protesters in ukraine, and a very volatile day in egypt, more than a dozen deaths from comings and clashes. ♪ >>> talks aimed attending syria's civil war may be in jeopardy. government and opposition negotiators were supposed to hold their first face-to-face meeting today. it never happened. nick schifrin has been covering this conference, he joins us live from geneva with more on where things stand now. and nick, i know there have been developments in the last few minutes. >> reporter: yeah, just in the last few seconds. what we're seeing right now is the special representative of the unite nationed who is doing what the un likes to call proximity talks between bashar al-assad representatives here in geneva and in a separate room, opposition forces who represent the rebels on the ground. and we just heard him say the two sides will meet on saturda

al assad. we are reminded of the urgency of the absolute absolute urgency to get bashar al assad out of syria to save lives before even more horrific killings take place in syria at the behest and order bashar al assad. >> at these talks, much has been made about the division within the syrian opposition. there was a substantial group that did not want to be involved in these talks. is there at least a majority in agreement about what should happen there in montro? >> absolutely. we have to move forward. i sat down for countless hours and discussions with representatives of the free syrian army and rebel forces and revolutionary forces on the ground. the overwhelming consensus is that we must support a pathway to ending bashar al assad reign. our support for a political solution is not mutually exclusive to our commitment to defend the syrian people and to enable and empower the free syrian army to defend communities from the aljazeera militias and sponsored death squads that are responsible fo

al-assad, we are reminded of the urgency, of the absolute urgency to get bashar al-assad out of syria to save lives before even more horrific killings take place in syria at the behest and order of bashar al-assad. >> but as you go into these talks, much as been made about the divisions within the syrian opposition. there was a substantial group that did not want to be involved in these talks. is there at least a majority in agreement about what should happen there? >> absolutely. we have to move forward. prior to coming here, i sat down for countless hours of discussions with representatives of the free syrian army and rebel forces and revolutionary forces on the ground. and we must support a pathway to ending bashar al-assad's reign. our support for a political solution is not mutually exclusive to our commitment to defend the syrian people and enable and empower the free syrian army to defend syrian communities from the assad regime's militias and death squads that are responsible for the killings and deaths of hundreds of thousands of individuals of which this report clearly docum

al-assad. what let's talk a little bit about that. if that is the case, one -- >> let's talk about that. if that is the case -- but other saying of course you will not even a transitional council. where will they go from here? >> i think it is generally accepted here that there will not be rapid progress. the ambitions for this conference are pretty low-key. main figures here are talking about progress on human toward human it -- humanitarian corridors, it's changes of prisoners and local cease-fires. it is except that i think that the idea of a transitional government has to be the ultimate aim, is not something that can be conceivably achieve debt this conference. speeches that we heard his money confirm that, if anybody had doubts before. >> robert parsons reporting. after three years of conflict that left more than 100 -- 100,000 dead and millions displaced. despite attack of his regime, syrian president bashar al-assad seems to be holding all the cards. as mark thompson reports. >> some fi

al-assad. >> reporter: the trick now is how the international community can put pressure on assad. the notion is there are a lot of violence, government attacks, jet strikes, a lot of barrel bombs. these bombs that roll through communities and destroy and blow out entire homes in communities. the trick now is how do you get that to stop? how do you get the humanitarian crisis to stop, how do you get the assad government to stop the violence. you saw kerry there. he said specifically he understands how alone assad is standing up for himself. that's the cake away. the u.s. needs to find a pressure point on assad, needs to convince assad it can't act with impunity. the government cannot act with impunity, otherwise this violence will keep going. from the u.s. officials point of view they believe there is only two ways to get assad to stop. one is a military action as we've seen president obama is very, very hesitant to do any of that. and so what do you do if you can't actually have a military str

opponents of bashar al-assad threatened a boycott of the summit in switzerland, because the u.s. invited its ally to attend. that invitation has been withdrawn. >> iran went back on its word, and that is why the united nations says it's not welcome. >> the secretary-general is disappointed by iranian public statements that are not at all consistent with the stated commitment. he urges iran to join the global consensus behind the geneva communique. >> 24 hours earlier secretly bank ki bank ki mooninvited russian to attend. >> when it comes to iran, it must be clear to everybody that any participation in geneva ii is conditional to the explicit acceptance of the mant date laid down -- mandate laid down. >> if they are to attend it is vital that the iranian government confirm publicly and clearly that they share this understanding. iran refused. russia said it would be a mistake not to include them. >> australia... . >> translation: among the countries invited are australia, mexico, brazil, indonesia and others. if there's no iran in this list. i think the peace talks about resemble

the syrian national coalition wants to talk about president bashar al-assad handing over power, but bashar al-assad's team say they will not hand over the keys to damascus. on sunday the u.n. announced a deal on a safe passage for women and children out of the city of homs. the opposition says the deal was unilateral, and are calling for humanitarian aid to get into the city. the syrian delegation presented a paper not including mention of political transition. >> the syrian government is asking countries to stop assisting the opposition. how far apart are the sides right now? >> well, sadly, there is a cas between the two sides. we step back for a second look at what is at stake. the u.n. mediator lakhdar brahimi said the fate of the country that we are talking about. unfortunately we are seeing the largest differences between the two sides perhaps as large as they are on the ground inside of syria. it's on both of those topics that you moaninentioned. the point of the conference is to talk about a transitional conference. the syrian government refuses to do that, as you said. the syrian

the opposition wants bashar al-assad to hand over power, but bashar al-assad's team is refusing. james bays has the latest on a diplomatic tug ofway. >> the syrian government arriving for the latest round of talks. >> while there may be talking about prison, and the regime, our country has been destroyed. our factories, our schools, hospitals, people. there's 6 million displaced syrians. >> why doesn't did bashar al-assad, for the good of his nation and people step aside and someone else take power. his family had power for 44 years, maybe that's long enough. >> you know what is good for the syrian nation or the people. we are $10,000 years old. we know what is good for us. >> when the two sides met it was a stormy meeting. the syrian government produced this paper. it is a new document. there's nothing new in it. from the syrian government side conditions rather than concessions. >> it's not just on transition whether it's deadlocked. the opposition doesn't trust an offer from the government to let women and children lead the old city of homs. >> we are there because we have exp

al assad which is a legitimate power in a country where everything was going well before the foreign invasion because that's pretty much what we have today in syria it's not civil war but a foreign invasion in syria one is trying to destabilize the region and i don't have to tell you who is of course behind this project if syria folds and other muslim countries has fallen in the few last months well this will be a positive for israel and positive for the united states and its allies and the loser will of course be a wrong that we absolutely try to isolate by all means on the international scene so there it is me i'm not for us doing humanitarian work well i think that first we should be humanitarian in our own countries because in europe should not hide from the faces of people sleeping in the streets and who die of cold during the winter. unfortunately our governments do nothing to help them and so it's a little hard to send money to syria even more so when this money is not for humanitarian purposes but that ultimately it is hijacked to serve the interests of terrorist organization

they have different views for bashar al-assad's future. the u.n. envoy on syria said he will meet with each side individually tomorrow to see if they can sit down for talks on friday. secretary of state john kerry said peace efforts are far from over. >> what you see between the opposition and the assad regime will not be the full measure of effort being extended in order to try to find a solution here. without going into detail i would say to you that lots of different avenues to be pursued, including continuous support. >> nick schifrin joins us from montreux, switzerland. my good innocenc goodness, therp difference on day one. >> reporter: bashar al-assad refuses to consider stepping down from power. he's even talking about running again even though the stated goal of this conference, the goal that his delegation has accepted is to remove him from pow and turn in a transitional government. he's dismissing that idea. u.s. officials are pushing back against that. given the gap, given the difference between these two sides the u.s. and others are h

>> no, we do not. >> do we want bashar al-assad to fall? >> we do not. the guy that runs all qaeda urged his alliance to go against iran and go against russia and go against bashar al-assad. these are the enemies. what kind of war do we want to get into, mort? >> a lot of bad choices. >> you are right. we will not be sending troops in there. we will not necessarily -- right away, get him to step down. we have to begin the process. as long as we are still talking, there is hope. >> the internal conflicts within iran -- but within syria, the whole situation would fly out of control. >> issue three. centrists versus liberals. >> the state will pay for it. and the state will be proud to pay for it. it is a priority. we believe in children. we believe and pre-k. we believe in education. let's put our money where our mouth this. >> new york governor andrew cuomo unveils his plan to bring universal prekindergarten to his state of this weekend his annual budget address. >> the governor, who is also up for reelection is making good on a top democratic education p

for the u.s., that means without bashar al-assad. for russia, that shouldn't be a precondition. >> but iran has yet to state whether or not it supports implementing the geneva i communiquÉ, which calls for nothing more than the mutual consent of the parties through a transitional governing process to make peace. iran, we would welcome iran's participation if iran is coming to participate for the purposes of the conference. >> he also called it wrong a in -- ct oh -- a major the militant wing of the lebanese shiite group is fighting against opposition forces in syria. >> 50 million egypt and will be invited to vote on the amended constitution. will bellion egyptians invited to vote on the amended constitution. this vote will mark a huge turning point for post- revolution egypt. on the streets, there has been very little in the way of campaigning. we find out why. >> a political rally in a rural town on the outskirts of cairo. a few dozen people are coming to hear why they should cast their ballots this week. the ultraconservative par

fighters on the ground reject a formula that could enable bashar al-assad to hold on to power. so the meeting ended without a clear yes or no from the syrian national coalition. the americans and their partners want the geneva talks to take place in 10 days. it's difficult to see how that would happen without an empty seat at the table. >> syria plunged into civil war after 2011 after uprising. the u.s. labelled two libyan groups terrorist organizations for their role in the benghazi attack two years ago. it's the first time the state department blamed someone. >> the groups are not believed to be affiliated with al qaeda, but they pose as big a threat. the attack in benghazi killed four americans, including u.s. ambassador chris stevens. >> israeli pay their respects to former president ariel sharon. they gathered for a canned ill lit vigil. he died eight years after a stroke left him in a coma. a memorial is planned for monday, followed by a military funeral. as nick schifrin reports, the leader is being remembered for his controversial legacy. >> drapeded in the flag for whi

bashar al-assad is in the seat. he's the one that appears to be winning. he's making inroads into cities that were under the rebel control. he's the one enjoying the site of the rebels and isis fighting to the death. he's in a wrong position. backers see no reason why he should make a painful sacrifice of stepping down. he will not do so. >> officials are going over the test results in the chemical spill in west virginia. 300,000 cannot use tap water. dozens have gone to emergency rooms complaining of nausea. the president of west virginian water company says it will be a while before people will get safe water. >> our procedure to lift the do not lift order is to do it by zones. we are talking about the pressure zones that we talked about many times. there are many, and it's complicated. we need samples at different points within the zones to verify the water out of the treatment plant is through that zone, and then we'll lift the order for those zones. we'll go zone by zone. >> earlier we spoke to sheldon krimsky at tufts university who pointed out the c

>> reporter: well, i think really what you are seeing is real divide over president bashar al-assad. what you saw this afternoon not only hear, but also just a few hours away in davos switzerland is the u.s. trying to keep pressure on assad. what they are looking for a small little steps, perhaps talk of prisoner exchanges or humanitarian corridors or perhaps local peace deals, but at the end of the day the u.s. believes no matter what happens on the ground, assad has to go. >> assad will never have or be able to earn back the legitimacy to bring that country back together. that's number one. but number two because of those things he has done, because of 130,000 people who have been killed, the opposition will never stop fighting while he is there. and so if your objective is to have peace, this one man must step aside in favor of peace and of his nation. >> reporter: and the u.s. is trying to isolate assad, trying to create russia and iran to stop backing him. but assad has no sense that he has to step down, so while we're talking peace here, the violence in syria is going to contin

says that would be a government without the charlotte sought -- without bashar al- assad. that is something the russians and iranians are not on board with now. >> thanks so much for that. just aeva talks are now few days away. staying with iran, a date has been set for the start of the landmark deal on its disputed land -- disputed nuclear deal, that is january 20, one week from today. they should begin diluting their stockpile of enriched uranium. in return, the u.s. and other world powers with the guilty ease -- would begin to ees sanctions -- would begin to ease sanctions. >> the practicalities are in doubt. for iran toset begin limiting its nuclear activity. >> as of january 20, for the first time in almost a decade, it ran's nuclear program -- deca nuclear program will not be able to advance. part of it will be rolled back. negotiating a comprehensive agreement to address the international community's concerns about iran's past nuclear program -- >> representatives met on thursday and friday to finalize the deal. barack obama says he is under no illusion of how hard

the rebels top priority is to remove president bashar al-assad from power. the president's advisor tells diplomatic editor james bays that's not the real reason for the war. >> the reason why this fighting is taking place is there's so much money, interference. 83 countries are sending foreign fighters to syria. that's what geneva i said, let us stop the fighting, terror. >> and launch a political process where the syrians decide the process of syria. >> you have that, it's taking place behind me. you are supposed to, by mutual consent, come up with a transitional body. you know the opposition will never give mutual consent to president bashar al-assad, and those behind you. >> they are people that you agreed to sit down. >> we sit in good faith. there's a huge spectrum not invited. why. why shouldn't they be inside. >> do you accept there's many people this your country that do not want bashar al-assad as your leader. >> i accept the ballot box, that the people should go to the box and vote for whomever they go for. >> there's a problem. no independent obse

the bashar al-assad regime and the opposition will meet. world leaders hoping to bring a diplomatic solution to three years of war in syria. the talks will open in montro and move to geneva on friday. >> inside syria the violence is continuing unabated. 100 were killed yesterday, and the two sides were violent as ever. there's multiple opposition fighters fighting each other. the hope is to create a localized peace deal or humanitarian corridor to reach some of the people who have been locked away by the syrian government or the opposition or caught in the middle of the firing. the official goal is to create a transitional government, a government that will have the ability to go into syria and move the president. and the country would create a new government. the syrian government has refused to allow that to happen. the opposition barely made it here. they were so fractured they barely voted to be represented here. what the u.s. is hoping is very, very small baby steps. they said that they succeeded simply by getting the syrian opposition

bashar al-assad had agreed to give up chemical arms in august, this to avoid a possible u.s. airstrike. now to ukraine, where the army is calling on the president to take urgent steps to calm the ongoing clinical crisis. the country faces its deepest turmoil since it orange revolution. in the latest twist, yanukovych announced on thursday that he is taking an indefinite sickly. many in ukraine are wondering what is next -- sick leave. many in the ukraine are wondering what is next for the country. here is a report. >> many are beginning to wonder whether yanukovych is fully in control of his own camp. the presidential party, the party of regions, is still very in control of the country. there is no need to talk about a power vacuum when you have the deputy prime minister, a close ally of the president, stepping into the role of prime minister after he resigned. the president's press shows us that he is still holding the rain, -- the reins, even if he is on sick leave. but there are two different accounts within the ruling parties. -- within the ruling party. havee one hand, t

. >> iran is an important ally to syrian president bashar al-assad. now, a group called the islamic front, an alliance of forces rejected the talks. if a breakthrough is reached, it will be harder to implement on a battlefield. violence in the war-rattled nation continues. we have more. >> government forces continue to hit targets in different parts of aleppo. the weapon of joys is barrels filled with explosives. the distribution is vast and people continue to die. act visits and residents are keen to find survivors. the army backs coalition going to the talks, provided they end the syrian regime. we support a solution guaranteeing a political traction of authority, fulfilling the syrian people's demands. we ask the government going to geneva to halt the goals. bashar al-assad, and his group must leave power, he must have no role in syria's future. a transitional government will be formed. prisoners should be released. especially women and children. humanitarian corridors must be open. meanwhile there has been fighting between rebel forces and members

the bashar al-assad government rejected this. now there are 12 convoys waiting to be allowed in. >> zeina khodr is in geneva. that's where the hard bargaining is about to begin. what are the main issues? >> like you mentioned, this will be the first tangible progress if they reach a deal on age reaching the besieged city of homs. we do know from lakhdar brahimi that this was discussed during yesterday's session and they were waiting for a response from damascus. the official delegation said they needed to consult with authorities back home, and it could happen by the end of today or tomorrow. they are pushing for progress on humanitarian issues. it is difficult to reach a political deal. we have heard international diplomats say time and time again in the interim while we are discussing, we cannot forget about the people in syria. like you mentioned homs has been under siege for a year. this is an area which the government managed to squeeze the rebels into the old city of homs. aid, food supplies, medical supplies have not been

qaeda leader ayman al zawahiri, and that's significant because it may play into bashar al assad's scheme. he says he's fighting against al qaeda elements in syria. this may bolster his arguments. >> really interesting stuff there. >>> all right in ukraine this morning, there is a tense standoff between the protesters and the government a day after at least three people were killed in explosive clashes. those protesters are demanding the president call early elections by the end of today. they're promising they will take action if their demands are not met. both sides have been talking with hopes there could be a peaceful solution to this tense, tense conflict there. >>> new this morning, new condemnation of the nsa's phone surveillance program. an independent federal privacy watchdog in a new report set to be released today says the spy program is illegal and should be shut down. the report was obtained by "the new york times," and the panel says the collection of the bulk telephone data raises "serious threats to privacy and civil liberties." >>> meanwhile, the man who brought the nsa's

and yet you support the government of hafez al assad -- i mean of bashar al assad that has by some accounts killed 200,000 or 300,000 people, caused millions of people to flee. there is widespread killing, suffering in syria. how can the government of iran support the regime of bashar al assad? >> translator: well, in a civil war you cannot just consider one party's position. what has created a huge problem for the region today is terrorism. you know well, governments know well, even western governments know well that all terrorist groups, the most dangerous terrorists have converged inside syria, and unfortunately, some countries are providing means and money to these terrorists. the bashar al assad government has been there for some years now. it has been running the country for some years now. and if the people have some grievances they need to go through legal channels, engage in a free elections for everyone to find out what the people need. today a civil war rages inside syria. we should come together to stop that. >> if you had been at the syrian talks, would iran support a process w

. >> bashar al-assad will not be part of that transition government. >> world leaders gathering to discuss ending syria's bloody civil war, and there are already disagreements on how to make peace. >>> chaos and death in the streets of kiev. crowds protesting the ukrainian government clashing once again with riot police. >>> and thousands effected by the cold weather from the midwest to the northeast. ♪ >>> tense moments this morning in montrow switzerland. they are in switzerland trying to hammer out a peace deal, but even the peace talks are anything by that. nick schifrin is in switzerland, the setting behind you almost portrays the gravity of the situation and the fireworks that happened earlier. tell us about them. >> yes, just a few feet from me, i saw a pro syrian government journalist, actually yelling at the opposition. we have seen competing rallies for and against president bashar al-assad, and inside the halls the diplomats themselves are just divided. on one side you have the united states supporting the syrian opposition, and they say that president bashar al-assad has to g

they are afraid of what will happen after bashar al assad. but one thing that you notice is that people against assad and for assad always tell you that the system in this country is absolutely awful. there are people against the government, people who support government and usually get out of jail and usually without looking a lot worse than when they came in. one of the things that we hear from people on the ground is these photos that we're seeing on cnn are absolutely awful. i don't think that they necessarily surprise people here in the country because people, as i said, who are far or against assad realize that it's a nightmare. >> nick paton walsh, elise labott, thank you. go to cnn.com to see the photos. the pictures are really, really awful. >>> iran has stopped enriching high-level uranium. iran has implemented the first step of the interim nuclear deal it reached with the united states and other world powers. with the first steps comes big relief as certain sanctions are being suspended. jim sciutto is joining us with the very late

he said that bashar al-assad has no future inside syria and bashar al-assad could hold not om syria, but the region. >> the right to lead the country does not come from torture or barrel bombs. it comes from the consent of the people. it's hard to imagine how that consent could be forthcoming at this time. >> so, stephanie, it may look calm, behind me the tension is it thick. the consequences for the people is very real. >> nick schifrin reporting from the showers of lake gen geneva. >> syria's civil war - 2 million have fled. we two to lebanon where there are nearly 1 million refugees. as talks get under which way, what is the feeling there. >> i'm standing outside a refugee registration center. earlier we were in some of the unofficial tented refugee camps, and we spoke to them asking them how they feel about the inches, and they say basically, sadly, that they have little hopes, very low expectations of this conference. and say that it's coming too little too late. almost after three years since the conflict broke out. as refugees, they suffered the most because he they had to lea

al-assad? >> we do not dictate anything on the syrian people and we should not dictate -- >> rose: do you have your preferences. >> and this is what we advise to other countries as well. >> rose: how much of what is happening in the middle east is a contest for supremacy in the gulf? >> the persian gulf. >> rose: the persian gulf? you never miss the chance to see it is the persian gulf. >> of course it is the persian gulf for thousands of years. >> much of the conflict in the persian gulf is between the desire to be the dominant player between saudi arabia and iran? >> where is that as a factor today? >> >> talking to you is not an easy thing, charlie. let me say two facts here. the first fact is that we have not and we are not trying to dominate the region. and despite some disputes and misunderstandings between iran and a couple of countries in the region. >> rose: the emirates, saudi arabia. >> i don't want to mention any countries. whatever. >> rose: bahrain. >> we have tried to maintain a

a bitter clash over bashar al-assad's future that could threaten syrian peace talks. violence in ukraine becomes deadly. protesters killed in anti-government unrest. an attack by al by al-qaeda on . embassy in tel aviv foiled by israel. and chemical leaks in west virginia, some folks still refusing to drink the tap water because of it. >> a peace conference in switzerland did not get off to a promising start today. meeting face to face for the first time since the conflict began, and both sides are very far apart when it comes to bashar al-assad's future. the u.n. mediator said he will meet with each side tomorrow to see if they can sit down for talks on try. nick schifrin from montreux, switzerland. nick, the difference came in sharp focus today on day one. there is a real since a chasm between these two sides. the goal is to create a transitional government to replace bashar al-assad, but assad is talking about running in the next presidential election. given that the two sides are so far apart its hard to make even the smallest steps towards peace. >> all syrian pe

they are not fighting against bashar al-assad, they are trying to consolidate their position and bashar al-assad has got as thetic approval. this has all got to do with the fact that we didn't give them the aid they needed and they convinced 5,000 hezbollah to come into the country and tip the scales. the idea that you are going to go into geneva and talk bashar al-assad into peace talks is foolishness. >> what account united states do to help that? >> to help some of these countries, it is regional conflict. lebanon is terribly strained, jordan is overwhelmed with refugees, even turkey and the kurdish sections of iraq, sunni shia iran saudi conflict is a regional conflict. by the way those of us who study history remind there's some parallels in what happened in the 1930s when everybody stood by and watched these things happen. what can we do? obviously we have to help the jordannians with the refugee problem. lebanon beefing up the lebanese army and helping them forward with the democratic process. it gets worse every day. but we've also most of all got to restore the perception that

i can't criticise bashar al-assad or the opposition. with my people, not for bashar al-assad. not like them, a journalist. you know something, i'm sad for them. they are hostages. they are hostages in the bashar al-assad rage eement. >> he is wanted by the state. almost three years later he fills the gulf between the opposing side is great. we are both syrians. the political difference nation it impossible to live in a country. we are unable to talk and speak on different issues to divide us. >> it is a grim reality, but a reality nevertheless. for now they sit in the same room, there's little room for reconciliation, leech believing they are the true voice. >> u.s. president barack obama outlined his priorities, not just limited to domestic issues. a white house correspondent patty culhane looks at what he said and what is next. >> mr speaker, the president of the united states -- >> tens of millions of americans spent the evening outlining his priority. the family who called this country home, had to wait 48 minutes to hear him address what they cared most about, the former

humanitarian agencies give positive reports about what bashar al-assad is doing. unfortunately the media, and now you are here, the media, do not take any positive about what the syrian government is doing. >> what about, for example, the issue of ceasefires, they are talking about localized ceasefires. will we see it on the ground. >> the word ceasefire is used between two armies or countries fighting. this is not the right term for what is happening in syria. what we want, we submitted a plan for mr lakhdar brahimi to discuss, after the joint confidence in paris, where mr kerry said let's start with aleppo. we said we didn't mind, but to take the terrorists out and allow humanitarian and food and medicine to enter and redeploy police so the city has its normal life, we are ready to do that, and take this example from one to another. please, please, when you hear something verified think about it and see if it's logical or not logical. >> it seems that there's more of an argument over semantics. let's move away from the humanitarian and the ceasefire issues. what

since the bashar al-assad moved into power. the other role was the fighting groups, who had to give tacit event, or offer not to spoil the process br some would commit to the vote. there has been investigations going on for the last few days, in angaria or elsewhere, where some leaders decided whether to count nans participation in geneva ii. most are comfort with it. the conditions are this - some of their representatives get to go too. the delegation team sitting in geneva ii will be nine people. how many are military teams, five out of nine. there's more arguing to come. >> to discuss this is james, a former foreign policy advisor. your rehabilitation - the syrian national coalition says it will sit to the talks, but you think it will make a difference. >> it will make a difference. you can't have talks unless somebody is on both sides of the table. the question is whether anyone from the rebel side is committed to come. what it represents is a question mark, as i don't think in the set-up discussions. the armed groups on th

they are backing bashar al-assad more aggressively than the u.s. likely iran will not go to the peace conference and there will not be an agreement out of geneva ii. >> iran is becoming a serious player. is that what they are negotiating for. they are causing problems in yemen, bahrain, is that why they want a seat at the table because they want to extend their influence. >> since 1979 united states and the european allies, to a lesser extent, sought to exclude iran, and they forced itself to the table. there's no shortage of issues in this part of the world that can be solved without iran at the table. for the past 10-20 years we tried and have not been able to. the only thing we haven't tried is talking to them. there's no question they are doing what we don't like. diplomacy provide a realistic opportunity for that to happen. kerr ror continues to aclued to that at the -- john kerry continues to allude to that at the podium. >> thank you guys for being on the show. >> to north korea and the supreme leader. kim jong un rules the country with an i

there was a clash over the future of bashar al-assad. secretary of state john kerry says bashar al-assad is clinging to power. the syrian government's delegates say assyrian is staying. >>ize israel says it prevented an al qaeda attack on the u.s. embassy at tel aviv. three palestine men have been arrested, they were recruited by an al qaeda operative based in the gaza strip. the u.s. department has not been able to verify israel's climate. >> the second-largest retailer is dropping health insurance. part-time workers are eligible for benefits. the east coast is digging out from the latest storm from snow and arctic air. severe weather crippled roads and groupeded thousands of plains. those are the headlines. "america tonight" is coming up next. i'm thomas drayton. in new york.

the syrian opposition wants to talk about president bashar al-assad's handing over power but assad's team says he will not step down. it looked like some progress over the weekend. the opposition said that deal was a unilateral one. they are calling for humanitarian aid to get into the city. nick shifrin is in the city. nick, the government is asking to stop assisting the opposition. how far apart are the two sides? >> stephanie, there's a chasm. we did have some progress yesterday or what seemed to be progress. talk of women and children leaving homes. we have talked to the opposition but they have specifically said they don't want women and children to leave homes, if they do they might be snatched up by the regime that has been surrounding homes. inside of homes so the two sides are very far poorlt on homes and how to get some humanitarian aid inside of homes. they are far apart on the fnlt aspect of before they came, the transitional government created by what everyone could agree upon. they must do that because the government agreed to, the government said no not so fast, we did

bashar al-assad's forces and opposition, there have been problems with the equipment. now guarded at sea by an isernational fleet, the port packed with chemicals from the arsenal. once the cargo ship has taken on its full consignment, the load will be transported to italy, where a u.s. navy ship will set about destroying the first action -- batch. >> tunisia's prime minister has stepped down as part of a deal last year with the opposition. he hopes it will put his country's into democracy back on track. he is handing over power to a caretaker government. >> three years after the tunisian revolution, the country is on the verge of a new start. the popular uprising ousted the former autocratic leader, zine el-abidine ben ali, in 2011 after more than two decades in power. on thursday, ali larayedh said he would step aside at head of fresh democratic elections. of freshside ahead democratic elections. >> i have served my country. i have kept my promises, and i'm allowing the country to enter into a new era. >> larayedh's resignation comes after lengthy crisis talks with th

. >> reporter: syrian president bashar al-assad's government has said it will attend the geneva 2 summit, but opposition factions are still fighting over whether they should engage. [ explosion ] >> reporter: the opposition coalition is made up of various armed militias united in fighting against the state, including the free syrian arm, andy hadists and islamists from neighboring countries and kurdish groups. targeting the isil, over 700 people have died in the last ten days. >> if disorder is allowed to continue to grow, it is extremists who will benefit, and it's all the people who want a peaceful solution and stability who will lose. that includes russia, the united states, and others in the region. >> reporter: earlier this week kerry and ten other global envoys met over syria's situation in paris. with russia supporting syria as assad and russia backing the opposition coalition, kerry stat down with russian foreign minister. >> we will send signals to all the syrian side for a need of cease-fire. and a need to look at the possibility of exchanging prisoners including civilians. we'

that means that bashar al-assad will not be part of that transition government. there's no way, no way possible in the imagination that the man who has led the brutal response to his own people could regain the legitimacy to govern. one man and those who have supported him can no longer hold an entire nation and a region hostage. the right to lead the country does not come from torture, nor barrel bombs, nor scud mice ills. it's hart to believe consent would not be forthcoming. just as there can be no place for the perpetrate yore of violence, nor for the thousands of violent extremists who spread hateful ideology and worsen the suffering of the syrian people. as we talk about terrorism, make no mistake it is the presence of the current introns gens of the government that makes the problem worse, creating a magnet for terrorists. until a transition takes place, there's no prayer of reducing the increase of terror. there's another way forward. it is what this conference is organised around. it is the geneva communique, which has the support of the international co

wants to create a transitional government and remove bashar al-assad. >> there's no way pg in the imagination that the than that led a response to his own people could regain the legitimacy to govern. >> in response. syrian minister had no intention of stepping down. >> translation: no one, mr kerry, in the world, has the right to give legitimacy or to withdraw legitimacy from a president, a constitution or a law or anything in syria, but syrians. >> the opposition says the syrians are being brutalized much the government is accused of torturing protesters, and targetting population centres. the opposition and the u.s. called the regime introns gent, pointing to this moment, when the syrian foreign minister overran his time. >> i must finish my speech. >> but i would have to give equal time to other groups. >> yourself, you live in new york, i live in syria. i have the right to give the syrian version here in this forum. >> yes, ask you do. this is my right. >> the u.s. is desperate to convince syria to lisp and stop the violence. kerry is trying to do that by isolating assad. >> today people

iran is a staunch ally of bashar al-assad. iranian troops are fighting in syria, and iranian aircraft keep assad regimes supplied with aide and weapons. negotiations with iran over ending its nuclear program are progressing. with un monitoring verifying this week that iran has stopped down its uranium enrichment. question, can a truce be broken in syria without iran's agreement? pat buchanan. >> no, it can't, john. and i think is a truce is possible but i think john kerry made a terrible mistake going over there. first he's ineffectual. he denounces this guy but can't do a thing about it. if you're going to have to negotiations you at least ought to start on a stately note rather than that attack. i do think -- look, there's been atrocities on all sides but i do think the syrian government because it has the whip hand right now, is probably ready for local truces and things like that. i think the best we can hope out of this thing is to stop the killing and slaughter in various places, get humanitarian aid in there, and anythi