stoorgt tonight, th"on target" r of two evils, assad or i.s.i.l? the united states, rid russia ad others involved in syria's war have agreed to implement a, quote, cessation of hostilities, end quote. that after diplomats met in munich to restart peace talks. sending a hopeful note, staffan de mistura said, quote, sustained delivery of assistance is expected to begin this week to besieged areas where civilians are in desperate need of assistance, end quote. in the meantime the fighting continues and some of the most desperate areas out there are rebel controlled pockets, that are under government seeng. siege. with russian help and air support, tightened a noose around rebel controlled parts of aleppo. the army is close to cutting off the last rebel supply line into syria's largest city. confusingly, the army is also guesting help from syria's kurdish militias which just seized the military base from the russians, which according to secretary of state john kerry will not be part of this cessation of hostilities. confusing or not the momentum in syr

down the as add regime. -- bashar al-assad regime. the u.s. trying to do four or five things at once with the factor of russia, russia playing its own game and iran playing yet another game >> this is more complex. again to make an analogy with the bosnian situation in the 1990s, many more external regional players as well as great players on the outside. it is very hard to do. the united states is not going to be putting a lot of force into syria, whether it's this administration or the next administration >>> no matter who wins? >> no matter who wins. this is because syria is not a close high strategic priority for the u.s. >>> the next-door neighbor israeli >> arming the rebels is one step it can take. even the democratic president might do that, but for the united states it is important to try to find a political solution in part because it's not going to put a lot of force in the situation. the united states is aware, as my colleague pointed out in the wall street journal this morning, two-thirds of the insurgency since world war

assad used chemical weapons. nothing of consequence happened. assad is still in power. he will be in power when obama leaves. in the meantime, russia has introduced itself in the middle east unlike any time since the early 1970's. now the iranians are on the ground fully behind assad, the balance of power has shifted. assad is in a good place. the syrian people are in a lousy, terrible, horrible place. john kerry and barack obama's foreign policy is in free fall. i will make a prediction, and i hope i'm wrong. if they don't change their policies towards syria, the region is going to have an imbalance that we have never seen in our lifetime and an attack against this homeland is coming, and it's coming from syria. it is being planned as i speak. we didn't know exactly what they were trying to do before 9/11, but we were worried that we were going to get attacked by al qaeda. i can tell you exactly where the attack is coming from. it is coming from rocca, syria. it is being planned while i speak. and every day the caliphate is allowed to exist is another day of danger and

only isis and assad regime. rather than try to eradicate any sort of third pillar structure that could be used as an assad'sive source to government and isis, and he is going to. there even achieves that, is the problem of who will then leave the war in the east against isis? -- lead the war in the east against isis? that americans are not in favor of that, and syria does not have the capacity. that would practically be the eastern syrian territory coming from isis and still undecided upon,. i think the americans would rather go for northern iraq, and ,he fronts are clear, and putin you are earned syria. that is the last thing he wanted. he opted in to the ideal scenario, that the westerly champion intervention, and join russia thi -- to fight the war. he has been disappointed by american reluctance to do anything. melinda: let's briefly, before we come back, take a look at putin's motives and talk about the humanitarian situaon. fled,f thousands have they are messing on the border to turkey. turkey so far has n

because as long as assad is there, he is the number one recruiting tool for assad. the reason foreign fighters are trying to get into syria to fight with daesh is because of assad. that is another reason we have to get this political transition. >> rose: assad is the main recruiting tool for isis. >> for daesh, exactly. >> rose: if you retake mosul, that will have a significant impact in terms of what happens in syria? >> it will happen. >> rose: in addition to the more important point, assad. >> so what is so porn about mosul but also raqqa and syria, they are two bases, the heart of the self-declared caliphate is this. one of the reasons that daesh succeeds or has succeeded up until now is by creating the perception that it has forged this caliphate, this homebase, that it is marching forward, that it's ten feet tall. if you take away that foundation, the entire ed i face will begin to crumble. foreign fighters will be less attractive. affiliates that are usually preexisting terrorist organizations, the money will slow down and everything will start to crumble. th

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 syrian government and the opposition. the future of those talks remains unc

they're a player, they have supported assad. assad is in a much better position. he may be -- he may retake aleppo, which could block some of the transmission from within syria to outside. i mean, people look at what putin has done and said, he's been a master strategist in the way he's played a weak hand. >> well, where does that strategy lead? it's leading to the prolongation of the civil war in syria, which is not in russia's interest. it's not -- >> rose: it is, if information he makes assad stronger so they can negotiate something from a better position and create -- >> well, what the russians should have done from the very beginning is use whatever influence they have with bash bar t --influence they have witr al-assad to get him to step aside. maybe they will do that sometime in the future, but that is not the way they have behaved so far. the russians have been way off track since the very beginning. they have not done what they said they were going to do and they're not doing what is in their interest to do in terms of fighting i.s.i.l. >> rose: but there

russia sees no distinction and hopes president assad can win. so why? russia has its own naval base in syria. partly because putin and former president and president assad's father was allies and wants the alliance to survives and has been suggested that putin is enjoying the migration crisis in europe dividing and weakening the european union. >> the russians can end this and make this by scaling back their bombing and redirecting against the real terrorists rather than bombing the moderate opposition. if you they think moderate opposition are going to lay down their weapons, they're wrong. that's not going to happen. reporter: russia shows no change of course. they are in a war of words with turkey. washington is urging cooler heads. but the crestation of hostilities can hardly be relied on. anchor: to more on the situation, i spoke to p.j. crowley. cessation of hostilities cannot be relied on, can it? >> no. in a very fluid like this one, it's several conflicts. not surprising that everyone is jockeying to try to grab as much territory and leverage b

i mean assad must have his reasons for thinking that he can go the whole distance. the thing is, and this is ironic but the russians don't actually want him to completely win. they want to take this prize to the negotiating table and get their payoff. of course they want assad to stay, they are not selling him out, it's just that they want what they went in for which is a bigger thing. it's on accord with the americans is what the russians are looking at and if assad goes and wins it all they don't get that. >> are they going to have to restate what the rest of the world has assumed for the past year or so and it's this: they will have to say to bashar al-assad listen you are not going to win in totality so you have to have a plan b? >> i think they must be saying that to him already and it is a difficult thing to picture assad winning in totality. there has to be a political solution and one that encompass the fact that huge part of the population is syria rose up against assad. i mean, that is generally right and it's just the means that the russians will use to t

remember, recently russia essentially had to tell bashar al-assad it shut up when bashar al-assad said he'd carry on fighting and retake the whole of syria. basically that they should take the russian leadership on this and it should be the benefit of brokering a russian deal. now it seems that the bashar al-assad government has been cowed in a sense, and bashar al-assad in the phone call girls that they are ready to assist in the establishment of the ceasefire. vladimir putin and bashar al-assad claim they'll carry on the fight against terrorist groups like i.s.i.l. and nusra. it's a game of both of them. they maintained that that is the case. >> along with that conversation that vladimir putin had, it seems that he's spoken with the saudi king on the syrian ceasefire. what do we know about that? >> yes, well that is true. there has been - i think a number of international phone calls over the last few hours or so. and the kremlin saying there are more, and we don't know much about what was discussed with the saudi king, other than talking about syria, and the syrian king has said tha

we are fighting against assad and terrorism. if we can step down assad, then we can -- the whole terrorism groups. it will be easy. the only reason that they are fighting but when we can keep assad from syria, they have no existence in syria. we will fight them. like now, we are fighting them, we are fighting against assad, we are fighting against terrorism. we need time to rebuild syria, but we will start. it will be the beginning of rebuilding syria. it's the only way we can rebuild syria. >> thank you so much for joining us on al jazeera. we wish you and your family the best. thank you. >> thank you, thank you so much. >>> meanwhile, a prominent american senator is issuing a certain warning over russian actions in syria, as a mine nick security conference was wrapping up, senator john mccain told the conference not to trust russia. >> mr. putin is not interested in being our partner. he wants to reestablish russia as a major power in the middle east and exacerbate the refugee crisis and use it as a weapon. >> mccain also pred

assad was approaching his last legs. the ironians have been bleeding in there and the russians came in with the air power and they pounded the rebels and they're probably going to take by aleppo. eleanor: russia has been an historic ally of syria. i would say let russia have at it and o pat: -- obama should keep on what he's doing, which is not very much. point of view sounds like trump. eleanor: sounds like bernie sanders too, and hillary clinton. nobody wants to send u.s. troops there. john: has the time come for obama to cut his loss -- losses in syria and embrace the assad regime? yes or no? pat: i think that's a good question in this sense. if the moderate rebels are defeated we should try to get a cease-fire and get them protected and get out and basically everybody go after isis. eleanor: the settlement will be on the condition that assad is removed. tom: that would be perfect but i worry that that's impossible. ryan: assad is not going anywhere. we had four or five years to make that happen. it didn't happen. ohn

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 sides here should be agreed on the benefits of this brokered u.s. russian deal for a ceasefire. now it seems that the bashar al-assad government has been cowed, in a sense, and as you say, bashar al-assad in the phone call confirms that damascus is ready to assist in the establishment of the ceasefire. of course, vladimir putin and bashar al-assad claim that they are going to be carrying on the fight against the various so-called terrorist groups like i.s.i.l. and others. they maintain that that is the case. >> that is rory challands in moscow >>> voters in bolivia rejecting a controversial amendment allowing e.v.o. morales to run for a fourth time. he's been praised for boosting the economy. administration was plagued by scandals leading up to the referendum, including allegations that he may have been involved in

what does that say about the russians, assad, and the future of the conflict if assad is stronger than he was before the russians. sec. carter: what it says about the russians is that they did not come into syria to fight isil as they said. that is not what they have been doing. they have been supporting assad and fueling the civil war. they gave birth to extremism, isil, al nusra, and so on. the russians are headed in the wrong direction from the point of view of fighting isil and protecting their own interests. from a humanitarian point of view, they are being very clumsy here, because their actions have the effect of displacing a lot of people. that is one of the reasons why secretary kerry has been so intent on getting humanitarian aid restored to that area. the russians who should be working with us to defeat isil, and we would welcome that as i have brought in many countries from around the world to join in the campaign. most recently, saudi arabia who rejoined the air campaign. that is not what they are doing. they are doing exactly the opposite of what they said they would do.

bashar al-assad. but secretary kerry says the peace process will require bashar al-assad's removal. do you see that happen? >> i think that's a talk points of secretary kerry. he has to say that in order to keep members of the coalition, saudi arabia, turkey and others, on side with this deal, as well as those that are fighting assad on the ground. they just cannot accept that assad will be allowed to stay. so they're hoping to punt that issue for down the road. and i expect that the united states will in fact stab these people in the back to use a very ungracious term. because at the end of the day, we're probably going to recognize that assad's going to stay with russian and iranian support. >> colonel derrick harvey good to talk to you. thank you. >> thank you. >> now to somalia where there's been a second attack in two days. police say al shabaab gunmen stormed the area, 14 people died including nine civilians and five gunmen. a suicide bomb are rammed his car into the hotel's entrance clearing th

first of all, he spoke to president bashar al-assad. now remember a few days ago, assad said he wanted to carry on fighting in syria to retake the whole country. russia essentially was forced to tell him to shut up, and it does seem now like bashar al-assad at least on paper is pledging commitment to the u.s.-russian brokered ceasefire plan for syria. after that, putin spoke to the saudi arabiian king, and spoke to raw dhani of rooirn -- iran, and to benjamin netenyahu. all of this seems to be suggesting that russia is a power broker and a force to be reckoned with. you get a sense of cautious optimism coming out of russia now. they are on the cusp of maintaining two of their goals. the first was to shore up bashar al-assad, but the second goal, was to convince the united states that russia is an equal partner and needs to be treated with due respect in the middle east. ♪ >>> campaigning is continuing in iran where people will go to the polls on friday. there are two elections, one por the parliament, and another for the body that cho

bashar al-assad has vowed to retake the entire country. the comments come as they agree to aim temporary halts within syria within seven days. >>> there have been riots against austerity protest. head of the russian orthodox and pope francis will meet. >> the efforts to stop the fighting, we look at how the munich deal might translate on the ground. >> the deal greed to in munich have two main aims. they also want to reach areas blockaded by opposition groups. isil has besieged government-controlled neighborhoods where 200,000 people live. the only way to drop aid there from the air. it's worth noting that access to these besieged areas should have been granted a long time ago as it's been repeatedly demanded by the u.n. security council in five resolutions. the first one 2139 was pasted two years ago. the second focus of the munich meeting was to stop the bloodshed and another has been set up with that aim. during the munich talks russia argued it wanted a cease-fire to start on the first of hear. but the u.s. said that would allow three

pro-bashar al-assad. iran and a syrian businessman and cousin of bashar al-assad. others are sympathetic to iran. out of south beirut and into syria. bashar al-assad does few television interviews. he did one with al-manar last year >>> on the olympics side. a group was made up of activists. it's in the u.s., and relies on konts. it had more than 2 million followers on facebook. and was founded by chir u. a political access turn war report. now operating out of southern turkey. syrian news broadcast into the rebel held areas of the north. two months ago it made headlines when it was reported from areas of aleppo. they disputed claims their bombs were only hit areas in i.s.i.l. >> reporter: then on the outskirts of damascus. before it was shut down by government forces, it moved to subturkey and claims to have a print run of papers. it is distributed inside syria. in aleppo, latakia and idlib. >> it's five years to go since the first demonstrations would took place in damascus. syrian journalists documented what any call the revolution. the effect of the fighting on

we're seeing the assad forces. the regime is on the brink of encircling the city in order to population with indiscriminately bombing areas. he testified for a question that for him in november. assad is a recruiting tool for isis. that it is not possible for us assad'st isis while massacres continue with iran and russia's help. what steps are the administration taking to prevent massacre of syria's remaining opposition. humanitariandrop supplies to the people of aleppo? going toomething we're do? you've said to the chairman and ranking member that russia is a problem. does the administration intend to take any measure to stop syria'srom bombing civilians? how can we justify asking the itsan opposition to drop condition that the assad regime, iran cease committing these crimes against toanity as a condition continue the geneva talks? that answer.d to let me bring up two quick points. i wanted to ask you about the plans for the iraqi-jewish archiving. they stay in the united states? we have worked together with you.

saudis want to bring down assad. he is a dictator and a benevolent one. i say we want to defeat isis first. >> we're saying that, but the president is keeping his distance. >> it's not clear who turkey hates more -- they seem fine with assad and isis up to a degree. >> i think we could have more influence, because the turkish have before formed these essential compromises with different kurdish groups, including the more hard line groups. >> the turks have told the kurds if you cut off the supply after you. >> this is the key to put pressure on assad and russia and assad -- but the problem at the moment is they're pushing north and slaughtering people. >> they want to win the war. imagine that. >> but the cities are going to join isis, right? >> question, who's calling the shots in syria today? >> russia. >> is it putin or president obama? >> russia has stepped in, has changed the tide. i think our side was approaching its last legs. the iranians has been bleeding in there. the russians came into the air power and really did something with it, they pounde

one of those elephants is bashar al-assad. we cannot defeat daesh in syria unless we bring about change in bashar al-assad. he is the man who helped create it. by releasing radicals from his jails. but allowing daesh to operate without attacking them. by even trading with them. he is the man that allowed them to become what they are, and unless and until there is a change in syria, daesh will not be defeated in syria, period. we have an international coalition of which my country was a founding member that has been bombing daesh in syria for 15 months, and it's still around. so when assad goes, the fertile environment in which daesh operates in syria will be removed and we can deal with them. the second elephant in the room, is the implementing the reforms that were agreed to in iraq in 2014 that would bring the sunni community into the fold, that would create an equitable system to sunni, kurd, shiite, caledonians or iraqis. that also will -- will pull the routh -- out from under daesh in iraq, and allow the country and its a

first of all, he spoke with president bashar al-assad. remember a few days ago assad said that he wanted to carry on fighting in syria to retake the whole country. russia was forced to tell him to shut up. it does seem now that bashar al-assad, at least on paper, is pledging commit to the u.s.-russian brokered cease-fire. after that they spoke with the saudi arabian king, president rouhani, this all seems to be to the united states and the middle east region that russia is a power broker and a force to be reckoned with. you get a real sense of cautious optimism coming out of the kremlin right now. i think they believe that they're on the cusp of achieving two of their main goals. the first one, of course, is to shore up president bashar al-assad and prevent him from some chaotic collapse. but the second goal was to convince the united states that russia is essentially an equal partner and needs to be treated with due respect in the middle east. >> well, as we mentioned there have been claims that the wpg, the syrian kurdish fighters have

let me note i didn't see assad ever a threat has been what assad ever a threat to the united states? >> assad has given sustenance to terrorist groups a number of years. >> assad was never a threat to the united states. frankly, we republicans made a mistake when we backed our president when he said we have to get rid of saddam hussein. and, frankly, it looks like to me all of this chaos and confusion you are describing today that unfortunately is in your lap to try to correct started when we made a mistake we have to get rid of saddam hussein because he's a bad guy and he's committing atrocities against his own people. and that has destabilized the whole region and lead to many thousands more people being killed. i would think, frankly from a distance it looks like assad is in that same type of the, fighting assad is the same type of situation. let me ask how many of the isil fighters are foreigners? meaning from other areas rather than syria and iraq. >> total number of foreign fighters have come into the theater are up of 30,000 but many of them as i mentioned in my opening and it

or russia, and since assad remains a magnet for extremists, i believe the longer assad remains in power, the longer the coalition will be fighting isis in syria. assad's reign only exacerbates the refugee crisis, making a safe zone i believe even more necessary. however, assistant secretary anne patterson said at a committee hearing late last year and i quote her, there is no option on the table or a recommendation by the defense department that does not require a massive, massive amount of air support that would then detract from the effort against isil, unquote. so, let me ask you this, ambassador -- under what circumstances would the administration consider supporting a no fly zone? what are the challenges in establishing a no fly zone or safe zone? and how has russian military involvement impacted the prospects for a safe zone or no fly zone? because absent a safe zone, i don't know how innocent syrians protect themselves. >> congressman, it's something we look at all the time. we actually have had a number of internal discussions about the possibility of establishing some sort of n

>> they are fighting civilians and fighting against assad and terrorism so if we can step down assad then we can with the terrorism groups it will be easy and the only reason with the two groups they are fighting somehow assad but when we can get assad from syria they have no reason to stay in syria, we will fight them like now, we are fighting them while fighting against assad we are fighting against terrorism. we need time to rebuild syria but we will start, it will be the beginning of rebuilding syria when we step down assad. it's the only way we can rebuild syria. >> thank you so much for joining us on al jazeera. we wish you and your family the best. thank you. >> thank you, thank you so much. >>> and when we come back a partisan fight to fill that vacancy on the supreme court justice scalia and fall out on the campaign trail. >>> treating addiction that they believe could help save lives. ♪ >> mdma helps with the therapeutic connection. >> exclusive access to the... >> our fears are dancing between us. >> techknows team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> th

i'm not sure probably russia has some influence on president bashar al-assad. however, i don't think they have influence on the shia militias or the allies of president bashar al-assad who are fighting on the ground. you have hezbollah, you have iraqi shia militias, also pakistani and afghan militias. so it is very complicated. when it comes to the opposition side. the same applies for national and international powers. they will try to influence the opposition groups who adhere to their cause, however the more extreme or the more international community designate as terrorist, they will not adhere to the cause of truce or peace. not everybody is interested in a political process. it is interesting to see what now is complicates that ask what president bashar al-assad has also called for a new election in april regardless of what's happening. you have also the syrian appear was dor to the u.n. describing the-- ambassador-- staffan de mistura not doing his job. all of that is complicating the situation >>> thanks very much. two students accused of sedition in in

that russian air force has helped assad gain ground. how do you answer that skriccrim that the russians now have the upper hand in terms of influence in this? >> well, first of all, i don't think we -- we believe that the assad regime or the russians have the upper hand. all they're doing, the russians in particular, by continuing to bolster and support the assad regime is prolonging the conflict. the more successful the assad regime is in perpetrating their own, the more successful they will be in propagating the conflict and attracting fighters to syria. >> that may be true. >> this isn't a successful strategy by any sense. . >> by u.s. objectives. but by russian objectives, which is to rescue the assad regime, they have gained ground. and because of those gains you now have u.s. allies on the ground that were fighting isis being drawn into this other conflict to fight the regime. that's having a direct effect on the u.s. strategy there. >> there's no question. and i'm not going to refute a bit that assad is feeling more support now a

bashar al-assad is talking tough. he doesn't sound like someone willing to negotiate the end of a regime, which is what the coalition wants. >> the difference is in bashar al-assad's tone in july, when the army was reeling, retreating, when the regime appeared on the verge of defeat. fast-forward several months to now. and he sounds trium fanned, saying that we will not negotiate with a terrorist. and really, it's because the russians escalated dramatically and there's no response from the friends of the syrian opposition. >> is there a hope of a solution to deleting i.s.i.l. if the coalition doesn't bite the bullet. >> i don't think bashar al-assad has enough soldiers to occupy the eastern half of syria. bashar al-assad is short of soldiers, which is why he's bringing in shia fighters from places like iraq and afghan refugee camps. it's not - lining up would be hooking ourselves up to a patient in intensive care >>> angela merkel argued in favour of a no-fly zone in the nearby parts of syria, something the turks call

assad could have control in some areas. maybe another 15% of the population is christian and 10 inprint -- support assad many cases. maybe he could rule in that sector. there could be a sunni arab sector, kurdish sector, and a small community government. i think that kind of compromise is comfortable, everyone keeps their core equity. beyond that come i don't see the bases with a peace deal with the moderates being so weak right now. >> what is happening on syria and the ground, who is fighting who? we have learned the u.s. is starting to strike isis in libya, because isis is leaving syria and going to olivia instead. >> and that last piece is very concerning. isis has an established stronghold in a lot of central libya. not just a strong -- small pocket. we just hit one pocket. they have been the mastermind of some big terrorist attacks. are shaking the dynamics in libya, not yet. but it is complicated enough in syria. we have president assad, and his allies. that is one group. his allies are hezbollah, russia, and some ir

you are either with the terrorists, as he calls them, or you are with assad. he was sent to palmyra to fight the islamic state organization. he said, we're all going to die, this is suicide. but he was too scared to desert. he took refuge in a house of a family that he knew after the battle. after eight days, he decided enough is enough and he cannot endanger the family anymore here at he borrowed some loosefitting robes and tried to get out. witnesses take up the story at this stage. they say he was stopped in a mosque by i.s. fighters and told to come outside. they asked who he was, and he said he was just going to pray. right in the street, they beheaded him with a sword. theredy apparently laid for several days but what is moving about the article is it is clearly written by people who came to love and respect this man. it shows the human side of the tragedy. we think about the numbers and political groups, but we have to remember that behind all the statistics, there is normally a man or woman like this. >> that is an incredibly moving story. what makes i

targets and instead has been primarily focused on rebel groups opposed to the assad regime. russia insists it's battling terrorists as it bottom bard bos strongholds such as aleppo. which isn't being hit by i.s.i.l. >> russia says it welcomes military cooperation with the united states while the pentagon accuses russia of bombing indiscriminate that thely and lying about it. >> the pentagon says the temporary cessation of battle, allows for humanitarian flow of besieged cities, but moscow also sees this as a big win. it puts russia in charge of the flow of humanitarian aid. it gives it another week to solidify battlefield gains and levers bashar al-assad even more firmly in power. >> jamie mcintire at the pentagon. the discussions in munich have had no effect on syria at least at present. zeina khodr has more. >> rebels understand the need to hold ground, if they do thought, the government will be one step further to aleppo city, where tens of thousands of people live. the opposition is trying to prevent its stronghold from being besieged. >> translator: they are killing us

stoorgt tonight, th"on target" r of two evils, assad or i.s.i.l? the united states, rid russia ad others involved in syria's war have agreed to implement a, quote, cessation of

this is where anti assad syrian fighters recover from their injuries. this 22-year-old is part of the free syrian army. he lost his leg in a russian air strike two months ago and has been receiving treatment at the hospital to save his other leg ever since. an internationally brokered deal which would see a cessation of hostilities in syria won't work unless assad is forced to step down. >> i will continue to fight. personally, i will go back to fighting because my family suffered a lot under the assad regime. he is a criminal. >> although israel is not one of the 17 member countries of the syria support group which signed a cessation of hostilities agreement, al jazeera is told that it closely monitored the munich talks. although israel is technically at war in syria, it clearly has an interest in hostilities there and potential of ceasefire. one concern is the growing influence of iran, particularly close to the borders with syria that it occupies. >> israel captured the goal man heights from syria in 1967 and annexed it in 19 ate one, a move not reco

where is the future of assad on the table. the priority is now a ceasefire and humanitarian needs. >> it's interesting that we have had francois hollande the french president saying again today that assad has to be, he seems to be a lone voice on that now doesn't snow. >> the americans make fun. french saying that basically they have a vocal voice why they don't really invest in syria. even though everyone, the americans still say that assad must go, but it's no longer a priority. and regardless of what the french and the americans say, they have not made a strategic investment in syria. while russia has done so, and basically has tipped the scales in favor of assad. >> so if they can't come up with an agreement on this, what do you forecast the war continues and you end up with a situation where syria is broken up and assad still controls parts of it? what's your theory. >> does as truss hugh mar terriehumanitariansituation. aleppo is encircled by the syrian army. you are talking about the potential for 200, 300,000 refugees.

first of all he spoke to president bashar al-assad. now remember a few days ago assad said he wanted to carry on fighting in syria to retake the whole country. russia essentially was forced to tell him to shut up and it does seem now like bashar al-assad at least on paper is pledging commitments to the u.s. russian brokered ceasefire plan for syria. after that, putin spoke to the saudi arabian king, also to rouhani and to benjamin netanyahu. you duet a real sense of cautious optimism coming out of the kremlin right now. i think they believe they are on the cusp of achieving two of their main goals. the first one was of course shore up president bashar al-assad, prevent him from some sort of chaotic collapse. but the second goal was to convince the united states that russia is essentially an equal partner and needs to be treated with due respect in the middle east. >> rory challands reporting from moscow. president obama says he does not want to set high expectations for truce. the president met with jordan's king abdalla in the white h