Closed captioning of: Russia urging West not to intervene in Syria
>>>
welcome back to news nation. today,
russia
says it will block any attempt by the west to use
military force
against
syria
where thousands of civilians have been killed in a violent anti-government uprising.
russia
's foreign minister says it is part of an effort by his country to help prevent a "vet big war." the associated press says there are "strong signs that iran is giving
syria
weapons to help remove president
bashar al assad
from power."
russia
says encouraging his removal could lead to suffering in countries across the region as well as states spts far beyond sits boundaries." a man mo yell din is one of just a very few western reporters allowed into
syria
. ayman, what at least can you tell us you're seeing on the ground there? i know there are
arab league
monitors there as well with you. what are you observing?
>>
well, tamron, we spent the better part of the morning with those
arab league
monitors here in the hotel in
damascus
. when you go about in
damascus
, the city is very much a normal city in some regards and in some regards you can tell it has changed a lot, even in the words of syrians that have lived here. security checkpoints are much more visible in var paints. we were stopped at a checkpoint in and around the city. at nighttime, there are reports of gunfiren an explosions heard frequently. and more importantly it, the sanctions, the
economic sanctions
that have been imposed on the country are taking a toll on the people here. you see that in markets. you see that in the long fuel lines at the
gas stations
and certainly the economy is deteriorating. it is a city very much on edge.
>>
ayman, as i understand it, can you give us a better account of the atmosphere with the people you've at least seen and just the overall tone and climate that you've been exposed to?
>>
absolutely. you know, we were here at the request the or at least by invitation from the syrian government that granted us a visa after several months. certainly our access to var parts of the country are very much restricted in terms of where we can see. we are in contact with people across the country. here in
damascus
itself, when you speak to people on the street, there's no doubt the president still retains a great deal of popularity. many people believe there are foreign hands, foreign countries that are trying to intervene to work.against
syria
to divide
syria
. but there is no doubt there are also in private areas when you're speaking to people away from government minders in a more intimate setting, they're speaking more freely against the government and expressing their viewpoints for what they want. the city itself in
damascus
during the
day and night
remains somewhat normal. outside of the country from the
arab league
monitors we've been speaking to, describe very troubling scenes, scenes of violence. some describe it as a
war zone
in cities outside of
damascus
. so it's still very much a country that is in turmoil and still one that is very tense all throughout.
>>
a man mo yell din live for us in
damascus
, one of a few western journalists allowed in that country.
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