assad regime sends a clear signal. a russian military official told reporters monday russia will stop selling new arms to assad's government until the bloodshed ends. according to syrian activists, more than 17,000 people have been killed since the conflict began last march. live from cairo, the russian decision to cut back on support for damascus, that is potentially a serious blow to the regime, no? >> reporter: it is. many people are interpreting it as the latest sign that russia is beginning to distance itself from the syrian regime. but the question really is, how long will that actually take before it goes into effect? the reason why i say, that as you mentioned, russia says it will continue to honor its agreements. the contracts that have already been ordered, the weapons that have already been purchased. any new weapon orders, any new weapons purchases, will not be