disagreement at this point. as to the syria cease-fire, i would say what may be different this time, i think, is the level of commitment on the part of the russian government. they see the situation in syria transitioning from the defeat of isis, which we are progressing rapidly, as you know, and this is what really has led to this discussion with them as to what do we do to stabilize syria once the fight against isis is won. russia has an interest in syria becoming a stabilized and unified place but ultimately a place where we can facilitate a political discussion about their future, including the future leadership of syria. so, i think part of why we re and again, we ll see what happens as to the ability to hold the cease-fire, but i think part of what s different is
very complicated part of the, of the syrian battlefield. this de-escalation area was agreed, well defined agreements on who will secure this area, cease-fire has been entered into, and i think this is our first indication of the u.s. and russia being able to work together in syria, and as a result of that, we had a very lengthy discussion regarding other areas in syria that we can continue to work together on to de-escalate the areas and the violence, once we defeat isis, and to work together towards a political process that will secure the future of the syrian people. as a result, a the, of president putin, the united states has appointed and you ve seen i think the announcement, a special representative for ukraine. ambassador kirk volcker, who
coalition forces and the syrian kurds and arabs who control about 200 meters inside of the old city here. down that way, 200 meters, are isis positions. the forces here don t move around much in the daylight because of the risk of isis snipers. less so in these streets, but at night the majority of movement forward is, in fact, made. we ve seen u.s. forces here not far from these positions, anxious not to be filmed or noticed, frankly, but understand it s them calling in air strikes, and artillery allowing these forces to move forward so quickly. frankly, i m surprised how little isis is in in the city. an area probably 1.5 to 3 miles in terms of size. increasingly small terrain they hold and as we saw? iraq, unable to hold, an impediment for syrian, kurdish
fighters and marking potentially the last time isis can say they hold a city in syria. nick paton walsh, cnn inside the old city of raqqa, syria. remarkable exclusive cnn report, nick paton walsh inside raqqa. de facto capital of isis. i want to bring you an update. as we speak, senior administration official it s are briefing the media about the putin/trump meeting. update, discussed the general u.s./russia reses. headline news, that the jordan r a cease-fire between regime forces and u.s.-backed rebels. more details. please stay with us. we ll be right back after this break. these days families want to be connected 24/7.
into a disadvantageous position with respect to north korea. ambassador max baucus. thanks for joining us. thanks, jim. all the best. we re going to be back very soon and i want to give you an update that right now senior administration officials are briefing reporters on that very long meeting between american president trump and russian president putin went nearly two hours. an update what exactly was discussed and will bring it to you as soon as it happens. as we speak, u.s.-backed rebels are fighting to retake the group s de facto capital of raqqa in syria. cnn correspondent nick paton walsh on the front line inside raqqa with this exclusive report. reporter: we are now inside the city walls of raqqa. the capital of isis, self-declared caliphate territory in which they will make their final stand in syria and, really, the middle east. that wall, a key milestone to