From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

What's next in Ukraine and Syria for the U.S. and Russia?

Hello again, I'm Armin Alney, and this is To the Poit from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most. The warning may or may not be real, but Russian state media says

Ukraine must surrender Crimea tomorrow or face a military storm. Russian troops have crossed

the border, but it's not clear how far President Putin wants to go. Meantime, Ukraine's new

government is asking support from the West. As President

Obama considers his options in the middle of Europe, the issue is a game changer for the humanitarian

disaster in Syria, which is getting worse by the day. We'll look at two international crisis

points where the U.S. and Russia have critical roles to play. First, here's the news.

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Hello again, Mormon. I'll only back with To the Point.

Tens of thousands of innocent people have died from both gunfire and starvation as Syria's Assad regime battles rebels that are increasingly divided.

The UN Secretary General wants a continuation of peace talks backed by the U.S. and Russia.

Countries now at loggerheads over what's

happening in Ukraine. We'll talk to Syria later. First, this, Russian state media have been issuing

threatening warnings today, which have subsequently been contested by the country's diplomatic

officials, but Vladimir Putin has said nothing in public, and officials of the new government

in Ukraine are

warning about the prospect of an invasion.

...