'This Week' Transcript: Sec. of State John Kerry

Martha Raddatz interviews Sec. John Kerry on "This Week."

ByABC News
March 1, 2015, 9:36 AM

— -- Below is the "This Week" transcript for March 1, 2015. It is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.

ANNOUNCER: Now, a special edition of This Week: inside the crisis zone. Fight of our lives: Jihadi John unmasked, but the FBI says we're losing the battle against ISIS. Can we stop the brutal terror group before it's too late?

Assassination: who ordered the murder of Vladimir Putin's biggest critic? The massive march happening right now.

And, shut down averted: congress keeps DHS open for now. Does our security hang in the balance?

This morning, all the tough questions for Secretary of State John Kerry an ABC News exclusive.

From the global resources of ABC News. A special edition of This Week inside the crisis zone. Reporting from Istanbul, Turkey, chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz.

MARTHA RADDATZ, HOST: Good morning. As we come on the air, breaking developments on several fronts across this region all with significant impact on the U.S. We've just returned from the Turkish-Syrian border where ISIS is unleashing a new round of terror. More on that shortly, but first the latest from our global team on three crisis zones around the world.

We start off with that stunning assassination in Russia, one of President Vladimir Putin's top critics gunned down, shot in the back just steps from the Kremlin. A huge opposition demonstration happening right now in response.

Chief foreign correspondent Terry Moran has all the new details. Good morning, Terry.

TERRY MORAN, NBC CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Martha. It is a day of grief and dread in Russia for all those who oppose President Putin and his war in Ukraine.

Nevertheless, they came out to march today, dissidents in their thousands. And think for a moment what it takes to do that in Russia now.

It was supposed to be a march for peace, against the war in Ukraine. It was scheduled to be led by Boris Nemtsov, once a deputy prime minister, possible leader of Russia, but Putin out maneuvered him and now Nemtsov is dead, murdered on Friday night right outside of the Kremlin.

And Putin is personally in charge of the investigation. His investigators say that they believe it was others in the opposition who killed Boris Nemtsov, trying to make a martyr out of him, or maybe they say it was Islamist radicals who did it, or maybe Ukrainians.

The protesters say they know whoever pulled the trigger, it is the climate of fear and intimidation that they believe Putin has created that lead to this killing.

Boris Nemtsov is just the latest high profile Putin critic to be killed. Few in Russia think he will be the last -- Martha.

RADDATZ: Thank, Terry.

Now the countdown to the speech sparking a dramatic rift between Israel and the U.S. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heading to Washington where he'll speak to congress on Tuesday.

It's a visit a top White House adviser has called destructive to U.S.-Israeli relations.

ABC's Alex Marquardt now on the latest fallout. Good morning, Alex.