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Obama, Sarkozy in Talks in France; Malawi Court Rejects Madonna's Adoption Bid; North Korea Missile Launch Believed Imminent

Aired April 03, 2009 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Yes, we're hitting the top of the hour now, just about 7:00 o'clock Eastern Time. I'm Carol Costello in for Kiran Chetry this morning. So, happy Friday to you.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, I'm John Roberts. Lots to talk about this morning.

Here's the top stories on our agenda this morning -- items that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 50 minutes here on the Most News in the Morning.

President Obama greeted with huge applause early this morning in Strasbourg, France. He and French President Nicholas Sarkozy are spending the morning in talks ahead of this weekend's NATO summit. The president will hold a town hall style meeting in France this hour. We'll bring that to you live.

A court in Malawi is rejecting pop superstar Madonna's request to adopt an orphan little girl from the poor African nation. A judge says prospective parents must be a resident in the country for at least 18 months. Madonna's request was given the full support of the country's child welfare minister.

North Korea could be hours away from launching what the United States, South Korea and Japan say is a long-range ballistic missile. Japanese officials are backing away from claims that they will blast it from the sky, now saying it will shoot down any rocket debris if it falls over northern Japan.

Here at home the State Department issued a blunt and public warning to the North Koreans, simply saying, don't launch.

Now we begin the hour with breaking news, President Obama's trip to France. The president and first lady, Michelle Obama, as you can hear, were greeted with thunderous applause from a crowd gathered in Strasbourg, France.

COSTELLO: Yes. As we take a look at the two first ladies, because you know that's what many people want to see, these two ladies meeting one another, or these two intelligent women, I should say, educated and empowered themselves.

One woman -- when you talk about the crowd surrounding the two presidents and the two first ladies, one woman in the crowd tried to run up to President Obama and give him a kiss. But of course, security stopped her cold. The Obamas were greeted by the French president, as I said, Nicolas Sarkozy, and France's first lady, Carla Bruni Sarkozy.

ROBERTS: So here's what we're expecting in the next few minutes. And they seem to be running a little bit behind schedule. We are expecting to hear the two leaders make remarks to the press pool about 25 minutes ago, but it seemed like the arrival was a little later than expected, took a little longer than expected. So things seem to be on a bit of a delayed schedule. But we do expect to hear them.

COSTELLO: Then they had their picture taken.

ROBERTS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And maybe that's taking a long time. Who knows. They were having fun with the last picture, right, at the G-20?

ROBERTS: The two presidents talking right now about a host of issues ahead of the NATO summit. The two look close this morning, but the French president gave some push-back at the G-20 summit threatening to walk out if he was unhappy with the progress particularly on this idea of oversight for financial institutions.

So now that the G-20 is done, did President Obama walk away with what he wanted? Our Suzanne Malveaux joins us on the telephone line now from Strasbourg, France.

So, is the White House happy with what it got at the G-20 summit, Suzanne?

VOICE OF SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, they really are satisfied. They didn't get everything that they wanted, but they certainly feel that this is a good beginning. He didn't get that huge economic stimulus package, those plans from other countries.

They really were encouraging them to infuse a lot of cash in their own economies to try to boost it a bit. But these are other countries who really don't have that kind of money.

They were very reticent particularly Germany and France. And so they didn't see the kinds of numbers that would be very impressive. But, you know, they said they weren't looking for a dollar figure but obviously they were a little disappointed on that front. But they did see an investment here from this world body, more than $1 trillion in funds to help out developing countries to get loans and aid, and that happens through some of the international groups, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

They also -- they saw some commitments from these countries to crack down on tax havens and hedge funds and things like that. And the one thing that was particularly important was that Germany and France and some others were really pushing for this idea to have a kind of an international enforcer, a global group that would come in and make sure that each country was going to regulate its financial institutions. And the Obama administration really felt that that was over the edge. I mean, it's one thing to think that the Obama government would be able to fire GM's CEO but it's another thing to think that an international group would come in and say, hey, this guy has got to go. That was something that they thought was just over the top and that was dismissed in negotiations.

So overall, I think that they're very pleased. And the one thing that we did see that was very obvious was really the president trying to set a different tone here with these world leaders.

I mean, John, you and I know we've covered these summits many, many years and very little sometimes seems to get done. And there was a lot of frustration on the part of President Bush in dealing with the international groups that require consensus and a lot of negotiations. He was much better at dealing with one-on-one with these world leaders.

President Obama really wanted to strike a different tone and say he's somebody who's going to listen, who's going to try to work with these other leaders in this big group setting. And that is something that President Bush, as you know, I think was very frustrated by that process and ended up not getting a lot of what he wanted when it came to the G-20, or the G-8 or even NATO.

ROBERTS: Yes. I recall one. I think it was an APEC summit or maybe a summit of the Americas in Mexico, Suzanne, in which the president actually left a little bit early. And I spoke with one of his aides and the aide said he couldn't wait to get out of there. It was the most boring thing he's ever attended.

Suzanne Malveaux for us in Strasbourg, France. Suzanne, thanks. We'll stay in touch.

COSTELLO: That's really comforting to hear.

ROBERTS: Yes.

And breaking news, police already battling with protesters in Strasbourg, France. Here's a little bit of video that's just come in.

Officers have already used tear gas on protesters in the French town, the site of the upcoming NATO summit. The riots happened in the southern part of the town near the German border. Strasbourg is very close to the German town of Kehl, so it's actually called the Strasbourg Kehl summit.

Police say a dozen people were arrested, but tens of thousands of demonstrators already on hand there in anticipation of the NATO summit. Security as you can imagine there extremely tight.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. Also breaking this morning, North Korea's missile launch could be just hours away. It could fire as early as 10:00 Eastern tonight. Japan's military is on high alert to potentially shoot down a rocket or any debris heading for its territory. And the State Department has given a simple sharp warning to North Korea -- don't launch.

Chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is here on all the breaking news this morning. And there's a lot to talk about, Christiane. But let's talk about North Korea first and what's happening there. What do you expect will happen?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the North Koreans have been talking about this now for several weeks and months. And some are characterizing it as brinkmanship, as one of those periodic times when North Korea puts itself out like this in order to get something back. It does happen at a time when there are very bad relations between North and South Korea and that they're saying that they want to test a satellite, or rather put a satellite into space.

Now, you know that other allies, the U.S. and its allies say that it's just trying to test its long-range missile. In general, there's been very high and heated rhetoric over the last several days with Japan threatening to shoot it down. Now they're all walking that back.

The U.S. says it will not. They don't believe it's targeted or could reach the United States. Japan, it may fly over the northern part of its territory, although it may not. Last time it fell way short of Japan. Japan saying it may shoot down any debris that might fall on its territory.

And South Korea very, you know, upset about this. South Korea now saying that they believe it may happen, weather permitting, in the Saturday night window. But what they're all talking about now is united front of punishment by the U.N. Security Council.

ROBERTS: You've been watching pictures coming in this morning, Christiane, of the meeting at the Palais Rohan in Strasbourg between President Obama and the French president. Just in terms of the atmospherics, what are you seeing there compared to how relations were between the U.S. and France during the administration of President Bush and President Jacques Chirac?

AMANPOUR: Well, completely different obviously. There was a terrible sort of ruptured relations between France and the United States, between the two presidents and between the two peoples all throughout the Iraq war years and beyond. But also this is very different from when I covered candidate Obama's first-ever European trip when he went in July, and he had these huge rapturous crowds in Berlin.

He came to Paris. We were at the Elysee Palace. He had a big press conference there, and then he didn't get out of the car or meet the people. There were quite a lot of people lined up. I remember sort of franticly waving and trying to get him out and sort of show him to these crowds, his adoring crowds. Of course, they rushed on. So this is very different.

He's out there. They can see him close-up and he's very popular. You know, when he was elected, France made a big deal of being amongst the first to congratulate the United States and to say that, you know, we are not anti-American. We look forward to working with the next American president.

I remember even at that press conference back in July, Nicolas Sarkozy took a big, sort of gamble. He basically, you know -- the nomination conventions hadn't even happened yet and he gambled that Obama was going to win, and he told everybody and the French president this man is my pal, more put (ph) he said.

ROBERTS: Yes, my buddy.

And you know, small gestures, too. Yesterday President Obama on his way into number 10 Downing Street, or maybe it was the day before, shook hands with a policeman. We saw the embrace between the queen and Michelle Obama, then shaking hands with people along the fence line there today. There's an outreach that's going on.

AMANPOUR: Yes, there is. Reminds me of when everybody was so surprised back in the '80s when Mikhail Gorbachev came to Washington. You remember?

ROBERTS: Yes, got out of the car.

AMANPOUR: Yes, that was an amazing moment. Obviously, things have developed so much now with much more interaction between politicians and the people. But, you know, the people really like it. They come out, they line up.

I remember back in July, so many of France's minority community came out. And there's a big issue here, because France sort of hopes that Barack Obama's rise as a black politician might have some fall- over effect because they have nothing like that in terms of minority empowerment in France.

COSTELLO: Well, the other thing to keep in mind, too, is while the French people love Barack Obama, they certainly don't love troops in Iraq or in Afghanistan. They're very against that, and they're going to be watching the president to see what he does and what he asks for.

AMANPOUR: Well, and this is going to be important because, of course, the next thing up is NATO and Afghanistan is the big thing. It's true, unfortunately, the rest of Europe is not giving more troops, but the president is going to ask for help in kind, like money, civilian help, or standing up the Afghan troops.

ROBERTS: All right. Looking forward to all of that to be discussed this morning.

Good to have you with us this morning, Christiane, as well.

Other big stories new this morning, new legal troubles for former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. A federal grand jury has indicted him on 16 felony counts. The indictment accuses Blagojevich of a "scheme to deprive the people of Illinois an honest government." He was arrested in December for allegedly trying to sell the Senate seat that was vacated by Barack Obama.

Vermont taking on same-sex marriage. The state house there approved a bill yesterday that would allow gay couples to wed. Republican Governor Jim Douglas is vowing to veto the measure. Nine years ago, Vermont became the first state to approve civil unions.

Madonna's adoption request denied. A judge in Malawi saying no just hours ago. Lots of breaking news to tell you about this morning.

It's 11 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

COSTELLO: And let's head back live to Strasbourg, France. You see the podium set up there now. The president of the United States and the French president meeting now. They were getting a photo-op inside that palace there, and we see some movement. We expect them to come out to the podium and the president to say a few words, and maybe he'll take a few questions.

Of course, President Sarkozy will be speaking first and he will probably introduce the president of the United States. And then we may hear some questions thrown to the two men. We'll just have to wait and see.

ROBERTS: There will be a few more people with trench coats under their arms walking down those steps I think before we see the leaders. This, of course, follows in the wake of the G-20 summit in London over the last couple of days. It's already behind us. But world leaders are hoping that the measures they adopted will be a game changer when it comes to the global economy. President Obama is confident that the summit will help stop the crisis from worsening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The steps that have been taken are critical to preventing us sliding into a depression. They are bolder and more rapid than any international response that we've seen to a financial crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Joining us for more now is Jeffrey Sachs. He's the director of the Earth Institute up at Columbia University. He was also at the G-20 summit. Just got back late last night, and, Jeff, you say that you were surprised by this one?

JEFFREY SACHS, DIRECTOR, EARTH INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: It was a good meeting. They actually did things. They spoke intelligently and did a good job. You had a lot of world leaders there.

COSTELLO: We have to interrupt right now because as you can see... SACHS: OK.

COSTELLO: ... the French president and the president of the United States coming out to speak now to the crowd.

ROBERTS: Stay with us, Jeff.

NICOLAS SARKOZY, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for this delay. Aware of this deduction (ph), I will be very brief.

We reviewed a set number of issues -- Afghanistan, NATO, Iran, Russia, at least (ph). And I think I stand to be corrected by the U.S. president, but I think I can say that there is a total identity of views, convergence of views. In so far as I'm speaking just after the G-20 summit, I would like to say to Barack...

COSTELLO: As you can see, as you can hear, our translation has dropped off. As soon as we hear from President Obama, of course, we'll go back to France and talk about this. But we were hearing the French president saying he was delighted by what happened at the G-20 in Britain.

AMANPOUR: A total convergence of views with President Obama in the meeting that they just had coming out. They've been talking about Afghanistan, NATO, Iran, Russia and the Middle East. He said that he's told the president that he wants to work hand-in-hand with him on all of these issues, and we'll keep listening.

COSTELLO: We'll keep listening when the translation comes back. So when it comes back, we'll go back live to France. But let's talk about just a little bit of what they said. Because you were at the g- 20 summit, you said things were accomplished there. Tell us what. I mean, as far as it applies to American citizens, like what are the people -- I mean how does it affect people out there?

SACHS: I think the problem is that this crisis which we're feeling here is a worldwide crisis. So what we're feeling with rising unemployment and banks being squeezed is being felt in Europe, it's being felt in Asia. It's being felt in...

ROBERTS: Jeff, sorry, every time you speak they come out and say that the president...

SACHS: I already know. OK.

OBAMA: It is thrilling to be part of what is a true celebration. France, which is the United States's oldest ally, our first ally, once again taking an extraordinary leadership role in NATO.

Thanks to the courageous leadership of President Sarkozy. He's courageous on so many fronts, it's hard to keep up. And the energy that he has brought to foreign affairs is something that I think we've all benefited from. So, I'm grateful to his partnership. Had it not been for much of his leadership, I think what emerged from the summit would not have been as significant as it was. On the issues that we discussed, whether it's Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, he is continually showing initiative, imagination, creativity in trying to solve problems that have been there for a very long time. And America is not only grateful for the friendship with France, but I personally am grateful to the friendship that we've developed, one that lasts before either of us -- that actually developed before either of us were even elected to office and has only grown stronger since.

So, this has been a very productive conversation. I look forward to further productive conversations this evening and tomorrow surrounding NATO's mission. And I'm confident that when the United States and France are acting in concert, that the prospects for peace and prosperity around the world are strengthened.

With that, why don't we take a couple questions. You want to go first?

SARKOZY (through translator): I wish to welcome Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Kushner.

QUESTION (through translator): Mr. President, explain to the French the return of France to the military integrated (ph) parts of NATO would be offset by enhanced European defense. Have you got guarantees from President Obama, for instance, on the emergence of a planning, autonomous planning unit?

SARKOZY (through translator): Well, you know, I've always been convinced that France and the United States belong to the same family. You know, we're in Strasbourg here.

I am enamored of history. And I say to the French, never forget what American democracy did for us on the 6th of June next, the two of us will be walking on the Normandy landing beaches in order to pay tribute to those young Americans who died forth and died for us, who our children are the same age as they were.

Now, I don't need this kind of rubble with President Obama. I trust him. I don't need guarantees. I trust him, I trust his word, I trust his intelligence.

He doesn't need me in order to understand that a strong Europe, a strong Europe of defense is the best guarantee for the USA. President Obama's America doesn't want weak allies. It wants strong allies who face up to their responsibilities. And we've been discussing this for a long time. But this hasn't been a negotiation, a bargaining round.

We have a shared vision of the world. We don't want to impose our values on anybody, but we don't want anybody anywhere in the world to prevent us from believing in our principles. And a word to the French -- it's extraordinary. You know, for years now we've been sending soldiers to fight under the NATO flag, and yet we have not had anyone participating in those committees that actually lay down the strategies.

Now I wanted to be -- I've shouldered the responsibility of my choices. NATO has been around for 60 years. And if there is peace and peace has prevailed, it is no coincidence. It's because we have worked together with our allies, and the first and foremost being the United States who know perfectly well that France and other allies, the Europe of defense, will comprise allies and friends, long- standing, strong allies and friends.

OBAMA: Well, let me just respond to your question very quickly. NATO is the most successful alliance in modern history. And the basic premise of NATO was that Europe's security was the United States' security, and vice versa.

That's its central tenet. That is a pillar of American foreign policy that has been unchanging over the last 60 years. It is something that I'm here to affirm and with France's re-integration into the highest command structures of NATO, that principle will continue to be upheld.

I want to echo what President Sarkozy just said. We want strong allies. We would like to see Europe have much more robust defense capabilities. That's not something we discourage. We're not looking to be the patron of Europe. We're looking to be partners with Europe. And the more capable they are defensively, the more we can act in concert on the shared challenges that we face.

And so, you know, one of my messages to our NATO allies is going to be the more capability we see here in Europe, the happier the United States will be, the more effective we will be in coordinating our activities.

QUESTION: You mentioned earlier, President Sarkozy, talking about having strong allies that aren't your responsibilities. You know, President Obama has vowed to close Guantanamo Bay in the next year or so. Would you be willing to take some of the prisoners from there? And President Obama, have you addressed this issue with him?

SARKOZY (through translator): Well, there again. You know, I believe democracy makes it incumbent upon heads of state to speak the truth and to live up to what they say. I am a long-standing friend of the United States, but Guantanamo was not in keeping with U.S. values at least with my perception of what American values are. And I was proud and happy that the United States should have taken the decision that we were hoping for, which is to close down that base.

We all were in Europe. My deeply held belief is that you don't combat terrorists with terrorist methods. You combat them with the methods and the weapons of democracy. Now, having said that, and I have said that, if then the president of the United States says I'm going to close down Guantanamo, but I need my allies to take one in this particular instance is one person into our prison, because this is going to help me, the U.S. president, to shut down this base, if we are consistent, then we say yes. Otherwise, we're inconsistent. We can't condemn the United States behind these camps (ph) and then simply wash our hands of the whole business when they close it down. That's not what being an ally or friend means, let alone standing up for what we believe in. France's word is France's bond. We have conducted a line which is strong, honest and in keeping with democracy, which is what our American friends are doing. Yes, we talked about it. And what I have said in my response is honest and consistent, and that's the way I wish you could see France, honest and consistent.

OBAMA: President Sarkozy has been honest, has been consistent. I made the decision to close Guantanamo because I do not think it makes America safer. In doing so, I've been very clear that we're going to do it carefully. We're going to do it thoughtfully. And in order to do it carefully and thoughtfully, we are going to consult with our allies and in certain cases we're going to need help with detainees that may still pose a risk, but we may not be able to repatriate to their countries of origin.

And so we have had this discussion. We don't have detailed announcements to make. I just want to express my appreciation to President Sarkozy for being good to his word, as he always is.

QUESTION: Question to both presidents. Would you agree to have the Russians join European defense system? And are you expecting the Russians really to exert tough pressures upon Iran to stop the military and nuclear program?

OBAMA: You know, why don't I go first on this?

I had a terrific meeting, a bilateral meeting during the summit with President Medvedev. I think there is a great potential to improve U.S.-Russian relations. I think that it is important for NATO allies to engage Russia and to recognize that they have legitimate interests, in some cases we've got common interests, but we also have some core disagreements.

I think that we should be in a dialogue with them about how we can maintain stability while respecting the autonomy and independence of all countries in Europe -- west, east, central, wherever they are. I was a critic of the Russian invasion of Georgia. I continue to believe that despite the extraordinary efforts of President Sarkozy to broker a cease-fire that we have not seen a stabilization of that situation. And I think that we have to send a very clear message to Russia that we want to work with them, but that we can't go back to the old ways of doing business.

I do believe that the United States and Russia, the Europeans, and the United States all have an interest in preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. And that there should be a mechanism that respects Iran's sovereignty and allows them to develop peaceful nuclear energy, but draws a clear line that we cannot have a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

I brought this up in my conversations with President Medvedev, and it will be an ongoing topic of our bilateral negotiations. We're very excited about working with France and other countries to arrive at a position with respect to Iran that invites them in to responsible membership in the international community, but also makes clear that they've got to act in ways that responsible members - what's expected of them that they meet those standard.

SARKOZY (through translator): I have always said to President Medvedev that the days of the USSR are over, that the Berlin Wall had come down and Russia (INAUDIBLE) that he needed to respect that. But by the same token, with the problems the world faces, we don't want to reinvent the Cold War.

So it was excellent news that the proposal that President Obama to re-engage with President Medvedev, to come up with new agreements between Russia and the United States. We don't need - the last thing we need is a new cold war. We need the world getting together. We need the world to unite and we need Russia to shoulder its responsibilities, because it is a great country, a great power to help us find a solution to the Iranian crisis. So there again, I think I can say that France and the United States are working on the same page.

We are not against Russia. I mean we want to work with anyone who is prepared to work with us very honestly, very openly to have a security zone or area. And I hope very shortly between Europe and Russia a common economic space. Yes.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. As you just said, you try to talk this week with Russia in trying to take nuclear warheads out, try to make it safer around the world. North Korea seems to be going in the other direction. Do you have a message or maybe even a warning to North Korea about what consequences they'll face if they go ahead with this missile test?

To President Sarkozy, you spoke about honesty and consistency and you're about to re-enter NATO as a military partner. I wonder what you'd say to the president's message about bringing troops forward, maybe military training, helping in Afghanistan.

OBAMA: We have made very clear to the North Koreans that their missile launch is provocative, it puts enormous strains on the six- party talks and that they should stop the launch. The response so far from the North Koreans has been not just unhelpful, but has resorted to the sort of language that has led to North Korea's isolation in the international community for a very long time.

It is not just us that has said that North Korea should not launch. Japan, Korea, Russia, China, the other members of the six- party talks have all indicated that this launch should not go forward. And so should North Korea decide to take this action, we will work with all interested parties in the international community to take appropriate steps to let North Korea know that it can't threaten the safety and security of other countries with impunity.

Now, just one last thing I want to say. I think that France has already been a stalwart ally when it comes to Afghanistan, so we discussed the possibilities of all the NATO allies re-engaging in a more effective mission in Afghanistan, which is military, diplomatic, deals with the development needs of both Pakistan and India.

So it's not just a matter of more resources, it is also a matter of more effectively using the resources we have. And on this, I think once again, France and the United States are on the same page. But I just wanted to, before Nicholas answers the question directed at him, I just want to publicly thank and praise France once again for its outstanding leadership when it comes to Afghanistan.

I've not had to drag France kicking and screaming into Afghanistan because France recognizes that having al Qaeda operate safe havens that can be used to launch attacks is a threat not just to the United States but to Europe. In fact, it is probably more likely that Al Qaeda would be able to launch a serious terrorist attack in Europe than in the United States because of proximity. And so this is not an American mission, this is a NATO mission. This is an international mission. France has always understood that. And for that I'm very grateful.

SARKOZY (through translator): We totally endorse and support America's new strategy in Afghanistan. And I want to say to my fellow Frenchmen that when New York was crucified, this could have happened in any other capital city of any democratic state. It wasn't New York that was being targeted, it was democracy that was. Now either we as a democracy stand by our allies in the face of extremists and terrorists and fanatics, and we will win.

And that is what is at stake there. Secondly, this is something we talked about with President Obama, there will be no extra French troops because the decision to step up our troop presence was taken already last year. Thirdly, we are prepared to do more in terms of, for me, the military police, in terms of economic aid in order to train Afghans, and Afghanize Afghanistan. We are not waging a war against Afghanistan. We are helping Afghanistan rebuild.

We don't support any given candidate, we support the right of young Afghans to look to a future, to have a future. And on this as in all other matters, we sat down, we talked, I listened to President Obama, he listened to my problems and he shares and we tried to find solutions. That is exactly how we proceeded. That is how we intend to proceed.

We will continue to work that way, and I would like to say to all Frenchmen and women who are proud and happy that the president of the United States will be standing here in our country and he'll be returning on the 6th of June, and that we will welcome him magnificently in Normandy where so many young men from your country who are buried. The people must regain confidence. We are aware of the difficulties. We know what the difficulties are. We know that we need global responses to respond together to these issues. And it feels really good to be able to work with a U.S. president who wants to change the world and who understands the world does not boil down to simply American frontiers and borders. That is a hell of a good piece of news for 2009.

COSTELLO: President Obama and the French President Nicholas Sarkozy holding a joint press conference in France. And now I guess President Obama will be off to this town hall meeting later this morning. They're running very late where European youth will ask him questions. We have Christiane Amanpour with us, and we have Jeff Sachs from Colombia University. They are going to be putting what was just into perspective but first we're going to take a break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Forty-one minutes now after the hour. We're back with some analysis and perspective on what we just saw there in Strasbourg, France. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is here with us, along with Jeffrey Sachs, chief of the Earth Institute of the Columbia University. Jeff, your thoughts on what we just saw here. It seems Europe has ended one of the headlines out of this...

SACHS: I think what we saw just now is pretty much what we saw inside the G-20 conference yesterday, which was a convergence of attitudes and a complete change of tone from recent years. I think President Obama really does bring a kind of calm and an eagerness to get world leaders together on a shared path. That was true inside the conference hall yesterday with more than 20 world leaders as well. I think he has really this wonderful capacity to help bring people along to more of a shared vision.

COSTELLO: You know, when Sarkozy said, "President Obama's America doesn't want weak allies, he wants strong allies," it certainly appeared that, you know, we're turning a page here.

SACHS: Well, you remember there was once the "old Europe," which was put down by Rumsfeld and against the supposed "new Europe." That's all gone, thankfully. That was a disaster for U.S. foreign policy and to no good for Europe for problem solving. So I think the approach now that's much more inclusive is going to be much more productive.

ROBERTS: This inclusive approach that Jeffery talked about, is it likely to be a productive approach? Because there are a lot of competing interests here, still, particularly on issues of trade.

AMANPOUR: Yes, but on the whole global foreign policy issue and all these subjects that they spoke about just know they didn't talk about which didn't include trade but all the other major foreign policy issues, there has to be cooperation with allies rather than just unilateralism. Europe was saying that throughout the whole election campaign and now they've seen it being delivered by President Obama. He said we're not seeking to be the patrons of Europe but partners of Europe.

So an alliance, you know, that can address all these issues together as opposed to just dancing to the U.S. tune, which is what happened and certainly what was perceived to have happened over the last eight years, they spoke about very specific topics, NATO, France now rejoining the NATO military alliance. That's a big deal. Since 1966 they've been out.

They talked about obviously the pressing issue of North Korea. President Obama saying that North Korea should stop and not launch this missile and saying that it would not enhance, quite the reverse, security and stability in that part of the world. They talked about Iran, about how they wanted - and again, President Obama choosing his words carefully to have Iran a sovereign state, a partner, responsible partner, and yet it must have some kind of mechanism to make sure its nuclear ambitions are kept in check.

Really, I tell you something, the world is actually waiting, the allies, for the United States to make its formal reach-out to Iran so that this can actually start this process. It hasn't happened yet.

COSTELLO: We just want to pause and direct our viewers' attention, of course, to these pictures that we're getting in from France. You see the French president and the first lady in the midst of the crowd waving to the people. I mean, this is really - I mean there is some positive vibes going on. You mentioned the increased cooperation between the two countries.

Afghanistan was also mentioned, Christiane. And the French president said, hey, we'll maybe provide some French military police but certainly no more troops.

AMANPOUR: Well, look, obviously there's a big disappointment amongst the United States, the president, the Secretary of Defense, that they cannot persuade Europe to provide more troops. According to Secretary Gates, he can't persuade Europe that Afghanistan's fight is their fight as well. What happens in Afghanistan will affect them. Now President Sarkozy did indicate that in fact it is all our fight, we need to all be in it together.

Public opinion in Europe is very against sending more troops. However, the allies are going to be pressed particularly - this is a NATO meeting now we're heading into for the next 24 hours - to give some civilian help but the most important thing is developmental. All the U.S. military officials told me that in my trip I've just come back from, they must give the people of Afghanistan an alternative and some kind of viable future. That has to happen and the military won't do it.

COSTELLO: Sarkozy did mention money.

ROBERTS: Yes.

COSTELLO: So you know...

AMANPOUR: And development.

ROBERTS: The French president here giving some impromptu interviews outside of the Palais Rohan in Strasbourg. President Obama is on the way to a sports palace there where is going to be conducting a town hall meeting, one of his favorite forums to be in. This is his first one in Europe. It will be interesting to watch. We'll have that for you coming up in the next few minutes here.

Let's check in with Suzanne Malveaux who is traveling with the president. And pretty clear, Suzanne, from that brief press conference that we saw with the two presidents that turning a page here in U.S.-French relations. MALVEAUX: They certainly hope to do that. I mean, it's interesting to hear the language and to see the body language between these two leaders. One of the things he's going to emphasize in this town hall is what he said before. He said that this U.S. mission in Afghanistan is not a U.S. mission but it is rather a mission for NATO and the rest of the world.

He is also going to talk about with the strong partnerships with those in Europe, comes responsibility, mutual responsibility. Obviously trying very, very hard as both had acknowledged before, not necessarily troops, don't expect more military troops but perhaps money, resources, in Afghanistan to help with the civilian effort.

And John, I should let you know as well, we've heard that they're serving French toast aboard Air Force One this morning. You and I both remember the days under President Bush when it was "Freedom toast," not "French toast." Certainly times have changed, John.

ROBERTS: Well, certainly they weren't serving French toast back in early 2000. We saw the secretary of state departing the Palais Rohan as well. Jeff Sachs, we talked about what happened at the G-20 because this was all about global economic recovery. The president got commitments at $1.1 trillion from the global community to try to boost economic recoveries. Is that anywhere near enough? I mean we spend way more than that just here in the United States.

SACHS: Well, actually it wasn't even the so-called fiscal stimulus type of spending. What that $1 trillion is mainly is the capacity to borrow. What they agreed to do was to raise the IMF, the International Monetary Fund's ability to lend to countries that need to borrow cash.

ROBERTS: But is it enough?

SACHS: Well, nothing was going to be enough to stop the ongoing recession this year. This I think we keep coming back to. We're in a downturn that's going to continue for a while. We don't have the tools to stop that. Today unemployment rate will rise one more time. That's going to continue for months to come. But what they did, I think, was what President Obama said in the news conference just now, they put a floor under the world economy to stop it from falling further and further into collapse. That's very important.

We will reach a bottom but it's going to be with a lot of unemployment. Then we will start to slowly recover. There were no miracles yesterday but there was also no shouting, no great break in the world economy. There was substantive agreement to do actual, practical things in financial regulation and in giving countries the capacity to borrow urgent financing. It didn't stimulate the world economy but it did put a floor, which is extremely important.

When the stock markets rallied yesterday, I do think that was a real sign of relief that there wasn't even added crisis. There was not conflict. There were not divisions. There was actually practical agreement. I thought that...

COSTELLO: So (INAUDIBLE) usually when the stock market reacts these days, people go...

SACHS: Well, you never know. Of course, today the news on unemployment could do one thing or another. That's not really the point. The point was that when you watched, you saw leaders seriously grappling with these issues and doing pragmatic and very useful things. Not enough to make it turn around all of a sudden, because that's not going to happen. The crisis will be with us. But at least to stop it from getting worse and I think that this is very important.

COSTELLO: I hope so.

We're going to take a short break. I guess the president is traveling to this sports arena for this forum that he's going to hold with European youth. That will take about 20 minutes, we think. And of course when he gets there we'll take that live for you. But I'd like to ask our guests to stick around. We're going to be talking much more about this. But first we have to take this quick break. Stay with us.

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ROBERTS: Fifty-three minutes after the hour. We continue to follow the breaking news this morning of the president and the first lady's trip to France. They are in Strasbourg, France. They just met with the President Nicholas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni at the Palais Rohan in Strasbourg. Just a few moments ago, we had a press conference. The two presidents coming up, talking about what appeared to be in some ways a new day in relations between the United States and France after so many years of rancor between President Bush and French President Jacques Chirac.

Talking about the enduring friendship and a new blossoming of that friendship between the two leaders. Also talked about France's new involvement in the military air in NATO. Talking about its commitment in Afghanistan as well. AT least 3,000 troops there now, mostly operating in the northeastern section of the country.

The French president said there will be no new French troops sent to Afghanistan but he was willing to leave open the possibility of sending some police there, possibly some forces that would be involved in training as well. And when asked about Guantanamo Bay, the French president said that he would be willing, if Guantanamo Bay is closed, to take one or more prisoners in France if he were asked by President Obama. So certainly things seem to be going well so far in France and the president now on his way to a sports arena where he is going to hold a town hall meeting in the next few minutes.

COSTELLO: Christiane Amanpour and Jeffrey Sachs are here and they are going to remain here and we're going to talk more about that. But there is more developing news to tell you about this morning.

You know, Madonna wanted to adopt that three-year-old girl in Malawi. Well, a judge there has denied the adoption. Madonna will not get to adopt this little girl because of residency requirements. And the judge also ruled that the child was perfectly safe and happy in the orphanage. Deborah Feyerick has been following the story. She is in Washington this morning to tell us more. Good morning, Deborah.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, Madonna did not get a special waiver as she did when she adopted her first Malawi-born child. The judge pointed to a rule that requires adoptive parents to live in the country for more than a year. The other apparent deal-breaker in all this, the judge believed that the little girl was being well cared for at the orphanage.

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FEYERICK (voice-over): Madonna has been in the African nation of Malawi for almost a week and her presence has created a media circus. Caravaning into court on Monday, she had her sights set on adopting her second Malawian child, four-year-old Mercy. Mercy has been living in an orphanage since her mother died shortly after giving birth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How's it feel to be back in Malawi, Madonna?

MADONNA: Amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us why you're adopting again, Madonna?

MADONNA: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you understand people's reservations about it, seriously?

MADONNA: No. It's none of their business.

FEYERICK: It may not be their business but people everywhere are weighing in.

MAVUTO BAMSI, MALAWI HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION: We are looking at the current scenario and our worry, and this is a strong worry, is that this process is merely amounting to child kidnapping. Or we have a scenario which calls all of us to redefine the boundaries between child adoption and child kidnapping.

FEYERICK: Not all of Malawi is sour on the adoption, though. Radio shows have been flooded with callers supporting Madonna and some Malawian officials support her, too.

AUSTIN MSOWOYA, LAW COMMISSION OF MALAWI: If you project 20 years from now, where will the child be, if the child is left in the orphanage where it is, or if it gets a chance to get an education with Madonna.

FEYERICK: It's not the first time that Madonna has faced adversity over an international adoption. She adopted her son, David Banda, from Malawi in 2006 and came under fire from critics who claimed she used her fame and fortune to bend the rules. The adoption process is never fast. In the U.S., adoptions can take up to two years. That's one reason many Americans wind up looking overseas.

In 2007, Americans adopted more than 17,000 foreign children. Madonna isn't the first celebrity to make headlines through adoption. Angelina Jolie's family includes adopted children from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And Madonna is expected to leave Malawi tomorrow. (INAUDIBLE) appeal the ruling to Malawi's Supreme Court. The country's welfare minister had endorsed this adoption application. Carol.

COSTELLO: We'll see if she goes through with the appeal. Deborah Feyerick, live in Washington. Thank you.

ROBERTS: We're continuing to follow the breaking news this morning. The president's trip to France. We are joined by Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University and Christiane Amanpour, our chief international correspondent. We will break it all down for you and we will take a quick break. We'll be right back. It's 57 1/2 minutes after the hour.

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