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Russia Approves Use Of Military Force In Ukraine

Aired March 01, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. We are watching the breaking news coverage on the situation in Ukraine and the dramatic fallout that's going on. This is a situation that's intense right now. We have just learns that secretary of state John Kerry spoke with Ukraine's acting president, all this, the latest in a series of dramatic events that have been unfolding since Russia approved using military force in Ukraine. We have our correspondents around the world following all of the developments.

Elise Labott is joining us from Washigton. Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow.

Elise, first to you. What's the latest we're hearing on the secretary of state John Kerry, what is he doing?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Meeting with his a advisors, speaking with his advisors, Wolf. He is in Boston right now but we're told that he participated in this White House meeting of principals, the president's top national security advisors via videoconference. He also reached out to the Ukrainian interim president, Turchynov, basically to show U.S. support for Ukraine as it is undergoing, not only what is going on in the Crimea right now with Russian troops entering the area, but also with this political upheaval that's going on for several months, culminating in the parliament ousting of president Viktor Yanukovych.

And so, right now, the U.S. has to show support, even as it answers Russian military moves, it can also show its pressure on Russia by supporting Ukraine. Ukraine's economy is very fragile right now. It needs all this natural gas that is might not be getting from Russian going forward. So by showing its support for the Ukraine, in effect, that's putting pressure on Washington, Wolf.

BLITZER: Elise Labott in Washington. Let's go to Moscow right now. Fred Pleitgen is standing by.

Fred, is standing by what's the latest there?

FREDRICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is that the Russians, we are still waiting to see what if any sort of troop movements they're going to make into Ukraine and in to the Crimea. The latest that we're hearing from the Kremlin is that apparently at this point in time it's not clear what a decision has actually been made to use those forces yet. Prime Minister Medvedev, apparently was on the phone with the leadership in Ukraine. He assured them at this point in time, the Kremlin has not yet decided whether or not to actually deploy the forces that were OK'd today by the parliament here. So certainly at this point, those forces don't seem to be on the way yet.

However, of course, we do know that the Russians do have enough forces in Crimea to control the situation there. They're in control of the two main airports. They are in control many of the government buildings and certainly that is something that's causing a lot of the international anger here which Russia just seems to be brushing off at this point in time.

We keep saying again and again, it seems that the Russians in Crimea is so important that at this point in time, are not listening to what the White House is saying, to what the international community is saying, to what the U.N. is saying as well.

And of course, these tensions, Wolf, are something that been building over the past couple of days. I think one of the things that Christiane said before was very interesting and it think that is something really plays into Russian fears in Ukraine.

You know, I was in eastern part of Ukraine in the past couple of days and in the Crimean. What you hear again and again is that the Russians there or the people of Russian heritage there are very afraid that they might lose special rights, that their language could be marginalizes, that they themselves could be marginalized. And the new government in Ukraine, the interim government nearly hasn't done very much to dispel (ph) those fears.

What you saw in the days after Viktor Yanukovych was ousted was Lennon's statues were being torn down. There were motions to tear down more statues that were put up during the times of the Soviet Union. There was laws that were repealed that gives special status to the Russian language.

So there really hasn't been very much on the part of the interim government to ensure the Russian both in Crimea and east of the country that they are wanted in that country, that it is inclusive. Instead, you been hearing statements to the president and the new prime minister saying that Ukraine has this new European way that it wants to get away from its ties with Russia. And that certainly isn't something that has helped the situation very much and certainly isn't something also that was received very well in Moscow and might have also fuelled the tensions as well, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. Good point, Fred Pleitgen reporting from Moscow.

Let's go to the White House right now. Our senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta is standing by.

Jim, there were important meetings in the west wing of the White House. We saw the president's top national security advisors leaving the west wing of the White House. I anticipated at some point, they are going to be issuing some sort of statement, whether a written statement or someone will be going before the cameras, what are you hearing? JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. And this is eerily similar, it feels very much like when the president was weighing whether to use military force against Syria. There were some tense moments over here at the White House on some weekends as you will recall, Wolf. And these principal meetings do occur from time to time. It does appear that one occurred this afternoon but the White House has to officially confirm that this took place. But as you know, Wolf, at about 1:00 this afternoon, we saw a pretty big group of heavy hitters leaving White House. Defense secretary Chuck Hagel, the director of national intelligence James Clapper, the chairman of the joint chiefs, Martin Dempsey, John Brennan, the director of the CIA, we also saw senior counselor to the president, John Podesta leave a few minutes after that group left earlier in the afternoon. And so, it does appear that senior officials have been meeting with the president here about this situation in Ukraine.

And you know, Wolf, you've been talking about options at the White House has available to it, options that the president has available to him. He talks about cost to Vladimir Putin, cost to Russia if they decide to go ahead and invade Ukraine. They're still trying to ascertain exactly what they're doing in Crimea, but the White House at this point is only willing to say that it's looking at its options, that it's trying to decide what to do if this does get to a situation that's going from bad to worse. We heard from senior administration officials say last night that the U.S. is evaluating whether or not the U.S. will be involved in the G-8 summit that's scheduled for Sochi, later on in June, but as to what might happen after that, we just don't know at this point.

And so, that's what we're waiting to find out at the White House, what the president will say next. And what officials will say in terms of what was going on here at the White House earlier this afternoon. We suspect, we know what was going on, but they haven't confirmed it just yet, Wolf.

BLITZER: I assume they will fairly soon. I know they're in touch with officials over there. They'll make a decision on how to respond to this escalating crisis.

Jim Acosta, thanks very much.

Let's go to Kiev right now, that's the capital of Ukraine. Our Ian Lee is there. He has been following developments. And we're hearing these ominous reports that the Ukrainian military now, Ian, is going to a higher state of alert in the face of these provocations, they call them provocations coming from Moscow?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's exactly right, Wolf. And it's actually the highest level of alert and readiness, they're saying that the morale among the troops is high and that they're ready for any sort of provocation from Moscow.

Although that being said, the prime minister here did talk with his counterpart in Russia to try to ease tensions and the Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev says that Russia hasn't yet decided to use force, further force, in Ukraine, but that is still an option. Also, the chief of Ukraine's Navy also had a conversation with his counterpart to deescalate the tensions around a naval base in the Crimea that is controlled by Ukraine and they said that that has also taken place. But there are high security, they said, arrange critical infrastructure, that being nuclear power plants, as well as communications here in Ukraine and they said that any sort of military intervention would be dealt with swiftly and that would essentially end the relationship between Ukraine and Russia, Wolf.

BLITZER: But Ukraine, really, militarily speaking, let's be blunt about this, Ian, they would be no match to the Russian military, the Russians are so much more powerful.

LEE: Well, that's exactly right. If you look at the airplanes, the size of their tanks, artillery, even their military budgets, it's just a fraction of what Russia has. Russia has right now 150,000 troops on military exercise, that's equivalent to amount of troops that the U.S. had at the height of the war in Iraq. It's definitely a lot larger force than the Ukrainian military. But they said they are ready. And if you look at history, Ukraine was ready to have a guerrilla warfare that was somewhat successful against the Russians; that would be more the likely hood, you're rights, Ukraine just couldn't go blow for blow with Russia.

BLITZER: No. Russia's government has the most powerful militaries in the world. Let's hope, of course, it doesn't come down to any of this, as the U.S. secretary general Ban Ki-Moon's spokesman, as he said, cooler heads hopefully will prevail all around. This is a moment where intense diplomacy will get underway and resolve this situation without violence.

Ian, stand by. We will get back to you. We are going to continue to watch what's going on in Ukraine, the fallout. We'll see what the White House does as far as issuing some sort of statement.

Much more breaking news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: Welcome back to our breaking news coverage of the escalated tensions involving Ukraine and what is going on between Russian and the United States.

Just moments ago, a little while ago, even as the United Nations Security Council was meeting in emergency session, we heard a statement read by a spokesman for the United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIN NESIRKY, SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI-MOON: The secretary general continues to closely follow the seriously and rapidly unfolding events in Ukraine, including developments in Crimea and is gravely concerned about the deterioration of the situation. The secretary general reiterates his call for the full respect for and preservation of the independence, sovereignty and territorial independence of Ukraine. He calls for an immediate restoration of calm and direct dialogue between all concerned o solve the current crisis.

The secretary general will be speaking to President Vladimir Putin of Russia shortly about the situation in Ukraine. As the secretary general is now flying to Europe, he's called for the deputy secretary general to brief the U.N. Security Council on the developments in the Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: That's Martin Nesirky, the spokesman for the U.N. secretary Bank Ki-Moon. Let's get some perspective on what's going on.

Joining us now, Nicholas Burns, he's on the phone. He's a professor of the Harvard's Kennedy school of government, columnist for the "Global Post," a retired U.S. diplomat and ambassador.

And Nick, give us some perspective right now. You have seen a lot of these tense moments internationally over the years. How big of a deal is this?

NICHOLAS BURNS, PROFESSOR, HARVARD'S KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT (via phone): This is a major international event, Wolf. It's a major challenge to European security. And to think of it, one of the great positive developments in the last 30 years was the end of communism in Europe and the creation of a free democratic Europe. That's at risk now because what Putin has done by going into Crimea and threatening to expand his military presence into the eastern part of the Ukraine.

BLITZER: We know that the Ukrainian defense minister, we just reported a little while ago, he says that the Ukrainian military now is on the, quote, "highest state of military readiness." Is it really realistic that there could be military confrontation between Ukrainian forces and invading Russian forces?

BURNS: I don't think either side wants that. And I think what the president and his advisors are trying to figure out is two things, Wolf. Number one, how do you drive up the cost to Putin and how do you limit Putin to what is already done but go no further. That is in the Crimea. And secondly, there is a real imperative now for the United States and Europe to get behind this new government Ukraine. Give him some good advice, which would be restraint, don't take on the Russian military unless they think twice about it. But also give them substantial economic support, stand by them, get the IMF in there to give them short-term economic stability and there ought to be some kind of dramatic signal by the west in support for this government, a trip by the foreign ministers. The major foreign ministers at NATO, the U.S., Canada, Europe to Kiev to stand by them and shining an international spotlight on Putin. It can't just be President Obama. They criticize them. We need to hear from Chancellor Merkel, the other European leader and some of the Asian leaders. So, there's a lot that the White House can do to orchestrate at least an attempt to limit Putin and drive up the cost. BLITZER: We just got a statement from the chairman of the house armed services committee, Buck McKeon. He's saying this, among other things. He's saying Vladimir Putin's imperialist aspirations, he says, are a throwback to the last century. He's violated the freedom of all Ukrainians while betraying the Russian people and their 20-year international commitment to respect the independence and sovereignty in existing borders of the Ukraine. The rhetoric at all sides seems to be escalating in a rather dangerous direction, Nick.

BURNS: Well, then. And I think people are shock for the international system. We thought the cold war was over. We thought it was in the distant historical past. And now it is back, at least some of the co-work (ph) passions are back. And an attempt by the Russian federation essentially to divide a sovereign nation state in the middle of Europe and that simply can't stand.

And so, I think the last thing the United States would want to do would be to provoke any kind of conflict. I think you will see the U.S. pursue a diplomatic path. But diplomacy does mean weakness. We can limit Putin and we can certainly drive up the cost to him, make this painful for him and hopefully preserve the integrity of the rest of Ukraine and help that struggling state move forward towards the presidential elections. All is that is in play, but it does require clear leadership by the United States and Germany and some of the other European countries.

BLITZER: what about this notion and we heard it yesterday, our Jim Acosta reporting quoting U.S. officials that the U.S. may cancel its participation in the G-8 summit meeting in Sochi Russia scheduled for June. I assume the other several of the other G-8 participants will cancel as well. That doesn't sound like it has been a scare Putin very much.

LEE: It is not going to scare Putin. It is not going to turn him around from his president decision. But it is important that we send a signal of no business as usual. And so, it would make sense at all for the western leaders to go to the Sochi G-8 Summit. In fact, it might make sounds to decide to kick Russia out of the G-8.

President Clinton was the one and he had good reason to do this when he worked with president Yeltsin, to bring Ukraine into the G-8 and expand it from G-7 to G-8 in 1994. We gave President Clinton a substantial support to the Russian federation.

But you see Putin acting in a way that is reminiscent but the Soviet leadership of (INAUDIBLE). And so, we certainly cannot have been (INAUDIBLE). I would be surprised if President Obama did not announce that today or in the coming days that he's not going to Sochi. And I think the European allies should support him on that.

BLITZER: That goes with the cold war who would have thought things would be unfolding as quickly as they are right now.

Nicholas Burns of Harvard University. Nick, thanks very much for offering some good perspective on what's going on.

Our own Christiane Amanpour is standing by in London. We will go to her in a moment. We will continue the breaking news coverage.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: The rhetoric clearly escalating right now. We have just heard a very, very powerful statement from the acting prime minister of Ukraine, Arseny Yatsenyuk saying that any military intervention by the Russians in Ukraine would not be legitimate and in violation of all international agreements. The acting prime minister of Ukraine saying Ukraine is, quote, "ready to safeguard and sovereignty and is confident. Russia will not invade Ukrainian territory. Otherwise, such intervention under these circumstances, get this, will be the beginning of a war and the end of any relation with Russia." That's a direct quote from Arseny Yatsenyuk. He is the acting prime minister of Ukraine.

Christiane Amanpour is our chief international correspondent.

A powerful statement from the acting prime minister, Christiane. This situation, rhetorically speaking, and what's happening on the ground clearly getting worse.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, interestingly, he made that statement to the nation. You know, they're burning the midnight oil as you can imagine in Kiev and all over the world in these capitals. Yatsenyuk had just talked to the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and had this conversation in which he says to the nation that Medvedev said they had not been no decision take and on any kind of military incursion of invasion, but kept that possibility on the table.

So clearly, a war of nerves, muscle flexing still going on. Yes, he was very brave, yet Yatsenyuk saying that we will defend ourselves and this could be the beginning of a war. But you only have to look to what happened in Georgia and in Soviet region back in 2008 to know that this is a nonstarter, that for the Ukrainians it would be completely and utterly catastrophic if they were to engage militarily would they vast the superior Russian force. And it could go on for a long, long time.

So clearly, what's necessary right now and presumed the whole world capitals are doing this whether it is the U.N., the U.S. Here in Britain, the government has called the Russian authority, the ambassador. And at NATO, they are also trying to figure out how best to deal with this. But diplomacy is what everybody hopes will persuade the Russians that a, this is against international law, if they put any more troops in to the Crimea. And b, that it would only cause pain to Russia. And there are many levers the west can pull, including trade, commercial and other such ties that could negatively affect Russia, it's currency and it's standing in the world.

BLITZER: A lot of people have tweeted to me, Christiane, and sent me e-mails saying international law is not necessarily something high on the priority list for the Russian president Vladimir Putin. He's reading international law a very different way than most other international legal scholars would be doing. So, given the treaty obligation, Russia has with the Ukraine.