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Russian Troops Defy West, Seize Crimea; Kerry Scrambles To Kiev In Emergency Trip; Crisis In Ukraine Rattles Global Markets; New Winter Storm Threatens Millions; Blade Runner's Murder Trial Begins

Aired March 03, 2014 - 10:00   ET

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

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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Good morning and thanks for joining me. I'm Jake Tapper in Washington, D.C. Welcome to a special edition of NEWSROOM.

We begin this hour with Russian troops in Soviet-style aggression. Moscow launching its greatest challenge to the West perhaps since the end of the Cold War. Washington says Russian president, Vladimir Putin, himself a Cold War KGB agent, has mobilized --

hour with Russian troops a Soviet style aggression. Moscow launching its greatest challenge to the west perhaps since the end of the cold war. Washington says Russian President Vladimir Putin himself, a cold war KGB agent has mobilized some 6,000 of his forces. Many have swept across the border and into Crimea, you see it there in orange, and seemingly seized control.

Chilling standoffs now unfold at military bases there. Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender to the invading forces that stand arm and ready just a few feet away. So far, the stalemates have been peaceful, but tensions growing by the hour both at the bases, as you see here, and of course, in the world capitals.

Washington is dispatching Secretary of John Jerry for emergency talks in Ukraine's capital. But the Russians are already telling him to pipe down. In just a moment, we'll check at the White House, but first, the very latest from Ukraine.

CNN's senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, is in the capital, Kiev -- Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jake, thanks very much. Well, absolutely astonishing developments over the course of the past several days. Slowly but surely and without a real shot being fired, the Russian military is essentially taken over that area of Ukraine, Crimea, in the southeast of the country and has established basically what's called operational control over it.

It has cut off the area by road access from the rest of the country. It's troops and pro-Russian militaries have surrounded key installations, airports and administrative buildings. Military bases across Crimea have also been surrounded by Russian military personnel and those pro-Russian militias that I've mentioned earlier.

And so the situation is that they have established control over the entirety of that area. The big question now is, what happens next? Does it stay where it is or does Russia turn its attention to other areas of Eastern Ukraine where there are Russian-speaking majorities and where the Kremlin may also have territorial ambitions? So a lot tension on the ground here in Ukraine at the moment -- Jake.

TAPPER: Matthew Chance, thanks. We'll check in with you in just a few minutes. For President Obama, the escalating stalemate could become the greatest crisis of his presidency some experts say. He has dispatched Secretary of State John Kerry to Kiev in Ukraine for emergency talks with U.S. allies from across Europe.

CNN's newest White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski, joins us now -- Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jake. There has been plenty of tough talk from senior administration officials over the weekend just blasting Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision making process on this saying that he badly miscalculated and as a result, if this continues, will be severely isolated internationally. Some action, tonight, Secretary of State John Kerry, will travel to Ukraine and pledge U.S. support, but politically and financially to the new government there.

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KOSINSKI (voice-over): The secretary of state is preparing for an emergency trip to the center of the crisis. It comes after President Obama and his national security team worked through the weekend on the dangerous escalating situation in Ukraine. The president spoke by phone with leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Poland, and the U.K. after an hour and a half call with Vladimir Putin himself.

Senior administration officials say Obama flatly rejected Putin's reasons for entering Ukraine and taking over Crimea, telling him to back out, but also offering ways forward through dialogue or international monitors to make sure the Russian-speaking people there are protected under Ukraine's new government. Secretary of State John Kerry didn't hold back on Russia's move in a string of TV appearances.

KERRY: It's an incredible act of aggression. It is really a stunning, willful choice by President Putin to invade another country. It's a 19th Century act in the 21st Century.

KOSINSKI: Russia's action comes after Ukraine's president was ousted last month in the wake of a bloody street protest after his rejection of a deal with the European Union that would mean closer ties to the west and away from Russia. Secretary Kerry says at least 10 other nations are prepared along with the U.S. to sanction Russia to go to the hilt he said to isolate it economically just as it craves foreign investment. Now the administration has cancelled trade talks with Russia and with several allies has backed out of meetings leading to the G-8 Summit in Sochi in June.

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KOSINSKI: So for all of the work and warnings coming out of this administration, it now appears that possibly Germany has found that off ramp to the current Russian course that everybody has been looking for. After a call with Putin, Germany announced that he had accepted a proposal to form a contact group, a fact-finding mission and a dialogue regarding Ukraine.

We haven't seen exactly how that will work yet although it is being reported that in a later call she describes speaking to Putin as saying that he was out of touch with reality and in another world -- Jake.

TAPPER: Michelle Kosinski at the White House, thank you.

The crisis is already impacting the global economy, markets are down and the U.S. stocks tumbled more than 100 points shortly after opening this morning. Let's bring in CNN chief business correspondent, Christine Romans in New York -- Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Jake, the last six or eight hours have been so dramatic in world markets. Now, you have the U.S. market following suit. You got the Dow down triple digits. You know, I will tell you, about six hours ago, Dow futures were down closer to 200 points. So they backed off some of that worse fear.

But you can see it is tough there. There is an exchange-traded fund, called RSX -- it's basically a stock that trades your expectations on Russia. The Russian company, down about 7 percent right now. You are seeing global markets really moving.

Asian markets really got hit. European markets got hit. Look, you had Russia's main stock market index fall 13 percent. The Ruble, it is not very often I am talking about the Russian currency. The Ruble at an all-time low against the U.S. dollar and the Euro.

And then the Russian Central Bank in a very surprise move raised interest rates to try to protect its economy. So Jake, very clear here, there is another diplomat at the table and it's the markets in Russia, very displeased with where this is going -- Jake.

TAPPER: Christine Romans, thank you. So what kind of domino effect could this crisis in Ukraine have on the rest of the world? What does it mean for global leaders?

Let's bring in Nicholas Burns. He is a professor at the Harvard Kennedy of Government and a columnist with "The Global Post." He is also the former undersecretary of state.

Ambassador Burns, thanks for joining us. How concerned are you when you hear that Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany described this in conversation with President Obama as in another world, in touch with another reality? What kind of red flags does that raise?

NICHOLAS BURNS, PROFESSOR, HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT: Well, she is a very cautious, conservative person. She is describing him like that. It is ominous. He is, I think, filled with huberous and arrogance. He saw an opening opportunity in Crimea. He took it. He is taking all of Crimea. He is not going to give it back.

I think the big diplomatic question today and this week is, will he stop there and can he be isolated and coerced by a combination of President Obama and the European leadership acting through a diplomatic strategy to convince him not to go any further and completely divide Ukraine into two pieces.

TAPPER: You have called this the most difficult foreign policy test of the Obama presidency. How is it different than say when Russia invaded and took territory that was part of Georgia in 2008?

BURNS: Well, of course, that happened under President Bush's watch in August, 2008. President Obama, of course, when he came into office, and I think quite sensibly, tried to reset with Russia. He tried to see if we could rehabilitate the relationship and he had some success initially.

But President Putin, you know, he is the person that said that the greatest calamity of the 20th Century was the fall of the Soviet Union. He saw a threat and Ukraine even thinking about a trade in investment relationship with the European Union. He tends to see global politics in a zero some fashion.

He wants Ukraine beside Russia and not integrated with Europe. We have seen he is willing to fight for it. President Obama's dilemma is that there is no military option available to the United States. Not in a nuclear age. It would not be wise. It would be catastrophic for the U.S. and NATO to deploy their military. They are not going to do that.

So President Obama is left with a combination of pressure, economic sanctions and diplomatic initiatives to rally the world against President Putin. It is going to be a very long road to try to roll back what President Putin has already accomplished.

TAPPER: And of course, as you know, Mr. Ambassador, one of the things that needs to be done in addition to President Obama and European leaders using their influence diplomatically and economically to put the squeeze on Putin is he needs to be provided with some sort of off ramp. There needs to be some sort of face-saving way that Putin can get out of this crisis.

Do you think what the U.S. has proposed, which is letting individuals from NATO or the organization for security and cooperation in Europe or the U.N. monitor the situation in Ukraine to make sure that those of Russian descent are under no threat? Will that be enough for Putin? Is that enough of an off ramp? BURNS: I don't think it is enough of an off ramp or an exit door for President Putin. It was a clever initiative by President Obama. He apparently raised it in that long 90-minute phone conversation on Saturday with President Putin.

And it makes sense because if Russia is concerned about the fate of ethnic Russians in Ukraine, then Russia has a recourse. The United Nations or the organization of security and cooperation in Europe. They are built for this kind of thing. If American and European monitors could be in eastern and southern Ukraine and the Crimea to reassure the Russian government, that's one way to resolve the problem.

But Putin has elected for Soviet style, use of force, and he seems to be disinterested in President Obama's initiative. I do think that Chancellor Merkel's attempt to form a working group to talk to the Russians is obviously not a bad thing to do, but it's very unlikely to dissuade President Putin from giving up the turf, the territory that he now occupies in Crimea.

TAPPER: That's right. Germany playing the role of a good cop, as it were? Nicholas Burns, thank you so much. We'll have much more on the escalating crisis in Ukraine. But first, Kyra Phillips is in Atlanta following some other top stories including this massive winter storm. Yes, another winter storm that is making life miserable for millions -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILIPPS, CNN ANCHOR: You too, Jake. It rode across the eastern U.S., pretty much a nightmare right now. If you are flying, well, you probably should get comfortable because more than 5,000 flights have already been canceled or delayed. I'll have all the details for you right after this.

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TAPPER: Welcome back to the special edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jake Tapper. Russia and China are known allies. So what are the Chinese saying about what's happening in the Ukraine? CNN chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, is live in New York. Jim, what can you tell us?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you there was a phone call between the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Larvov and the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi. It was interesting to see the read outs of that call because the Russian readout of the call was that the Russians and Chinese were on the same page about Ukraine. That the Chinese expressed support for Russia's moves there.

The Chinese readout of the call was a little more nuanced. They said we had a constructive conversation and we favor a diplomatic solution. It would be interesting to know what actually went on in that call. But one thing is for sure, we have had this international condemnation of Russia's actions in Ukraine.

You have not had condemnation coming from China. China playing it very much on the fence. This is key for a number of issues. China and Russia both have vetoes at the U.N. Security Council. Both of them have used those vetoes in the past to oppose actions by other countries perceived by them to be interference in the domestic affairs of countries where as right now it appears we see Russia doing exactly that.

The other thing is that China, as you know, Jake, we've talked about this before, they have their own territorial land grab in the view of some going on in Asia right now over these disputed islands, the Senkakus. This battle between Japan and China, another one in which the U.S. is very much involved in.

TAPPER: Jim Sciutto, thank you so much.

The situation in Crimea could get more complicated as Russia considers the possibility of annexing Crimea into Russia. Phil Black is in Moscow -- Phil.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, yes, so what we are hearing from the Russian parliament here is that a group of parliamentarians are working on a piece of legislation that would effectively define the process, perhaps streamline the process for when a territory outside Russia wants to be annexed, volunteers to be annexed by the Russian federation.

It talks about a scenario where a nation is collapsing and international law is unable to solve the problem and referendum is held and a majority supports the move. It is just a draft at this stage. It is at the committee process. It is too soon to say precisely how much support it has within the parliament or even from the Kremlin itself.

Because if it is passed by parliament, it must ultimately go to the president for his signature. It shows at the very least there are some members within the political establishment of this country that are pushing for that eventuality. Even though this legislation at this stage does not mention Crimea specifically.

It is clearly desired to be put into effect to kick in if there is a call from Crimea and a desire from the Kremlin to actually drag this territory to within the Russian federation -- Jake.

TAPPER: Phil Black, thank you. Let's turn it over now to Kyra Phillips at CNN Center with some of the day's other top stories -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Jake. We are checking the other top stories for you right now. President Obama set to meet the Israeli prime minister at the White House this afternoon. The president says time is running out to negotiate an Israeli/Palestinian peace agreement. He is calling on Benjamin Netanyahu to seize the moment. Those two leaders are also expected to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

Hundreds of protesters were arrested outside the White House Sunday in a mass demonstration against the Keystone oil pipeline. Some of them even acted out a human oil spill lying on black tarps. Others just zip-tied their hands to the White House fence. If approved, the $5.3 billion pipeline would run from Alberta, Canada, to Alberta, Texas.

Are you fed up with all this brutal weather in the U.S., well, you are definitely not alone. Nearly 100 million or about a third of all Americans are facing deadly snow, ice and freezing temps this morning. Check out this picture from NASA showing just how massive the storm is. States of emergency now issued in New Jersey, Delaware, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Public school systems from Dallas to Philly are closed today.

As for drivers, pretty much a nightmare out there. In Illinois, every major roadway in that state is iced over. If you are flying, well, get comfortable. More than 4,000 flights have already been canceled or delayed. Alexandra Field, live from Philadelphia with the latest there -- Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. Hi there. If you are fed up with winter weather and you live in Philadelphia, you have good reason to be. The city saw another couple of inches of snowfall overnight. That pushes the city's total this winter to more than 5 feet of snow. Relatively speaking, when it comes to this storm, this city was spared compared to city's further south like Washington, D.C.

But the city was preparing for about a half a foot of snow. It looks like we got a lot less. About 2 inches at this point. The decision was made to shut down the schools in this city. That's mostly because of concerns about the conditions out here on the roads. When the storm came in last night, it started with rain. There was concerns about icing out here on the roads.

The other big issue today now that the snow has stopped is really the temperature, which is definitely dropping. Philadelphia could see near record lows tonight. Certainly, winter really coming to the people in Philadelphia a little wallop here, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We are going to keep tracking it. Alexandra, thanks so much.

Still to come, the "Blade Runner" is back in court. The trial for the murder of his girlfriend begins. We have the latest for you next.

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TAPPER: Welcome back to the special edition of CNN'S NEWSROOM. I'm Jake Tapper. We are watching this tense situation in the Ukraine with correspondents spread out throughout the region. The Russian military has essentially taken over Crimea, a strategic peninsula in Southern Ukraine without a single shot being fired, not yet, anyway.

President Obama is sending Secretary of State John Kerry to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine for emergency talks there. More on the crisis in a moment. But first, let's get to some other top stories. Kyra Phillips joins us now from CNN Worldwide headquarters Atlanta.

PHILLIPS: Jake, thanks. The first day of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial has wrapped up after some pretty chilling testimony. The "Blade Runner's" attorneys tried to cast doubt on the neighbor's testimony. She said that she heard blood curdling screams coming from his home.

As you know, Pistorius not guilty to the four charges against him. One charge, a premeditated murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, and then firearms charge associated with her killing. He pleaded not guilty, one charge of premedicated murder of his girlfriend and then firearms charge associated with her killing. Plus, two separate gun indictments from previous incidents. Pistorius' defense team said that last year's shooting was an accident.

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KENNY OLDWADGE, PISTORIUS' DEFENSE TEAM: The fatal gunshot wounds to Reeva, this occurrence was indeed an accident and I mistakenly believed that an intruder or intruders had entered my home and posed an imminent threat to Reeva and me.

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PHILLIPS: CNN's Nick Robertson covering the trial for us in South Africa. Nick, what's the latest?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, if you wanted to get a sense of how this is all going to play out over the next few weeks, this afternoon would have told you everything. Pistorius' defense lawyer, Defense Barry Ruth, ripping into the witness there, Michelle Berger, questioning her time and again, how many shots, how did you hear them? When did you hear the screaming? What did your husband hear? Your husband heard something different?

He accused her of, you are adapting, you are speculating, you are closing the gap, all but telling her that she is getting wrong, trying to inject an element of doubt in her testimony. You know what? She started off as a nervous witness. She started off speaking her native African.

She finished the afternoon speaking in English standing up to that severe cross-examination and that's what the prosecution needs, witnesses with confidence where there can be no doubt in what they are saying. The defense attorney clearly trying to introduce some doubt into what that witness was saying there.

PHILLIPS: We'll keep following the murder trial along with you there. Nic Robertson, thank you so much. Still to come this morning, investors on Wall Street bracing for the worst. Next, why the political crisis in the Ukraine is causing economic turmoil now around the world.

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