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Obama and Putin Meet Briefly; 70th Anniversary of D-Day; Obama Arrives at D-Day Ceremony

Aired June 06, 2014 - 09:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's head back to France to the beaches of Normandy, Sword Beach in particular. World leaders are arriving at Sword Beach one by one, being escorted down a red carpet surrounded by two kids. At the end of that carpet is the French president, Francois Hollande, who will be giving remarks a little later.

Just moments ago, we witnessed Russian president, Vladimir Putin, arriving. You can see he's putting his jacket on. And he gives a very firm handshake in just a little bit. And the interesting part about this is everybody was wondering if President Putin would meet with our own president, Obama. And he did very briefly after lunch. We're going to talk about that in just a bit.

And by the way, President Obama has not arrived at this particular ceremony just yet. We do expect him momentarily.

But everybody's gathered here on the beaches of Normandy to remember the brave soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy 70 years ago today. That battle would have changed the course of World War II and along with it world history.

As I said, at this hour, the French president is at the end of that red carpet there. He's welcoming his counterparts. He's about to speak ahead of a performance that will spotlight D-Day, the victory of allied forces in World War II and the rebuilding of Europe. More than 156,000 troops crossed the English Channel during the invasion in 1944. Many of those men barely out of their teens. The survivors now in their 80s and 90s also in attendance today in what one observer said could be the last D-Day gathering of this side.

Earlier today, President Obama laid a wreath at the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach, of course the final resting place for more than 9,000 U.S. servicemen.

I want to go to Omaha Beach right now and bring in Michelle Kosinski and I want to talk a little bit more sadly about the politics of this event because politics is always with us no matter what, right? And it is important that President Putin at least, you know, talked with President Obama for a few moments. Describe how that meeting took place.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, this is -- I think - I think more is being made out of this than really needs to be. I mean when you look at what this event is, it's a commemoration for these war veterans and the events that happened here in which Russia played a significant role. It's just a strange kind of setup when you have the G-7 just in the last few days. It would have been the G-8 if Russia hadn't been essentially kicked out of it because of events in Ukraine. So all eyes have been on what's going to happen here between these leaders at this leaders' lunch because that's really all the interaction that they were going to have today. We even had body language experts around the world saying that they couldn't wait to see what it would look like even between Presidents Putin and Obama.

But what we saw going into this lunch, and, yes, we were all watching to see what exactly would happen. It almost seemed like a deliberate snub. There was a lot of friendliness and greeting going on. It did almost kind of look like these two presidents were actively avoiding each other. Now we know that a meeting on the sidelines, as it's being described, did take place. But when you think about it, I mean, this is not a place or a time where you can expect real progress to be made. If they said hello and shook hands and had a few words, you have to ask, you know, what really could have come out of that.

I think what has been interesting over the past few days is that Vladimir Putin has had official bilateral meetings with France, England, Germany. He had a dinner with the French president last night. And it's been so chilly between the U.S. and Russia that President Hollande actually had to schedule two separate dinners, one so that he could meet with President Obama alone, and then another so he could meet with President Putin. So I think some of this odd setup, the awkwardness of it all, has really fueled the excitement around what would happen.

So we're waiting from the White House to hear what exactly, if anything, was talked about in that meeting. But President Obama made it clear when he was asked about this directly yesterday, if you do meet, what will you say? He said that he would continue to convey that message that we've been hearing about throughout the Ukraine crisis, that Russia needs to actively deescalate the situation and that their behavior thus far has been unacceptable, Carol.

COSTELLO: The other interesting meeting that took place, I understand that President Putin also met very briefly or brushed by the president elect of Ukraine. Do you know about that?

KOSINSKI: Right. Yes, I'm glad you brought that up because we were sort of surprised and heartened that hear that that had happened. All of this information is just coming out really within the last half hour or so. And there are pool reporters in there kind of telling us in dribs and drabs what's happening. So, yes, they did have a meet and greet. Again, everybody thinks, oh, that's nice, that's good. But as some of the world leaders mentioned yesterday, you know, that's not exactly sitting down at the table and having a real discussion about how to deescalate this crisis. I mean there's continuing violence on the ground and what the west continues to call for is for Russia to truly sit down with the presidents elect of Ukraine and have those productive discussions. Not so much a, hey, hello, nice to see you over lunch, Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, I'm just watching the pictures of Queen Elizabeth walking down the red carpet to greet the French president and admiring her outfit. It's very bright and cheery, I've got to say that.

KOSINSKI: Yes. There's a lot of that going on. And I think - I think everybody looks at this sort of interesting setup of this, too, because you have President Hollande in the middle. On either side of him are two queens, Queen Elizabeth and the queen of Denmark. And then on the sides of them, you have President Obama and President Putin. I mean, very esteemed positions there. But the two seemingly, you know, at least how they're relating to each other, could not be more far apart this day. And I think that's what draws a lot of the interest. I mean it's -- it's very chilly at best, and I guess awkward at the same time, Carol.

COSTELLO: I know. One of the most touching moments I think, and I'm going to bring this up again because I just admire the chutzpah (ph) of this elderly veteran who got up to shake President Obama's hand and talk to him. We don't know what they said but he certainly walked right up to the president like he was just any other guy and began speaking to him. And the president took his hand and led him to the front row. And I was touched by that. Here is the moment, Michelle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please now observe a moment of silence.

COSTELLO: Do I still have you, Michelle?

KOSINSKI: Yes.

COSTELLO: Oh, good. I - you know, I was just going to say that -

KOSINSKI: Are you listening?

COSTELLO: Yes, I was just going to watch the moment and I'm glad we watched it unfold in silence because it was so touching.

KOSINSKI: Got ti.

COSTELLO: There are not many veterans who are still on this earth, but those who are seem to have turned out in force for this event.

KOSINSKI: Yes.

COSTELLO: The other interesting thing is that some of the, you know, post 9/11 veterans also attended this ceremony and sat among these elderly veterans and that was also wonderful to see.

KOSINSKI: Right. And President Obama, he didn't talk about modern day events so much during his speech. I mean this was really to reflect on those moments during this extraordinary moment in history. And then at the very end of his speech, he did mention the post 9/11 veterans, their volunteering for their country in the same spirit, he put it, as did these men 70 years ago.

And, you're right, I think some of the most touching moments weren't about the kind of pomp and circumstance, of course, but looking at the faces of these veterans and listening -- watching them listen to President Obama's words describing that day and kind of some of the details that he's gleaned from veterans over the years from the invasion here. You just wonder what's going through their minds.

You look - you look at them and, yes, they're in advanced years now, but you think some of them were only 16 years old when that happened. And I think it chokes a lot of people up to hear the speech and some of those descriptions that were given and the personal stories, and then you see them stand. When President Obama said, you know, the veterans that were there and are here today, stand up if you can, and they got a big round of applause. And he said, you know, because of your sacrifice, we're free today.

It really reminds us of interviews too that we've done over the years with Normandy veterans and how much in their advanced age that emotion is really on the surface. And they talked about it with us that as they get older, because they never maybe really fully processed it psychologically through their lives, it was so traumatic, that now that they're older, they reflect on it more and it's more painful to them, some of them have told us. And often now they just don't want to talk about it. And you'll sit down for an interview and they know that that's why they're there, but it's so difficult for them to speak of what they saw that day. I mean it's just -- for someone who isn't connected to it, even to watch it and try to imagine, it's really tough to imagine being there, especially at that age, Carol.

COSTELLO: Oh, absolutely.

KOSINSKI: They were boys, 16, 17 years old.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. I know. And such bravery displayed on that day because, you know, they stormed the beaches and they were immediately under fire. And I don't know if you ever saw - like I think that most people's memories of this war, at least the younger generation, come from the movie, "Private Ryan" and you see that opening scene.

KOSINSKI: Yes, definitely.

COSTELLO: And I think that that -- it was such a gripping scene and I do remember that. We're watching Prince Philip and Camila walk down the red carpet to greet the French president before he begins speaking.

I want to go to Ken Davis, our historian.

Tell us, Ken, why such events are important.

KEN DAVIS, HISTORIAN: Well, they're important for the reason that Abraham Lincoln said we should stand on sacred ground and remember that these dead shall not have died in vain. And it's very easy, especially as time goes by and we lose the individual stories, not the dates and the battles and the speeches of what happened 70 years ago, but the stories of the boys, the young men who did give the last full measure of devotion. And this was a moment in history that could have gone the other way. You know, we live in a world where time can change things very quickly.

A few days before D-Day, there had been a test run, a practice run, in which 700 men died because a ship was sunk. If that had happened today and that news had leaked out, maybe the whole thing would have been called off. So, it was a very, very different time and every one of those lives is so precious. And that's what we have to remember today.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. I called Prince Charles Prince Philip. My apologies to all the Prince Charles fans out there. I do.

I want to bring in Jim Sciutto. He's in Washington right now.

Jim, I'm sure you've been to Normandy. I've always wanted to go. Tell us what it's like there.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It's a harrowing place. It's a holy place. It's full of -- when you're there it's hard not to -- whatever you believe, it's just hard not to feel the spirits of that moment 70 years ago. I mean, of course you see it in the gravesites and in those white crosses, those iconic white crosses. But also even on the beach as you walk it, it's peaceful and sort of unnervingly peaceful in light of the violence that took place there 70 years ago.

You mentioned that scene in "Saving Private Ryan," which I think is probably all of our most realistic experience of what it must have felt like that day. And then you contrast it. And, again, it also always seems that it's a blue sky day there at Normandy, particularly for these events. I don't know if I have that right statistically, but it just seems that way. And when I went there, it was the same way, kind of the blue sky, the peace, the beauty, the contrast with the carnage and the violence in that very costly but still important moment in our country's history, in Europe's history.

And I think the other thought today is just the line that can be drawn between that moment 70 years ago and what's happening now. You know, this thought we'd all hope that the specter of war in Europe had been erased by World War II, and not to compare the scale of World War II with what is happening in eastern Ukraine now. But when I was there last week to see violence - and, remember Ukraine is in Europe -- and to see violence and gunfire and armed forces, you know, fighting in the streets of eastern Ukraine today in the year 2014, it's a reminder that these - you know, of the importance of diplomacy, of the importance of negotiation, face-to-face meetings like the ones you have today between President Obama and President Putin, and also these organizations, NATO, the G-7, you know, designed to -- the EU, designed to prevent the repetition of what happened 70 years ago. You know, it brings back memories and we'd like to think this is all behind us, but situations like we're seeing now in Ukraine are a reminder that, you know, there are still challenges, right, still disagreements, still conflict. And, you know, we, of course, want those resolved quickly.

COSTELLO: Yes. I'm just going to interrupt you for just a second because we're watching President Obama now arriving on Sword Beach and he'll probably get out of one of those vehicles to greet the French president. I'm going to go to Ken Davis now.

Just describe - you know, this happens every five to ten years. And I must say, it's a beautiful ceremony and I love the way they're doing it with children. Actually, let's stop and listen.

All right, as we watch President Obama walk down the red carpet, I want to bring back in Christiane Amanpour.

It's a beautiful moment.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It really is. And he had a huge cheer just went up as the president came down. Everywhere he's gone today, huge cheers have gone up. Whether people see him on big screens or in real life. And in -- listen.

Did you see President Putin clapping? He (INAUDIBLE).

COSTELLO: I did. Not enthusiastically, I might add.

AMANPOUR: Well, he still clapped and that's a big deal in the annals of diplomacy. And what it is, is really here is people -- first of all, he's very popular, President Obama overseas. Secondly, the American effort, the supremely heroic effort of the United States under General Eisenhower and President Roosevelt during World War II has been one that the whole continent has thanked America for, for the last 70 years.

And today President Hollande in his speeches was very, very clear in every single speech and in all the literature that we've all been given and all the press kits and all the rest of it, this is a day to thank the United States and pay tribute to all of those who fell on these Normandy beaches, and to thank America and the rest of the allies, but most particularly America for turning around the course of history.

And I'm telling you, President Putin is not getting an incredibly warm welcome here. Whenever his picture goes up, it's not good. People here are really clapping President Obama and he paid enormous tribute to obviously the American forces who gave their lives 70 years ago.

He gave that marvelous speech up at Colleville-sur-Mer, the cemetery where more than 9,000 American graves are represented by those simple, simple white crosses. It's a graveyard, a cemetery that we've seen many, many times over the years. And every single time it's incredibly moving. And there they are together.

Are they?

COSTELLO: No, that's a split screen -- let's be honest -- a split screen.

AMANPOUR: Oh no. It's --

COSTELLO: Really.

AMANPOUR: Yes. I know. But everybody here is reacting. The entire place is reacting to that.

COSTELLO: This is French TV by the way, just so people know where this is coming from. (CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: Well, it's not just French TV, it's the global television. This is the pool. This is what the world is seeing and it's being also put up on that massive screen that is behind me. Those screens that are now gray that look like barricades are, in fact, big video screens.

And you just saw something remarkable and you saw this entire crowd full of veterans, full of guests, full of dignitaries, 19 world leaders, kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers and obviously a healthy dose of the press, there was a huge reaction to that split screen.

Perhaps, Carol, if I might be so bold, part of it is because it's an interesting picture to see on a day like this and a time like this when so clearly these world leaders are at loggerheads. But it's also a very, very important moment because what happened here 70 years ago turned the world around, turned around the course of history, made the beginning of the democratization and the liberation of Europe.

That is something that has been jealously guarded over the last 70 years. Of course, there was the Soviet Union for so many years. Even that for the last 25 years, this continent has been one of freedom and democracy. And now that is threatened -- obviously not in the scale that we saw back then, but at a very, very important moment.

Eastern Ukraine is posing the biggest challenge to the West; the biggest chill has descended between East and West since the Cold War. And that little part of Europe is now very, very significant because many people are saying that it could really be on the abyss of tipping into a full-scale civil war. And this is something that at all costs has to be stopped.

And President Obama has had private meeting today with President Putin, sort of a pull aside after the lunch before they all came here. President Putin has had one-on-ones with the chancellor of Germany, with the president of France, with the prime minister of Great Britain.

He's getting one message, and that is back off, stop supporting the separatists in Ukraine. Stop the flow of fighters and arms into eastern Ukraine. Take this window of opportunity now that Petro Poroshenko has been elected the president of Ukraine. And let's get this back on an equal and level footing and re-enter the lane of international norms and international law.

And that is the message that president Putin and this is a very, very important moment for that message to sink in because President Putin has been reaping the woes of what he has sown. Russia's economy is suffering. Russia's popularity is suffering. Russia is now a risk nation. People don't want to invest there as much as they did before. They are worried. There's huge capital flight. This is a moment for President Putin as these world leaders are telling him to seize this day and to shake Petro Poroshenko's hand. He apparently has and to get over this crisis -- Carol. COSTELLO: I want to bring in our national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto and just talk about that moment one more than. The incredible cheers as the American president arrived on Sword Beach, the not so warm welcome that President Putin received. But when both men were put on the screen together, the audience reacted. Does that matter in the circles of diplomacy, Jim?

SCIUTTO: I don't know if it matters so much in terms of moving the dial. But it does shows where people want this to go -- right. They want a peaceful resolution of this conflict as Christiane said -- a throwback to the Cold War -- the U.S. and the West at loggerheads with Russia and sadly violence resulting from it.

But I wonder too if we see -- have seen here a window opening in Putin's exile, Russia's exile since the start of the crisis. You have had these bilateral meetings with Merkel, between Putin and Merkel, between Putin and Hollande, between Putin and Cameron, the British prime minister, and this casual informal meeting on the margins of the lunch with President Obama.

A unified message from all of them saying back off but at the same time an olive branch offered as the president said yesterday that trust can be rebuilt within a time frame. The President said that a time frame saying we will give this two, three, four weeks to see if Russia backs off and stops supporting, stops sending arms to these fighter in the east.

But it is at least an opening. Remember when the Ukraine crisis was at its worst, Russia was booted out, in effect, of the G-8. It's now G-7 again, at least -- it's a suspension at least for now.

Here you have them there standing within proximity of President Obama. They were at lunch very close together. They shook hands at lunch. They spoke for 10 to 15 minutes we're told. An opening there -- but, you know, patience limited -- that's the other message as well.

And again just reiterating the point how you draw a line between this conflict 70 years ago and what's happening today, nothing on the same scale as what happened during World War II but it is a reminder that peace in Europe is built on agreement and diplomacy. That has broken down in eastern Ukraine. And there's real violence and real fears of a civil war there.

COSTELLO: Understood. Jim Sciutto, Christiane Amanpour, Ken Davis, stand by. We have to take a break. We'll be back with much more in the NEWSROOM.

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COSTELLO: All right. We want to take you back to Normandy just one more time to Sword Beach. You can see the Queen of England shaking hands with veterans. It's really quite the sight because Christiane, of course, Queen Elizabeth is -- well she lived through that time. She knows what it was like.

AMANPOUR: Oh, yes, indeed. Huge cheer went up for her as she came along. And in tribute to her status, she's the last person to arrive. She's the guest of honor here. Her own husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip is over 90 years old. She is of that generation. She was a teenager when those teenage British soldiers and American soldiers and Canadians were all coming over to storm these beaches and retake Europe for freedom.

Of course, Britain, Great Britain fought alone for so many years and resisted alone for so many years before America and the rest of the world came in to help and before they joined in storming the beaches of Normandy.

And everybody is up on their feet. President Obama is giving a huge cheer as well. Everybody is up on their feet. And what the British did in the war, whether it was the blitz, battle of Britain, Normandy, Winston Churchill, his heroic speeches that "we shall never surrender, we shall fight wherever the fight takes us". It really lifted all of Britain, all of the world and propelled this continent eventually to freedom.

I'm stopping a little bit because I think there's some wind. Something's going to happen. There's going to be a whole salute, firing -- ceremonial firing of weapons and there's going to be a huge celebration. This is the set piece of the day where all of the world leaders are here. Of course, they've all been gathered together in several places throughout the day. Although they keep shaking each other's hands and acting like they haven't seen each other all day, it's not quite true. They all had lunch together. They've all been at the various cemeteries. They've all been at various -- different celebrations and commemorations.

But now, there you have Angela Merkel and they're going to get this thing going. That, by the way, is terribly important. Of course, Germany was the enemy -- it is no longer. And of course, Vladimir Putin let's not forget the Soviet forces lost millions and millions on the eastern front during World War II.

COSTELLO: All right. Hopefully the French president will begin speaking soon. And you said there will be a beautiful flyover by the French aeronautic team and I got to take a break though. We'll be right back with much more in the NEWSROOM.

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