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Wuhan Coronavirus; Trump on Trial; UNICEF: Millions of Children out of School in West Africa; Interview with Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi Foreign Minister, on Soleimani Strike; Officials Gathering Evidence from Kobe Bryant Crash Site; President of European Parliament is Interviewed about Brexit. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired January 28, 2020 - 00:00   ET

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

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause.

Coming up this hour CNN NEWSROOM, fears of the unknown. Health officials warn the Wuhan virus could be more infectious than earlier thought. As it spreads globally, China places travel restrictions on over 60 million people, an unprecedented move which could have serious unintended consequences.

Bolton bombshell?

What bombshell?

Debut of Trump's impeachment defense, his lawyers all but ignored the explosive claims from the former national security adviser but it could convince enough Republican senators to call him to testify.

Bad weather, flying low and no black box. Investigators now piecing together what caused a helicopter to crash, killing a basketball legend and eight others.

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VAUSE: We will start with the Wuhan coronavirus and growing concerns about what scientists do and do not know. China has just confirmed another 24 people have died from the virus, for a total death toll of 106. The number of those infected has jumped to more than 4,500.

Elsewhere around the, world there are nearly 60 confirmed cases. Germany reported its first on Monday with at least five cases in the, U.S. officials are monitoring at least 20 airports to intercept the virus on arrival. But that may be a lot more difficult in light of a new warning from China.

Health officials there claim the virus can spread before patients show any symptoms. U.S. Centers for Disease Control will not confirm that but adds, if true, it presents a major challenge because the virus can incubate for up to 14 days.

That is more than enough time for an infected traveler to fly from China to anywhere on the planet. And given the virus can spread by droplets or contact, it means a carrier could kiss, hug, cough or, sneeze and unknowingly spread this virus around the world exponentially unless it's stopped.

China is taking extreme, measures putting 60 million people on lockdown, roughly the population of Italy or those of Canada and Australia combined. And now a number of foreign governments are moving to evacuate their nationals from Wuhan

For the very, latest David Culver is live and has been following the story since the beginning.

David, Japan is planning an evacuation flight later today.

How many countries are taking these measures and how much assistance have they received from authorities in Beijing?

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know, several countries, you mention Japan is one looking forward to trying to get flights to get their people out of that region and particularly the Hubei province.

Korea is also looking into this. The U.S. has moved forward with plans to evacuate at least 240 Americans from Wuhan and that is supposed to happen later today. That flight will take, off. We know there will be quarantines anywhere from 72 hours to 14 days once they return back into the United States.

The U.K. is looking into this as well, so is France. So several measures being taken and cooperation from Beijing, we're hearing authorities from central government are cooperating, they are assisting in helping these foreign nationals be able to leave through select routes.

With the U.S. departure, they have full capacity on the flight scheduled to leave today. They're looking at other alternatives, trying to get people out over land, perhaps busing them out. But it will take a lot of cooperation from central and local authorities.

And outside of that, you have several other nations and territories reacting by strengthening their borders, so to speak. You look at the number 14 and that may stand out as the number most connected with this virus so far because that's the number of days that they are saying is the maximum amount of time of incubation period, where after that, it's potentially safe to be around someone who was exposed to the virus.

As you point, out there's concern that it will not only spread through droplets but also contact. That has come out from health officials. But we've also heard that even somebody who is not showing symptoms in the first two weeks could be a carrier, could transmit it from themselves to someone else, hence, these strong measures we are seeing -- John.

VAUSE: It was a bit of a mystery when China imposed these lockdowns on major cities.

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VAUSE: But all the information is that tens of millions of people are now under quarantine?

CULVER: Well, it suggests they are not taking any chances, right?

They want to contain it in some way. But it's also not clear how they will be able to do that, so they're doing it by the largest numbers possible, you talk about 60 million people part of these lockdown initiatives.

But if you go to neighboring Hong Kong. Look at what they are doing, as far as preventing anyone who has even visited the Hubei province or the city of Wuhan or is from, there from entering within 14 days, period.

Singapore says any students or staff that have been to Mainland China, not even specifying Hubei province, but anywhere in Mainland China, cannot go into a school and must self quarantine for 14 days as well.

These are extreme measures but it seems to be the protective measures that are not only potentially effective, because they don't even know the effectiveness but perhaps more than anything else, they are reassuring the public as a whole.

One thing we are seeing that is very interesting is some of this ostracizing of people from Wuhan in particular. I'm seeing that on social media, noticing that folks that may be connected to the province or are traveling elsewhere, some 5 million people left before the lockdown went into place, are being mistreated and pushed aside as though they are outcasts and potentially could be transmitting this disease.

It's creating a lot of unease and even social media is pushing that forward, even state media starting to react in some opinion pieces. We are noticing that as. Well.

But we talked to health care workers, who were on the ground, the ones on the front lines, and they are portraying an increasingly worsening situation at some point. They are saying they feel that they are on the front lines of, this and some still reiterating they feel like they have no armor.

VAUSE: David, you've been doing some great work. Thanks for being with us. David Culver is live in Beijing.

Authorities have urged travelers to avoid any journeys to China. One senior U.S. health official is urging China to let outside experts in. Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke earlier to CNN.

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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Obviously, it is not yet well contained. The Chinese are doing some rather dramatic. Things. The idea of shutting down several cities for a total of 35 million people is an unprecedented attempt to have a curtailment of an outbreak.

So I suspect, in fact, I'm fairly certain that as the days go by you will see an even greater and sharper increase in the number of cases, which will be almost certainly accompanied by an increase in the number of deaths.

So we are in an evolving situation there, where we have sustained transmission from person to person. That has to be interrupted or this could get out of control, even more than it has.

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VAUSE: Lawrence Gostin joins me now. He's a professor in global health law at Georgetown University and director of the World Health Organization Center on Public Health and Human Rights.

Professor, thank you for being with us.

LAWRENCE GOSTIN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: My pleasure, thank you, John.

VAUSE: Quarantines on this scale, the millions and millions of people who are under lockdown now, have never been seen before and that means that the unintended consequences could come into play.

So what do you see as potentially the biggest risk they could be facing in China from these huge quarantines?

GOSTIN: This is unprecedented, I could never remember, even in the great flu pandemic of 1918, a quarantine of this monumental scale, affecting 50 million people. I think it's actually too late and also likely to backfire. Already millions of people have left Wuhan for China and internationally, even before the quarantine was put in effect.

But also the first rule of public health, literally, is to gain the trust and cooperation of the population and the public. And here you have armed police, people in hazmat suits, 24-hour surveillance, blockages of all movement and travel. And I think that will drive the epidemic underground, people won't come in for testing and treatment and in any case they will cross-infect one another and then eventually they will leave.

VAUSE: You have infected patients with those uninfected and they're not allowed to go anywhere.

GOSTIN: That's exactly --

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VAUSE: So incubation and, that sort of thing.

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GOSTIN: Think about how you would feel if you were involuntarily confined to a hot contagion zone where you could be affected with a novel coronavirus, it provokes fear, panic, there are food shortages, shortages of essential medicines, clinics are overrun and people are scared.

VAUSE: If the question why did China quarantine more than 50 million, is the answer, because they can?

They have the power, the ability, the military, the Communist government, they can do it and they need to be seen to be doing something.

GOSTIN: I think all of that is true. Certainly this -- a quarantine of 50 million people could never happen anywhere but China, there's no question about that.

I think the Chinese government and Xi Jinping want to portray an image of competence, that they have everything under control and that is why they are doing this. I think they do genuinely believe that it could slow the epidemic down.

It makes rough common sense that if you have a virus that is spreading internationally and is now in four continents, if you wall off the hot zone, that you can do something about it.

But you really can't keep a germ inside of a quarantined border. You also have human rights concerns with surveillance on police and a restless public that is in panic. I really am concerned about the human rights implications as well, as the public health implications.

VAUSE: Well, I guess it's China, where the whole human rights issue is another thing altogether. But thank you so much. It's good to speak with you.

GOSTIN: A pleasure, thank you, John.

VAUSE: On the second day of defending the U.S. president, his legal team spent almost the entire day ignoring stunning new revelations from former national security adviser, John Bolton.

"The New York Times" reports a manuscript of an upcoming book written by Bolton contains allegations the president told him directly, military aid for Ukraine would be on hold until the Ukrainian president announced investigations were underway into Joe Biden, Mr. Trump's political rival.

For almost eight hours, Trump lawyers detailed corruption allegations against Joe and Hunter Biden, defended the president's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani and argued about the constitutional basis or lack thereof, for these articles of impeachment.

But within the final hour, celebrity TV lawyer Alan Dershowitz addressed the elephant not in the room.

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ALAN DERSHOWITZ, TRUMP ATTORNEY: If a president, any president were to have done what "The Times" reported about the contact of the Bolton manuscript, that would not constitute an impeachable offense.

Let me repeat, nothing in the Bolton revelations, even if true, would rise to the level of an abuse of power or an impeachable offense.

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VAUSE: The big question from all, this, will these new revelations be enough to persuade four Republicans to vote for Bolton's testimony?

Jim Acosta reports the White House says it is prepared either way.

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JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: A White House official says the president was watching today's trial coverage and was pleased with his defense team's presentation, that much we know at this point, in terms of the president's reaction.

Meanwhile White House officials have been spending much of the day responding to former national security adviser John Bolton's allegation that the president told him that aid to Ukraine would be on hold until investigations were announced into former Vice President Joe Biden.

The president said earlier today that this allegation was false but the stunning accusation blindsided senior White House officials over here as well as Republican leaders up on Capitol Hill, including the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell.

But one indication of how much of a headache Bolton's allegation has become, listen to, this vice president's chief of staff Marc Short, has released a statement just a short while ago, insisting he has never heard the president connect aid to Ukraine to investigations of the Bidens.

And when you put this quote on screen, this from Marc, Short the vice president's chief of staff, saying, quote, "At no time did I hear him tie the aid to Ukraine to investigations into the Biden family or Burisma."

So, interesting that a top official put out a statement, essentially knocking down this allegation or attempting to knock down this allegation coming from the former national security adviser, John Bolton. The question now is of, course what happens next, as one top Republican official put it to me a short while ago, in three letters.

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ACOSTA: TBD, to be determined. But White House officials say the president's legal team is prepared to deal with Bolton if he ends up testifying.

But sources close to the president's legal team have said for a while now that Mr. Trump reserves the right to assert executive privilege and block John Bolton from testifying. The president has sounded cool to this idea of Bolton testifying but actually Bolton testifying could obviously trigger a massive court fight.

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VAUSE: Thanks to Jim Acosta for that report.

The president's team has one more day for opening arguments followed by 16 hours of questions from both sides followed by four hours of argument on whether to subpoena witnesses and documents. And a vote is expected on witnesses.

Meanwhile, President Trump says he plans to announce his administration's Middle East peace plan on Tuesday. Standing alongside the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an image which might help Netanyahu in the upcoming March election.

He needs to form a majority coalition and gain parliamentary approval for immunity from prosecution on fraud and bribery charges, which he denies. Trump met separately with the man who would like to be the next Israeli prime minister, Benny Gantz.

The meeting was held without the news media being present and Benny Gantz departed with very little attention, raising the, question, is President Trump trying to help Netanyahu politically?

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QUESTION: What about the allegations that this is interference with the internal politics of Israel?

TRUMP: I think what is happening is that one of the reasons Mr. Gantz is here is he's coming too. So, I'm going to speak to him right after this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The U.S. has long played the peace broker between the Israelis in the Palestinians. But the timing of this proposal could provide a diversion for both Mr. Trump and Netanyahu, who faces some serious challenges at home. We have more now from CNN's Oren Liebermann.

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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Since the beginning of Israeli- Palestinian negotiations, the U.S. has been a key, player whether it has been George H.W. Bush during the first meetings in Madrid or Bill Clinton on the lawn of the White House with the landmark Oslo accords.

The United States has often been at the center of the photos and the process. More than just an observer, the White House has, in the past, pressured, cajoled, pushed and urged the sides to come to agreements.

In the last 30 years, every American president has brought together the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in an attempt to end the conflict.

Camp David, the Clinton parameters, Bush's roadmap to peace, negotiations in 2010 and 2013, progress, if any, was incremental.

Now it is president Donald Trump's time to try. He is set to unveil his long-awaited, much-hyped deal of the century this week. Not to the Israelis and Palestinians but to the Israelis and the Israelis.

Palestinians have outright rejected any plan from the Trump administration and any process that does not include them.

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SAEB EREKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: It cannot even be called the deal of the century. It is the fraud and the hoax of the century. This is the most unfair game we've ever witnessed in international relations.

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LIEBERMANN (voice-over): In Washington, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz met Trump on Monday, calling this a historic opportunity.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): We are in the midst of very dramatic diplomatic events but the climax is still ahead of us.

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LIEBERMANN (voice-over): This will be Gantz's first ever meeting with the American president in what he called a personal invitation.

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BENNY GANTZ, BLUE AND WHITE PARTY: The president is a full and committed partner. I wish to say to him from this stage, Israel is forever thankful for the United States' friendship and the United States can always count on Israel's partnership.

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LIEBERMANN (voice-over): But this is not a straightforward trip for Gantz. The timing of the release has led many to believe this is another political gift from the White House and Netanyahu, their loudest international cheerleader. The 70-year-old Israeli leader facing indictment during a tough reelection campaign.

The release of the plan now looks like a lifeline thrown by the White House, one that also distracts from impeachment hearings in Washington. Netanyahu is expected to meet Trump the second time on Tuesday, the exact day when parliament votes to allow immunity hearings for Netanyahu to begin -- Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

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VAUSE: More details are emerging from the helicopter crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant. More ahead on what officials have recovered from the wreckage and what they never will.

And growing violence in West Africa forcing children from school and now a call from the U.N. to protect this rising generation -- when we return.

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VAUSE: A new report from UNICEF says more than 8 million children in West Africa are not in school due to a surge in violence. CNN's David McKenzie has been looking into the reporting, joins us from Johannesburg.

So, David, this is a problem which has been getting worse in recent years. It goes back to 2017. That is when the numbers skyrocketed.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, it really is a situation that should be garnering more headlines. The Sahel in West Africa has seen a crisis unfolding the last two, years as you, say.

Burkina Faso, one of the countries that we see is really an island of stability in that region has seen this escalating violence over time. Look at this graphic, which is striking. Over several years being crease in attacks on civilians, on children, on schools and government installation by extremist groups and local actors just spiking considerably.

That has had the direct effect of pushing, according to UNICEF, millions of children out of school. If you look at the spike in school closures across Burkina Faso and other countries in the region, it is really striking.

I spoke to a bishop in the north of the country who is helping peace efforts. He said that an entire generation could be lost because of these issues that the Burkina Faso government seems to be unable to really target these Islamic militants and others effectively.

The U.S. and the French have military working in that region but they also seem to be unable to stop this skyrocketing violence and regional threat.

VAUSE: Also, what is the situation with the concerns that maybe this could spread be on those areas?

How realistic is that and if that is the case, what could they do?

MCKENZIE: What was striking reporting on the story, just talking to various experts and people over the years that I've traveled to that region and that is the big worry, John, that the spread of this violence will spread further. You had Mali some years ago collapse, half of the country collapse to

Islamic extremists. Niger has also been under pressure. Now Burkina Faso, the north and east of that country, is facing these sustained attacks.

There is sustainable evidence these groups are now operating in the border regions of Burkina Faso, towards the coastal African states. U.S. State Department officials, security analysts, have all said that countries like Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast.

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MCKENZIE: They have all seen an increase in possible linkages to these militant groups.

It's still at an early level. But the groups operating in Burkina Faso see that area as a bridge into the rest of the region and while these attacks have not garnered the attention they have deserved, the regional threat is very, very real. John?

VAUSE: David, thank you. David McKenzie, thank you for joining us live there from Johannesburg.

Now an exclusivity giving as insight into Saudi Arabia and its view of the region. CNN's Nic Robertson sat down with the country's foreign minister, his first TV interview since being appointed to the role. Hear his frank assessment on tensions with Iran and if the U.S. strike which took out the top general from Iran made any difference.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: One of the biggest things happen the region recently was the killing of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian military commander, on Iraqi territory by the United States, your major ally.

Did the United States tell you they were going to kill Qasem Soleimani?

FAISAL BIN FARHAN AL SAUD, SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER: We were not aware of those operations, no.

ROBERTSON: What impact does that have on your relationship with the United States?

Given that this in a way brought the region possible to the brink of war, particularly when Iran retaliated. If U.S. troops had been killed, there could have been a real escalation.

SAUD: The U.S. acted in its own self-defense. They were being attacked in Iraq, they have, according to what we have been, told, significant intelligence that Qasem Soleimani was working on additional attacks on American interests.

We know Qasem Soleimani had a very bloody track record in the region, of multiple attacks organizing the Iranian militia networks and all of the proxy networks with constant acts of terrorism. So we believe that the Americans were acting in their own legitimate self-defense.

We also called, of, course for a de-escalation afterwards and I think we see in the region that relatively, things have calmed down and we will continue to work with all parties to prevent any further escalation going forward.

ROBERTSON: President Trump has said that this strike against Qasem Soleimani has made the region safer.

Is the region safer at the moment?

SAUD: I believe the region is safer with Qasem Soleimani removed from the scene but we all have a responsibility to continue to work to ensure that we prevent any further escalation and that we put the region on track towards more stability, more security, more development, more investment, rather than violence and terrorism and the activities that Iran continues to push for in the region.

ROBERTSON: I know your aspirations for what you want them to do in the message that you have had.

But is there anything tangible you can see that they have changed thus far?

SAUD: We have not seen any real signs of change in behavior at this point. The statements are not positive but we will continue to call on them to behave in a way that can support regional stability.

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VAUSE: And more of Nic Robertson's exclusive interview with the Saudi foreign minister next hour, only, here, CNN NEWSROOM.

We'll take a short break. When we come, back the sports world still dealing with the death of Kobe Bryant. Ahead, how the Lakers and their current superstar, LeBron James, are reacting to this massive tragedy.

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Tributes continue around the world to basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who was killed along with his daughter and seven others Sunday in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles. This visual went up outside his high school in Philadelphia, with flowers, thank-you notes, jerseys and basketballs.

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Meantime, investigators continue to collect evidence from the scene. They've recovered some of the victims' remains, as well as an iPad with flight plans and weather briefings. Investigators are trying to figure out if heavy fog and low visibility contributed to the crash.

The pilot had been granted clearance to fly under what's called special visual flight rules, meaning he could operate in lower than normal visibility. Records show he was certified with commercial flights like this one and had years of experience. With us now from Denver, CNN safety analyst and former FAA safety

inspector, David Soucie. So David, good to have you with us.

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: The data released by officials shows that this chopper was descending at a rate of around 4,000 feet per minute before it slammed into the side of that hill. I'd like you to listen to Jennifer Homendy with the NTSB.

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JENNIFER HOMENDY, U.S. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: There is an impact area on one of the hills, and the -- a piece of the tail is down the hill on the left side up the hill. The fuselage is over on the other side of that hill, and then the main rotor is about 100 yards beyond that.

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VAUSE: So apparently, the wreckage is spread across this area of a couple hundred yards. There was no attempt at a mayday call. So what does this all say to you in terms of, you know, the way the chopper crashed, how it crashed?

SOUCIE: Well, what's unique about it for me, John, and the answers that still don't jive for me, is this rapid descent just before hitting the -- or impacting the ground. Because if it had been what we call CFIT, or controlled flight into terrain, in other words, if it was too foggy for him to see, and he had just flown directly straight into the side of a mountain, then this descent wouldn't be there.

So it indicates to me that there was some kind of malfunction or something changed at that altitude for that aircraft to descend so rapidly down and then hit and contact the ground at that point.

VAUSE: OK. There's always this clip of audio which you've isolated from the air traffic control talking to the pilot of the chopper. It's brief, but listen to this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two echo X-ray, you're still two low level for flight following at this time.

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VAUSE: So specifically, what was that warning regarding? Did the pilot need to climb, or was it an issue to do with tracking? What was the reference there?

SOUCIE: It simply was an issue of tracking. What they're referring to there is that the aircraft had to go below the cloud ceiling, which was at about 1,000 feet. So to go under 1,000 feet, to fly under 1,000 feet, you have to get a special VFR clearance. So you contact the tower and you say, "Yes, I'd like to get this." Now, what we don't hear is why that was transmitted. If the pilot had

requested information about where he was, if there was anything like that, that's when you would typically see that kind of response.

But basically, what he's saying is, you're not showing up on radar just because you are too low. It doesn't mean that he's too low for the safe flight or the aircraft or anything like that. It just says we really can't see you on radar right now, so we can't really help you with location or where to make your turns.

VAUSE: You mentioned the weather. There's been this question about how bad it was. There was dense, heavy fog at the time. That's according to many who were there, including this local resident. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was extremely foggy. If you look at these hills behind me, you couldn't see the top of the hills. There was fog about halfway up to right where the crash site is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So how big a factor is the fog and the weather in this investigation, do you think?

SOUCIE: I think it's going to be, it's going to play a part. I'm sure that the weather played a part in this. What the discussion is going to be around is was it the catalyst event? Was it the one thing that, without -- without which, it would have not crashed?

[00:35:08]

I know I said that kind of awkwardly, but basically, the idea is that did the weather cause the crash, or did the weather compound the problems to a level where the pilot couldn't respond appropriately to another event? So those are the two questions that investigators are trying to answer right now.

VAUSE: The chopper didn't have a black box. Apparently, helicopters are not required to have them. Still, this model has a good safety record. This one in particular, we're told, was well-maintained. The pilot was experienced.

So again, given all that, mix in the weather, the heavy fog, and where do you think they're going with the focus of this investigation?

SOUCIE: Well, to start with, on this helicopter, it's the only helicopter that I'm aware of that's ever been designed specifically for commercial or corporate use. The S-76 was designed for that purpose, with the paramount safety in mind, is to fly corporate executives. It's for that reason that they make -- it's a twin-engine helicopter, four blades. It's one of the safest helicopters, has the best safety record of any helicopter right now. It's -- it's designed for that.

So to look for things that are anomalous, you kind of have to start with that in mind, that this helicopter is a safe helicopter, and something pretty extraordinary has to happen to bring it down.

VAUSE: Yes, I guess we'll find out, maybe some kind of preliminary assessment in the coming days. But the overall investigation will take, what, a year or so, maybe more?

SOUCIE: They typically say that they're going to take a year. They don't have to come out with the report for two years, by regulation, but typically, they do in about a year.

However, there will be information released slowly during the investigation. They'll do other preliminary reports. A secondary report will come out in about 60 to 90 days. But there may or may not be any clues in that report. We may have to wait up to a year to find out, really, what happened.

VAUSE: Yes. It's a tragedy, no matter how long we wait to find out the -- the reason for it. But David, thank you.

SOUCIE: It certainly is.

VAUSE: It's good to see you.

SOUCIE: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: With a key Brexit milestone just days away, we'll talk exclusively with the president of the new Parliament about the biggest challenges ahead when we're back in two minutes.

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VAUSE: Just days away from the next major step on the road to Brexit, with the U.K. formally leaving the European Union on Friday. The two sides have until the end of the year to work out legal and trade matters, but the president of the European Parliament is already raising a number of concerns, and he spoke exclusively with CNN's Nina dos Santos.

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NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've come to the year of a 47-year-long economic partnership. Brexit is set to happen this week, like it or not. Now starts a new relationship. In all honesty, where do you think that relationship will lead?

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DAVID SASSOLI, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT (through translator): Well, we always said, of course, that this is a wound for us. To think of London as far from Brussels, and Rome and Paris, there's certainly pain involved in that, but we have to respect the will of the British citizens and a new chapter in our relations with the U.K.

We know that there are many, many topics and subjects; and the agreement will go into thousands and thousands of pages. And obviously, we all have to have the sufficient time to develop a good agreement. DOS SANTOS: The U.S. secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, will be visiting

the United Kingdom on this very week when Brexit is taking place. The U.S. has made it clear it wants a free-trade agreement with the U.K. Downing Street has made it clear it wants a free-trade agreement with the U.S.

Does the E.U. feel like it's being placed in a beauty contest against these two trading powers for the most advantageous deal for the U.K. as soon as possible?

SASSOLI: No we just think that the U.K. should continue to have traditional positions with both the E.U. and the U.S. We don't have any jealousy problems there. But I think it's in the interests of anybody -- Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. -- to have a strong cooperation between all of us.

DOS SANTOS: This week marks the 75th anniversary of one of the darkest chapters in this region's recent history, and I know that you'll be welcoming survivors of Auschwitz, including some from Italy, here to the European Parliament this week to mark that moment with them.

Personally, do you think that this continent and this bloc will ever see another war?

SASSOLI: The European Union was born from the catastrophe of World War II, and this happened because all the countries who were used to waging war against each other came together in the European Union, and we want to reinforce that. I think we have to be very strict, very severe with regard to all the factors which are compelling our societies to espouse hatred, and anti-Semitism is a European virus.

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VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT with Don Riddell is up next.

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