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Blinken: Russia Could Quickly Double Troops on Ukraine Border; Bident's Foreign Policy Faces Challenges During His First Year; Biden Administration to Distribute 400 Million Free N95 Masks; Any Moment: Biden Takes Questions to Mark One Year in Office. Aired 3:30-3:45p ET

Aired January 19, 2022 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Russia has plans to increase its military forces on Ukrainian borders as tensions rise between these two countries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: As we meet today, Russia has ratcheted up its threats and amassed nearly a hundred thousand forces on Ukraine's border, which it could double on relatively short order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Secretary Blinken also reaffirmed the United States commitment to give Ukraine more assistance if Russia invades. He's in Ukraine ahead of his meeting with Russia's foreign minister on Friday.

BLACKWELL: Ambassador Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, joins us now. He's also the author of "The World: A Brief Introduction" Mr. Ambassador, welcome back. Let's start here with what we heard from General Jeffrey Clark, former supreme allied commander in Europe, who said that there should be air resources, air resources readied in the region. Do you think it was a mistake or is a mistake for Secretary Blinken to tell the Ukrainians to signal to Russia that there will be no NATO forces, there will be no U.S. forces to back Ukraine if they invade?

RICHARD HAASS, PRESIDENT, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Any threat the United States makes needs to be credible. It also needs to be wise, that if it's called upon, we're prepared to do it. Direct military intervention by the United States or NATO inside the borders of Ukraine, I would say, it violates all of those principles. It's not wise, it won't be enough to change things, but it would be potentially enough to cause a much larger war.

So, there are things we can do to increase the cost of Russian military action against Ukraine. There's obviously sanctions we can impose. There are steps we can take to strengthen NATO. But I think the president was right to take direct military intervention off the board because again, it's neither credible nor wise.

CAMEROTA: So, Richard, is there still a chance for diplomacy at this stage?

HAASS: The short answer is sure. You've got a decision-making system on the Russian side, that's a system of one, and nobody has any idea where he is going to come out. I can't prove it. But my own guess is Mr. Putin is somewhat surprised by the degree of our response he has triggered, a cost that would accrue to Russia.

So, I think he is open a diplomatic outcome. The problem is that he's now invested so much and with this military buildup, he might need more in the way of face saving than the United States is prepared to give. And I think that might be the biggest problem diplomatic or peaceful resolution here.

BLACKWELL: So, we're about 30 minutes out from the president's news conference marking his first year in office. I listened to the CFR podcast, and I know if I hold you to a grade, you're going to tell me incomplete. So, I'll ask you overall what's your assessment of the foreign policy of the Biden administration in his first year?

HAASS: Since you clearly don't like incomplete, how about --

BLACKWELL: That didn't work out, give me more.

HAASS: Look, I think what they're doing on Ukraine is pretty good. I think this mixture of making clear what we won't do, and also what we will do in the way of helping Ukraine. In terms of strengthening NATO, in terms of economic sanctions, in terms of providing a so called off ramp diplomatically, I think that's really good. I can't tell you it will succeed in avoiding a conflict, but I think they've got it right. Much lower marks on Afghanistan, the absence of a trade policy is big on goal, it's truly unfortunate.

Some elements of useful China policy but a clear lack of clarity as to what our end goal is. We'll see what happens with Iran or North Korea. So, it's a mixed situation. It's hard for me to sit here and say one thing, you know, overall, because again, too many things are in play, including the subject we began with today.

[15:35:03]

CAMEROTA: But is that, Richard, just the world in chaos or is the Biden administration, you know, juggling too many plates. I mean, why are so many things feeling in play and chaotic?

HAASS: I prefer the word disarray to chaos.

CAMEROTA: That's right.

HAASS: Look, I think the Biden administration inherited a pretty tough inbox, given what's going on in the world. You have all of these global issues from climate to COVID. We've got the revival of great power rivalry in geopolitical challenges from median powers like Iran or North Korea. You've got all of our domestic challenges which distract us and divide us.

So, I don't think the Biden administration can be blamed for all of that. I think they could be blamed for making some situations worse. I mentioned Afghanistan and trade. If they simply have bad luck to walk into an extraordinarily difficult situation. This is where we are now in history, and there's no simple answers. There's no single answers to what the United States ought to be doing in the world.

BLACKWELL: All right. We'll see how much we hear from the president on Russia in about 30 minutes from now. Ambassador Richard Haass, thank you.

HAASS: Thank you, all.

CAMEROTA: Thanks, Richard.

BLACKWELL: President Biden will release hundreds of millions of free N95 masks, so how long will one of them last for you? We'll find out, next.

And of course, we're watching the White House, the president will hold this news conference very shortly to mark his first year in history, so stay with CNN for our special coverage.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: In hopes of fighting the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the Biden administration is giving out higher quality masks for free. 400 million N95 masks will be released from the national strategic stockpile next week.

CAMEROTA: The University of Massachusetts Biology Professor Erin Bromage joins us now. Great to see you, professor. So, I have a couple of examples right here, this N95 mask. This is the one with ear straps. How long can I wear one of these before having to use a new one?

ERIN BROMAGE, PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, UMASS DARTMOUTH: Yes, in a non- medical environment, you can easily wear them for a week. Sometimes even two weeks. The key is if they get wet, you really want to replace them, and if they get dirty, you want to replace them. And if you start feeling resistance when you're breathing through them, you want to replace them. But if you look after them well, easily a week with a single mask, likely much longer.

BLACKWELL: Great, because I take mine off and put it on the counter when I get home and pick it up when I go out day after day. Let me ask you, some of these mask mandates require children 2 and older to wear them. Should we be putting these N95 masks on 2-year-olds, too?

BROMAGE: No. We'll get some for our family and donate it to teachers who need it in the classroom because they're higher at risk. Masking, especially with N95s should go to people there are higher at risk for their own health, higher at risk because of infection rather than everybody just have one. We can meet our health needs with what we have. These should be targeted where they go, and that means put the mitigation on the group of people that need it the most, those at risk from either their own health or from exposure.

CAMEROTA: On behalf of Victor, and his masks that he's reusing, can these be washed?

BROMAGE: No, some medical masks are not made to be washed. At the beginning of the pandemic when we didn't have many N95s around, hospitals went to great lengths to work out ways to sterilize them, and it took very specialized machinery and things like that to do it. They should absolutely not be washed.

If you want to be able to feel more comfortable about putting it on after wearing it, dash board of a car with sunlight hitting on it and giving heat, those type of things, not microwave, not steaming but just sunlight and time will do the best that you need for this.

BLACKWELL: So, I don't know if you can see me, but I have a full beard and there's guidance on the CDC web site that says that I'm not getting a great, I don't know, seal with my beard and there's some styles of facial hair that are OK for these masks, some that are not. I'm not going to shave. What am I jeopardizing or risking here?

BROMAGE: Yes, so, I have to tell you, in all the workplaces that I've worked where we use masking as part of our prevention techniques, I have only ever seen one person getting infected when we had masks on both people, and that one person was bearded. You really need to get a good seal around here with that, if you're going to get the full benefit of an N95 for you. They still will help, but you're not getting the 95 percent that it could give you -- you're getting something lower.

BLACKWELL: So, my mask is dirty, and I'm not getting a good seal because I have a beard. Great.

CAMEROTA: Yes, great.

BROMAGE: Unfortunately, yes.

CAMEROTA: OK. Should we be on the home tests, swabbing our throats or our noses. Because I know that you recently tweeted that you get a faster, maybe more accurate result from the throat.

BROMAGE: Yes, so this is the problem. I really love what the FDA does to make sure it's rigorous, that the science is right, the way that you use them are right. And all tests at the moment, the rapid antigen tests are approved for nasal swab only for at-home use.

[15:45:00]

That's the safe and that's the approved way to go. When you start swallowing your palette, you start getting into risky situations that someone may jerk quickly, and you stab the throat or may end up with --

CAMEROTA: Professor, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry to interrupt you. We have to get to the president because he'll be speaking soon. Erin Bromage, we'll speak to you soon. Thank you very much. BLACKWELL: Thank you, professor. And CNN's special coverage of President Biden's news conference starts right now on "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper.