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U.N. Security Council Holds Tense Meeting Over Ukraine; Boris Johnson Says "Sorry" As Damning Report Of Sue Gray Is Released; Three Days Until Winter Games Amid Rising Global Tensions; Some Olympians Test Positive For COVID-19; Russians React to Potential Conflict with Ukraine; New Sanctions Leveled Against Myanmar as One-Year Anniversary of Coup Approaches. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired February 01, 2022 - 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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[00:00:29]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This hour on CNN, diplomatic clashes over Ukraine at the U.N. Security Council. But on the ground, Russia ramps up the number of combat ready troops ahead of a possible military confrontation.

Failure of leadership and judgment, the damning finding by a civil service investigation into British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and partygate at Downing Street.

And the 2022 Winter Olympics tainted by China's regular human rights tarnished by diplomatic boycotts and impacted by a global pandemic. Not exactly the celebration Beijing was expecting.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Wherever you are around the world, thank you for joining us.

We begin with dialogue discord and a push for diplomacy, amid high- level efforts to ease tensions on Ukraine's border and avoid a Russian invasion. Moscow has now responded in writing to Washington just days after U.S. officials sent a written response to Vladimir Putin security demands. That back and forth expected to be the focus of a phone call Tuesday between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Meantime, the Pentagon reporting Russian forces near Ukraine's border continue to swell, joining more than 100,000 troops already in region.

That military buildup was the focus of a bitter diplomatic brawl at the U.N. Security Council Monday. Ambassadors from the U.S. and Russia both claim they want to avoid confrontation and blamed each other for pushing tensions to the brink.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VASSILY NEBENZYA, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N. (through translator): They themselves are whipping up tensions and rhetoric and are provoking escalations. You are almost calling for this. You want it to happen. You're waiting for it to happen as if you want to make your words become a reality.

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: You have heard from our Russian colleagues that we're calling for this meeting to make you all feel uncomfortable. Imagine how uncomfortable you would be if you had 100,000 troops sitting on your border.

This is not about antics. It's not about rhetoric. It's not about U.S. and Russia. What this is about is the peace and security of one of our member states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Daniel L. Davis is a retired Lieutenant Colonel after 21 years of active service with the U.S. Army. He is currently a senior fellow and military expert at Defense Priorities, a Washington think tank. Welcome back, Colonel. Good to see you.

LT. COL. DANIEL L. DAVIS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Thanks for having me back.

VAUSE: OK, so, we had Russia's ambassador to the U.N. on Monday, towing the Kremlin mind, refusing to even acknowledge that there's this troop buildup on the border area, with Ukraine, saying there is no proof Russia was planning an invasion.

The U.K. ambassador though had this reminder of events leading up to two other Russian invasions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES KARIUKI, U.K. DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: In 2008, Russia told this council that it was sending peacekeepers into Georgia. In reality, it was invading an independent democratic country.

In 2014, Russia denied to this council the presence of its forces in Crimea. In reality, its soldiers were annexing part of an independent Democratic Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, 2022, will it be any different to 2008 and 2014? A different outcome expected this time?

DAVIS: Well, we certainly hope there's a different outcome. But the ambassador is absolutely right to point out those facts, because look, in diplomacy in any other way, you got to pay some attention to what said, but you really have to pay attention to what's happening on the ground.

And without question, this is the largest military buildup in Europe and certainly by Russia, really, since the fall of the USSR. So, you're talking 30 something years?

This is significant. This is bigger than anything that happened before Georgia, anything before the 2014 annexation. They are serious here. And I think we have to take that into consideration that there is a good chance that they're going to act on this if they don't get what they want diplomatically.

VAUSE: OK, so we'll get to the military side of the moment. But was there any benefit from this U.N. Security Council this session? It kind of played out pretty much as everyone expected, right?

DAVIS: Yes, it did and because you know, Russia and China both are also veto wielding members of the UNSC. Everybody knew ahead of time that this was not going to, you know, result in any kind of action because that's not going to happen.

[00:05:00]

DAVIS: I guess both sides really said, hey, we want to do this because we're going to put our position out there and we're going to get our talking points out there.

But I think, really, both sides are probably talking to their domestic audiences as much as the international audience.

VAUSE: OK, well, Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby had an assessment Monday regarding the buildup of Russian ground forces, not just on Ukraine's border, but also neighboring Belarus, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PRESS SECRETARY, PENTAGON: But it's not just infantry, for instance, artillery, it's air defense. He's got a full range of military capabilities available to him, which only continue to increase the number of options available to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And to your point earlier, the economist says this is the biggest concentration of firepower in Europe since the Cold War.

So, at this point, how much of Russia's military is now parked in Belarus and on Ukraine's border? And when it reaches this level of mobilization, is escalation more likely than de-escalation?

DAVIS: Yes, and that's right. That's exactly what I was going to point out. It's much more than what Kirby was talking about there because they also have 140 warships that have -- that have departed their ports for various locations around the world, around -- certainly around the area around the Crimea, but also in other parts in the Pacific and the Atlantic. So, I think that they are -- they're showing that they are deadly serious about this.

And again, this is not just for show, they actually have the forces necessary out there to actually carry through some of this stuff. And it could be pretty significant.

VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) the troop buildup in Belarus, it could mean some serious problems for the Ukrainians. This report from New York Times has this: With much of Ukraine's military might concentrated in the country's East, where a war with Russian backed separatists has raged for eight years. Military analysts and Ukraine's own generals say it'd be difficult for the country to muster the forces necessary to defend its Northern border.

In fact, it's 140-mile fast drive on a newly paved road straight to Kyiv from that border with Belarus, with almost no Ukrainian soldiers in sight, and no Western cavalry coming to save the day, either.

DAVIS: That's right and those are some of the most important things to really point out here. Because nobody is coming to their rescue. And that's openly said, both by NATO leadership, by President Biden and I think even Boris, you know, in the U.K., Boris Johnson. I think that they've all been unequivocal in saying that's not going to come.

Ukraine on their own cannot defend against the Armada that amassed against them. So, that's why it is so important that right now that we need to really just look at things on a cold reality base and acknowledge that we can't stay with the status quo and keep Ukraine for being invaded.

We can't go with these deterrence things that we would like with sanctions or whatever, thinking that's going to stop Putin because it's almost certainly will not. We got to do something different if we want to avoid that outcome.

VAUSE: Yes, we talked about that last couple of days as well, that outcome being -- you know, to avoid this, it has to be some kind of moratorium on Ukraine's entrance into NATO, and then hold those discussions, but that does not seem to be on the table right now.

Lieutenant Colonel, it's great to see you. Thank you, sir.

DAVIS: Always my pleasure. Thanks.

VAUSE: Partygate just goes from bad to worse to terrible for the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A preliminary report by the Civil Service has found a failure of leadership, as blaming -- as a blame rather for at least 16 private gatherings at Number 10 while the rest of the country was on a COVID lockdown and other pandemic restrictions.

Johnson did apologize before Parliament but continues to refuse to resign despite growing national outrage and plummeting approval ratings.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has more now reporting from London.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A day of reckoning at Westminster.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Firstly, I want to say sorry. And I'm sorry for the things we simply didn't get right and also, sorry for the way that this matter has been handled. And it's no use saying that this or that was within the rules and is no use saying that people were working hard.

ABDELAZIZ: And another half apology from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, this time saying sorry for damning initial report into multiple parties at 10 Downing Street, and other government offices.

Like the gathering in this photograph taken in May 2020, showing Johnson and his wife seated at a table with wine and food in the Downing Street garden with multiple other people.

The 12-page document a slimmed down version details an investigation of 16 gatherings that occurred when the country was under strict COVID rules. Johnson desperately trying to show he can fix the mess.

JOHNSON: That is why we are making changes now to the way Downing Street and the Cabinet Office run so that we can get on with the job, a job that I was elected to do, Mr. Speaker, and the job that this government was elected to do.

ABDELAZIZ: The report's initial findings from civil servant Sue Gray published on Monday found that some lockdown gatherings in government represented a serious failure to observe what had been asked of the public.

[00:10:00]

ABDELAZIZ: Gray identified failures of leadership and judgment in Number 10 and the Cabinet Office. The report continues on to say that the British public was let down and that there was too little thought given to what was happening across the country, adding that excessive alcohol consumption is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time.

And this while Britons were under a strict lockdown, often while hundreds of people were dying of COVID-19 on a daily basis.

The second probe by the Met Police into gatherings that took place on eight of the dates is ongoing.

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH LABOR PARTY LEADER: His desperate denials since he was exposed have only made matters worse, rather than come clean. Every step of the way, he's insulted the public's intelligence.

ABDELAZIZ: The opposition leader going hard after his opponent, and even members of his own party and the former Prime Minister turning on Johnson.

THERESA MAY, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: What the grave report does show is that Number 10 Downing Street was not observing the regulations they had imposed on members of the public.

So, either my right honorable friend had not read the rules or didn't understand what they meant and others around him, or they didn't think the rules apply to Number 10. Which was it?

ABDELAZIZ: This could be the beginning of the end for the Prime Minister. His own party must now decide if he is still the man fit to lead the country.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Taking you to Los Angeles now and CNN European Affairs commentator, Dominic Thomas. Welcome back Dominic.

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Hi, good evening, John.

VAUSE: So, here's a little more from the I'm sorry, part of Johnson's appearance in Parliament, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: It isn't enough to say sorry. This is a moment when we must look at ourselves in the mirror and we must learn.

And while the metropolitan police must yet complete their investigation, and that means there are no details of specific events in Sue Gray's report, I, of course, accept Sue Gray's general findings in full, and above all her recommendation that we must learn from these events and act now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: He's sober, that he brushed his hair. There seem to be some contrition, but it was brief. And then he went back onto the front foot talking about Brexit, the achievements of the COVID vaccine rollout. It seemed as if Johnson had seriously misread that room. And in the biggest sense possibly he misread the national mood of the anger all of this has caused.

THOMAS: Yes, absolutely. And this has been consistent over the past two weeks, and he comes across as selfish, as I've said repeatedly as entitled, and seemingly just does not understand the pain and suffering that the people he is supposed to represent have gone through over the past two years in a country.

Well, let's not forget, the death toll of over 150,000 is the largest in the European area. So, he comes across as heartless and insensitive and ultimately has shown no signs at any point in his career, let alone since he's been in Downing Street, that he can learn from his lessons -- from the lessons

And so, to that extent, he comes across as self-interested and not interested in the good of the -- of the general public. And I think ultimately, those are the things for which he will not be forgiven as time moves on.

VAUSE: While many are calling for Johnson to resign, including the leader of the Scottish National Party Ian Blackford, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) IAN BLACKFORD, LEADER OF THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY: They can laugh but the public know -- the public know this is a man they can no longer trust. He has been investigated by the police. He must lead the House, he must now resign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, according to the ministerial code from 2019, it reads, it is of paramount importance that administers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament. Correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity.

Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime Minister.

What happens when the Prime Minister has knowingly misled Parliament because that's what this story is really all about in today, not cakes, not about party it's about misleading Parliament being honest and truthful.

THOMAS: Absolutely. And when Blackford uses those words: no longer truthful, he's essentially calling him -- or falling just short of calling him a liar. So, he's essentially pointing to that ministerial code.

And you're absolutely right, that at the end of the day, the best way to deal with this is the actions of a prime minister should be such that you don't get embroiled in these kinds of problems and then find yourself lying and essentially compounding the errors that you -- that you have made.

The problem here and in many ways this situation has been developing in the lead up to the -- to the Brexit referendum and to the sort of the politics in the U.K. after that sort of divisiveness and lies and the sort of the politics of fear mongering and in many ways, Boris Johnson and others have established a sort of correlation is enabled by a group of people that are not unlike the people that were around during the Trump presidency and since then, in the United States.

[00:15:03]

THOMAS: And until there's a shift in that kind of dynamic in many ways, this behavior, and the sense of entitlement will continue to shape the political spectrum in the U.K. right now. And it's a kind of -- it's a very sad state of affairs.

VAUSE: Just very quickly, how does this scandal play into the crisis of the Ukraine? How does Vladimir Putin benefit from British Prime Minister caught up in this sort of controversy?

THOMAS: Yes, well, we have a distracted Prime Minister, who is essentially trying to distract the British people by once again engaging in fear mongering and getting them to shift their focus to international affairs.

And I think what's important here is that in many ways, what we see happening in the region, in Europe and in global politics in a more general way, is a sort of deferral of what was starting before the Trump era.

And let's not forget that the ways in which President Trump -- former President Trump undermine the E.U. and NATO, and multilateralism in general is precisely what Boris Johnson did, as the architect of Brexit, is distract the E.U., weaken the E.U.

And as he travels to Ukraine on Tuesday, he will travel as the leader embroiled in controversy and crisis, representing ultimately a less important and less powerful United Kingdom now that it is no longer in the European Union and ultimately a leader.

Unlike, say, the German chancellor, the Estonian Prime Minister, or the French President, that have been so closely involved with this, that really lacks credibility on the international stage, and it's the kind of Little Britain that is moving here and stepping into this crisis. And that also is very sad to watch.

VAUSE: Dominic, thank you. Dominic Thomas there in Los Angeles with some good analysis of the situation right now at Number 10. Thank you.

THOMAS: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: We'll take a short break, when we come back, they call it the freedom convoy for the trucker's anti-vaccine protests in Canada now under investigation for alleged harassment and intimidation, as well as displaying symbols of hatred and division.

Also, just days to go before the Beijing Winter Olympics China, racing to contain new cases of the coronavirus. We are live in the capital with the very latest efforts to slow the spread.

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VAUSE: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added a dozen new destinations to the highest risk category for COVID travel. Many of popular tourist destinations, like Mexico, which had spent months in a less severe category to a record high numbers of new infections in January.

Five other countries are in South America. Others are in the Caribbean parts of Europe, plus Singapore and the Philippines.

A group of angry truckers protesting COVID-19 mandates in Ottawa are digging in their heels it seems. The Freedom Convoy arrived over the weekend, desecrating monuments and harassing homeless shelters for free meals.

Some protesters obstructed part of the U.S. Canada border crossing, they oppose a recent mandate which requires truckers entering Canada to be fully vaccinated will face testing and quarantine.

Meantime, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is isolating after he -- two of his children tested positive for COVID-19.

[00:20:08]

VAUSE: On Monday, he lashed out at the trucker protesters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: There is no place in our country for threats, violence, or hatred. So, to those responsible for this behavior, it needs to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: It's expected to continue through the week. Although authorities estimate the financial cost of policing the demonstration more than $800,000 each day.

The British government is looking to scrap a COVID vaccine mandate for frontline health care workers. Previously, NHS workers in England had until April 1st to be vaccinated whilst they could be dismissed or redeployed. Recent government report found as many as 73,000 NHS staff could lose their jobs under this policy.

Well, bank has passed the mandate late last year during a wave of the Delta variant is what the health secretary told parliament on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAJID JAVID, BRITISH HEALTH SECRETARY: While vaccination remains our very best line of defense against COVID-19, I believe that it is no longer proportionate to require vaccination as a condition of deployment through statute.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Right now, more than 70 percent of the U.K.'s population as a whole is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Just three days until the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics and its final preparations are being made. China is hoping the world will focus on the spectacle and not the rocky journey to hosting the Winter Games.

CNN's David Culver breaks down the global tensions surrounding this year's Winter Olympics.

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Beijing counting down to the Winter Games, its second Olympics taking place amidst frigid geopolitical tensions and a raging pandemic.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: This is the largest regularly scheduled peacetime gathering of the world and yet, there can be no gathering.

CULVER: What's likely to be lost in these games is the fact that sporting events are taking place. That's because in the years leading up, China has faced growing outside pressures and domestically its zero COVID policy is proving increasingly difficult to stick to. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beijing!

CULVER: Seven years ago, Beijing won the 2022 Olympic bid, the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Games. But the build-up came as China's relations with the West rapidly fell apart.

Under an increasingly powerful supreme ruler, Xi Jinping, China is on a drastically different path than what the West had hoped, cooperation replaced by confrontation on multiple fronts, from a trade war to threats of an actual war in the South China Sea.

In Hong Kong, Beijing quickly squashed pro-democracy protests and it is now mounting pressure on Taiwan, pushing for the self-governing democracy to fall under Beijing's control.

Then, there are the widespread allegations of human rights abuses. CNN traveled to the far West region of Xinjiang.

It's here the U.S. and other countries accuse China of committing genocide against its ethnic Uighur population. China has repeatedly denied that it's detained and tortured the Muslim minority and called to the accusations politically motivated lies.

But that has not silenced the West. The U.S., U.K., Australia and Canada among the countries protesting through a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

CULVER: The diplomatic boycott coinciding with the case of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. The former Olympian briefly disappeared in November after she accused a retired national leader of pressuring her into sex. It just so happens to be the same official who led Beijing's bid for the 2022 Games. Amid a growing global outcry, Peng hasn't resurfaced in multiple state media reports denying she made the accusation.

Some have accused the International Olympic Committee of being complicit in China's control over Peng's story. As its president, Thomas Bach, tried to reassure the world of Peng's wellbeing after two video calls with her.

The IOC advocating for silent diplomacy to better handle the matter. Bach now in Beijing is expected to meet with Peng soon.

But that meeting happening behind closed doors, inside the so-called Closed Loop. That's the Olympic bubble holding the athletes, the personnel, the incoming media, kept separate from the rest of China. This as the number of new COVID-19 cases continues to rise and spread across the mainland.

China facing a renewed challenge to halt this latest surge. Snap lockdowns, mass testing, contact tracing, all of it stepped up as the country works to show its superiority in containing the virus. State media containing to label the virus as an imported threat. Even dating back to the initial outbreak in Wuhan, a consistent propaganda effort to deflect blame and refocus global attention on what is supposed to be a spectacular and unifying event.

And threatening to cast a darker shadow over these games, growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to meet President Xi on the sidelines of the opening ceremony. These Olympics playing out amidst an increasingly divided world.

[00:25:17]

CULVER: David Culver, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Live now to Beijing, CNN Steven Jiang standing by for us. Bureau Chief over there in Beijing. So, Steven, it seems that as athletes and officials arrived, the number of COVID cases are also going up. And they're rising at a faster pace than we saw for the Summer Games in Tokyo. What's going on here?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, John, this is something not entirely surprising. And the latest figure we are getting from the authorities is on Monday, they tested 24 Olympics personnel, 24 positive cases including 16 athletes and team officials.

Now obviously, officials are still stressing this as a very tiny percentage of all the personnel inside the so called Closed Loop. And there's -- so far there is no large-scale community spread within the bubbles and they're obviously intending to keep it that way. They're also saying their testing and quarantine procedures are very open and transparent.

But what we are starting to see is athletes including high profile ones are starting to really announce that they have tested positive upon arrival in Beijing and among the first ones to to do so is 19- year-old Audrey King and she is a skier from Hong Kong. She had been training in Bosnia actually before flying to Beijing and here's what she said on social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUDREY KING, HONG KONG SKIER: This is really surprising as I caught it in early January, but now I caught it again, which is a bit unfair, but I hope I can quickly test negative because I feel fine. My body feels healthy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIANG: Now, as you heard, she has no symptoms that she is really hoping for quick recovery to compete in her first event which is set on February 9th.

Then, another high-profile athlete who has made a similar announcement on online is American bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor. Now, she is a 37-year-old, a two-time world champion and a three-time Olympic medalist and she said she tested positive in Beijing a few days ago. And she is also now in isolation and like Audrey, she has no symptoms. So, she is really looking forward to compete -- to competing in her event as well once she recovers. Now, she said this is but the latest obstacle in her Olympic journey. But she remains optimistic.

Now, the situation for cases like them is even though they have no symptoms, according to the rules, they have to test negative twice on two consecutive days before they can be discharged and even after that, they will be treated as close contact for seven more days.

So, this is really adding complication not to mention that pressure on those athletes in already a very highly competitive and high-pressure environment but this is probably, you know, again, to be expected in a time of pandemic and with Omicron being so contagious. This is again, something authorities say they are preparing for, John.

VAUGHN: Steven, thank you. Steven Jiang live for us there in Beijing.

Well, still to come, tensions flaring between Russia and the West over Ukraine but in Moscow, life just goes on, living confrontation? That's all chill. That story just ahead.

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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[00:31:00]

One of our top stories this hour, Russia and the United States digging in. Both side clashing over the crisis along the Ukrainian border.

On Monday, Moscow delivered a written response to a U.S. proposal aimed at deterring a Russian invasion of Ukraine. It comes ahead of a phone call set for Tuesday between the U.S. secretary of state and the Russian foreign minister.

Meantime, the U.S. says that Russia continues to build up its military presence on Ukraine's border, where more than 100,000 troops are already deployed.

Tensions also flaring during Monday's U.N. Security Council meeting. A lot of finger pointing between the American and Russian ambassadors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VASILY NEBENZIA, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. (through translator): Since our American colleagues convened us today, let them show us any evidence, apart from bogus narratives that Russia is intending to attack Ukraine.

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Russia further invades Ukraine, none of us will be able to say we didn't see it coming. And the consequences will be horrific.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well, as the Kremlin apparently prepares for war, many in Moscow just don't seem too concerned.

CNN's Nic Robertson reports from the Russian capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): On Russian state media, Ukrainian soldiers train on American anti-tank weapons as a pro-Russian separatist from Donbass in Ukraine begs Moscow to send them weapons. The state seems to be readying the nation for a potential conflict. But are Russians listening?

In Moscow's Gorky Park, state media gets a cold shoulder.

"I try not to watch the news," she says. "I think they're escalating it a lot. I believe very little of what they're showing."

"What the state media are saying, there's hardly any truth in it," he says. "It's just information that plays into someone's hands."

Even so, people are worrying.

"Of course, we are worried," she says. "We hope that everything will settle down. We wish the Ukrainians well. They're our brothers."

"What can we do," she says. "Nothing depends on us. Absolutely nothing. So everything is possible."

Everyone here is waiting for President Putin to make his next move. One thing he doesn't seem to need to worry about is panic at home.

Outside the Kremlin, in Moscow's fabled Red Square, a winter fun fair to cheer Russians through the frigid months straddles the historic military parade ground. Realities of war feel distant.

"I think there will be no war," she says. "Our president, whom we love, will not allow war between our states. We love Ukraine."

"I'm from Ukraine," she says. "I don't think there'll be war. Because we are a friendly country. And Russia and Ukraine are fraternal peoples."

Even the threat of western sanctions, despite Russia's ruble having a rough ride against the dollar recently, is being shrugged off.

"Well, sanctions don't scare us," she says. "Our homeland is so rich. We'll figure it out."

"We ordinary people, we will not be affected," he says. "There will be no sanctions on us."

"Of course, food becomes more expensive," she says. "But I'll just earn more." But optimism here belies the pressures on Putin. If diplomacy fails,

he'll have a heavy lift, prepping Russia's people for the pain that could come their way.

(on camera): All those critical decisions going on just yards from the fun fair, in President Putin's office behind the Kremlin's high red walls.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[00:35:12]

VAUSE: One year later, Myanmar remains in crisis after the army seized power and violently crushed non-violent protests. Coming up, new sanctions now facing the military dictatorship and its supporters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: One year on since the military seized power in Myanmar, and the country is facing a worsening humanitarian crisis, including mass displacement and a shortage of food and aid.

On this anniversary of the overthrow of the democratically-elected government, the U.S., Britain, Canada imposing new sanctions targeting judicial officials, an alleged arms dealer, and a company accused of providing financial support to the military dictatorship.

Human rights group and the U.N. all report ongoing use of torture, as well as mass killings by security forces. But in parts of the country there is armed resistance, leading to growing fear of an all-out civil war.

And, for the past year, many have looked to ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to take the lead in trying to resolve this crisis. But so far, there's been little significant progress, with internal divisions within ASEAN partly to blame.

Under a rotating agreement, Cambodia's prime minister, Hun Sen, has now taken over as chair of ASEAN.

And Kao Kim Hourn is a minister attached to the prime minister of Cambodia. He traveled to Myanmar earlier this month with the Cambodian prime minister, the first visit by a foreign minister since the military takeover.

Minister Kao Kim Hourn, thank you so much for being with us, sir.

KAO KIM HOURN, MINISTER ATTACHED TO PRIME MINISTER OF CAMBODIA: Thank you.

VAUSE: Why is your prime minister so determined to engage with the military leaders of Myanmar and effectively undermine the only decisive move made by ASEAN since the coup, which was to exclude the military dictator from a regional summit back in October, refused to legitimize the military takeover?

HOURN: Well, my prime minister's visit on December the 8th was to really plan a treaty of peace and reconciliation. The goal was to break the impasse that we had already seized since 2021.

And of course, the goal is to make sure that we engage constructively with Myanmar, that has been increasingly isolated. And we have to work with those who are in power to ensure that we can end violence on the ground and to have ceasefire.

And also, is to engage with constructive dialogue with all the parties in certain (ph). And so my prime minister is in Myanmar with that goal in mind, but also he brought with him the ASEAN charter and the five- country consensus, switched (ph) by ASEAN leaders last year.

VAUSE: But the other countries of Asia, in particular Malaysia and Indonesia, have been very critical of that trip, saying it effectively legitimizes the military dictatorship. And what can you show for it? What has been the positive results, you know, from that trip by Hun Sen to Myanmar?

[00:40:11]

HOURN: Yes, in ASEAN, we have this principle of agree to disagree. Of course, there are different opinions.

But the approach of my prime minister was to ensure that we constructively reengage in Myanmar. And there was some accounts on their -- one of the courses that the Myanmar military regime has agreed to extend the ceasefire until the end of this year, 2022.

Second, he has also agreed to welcome the special ASEAN (ph) chair, which is one of -- one of the goals of the five-point consensus. And also, that recently, because my friends (ph) also had discussion with the senior military leader, that he would welcome also the convening of the multi-sectoral body in order to push the delivery of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) assistance to the people in Myanmar.

VAUSE: What I want to get into, though, is that, in the last 12 months, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, 1,503 people have been killed by Myanmar security forces; 1,138 have been arrested. The U.N. says more than 400,000 have been displaced. There are widespread reports of abuse and torture.

Just in the last few weeks, Crisis Group reports soldiers drove an army truck at full speed in a group of peaceful demonstrators and bystanders, killing several people. The military incinerated a group of 11 villagers, including children, some apparently while they were still alive.

On Christmas Eve, regime troops burned 31 people in their vehicles after stopping them at a checkpoint as they tried to flee fighting between the army and the resistance.

You mentioned the special envoy to Myanmar. That took seven months to name that envoy. So the question is -- and that's been pretty much the only significant move taken by ASEAN, apart from, you know, banning General Min from attending that regional summit in October.

So up to this point, how many more people are going to have to die? How many people are going to be thrown in prison? How many homes will be burned to the ground before ASEAN and Hun Sen actually does something constructive here to prevent this from happening?

HOURN: Well, that's why we want to have the upcoming ASEAN prime minister retreat in Cambodia, which is planned for on the 16/17 February. And of course, is to look at this issue urgently.

And after that, of course, to get our special ASEAN chair on the ground to meet the people concerned. And that's why we are pushing very hard to constructively engage Myanmar, because of the urgency. Not only that the violence is still taking place but also the humanitarian dimension, particularly people there have been infected by COVID-19, also.

And that's why, really, my priority have been to engage not only with Myanmar leader but also with the ASEAN leaders to make sure that we have our diplomatic efforts that are pushing the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in reengaging Myanmar in a positive manner.

VAUSE: Very quickly, sir, if I can interrupt. Someone said that Hun Sen has an affinity for General Min, because he himself, Hun Sen, has wiped out all dissent in Cambodia. All political dissent has been wiped out. And that is why he is sort of more inclined to have General Min as part of as ASEAN without any kind of censure.

HOURN: Well, that's not true, sir. Prime Minister Sen has brought peace, stability and development to Cambodia. And we are a multi-party system that we have in Cambodia.

And the way we engage with Myanmar is basically, we have no national interest whatsoever, but it's our role as the ASEAN chair for 2022. It's engaging Myanmar constructively, because Myanmar is an ASEAN family member.

And we have to do it in a way that, in order to end violence on the ground, get ceasefire, and get the special envoy to meet the people and get the dialogue moving. That's the -- the goal of our Cambodian prime minister, is to really make sure that ASEAN will stay engaged with Myanmar and also to ensure that we have the meetings with those people on the ground, not just only the military regime.

VAUSE: OK. Minister Kim Hourn, thank you so much, sir. We appreciate your time there from Phnom Penh. We thank you very much for being with us, sir. Thank you.

HOURN: Thank you.

VAUSE: And thank you for watching CNN. WORLD SPORT starts after the break.

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