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President Macron to Meet with President Putin; Peng Shuai Meets with ICO President; State of Emergency Declared in Ottawa, Canada; U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Passes 900,000; ; Olympics May Affect Timing On Possible Ukraine Invasion; Biden To Meet With New German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired February 07, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching "CNN Newsroom" and I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, world leaders in a full-core diplomatic press this week trying to prevent war in Ukraine. The IOC meets face to face with Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai following concerns over her lengthy disappearance from the public eye.

Plus, an Olympic first on the ice and a shocking crash in the snow for an American favorite.

Also, state of emergency in Ottawa, Canada as an anti-vaccine truck approaches stretches into week two paralyzing the city center.

Good to have you with us. Well, it is a critical moment in the standoff at the Russia/Ukraine border. French President Emmanuel Macron is set to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in about two hours in the latest effort to diffuse tensions.

Later, U.S. President Joe Biden will hold talks with German chancellor Olaf Scholes at the White House. Multiple U.S. officials say Russia has mustered about 70 percent of the troops and equipment it needs for a full-scale invasion. New satellite images show Russian deployments in Belarus.

Both countries are expected to hold joint exercises starting Thursday. But images show Russian camps hundreds of kilometers away from the exercises and close to the Ukrainian border. Here is how the White House describes the threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We believe that there is a very distinct possibility that Vladimir Putin will order an attack on Ukraine. It could take a number of different forms. It could happen as soon as tomorrow or it could take some weeks yet. He has put himself in a position with military deployments to be able to act aggressively against Ukraine at any time now.

If they choose to go down the path of escalation instead, it will come at enormous human cost to Ukrainians, but it will also we believe over time, come at real strategic cost to Vladimir Putin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The eighth U.S. shipment of military aid arrived in Ukraine on Sunday. The embassy called it another 80 plus tons of solidarity. But Ukraine is downplaying the threat. The foreign minister has urged people not to believe in what he called apocalyptic predictions. CNN correspondents are tracking all the developments. Nathan Hodge is standing by in Moscow for us.

But first let's go to Melissa Bell in Kyiv. Good to see you, Melissa. So, as these diplomatic efforts go into overdrive with the French president heading to Ukraine Tuesday, Kyiv is desperately playing down the threat. What is the latest on all of this?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We've been hearing on Sunday from a presidential aide to President Zelensky saying that look, they are preparing for all the possible scenarios that might come, but they don't believe that Russia -- Ukraine that is, don't believe that Russia is taking critical steps towards a full-scale invasion, even though they continue to work with partners preparing for all eventualities.

And that's something we've heard a lot from Ukrainian officials, both on and off the records these last couple of weeks. They are preparing for the worst, but still hoping for the best. And that after all, a military buildup and threat from Russia are something that they have learned to live with over the course of the last two years.

On the other hand, which you've heard over the course of the last few days from American officials briefing both European partners and American lawmakers, has really been the most dire assessment of the threat posed by Russia so far. And particularly when you look at those satellite images of what's happening over the border in Belarus, Rosemary, where those military exercises have already been held, the first phase of them has been held. The second phase is to begin later this week.

And as a result of those joint military exercises, you've seen large movements of Russian troops across the border into Belarus. And according to those satellite images, some going very close, getting very close to the Ukrainian border. Not just fighter jets that have been positioned in airfields at (inaudible) for instance, but (inaudible) as well where there have been not just equipment moved, but also camps, tents -- (inaudible) of tents placed as well very close to the border.

And south of that just 15 kilometers from the Ukrainian border at Yelsk, we've been seeing also a lot of movement, and according to some analysts, some of those elements of the battalion tactical groups have been positioned there.

[02:05:04]

So, that is, of course, of extreme concern and is what is behind those dire assessments from American intelligence. Those satellite images just part of the picture. What we've seen over the course of the weekend as well is large amounts of military hardware and personnel being moved, according to videos that have been posted online, showing large movements towards Belarus.

Now, the United States has warned that they believe that up to 30,000 Russian troops will be in the country over the next few weeks. And, of course, that is of extreme concern. Clearly, no one knows including the United States what is in the mind of Vladimir Putin, whether or not he intends to invade.

But the point about those troops and that hardware is that the Belarus border is at its closest point, just about 100 miles from Kyiv. And it would be extremely easy from that point, should an invasion be launched, to take the Ukrainian capital, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. That's right. And, Nathan, President Macron is about to meet with President Putin just a couple of hours away from that in an effort to find an off ramp. What are the options here and, of course, the expectations?

NATHAN HODGE, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, Rosemary. All eyes here on Moscow ahead of President Macron's visit. We've been watching for instance Russian state television which is a pretty good reliable barometer of (inaudible) thinking just to get a sense of the mood ahead of these -- the meeting between Macron and Putin.

While Russian state TV loves to mock, for instance, you know, yesterday on main news show, they were spending time making fun of U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson. They have been complaining a lot about western coverage of the crisis in Ukraine with the foreign ministry spokesperson -- the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson saying that all of the drama surrounding Ukraine was basically an effort to sort of spoil the Olympics.

The tone about Macron, on the other hand, has been quite respectful, and we know from read-outs from the French side that Putin sees in Macron a quality interlocutor. That's the phrase that's been used. And Macron has had, I believe about three phone calls in the past week or so with Putin, so there's been a flurry of diplomatic activity from his end, a series of conversations.

And he does have a fairly tall order, as Melissa pointed out. There is going to be an effort to see if they can get some kind of headway when it comes to some of the -- restarting the diplomatic talks, both the Normandy -- the Minsk process Normandy format talks, that's one difficult thing that he faces.

The other is to kind of see if he can come away with any kind of concrete evidence of a de-escalation on the Russian side. But the bigger picture question is whether Macron can make any headway on long-standing grievances. And those are about the expansion of NATO in Eastern Europe after the end of the Cold War. The stationary (ph) of things such as missile defense assets in Eastern Europe.

And these grievances are long-standing. Putin has been very open about them. Last week he basically said that he felt that the west, the U.S. and NATO have essentially ignored Russia's security demands. So clearly, the west and Russia remain very, very far apart. So, we'll be looking for any kind of progress forward on all of those fronts today. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes. We'll see if any kind of agreement can be reached at this juncture. Melissa Bell, Nathan Hodge, many thanks to you both. Appreciate it.

Day three of the Winter Olympics is underway in Beijing, but it's not just the Olympians in the spotlight. We now know Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai met with the IOC president in person on Saturday. But the IOC is refusing to comment on whether she was speaking under duress during the meeting.

Peng made headlines last year, of course, after accusing a top Chinese official of sexual assault, then disappearing from public view. Meanwhile, U.S. skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin suffered a devastating blow during her first event, crashing out during Monday's giant slalom run.

And CNN's World Sports Patrick Snell is here in Atlanta with more on day three of the Olympics. But first, let's go to our Steven Jiang who joins us live from Beijing. Good to see you, Steven. So, what more are you learning about these efforts to establish the true well-being of Peng Shuai?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Rosemary, we know Thomas Bach and she had dinner at the Olympic club in Beijing on Saturday. The two talked about their common experiences as athletes with Peng telling Bach she was going to attend several games, events in the coming days, while Bach invited her to visit him in Lausanne, Switzerland, which she said she would after the pandemic is over.

[02:09:51]

A spokesman for the IOC actually said the sexual assault allegations did not come up during their dinner conversations and also saying that it was not up to the IOC to "pass judgment" on whether there should be an investigation into the allegations or whether or not Peng was speaking under duress.

But more interestingly, Peng actually only for the second time since the whole saga began, spoke to a foreign media outlet. This time to a well-respected but highly specialized French publication known for its tennis coverage just a few hours ago.

Now, during that hour-long interview, she again denied making any sexual assault allegations against former Vice Premiere Zhang Gaoli. But she did appear to acknowledge a year's long affair with him, saying her personal problems, her love life problems should not be mixed with sports and politics. She also did seem to acknowledge she wrote the original post, saying she deleted herself after it attracted worldwide attention because "I wanted to."

She also confirmed that she personally wrote back to the head of the Women's Tennis Association which, of course, has suspended all tournaments in China because of concerns over her safety, again insisting she has been safe, well, and free during this whole time. And she said she had never really disappeared.

So, all of this, of course, is happening in a time when the worldwide attention is really not stopping or even subsiding. Now, just a few -- just a short while ago, we actually spoke to one of the French reporters who spoke to Peng and he told us at least on-site during the interview, there was no overt effort to censor her and, but he did say she looked a lot more relaxed, talking about tennis than when she talked about the allegations when she just became more tense and choosing her words a lot more carefully.

Probably not unexpected, but still showing how as long as she is still here in China, there will be a lot of doubts over whether or not she was speaking freely. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes, indeed. And we'll continue to watch this story very closely. And, Patrick, you've been watching the winter Olympics very closely yourself. What have been the main highlights so far?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes. Hi there, Rosemary. Great to see you. Much going on this Monday, nine gold medals up for grabs, but medals apart, I do want to start with the biggest talker so far on this. Day one of the biggest names of these games over there in China, the U.S. superstar Mikaela Shiffrin, name that absolutely does transcend the sport of skiing. No question about that.

Earlier, here's what happened. The defending Olympic champion dramatically crashing out of the women's giant slalom during her very first run, would you believe? The 26-year-old, just to remind our viewers worldwide, Rosemary, she is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She came sliding off her skis coming down the course which is being dubbed the ice river.

Shiffrin not appearing to be hurt after the slip caused her to miss a gate midway down the course afterwards, understandably expressing her disappointment, but vowing to maintain a positive attitude through it all. Shiffrin, the second skier, she was not alone out there to crash out during the first run.

The Italian competitor, Marta Bassino, the fifth racer down, wiping out there. Now, Shiffrin still has a chance to really focus on the four more events remaining for her. On Wednesday, she'll be competing in the slalom, the women's Super G available to her as well. Tuesday, the 15th of February is the women's downhill. And also the women's alpine combined as well.

Now, another name drawing plenty of attention at these games is the Russian Olympic committee figure skater Kamila Valieva, who get this, just 15 years of age. Quite incredible. Today, the teen becoming the first-ever woman to land the quadruple jump at the winter Olympics securing a gold medal for herself and her team this Sunday. SO, a really historic achievement at the gold medal and the team event is the ROC's second gold so far at these games.

Wow, what a moment in winter games history. And a short while ago, we can tell you the Swiss competitor, Beat Feuz winning gold. This was in the men's downhill skiing final, finishing with a time of 1:42:69.

And how about this for an achievement. The 41-year-old French skier Johan Clarey winning silver. Clarey becoming the oldest medalist ever in the sport of alpine skiing. Austria's Matthias Mayer, the 2014 gold medalist at the Sochi Games taking home the bronze.

And we're also learning on this busy, busy Monday so far, Rosemary, the Canadian snowboarder, Max Parrot, this is another incredible story, winning gold in the men's slopestyle final. Really great for Parrot and here's why. He missed the entire 2018-19 season after undergoing treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosed in December of 2018.

Parrot completing his chemotherapy in late June of 2019 and returning to action. Really remarkable achievement for him. The Chinese snowboarder Su Yiming, well he took home silver, just 17 years of age.

[02:14:59]

And that victory giving the host country its first-ever Olympic medal in snowboarding. But great story lines everywhere you look so far this Monday. Really compelling ones. We're following it all, every step of the way.

CHURCH: Absolutely. And some incredible images there. Fun to look at. Patrick Snell, Steven Jiang, many thanks to you both. Appreciate it.

And coming up here on "CNN Newsroom," a state of emergency in Ottawa, Canada after protests over a vaccine mandate and COVID restriction stretch into a second weekend. We will have the latest just ahead.

Plus, more than 900,000 are dead in the U.S. from COVID-19, but some Americans say they're ready to accept that the coronavirus is here to stay and get on with their lives. That's ahead.

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CHURCH: Anger over COVID measures is spreading across Canada as demonstrations spill into a new week. The mayor of Ottawa issuing a state of emergency to get a handle on protests he's called out of control. CNN's Paula Newton has more.

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The protests here against the COVID- 19 measures started in Ottawa, but have spread right across the country. Sunday was much quieter than Saturday, but you still had hundreds of tractor trailers and other trucks and thousands of people spread out from one side of the country to the other, demanding an end to those COVID-19 restrictions.

Now, this started out as a truckers protest. They were against vaccine mandates to actually cross the border into the United States, but this has turned into so much more. People saying that they are fed up with the mask mandates, the vaccine mandates, the lockdowns, the health restrictions. They just want it to end.

It is a minority, but it is a very vocal minority. And here in Ottawa, it has really taken this city to a point where the mayor and police chief are worried that they just can't handle it any more. The city of Ottawa has declared a state of emergency, but I really want you to listen to the police chief here when he spoke this weekend about the city. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER SLOLY, OTTAWA POLICE SERVICE: The oath of office that I and my officers swore were never intended to deal with a city under siege, a threat to our democracy, a nationwide insurrection driven by madness. There is no concrete plan for such a scenario as is described.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: They are really categorizing this as an occupation now. And although Ottawa police say they will begin enforcement (inaudible) police forces and leaders right across the country are keeping a close eye on what happens in this city and seeing if, in fact, protesters do decide to finally leave or if this will continue to spread, a contagion really, right across the country. Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

CHURCH: About 3.5 million people are now under a strict lockdown in southwestern China. That move coming after officials in Baise detected dozens of preliminary positive COVID cases during mass testing on Sunday. Nearly all businesses are closed and public transport in the city is shut down until further notice. People are only allowed to leave their homes to get groceries or take a COVID test.

And Australia is moving to welcome back visitors starting February 21st. Fully vaccinated travelers from around the world will be allowed into the country. Australia has been closed to most travelers for about two years, and with 80 percent of eligible adults in the country fully vaccinated, Australia is hoping the relaxed border controls will bring a much needed boost to the tourism industry.

Well, members of the U.S. Congress will hold a moment of silence Monday for the more than 900,000 Americans who have died from the coronavirus. COVID-related deaths have been steadily rising in the U.S. over the last seven days while cases have continued to fall. Sixty-four percent of all U.S. citizens are now fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. But despite that, more than one in five people have been infected with COVID-19 in the United States.

Well for more on this, I am joined now about Dr. Scott Miscovich, president and CEO of Premiere Medical Group USA and also a U.S. consultant for COVID-19 testing. Thank you, doctor, for talking with us. SCOTT MISCOVICH, PRESIDENT & CEO, PREMIER MEDICAL GROUP USA: Sure,

Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, it has to be said, that number -- I mean, it is truly shocking, 900,000 Americans dead from COVID-19 since the start of this pandemic. And while cases are trending down in many parts of the country along with hospitalizations, deaths are still averaging more than 2,000 a day, and yet a recent Monmouth poll shows 70 percent of Americans think it's time to accept COVID is here to stay and get on with their lives. What would you say to those people?

MISCOVICH: Wow. Rosemary, we're going to pass a million and we're going to pass a million, you know, within the next couple of months. That's for sure. What I would say to them is it's in your hands. It's in everyone's hands right now to make a big difference by being vaccinated, and now being boosted.

And I do believe these people need to look at the fact that we are still really in the middle of this pandemic. We've just gone over the crest of the pandemic. Look at how rapid omicron has spread. And for people to let their guard down, you and I talked about this before. I blame it on political leaders for, you know, saying the wrong things and not being truthful, and the truth right now should be told to the people.

Keep your guard up. Get your booster. Get your vaccination. Save those masks because we just went over the crest. Most of us do believe, you know, we are going to see the end, but we also know we will see some more variants. So, communication, trust in government, that's the big key.

[02:24:57]

CHURCH: Yes. Important advice there. And former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb says governors want clearer guidance on when mitigation efforts should be rolled back in various states to give people some hope. So, what would be a useful set of metrics to use for this, do you think?

MISCOVICH: Well, some of the things we've always looked at is a number called the percent positivity. And percent positivity is definitely coming down now. But in general, it's probably still on average across the country 15 or 20 percent. We want that number to start getting below 5 percent. That means 5 percent or less of every test taken in the country is positive compared to times when we were at 30 or 40.

Now, there's another metric that we look at, and that's the total number of people who are testing positive per 100,000. The standard epidemiology number is below 10 with the arrow going down ward. There is some push right now to say with so many people having been infected and with some percentage of our country, as you just stated, already boosted, you know, 65 to 67 percent, depending on which study.

Those are the numbers and those are the statistics we look at. So I'm very disappointed in leadership that always just now turns to hospitalizations and said that's our key. No, we need to look at how much the disease is spreading and the angle and decline.

CHURCH: Right. And doctor, as you mentioned, only about 64 percent of the U.S. population has received two COVID shots so far. About 20 percent still haven't received their first shot. Can those unvaccinated folks ever be convinced do you think or do we need to just accept that an 80 percent vaccination rate in this country might probably be the best we can do, even as other nations have been able to edge closer to the 100 percent rate?

MISCOVICH: Now, Rosemary, you and I have been talking about this for 16 to 18 months. And since the vaccines have been brought on and we know that studies have basically said that 15 percent plus or minus, depending on where the state is, will never get vaccinated. So, I don't believe we're going to cross over that line and, you know, its coming true with a plus/minus 2 or 3 percent in some of those studies.

We've also talked about the fact that, you know, Austria, that's one of the ways you'll get everybody vaccinated. But as your prior piece showed, look what's going on up in Canada right now where there's protests. And I don't think the United States has the tolerance or the political will or our court system will allow there to be forced vaccination.

So, you know what, that is what's going to happen. And what does that mean? It means that there still will be pockets of outbreak and it still means that those people will be susceptible as other variants come through. So, I don't -- I think 20 percent is probably about where we're going to get to.

CHURCH: Unbelievable. Politics has made it very difficult, of course, in this country particularly. Dr. Scott Miscovich, thank you so much for joining. Appreciate it.

MISCOVICH: Thank you. Any time, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Thank you. And still to come here on CNN, how French President Emanuel Macron hopes to head off a military conflict in Ukraine with a diplomatic visit to Moscow.

Meantime, Germany's chancellor heads to Washington amid harsh criticism he's not doing enough to help allies. We'll explain.

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CHURCH: In the coming hours, French president Emmanuel Macron is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in an attempt to deescalate the Ukraine crisis. And U.S. President Joe Biden will hold talks with Germany's Chancellor at the White House. Olaf Scholz has signaled a willingness to deploy more troops to Lithuania to support NATO.

All of this is happening as new satellite images appear to show Russian forces gathering strength in Belarus. It's raising fears that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-TX): The news is being prepared. It's around Ukraine right now as we speak. These are dangerous times. Times of the essence, this would be the largest invasion in Europe since World War II. And the timeframe is Jake Sullivan mentioned is closing in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And for more on this, we want to turn to CNN's Jim Bittermann who joins us live from Paris. Good to see you, Jim. So, President Macron leading the charge in this diplomatic effort. What's expected to come out of his meeting with a Russian president?

JIM BITTERMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kind of an audacious move, Rosemary and he's injecting himself into the process here trying to deescalate the situation. He said he's going to have three objectives. He said this through a spokesman at the Elysee Palace who basically said that they're going to be looking at -- trying to deescalate the military situation.

That'll be the toughest thing, according to the spokesman. It's going to renovate the Minsk agreements so that the government in the Ukraine can talk directly to the separatists in the East. And finally, to give Moscow an idea of the new rules for cohabitation, as President Macron put himself in article in the local newspaper yesterday, basically to give Moscow an idea of the new rules of cohabitation, living together with NATO and Europe.

So, it's a big agenda that's going to take place in a very, very short period of time, basically, not only going to be meeting with Putin, today. He comes with a mantle of being part of the European presidency and also with the idea that he's already talked to President Putin some 16 times in the past, this will be a 17th meeting today. And he comes with the extra added sort of authority of having talked to now more than a dozen Western leaders before arriving in Moscow. Rosemary?

CHURCH: The world waiting eagerly to see what comes of this. Jim Bittermann with the latest there live from Paris. Appreciate it.

Well, the German Chancellor's visit to Washington comes as he faces fierce criticism at home and abroad over his lack of leadership in this crisis. Critics say Olaf Scholz needs to restore the country's credibility in this visit. Fred Pleitgen explains some of the reasons why Germany has been on the sidelines.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As Russia continues amassing troops that Ukraine's borders, the U.S. and its allies have stepped up deliveries of defensive weapons to Kiev including armor piercing anti-tank missiles.

[02:35:05]

PLEITGEN: Notably missing though, NATO partner Germany. The Germans only offering 5000 helmets for the Ukrainians facing Russian tanks. CHRISTINE LAMBRECHT, GERMAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): The

German government has said very clearly that we will not send any lethal weapons or arms deliveries to conflict areas because we do not want to feel these conflicts further.

PLEITGEN: But Germany is coming off a record year for arms exports. Top client, Egypt despite its difficult human rights track record.

Ukraine's ambassador to Berlin says his country is not happy.

ANDRIY MELNYK, UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO GERMANY: I think that they have to reconsider and they have really start helping us with the weapons of a defensive type, which we need right now.

PLEITGEN: Some NATO countries are questioning just how reliable an ally Berlin is when it comes to confronting Russian aggression, especially after the head of the German navy recently had to resign after saying Vladimir Putin deserves respect. When dealing with Russia, Germany is still haunted by its past says Sudha David-Wilp from the German Marshall Fund in Berlin.

SUDHA DAVID-WILP, SENIOR TRANSATLANTIC FELLOW AND DEPUTY DIRECTOR, GERMAN MARSHALL FUND: They're afraid of sending weapons to Ukraine and those weapons being used against Russians given the number of Russians that were killed during World War II. But let's be honest, there were huge amounts of Ukrainians that were victims as well during World War II.

PLEITGEN: Millions of Ukrainians were killed as Hitler's army overran what was then the Ukrainian part of the Soviet Union, nearly the entire Jewish population there wiped out. But Germany also has hard economic reasons for going soft on Russia. Its dependence on Russian gas and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The $11-billion undersea link between the two countries.

While Berlin recently claimed the pipeline was a purely economic project, at least now the government says a Russian invasion of Ukraine would have an impact.

ANNALENA BAERBOCK, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): If there is renewed aggression, we have the full bandwidth of measures, including Nord Stream 2.

PLEITGEN: The U.S. has long urged Berlin to use Nord Stream 2 which is not yet certified for gas transit as leverage to deter Moscow. Now, the State Department says if Russia invades the project is dead.

VICTORIA NULAND, U.S. UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE: If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: But currently, the Germans are still very much moving forward with Nord Stream 2. In fact, a German subsidiary was just founded trying to speed up certification here in Europe. All this as Berlin says it remains firmly in the U.S.'s corner and says that it will support massive sanctions against Russia if there is a further invasion of Ukraine.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

CHURCH: Joining me now is CNN Political and National Security Analyst David Sanger. He's also a correspondent for The New York Times and the author of the book, The Perfect Weapon. Always great to have you with us.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Great to be with you again, Rosemary.

PLEITGEN: So, two U.S. officials now warning that Russia's President Putin has 70 percent military capabilities in place at Ukraine's border. Poised and ready for a possible full-scale invasion. And intelligence suggests that could happen within a day or two. What is your reaction to that news?

SANGER: Well, I don't think that the majority of the analysts I spoken to think that Mr. Putin would act while the Olympics in China are still underway. They could be wrong. But if you think about it, once the sanctions are invoked by the West, assuming that they are, the most important ally that Putin will have will be the Chinese. And so, anything that takes the images away from the Olympics and all that Xi Jinping has riding on it, I think would be a little risky for him.

He also doesn't fully have the force that he seems to want to put in place. They are together down by Crimea and in the east, and he certainly could easily invade at any moment in that Russian speaking area where he wouldn't run into much resistance. But the force isn't fully in place yet. In the north, where he's been assembling and Belarus and elsewhere. So, I suspect there's a little time for diplomacy here.

And in fact, President Macron of France is going to see him tomorrow which is why President Biden was speaking by phone with Macron earlier on Sunday.

CHURCH: So, let's talk about that because that search for a diplomatic solution is continuing of course as you mentioned with Francis President Macron spearheading the effort talking with President Putin again in the coming hours.

[02:40:09]

CHURCH: But how likely is it that an off ramp can be found when the U.S. and NATO are refusing to bend to Russia's top demand, preventing Ukraine from ever being a part of NATO?

SANGER: You know, you think there would be some space, Rosemary. And the fact that as President Biden said himself at a news conference two weeks ago, Ukraine isn't going to be admitted to NATO anytime soon. In fact, I think you could probably say, probably not anytime in the next 10, maybe 20 years, which would be Putin's political lifetime. And certainly, President Biden's.

So, you could imagine a space for that, if that's what Putin really wants. But it may not be all that he wants. He of course, has talked about ending all of the eastward expansion of NATO. He has talked about getting American troops out of the former Soviet bloc states have already joined NATO. He's talked about forcing the removal of all American nuclear weapons from Europe. And if that's really what he wants, then I think it would be a hard no.

If it's just about getting -- making sure that Ukraine stays out of NATO I would imagine there's some room there.

CHURCH: We'll see what happens there. And of course, so Germany has been unwilling to this point to send Ukraine weapons as a matter of concern for NATO allies. What might that signal and what do you expect President Biden will say to the new German Chancellor when they meet in the coming hours, given Germany relies so heavily on Russia's natural gas?

SANGER: Well, we heard one of the messages earlier today from Jake Sullivan. The President's National Security Adviser who basically said, if there's an invasion, one way or another, the Nord Stream 2 project, the pipeline that would route around Ukraine and go directly from Russia to Germany will be killed off. It would probably help the new chancellor if he said those words himself.

There is a sense among the other European allies that Germany is the most wobbly on the question of what sanctions they would put in place. And many of them are missing Angela Merkel, the former chancellor who of course, was usually the one to rally most of Europe and that's why Macron is sort of stepping into that -- to that role. But I think it's going to be really difficult right now to hold the allies fully together.

If the Russians do just a partial invasion, a cyberattack, stage and military coup, the conditions that would hold Germany and others into the midst of NATO on the sanctions would probably have to be a full- scale invasion.

CHURCH: David Sanger, thank you as always for your analysis. Appreciate it.

SANGER: Great to be with you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: A royal surprise comes out of Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM. How the woman who was once at the center of royal scandal could be Britain's future Queen Consort?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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CHURCH: The Platinum Jubilee for Britain's Queen Elizabeth is being overshadowed by a surprise announcement. The Queen gave her blessing for Prince Charles's wife Camilla to one day be called Queen Consort. But as CNN's Max Foster reports not all of Her Majesty's subjects are on board with the idea.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Prince Charles led tributes for his mother and what he described as her remarkable 70-year reign. He also said he was honored that Elizabeth used Jubilee message to say that she wanted Camilla, Charles's wife to be known as Queen Consort, when Charles becomes king. It's seen as a reward for years of public service from Camilla but also an endorsement of the kind of monarchy that Charles is trying to create.

But Camilla is still a divisive figure. Some people still blame her for the divorce of Diana, and Charles. This is what a few Brits had to say about the news.

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TOBIAS FOX, LONDON RESIDENT: I don't think some people will be too happy with this decision. A lot -- so it's before my time but a lot of the people who grew up with Diana being the next -- the next Queen effectively, they feel like she was wronged by the Royal Institution and her abuse and subsequent, you know, what happened after the divorce and all that. So, I don't think a lot of people will be super happy that Camilla has got this role.

ALICE TOMLINSON, LONDON RESIDENT: That's great and everything but I think the royal family is an establishment. It's the respect that the British people have for it might be lost. Just because there's been so much scandals surrounding Charles and Camilla's life, you know, with the death of Princess Diana, et cetera.

FOSTER: We didn't see the queen on what's called succession day because it doesn't just mark the beginning of the Queen's reign, but also the end of her father's reign and her father's death. So, she always spends it privately on the Sandringham estate in the country size. The time for celebration will come later culminating in a four- day holiday weekend centered here at Buckingham Palace. Max Foster, CNN, London.

CHURCH: Pope Francis is urging European countries to welcome migrants. The Pope has previously tried to call attention to the migrant crisis, and he spoke about the issue again during an interview Sunday. The pontiff says what happens to migrants who suffer in the hands of traffickers and then risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean is criminal. He said they should not then be rejected for entry at a port.

The Pope also talked about the future of the church and the greatest evil being what he referred to as spiritual worldliness.

Well, she's an American teenager hoping to win gold in Beijing but she's representing China, not the USA. Why Olympic freeskier Eileen Gu made that choice after the break.

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[02:53:32] CHURCH: With the Winter Olympics in full swing in Beijing headlines are being dominated not by who's winning, but who fell short. California-born figure skater Zhu Yi, who's competing for Team China is facing vicious blowback on social media after falling during her first team skating event. Hashtags criticizing the 19-year-old, gained millions of views on Chinese social media in just hours. While it looks like at least one hashtag was censored.

The backlash highlights just how much pressure many Chinese Olympians are under. And Zhu seem stressed during her final team event falling again and bursting into tears after her performance. It's just so tough. And Zhu isn't -- she's not the only U.S.-born athlete competing in these Olympics for China. Freestyle skier Eileen Gu is also from California but chose to hit the slopes for her mother's homeland. CNN Sports Coy Wire has her story.

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COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She's fierce, fearless, and a favorite to win gold here at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Move over, Elsa. There's a new snow princess in town.

EILEEN GU, FREESTYLE SKIER: My name is Eileen Gu. I'm from San Francisco and I'm a free skier.

WIRE (on camera): The 18-year-old sensation was born in the U.S. but her mom was born in China. And Eileen decided to compete for China at these games.

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GU: My family has always been super supportive of me I come from a long line of engineers. So, it definitely wasn't expected. I don't think anybody really thought that I would become a professional skier or professional athlete in general.

WIRE: But she's so much more than an athlete. The Chinese speaking, horseback riding, piano playing prodigy graduated high school in just three years. And she's already been admitted to her dream school, Stanford. She's modeled for Louis Vuitton, Estee Lauder. Racking up roughly 20 Brand Partners and big-time dollars. She's the poster child for snow sports in China starring alongside Chinese actor Jackson Yi in an official Beijing Games promo video being played throughout China.

She says her decision to compete for China instead of USA stems from a strong mother-daughter bond. Yan Gu taught Eileen to embrace her heritage, honor, her ancestry.

GU: My mom has always been super, super supportive. My grandma is the most motivated to win person. She has the most competitive mindset that I've ever met ever. So, I think my grandma gave me that competitive drive and kind of supporting me in that way. And my mom kind of taught me the work ethic aspect. So anybody can want to win. But I think it was my mom that taught me how to get there. WIRE: And now I lean wants to inspire the next generation from her mom's homeland get there too. She says she's competing to unite people, promote common understanding, create communication, and forged friendships between nations, Coy Wire, CNN, China.

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CHURCH: What a great inspiration she is. And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back after a short break with another hour of news from all around the world. You're watching CNN.

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