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Biden Unveils Economic Plan to Counter China; Zelenskyy Calls For Maximum Sanctions Against Russia; Confirmed or Suspected Monkeypox Cases Reported in 12 Counties. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired May 23, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: A very good Monday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Erica Hill.

World leaders convening in two places today in Japan, President Biden officially launched an Asia-Pacific framework. It's a signature economic initiative in the region aimed at leveling the economic playing field with China. But it was his remarks on Taiwan that garnered the most attention. President Biden said the U.S. would respond military if China invaded Taiwan.

SCIUTTO: This morning, the White House is walking back those comments. A source familiar with the president's thinking tells me Biden was speaking about providing weapons to Taiwan, not putting U.S. forces into any conflict with China if it were to invade Taiwan, so similar to its position on Ukraine, weapons, not forces. We are going to have more on that in a moment.

In Switzerland, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has taken center stage at the World Economic Forum. He's demanding maximum sanctions against Russia. Several world leaders are meeting in Davos this week on a number of issues, including how to continue to counter Russia and the global impacts, and they're big, of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

CNN White House Correspondent Jeremy Diamond is traveling with the president in Tokyo and CNN Business Editor at Large Richard Quest, he is attending the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

Jeremy, first to you, and the news the White House is sticking with this morning is a major economic and trade framework for Asia, but on the Taiwan comments, what exactly is administration's position here? Because I'm told there is no new China policy. This would be weapons, not troops. Do you see daylight here between that statement and what the president has said?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, there certainly does seem to be daylight between that statement and what the president said, particularly when you listen to the question that the reporter asked President Biden contrasting what the president did in Ukraine, which was providing weapons but not intervening military with troops versus what he is saying now about Taiwan.

Just listen to the question and the president's response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: You didn't want to get involved in the Ukraine conflict militarily for obvious reasons. Are you willing to get involved military to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Yes.

REPORTER: You are?

BIDEN: That's a commitment we made. We agree with One China Policy. We signed on to it, and all the attendant agreements made from there. But the idea that it can be taken by force, just taken by force is just not appropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And now, almost immediately following the president's remarks, senior administration official issued a statement saying that our policy has not changed and saying that President Biden reiterated the United States' One China Policy.

Now, while the president may have reiterated that One China Policy, he also appeared to toss out this idea of strategic ambiguity and it's not the first time that we have heard this from the president. Twice before President Biden has suggested that the United States would intervene military, protect Taiwan from a Chinese invasion, if that were to be the case, which would be a significant change from decades of U.S. policy. But as you said, the administration insisting that United States policy has not changed.

Now, before or after these comments, the president had a headline event where he announced this Indo-Pacific economic framework, which, according to Biden administration officials, could mark a turning point, they believe, in the United States' economic relationship with the region. The United States and 12 other countries set to be linked through this economic partnership.

But unlike the transpacific partnership, which President Trump exited in 2017, this frame work as of now does not include the lowering of any trade barriers or tariffs, so some experts questioning whether or not it has the teeth to really cut into China's influence in the region, which is really the goal of this framework. Jim, Erica?

HILL: Jeremy, thank you.

Richard, to you now in Davos, when we talk about what else is happening, getting a lot of attention on the world stage, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy just gave a keynote address at the World Economic Forum. What did he have to say? How was that received? RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: It was received extremely well, as you would imagine.

[10:05:00]

Russia isn't here, wasn't invited, there is nobody from Russia and President Zelenskyy took the moment and opportunity to remind the people at Davos that the price of dictatorship only ever goes higher. He talked about 1938. He referred to several occasions where, in the end, people had to come together to fight back against dictatorship and he said, if they'd done it again Russia sooner with sanctions after 2014, they wouldn't be in the position they are now. And then he went on to what he wants now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Do not wait for fatal shots. Do not wait for Russia to use special chemical and biological and, God forbid, nuclear weapons. Do not create an image in the aggressor's mind that the world won't repel enough. You need to straight away apply maximum effort to protect the freedom and the normal, beneficial for everyone in the world. This is what sanctions should be, maximum, in order for Russia or any other potential aggressor who wants to wage war on its neighbor to know straight away what the result will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, what he's fighting against also, and you're starting to hear it in the halls of Davos is war fatigue, this idea that somehow what would be the price to sue for peace, what would be the appeasement that they could get away with. Nobody is talking openly about it yet but the feeling is definitely there, that after a summer with inflation and energy prices higher, how long before people are starting to stay, well, if Russia just wants the Donbas region in the east, maybe that's a price we'll just have to accept.

So far, nobody is saying that but everybody is worried that that will be the direction unless there is some progress.

SCIUTTO: Well, certainly, the Ukrainian president not saying that. So, it would have to be over his objections. Richard Quest in Davos, Jeremy Diamond in Tokyo, thanks so much.

This just into CNN, the Biden administration is considering sending U.S. Special Forces to Ukraine specifically, we should note, to protect the U.S. embassy in Kyiv. This is not to fight the Russians there but to protect the embassy.

HILL: CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr joining us now with more. So, what more do we know about this potential plan, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PETNAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, my colleague, Kylie Atwood, at the State Department and I are both hearing that this is essentially a very preliminary idea. It has not gone to the president's desk yet but both the State Department and Pentagon certainly at a staff level are talking about the idea, do you need to send special operations forces to help protect the embassy in Kyiv, which, of course, is in the middle of an active war zone in that country with all of Ukraine essentially, of course, being at war against Russia.

Here is the challenge. Right now, there are a limited number of State Department personnel at the embassy. The ambassador, Bridget Brink, confirmed last week but has not arrived there yet. It's enough right now they have diplomatic State Department security personnel protecting that limited number of people. But if you really reopen the embassy, you need more security and how to best fulfill it.

There is a sense that simply Marine Corps embassy guards, that are the traditional force protecting embassies around the world, just may not be enough in this case and that you might need special operations forces. But as you just pointed out, that's a challenge. The president has been adamant, no combat forces inside Ukraine. These would just be security. But if you were going to send special operations forces into Ukraine, even on an embassy security mission, you are going to have to find a way to get them and the diplomats out of there in a hurry if there is a crisis, and nobody yet is talking about how that could be achieved.

SCIUTTO: It's a big question. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thanks so much.

So, to Ukraine on the ground, the imminent threat remains constant, not only in the east but in the west, as well, where missiles flew overhead right in the middle of a CNN interview, something Ukrainians face every day. Have a listen.

It is scary to hear that sound. Trust me. I've heard it myself.

CNN Melissa Bell, she happened to hear it as it passed over during an interview near the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. That missile went on to kill one person about an hour away from where they were.

Joining me now is Tayfun Ozberk. He is a retired Turkish naval officer and defense analyst. And it's good to have you on, because so central to the conflict now is the fact that one thing Russia has gained is a blockade in the Black Sea. I mean, this cuts off Ukraine not just with national security implications but economic implications. They can't get their grain to market, for instance.

So, what would make a difference there? There is discussion now of sending anti-ship missiles. Would that -- more, we should say. Would that be enough to open those shipping lanes?

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TAYFUN OZBERK, RETIRED TURKISH NAVAL OFFICER: Hello, Jim, thanks for the invitation. Ukraine's performance against Russian Black Sea fleet was a surprise for many analysts because they lack strong naval force due to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. As a result, the Russian fleet has cut Ukraine's connection, as you mentioned, with Black Sea by implementing, locate and this supported the land forces with caliber land attack missiles.

But the things changed after Ukraine engaged Russia's Black Sea fleets, flagship, the Moscow cruiser, with two Neptune missiles. So, we saw that the Russian naval activity has decreased dramatically in the region and this proved the efficiency of land-based coastal anti- ship missiles against the naval forces.

Of course, just deploying coastal missile batteries will not be 100 percent enough to cover all of the area to establish an efficient aid to the zone at the south of Odessa but, indeed, they would be very, very beneficial and deter Russian naval activities in the region.

SCIUTTO: So, I mean, the question is deter versus make a difference, right? I mean, they've already established that Russian forces could lose and lose badly there to sink the flagship, but the sea lanes remain closed. So, what's necessary, what would make the difference to allow Ukrainians to reopen the port of Odessa? I mean, is it as simple as Ukrainians sinking more Russian warships?

OZBERK: They can't sink more Russian warships if they enter the effective range of the missiles. But they are applicable only for the surface assets. We know that there are some Russian submarines in the region as well. They can also operate in the approaching waters of the Odessa.

I think that the anti-ship missiles in the course will be a deterrence against Russia but I think that there must be more to effort to establish a solid anti-excess, anti-denial area in the region.

SCIUTTO: Understood. Listen. I mean, echoes of World War II again, the possibility of submarines shrinking merchant ships. Tafyun Ozberk, thanks very much for joining us.

HILL: Still to come, more than 100 confirmed or suspected monkeypox cases now around the world, in multiple countries. Our next guest has studied this disease for more than 20 years and says she's never seen case clusters like this.

SCIUTTO: Plus, a showdown in Georgia tonight in the final push for tomorrow's primary, new attention on the big names supporting two GOP candidates for governor, one, former President Trump, the other, the former vice president, Mike Pence. It's quite a matchup.

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HILL: More cases of the monkeypox virus have been reported worldwide. Experts expect there will be more cases as well in the days ahead.

SCIUTTO: Yes. To be clear, this is not as transmissible as COVID. They say that. Health officials do now say they tracked more than 100 confirmed or suspected cases of a monkeypox in 15 countries. This includes the U.S.

President Biden today tried to ease people's concerns. Joining us now, Anne Rimoin, she's a professor in UCLA's Department of Epidemiology, has spent a career studying a monkeypox.

Okay. So, you're an expert here. I mean, we always start with a proviso, not as transmissible as COVID. So, this is not a COVID situation. But we are seeing more cases pop up in a number of countries, and that's concerning health officials. What's the best guess as to why this is happening right now?

ANNE RIMOIN, PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AT UCLA FIELDING SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Well, thanks for having me. Monkeypox is a zoonotic illness, so it usually starts in animals, it jumps into a human and then a person who is infected can spread it to others by contact with the lesions, potentially respiratory droplets, close contact with clothing or bedding that's been contaminated.

So, what has likely happened here, and these are what some of the reports are suggesting, that there have been some gatherings in Europe, somebody with monkeypox who was infected went to one of these gatherings, was able to transmit it by close contact.

And because we no longer have immunity to poxviruses, given that we've eradicated smallpox from the planet and are no longer vaccinating, it makes sense. If we don't have immunity to the virus, we see an introduction into the population and you see a lot of close contact makes good sense that we'll see spread.

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HILL: So, it makes good sense we'll see spread. I think for a lot of people, I know certainly in my conversations even just walking the dog in the neighborhood this weekend, people were saying, is this going to be the next COVID? It's a different type of virus, doesn't spread the same way.

But the concern on a lot of people's minds is, is this going to start spreading more rapidly? Is it something that could come into my community? What do you say to those concerns?

RIMOIN: The risk to the general public is very low. And this is not something that is known to be airborne, something that spread very, very easily unless you're in very close contact with somebody who is infected.

So, I would say to the general public, this is something that we should be keeping in mind. It's important. It's great that it's been identified so we can slow the spread. We can track the cases. We can get in front of this, but this is not the same situation that we're dealing with COVID. It is much less contagious. It is right now in only -- I mean, it's a big deal that we're seeing cases in so many places globally but these are isolated cases right now. We need to get more information.

SCIUTTO: Okay. One more difference between this and COVID, is that there is already an effective vaccine, is that right? In other words, the smallpox vaccine that already exists would have efficacy against monkeypox, is that right?

RIMOIN: Absolutely. This is a very big difference between a monkeypox and COVID-19. We've been studying this virus for decades. I've been studying this virus for two decades. We have many people who have been on top of this virus. We have vaccines that are stockpiled, that are available, that will be able to be used to control this in populations that have been exposed or might be at risk. We have also treatments that are available, anti-retrovirals that can be used, brought to bare, supportive care works.

And also it's very important to note that while monkeypox is a problem, it's a problem in Central Africa and in West Africa, the fatality rate is very low. And, in fact, in the cases that we saw in the United States, we had an outbreak in 2003, there were 47 cases here, we did not have a single death. So, this is not something that I would put in the same category as COVID-19. It's concerning, we need to get in front of it but it is not a situation that we can compare to COVID-19.

HILL: It's great and so important to point all that out because we are still all, right, in this heightened alert status because of that. Always good to have you with us, I appreciate your expertise. Anne Rimoin, thank you.

RIMOIN: My pleasure.

SCIUTTO: This just into CNN. The Supreme Court has handed down an opinion on death penalty cases out of Arizona.

HILL: CNN's Jessica Schneider joining us now from outside the court. So, Jessica, walk us through this decision.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, Erica and Jim, this morning, the Supreme Court issuing two opinions, the first one on arbitration, but the second one dealing a big defeat for two in particular death row inmates who were challenging their convictions. And this will have implications for state prisoners across the country.

So, the Supreme Court saying that state prisoners cannot bring new claims in federal court proceedings when it relates to their argument that their state-appointed counsel was ineffective. Now, there has been a rule in place, the Supreme Court had previously allowed maybe some prisoners to bring this claim that their state-appointed attorneys were ineffective when they later brought cases in federal court.

But now, the Supreme Court is saying that these inmates cannot argue that, that they're barred from bringing any new evidence in the federal court level about ineffective assistance of counsel at the state court level.

Now, this was a 6-3 decision. All of the conservative-leaning justices ruled essentially against these death row inmates. The three liberal justices really issued a pointed dissent here. This was written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. She called this decision essentially a reversal of previous Supreme Court precedent, also calling it perverse and ill-conceived.

So, this is a major split between the conservative justices and the liberals, and, practically, this will allow a lot less leeway for death row inmates, state prisoners to challenge their convictions at the federal court level, the Supreme Court here saying, you cannot bring up new evidence if you're trying to argue that your state- appointed lawyer was ineffective. Guys?

SCIUTTO: You can't bring up new evidence even if it's potentially exculpatory evidence?

SCHNEIDER: You can. In a federal proceeding here, they're saying that you should have caused the claims at the state court level, and if you have not previously brought these claims, you cannot introduce these new claims in the federal court proceeding.

So, yes, a big loss for these death row inmates. The state of Arizona is the one who brought this case, trying to challenge this and they've won in this case.

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HILL: Wow.

SCIUTTO: Jessica Schneider, that is news. Thanks so much.

Still ahead, one state's primaries will be watched very closely tomorrow, from the governor's primary to the secretary of state race. Why Georgia is under the microscope once again.

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SCIUTTO: Just hours from now, former Vice President Mike Pence will take the stage alongside one of the former president's top primary targets.

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