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CNN International: World Leaders Gather For U.N. General Assembly Meeting; Americans Released From Iran Back On U.S. Soil; India And Canada Expel Diplomats AS Murder Row Escalates; Journalist Evan Gershkovich In Court To Appeal His Detention; CNN Investigates Russia's Moves In Africa. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired September 19, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead, all eyes on New York as world leaders gather for the U.N. General Assembly. Who's there? Crucially, who isn't?

Plus, the five Americans freed from Iran land back on U.S. soil. What's next for them? And Canada says there's credible evidence that India was behind the alleged assassination of a Sikh leader. India says that accusation is absurd. More on their diplomatic spat coming up.

International diplomacy takes center stage this week as the United Nations kicks off its 78th annual General Assembly. In just about an hour, leaders are gathering to tackle the world's most pressing problems, including Russia's war in Ukraine.

Devastating floodings in Libya as well. Climate change are just to name but a few. But key players are skipping this year's summit, including the leaders of China, Russia, the U.K. and France. U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are both set to address this assembly today, this morning.

CNN's Richard Roth has been covering the U.N. for years. He joins us now live. What are the themes you're looking out for, Richard? And should we read anything into the fact that these key leaders aren't coming?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: I don't think so. They have their delegations here. It's modern communication. Somebody could reach out if needed. It's been this way for different years, off and on. I mean, China rarely comes, Putin very rarely comes.

So it's the fact that Britain and France are not represented. All the while, the discussions go on for year 30 on how to reform the Security Council to give more power to countries that are locked out of that permanent five with veto power. Brazil, South Africa, India, things like that. I've walked past someone in the hallway 20 minutes ago who sort of yelled out, today is the day. By U.N. standards, the Tuesday is the first day of the speeches. So you have President Biden, you have the President of Ukraine, who's making his first in person visit here since the war, and later in the afternoon, the President of Iran, the day after five different prisoners were released. Max?

FOSTER: In terms of Ukraine, obviously, that's the big talking point, but how much sort of motivation is there to discuss wider issues

ROTH: Well, there is some concern that Ukraine will shadow everything. But these are all human beings despite what people think of them. These diplomats, they can maneuver their schedule or have conversations. Zelenskyy badly needs, as we know, supplies, ammunition. He's going to make the pitch in person that might make a difference. And then he's at the White House on Thursday.

FOSTER: OK. Thank you so much, Richard Roth, for bringing us that. He's speaking to you a lot over the next few days.

Five Americans, meanwhile, detained for years in Iran, are now back on U.S. soil. They arrived at an army airfield on Tuesday morning after an initial stop in Doha, Qatar. Their release on Monday was part of a wider deal that included the Biden administration unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian assets and releasing six Iranian prisoners.

CNN National Security Reporter Natasha Bertrand is following the story for us from Washington. Obviously, huge relief for everyone personally involved in this repatriation, if I can call it that. But the politics is playing big on this as well, and whether or not the Biden administration was right to release this money.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Max. So those Iranian prisoners, those Americans who had been imprisoned in Iran over the last five plus years, they did arrive back in the Washington, D.C. area at Fort Belvoir early this morning around 5:30 Eastern Time.

A ton of relief, just really palpable there. All of their family members kind of greeting them on the tarmac and rushing to them, some waving American flags. A very emotional reunion. And this all is set, of course, against the backdrop, as you mentioned, of the politics of this.

The Republicans on Capitol Hill, they have really seized on this deal, saying that it is a bad deal and that the administration is essentially incentivizing Iran to take more Americans hostage because of the fact that they will now have $6 billion at their disposal to use for humanitarian purposes.

[08:05:03]

Not every Republican is buying that. They say that there are not sufficient checks on this and that it is possible that Iran will be able to use the money for something else. But perhaps, you know, to further their nuclear program or to further their support of terrorism in the region, for example. But the administration says, look, we have worked with the Qataris who will be monitoring the disbursements of these funds. We will be overseeing how this money is used. And we do not believe that Iran will be able to use it for anything other than food, medicine, agricultural devices.

But they say that if there is evidence that Iran is misusing that money and using it for other things, then they will be able to cut that funding off. And so it remains to be seen, of course, just how this is going to play out. The political stakes are very high for the Biden administration.

This was a very risky thing for them to do, especially dealing with Iran with whom they do not have diplomatic relations. But still the administration has repeatedly said that they saw an opportunity to get these five Americans home and they, you know, they are never going to pass up a chance to do that, especially because bringing home American hostages from around the world, that has really become a key pillar of the Biden administration's foreign policy, Max.

FOSTER: OK. Thank you so much, Natasha Bertrand for bringing us that on a momentous day for them.

Now, India has expelled a senior Canadian diplomat following Canada's decision to expel the head of the Indian Intelligence Agency in the country. On Monday, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that there are credible allegations linking the Indian government to the murder of a prominent Sikh leader in June.

According to the Canadian authorities, Hardeep Singh Nijar was gunned down in his truck by two masked men outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia. India has rejected all allegations and denied any involvement in the killing. Canada's accusations are a significant worsening of the relations between the two countries, which have been frosty for many years now.

Canada is home to an influential Sikh community which has long been one of the sources of tension. The Sikh separatist community is a religious movement demanding a separate homeland carved out of the Indian state of Punjab.

Over the years, tensions between separatists and the central government have been or have resulted in violent clashes and have claimed many lives. The violence has often spilled over to Canada as well.

CNN's Vedika Sud joins us live from New Delhi. This is off the back of that very tense meeting between the leaders of the two countries at the G20.

VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, Max. And that's the meeting I want to start with the handshake between the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau from the 9th of this month. It was a brief handshake. A lot of experts did read through the lines and they did say it was a frosty kind of equation between them at that moment. But ever since, the highly fraught relationship between the two nations has gone further south. And that was pretty evident with what Justin Trudeau had to say yesterday on the floor of Parliament when he accused New Delhi of having a possible hand in the murder of a prominent Sikh leader. And his name is Hardeep Singh Najar.

Now, ever since that handshake, there was also a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 where we're told by the Indian government that the Indian Prime minister made it very clear to Justin Trudeau that he wanted action against those who were committing anti-India activities on Canadian soil.

But Justin Trudeau, just a week later, maybe eight days later in Parliament, made that very explosive claim. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUD: And that's not the only action that has been taken by the Canadian government in terms of making a claim. You also had the Foreign Minister of Canada come out and take the name publicly of the officer from India posted in Canada who has been expelled.

Now, a day later, local time India this morning, New Delhi reacted a strong comment coming in from them rejecting the claims by the Canadian government both by its prime minister and the foreign minister. And I'm just going to quote from that statement.

It read, "Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

[08:10:01]

Now, Max, this is a claim that India has been making repeatedly, even with the Canadian officials and government. They say you have people who are supporting the Khalistani movement, like you rightly pointed out, a movement for a separate state for the Sikhs and from the Sikh community, and they have said, take action against them because there's violence being committed against them, against India.

But the Canadian government is extremely, extremely firm on their demand for action against the people who've committed the murder against this prominent Sikh leader. But the question is, where is the proof? Has that proof been shared by the Canadian government with the Indian government?

Because Justin Trudeau did mention on the floor of Parliament that he had personally and directly spoken to Modi while he was in New Delhi about this murder, and he had shared his concerns. Now, the relationship between India and Canada has been extremely tense over Khalistan and the demand that India has been making for some action to be taken on the ground for years now, especially by the Narendra Modi government.

But this relation is only going south for the coming days with the actions that have been taken both by the Canadian government, with the expulsion of an Indian officer in Canada, and now tit for tat expulsion by the Indian government of a Canadian officer who has now been asked to leave India within the next five days. Back to you.

FOSTER: OK. Vedika Sud in New Delhi, thank you so much for that.

Now, a massive fire broke out in three large warehouses in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv overnight following a Russian drone attack. Local officials say one person was killed. The regional governor claims the targets were ordinary industrial warehouses with no military value. Lviv lies close to the Polish border and is generally seen as one of Ukraine's safer cities.

Well, up next on CNN Newsroom, an American journalist accused of spying on Russia. A report from our correspondent who was in the courtroom for his latest appeal in just a moment.

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FOSTER: An American journalist who is accused of being a spy was back in the Russian courtroom just minutes ago. Lawyers representing Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was appealing an August court decision to keep him in jail whilst he awaits trial.

Gershkovich has been in Russian custody since March, accused of spying on the Russian military. The U.S. says he is not a spy and claims Russia is using him as a political pawn.

CNN's Matthew Chance got a chance to enter the courtroom and briefly speak to Evan Gershkovich just a short while ago. Did you get a sense of how he was, Matthew?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not really, Max, in fairness. I mean, we only had a few seconds in there before the security pushed us back out again. Not quite clear why that was, but the court session has now come to an end. I'm standing outside the Moscow court right now.

Apparently, no decision has been made on whether or not his pretrial detention will be -- you know, his appeal against that will be upheld. The expectation is that it will be rejected, of course, but they just haven't made that decision yet. And the court session is now over.

[08:15:06]

But, yes, it was a very brief encounter, but with the 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter, who is, of course, the first American journalist to be accused of espionage in Russia since the end of the Cold War. Take a look at what happened. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: Come here, come here. Come here, come here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language).

CHANCE: All right. OK, well, we've been let --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language).

CHANCE: OK, we've been let into the courthouse where you can see Evan Gershkovich is in there. Hi, Matthew from CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)

CHANCE: Are you holding up all right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Foreign Language).

CHANCE: No questions?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, understood, Panyatna (ph).

OK, well, there he is standing there. You can see him looking relaxed, all the cameras being allowed in to take a close up look at him. The security is very tight here. What's the problem?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)

CHANCE: It's a vast motion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)

CHANCE: Yes. Go to Evan. Go to Evan.

(Speaking Foreign Language)

CHANCE: What do you want us to do?

(Speaking Foreign Language)

CHANCE: OK, what do you want us to do? Max (ph), it's OK. It's OK. What you want us to do?

(Speaking Foreign Language)

CHANCE: OK, let's go back.

Don't stick away?

(Speaking Foreign Language)

CHANCE: What happened?

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHANCE: Right, Max. Well, we're standing outside the Moscow City courthouse right now. We're waiting for the U.S. Ambassador, Lynne Tracy, to come down these steps behind me, and she's going to speak to some of the awaiting journalists, including us, to tell us what's happened inside the court.

Certainly, the Biden administration has made a lot of efforts. It says to try and organize a deal that would see the release of Evan Gershkovich, along with Paul Whelan as well, another American citizen who was held in a Russian prison for espionage.

But so far, that serious offer, as the Biden administration has characterized it, has not been responded to effectively by the Russians. And so those negotiations, we think, are still ongoing behind the scenes. But, obviously, we'll keep you up to date as much as we can on the latest. Max?

FOSTER: Matthew Chance, thank you for that.

Still to come on CNN Newsroom, the power vacuum left behind when Yevgeny Prigozhin died. A CNN investigation looks into Russia's influence on the most volatile parts of Africa.

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FOSTER: Almost a month after a Wagner chief, the Wagner chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, died in a still unexplained plane crash, Russia has been moving to consolidate Wagner's operations across Africa.

CNN's Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward travelled to the Central African Republic, one of the world's poorest nations and one of Wagner's first operational sites on the continent to see how Wagner's work and Russia's influence has changed since Prigozhin's death.

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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the Central African Republic, the message from Wagner is clear. It's business as usual. Less than one month after their boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was killed in a plane crash, mass mercenaries still guard the president and cut an intimidating figure on the streets of the capital.

[08:20:01]

Faces covered, as Wagner protocol dictates, they are unapproachable and untouchable. These are the first images of Wagner fighters in the country since Prigozhin's death.

(on-camera): So there clearly still very much a presence here in Bonneville (ph).

(voice-over): That presence runs deep. The markets are full of cheap sachets of vodka and beer made by a Wagner owned company and the locals seem to like it. (on-camera): (Speaking Foreign Language)

Is it a don't drink French beer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)

WARD (on-camera): Only Russian beer.

(voice-over): We've come back to the center of Prigozhin's empire in Africa, right as his death raises questions for the regimes he protected and the mercenaries whose loyalty he inspired. Our last visit was in Wagner's early days here. Run like the mafia, providing guns and fighters and propaganda in return for gold, diamonds and timber. Using intimidation and brutality along the way.

(on-camera): That car full of Russians have been following us for quite some time. We don't know why. We don't know what they want.

(voice-over): But in this lawless, war scarred country, one of the poorest in the world, that ruthlessness and the security it brought is celebrated by many.

FIDELE GOUANDJIKA, SENIOR PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: Welcome to Guantikal's (ph) Palace.

WARD (on-camera): Wow. That is quite the t-shirt.

GOUANDJIKA: Yes, beautiful t-shirt.

WARD (voice-over): Presidential adviser Fidele Gouandjika says the nation is in mourning for Wagner's dead leader.

GOUANDJIKA: He was my friend. He was my friend. Best friend. A friend of all Central African people.

WARD (on-camera): Why exactly was Mr. Prigozhin so popular here, in your mind?

GOUANDJIKA: Because our country was in war. So Mr. Putin give us soldier with Prigozhin.

WARD (on-camera): So aren't you nervous now that he's dead, that things might change?

GOUANDJIKA: Mr. Putin call our president. He told him that everything will be like yesterday. Nothing will be changed. Nothing.

WARD (voice-over): But according to a diplomatic source here, hundreds of Wagner fighters left the Central African Republic in July after Prigozhin's failed mutiny. Those who remain, including his top lieutenants, have agreed to work for the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Fighters have already been pulled back from frontline outposts to population centers in an effort to cut costs, the source says. What's less clear is what becomes of Wagner's civilian presence here. This is one of the last places that Prigozhin was seen alive during his final tour across Africa. It's called the Russian cultural center, only it has no connection to Russia's official cultural agency and was run until recently by Prigozhin's closest associate here.

Photographs taken on that visit show a new face, a woman known as Nafisa Kiryanova. After days of asking for permission to visit, we decide to film covertly.

(on-camera): So, but you were here then when, Yevgeny Prigozhin, when he was here, in the photographs. There's the photographs of you with Prigozhin together here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God, can you show me that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it was just over in that corner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. OK. That's good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is Mr. Prigozhin, no?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How was he?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know.

WARD (on-camera): Do you think he knew they were going to kill him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My gosh. What is the question there? Who know such things?

WARD (on-camera): What does it mean for your work here? Does it change anything?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does it change anything if, I don't know, the president of your country dies?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Crossing to Russia, where the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, is speaking about Gershkovich's appearance.

LYNNE TRACY: -- speak with Evan in the courtroom today. I was able to visit him at the LaPorte prison last week. Evan is fully aware of the gravity of his situation, yet he remains remarkably strong. True to his profession, Evan is always eager to discuss the latest headlines. He knew, for example, that his parents have delivered a petition to the United Nations last week, a petition that calls on the U.N. to make clear that he has been arbitrarily detained and to push for his immediate release. He also shared that he is keeping his mind sharp through games of chess by mail with his father.

[08:25:00]

The plight of U.S. citizens wrongfully detained in Russia remains a top priority for me, my team at the embassy, and for the entire U.S. government. It is unacceptable that Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan still languish in Russian prison on charges that are baseless.

The United States will not rest until Evan and Paul are safely at home with their family and friends. Thank you.

FOSTER: So there we are. A similar sort of response we've had recently from all of these court appearances. Obviously the U.S. right behind Gershkovich and his innocence, really, of the charges that have been laid against him.

That was the U.S. ambassador to Russia speaking live.

The Moscow city court has upheld Gershkovich's pre-trial detention. That was what happened in that case. He's been in Russian custody since March, accused of spying on the Russian military.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. World Sport with Amanda is next.

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