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CNN International: Ukraine's President to Meet with Biden & Lawmakers; Poland Will Stop Providing Weapons to Ukraine Amid Row; India Suspends Visa Services for Canadian Nationals; King Charles Tours Flower Market Name After His Late Mother. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired September 21, 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 NEWSROOM: Hello, and welcome to CNN "Newsroom", I'm Max Foster in Paris. Just ahead Ukraine's President heads to Capitol Hill, while he's looking to shore up critical support from U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

This is Ukraine season escalating dispute with neighbor and ally Poland with a grain imports. The latest on that, plus King Charles addresses the French Senate pledging longer stronger relations between the U.K. and France. We're in Paris with all the details on that state visit.

Well, in just about an hour Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will meet with U.S. lawmakers in Washington. It's the next stop on his whirlwind visit to the U.S. that included an address to the U.N. General Assembly whilst in Washington Mr. Zelenskyy will also meet with President Joe Biden at the White House.

Mr. Biden is trying to shore up support for $24 billion aid package for Ukraine. But some Republican lawmakers aren't on board.

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SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): If there's a path, if there's some path to victory in Ukraine, I didn't hear it today. And I also heard that there was going to be no end to the funding requests. And can I just say, by the way, I'm sick and tired of hearing all of these people in that room for the administration applaud Congress for being so generous.

This isn't our money. For heaven's sake, it's not our, we're not being generous. It's the American people's money, and they spent 115 billion of it and so far, they have basically nothing to show for it.

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FOSTER: Well, CNN Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox joins us on Capitol Hill with the details and these meetings with some Republicans are absolutely key, aren't they? Because there's some suggestion that Zelenskyy himself might become a partisan issue. LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And you know one of the challenges this morning for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, when he arrives on Capitol Hill, is the fact that he may not be meeting directly with some of these detractors. There is going to be a full Senate briefing with Republican and Democratic leaders.

All members of the Senate are invited but when Josh Hawley, the man that you just saw, talking about Ukraine aid was asked if he was going to attend that briefing, he told my colleague Morgan Rimmer just a couple of days ago, he wasn't sure if he was going to show up.

Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, where there are even more conservatives who are opposed to more funding for Ukraine, there is not going to be a House wide meeting with President Zelenskyy. Instead, the meeting this morning in the house will be with Republican and Democratic leaders and key Chairman, giving Zelenskyy fewer opportunities to talk directly and make his case to some of those detractors.

The other question, of course, is that this is going to be a very different visit than the one that he had just last less than a year ago last December in which he was greeted on the House floor was able to talk to the full House of Representatives and support has started to dwindle.

There's also a question of whether or not Kevin McCarthy who is facing a rebellion on his right flank is going to be willing to cross those members and put Ukraine aid on the floor. House Republicans are currently trying to rally around a spending bill to avert a government shutdown.

But the latest draft of that one month spending bill doesn't include additional money for Ukraine. So those are some of the challenges that Zelenskyy is going to face today. It's just a very different political landscape up here on Capitol Hill than it was last December when he came and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in charge, Max.

FOSTER: Yes, it's going to be interesting to see how he handles that Lauren Fox in Washington. Thank you. Now for the first time in months, Russia has launched a series of strikes targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Ukraine's state energy provider says overnight missile attacks caused damage to power facilities in the western and central parts of the country.

It comes as key begins preparing for the cold winter months ahead. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has the latest from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Ukrainians are saying this is the first massive aerial attack on their energy infrastructure that they've seen in the past six months. So Ukrainian General Staff is saying that the Russians launched several strategic bombers from an airbase in the West.

The Luftwaffe at that then flew towards the territory of Ukraine and launched several facilities towards the territory of Ukraine. The Ukrainian General Staff was saying that of the 43 cruise missiles that were launched their air defense forces man to take out 36 of those cruise missiles.

But of course, some of those cruise missiles did manage to come to from what we're hearing from the Ukrainians. They say that the damage was most extensive in the west of the country and in central parts of the country, especially energy infrastructure, but there's also one town called Cherkasy where a hotel was hit.

And the Ukrainians are saying that there are a lot of injured people on the ground there. The Ukrainians say that this is the first time in half a year that they've seen the team extensive attack on their energy infrastructure very significant for them, because right now we are of course in fall.

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The end the Ukrainians say that they feeding see isn't here in this country is approaching. There are some areas that were without power for a certain amount of time that the Ukrainian says they are trying to restore that power as fast as they can. Fred Pleitgen CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

FOSTER: Well, a bit those attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure Kyiv is now facing a diplomatic battle, as relations with what was one of his staunchest allies in the war continue to deteriorate. Poland says it'll stop providing weapons to Ukraine as tensions rise between the two countries.

The dispute centers on a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports to some EU countries. CNN Investigative Producer Katie Polglase has been following this from London and this is really worrying level of tension that's rising up.

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE PRODUCER: That's right, Max. And amid all of the diplomacy in the talks in New York, perhaps this wasn't something that Zelenskyy was expecting. What's happened here is that it started with a green dispute, like you mentioned.

So Ukraine has been exporting their grain at a cheaper price. And that has been undercutting the grain prices in for example, Poland, but also in other countries in Europe. Now, what Poland decided to do was ban the import of Ukrainian grain as a result, understandably, for Ukrainian leadership.

We're not too happy about that. So what's happened since is the European Union just last week decided to suspend that ban But Poland and a few other countries have decided they will defy that and continue not importing Ukrainian grain. That is where the dispute started.

But it has now led to the Polish Prime Minister saying they will no longer be supplying weaponry to Ukraine. And clearly all of this escalation is not ideal for the Ukrainian leadership as they are trying to persuade U.S. lawmakers to give them more agents.

So it's notable today, we've seen potentially a sign of a climb down from the Ukrainian side, a less alarming language. Clearly, there was a call just today with Ukrainian -- ministry. The minister there called his counterpart in Poland, they had a conversation. And at the end of that he had a statement which said they discussed the situation and Ukraine's proposal to resolve it.

So, clearly Ukraine now saying that they are considering other methods to resolve the situation, rather than continuing on the offensive effectively the language yesterday from Ukrainians leadership was really quite strong, saying that this importation ban was unnecessary and unacceptable.

So clearly, the situation is evolving, diplomacy is underway. But this is, as you mentioned, one of Ukraine, staunchest allies throughout this war and as a neighbor, a European neighbor that also fears Russian invasion. Poland has traditionally been very supportive of Ukraine throughout this war.

And clearly any military equipment any support for Ukraine is something that Ukraine wants to maintain and support, particularly as we head into these challenging winter months, Max.

FOSTER: Katie, thank you. Now talks on the future for breakaway territory in Azerbaijan have ramped up negotiators from the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, met with representatives from Baku to talk about the future of his ethnic Armenian residence.

You can see the delegation arriving in the City of Yevlakh earlier. The discussions come one day after Armenian separatists agreed to lay down their arms and Azerbaijan claim control of that territory. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us now, obviously, there are various powers playing into the negotiations here. It's very complex situation what you understand of the talks?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Max, these are extremely significant talks that have the potential to end a decades' long conflict in this Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan. There are a few factors in place here that make this diplomatic ground different than any other in the past.

Let me just bring you up to speed as to what brought those negotiators to the table today. You have of course, the local authority, the local Armenian authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh, you had the Azerbaijani authorities and you have Russian mediators all there after an escalation of violence earlier this week when Azerbaijan carried out a military operation in that enclave.

That led to dozens of people killed reportedly including civilians and children Azerbaijan says that Armenia of course the backer of the local ethnic authorities there in that region was shelling are involved in aggravating Azerbaijani troops Armenia, for its part has denied that regardless of the civilians on the ground facing again.

That bloody escalation and then yesterday, Wednesday a ceasefire was called in a very dramatic very important concession from the local Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh and they agreed to disarm, to lay down their arms that has been a locally run area self-controlled, self-styled, if you will, despite it being internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

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And that's why there is hope that Azerbaijan can see through its stated goal essentially integrating that region. Now, that does not come without backlash. Of course, there was demonstrations yesterday in Armenia, many locals they're feeling that their government has failed to protect the local Armenian population in that enclave.

Why is this changing now? Why is the set of factors changing now? Well, those who back the supporters if you will of the Nagorno- Karabakh region, their support are faltering. Armenia has pulled away from these negotiations saying that they are not party right now to these mediations.

And they do acknowledge that this enclave is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Russia, which maintains relationships with all warring parties, but it's seen as closer to the Armenian side has also been hands off as it deals with the war in Ukraine. That means that for the tens of thousands, leaving there they feel like they are on their own, Max.

FOSTER: OK, Salma thank you, we're watching. India has suspended its Visa services for Canadian nationals. Whilst Canada says it's temporarily adjusting its diplomatic staff in India is the latest in a series of escalating moves between those two nations.

Tensions have been rising after the Canadian Prime Minister accused the Indian government are playing or possibly playing a role in the assassination of a Sikh separatist activist in Canada that was back in June. CNN's Vedika Sud joins us live from New Delhi; everyday things are getting worse in this relationship, Vedika.

VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, that the last 72 hours have been pretty intense. And so was today, Max. But let me just start with a bit of context here. You know, every Thursday, almost every Thursday, there's a weekly briefing chaired by the spokesperson of India's Ministry of External Affairs.

Today, there was a weekly briefing, it was a packed room. Unlike the other days at least, I haven't seen something like this in the last two years or more. And that press briefing lasted for 45 minutes. And of the 45 minutes, 42 minutes plus was just spent on answering questions on the deteriorating tensions between India and Canada.

And almost 35 plus questions were asked on that issue. Now very important to note here what you've also said right at the top is that India is temporarily suspending Visas to Canadian nationals. Now here's what the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi had to say when he was asked this question by a journalist.

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ARINDAM BAGCHI, SPOKESMAN, INDIA'S MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS: You are aware of the security threats being faced by our high commission and consulates in Canada. This has disrupted their normal functioning. Accordingly, our high commission and consulates are temporarily unable to process Visa applications. We will be reviewing the situation on a regular basis.

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SUD: And the other big development is that the Canadian consulate here the high commission rather here in New Delhi has issued a statement saying that they considering downsizing the diplomatic presence in the consulate and the high commission a big move here.

And I just want to even quote from that statement that they put out. They said with some diplomats having received threats in various social media platforms, Global Affairs, Canada is assessing its staff complement in India. As a result, and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to temporarily adjust staff presence in India.

Now that question again was put to the Indian government, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs did respond to it. And he said there should be presence, or rather there should be parity in rank is what he said, because there seem to be more diplomats.

And the presence of Canadian diplomats in India seems to be a lot more than that of India, in Canada. So, huge developments happening day by day, Max, as you pointed out, and the tensions really going south between the two nations. No word from the Indian Prime Minister yet.

But this was the first official press briefing where a lot of questions were asked on this route and a lot of very strong worded statements there from the Ministry of External Affairs, back to you.

FOSTER: OK, Vedika, thank you. Now, a mother on the front lines will meet a seasoned Ukrainian soldier who is also a mother of three. That story is next.

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FOSTER: Some of the fiercest battles in Ukraine's fight against Russian forces are happening in the South. Among those fighting on the frontlines is a battle hardened soldier is also a mother of three young children. And CNN's Fred Pleitgen met with a woman they call unbreakable. From the sad wife she's giving up so much to fight for her country.

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PLEITGEN (voice-over): As Ukrainian artillery hits Russian troops, one of those scoping out Vladimir Putin forces and directing the fire is not only a career soldier, but also a mom of three her call sign -- , the unbreakable. I've seen so much at this stage that I can't be easily taken by surprise, she says.

But of course there is a constant risk -- has two daughters and a five year old son. She hasn't seen them since April. Is this tough, I ask? Of course they get offended when I'm not there when they need me as a parent, but they understand someone needs to do this work for our countries she says.

And that work is often gruesome for those on the front lines here in the south. The 47 mechanized brigades gave us this video they say shows their troops coming under Russian fire. Even while collecting the bodies of their fallen comrades. Their U.S. supplies that Bradley Fighting Vehicles bearing the scars of relentless combat.

PLEITGEN: This vehicle is really emblematic of just how tough the battle is down here in the south. You can see there's a lot of fire damage, will the Ukrainian say that's because this vehicle took hits from Russian artillery 152 millimeter Russian artillery shells and they say this is not an outlier. Most vehicles look like this.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The troops say they are making headway but often still get bogged down in Russian minefields and artillery barrages. Bradley driver nicknamed -- reports his toughest mission. Most scary situation was driving behind a de mining vehicle while it was creating a pass for us, he says.

We were coming under constant shelling the rounds were landing a few meters away from us. Ukrainian forces remain badly outgunned. As the country's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the U.S. pressing the Biden Administration for more -- says she will fight on for the future of her children.

I want them to live in a flourishing country, she says. I said many times that our job is small. We only have to win back our borders, but they will have to rebuild the whole country and that is a much harder job. Fred Pleitgen CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

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FOSTER: Still to come, King Charles here in Paris currently on his way to a market which was named after his mother during one of her previous visits. The weather's not too great, but that's not stopping him. He also gave a big speech this morning. We'll have details coming up.

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FOSTER: Why pictures from Central Paris, where the King and his wife Camilla are touring a flower market named after Charles's Mother Queen Elizabeth, the second. He actually spoke about Queen Elizabeth in a speech in the Senate this morning in thanking all the tributes that poured in from France because she was a hugely popular figure.

Now Charles is trying to define his new role, but it constantly refers back to the Queen because he wants to create a sense of continuity in the monarchies. That's what he's there for. But he's also there to stamp his own mark on his own monarchy. So he's going in there finally a bit more about France. But this is all about solidifying those relationships between France and the U.K. to key allies have been some pretty tense moments in the relationship, particularly politically since Britain left the European Union on the second day of the state visit here to France.

The King did address the Senate passionate speech switching between French and English, praising the two countries commitment to democracy and freedom in Ukraine actually, what he called the biggest challenge of our time, as well, which is climate change.

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KING CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM: Just as we stand together against military aggression, so must we strive together to protect the world from our most existential challenge of all that of global warming, climate change, and the catastrophic destruction of nature.

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FOSTER: It's actually the first time a British monarch has been allowed to speak on the floor there, so a big honor and he received a standing ovation from French lawmakers and then went on for about a minute and a half. He didn't quite know what to do with himself at one point, but he couldn't sit down until it was over.

The speech follows a lavish state dinner held at Versailles. On Wednesday evening, Charles and his wife Camilla will end their three day tour with a visit to Bordeaux, southwestern France. He's heading off there later today. Joining me now is Peter Westmacott. He was the U.K. ambassador to France between 2007 and 2011.

He was also deputy private secretary to the then Prince of Wales. And he joins me from London via Skype. Thank you for joining us, Peter. One of the key things that we've seen is the warm relationship between President Macron and the King. And that's, key isn't it?

Hopefully you can hear me. I was just talking to Peter about -- this very warm relationship between Macron and the King. That's part of that's actually what a lot of the diplomats working on this want to see. But it's about establishing a visual relationship between these two countries.

PETER WESTMACOTT, FORMER U.K. AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE: Yes, that's right. Of course, France is not an alien country, for the King, Prince of Wales as he was.

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He's been there 35 times, believe it or not, during his career, on official visits, he knows the country. Well, he's comfortable speaking in French, as you saw during his address to the Senate, he's very attached to France. He's been there privately. He's been there officially, he skis a lot.

He's very attached to agriculture to the rural life that is about a France. But I think what is also very important at a time when, as you rightly said, the political relationship between Britain and France has been through some bumpy times, largely because of all the Brexit stuff.

Here is a relationship with another head of state, one elected one hereditary King, which is important to both sides. And although British Prime Ministers think that the President of France is their opposite number, in terms of governance and politics, that's true, but in terms of Head of State, and that particular status, it is important for the President of France and the King and the Queen.

And she was then of the United Kingdom, to have that relationship as well. And what I think is valuable is that the King clearly attaches great importance to having that relationship with the President of France, just as he does with the Heads of State of other countries that are important to the U.K.

FOSTER: He was very outspoken about Ukraine in his speech today. Certainly, if you compared it to his mother, who wouldn't have got involved in issues like that at all, he did very much talking about how Ukraine must win the war. What do you make of that as a slight difference in this monarchy?

I think he is, in some ways, a little bolder, a little readier to say what he thinks on important issues, whether it's climate change, whether it's about the political relationship, or whether it's about the importance of Ukraine, winning against the Russian invasion.

So of course, as the Head of State visiting France first official visit, his remarks would have been cleared in advance with the government so there isn't a gap there isn't a problem. There isn't any sort of political tension there. But he is indicating not only I think, a personal view, but also the view of the British government.

But you're right I think he goes a little bit further on some of these important issues than we used to expect from the late Queen.

FOSTER: OK. We have to leave it there I'm sorry sir, Peter, thank you for so much for joining us. I'm Max Foster in Paris. "World Sport" with Amanda is up next.

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