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CNN International: Biden: Hopeful for Ceasefire in Gaza By Monday; France Hosts International Conference on Aid to Ukraine; Aide Claims Prisoner Swap in Works Before Navalny's Death; Biden Faces anger from Arab and Muslim Democrats in Michigan. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired February 27, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're close. We're not done yet. And my hope is by next Monday, we'll have a ceasefire.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police meeting the protesters with water cannons as patience begins to wear thin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The road to the White House runs through Michigan. You don't win without Michigan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted to come here and redeem myself a little bit. And yes, it's nice to walk away with the win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and around the world. I'm Max Foster.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Bianca Nobilo. It's Tuesday, February 27th, 9 a.m. here in London, 11 a.m. in Gaza and 4 a.m. on the U.S. East Coast where President Joe Biden says he's hopeful there will be a ceasefire in the fighting between Israel and Hamas by Monday that could allow for the release of more hostages. Mr. Biden was speaking to reporters while visiting an ice cream shop with comedian Seth Meyers in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you give us a sense of when you think that ceasefire will start, sir?

BIDEN: Well, I hope by the beginning of the weekend. I mean, the end of the weekend. At least my national security advisor tells me that we're close. We're close. We're not done yet. And my hope is by next Monday, we'll have a ceasefire.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FOSTER: Well, Biden also warned Israel that it risks losing support on the international stage if the war in Gaza continues at this pace. But an Israeli official told CNN Tuesday that Israel is surprised that Biden expressed optimism for a ceasefire by Monday and confirmed that the hope is that a deal would initially involve the release of about 40 hostages, including female Israeli soldiers.

NOBILO: Meantime, sources tell CNN that Hamas has backed off some key demands in the ongoing talks. Officials from the U.S., Israel, Egypt and Qatar met in Doha on Monday to discuss the finer points of a potential deal.

Journalist Elliott Gotkine joins us now. Elliott, what are the chances that a deal gets done in less than a week? And also, has there been any other reaction to President Biden's remarks at the ice cream shop?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Well, one assumes it wasn't the ice cream talking, but certainly everyone watching that would have been surprised.

And now Israeli officials are telling us that they themselves were quite surprised and that they expressed this optimism that a deal would be done. Not that a deal would be done, period, but that a deal would be done as soon as Monday.

Now, we know that the Biden administration was pushing to get a deal done in time for the holy month of Ramadan, which is due to begin around about March the 10th. And we also know that we've moved on from those framework talks in Paris and talks are actually happening in Doha, so-called proximity talks, because Hamas is there as well. The head of the political bureau meeting with the emir of Qatar. You've got the Israelis, Egyptians and Americans there as well.

So they're in the same city, even if they're not talking directly with one another. So this is fueling this optimism, fueling this momentum, and there is hopes that a deal is getting closer. But I think the surprise was that President Biden said that it was going to happen as soon as Monday.

And actually, in an interview, so we can be sure that it wasn't just the ice cream talking, President Biden addressed the ceasefire issue a little bit more in an interview on American television.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The hostages being held must be released. And if we've got at least a principle agreement, there'll be a ceasefire while that takes place.

Ramadan's coming up and there's been an agreement by the Israelis that they would not engage in activities during Ramadan as well in order to give us time to get all the hostages out. That gives us time to begin to move in directions that a lot of Arab countries are prepared to move in.

(END VIDEO CLIP) GOTKINE: And of course, at the same time, we know a lot can go wrong between now and next Monday, so it may not happen on Monday.

And what we've seen in the past, albeit less severe conflicts between Israel and Hamas, that when there is a ceasefire on the cards, the fighting actually intensifies before you get there, as people want to make as many gains as possible before the guns fall silent.

NOBILO: I'm sure viewers noticed as well that when Biden was by the ice cream stand with Seth Meyers, he appeared to correct himself but then say the same thing when he said there should be a ceasefire by the end of next week or by the end of this week. So that was interesting. It almost seemed like he was going to change his answer.

Tell us more about the details that we've gleaned about what the ceasefire might entail.

[04:05:00]

GOTKINE: So there are a number of reports out there, including from Reuters, and some of this has been confirmed by this Israeli official, to the extent that it would involve around 40 Israeli hostages.

We understand that would be women, people under the age of 19, so children, the over 50s, and in particular, the Israeli official said, female Israeli soldiers. Now, we understand there are 13 women among the 100 or so hostages that are still in captivity, and about five of those are of military age. So there could be about five or so female hostages.

At the same time, there'll be a 40-day pause in fighting, and about 10 times that number of Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli jails. There would be 500 aid trucks going into Gaza on a daily basis, thousands of tents and caravans to help with shelter, and at the same time, things like bakeries and hospitals being repaired so that they can resume functioning.

So those are the broad parameters we're hearing from Reuters, also from Israeli officials, and as we say, Biden certainly is optimistic it can happen by Monday, whether that will be the case. You know, we'll have to see.

Let's not forget as well that we have the primary in Michigan going on, where Arab American voters may be less put off by the Biden administration's support for Israel if there is an imminent ceasefire.

NOBILO: Which I think seems like wishful thinking, given that a lot of damage has been done and it would be too little too late.

Just one final question to you. So would the IDF presumably stay in place, even if there's a ceasefire and there's no fighting, there would be no element of withdrawal, they'll remain in all of the territory?

GOTKINE: So, what we understand from Biden administration officials is that Hamas has actually climbed down from some of its maximalist demands, such as Israel withdrawing forces from the whole of the Gaza Strip and also ending the war completely. Now it's hoped that during this truce there will be discussions towards ending the war and thornier issues like getting male IDF soldiers freed and Palestinian prisoners who are serving longer sentences for killing Israelis and the like, released as well.

And there will be some details about where the positions for Israeli troops should be, but certainly this would not mean an end to the war or Israel withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.

NOBILO: Elliott, thank you.

FOSTER: Leaders from across Europe huddled in Paris for a conference focused on aid to Ukraine at a critical time for the country as it enters its third year of war with Russia and as U.S. assistance stalls in Congress.

NOBILO: Representatives of the European Union's 27 member countries took part in Monday's meeting hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. France says the goal was to find ways to boost support for Ukraine as the country's fight on the battlefield is hampered by a dwindling supply of ammunition and weapons.

FOSTER: Macron said a new coalition would be set up to supply Ukraine with medium and long-range missiles and bombs. The French president said European leaders even discussed the prospect of sending Western troops to Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): There is no consensus today to send ground troops in an official, endorsed or sanctioned manner. But in dynamic terms, nothing should be ruled out. We would do whatever it takes to ensure that Russia cannot win this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: After more than a year of delays and obstacles from Turkey and Hungary, there's now nothing standing in the way of Sweden's accession into NATO.

FOSTER: On Monday, the Hungarian parliament approved Sweden's bid to join the military alliance, the final hurdle that Stockholm needed to clear.

Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban dropped his months- long opposition to the accession after reaching a defense agreement with his Swedish counterpart.

NOBILO: Now Sweden is free to become NATO's 32nd member. Russia's war on Ukraine led to the Nordic nation breaking its 200-year-long history of military neutrality. And Sweden's Prime Minister says he's sure Moscow won't be happy about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ULF KRISTERSSON, SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): As far as Russia is concerned, the only thing we can safely expect is that they do not like Sweden becoming a NATO member. They didn't like Finland becoming a NATO member either. The whole purpose was to emphasize that a country like Ukraine would not be allowed to choose its own path.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Clare is here joining us with all of this. I mean, I think the thing that's really stood out to Bianca and I when we came this morning, was that comment from Macron. The idea that ground troops could go into Ukraine. You know, on one level, perhaps understandable, but you know, on a macro level, that's profound.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It would be a huge shift. Now he really has been couching it. He said in other comments that, you know, I've never said France was not in favor. He said we should not exclude that there might be a need for some elements, as he put it, of deployment.

But he openly said that he wants to maintain this so-called strategic ambiguity. So he's sort of floating the idea. He admits there's no consensus.

FOSTER: With NATO troops in a non-NATO country?

[04:10:00]

SEBASTIAN: Well, yes, I mean, I don't know that it would be under a NATO mission. You'd have to have a specific NATO mission legally to make that happen, like we saw in the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan and things like that. There's no sense as of now, we're trying to clarify with NATO, that that would be on the table.

FOSTER: But it'd be seen as that, wouldn't it?

SEBASTIAN: Right.

FOSTER: That's the object.

SEBASTIAN: Certainly for Russia, this would bolster the rhetoric that they were in fact at war with NATO, which is something that we've seen all along.

So, you know, this would be a Rubicon that I think few people ever thought would be cross-border. But as I said, no consensus as of yet, no plan, no agreement, but he has put it out there.

And there were a couple of other pretty significant things that came up out of this meeting, which was pretty hastily arranged. I think you really get a sense that Europe is trying to lead and there's a real collective sense of urgency. One is a coalition to supply medium and long-range missiles, which Ukraine desperately needs. And secondly, a Czech initiative is gaining steam to buy artillery shells from third countries outside of Europe. So a recognition that Europe really can't supply everything that Ukraine needs.

FOSTER: And in terms of Sweden, when we look at that map, NATO's now got the Baltics surrounded and its border has increased massively and that's not going to go down well in Moscow.

SEBASTIAN: It definitely won't go down well in Moscow.

There's not been a huge amount of reaction as of yet. There's one Russian senator who's come out and said that, you know, this is a major blow by the West to the principle of indivisibility of European security. He said that Sweden has been destroyed as a sovereign state.

Now, look, while Finland obviously massively increased NATO's border with Russia, Sweden will give it much more control, as you say, over two regions. One, the Baltic, and two, the Arctic. Now we have a situation, once Sweden does join, where the only country bordering the Baltic that isn't in NATO will be the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

And separately within the Arctic, out of eight Arctic countries, only one will not be in NATO and that's Russia. So certainly it allows NATO to project its force much more effectively over these regions.

FOSTER: OK, Clare, thank you so much.

Now, one of Alexei Navalny's top aides says a prisoner swap was in the works before the opposition leader's death, that Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich had delivered the proposal to Vladimir Putin.

NOBILO: One Western official confirmed to CNN that early discussions were going on between the U.S. and Germany but no formal offer had been made. CNN's Matthew Chance is in Moscow with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mourners still paying their respects at makeshift memorials across Russia. But now another unexpected twist in Alexei Navalny's tragic saga.

According to his close aide, negotiations for the release of the Russian opposition leader were reaching a conclusion. He was poised to be swapped, say his team, before he suddenly died.

MARIA PEVCHIKH, HEAD OF INVESTIGATIONS AT NAVALNY'S ANTI-CORRUPTION FOUNDATION (through translator): Navalny should have been free in the coming days because we achieved a decision on his exchange. I received confirmation that negotiations were underway and were at the final stage on the evening of February 15th.

On February 16th, Alexei was killed.

CHANCE (voice-over): The Kremlin tells CNN it has no knowledge of any deal and had nothing to do with his death. But Navalny's team insists the Russian opposition figure was killed to prevent him from being swapped.

CHANCE: You can see Evan Gershkovich is in there. Hi, Matthew from CNN.

CHANCE (voice-over): Swapped along with U.S. citizens in Russian jails, like Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage.

Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan serving 16 years for spying. The U.S. says both are unlawfully detained and has been negotiating for their release, including early talks on Navalny, one Western official tells CNN.

But the Kremlin has regularly hinted it wants back this man, a former FSB agent, Vadim Krasikov, serving a life sentence in Germany for killing a Chechen dissident.

Navalny's team accuses the Kremlin of simply taking the opposition leader off the negotiating table by killing him. Allegations the Kremlin denies.

PEVCHIKH (through translator): It was clearly communicated to Putin that the only way to get Krasikov is to exchange him for Navalny.

Hold on, thought Putin. I can't tolerate Navalny being free. And since they're willing to exchange Krasikov in principle, then I just need to get rid of the bargaining chip.

CHANCE (voice-over): No person, in other words, no problem. The kind of ruthlessness that saw Alexei Navalny poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in 2020. Recovering only to be arrested and imprisoned on his return to Russia the following year.

After news of his unexplained death, hundreds of mourners were detained while laying flowers. Now Navalny's team says a public farewell, a potential flashpoint, will be held at the end of this week. In death, as in life, it seems, it says a public farewell, a potential flashpoint, will be held at the end of this week.

In death, as in life, it seems, Alexei Navalny continues to challenge the Kremlin's power.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: For the first time in this year's U.S. presidential race, a major battleground state will hold its nominating contests.

NOBILO: Michigan went for Donald Trump back in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020, and it's anyone's guess come November. But today's primary could expose vulnerabilities for both of the leading candidates. Trump, with his strong advantage in delegates, will be spending the day in Florida.

FOSTER: And the last Republican challenger standing, Nikki Haley, will fundraise and hold a campaign event in Colorado.

Meanwhile, President Biden dismissed concerns about his age on Monday during an appearance on late-night talk shows and argued that Trump is behind the times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: It's about how old your ideas are. Look, I mean, this is a guy who wants to take us back. He wants to take us back on Roe v. Wade. He wants to take us back on a whole range of issues that for 50, 60 years they've been solid American positions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: However, it's not Mr. Biden's age that has a key group of Michigan Democrats working against him, but rather his handling of the conflict in Gaza.

NOBILO: Arab and Muslim Democrats make up a substantial voting bloc in the swing state, and they're furious that there's still no ceasefire, as CNN's Dianne Gallagher reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEMONSTRATORS: Free, free, free Palestine!

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A pivotal November battleground.

LAVORA BARNES, CHAIR, MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY: The road to the White House runs through Michigan. You don't win without Michigan.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): But some Democrats are using Tuesday's primary to put President Joe Biden on notice.

LEXI ZEIDAN, PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN ACTIVIST: A warning to Biden and his administration that they need to hear our calls and heed our demands and respond to what it is that were asking for, which is an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): Using their ballots to protest the president's handling the war in Gaza by voting uncommitted in the Democratic primary.

LAYLA ELABED, CAMPAIGN MANAGER, LISTEN TO MICHIGAN: It's a humanitarian vote. It's a protest vote.

GALLAGHER: The grassroots Listen to Michigan campaign --

AD ANNOUNCER: Vote uncommitted.

GALLAGHER: -- launched by members of the state's large Arab community, just three weeks ago, has expanded to count progressive and young voters among its supporters, like Pontiac City Councilman Mikal Goodman.

MIKAL GOODMAN, PONTIAC CITY COUNCILMEMBER: Because we are often told many times that the power that we have, the system in the U.S., is through the power of the ballot. And this is us using that power. No one who is voting uncommitted wants Trump. They want what's happening in Gaza to stop.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): More than 30 state and local elected officials endorsed the campaign, as did Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress.

REP. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-MI): If you want us to be louder, then come here and vote uncommitted.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): Organizers say for most, today's message is about the primary, but there's a lingering warning.

ABBAS ALAWIEH, SPOKESPERSON, LISTEN TO MICHIGAN: You need to call for a ceasefire because it will save lives and because its the necessary thing to do politically. Otherwise, you, President Biden will be handing the White House to Donald Trump.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): The Biden campaign has acknowledged Michigan's importance in this election. But allies of the president aren't quite sounding alarms over the uncommitted primary strategy yet.

LAVORA BARNES, CHAIR, MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY: I'm hoping and expecting that these folks will come vote for Joe Biden in November. But right now, they have an issue they want brought attention to and it's working. That's why we have an early presidential primary.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): The uncommitted campaign's goal is modest.

ELABED: Our threshold is 10,000 uncommitted votes because that strategy is based off of the numbers that Trump won in 2016 against Hillary Clinton.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): In 2020, Biden won Michigan getting by more than 150,000 votes. But some Biden supporters like former Congressman Andy Levin say the president's prospects this November are uncertain.

ANDY LEVIN, FORMER U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: I mean, I'm going to do everything I can to get him elected in November. All I'm saying is I don't know if we can succeed unless we change course, and by the way, it's the right thing to do.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): He says he voted uncommitted in the primary, not because his support for the president is wavering.

LEVIN: Well, I think the great danger for Joe Biden here in the Michigan primary is that he would win with no indication that he has a problem, with no visibility of how angry people are.

GALLAGHER: Now, the goal may be a nod to 2016, but the campaign inspiration actually goes back to 2008 when uncommitted came in second place to Hillary Clinton with 40 percent of the vote. Then-candidate Barack Obama and John Edwards had removed their names from the ballot after the DNC punished Michigan for moving its primary up.

Now, look, it's important to note that Michiganders, they vote uncommitted all the time, and not everyone who votes that way on Tuesday is supporting the campaign here. [04:20:00]

But the organizers say that Democrats as a whole should pay attention because this is not political for many of the people here. It is personal.

They have friends and family members that have been killed in Gaza, and they say that it's not just a risk that they may leave the top of the ticket blank, but that they may not show up to vote at all in November if something doesn't change.

Dianne Gallagher, CNN, Dearborn, Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Mourners gathered outside the Israeli embassy in Washington on Monday to remember the Air Force member who lit himself on fire there in protest on Sunday. The Air Force says he was 25 years old, and airman Aaron Bushnell.

FOSTER: In a video from just before the incident, Bushnell said he, quote, would no longer be complicit in genocide and that his suffering was minimal compared to the plight of Palestinians in Gaza. Bushnell then lit himself on fire and later died from his injuries.

The Pentagon reporters asked if there could be more members of the U.S. military with similar feelings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But is the Secretary concerned that this might indicate that there's a deeper issue, maybe U.S. military personnel being concerned about how weapons and support for Israel is being used on civilians in Gaza?

MAJ. GEN. PAT RYDER, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Well, look, from a Department of Defense standpoint, since Hamas's brutal attacks on October 7th, we've been focused on the four key areas that the Secretary set out from the onset. That's protecting U.S. forces and citizens in the region, supporting Israel's inherent right to defend itself from terrorist attacks, working closely with Israel to support and secure the release of hostages from Hamas, and ensuring that the crisis, the conflict between Hamas and Israel, doesn't escalate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The Pentagon says Bushnell was a cyber-defense operations specialist and he worked in military intelligence.

NOBILO: Farmers across Europe are protesting government policies that are keeping the price of produce low as the cost of farming continues to rise. We'll have details on that for you ahead.

FOSTER: Plus, an Australian photographer files a complaint with police alleging he was assaulted by Taylor Swift's father.

NOBILO: And later on, Cuba's top cigar maker says sales are soaring. But you might be surprised to learn who its biggest buyers are.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Scientists say Antarctica's so-called Doomsday Glacier has been rapidly melting since the 1940s, three decades earlier than previously thought. The glacier got its nickname because its collapse could cause a catastrophic rise in sea levels. New findings also match data on a neighboring glacier which started melting around the same time.

Neither one of those has shown any signs of recovery, either. And scientists say that that is significant because if both glaciers are retreating simultaneously, it means they're being forced by something, pointing to further evidence of human-caused climate change.

[04:25:03]

FOSTER: Abrupt temperature changes could bring severe storms to parts of the U.S. in the coming days. Unseasonably warm weather will soon be followed by a massive cold front sweeping in from the west. Meteorologist Chad Myers has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Another very warm day again today and tomorrow in some spots. Over 60 record highs will be broken across the country just over the next 48 hours. So, yes, Dallas, Texas, yesterday you were 94. Mineral Wells was 97 degrees.

And a cold front's going to come by and knock that completely gone. For today, Dallas gets to 90, tomorrow back down into the 50s. Even for Chicago, Wednesday you're going to be 70 and then knock your temperatures down by 37 degrees to 33.

That's the cold front. And it's the same cold front that could make severe weather tonight around Chicago, around southern Michigan, also Indiana, Illinois, and then by morning possibly all the way down toward the Ohio River. When you have warm air like this and cold air wants to push it away, there is the potential for those storms to want to rise.

When you push those storms into the air, you get severe thunderstorms possible even this time of year. I know we think about March, April, May being severe weather season, but when the warm air is this warm, you can certainly get severe weather. 70 degrees in Chicago on Wednesday, and then here's your knockdown, all the way to 21 for a morning low.

Some of the outdoor plants may not like that very much. We'll have to see what happens to all of those things that want to grow. Then all of a sudden Mother Nature says, nope, how about 21? That'll freeze them up a little bit, so we'll have to be very careful and possibly even get them covered up if they start to peak out there.

(END VIDEOTAPE) NOBILO: Police in Australia are investigating an assault complaint against Taylor Swift's father. Photographer Ben McDonald told CNN that he learned the pop superstar was aboard a yacht after her final show in Sydney on Monday, and he said once Swift left the boat, a security guard forced an umbrella into his face, and then Swift's dad punched him.

FOSTER: In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for Swift said two individuals were aggressively pushing their way towards Taylor, grabbing at her security personnel and threatening to throw a female staff member into the water.

McDonald denies that claim and calls Swift's entourage aggressive and unprofessional.

Immigration over the southern U.S. border has become a huge focus, of course, in the presidential race, and now the two leading candidates are getting ready to visit.

NOBILO: Plus, we'll meet the magician behind a fake Biden robocall to New Hampshire voters, yet another reason why candidates are on guard against artificial intelligence. It's intriguing.

[04:30:00]