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Russia Says, Ready for Direct Talks With Ukraine; Trump and Zelenskyy Face-to-Face; Pope Francis' Final Journey. Aired 3-3.30a ET

Aired April 27, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to all our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

Coming up on scene and newsroom, Russia says it's ready to hold direct talks with Ukraine as U.S. President Donald Trump questions whether Moscow is serious about ending the war.

And Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president come face-to-face for the first time since the Oval Office showdown.

And Pope Francis' final journey, one more surprise from the pontiff of now mourned by millions of people.

Those stories in a moment, but, first, we're just getting video in from Vancouver where police say a number of people being killed and multiple others injured after a car plowed into a crowd at a street festival. They say the driver is now in custody.

The street festival was celebrating Filipino heritage. Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, have posted statements on social media. He wrote on X. I'm devastated to hear about the horrific events at Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver earlier this evening. I offer my deepest condolences to those loved ones who were killed and injured, to the Filipino-Canadian community and to everyone in Vancouver. We are all mourning with you.

U.S. President Donald Trump is questioning whether Russia wants to end the war in Ukraine and he's threatening more sanctions, even as Moscow now says it's ready to hold direct talks with Kyiv with no strings attached. The Kremlin statement came hours after Mr. Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican on the sidelines of the Pope's funeral. We haven't heard details about what was said, but Mr. Zelenskyy called it a meeting that has the potential to become, quote, historic.

Russia and Ukraine haven't spoken directly since the early days of the war, but there is a catch, setting up direct talks could take time. And the White House has made it clear it wants a deal soon.

Well, the meeting between the Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy was their first since that infamous clash they had in the White House back in February.

CNN's Kevin Liptak explains how the White House is putting a positive spin on the latest talks. But, first, here's Nic Robertson on the meeting itself.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You are looking here at images of an event we didn't know was going to happen, a meeting between us President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a meeting on the margins of Pope Francis' funeral. They're sitting inside the Vatican, inside St. Peter's Basilica. And joining them there, there's Emmanuel Macron, the French President, Keir Starmer, the British prime minister.

Ukrainian officials say, the meeting with President Trump was very productive, lasted about 15 minutes. But in one of the images there, Emmanuel Macron has his hand on Volodymyr Zelenskyy shoulders, very powerful image, remembering that just a few months ago, back in February, the last time President Zelenskyy met President Trump, it was a tempestuous meeting, the U.S. president pressuring to accept peace on terms he didn't want to accept, telling him that he wasn't appreciative enough of the U.S. support, a tempestuous meeting.

Zelenskyy now having the backing of the French president, the British prime minister in those talks and the symbolism written larger than even just being in the Vatican while Pope Francis' funeral is being prepared, a Pope who wanted peace in Ukraine, who was all about peace in his life that this meeting should take place, so symbolic.

Nic Roberson, CNN, London.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: The White House described President Trump's 15-minute meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, as very productive there inside St. Peter's Basilica, the two men sitting knee-to-knee, perched on those chairs discussing the war in Ukraine.

You know, these two men have made no secret of their dislike for each other. They're distressed. Even over the past week, President Trump has said that he's no fan of Zelenskyy and has accused him of prolonging the conflict. But it was very notable what the president said after this meeting as he was returning here to New Jersey aboard Air Force One, the president offering a stern rebuke not of Zelenskyy but of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, referencing that aerial assault that Russia carried out on Kyiv last week, the worst assault in nine months in the Ukrainian Capitol.

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President Trump writing on Truth Social, there is no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns over the last few days. President Trump goes on to say, it makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war. He's just tapping me along and has to be dealt with differently through banking or secondary sanctions.

So, a notable shift in tone there from President Trump. You know, even as recently as Thursday, he has said that he believes that Putin is serious about bringing this war to an end. I was in the cabinet room on Thursday. I asked the president directly after this assault Kyiv whether he thought Putin still wanted to reach a peace agreement, and he said he did. He thought both sides wanted to reach a deal.

Now, the president is really voicing a lot of the concerns that you hear from European leaders, which is that Putin may be trying to play for time here, essentially, that he thinks he has the upper hand and is potentially stringing Trump along in these negotiations. Now, Trump seems to be suggesting that he is of that view as well.

Now, whether this is a sustained point of view on the part of President Trump remains to be seen. It's hard to take too much stock in anything he says about this conflict, but because it does change relatively frequently. But as we butt up on the 100th day of this second Trump administration, it is becoming clear that he's frustrated that his attempts to bring this conflict to an end have so far not been fruitful, and that, in his view, Putin may be just as responsible as Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, Bridgewater, New Jersey.

KINKADE: Well, last hour, I spoke with The New York Times chief diplomatic correspondent, Steven Erlanger. I asked him about the meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy, especially the dramatic difference between February's shouting match at the White House and Saturday's meeting at the Vatican.

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STEVEN ERLANGER, CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: It was nicely set up by the P.R. people, beautiful photograph, peace on Earth, pope funeral. It's crucial with Trump who speaks to him last. He seems to flip flop back and forth. He is getting very frustrated. His sudden understanding that Vladimir Putin may not want the war to end is a kind of hello there because this has been quite clear for quite a long time.

Now, it may change a little bit because this is a public diplomacy as well as a private one now that Russia has announced it has taken back all of its sovereign territory in the Kursk region. That announcement was made yesterday. It was pretty clear Putin would never agree to a ceasefire while Ukrainian troops were on Russian soil. He has obviously no problem with Russian troops on Ukrainian soil.

So maybe this will bring about a change. It's very hard to know. Steve Witkoff saw Putin just the day before on Friday and obviously came away with nothing that made President Trump very happy.

KINKADE: Yes. And, Steven, of course, in recent months, Trump has looked to be more aligned with Russia. As he departed Rome, he posted online that maybe Putin doesn't want to end the war, wondering whether Putin was stringing him along. What does this post tell you? Did Trump misread Vladimir Putin?

ERLANGER: Oh, I think he is been misreading him for the last decade. But, yes, I think he has been misreading him. Vladimir Putin has his own national interests.

The thing about the ceasefire is, in a way, Trump wants it desperately. He's coming on 100 days. Putin has no real interest in a ceasefire. He thinks he's actually winning the war. And Zelenskyy wants to please Trump because, really, American aid and intelligence and air defense matter to him. But, you know, in the end, neither side's really ready if Putin keeps saying he has other conditions. Well, his other conditions are pretty dramatic.

What the Europeans with the Ukrainians have presented as a counterproposal, I think, is fairer to Ukraine. It's more Ukraine's point of view, but it's very hard for me to think Putin will accept that.

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KINKADE: Well, Russia claims it's pushed Ukrainian troops out of its Kursk region. That's the area where Ukraine launched a surprise incursion last year. In August, Ukraine said it had seized almost a thousand square kilometers in Kursk.

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The land was considered a possible bargaining chip in peace talks. But in recent months, Russian forces regained ground with the help of an estimated 12,000 North Korean troops. President Vladimir Putin says Kursk will be a springboard for future Russian operations. But Ukraine says it's forces has still conductive defensive operations in parts of that region.

And Russian authorities say a suspect is in custody after a car explosion that killed a general near Moscow on Friday. Russia says he's, quote, Ukrainian Special Services agent. Investigators alleged that he bought the car and planted an explosive device in it. That device was later detonated from Ukraine.

The man's nationality is not clear, but Russian officials say he has a Ukrainian residence permit. Reports say the general had just walked out of a building and was close to the car when it exploded.

Well, local media report that more than two dozen people are dead and hundreds are injured after a massive explosion in Iran's biggest port. Officials say the blast was likely linked to chemicals being stored in the port complex. However, an exact reason has yet to be determined. Iran's president has ordered an investigation into the cause of the incident and it prompted authorities to declare a state of emergency in the city due to the significant rise in air pollution. The port has been closed and maritime operations suspended, according to state media.

Still to come, we look at some of the big moments from Pope Francis' funeral, as well as some of the surprises.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. We have new details on the developing story from Vancouver we reported at the top of the hour. Police say several people have been killed, multiple others injured after a car plowed into a crowd at a street festival. They say the driver is a 30-year- old Vancouver man who is now in custody. The street festival was celebrating Filipino heritage.

Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, posted statements on social media. We will have more details as we learn them.

Well, the basilica of St. Mary Major is now open to the public for those who wish to pay their final respects to Pope Francis at his tomb. We're getting our first look inside since his funeral. He asked that the tomb not have ornate decoration. He wanted an image of a cross that he wore as Archbishop of Buenos Aires and the Latin inscription of his papal name, Franciscus. He's the first pope in more than a century to be buried outside the walls of the Vatican.

And we are just over an hour away from a Vatican mass that marks the second day of nine days of mourning after the pope's funeral. More than 250,000 mourners attended the funeral in St. Peter's Square on Saturday.

CNN's Christopher Lamb reports from Rome.

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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis was full of surprises, and so it was on the day of his funeral and burial. Francis was transferred from the Vatican to the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, his final resting place, in the Pope Mobile. No one had foreseen that. It meant that for Francis' final journey, he was on the Pope Mobile and was able to pass through the streets of Rome, which was surrounded with people, a pope who was so close to people able for one last time to be amongst them.

The other surprise was the extraordinary image of a meeting between President Trump and President Zelenskyy in St. Peter's Basilica. Now, Francis, throughout his life, made repeated appeals for peace, for dialogue between world leaders, how fitting it was to see a meeting taking place in the basilica of these two leaders.

Now, the summary that took place in St. Peter's followed the pattern of a Catholic mass. However, there were some specific prayers said for hopes there were the chance of the choir, and then, of course, the homily by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

It was striking though that whilst the service was somber, whilst it was serious, it was also hopeful. When Cardinal Ray spoke about Pope Francis' vision for a field hospital church, and when Cardinal Re spoke about Pope Francis' calls for peace, the crowd broke out in spontaneous applause.

The images and the scenes from this funeral on Saturday were extraordinary. They will live long in the memory, a truly historic occasion and a fitting tribute for a pope whose legacy is likely to live on for a long time in the Catholic Church. Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.

KINKADE: Well, Christians in Gaza gathered to bid a final fare world of Pope Francis. Churchgoers Sat inside Holy Family Church in Gaza City Saturday and watched a stream of the pope's funeral. The church is the besiege territory's only Catholic parish. Pope Francis phoned the church every night after the war between Israel and Hamas began, and spoke with church leaders and some of the Palestinians sheltering there.

The pontiff was an outspoken critic of Israel's actions in the territory and repeatedly called for an end to the war.

Well, CNN's Jeremy Diamond explains of the special bond between the pope and Palestinian Christians.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For the last 18 months of his life, this was Pope Francis' nightly ritual, at 8:00 P.M. a call to war-torn Gaza.

From the third day of the war until two days before his death, Pope Francis spoke nightly with the Holy Family Church, forging a special wartime bond that priests and parishioners of Gaza's only Catholic Church won't ever forget.

FATHER GABRIEL ROMANELLI, HOLY FAMILY CHURCH IN GAZA: Daily, he call us and then to ask for peace, to pray for peace, and to give the blessing for all Gazan people, and for all the Palestinian.

DIAMOND: He spoke to us with a father's anxiety for his children, Church Leader George Antone, recalled. He would reassure us checking if we had eaten, if we had something to drink, if we had medicine, how the children were feeling, how the mothers were coping.

The relationship drew the pope closer to the plight of Gaza's civilian population and informed his outspoken criticism of Israel's attacks.

Yesterday, children were bombed, the pope cried in December. This is cruelty. This is not war. I want to say this because it touched my heart.

The pope also regularly called out rising anti-Semitism and demanded the release of Israeli hostages, including in his final address on Easter Sunday, in which he called for a ceasefire one last time.

Inside Gaza's Holy Family Church, one of the many communities Pope Francis touched, gathers to pray for his soul and for the world to see them as Francis did.

My message to the world is to look at Gaza with the same eyes through which Pope Francis viewed it, eyes of truth, justice, peace, love, eyes, that saw the people of Gaza as deserving of life with dignity, justice, and independence. From this small church in Gaza, a prayer against the scourge of indifference, which Pope Francis called the greatest sickness of our time.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

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KINKADE: Senior Hamas leaders and Egyptian officials met in Cairo Saturday with aims of brokering a ceasefire prisoner exchange deal with Israel and lifting the blockade on desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza.

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An Egyptian official told CNN that Israel has been invited to meet with the negotiators Monday. It's unclear if Israel has accepted that invitation. More than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel resumed its war in Gaza just over a month ago, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Canadians go to the polls Monday to elect their federal members of parliament. Current Prime Minister Mark Carney leads his liberal party against five other national parties, including main rivals, the conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre.

The campaigns have been energized by opposition to Donald Trump's controversial tariffs and talk of making the country a U.S. state. The liberals leading margin in national opinion polling shrank somewhat recently as the American president was keeping quiet about Canada. But that didn't last, now saying that -- Trump now saying that he might further increase tariffs on Canadian auto imports.

Authorities say the death that Virginia Giuffre, a prominent accuser of financier Jeffrey Epstein was not suspicious. Giuffre claimed that in addition to Epstein, Britain's Prince Andrew abused her when she was a teenager. Nine News Journalist Michael Stan reports from a small town just outside of Perth, Australia, where Giuffre died on Friday.

MICHAEL STAMP, NINE NEWS JOURNALIST: It was here in this small town of Neergabby, about 80 kilometers north of Perth, where Virginia Giuffre died. The 41-year-old was living at this family farm, a large property where police and paramedics responded to. They provided first aid, but she couldn't be saved. Giuffre's family releasing this statement, she was the light that lifted so many survivors. She was heroic and will always be remembered for her incredible courage and loving spirit. In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.

She was one of the earliest voices and most prominent accusers of Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew, alleging she was trafficked for sex to the Duke of York by Epstein multiple times when she was a teenager. Prince Andrew has denied the allegations that she reached a financial settlement with him in 2022. In 2019, Giuffre bravely told her story on 60 Minutes.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did you learn that you were going to be trafficked to him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I, you know, was woken up by Ghislaine in the morning and told I was going to meet a prince, and up until then I didn't even -- I should have known, but I didn't even know that I was going to be trafficked that night to him.

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STAMP: Last month, she was taken to hospital after a minor bus crash near her home. Her family saying she posted to Instagram by mistake revealing she had four days to livem claiming doctors told her she was suffering from kidney failure.

W.A. police's major crime detectives are investigating, but say the mother of three's death is not suspicious.

KINKADE: We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

Well, Wrexham Football Club have just achieved promotion for the third consecutive season that's making their Hollywood owners and their fans in Wales and worldwide very happy.

Well, CNN's World Sport's Patrick Snell has more.

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PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, it really is the incredible underdog story that we simply cannot get enough of, Wrexham Football Club, a team based in Wales, but totally rejuvenated by Tinseltown itself. We're talking Hollywood. Wrexham are co-owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who brought the then struggling club back in 2021.

The last two seasons though, had seen the team celebrating back-to- back promotions to take them into the third tier of the English football pyramid. On Saturday, they had the chance to make it a third straight promotion and get to the second tier, just one away from the Premier League. They had to beat Charlton though and Oliver Rathbone putting them ahead on 15 minutes, this after Wickham lost a late in Orient earlier in the day, Sam Smith with a stunning second goal just three minutes later. And then nine minutes from time, Smith again with a header. Cue the celebrations. The co-owners are loving it. Wrexham seal the 3-0 win and book their spots in the second tier championship for next season. Wrexham returning to that second tier, by the way, for the first time since 1982.

So, what could be next? Well, the Premier League. Let's hear now from two very happy co-owners.

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ROB MCELHENNEY, WREXHAM CO-OWNER: That's for tomorrow to think about. Today is just enjoying the moment.

RYAN REYNOLDS, WREXHAM CO-OWNER: Wait, are we allowed to wait until tomorrow?

MCELHENNEY: I think -- well, yes. I mean, we could probably wait until 12:01.

REYNOLDS: Okay. Yes, I could do 12:01.

MCELHENNEY: Yes, that's fine. And then tomorrow, we'll talk about --

REYNOLDS: I'll erase the whiteboard I put up at to halftime.

MCELHENNEY: Yes, it might get a little pricier from here on out.

REYNOLDS: It's premature.

MCELHENNEY: But we're just going to enjoy the moment.

REYNOLDS: Yes, that's for sure. That is for sure.

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SNELL: It is an amazing story. You know, when the Hollywood co-owners took over, Wrexham was struggling in the lower levels of the football system. But since the injection of hope in the town, again, the money and the team as well, what a transformation we have seen with every euphoric moment as well of the journey documented in the docuseries, Welcome to Wrexham.

For now, you know, this story is far from being over. It's back to you.

KINKADE: Our thanks to Patrick. Well, there is a saying, a crying baby is a healthy baby, and it has its own meaning in Japan. 160 babies participated in Saturday's Naki Sumo or Crying Sumo Festival in Tokyo. The babies are lifted into the air by sumo Sumer wrestlers while priests gently try to make them cry. The 400-year-old Japanese tradition is based on the belief that a baby's strong cry wards off evil spirits and signals good health.

Well, thanks for joining us. I'm Lynda Kinkade in Atlanta. African Voices Change Makers is up next, and then there's much more seen in Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber in about 30 minutes time.

Stay with us. You're watching CNN.

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