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Trump, Putin End Summit With Talk of Progress But No Deal; Putin Suggests Next Meeting With Trump Could Be In Moscow. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired August 16, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:12]
SABRINA SINGH, FORMER DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: I will say that we always talk about what Ukraine needs to give up and the concessions Ukraine needs to make from this administration and from Russia. But what is Ukraine going to get? Can they get membership to NATO? What are the security guarantees? I think that is something that we can focus on to potentially bring a deal and bring a diplomatic solution here.
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: I want to hear more from Jim Sciutto on this. We'll pick up our coverage right after a quick break. Thank you all for watching. And, of course, my panel here as well.
We've got live coverage on the Trump-Putin summit out of Anchorage, Alaska, right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Sciutto, live in Anchorage, Alaska.
Despite no deal nor a decision on a ceasefire in Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump is giving Fridays meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin high marks. Not clear why.
Trump had said if there was no ceasefire, he would impose severe consequences on Putin. Still, he characterized his summit here in Anchorage as positive, spoke of progress made after the summit. President Trump told fox news he agreed with Putin that the war will end with swapping territory, and he said the next move now is up to Ukraine's president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, one or two pretty significant items, but I think they can be reached now. It's really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done. And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit. But it's up to President Zelenskyy.
I think we are -- and if they'd like I'll be at that next meeting. They're going to set up a meeting now between President Zelenskyy and President Putin and myself, I guess, you know? I didn't even -- I didn't ask about it. Not that I want to be there, but I want to make sure it gets done. And we have a pretty good chance of getting it done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: That's not what President Trump himself said prior to this summit. He said he was going to get the piece done. No one outside of the meeting knows exactly what Trump and Putin discussed. Friday, they did not reveal it at a joint news briefing after the summit, and they didn't take any questions from reporters.
In a break with tradition, Mr. Putin delivered his remarks first instead of the U.S. president, who is, of course, hosting the Russian leader, Putin said. In his view, the primary causes of the war must be eliminated for the fighting to end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive all this in a constructive manner and will not create any obstacles, will not make attempts to disrupt the progress through provocations and behind the scenes intrigues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: That is language that President Putin has used for years to justify Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Not clear that any progress was made. Another notable moment came when President Trump gave President Putin a ride in the U.S. presidential limousine. You see that there? The Beast, as it's known.
You can see the Russian leader, in fact, smiling in the back seat. The Kremlin shared this behind the scenes moment of the two leaders speaking on Friday. You can see President Trump smiling as the two leaders appear to be engaged in small talk. Trump later told Fox News that he will hold off for now on new sanctions or other severe consequences that he had previously threatened. In fact, just hours before the meeting against Russia.
At one point, Putin suggested that their next meeting might take place in Moscow. Mr. Trump said that might be controversial. However, he did not rule it out.
CNN's Clare Sebastian, she is in London monitoring the Russian reaction to Friday's summit. Our Ben Wedeman is in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
And I wonder, Ben, how Ukrainian officials and the Ukrainian public are receiving that quite strong signal from President Trump following the summit that now, in effect, the ball is in their court.
Prior to the summit, he had said he was going to make peace. That no longer seems to be the case. He's saying it's up to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. I think people here are concerned, concerned that what came out of this summit seems to put the onus back on Ukraine, even though it was Ukraine, that in February 2022 that was invaded by Russia.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I think the statement that president Trump gave in that interview with Fox's Sean Hannity, that a lot of points were negotiated on behalf of Ukraine, perhaps might spark worry that decisions were made or something along those lines at the expense of this country. In fact, at best, maybe nothing will come out of this summit, I think, is the view from Ukraine.
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For instance, one Ukrainian MP on social media said it seems that we've witnessed another grand and beautiful American nothingness. One Ukrainian journalist, also on social media, noted that in the course of this summit, there were 100 compliments to Putin. A red carpet. Jet fighters in the sky and nothing in the end. So, we are preparing now for more shelling and in fact, Zaporizhzhia, that city in southeastern Ukraine.
The air raid sirens went off about an hour and 30 minutes ago. The war has not come to an end. It appears that once again, President Trump is showing that he is leaning in the direction of Vladimir Putin. The body language, the warmth of his reception, the generally obsequious attitude towards the Russian leader is going to set off alarm bells here that perhaps President Trump has gone back to the same sort of attitude towards Ukraine that we saw witness. We saw sort of put in evidence. So dramatically in that very stormy oval office meeting earlier this year with President Zelenskyy -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: By the president's own standards of success, this summit a failure? No ceasefire. And again, a delay on his threat of severe consequences.
Clare Sebastian, I wonder, as you look at the Russian reaction to this summit, how they're receiving it and not just the warm welcome that Trump offered Putin, but also the end result?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Jim, I think the victories for Russia in this are pretty clear. As you say, no ceasefire, which allows them to drag this out even longer and no sanctions, because of course, you'll remember that they called for this meeting first and foremost to head off the threat of secondary sanctions that Putin -- that Trump had threatened to come in on August 8th against their biggest oil customers.
So now they have managed to head that off. It looks like Trump saying that he's going to wait on that perhaps 2 or 3 weeks. So, I think for now, in terms of Russia's short-term goals, this has worked. And listen to what I will not listen, but read what Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson who was there in Alaska, said when asked why they didn't take questions at that press conference, which, by the way, was a much more Putin style appearance. I think very brief, no questions than it was a Trump style appearance,
he said. And I quote, the conversation is really very positive. And the two presidents spoke about it. This is the very conversation, he said, that allows us to confidently continue moving forward together on the path of seeking resolution options confidently, I think, really reflects the mood in Russia at this point. And together he's really leaning into this bilateral track that they have now managed to push through with this meeting.
No mention, of course, of an of a follow up meeting involving President Zelenskyy. We know that that is something that Putin has strenuously tried to avoid. Well, of course, saying in public that he is not against the idea.
So, look, clearly for Russia. This is not only something where the substance matters, but also the propaganda value and the images, the optics of this, the red carpet, the warm handshake, the ride in the beast, as you noted, are playing very heavily on state TV. It is really hard to quantify the propaganda value of this, and one headline in a Russian daily, Komsomolskaya Pravda this morning, not only noted the sort of end of isolation, but the fact that Putin sort of seemed to be in charge here. It said Trump is used to dominating, but Alaska showed the primacy of Putin, proceeding to analyze all of these optics that we just discussed.
But one more comment, Jim, that I want to bring you on telegram from a Russian member of parliament, the head of a pro-Kremlin faction in the state duma, Sergey Mironov. He said, now, the pressure on Zelenskyy and his junta will increase not only on the battlefield but also on the diplomatic front. Of course, referring to the fact that there is now no ceasefire deal, he said this means the Alaska summit brings our victory and the onset of the lasting peace that we want closer.
So, I think this is something that the Russians are very much welcoming this morning, Jim, they seem to see it as a win for them.
SCIUTTO: Clare Sebastian in London, Ben Wedeman in Kyiv, thanks so much.
I'm joined now here in Anchorage by two Ukrainian refugees who are here in Alaska. Yuliia Maiba left her homeland after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Zori Opanasevych is the director of the New Chance Ukraine Relief Program, which assists Ukrainians here in Alaska.
Good to have you both here. Thanks so much for joining.
ZORI OPANASEVYCH, DIRECTOR, NEW CHANCE UKRAINE RELIEF PROGRAM: Thank you for having us.
SCIUTTO: Yuliia, I wonder, as you watch the summit today with no apparent progress towards peace, does it reduce your hope somewhat that you can go home again soon, that the war will end soon?
[00:10:03] YULIIA MAIBA, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE IN ALASKA: Well, first, I'd like to say that I almost have no home to go to. And I'm sorry. Just technical issues.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. Take your earpiece out. It's okay if you're hearing it. Yeah.
MAIBA: Yes. That's a little bit more.
SCIUTTO: You're concerned you don't have a home to go home to?
MAIBA: Yes. So that's my first concern. And secondly, it's been very worrisome. And I on purpose, watched the piece of news, the release in Russian and in English just to make my opinion on what actually happened there.
And unfortunately, I can't say that I have come to some concrete opinion because no concrete decisions were made. So, yeah, just I think all we have to do is just wait and see how the situation unfolds.
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
Zori, you speak with and help a number of Ukrainians who've come here seeking a better life. Do they have hope of returning home someday, of having a place to return to?
OPANASEVYCH: That's exactly the question. Do they have somewhere to return to? Now, after today, the Ukrainians that are here in Alaska, the Ukrainians that are here in America, don't have certainty in their immigration. And now Ukrainians in Ukraine don't have certainty, continue not to have certainty in their security in Ukraine.
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
OPANASEVYCH: So Ukrainians are forced to continue to wait.
SCIUTTO: That's an important point because the how long the immigration program that it was instituted following Russia's full scale invasion will stay in place, has been a consistent question here. What is the status of that program and what is the status of Ukrainian refugees here?
OPANASEVYCH: Our organization welcomed over 1,300 Ukrainians to the state of Alaska, all of them coming in a program called uniting for Ukraine. They are giving two years permission to be here. Okay. And another pathway for another two years.
But Ukrainians who are applying for that re-parole are not seeing that being processed. And so, they're waiting. It's like a -- clicking, you know, just the clock clicking and waiting. What's going to happen?
And it will expire for someone in a week. In a month. The longest that we have is 2026. That's a big stressor for people.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, without certainty. Yulia, I imagine you're facing this uncertainty yourself right now.
MAIBA: This situation stares at me every morning. I wake up and I stare at this situation, and there is nothing I can do. It's beyond my control.
I've already done everything I could have done at this point, and I'm just. All that remains is to hope for the war to end and for the immigration situation to be fully resolved.
SCIUTTO: How do the people of Alaska welcome you? I remember when I was in Ukraine during the invasion, and when I came back, it struck me how broad the support was in this country for the Ukrainian people. I saw Ukrainian flags on so many doorsteps and a great bipartisan effort, right, to welcome you. Has that waned in your experience over time?
MAIBA: Alaska has been great and the community has been great. And I already mentioned that I was an exchange student here 15 years ago, so it really helped me to settle back in into community. So I just love it here. And it's become my second home. And I would really prefer to have an opportunity to stay here longer.
SCIUTTO: Sorry. I wonder, is that a common view? Do most refugees, Ukrainian refugees who come here want to stay, or do many of them find themselves happy for now, but preferring to go home someday?
OPANASEVYCH: Initially?
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
OPANASEVYCH: When I was picking people up at the airport, they were saying, oh, we're just here for a month or two, right? A year later, they're telling me we have never had so many opportunities in our lives like we do now. And they're investing themselves.
They're learning the language. They're advancing their careers. Their kids are competing in soccer, and IT challenges. They're doing so well, and they've really built a new life. And I don't think they want to do that again yet again.
SCIUTTO: Well, I can imagine, Yuliia, from your own perspective, you would only want to go home, or at least it would only be an option when you would feel safe there.
MAIBA: Of course.
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
MAIBA: Right now, it's not even an option for me. So, if my status expires here, I'm just thinking of what I will do in like after Christmas. And I just know that I will embrace any reality that I will have to face. I have no other choice.
SCIUTTO: President Trump, in my experience, is very reluctant to say simply this war is Russia's fault. In Ukrainian children, if you had a moment to address President Trump, Yulia, what would you say to him about the war.
MAIBA: I just think that we have well known facts that have been highlighted in multiple news sources. And if we just look at that, that would probably give the answer of who's at fault.
[00:15:02]
SCIUTTO: Yeah, it's -- and so is this a challenge you face here in this country.
Do you have to do you have to explain to Americans who's responsible for this war?
OPANASEVYCH: Not in Alaska. Alaska has been a very welcoming place. Alaska has shown a lot of care. And welcome to Ukrainians. And thankfully, we don't have that challenge.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. Well, listen, I'm glad you're safe here now, and I hope you get some clarity on your future soon. Thanks for the work you do, and good luck to you, Yuliia.
MAIBA: Thank you so much.
SCIUTTO: Well, Vladimir Putin has laid out his conditions for ending the conflict in Ukraine. In fact, is there quite familiar. He's been saying quite similar for many years now. So, what does the President of Russia want? We're going to have more on that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, press. Thank you, press. Thank you, press. Let's go.
Thank you, press. Thank you, press. Let's go. Come on guys, come on guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go, let's go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, press. Let's go. Thank you
(EN VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: That was the Russian President Vladimir Putin, displaying a confused, maybe even bemused expression when asked questions by members of the press.
[00:20:05]
He was asked there whether he would agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, whether he would agree to stop killing civilians, and why. Should Trump trust his word now?
It was unclear what he said in response. His position, however, seemed quite unchanged when referring to a possible end to the hostilities, which he of course started.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PUTIN: Our country is sincerely interested in putting an end to this. But at the same time, we are convinced that in order for the Ukrainian settlement to be sustainable and long term, all the root causes of this crisis, which have been repeatedly discussed must be eliminated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: I'm joined now by Tom Nichols. He's a staff writer for "The Atlantic".
Tom, thanks for staying up late with me tonight.
TOM NICHOLS, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Thank you, Jim.
SCIUTTO: So, Tom, that phrase root causes is one that we've heard repeated by the Russian president going back to the very start of this war. And in the simplest terms, the root causes, from Putin's view, are not his fault. He blames NATO. He blames Ukraine's move to the West. He blames non-existent Nazification of Ukraine. All these things for the invasion.
So, when you heard that phrase again here, did it show you that Putin has not changed his demands one iota?
NICHOLS: Yeah. The minute you hear root causes, you know that that the president has gotten nowhere here and that Putin is right where he was years ago. And in addition to the things you mentioned, Jim, besides NATO and the European Union and all of the usual boogeymen that haunt Putin's imagination, the main root cause of this for him is the independent existence of a state called Ukraine. He doesn't accept it. He's never accepted it. Even when we had much more cordial relations with the United States and the west had much more cordial relations with Putin's Russia.
He said that to George W. Bush. He said it's not a real country. It can't exist. And when he when Putin starts talking about root causes, that means he has said, I have to extrapolate from that and say he has said to Donald Trump, this, this goes on until I get what I want, which is the eradication of an independent Ukraine.
SCIUTTO: Has President Trump realized that at all? Because he seemed, frankly, quite easily swayed once again by the Russian president? I mean, even when you listen to his comments to Fox News following the summit, Trump once again certainly delaying any severe consequences for Russia's refusal to sign on to a ceasefire. And seeming now to pass the baton to Ukraine rather than himself to negotiate a peace.
NICHOLS: Yeah, there's two things going on here. I think one of them is that Donald Trump simply does not understand anything that is not sort of flatly transactional. You know, he doesn't understand anything that basically is in a real estate deal.
And so, the idea that Putin is obsessed with Ukraine for other reasons, I think -- I think president Trump just doesn't understand any of that stuff and doesn't understand why he cant make a deal.
And I think the other reason you're hearing this kind of talk from the president is, after all of this buildup, he's not going to admit failure. He's not -- he is not going to walk out of there the way I think other presidents would have. After a failed summit and be kind of stone faced and say, we, you know, we had a cordial good interaction, but we didn't get anywhere. And now I'm getting on Air Force One and leaving. He has to say that it went great.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. Looking ahead now, as you know, there has been a bipartisan proposal, at least on the floor of Congress to impose new sanctions on Russia. But, Republicans on the hill, as you know, do not act without the direction of the president.
Does Congress now act to impose sanctions, given that that Putin once again has refused to move forward? Or do we see them delay just as easily as President Trump seems to be delaying?
NICHOLS: If Congress were co-equal branch of government that actually cared about the things that claims to care about. And if the Republican majority were actually reflecting the wishes of a majority of Republicans, as well as the majority of the American people, they would certainly act to do this.
But Donald Trump holds them back on this because he first of all, he thinks Putin. He somehow thinks he understands Putin, and Putin is his friend.
[00:25:05]
He's afraid of Putin. He looks up to Putin. He's intimidated by Putin.
But the other is if Congress moves ahead with these measures -- again, that is that forces president Trump to admit failure, that that forces him to say, okay, I didn't get anywhere. This is now going to go to Congress. Congress can impose these sanctions, and he's just not going to let them do that.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. So often its about, impressions as opposed to the policy itself.
Tom Nichols from "The Atlantic", thanks so much for joining.
NICHOLS: Thank you, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Still ahead, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin claim they made progress toward ending the war in Ukraine at their meeting here in Anchorage, Alaska. But with seemingly little to show for it. Well, it's just not clear what they walked away with, on the same day, Russia launched fresh attacks on Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For us, for Ukrainians, it's very unfair that Zelenskyy is not being part of this because they're deciding about us and we're not there, right? So, something is just not right. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. I'm Jim Sciutto, live in Anchorage, Alaska.
Let's take a look at today's top stories.
President Donald Trump is giving Fridays meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin here in Anchorage high marks despite no deal and no decision on a ceasefire in Ukraine, which he demanded in advance. Both men still characterize the summit as positive, said they made progress.
[00:30:04]
They did not, however, reveal the substance of their talks at a joint news briefing just after the summit. And they took no questions from reporters.
Fires continue to rage across parts of Europe, with Spain now battling 14 blazes. Portugal fighting five in Spain, the fires have killed seven people, burned an area the size of London. Thousands of firefighters have been deployed across Spain and Portugal. Weather conditions have been causing further complications.
Massive flooding has caused devastation across parts of Pakistan. The Indian administered Kashmir and Nepal in northwestern Pakistan, at least 189 people are dead, including 12 children, after heavy flooding ripped through communities in the region.
And in Kashmir, 60 people are dead. More than 200 missing as a result of the flooding there. Well, we continue to cover the aftermath of the Trump-Putin summit here in Anchorage.
Now I'm joined by Alena Naiden. She's a reporter with the Alaska Desk at Alaska Public media and KNBA.
Good to have you here. Thanks so much for joining.
ALENA NAIDEN, REPORTER, ALASKA PUBLIC MEDIA: Thank you so much for having me.
SCIUTTO: Now you have been covering how the community has been reacting to the summit here today. And we noticed there were a fair number of protests here, protests in support of Ukraine.
Is that where the majority of this community in Anchorage leans when it relates to the war in Ukraine?
NAIDEN: Yeah. So Anchorage and Alaska overall has a pretty deep Slavic roots, and we have a very strong Ukrainian community specifically. And yeah, as far as protests go, we had at least a dozen of protests across the state in small villages in big towns and in anchorage. Here we had at least one protest in support of president Trump and welcoming the president here and maybe supporting him in his efforts to bring the peace talks closer.
But then the majority of events we covered here, they were in solidarity with Ukraine specifically, one of the main messages that we heard was frustration that the meeting did not involve President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And people were a little -- there were a lot of emotions involved with that. And people were wondering what this meeting can even entail if the side of the country that is being invaded is not.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, is not represented. Yeah. The community here in Anchorage, in Alaska more broadly have taken in a number of Ukrainian refugees since the full-scale invasion. And I spoke to two of them just earlier in this hour. Has that welcome stayed even as the war has dragged on?
NAIDEN: Yes. The welcome definitely stayed and extended. Yeah. So the number of Ukrainians in Alaska has been steadily growing exponentially, I would say growing since the war since Russia invaded Ukraine. And yeah, so for us, for our coverage, it was really important to speak to some of the people in Ukrainian community to see how they see this meeting. And again, an overwhelming message was frustration that their country was not represented at the table.
SCIUTTO: Let me ask you about your -- you're originally from Russia, from Saint Petersburg yourself. So how do you how do you view this war, being here, living in America now, covering this this protest, the protests in the city, but also the summit, because it must be personal for you as well, to some degree.
NAIDEN: It is personal. It is interesting. I would say it is really interesting. And it feels like the two worlds, two parts of my life kind of coming together. In terms of the war in politics. I'm a journalist, so I'm --
SCIUTTO: Sure.
NAIDEN: -- you know I have to stay as unbiased as I can, but I can say that, you know, war and people being killed and cities being destroyed is not something that I can support as a human.
SCIUTTO: No question. Now, when you look at the end result of this summit here and you speak to others in the community, were they disappointed with the outcome of the summit?
NAIDEN: To be completely frank with you, this has been a really busy time for journalists. Of course, as yourself. And so, we've been covering nonstop. And so, the last coverage I did was on protest coming up to the summit, and I haven't gotten a chance to speak to people to gather their reactions after the summit.
So --
SCIUTTO: Well, given -- given that, well, the community here opened its arms to, to the Russian president as well as, of course, the U.S. president. We'll have you back on to discuss.
Alena, thanks so much for joining.
NAIDEN: Thank you so much.
SCIUTTO: Well, despite the push for peace here at the Alaska summit, Ukraine says that Russia has not been dialing down its war effort at all. In fact, the Ukrainian Air Force issued an air raid warning just as the two presidents were posing for photos here in Anchorage, shaking hands on the tarmac.
[00:35:07]
Ukraine says that Russia struck civilian infrastructure in the northeastern Sumy region on Friday, setting fire to some buildings there. Three people were killed, one wounded in attacks in central and eastern Ukraine. Ukraine Russia denies conducting those strikes. It accused Kyiv of trying to derail the summit. Ukraine's president, however, says Moscow is in fact showing its true colors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The war continues. It continues precisely because there is no order nor any signals from Moscow, that is preparing to end this war. They are also killing on the day of the negotiations, and that speaks volumes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: For more analysis now of the outcome of these talks, were joined by Dan Rice, a former special adviser to Ukraine's commander in chief. He is the president of the American University Kyiv. He's joining us now live from New York this hour.
Dan, thanks so much for taking the time this evening.
DAN RICE, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY KYIV: Hi, Jim. How are you doing?
SCIUTTO: So, given you straddle the U.S. and the Ukrainian community with your post in Kyiv, what is your readout of the results of this summit? Was anything achieved in Anchorage today?
RICE: Well, Jim, I think it's early to decide what's been achieved or not achieved. I think the meeting is a step forward in progress. You know, it's a very difficult situation. Obviously, but you know, for President Trump to be putting so much effort into trying to find peace, I think is a very positive step forward. The United States has tremendous power, and that has not been wielded prior and is now being wielded. And I think it's a -- it's a good step forward.
It's very difficult for Ukrainians to see a red carpet rolled out in Alaska for, Putin, who's a war criminal and a disgusting human being who has genocide every night against Ukrainians. So, there's a lot of emotion behind this. But I do believe this is a step forward towards peace.
SCIUTTO: You say that the president, president Trump, has enormous power to influence events in Ukraine, but the president said himself prior that if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire, that there would be severe consequences.
Trump's, it appears, apologies, technical difficulties. We lost Dan Rice's U.S. signal there will attempt to get him back. And once we do, well continue our special coverage here in Alaska.
What's next after Trump and Putin and the summit without a deal to end the war, well take a closer look right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:41:09]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. Jim Sciutto live here in Anchorage, Alaska.
We do have back Dan Rice, former special adviser to Ukraine's commander in chief, now president of the American University in Kyiv.
Dan, so to the question I asked you before we lost communications there, you said that President Trump wields power to move things along, but Trump promised severe consequences if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire, and Putin did not agree to a ceasefire here. Is Trump exercising that power?
RICE: A great question, Jim. I mean, well look forward to seeing what happens here. You know, we do have tremendous power from the American side, whether we wield it now is the big question.
Ukraine needs our support in terms of sanctions, further sanctions on secondary sanctions on the oil, being purchased by India, Brazil and China and also on military support. And so if we continue the military support and we continue this and we increase secondary sanctions, I think well put significant pressure on Putin. But at least the dialogue is open. That wasn't opened for three and a half years.
SCIUTTO: Two phrases stood out to me from President Putin's comment following the meeting. One, legitimate interests describing Russia's quote, unquote legitimate, legitimate security interests when it comes to Ukraine, but also root causes addressing, he said that the root causes of the war must be addressed.
That tends to mean in Putin speak, that this is not Russia's fault, that the war is the fault of Ukraine, discussion of NATO membership, et cetera. In hearing those phrases once again from him, did that indicate to you that the Russian president has not moved his position at all on this war and the way forward?
RICE: Well, Jim, he's a KGB colonel deep at heart. He's a -- he's a dictator. He's going to use these terms in negotiation style. But the reality is the causes is all. We all know it's a joke. I mean, it's a ridiculous amount of things that he says that don't make any sense.
Basically, he's not opportunistic dictator who saw the best of the 15 republics of all of the Soviet Union was Ukraine. And he said, I want it. and he saw that America was weak because President Biden has just evacuated Afghanistan, and he decided to take it because that's what he wanted. He came up with a bunch of excuses, russification, Nazification, blah, blah, blah.
All these root causes are all not real. The reality is he just chose that he wanted it and he chose it. He would not have invaded had President Trump won that election. He said it today. And president Trump has said it, but we all know it. America looked weak and we pulled out our embassy and we pulled out our special forces in February of 2022.
That's when I went in. That's when I started working in Ukraine. Jim, the only reason that he did this was an opportunistic dictator, and now he's caught in a trap where he has to come up with root causes.
The root causes are not real. They're not real. They're fictitious. They're an excuse.
SCIUTTO: Did we move any closer to peace in Ukraine today?
RICE: My hope is that we did, Jim. And my hope is that in the private discussions that President Trump used, force on Putin. And when you're dealing with a dictator like this, a madman basically with nuclear weapons, this is not 1938. This is not Hitler as all so many people have oversimplified.
[00:45:00]
This is a dictator with nuclear weapons. Privately, you scold them publicly, you don't. And that's what I think President Trump is doing.
So, we don't know what went on in private discussions. But I do hope that President Trump scolded him in person. And then also told him all of the things that we will do economically. And President Trump has three and a half years to do these things to him. And so hopefully he's put the squeeze on him that publicly, Putin will have to start to back down.
Now, we all would love to see him publicly scolded, and we all would love to see him hung by a string. You know, and he's been convicted as a war criminal. We'd all like to see him die publicly, but President Trump has to negotiate with him in a very delicate manner, manage, because he is a dictator with nuclear weapons. And so, it's a very delicate situation.
But I'm glad the dialogue has started. And but I'm -- I feel for my Ukrainian friends that hate to see a red carpet rolled out to a sick puppy who's bombing Ukraine right now.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. Yep. Who continues to.
Dan Rice in Kyiv, thanks so much.
Well, based in Kyiv, in New York tonight. Thanks so much for joining.
RICE: Thanks, Jim. SCIUTTO: Well, joining me now is David Sanger, CNN political and
national security analyst. Also, of course, works for "The New York Times" and author of "New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion and America's Struggle to Defend the West".
David, good to have you. You were inside the room there when the Russian and U.S. leaders walked in. And, of course, they're seated in the front row. All of their advisors.
Did you sense disappointment in that room?
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It was interesting. The advisers kept up a pretty game face. I thought that that was interesting and so did both presidents.
They had clearly decided that they were going to cast this as progress, even though if you use the metrics that the president talked about on the way out wasn't there, and certainly as you were just discussing with Dan Rice, you know, the very fact that the president a week ago was saying, if there's no ceasefire, they're going to be sanctioned, very severe consequences, sanctions, nothing I can do about these guys in the senate who are going to impose. Right. None of that.
SCIUTTO: I mean, the president has set multiple deadlines over the course of the last several months for new, severe consequences for Russia. And blown through his own deadlines. And he appears to have done it once again. How does Russia interpret that? I mean, I know that I mean, as Dan Rice would say, you know, there are things you say in private. There are things you say in public.
But the fact is he has not imposed any new costs on Russia. And Russia is continuing its war.
SANGER: That's right. The only cost he has imposed have been the secondary sanctions through India. But then inconsistently not done the same with China, which is buying more Russian oil than, the Indians are. So, what are we left with here?
First of all, I think Putin concludes that Trump would like to be a peacemaker. Certainly, loved to get that that Nobel Peace Prize, if he could get it. But he's not really willing to extract a major cost to the United States. Yeah, risk. Big increase in oil prices that would spike inflation. He's not willing to pay much of a price for that.
Second, look at where Vladimir Putin is right now compared to where he was this morning. He shows up at a meeting that he looked to largely dominate. He's on American soil. He's invited to basically be back in the family of world leaders who are accepted and --
SCIUTTO: And get a ride in the presidential limousine.
SANGER: A nice ride in the presidential limousine.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. SANGER: Probably they're -- probably there's some folks back in Moscow tomorrow get a memo about improvements he wants in his own right. And, along the way, he has emerged basically cost free with this yeah acceptance.
And here's somebody who couldn't land in Europe for fear that he would of the arrest warrant on war crimes. And yet he just showed up in the largest member of NATO.
SCIUTTO: How do we interpret President Trump's comments in that Fox News interview following the summit, that now it is up to Ukraine, now it is up to Zelenskyy to make peace. Is he -- is he passing the football?
SANGER: Well, it seemed that way to me. And we're all going to have to dig into this. And my guess is that once President Trump briefs the Europeans, there should be, you know, a few milliseconds before all of this leaks. Right. But what will happen now is Zelenskyy will hear probably here's the land proposal, land swaps.
[00:50:01]
And it was pretty clear to President Trump from his conversations with the Europeans, with Zelenskyy himself, that the president isn't going to get to decide on Ukraine's land swaps. But what he could do is say Zelenskyy is now the problem.
Now, Zelenskyy avoided that a little bit by the fact that this was so inconclusive. If you're Zelenskyy or the Europeans, you're probably a little relieved that this came out the way it did, because he's not in the jam. But that doesn't mean he won't be in the jam in the future.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. I mean, we've seen the pendulum swing so dramatically over the last several weeks and months.
David Sanger, good to have you.
SANGER: Great.
SCIUTTO: Hope you get some rest.
SANGER: You, too.
SCIUTTO: And a safe trip home.
SANGER: Thanks.
SCIUTTO: We'll have much more ahead on the Trump Putin summit. I'll be back right at the top of the hour.
Let's go to our other news, though. Ben Hunte has that coverage from Atlanta -- Ben.
BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, thank you, Jim.
So much more to come on CNN NEWSROOM, including heavy rain triggering flooding across parts of Asia this week, killing hundreds of people. We'll have the latest, next.
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HUNTE: Welcome back.
The first Atlantic hurricane of the season is now a category 2 storm. And it's expected to grow into a major hurricane this weekend.
[00:55:01]
Erin has sustained winds of 155 kilometers per hour. It will bring heavy rainfall to the Northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Forecasters predict the storm could reach category four by Sunday. Direct landfall on any Caribbean Island is unlikely, but not impossible. Residents of a Portuguese village joined firefighters on Friday to turn back a blaze that was threatening homes. Currently, there are five large fires burning in Portugal in the central and northern parts of the country. Thousands of firefighters have been deployed to these areas as fires continue to threaten communities.
Meanwhile, 14 major fires continue to burn in Spain as high winds and heat fueled the flames. So far, seven people across the country have died and an area the size of London has been burned. Residents of a Spanish village also helped with firefighting efforts by gathering water to put out the flames.
Massive flooding has caused devastation across parts of Pakistan. India administered Kashmir and Nepal. In northwestern Pakistan, at least 189 people are dead, including 12 children, after heavy flooding ripped through the region.
On Friday, the country's meteorological department issued another alert warning of possible flash floods. In India, administered Kashmir, 60 people are dead and more than 200 are missing as a result of the flooding. Witnesses say the downpour swept away cars and damaged buildings.
This also comes as more than 40 people were killed in Nepal, and more flooding is expected.
That's all I've got for you for now. Thanks for joining me and the team.
I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta, and I'll see you in an hour. Jim will be back in just a few minutes with more on the Trump-Putin summit. See you in about.
