Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump Meets with Ukrainian President and European Leaders at the White House; Former Senior IDF Officer Says Deaths in Gaza "Necessary"; States Send National Guard Troops to D.C. Per Trump's Request; Idea of Freezing Front Lines Gains Momentum in Ukraine War Talks; Painful Talks Over Territory Before Ukraine War Will End; Woman in Paraguay Hopeful for 'Dignified Death'. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired August 19, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:17]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Shifting alliances as Ukraine's president arrives with European leaders at the White House, ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDER STUBB, FINNISH PRESIDENT: A good conversation on security guarantees.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And what could be a game changer with the U.S. president backing post-war security guarantees for Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The question of territories is a question that we will save for me and Putin to decide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That issue could soon be dealt with during a possible, almost probable one-on-one meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think he wants to make a deal for me. You understand that? As crazy as it sounds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: He is Vladimir Putin and a hot mic moment as President Trump talks candidly to France's Emmanuel Macron.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause. VAUSE: Three days after the U.S. and Russian presidents met in Alaska,

Ukraine's president arrived at the White House for talks with President Trump. But Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived with friends. The leaders of Britain, France and Germany, all key U.S. allies.

Trump says they all had a very good meeting and now he's working to arrange another, this time between Putin and Zelenskyy. At one point during Monday's talks, he left the room and called Vladimir Putin. The German chancellor says the Russian president has agreed to meet with Zelenskyy in the next two weeks. But whether Putin actually follows through remains to be seen.

Zelenskyy says he's ready to talk under any format. Notably wearing a suit, not his usual fatigues, Zelenskyy described his conversation with Trump as good, a far different outcome than the last Oval Office meeting back in February.

On Monday, the leaders appeared to share a mostly united front in a push to end the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I believe a peace agreement at the end of all of this is something that's very attainable, and it can be done in the near future.

MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: I think if we play this well, we could end this.

FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: The next steps ahead are the more complicated ones now. The path is open. You opened it last Friday.

ZELENSKYY: I think that we had a very good conversation with President Trump.

TRUMP: Very good.

ZELENSKYY: And it really was the best one. Or sorry, maybe the best one will be in the future. But it was really good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Zelenskyy says guarantees were discussed Monday and that included plans for Ukraine to purchase $90 billion in U.S. weapons through European funding. They did not discuss redrawing Ukrainian boundaries, according to the NATO chief, who said any talks about territory would need to involve Zelenskyy and Putin together. A sentiment shared by Zelenskyy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): The question of territories is a question that we will save for me and Putin to decide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Jeff Zeleny, following all of these developments, reporting in now from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So at the end of a long day of meetings here at the White House, the bottom line is there could be more meetings this time, potentially with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That is what President Trump announced on his Truth Social social media account at the end of the day.

He said he is working to arrange a meeting. Less clear, however, is if Putin is interested in what the timeframe is and what conditions this meeting would take place, that would Zelenskyy agree to that as well.

So after meeting one-on-one with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon, really a much warmer meeting than the one that six months ago ended with Zelenskyy effectively being thrown out of the White House.

The leaders then went on to meet in the East Room here where all European leaders visiting here, some seven of them, sat down with President Trump and talked about some specifics. But it was clear divisions also exist, like on a ceasefire, for example. The German chancellor said he believes a ceasefire must be in place before any peace discussions can begin. French President Emmanuel Macron, also echoed that, saying a truce must happen first.

So it's an open question here, actually, how much progress was made that is going to be determined in the hours and days, perhaps the weeks to come. But what we do know is that President Trump is trying to drive toward a process, trying to accelerate a process, if you will. It is less clear how fast President Putin would like to operate on this because even as the Ukrainian president was here in Washington, bombs were still falling in Ukraine.

So now the ball is in Putin's court, Zelenskyy's court, but President Trump said after they meet one-on-one, if that happens, he would join them for a trilateral meeting.

[00:05:04]

So clearly he has signaled some progress to come. But we will certainly see how all parties see it and if that Putin-Zelenskyy meeting ever takes place.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: For more on this extraordinary White House meeting, we're joined now by Matthew Schmidt, associate professor of national security at the University of New Haven in Connecticut.

Thank you for being with us. It's good to see you.

MATTHEW SCHMIDT, ASSOC. PROFESSOR OF NATIONAL SECURITY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: It's always good to be here, John.

VAUSE: So the images, just the images from the White House on Monday seem to say a lot about how alliances and relationships have changed over the course of this war. Ukraine seems to be no longer alone, pleading for help from NATO members. Now it's Ukraine and Europe working together on the United States. Here's some of the outcomes. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STUBB: A good conversation on security guarantees. In other words, security guarantees by Europe and coordinated with the United States for Ukraine. And we start that work on concrete things immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That would seem to be a pretty big deal. Europe sees Ukrainian security guarantees almost like European security guarantees.

SCHMIDT: Yes. That's exactly what Europe is thinking right now. They're looking at Ukraine and they've finally been convinced. Ukraine has convinced them after several years that Ukraine's security is Europe's security, and everybody is in the White House today because they want to make sure that whatever deal happens, European security is protected by making sure there's security guarantee for Ukraine.

And that's different. That's not the way it was back in 2022, 2023. That's a huge change. And that's because of what Ukraine has been doing to educate those leaders.

VAUSE: And having security guarantees, that means someone has to enforce them on that. Here's the U.S. president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Your team has talked about security guarantees. Could that involve U.S. troops? Would you rule that out in the future?

TRUMP: Will let you know that maybe later today. When it comes to security, there's going to be a lot of help. It's going to be good. They are first line of defense because they're there. They're Europe. But we're going to help them out also. We'll be involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So a significant change for the U.S. president on that. But how will this impact the rest of Europe? In the past it's been Britain and France willing to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. The others not so much. Does that change now?

SCHMIDT: This is not a small detail to be worked out as though -- as though this is going to be easy. This is going to pretty much be the crux of it. This and the land swaps, right? Whose troops? Is Russia going to allow European troops not wearing NATO arm patches? Right? Is it going to be OSCE? This is a huge problem to figure out how many, where they're going to be positioned. If they are, are they there to monitor? Are they there to deter? Are they there to train?

This is the kind of thing that in the normal world would take months and months to work out and is exactly the kind of thing, you know, where you heard the leaders before say you want a truce first, right? You want a ceasefire first in order to discuss these things. And so I'm a skeptic right now about how far this is going to go.

VAUSE: It seems that, you know, for Russian President Vladimir Putin have been a good couple of weeks. Not so much now. Was there concern amongst the European leaders that Trump was getting closer and closer to the Kremlin, and that's one of the reasons why they essentially turned up today?

SCHMIDT: Yes, that's exactly what they were worried about. I think those fears are not really allayed yet. They've got Trump to say some appropriate words today. But when push comes to shove and they start talking about whose troops, where, or where do we draw those lines, or what are the rules of engagement, I think there's no guarantee that the president of the United States won't back out, won't move back towards Putin's position, won't even do that again if Putin, you know, refuses a ceasefire. So I really don't see anything here today. This is all still talk.

VAUSE: Well, at one point during these discussions, Donald Trump sort of left the room. And he did actually make a phone call to Vladimir Putin. And this is what he said later during -- on FOX News about what was discussed during that conversation. I think this is Marco Rubio, the secretary of state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: The president suggested that Zelenskyy and Putin meet. So we're working on that now to try to set that up for them to meet somewhere, which, again, would be unprecedented.

Just the fact that Putin is saying, sure, I'll meet with Zelenskyy, that's a big deal. I mean, I'm not saying they're going to leave that room best friends. I'm not saying they're going to leave that room with a peace deal. But I think the fact that people are now talking to each other, this wasn't happening for three and a half years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And to your point about words and deeds, saying he will meet with Zelenskyy is one thing. Actually meeting with Zelenskyy remains to be another. It's still all up to Putin.

[00:10:08]

SCHMIDT: Yes, look, I don't trust Putin and Zelenskyy doesn't trust Putin. If you look at the history of, you know, him saying he's going to do these kinds of things, engage in a ceasefire, meet and then backing out, finding a rationale to do that. I mean, that's his history. It's littered with those kinds of examples. And so, you know, I'll sort of, I'll believe it when I see it. Professionally, I don't see a lot of reason for Putin to come to the

negotiating table right now. There's no reason he can't keep dragging this out weeks or months. He needs a ceasefire, but he doesn't need it in the next three months. He needs it in the next six to 12 months.

VAUSE: Matthew, thank you. Matthew Schmidt with us there with some good insight and analysis of what's happening. We appreciate it.

SCHMIDT: My pleasure.

VAUSE: Now to Gaza, where Hamas officials say they've agreed to a new ceasefire proposal similar to the plan, which was on the table when negotiations fell apart last month. A senior Hamas official says it calls for the release of 10 living and 18 deceased hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. A regional source says Hamas also wants written American guarantees for a ceasefire after 60 days.

Israeli official says the government's position has not changed. It was all -- wants all hostages released, the disarming of Hamas and security control of the Gaza. Egypt and Qatar are looking to restart negotiations in Cairo.

Leaked audio from the former head of the Israeli military intelligence is drawing some sharp criticism. He says mass death in Gaza is necessary for future generations. It doesn't matter, he went on to say, if children are among the dead.

CNN's Oren Liebermann has more now reporting in from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: These are striking remarks coming from the former head of Israel's military intelligence. Major General Aharon Haliva was the first senior Israeli officer to resign over his responsibility for the failures that led to and allowed October 7th. But in these lengthy audio recordings published by Israel's Channel 12 News, he also cast blame on others, saying it wasn't only the military, it was other intelligence and security agencies that were responsible for the failures that led to October 7th.

But in these lengthy audio recordings, he makes frankly stunning remarks about the number of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli military throughout nearly two years of war in Gaza. He says in these recordings, "For everything that happened on October 7th, for every one person on October 7th, 50 Palestinians must die. It doesn't matter now if they are children. The fact that there are already 50,000 dead in Gaza is necessary and required for future generations."

And these leaked recordings are published as Israel faces increased condemnation and accusations over the conduct of the war in Gaza. The Israeli military facing accusations of intentional starvation, war crimes and genocide, accusations that Israel has vehemently denied.

Now, it's unclear exactly when these recordings were made. He refers to 50,000 dead in Gaza. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, that milestone was passed some months ago. The ministry says there are more than 61,000 Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza since the war began.

Still, though, that number indicates these are fairly recent recordings. And we have seen the condemnation of the war in Gaza come even within the last few days. The Danish prime minister saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become a problem within himself. And the New Zealand prime minister saying just days ago that Israel has lost the plot in Gaza and calling the planned escalation with the takeover and occupation of Gaza City utterly, utterly unacceptable.

Hamas also condemned the remarks, saying it confirms that crimes against our people are high level decisions and official policy from the enemy's political and security leadership.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, in Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: With crime rate at a 30-year low in Washington, more states are deploying National Guard troops to the U.S. capital, answering President Trump's call to support his crackdown on a nonexistent crime wave.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:18:40]

VAUSE: Tropical storm watch for much of North Carolina's outer banks region has been issued, prompting mandatory evacuations along parts of the coast. Hurricane Erin is not expected to make landfall, but strong wind gusts and large waves could still reach the outer banks as early as Wednesday. In the past, beachfront homes in the area have been seen collapsing into the ocean even without a category four hurricane skirting past.

Erin is the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, but another tropical system is not far behind, which could develop into the next big storm later this week.

Louisiana's governor has deployed more than 100 members of the state's National Guard to Washington, D.C. All up, six U.S. states under Republican control have sent troops to the nation's capital supporting President Trump's crackdown on crime in the city. But local officials say the response is simply overblown.

More now from CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MURIEL BOWSER, WASHINGTON, D.C. MAYOR: This is not about D.C. crime.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser growing more frustrated over the escalation of federal agents and National Guard troops on the streets of the nation's capital.

BOWSER: You know it doesn't make sense. The numbers on the ground in the district don't support a thousand people from other states coming to Washington, D.C.

TODD: Republican governors from West Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio, and Mississippi have announced they are sending additional National Guard troops to Washington in response to President Trump's call to increase law enforcement on the streets.

[00:20:02]

TRUMP: We went from the most unsafe place anywhere to a place that now people, friends are calling me up. Democrats are calling me up, and they're saying, sir, I want to thank you. And you did that in four days.

TODD: But Mayor Bowser does not seem to share that sentiment.

BOWSER: Why the military would be deployed in an American city to police Americans? That's the question.

TODD: Around the capital today. D.C. National Guard troops could be spotted near national monuments and major transportation hubs.

Have they told you anything about your mission? Like what you're supposed to be doing around Union Station at least?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just helping out with local law enforcement.

TODD: Are you carrying any firearms?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.

TODD: No.

(Voice-over): A White House official had previously told CNN that National Guard troops in Washington may now be armed, but a Defense Department official tells us that so far, Guardsmen on the street in D.C. are not armed and have not been requested to carry firearms. The official says they'll be prepared to arm if they get the order.

Not everybody agrees that National Guardsmen should be sent in from other states. One Republican governor, Phil Scott of Vermont, turned down a request from President Trump to deploy its National Guard troops to D.C. to help Trump in his mission. The governor's office saying in part, "While public safety is a legitimate concern in cities across the country, in the absence of an immediate disaster, and unless local and regional first responders are unable to handle such an emergency, the governor is opposed to utilizing the National Guard for this purpose."

Some popular right-wing media figures are saying that even the current escalation of law enforcement in Washington, while controversial, still isn't enough. CHARLIE KIRK, HOST, "THE CHARLIE KIRK SHOW": We need full military

Occupation of these cities until the crime desists. Period. We need a desisting of crime in our cities. We're not going to put up with it. I want to be able to walk Magnificent Mile in Chicago.

TODD: Data from the restaurant reservation company OpenTable shows a 25 percent to 30 percent drop in D.C. reservations since the surge. But one week since Trump's announcement of federalizing the D.C. Police, he's already claiming victory.

TRUMP: All I want is security for our people, but people that haven't gone out to dinner in Washington, D.C. in two years are going out to dinner.

TODD: A Defense Department official tells CNN West Virginia is sending about 350 of its National Guard troops to Washington. That official says some of those troops from West Virginia have already arrived.

Now, we didn't see them on the streets of D.C. on Monday, but that official says that those troops from West Virginia will be integrating with the other forces soon. That same official says that troops from Mississippi, South Carolina, and Ohio will be here in the coming days. And we just heard from Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry that he is sending about 135 of his state's National Guard troops to Washington.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: In a moment here on CNN, what has been a long standing non- option for the Ukrainians now on the table, as talk of trading land for peace, it is getting underway. Details on that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:27:40]

VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

Donald Trump says he's working to arrange a meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia. That word came as the U.S. president hosted Volodymyr Zelenskyy and key European allies for talks at the White House amid a push to end the war in Ukraine. The German chancellor said Putin agreed to hold such a meeting within the next two weeks. That was during the phone call with Donald Trump.

Hamas says it's agreed to a new ceasefire proposal in Gaza. Mediators from Egypt and Qatar are trying to restart negotiations, which fell apart in July. Hamas says the new plan calls for the release of 10 living and 18 deceased hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Two Israeli officials told CNN that Israel had received Hamas response from mediators.

And after a lengthy investigation, the eldest son of Norway's crown princess has been indicted on charges including rape, abuse against one former partner and acts of violence against another. Marius Borg Hoiby could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. His attorney says his client denies all charges of sexual abuse, as well as the majority of the charges regarding violence.

Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has categorically rejected trading land for peace. But now discussions about what territory Russia would get in a negotiated settlement and what Moscow might give up in return are gaining momentum.

More now from CNN's Clare Sebastian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ending this war will ultimately mean complex and probably painful discussions over territory. So here's what's on the table.

Now Crimea, which Trump said Monday Ukraine should not expect to get back, has been under de facto Russian control for over 11 years. Russian troops took the territory in 2014, holding a sham referendum and illegally annexing it. But still only a small handful of countries, including Belarus and North Korea, actually recognize it as Russian.

Now, also in 2014, fighting broke out up here in the Donbas region, made up of two Ukrainian regions, Donetsk and Luhansk. Russian-backed separatists battling Ukrainian forces for control in this area. Now if we take a closer look at this part, the peace agreements that were signed here, Minsk one and two, the last in 2015, essentially gave this shaded area, this striped area here a special status.

Now while Russia denied direct military involvement in that conflict, it launched its full scale war in 2022 on a pretext of protecting Russians and Russian speakers in this region. That is crucial.

It even recognized these two self-style people's republics in this area as independent just three days before invading.

[00:30:13]

Now a reminder, of course. According to international law, this is still Ukraine. But that did not stop Russia from illegally annexing, in September 2022, not only Donetsk and Luhansk but also Kherson and Zaporizhzhia down here, where they were starting to take territory.

Now here, you can see these regional borders in white there. And this is where it gets complicated, because Russia doesn't actually have full control here. It's only the red section which they actually occupy.

But when it comes to the Donbas, which is, of course, part of the core justification for this war, Russia isn't backing down. Trump telling his European allies that Moscow wants all of these regions, including this part that Ukraine still occupies. I'll just highlight that part there for you just here. Now, by contrast, down here in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, it is

apparently willing to accept just the parts it's occupied in militarily.

Now, of course, for Ukraine, a permanent loss of territory is unacceptable, as is withdrawing from key territory that it still controls.

But halting the conflict where it is, accepting perhaps temporary de facto Russian control in the occupied regions, a frozen conflict, well, that could be a starting point.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: In a moment here on CNN, the fight to die. How one woman in Uruguay is campaigning for a dignified death after years of suffering from ALS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:31:23]

VAUSE: Ozempic, the diabetes medication turned weight loss wonder is now available for around half price in the United States. That is only for self-pay patients.

The drug makers say a month's supply will cost $499, but that discount does not apply to insurance claims. It's all part of a push to sell directly to customers, to consumers and customers.

President Donald Trump has also been pushing companies to lower the price of drugs by cutting out insurers as the middlemen.

Right now, just a handful of countries worldwide legally allow euthanasia or assisted dying. A woman in Uruguay who's been suffering from ALS for years is now hoping her country will join that list.

She's asking for the law to be changed so she can have a dignified death. But what is dignified to one person is often murder to the others. CNN's Dario Klein has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DARIO KLEIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is not just another day for Beatriz Gelos. With the help of friends, she manages to reach the Uruguayan Parliament, because she wants to witness a moment she has been waiting for, for years.

KLEIN: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KLEIN (voice-over): She says the ribbon she wears is in favor of euthanasia. Gelos suffers from ALS. She says doctors predicted she would die from the neurodegenerative disease 15 years ago, but her decline was much slower than expected. "I am worsening too slowly," she says. "And I would like this to end."

Slowly, she lost mobility in almost her entire body and can do almost nothing on her own. She has trouble breathing and even sleeping.

KLEIN: She -- she's saying that she would like this to go faster. Her life is -- she's saying it's like hell, and she's having a lot of pain in every position.

KLEIN (voice-over): That is why she says she's hopeful that the so- called Dignified Death Law will be approved in Uruguay. She was there when the lawmakers passionately debated the law.

FEDERICO PREVE, REPRESENTATIVE, FRENTE AMPLIO (through translator): It's about love, about humanity, about empathy. It's about people with very tough illnesses who are suffering.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Do we want to be a society that offers death as a response to suffering?

KLEIN (voice-over): And almost unintentionally, she became a face of the debate.

LUIS GALLO, REPRESENTATIVE, FRENTE AMPLIO (through translator): Behind euthanasia, there are real people human faces, who are here with us in the stands.

KLEIN (voice-over): Lawmakers read a letter out loud that she wrote them two years ago.

GALLO (through translator): "My life would be more dignified if I could clean myself, write by hand, talk on the phone, scratch an itch, drink water when I'm thirsty, or take care of others. I don't know if, with my increasing difficulties, even with palliative care, day-to-day life will be bearable. Which is why I want the peace of mind of knowing that I will be able to choose when the time comes, whether it's worth continuing this ordeal or not.

KLEIN (voice-over): But her request is not just for her.

BEATRIZ GELOS, SUFFERS FROM ALS: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KLEIN: "Many other people suffers horrible sickness."

GELOS: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KLEIN: I didn't know there were so many things that they had no cure.

KLEIN (voice-over): Among those who oppose the law is the Uruguayan Catholic Church. Gelos is a Catholic who sometimes, she says, believes in God.

GELOS: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KLEIN: Sometimes, yes. Sometimes she doesn't.

GELOS: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KLEIN: She feels sometimes the presence of God.

GELOS: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KLEIN: She -- she has already earned her place in the heaven which she has lived here.

[00:40:03]

KLEIN (voice-over): I ask her if she believes there is something else after death.

GELOS: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KLEIN (voice-over): "I don't know," she says.

Do you want that there is something?

"Yes." She nods.

Dario Klein, CNN, Montevideo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause, back with more news at the top of the hour. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT starts after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:17]

(WORLD SPORT)