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White House Prepares For A Putin-Zelenskyy Summit, Kremlin Hasn't Committed Yet; Israel Awaits Response For The Ceasefire Deal by Hamas. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired August 20, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead.

Will they or won't they? The White House is touting preparations for a one-on-one meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents but Moscow has yet to commit.

Waiting for a response from Israel over a Gaza ceasefire deal Hamas has accepted.

With many Palestinians pushed to the limit, we'll look at the deeply personal and heartbreaking stories from inside Gaza.

Plus, lost and found, the heartwarming story behind this beat-up wallet

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us.

The White House says plans are now underway to get the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to meet face-to-face in hopes of finding a path to peace. But so far, Moscow is refusing to commit to such a meeting.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who sat down with both leaders in the past few days, says he thinks the next meeting should just be between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT (on the phone): I had a very successful meeting with President Putin. I had a very successful meeting with President Zelenskyy and now I thought it would be better if they met without me, just to see, I want to see what goes on. You know, they had a hard relationship, very bad, very bad relationship.

And now we'll see how they do. And if necessary, and it probably would be, but if necessary I'll go and I'll probably be able to get it closed. I just want to see what happens at the meeting. So they're in the process of setting it up and we're going to see what happens.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CHURCH: In the hours ahead, NATO military leaders are set to meet to discuss Ukraine as Russia's attacks continue unabated. In fact, Russia launched its largest aerial attack since July on the same day Trump and Zelenskyy met at the White House.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is following all the developments and has more details from Moscow.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Russians remaining coy about whether Vladimir Putin has really agreed to a direct meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov coming out and saying that generally the Russians are not against any sort of format, be it bilateral or trilateral, but that any sort of meeting would have to be well prepared.

Of course, that's very much in line with what the Russians said directly after that Trump-Putin phone call that happened on Monday, where they said that in general the two leaders had said that possibly talks between Russia and Ukraine could move to a higher level of the participants. Not clear, however, whether or not the heads of state were actually men.

Vladimir Putin, of course, in the past has said that he's generally not against meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but that certain conditions would have to be met and that at that point in time they were still very far from being met.

However, the Russians are also saying that they believe that there was a huge progress that was achieved at the Alaska summit that happened last Friday in Anchorage. They believe that the Trump administration has since then taken what they call a much deeper approach to trying to solve the Ukraine crisis. Certainly, the Russians believe that diplomacy right now between Russia and the United States is definitely going their way.

At the same time, you do still have Russian officials who are taunting, especially America's European allies, after that meeting in Washington on a Monday, the former president of this country, Dmitry Medvedev, coming out and saying that the Europeans had failed to get Trump to be on their side, saying that they had failed to sway what he called Daddy Trump.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

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CHURCH: Joining me now from Berlin, "New York Times" chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe, Steven Erlanger. Good to have you with us. STEVEN ERLANGER, "NEW YORK TIMES" CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT -

EUROPE: Thanks, Rosemary. Nice to be here.

CHURCH: So, after Monday's high-stakes Oval Office meeting between presidents Trump and Zelenskyy, along with European leaders, the White House is now insisting that Putin is willing to meet with Zelenskyy, but the Kremlin isn't committing to those bilateral talks. Will Putin ever agree, given he doesn't recognize Zelenskyy as an equal, and the longer this drags on, the more ground Russia gains on the battlefield?

ERLANGER: Well, I think they're very reluctant to do it. I was very amused by Lavrov, who is a very good foreign minister, however cynical, saying all these meetings have been really well prepared.

[03:05:00]

Except, of course, the Putin-Trump summit in Alaska, which wasn't very well prepared. But still, I think Putin is very reluctant to see Zelenskyy. He would see Zelenskyy to sign the final peace treaty, which I don't expect to happen either.

And he might see him if Zelenskyy were to surrender. But the only reason he'd see him is if he really believes Trump is about to somehow punish him, and then, okay, he'd be willing to put up with it. But I think they're in no hurry.

And I think it was interesting to hear this idea of the U.N. General Assembly. They could do a sort of pull-aside there, but that's at least a month away. But the idea of a big media opportunity, Putin- Zelenskyy, I think, well, put it this way, I don't think the Kremlin wants it, unless Trump really pressures them to do it.

CHURCH: And, Stephen, what did European news outlets make of these talks in the Oval Office, particularly the key topic of security guarantees for Ukraine, and of course, the overall optics of their leaders meeting with Trump?

ERLANGER: Well, on one level, there was, you know, a lot of positive feeling. The Europeans had gotten their act together, they were defending their principles, their red lines, defending Ukraine, making the argument that Ukraine's security is also Europe's security. And then there was the undercurrent of, oh, my God, this is so humiliating, that we all have to go rushing to the feet of the king and listen to him and have to praise him in the way his own cabinet does.

But we're all doing it for a good reason. So that's the second part.

The security guarantee thing, I'm very skeptical. I don't really even like the word guarantee. As you know, when you buy something, most guarantees have lots of opt outs, and sometimes you don't really have a guarantee at all.

If the United States isn't prepared to really engage on them. First, let's be honest, the Europeans haven't been willing to fight for Ukraine. So why would they be willing to fight for Ukraine down the road? And secondly, all of this depends on a peace treaty.

All of it depends on a settlement, all of it is conditional on Vladimir Putin agreeing to end this war. And frankly, I don't see that happening.

CHURCH: And by Tuesday, the U.S. President reverted back to falsely blaming Ukraine for starting the war in various interviews. And on Fox News, he talked about the warmth and decent feeling between himself and Vladimir Putin. How's all this being received in Europe? And how dangerous is talk like that?

ERLANGER: Well, it's kind of going. It's -- we're going into cycles of Trump demotion. And Trump has never liked Zelenskyy. He has always liked Putin, he thinks he and Putin have a great relationship, but can do a deal.

I don't know what kind of deal they think they could do, because frankly, the trade between the two countries is quite small.

I'd rather have him do a great deal with Putin on strategic arms control, which is beginning to fall away, and other major issues like that. But he doesn't like Zelenskyy. He really has bought into the Putin narrative that if Ukraine would only just give up its territory, this would all be fine.

And Ukraine really sort of belongs to the Russian world. And why is it being so difficult?

At the same time, it is worth saying, Donald Trump sincerely wants to end the war. And he has said over and over again that after a settlement Ukraine, sovereign Ukraine should be safe within what's left of its borders.

CHURCH: Steven Erlanger in Berlin, many thanks for joining us. I appreciate your perspective and analysis.

ERLANGER: Thank you.

CHURCH: Israel is planning to occupy Gaza City, and that's prompting many Palestinians to flee in fear of what may come. A live report from the region, next.

Plus, I'll be speaking with a photographer who's capturing the very human and heartbreaking aspects of the war in Gaza. Stay with us.

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CHURCH: More than 24 hours after Hamas said it accepts a ceasefire proposal, there's still no word publicly from Israel. But Israel's hostage coordinator texted families of hostages still held in Gaza that negotiation efforts are taking place around the clock. The Israeli official acknowledged the family's concerns, but says the

talks require full confidentiality. The ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatar and Egypt calls for the fighting to stop for 60 days, along with the release of about half the hostages, living and deceased. The Trump administration appears to be taking some credit for Hamas agreeing to the proposal.

The White House claims President Trump's statements on social media calling for Hamas to be, quote, "confronted and destroyed," pushed the group to say yes to the deal.

Well, let's go live now to CNN's Paula Hancocks covering all of this from Abu Dhabi.

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So, Paula, what is the latest on any reaction from Israel to Hamas accepting a ceasefire proposal, and what's expected to come out of Prime Minister Netanyahu's upcoming meeting on the Gaza City military operations?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, we have spoken to two Israeli officials who say that they have received Hamas' response. There hasn't been a public response from Israel yet, but one of those officials says that their stance does remain that they want to see all of the hostages released.

Now, as we understand it, the proposal that Hamas has agreed to, according to a senior Hamas official, is that there will be 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages released in return for some 200 Palestinian prisoners, for humanitarian aid to be allowed to flood into Gaza, and for the IDF to, the Israeli military, to pull back to certain areas within the Gaza Strip itself.

Now, one diplomat who's been briefed on this, these negotiations, says that 98 percent of the proposal that was put forward by the U.S. Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has been preserved. That's an agreement that Israel had agreed to previously, but those talks broke down in July.

So, at this point, we understand that there are talks still ongoing, but we're yet to hear from Israel publicly on those, the status of Hamas' agreement.

Now, we do know that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will hold a security cabinet meeting on Thursday. This is to approve the takeover of Gaza City. Now, he has a plan that he wants the Israeli military to expand operations in Gaza, it's been approved by the Israeli military about a week and a half ago, if not more, and he wants the security cabinet to approve the occupying of Gaza City itself, he has claimed that it is one of the last remaining strongholds of Hamas and needs to be contained.

Now, this has been met with international condemnation. It's been met with fears from humanitarian aid groups, the United Nations, that the situation which is already desperate will simply get worse for hundreds of thousands that will have to move further south into an ever-shrinking area of Gaza that Israel allows the Palestinians to be in at this point. And we are seeing some Palestinians in Gaza City packing up makeshift shelters, their tents, anything they can carry, and heading, many of them on foot, to those areas that are perceived as being less dangerous, or at least not within the areas that Israel says have to be evacuated.

So at this point there is a lot of fear, a lot of concern from those that we have spoken to in Gaza City as to when this forcible evacuation will take place. And there are many concerns from the United Nations and from aid groups that this will simply make the search for food and water even more difficult.

But as these discussions are ongoing within the Israeli cabinet, we know that the Defense Minister had a meeting with the security echelon last night -- Tuesday night, to discuss this as well. There are also these discussions and the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, trying to push the process forward to try and secure some kind of ceasefire, this temporary 60-day ceasefire before this invasion of Gaza City happens. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. Many thanks for that live report, I appreciate it.

Well, we don't often hear first-hand accounts of those working and living in Gaza, but one platform is trying to change that. Humans of New York, a storytelling platform with over 30 million followers.

It began by telling the stories of New Yorkers, but it's currently doing a series featuring the Palestinian staff of Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders. And many of their stories are heart-wrenching.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WEAM ATALLAH, PHARMACEUTICAL SUPERVISOR, MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES: I just remember this memory from my childhood. My mom just sat with me before she died with tumor, and said, "Weam, please keep your smile on your face. It's a lovely smile, everyone just loves it."

I'm trying to keep that smile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The stories that the MSF staff are sharing are especially important since Israel has not allowed international journalists to enter Gaza to report independently since the start of the war.

Well, one of the contributors to this project, Nour Alsaqqa, joins us now live from Deir al-Bala in Gaza. She's also the communications officer for Medecins Sans Frontieres. Thank you so much for talking with us.

NOUR ALSAQQA, COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES: Thank you so much for having me.

[03:20:07]

CHURCH: So as well as being the communications officer for MSF, you volunteer as a photographer for this project. What can you tell us about the people that you've chosen to focus on and what they've been facing every single day in Gaza, starting with Kholoud?

ALSAQQA: Well sure. Honestly, MSF teams in Gaza, like the rest of the population inside the Strip, the rest of Palestinians in Gaza, were bearing witness to this unfolding genocide committed by Israeli forces. And one of the aspects of this genocide is the dehumanizations of Palestinians.

We often, we treat hundreds, thousands of patients on a daily basis, and we see these daily reports of killings and injuries without really realizing that each of those people impacted has a whole life, has dreams, has thoughts, has families. And this platform is contributing to raising awareness to that, to re-humanizing Palestinians in Gaza, to share their stories through their own voices.

One of the interesting aspects that made me choose those certain people we're shedding light on, we have more than like 900 staff in Gaza across the Strip working tirelessly under unimaginable circumstances, while being starved, while being bombed, while being besieged sometimes.

So just to kind of allow them the opportunity to share their stories was very precious. I picked people who, upon coordination with Brandon and Humans of New York, who could share their own stories in English directly, which was meant to deliver their stories exactly the way they want to share them, in their own words, without the misinterpretations, without the translations, without any kind of barrier.

They come up -- they came up to this platform, they shared their whole stories, they opened up their hearts. And it is only a drop in the ocean of the things that people here in Gaza are going through, whether they're like, it's a series of loss. Since day one, we've been enduring loss in all of its shapes and forms, mass killings, displacement. We're literally enduring this destruction of life in Gaza, and it is very important to speak about those things, to share things that often are unable to reach the headlines and the news.

CHURCH: Yes, of course. And Nour, can you talk to us a little bit about Mohamed and Yazan, and what challenges they face, along with their family, every single day?

ALSAQQA: Of course. So our colleague Mohamed Wadi is one of the many fathers inside Gaza Strip who are watching their sons, their daughters, their families waste away, relapse, undergo through so many invisible struggles and layers of suffering. Yazan, Mohamed Wadi, is disabled.

And for the vulnerable population inside the Strip, like the elderly, like the disabled, it is extremely difficult for them, because Israel is denying access of basic necessities of life to the whole population. So it's extremely difficult for those with disabilities. And we see that on a daily basis with the many, many patients who are amputated, who are disabled, who struggle to access health care, who struggle to access food, who struggle to access water.

And it's just like the Israeli blockade that is choking off access to all of these things. So to be able to shed light on that, it is very heartbreaking, because Yazan, under normal circumstances, was struggling, but he was also making progress. He was healing.

[03:24:59]

Right now, unfortunately, with the many restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities and Israeli forces, this young kid is relapsing, along many others that we don't get to know their stories. And the problem is with this whole medical evacuation situation, that we've got like, according to the WHO, 12,000 patients awaiting medical evacuation, that's a huge number.

And the scale in which people are being medically evacuated is so narrow and so slow. And I think it is very important to raise awareness to this specific matter, in which patients must be allowed to travel with at least one caregiver, have the right to a safe, voluntary and dignified return to Gaza Strip, this must be fully respected. The borders must open for life-saving care for all of these patients awaiting.

CHURCH: And Nour, how difficult has it been taking these pictures for the series in Gaza, where war and starvation is stealing the lives of so many people every day, and those who do survive struggle to put food on the table and live through the war?

ALSAQQA: 100 percent, it's extremely challenging. What I keep thinking and what I keep sharing is how every single person in Gaza Strip is suffering in ways that people outside cannot comprehend. Again, it is layers of suffering.

And the problem with that is, what I struggled with the most is being able to convey as much of these struggles through the few stories we're able to highlight. Like Kholoud's story, who was in the north when the roads between, when Gaza Strip was split into two parts, where the north of Gaza suffered siege, a complete siege, starvation, relentless indiscriminate bombing.

So to be able to go back to listen to those people's stories is extremely important. And it is extremely challenging right now with the extreme shortages and deliberate shortages of food.

In fact, the weaponization of food because when you think about it, every way that food is, or like aid, is getting into Gaza Strip is killing and injuring hundreds of people. And this is something we see in our clinics and in our medical facilities on a daily basis, unfortunately.

Up until this moment, we are receiving patients who come in, shot, deliberately shot, injured from distribution sites, while trying to access food, something as basic as food.

CHURCH: Nour Alsaqqa in Gaza, I want to thank you so much for talking with us.

And we'll be right back.

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

The White House says planning for a Russia-Ukraine summit is underway, with Vladimir Putin agreeing to talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, though the Kremlin has yet to make any firm commitments. Russia's foreign minister says meetings between top officials must be prepared with the utmost care.

Officials in Afghanistan say dozens of people were killed in a traffic accident Tuesday night. According to Reuters, the accident happened in Herat province, when a bus carrying deported migrants to Kabul collided with a truck and a motorcycle and burst into flames. 71 people were killed, including 17 children.

Hurricane Erin is bringing life-threatening rip currents to the U.S. East Coast. It's just shy of Category 3 strength and has prompted a state of emergency in North Carolina. The state's Outer Banks region could see destructive waves and storm surge in the coming hours.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher brings us the latest from the Outer Banks.

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DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hurricane Erin turns up the Atlantic. This is what it looks like about 24 hours before the worst of it is expected here in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

[03:34:54]

Now, there is no forecasted hit on the coastline of North Carolina, but the impact is expected to be felt in the storm surge, in the waves, and the potential for transportation issues with the very narrow roadway that goes through this geographical sort of barrier island that lines the length of the state.

Now, here in Nags Head, we are in high tide. You can see there are still plenty of families out here enjoying the day, but good for us right now staying out of the water, and that's because these very intense rip currents have been reported starting on Monday throughout North Carolina. There are no swim advisories all the way from here up to New York at this point preparing for Hurricane Erin.

On Monday, more than 90 rescues because of rip currents, fewer on Tuesday in the southern part of the state. They hope because people are heeding those warnings. Now, the biggest concerns are going to be waves, which could get up to 20 feet, and storm surge, which we could be looking at four feet of storm surge.

And look, the reason why that is so significant in the Outer Banks of North Carolina is because of the unique way that the geography is here. Essentially, it is very narrow islands that are connected by a highway and a couple of bridges. We're talking about 5.5 kilometers at the widest point of the Outer Banks, and really just about 130 meters at the most narrow, they're all connected by one highway, which has not fared well in some past hurricanes.

Some emergency managers have already told people in the emergency and mandatory evacuation zones, if you don't leave, we may not be able to reach you to help you for more than a week as they repair this highway going through it. Again, they expect the worst of this to be Wednesday night into Thursday morning in the Outer Banks, and are asking anybody who is a tourist to either be prepared or get out now.

Dianne Gallagher, CNN. Back to you.

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CHURCH: Still to come, how a random Facebook message and an unexpected reunion gave a retired autoworker renewed hope in humanity. Back with that in a moment.

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[03:40:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.

A retired autoworker in Michigan has experienced a reunion he never expected, with a wallet he lost more than ten years ago. Richard Guilford was repairing a car on a Ford factory line when his wallet fell out of his shirt pocket, he said he and his co-workers searched dozens of cars hoping to find it with no luck. The wallet was a Christmas gift from his sons.

It contained $15 in cash, his work I.D., driver's license, lottery tickets and gift cards worth $275. Guilford says he never expected to see it again, but just a few days ago he received a Facebook message from Chad Volk in Minnesota asking Guilford if he'd lost his wallet.

Volk had found it, safe and sound, in the engine bay of the car he was repairing. Volk mailed it back to Guilford, who says the act of kindness, quote, "restores your faith in humanity." And so it does.

Thanks so much for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "Marketplace Europe" is coming up next.

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