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CNN International: Polls Open As Russia Begins Parliamentary Elections; Russia Warns U.S. Against Potential New Sanctions; Axios: Trump Says He Has A "Big Decision" On Iran Soon; Carney: Alliance With The E.U. Not Meant To Be A U.S. Rival; Britain's King Charles Warns Of "Existential Dangers" Of A.I. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired September 18, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

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[04:00:35]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello and a very warm welcome. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London. Let's go straight to our headlines.

Russians are heading to the polls this hour as Moscow intensifies its war on Ukraine, but you won't find any legitimate opposition to Vladimir Putin.

Plus, a look at what power the U.S. president could wield with a major new Russian sanctions bill and how Russia is responding into it.

Plus, President Trump says he has another big decision to make about the war with Iran. I'm going to take you live to the Gulf with the latest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from London, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Salma Abdelaziz.

ABDELAZIZ: Let's start with those elections where the outcome is largely a foregone conclusion. Voters across Russia are headed to the polls today. They are choosing who will sit in the lower house of parliament.

This is the first such vote since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Now, formerly speaking, 450 seats in the State Duma are on the line. And voting will take place over the course of three days ending on Sunday.

But effective opposition is practically non-existent and President Vladimir Putin's party is considered a shoo-in to win. And as Russians head to the polls, Ukraine is taking yet another pounding from drone strikes.

Officials say Russia fired more than 90 drones overnight, striking this shopping center that you see on your screen there in Zaporizhzhia, as well as other targets across the country. At least two people were killed and eight others injured.

Now, the Reuters news agency says the attacks force Poland to suspend operations at two airports near the border with Ukraine.

Following all of these developments for us is Clare Sebastian. She joins us now live from London.

Let's start with this election, of course, Clare, because you're not going to find even strawman opposition candidates to President Putin's rule. Most of them have either fled. They have been barred from running.

Is the Kremlin even trying to give us the semblance of democracy, the veneer of democracy anymore here?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, I mean, some of -- that's the key point here is that they are, that despite the fact that this is not a democratic exercise in the true sense, because while there are nine other parties on the ballot, they all fall in line with the Kremlin on key issues, in particular, of course, the war.

The show of this still matters to the Kremlin. They still have all the trappings of an election, there's voting, there's campaigning, to some extent. But we did see the facade slip a little bit in this one. There were several T.V. debates that had to happen with no candidates, in one case, at least, or just one, turning up.

So, there does seem to be pockets of fatigue around this show of democracy. But, of course, it matters to Putin. He wants to show his legitimacy, to show public support for the war, and to, of course, continue to have the ammunition to criticize Ukraine for not holding elections during wartime.

And he was very clear that he does see this as sort of a referendum on public support for the war. Take a listen to a speech he made ahead of the elections on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Your choice and your will, will once again demonstrate that millions of people are behind our soldiers, that we are a united people bound together by shared values, historical memory, and love for our homeland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So, of course, it will show that, at least on paper, because there's no way to vote against the war in this election, because the last party remaining on the ballot that was against the war, the Yabloko Party, was barred from running back in August.

CNN has spoken to the co-founder of that party. I want to play you how he describes this election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRIGORY YAVLINSKY, YABLOKO PARTY CO-FOUNDER: Those who are allowed to run, they are 100 percent supporting the current political line of the Kremlin authority of the government and the president of Russia. They -- they are supporting for just with no questions. And the Yabloko was an opponent. Yabloko was trying to insist on the different way on alternative to move to immediate ceasefire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:05:20]

SEBASTIAN: So, look, I think his view is that the reason that Yabloko was barred is because more people than the Kremlin had expected, agreed with that sentiment, that the war should end. We know that public fatigue towards the war is rising, as society pays an increasingly high price for it.

So again, on paper, the results likely not to be a surprise, though I think things like turnout and the number of seats that United Russia, Putin's party, gets will matter to the Kremlin.

But I think if you look at how the lead-up to the selection has played out, it's clear that it does demonstrate sort of cracks appearing in the Kremlin's grip on public opinion. Salma.

ABDELAZIZ: Let's -- let's very quickly talk, Clare, about the cost of that war that you just mentioned, because it is hitting closer to home for Russians. There's the fuel shortages. There are the strikes deep in the heart of Moscow.

But there's also this fear of a general mobilization. Can you tell me about the climate in which this vote is taking place?

SEBASTIAN: Yes. Look, I think the fear of an impending mobilization has gripped discussions ahead of this election. It's been sort of widely accepted that nothing would happen before the election, because, of course, as we discussed, this matters to the Kremlin as a show.

But Ukraine has warned that Russia may be preparing to mobilize several hundred thousand people after the election, perhaps even into next year. And there have been signs that that could be the case. Warning is not only from Ukraine, but experts that Russian recruitment levels are not keeping up with its wartime losses.

There have been legislative changes that perhaps look like they're preparing the ground. And fear is certainly rising. There's even been signs that more people are looking to leave the country, though, of course, the Kremlin has tightened up the loopholes that existed last time that they carried out at what they called a partial mobilization four years ago.

So, the fear is that we don't know if it's going to happen. Putin has strenuously denied it, but that isn't putting paid to the anxiety that we see.

ABDELAZIZ: Clare Sebastian, there reporting live for us here in London. Thank you, Clare. And sticking with the cost of that war on Russians. The U.S. is looking potentially at new sanctions. And Moscow is warning America not to go through with this potential new round of sanctions against Russia.

But if the U.S. does, the Kremlin says it will backfire on the very peace talks that President Trump wants for Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESPERSON (through translator): We are, of course, monitoring the progress of this document in the United States Congress.

It falls under the category of unfriendly actions, and, of course, the imposition of any additional sanctions by the United States would certainly complicate efforts to find a peace settlement in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Now, that sanctions bill would allow for imposing tariffs of up to 100 percent on countries that buy Russia's oil and gas. This includes China and India, of course. And New Delhi is warning Washington that any new tariffs would affect bilateral ties.

The bill passed in Congress on Wednesday, and it is headed to President Trump's desk for his signature.

But lawmakers are both -- from both parties, are concerned the bill that could give too much power to Mr. Trump to impose new tariffs. They also believe that could lead to more price hikes ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.

I want to bring in now to this conversation. Steven Erlanger. He is the chief diplomatic correspondent for "The New York Times," and he joins us live from Berlin. Good morning to you, first of all. Thank you for being on with us today.

So, as we just reported there, the bill could result in tariffs of up to 100 percent on countries that import Russian crude oil or natural gas. We mentioned India and China, but I want -- I want to talk specifically, of course, about a close U.S. ally, the E.U. bloc, because that bloc has been one of the biggest buyers of Russian liquefied natural gas, as well as Russian pipeline gas since 2022.

What are you hearing from your sources inside the E.U. as to how they are responding to these potential sanctions?

STEVEN ERLANGER, CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: No, they're worried about it because they do see President Trump as something of an adversary. I mean, he has expressed his contempt for Europe. He's tried to use all kinds of leverage, sometimes successfully, to get Europeans to spend more on defense, and it hasn't worked on Iran.

But Europe has, since the invasion, the big invasion of 2022, I mean, they've reduced considerably their dependence on Russian gas and oil down from like 45 percent to 10 to 11 percent.

[04:10:11]

But if Trump chooses to sanction, I suspect the E.U. will counter sanction. So, there is nervousness. And there is, you know, the sense that Putin will use this as a way not to have negotiations, which he doesn't particularly want.

And the Europeans are pretty sure that Trump will not sanction India unless it's symbolic or put new tariffs on China, which will respond with counterterrorist.

So, this bill is a kind of example of good intentions that may not produce the result that Lindsey Graham, the late Lindsey Graham, wanted. It's designed to punish Russia and the people who buy Russian energy, but the biggest buyers are unlikely to be punished.

And as you suggest, Europeans are concerned that President Trump will use this as further leverage on them to get involved in other areas like Iran.

ABDELAZIZ: So, using it as further leverage on European allies, if I could dig deeper on that point, because we've seen that critics are arguing that this bill will essentially give President Trump the type of sweeping tariff powers that the Supreme Court took away from him in February.

What is your response to that? Or is this indeed an effective tool to punish Russia for its war in Ukraine?

ERLANGER: Well, it's effective if -- if -- if the president, who has waiver authority, chooses to use the new authority to punish the people who are really buying a lot of Russian oil and gas. And those are tend to be the people he doesn't want to punish.

There is a lot of concern. You've said it very, very well, that the bill does give President Trump sweeping new tariff authority. He's a great lover of tariffs. He thinks they solve lots of problems.

In fact, since he started this term, the level of tariffs after court cases and different issues hasn't gone up all that high. But it is a concern because this is under presidential authority. So, he can impose them. He can waive them. He can do pretty much what he likes.

He tends, you know, not to want to punish Russia. I mean, he's -- he's reaching out to Russia. I mean, his people are offering business deals to Russia.

We've reported even as -- as the war goes on, which I suspect is a misunderstanding of Russia, because my experience in Russia for -- for many years is concessions are accepted by Russia as signs of weakness, but they do not produce responses, reciprocal responses.

So, you know, we'll have to see what happens, how it works. But, you know, you are quite right, there's a lot of concern about how the president will choose to use this new authority. ABDELAZIZ: A powerful new tool in the hands of the president. Steven Erlanger there on whether this could be a power to actually punish Russia or to impose tariffs, President Trump's will. Thank you so much for that analysis.

ERLANGER: Thank you.

ABDELAZIZ: U.S. President Donald Trump says that he is approaching a major decision on Iran. This is during an interview with "Axios." The president said, quote, "I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them? Or do I not? It's a big decision and anything could happen with me."

Now, the Trump administration will allow Iran's core delegation to attend the United Nations General Assembly next week. Iran has not confirmed who will attend as part of this delegation, although it is expected that Iran's president will make the trip to the U.N.

The U.S. State Department says Iran's delegation will be under travel and purchasing restrictions. This is very similar to previous visits.

Meanwhile, South Korea's president says the country will not deploy any troops or military assets to join the conflict over the Strait of Hormuz. South Korea is the latest U.S. ally to resist becoming involved in this conflict.

I want to stay with the Middle East. The Trump administration has approved the potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. The deal is valued at roughly $24 billion. And it would bolster the kingdom's military capacity amid the growing threat of an expanding war in the region.

Just days ago, Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen claimed to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet. Houthis have also stepped up attacks on Saudi oil facilities and military bases in recent weeks.

[04:15:05]

I want to bring in now Leila Gharagozlou. She is tracking all of these developments for us from Abu Dhabi.

So, yet again, this very bellicose threat from President Trump. But at the same time this week, we've heard him saying that the war is going to draw to a close before the end of the year.

Are negotiations, in fact, picking up? Or are we still in a holding pattern here, Leila?

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: So, we are still in a holding pattern as far as we've heard from the Iranians. And President Trump has said that the Iranians are willing to negotiate, that they want to negotiate, but the Iranians themselves haven't really said very much. And that likely has to do with the fact that there is this trust problem. And I've talked to you about this a number of times.

The Iranians don't trust the U.S. to be able to come to the table and make a deal that's going to stick. We already saw the MOU, that memorandum of understanding, collapsed almost immediately after it was signed.

And since then, we've been in this no war, no peace holding pattern where, you know, we have these moments where things flare up and then they calm down again.

So, there's no sign of actual talks happening. And the Iranians haven't said that they are engaging in any talks inside Iran. There is this debate going on as to whether they should or should not talk to the U.S., whether they should continue the war or not. So, everything's very unclear on either side.

Now, we've heard from President Trump multiple times over the course of this war since February, where he's saying, you know, I'm going to annihilate them. I'm going to talk to them. I'm going to bomb them. I'm going to talk to them.

So, this is just a cycle that we keep seeing happening over and over again. I do think it's going to be important to see what comes out of the UNGA next week and what comes out of the conversation that Trump is expected to have with GCC leaders.

They obviously have been at the forefront of this war. They've -- they've carried the brunt of the Iranian retaliation. And they've also been trying to mediate because at the end of the day, Iran is a neighbor, right? And it's not going anywhere. So, they need to figure out a way to live and coexist together.

Now, if President Trump does ramp up this war, we're looking at a much bigger issue that's going to have a much farther regional impact at a time when we're also seeing this new Houthi front open up in the Middle East.

So, it's a very precarious time. And it's unclear what President Trump's going to decide to do.

As I said, the Iranians have been very consistent in saying that they don't want to be in this purgatory. Either you continue the war and the only way is through, or you make a deal and you stick to the deal.

ABDELAZIZ: CNN's Leila Gharagozlou there on yet again the oscillating of President Trump between escalation and de-escalation. Thank you, Leila. I know you'll be watching the UNGA for us next week.

There's so much more to come here on "CNN Newsroom." The Canadian Prime Minister is speaking out about a European Union proposal to deepen their ties. What it could mean for Canada's relationship with the United States.

Plus, Britain's King Charles hosts an A.I. summit as concerns grow over the technology's safety. Why he is warning that it could pose an existential threat to humanity.

Stay with us.

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[04:20:10]

ABDELAZIZ: Welcome back.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney took a veiled swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump. This was during a speech to European Union lawmakers in France on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINSTER: I'm not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great power rival only with better manners.

We --

(APPLAUSE)

We do not seek power to dominate others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Now, Carney added that Canada is instead pursuing resilience so that no one can control its open markets, some of its sovereignty, or undermine its freedoms, democracies, or rule of law.

His comments came a day after the E.U. Commission president proposed that Canada become the bloc's first associate member.

Now, this provoked a fresh tariff threat from President Donald Trump. We have more on Mark Carney's position now from CNN's Paula Newton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We really don't have any details on what exactly he is entertaining here. He's calling it a deeper alliance, but what he's doing here is really to try and have some kind of insurance policy against what is not just a Trump administration that's been difficult to deal with and obviously engaged in a trade war, but a capricious American electorate.

And at this point in time, he said the word there "sovereignty." And I think he personally, Mark Carney, has been working on this for several months, and he wanted to start in Europe.

It's a natural thing for him. He was both a citizen of the U.K. and a citizen of Ireland at one time. And he has been working this, trying to find a way to really push back, perhaps not just against what the United States would want now or in the future, but also China, which is really pushing its weight around the world as well.

This is what they've come up with. There is an E.U.-Canada summit at the end of October. Perhaps, we will see more details.

Look, Canadian voters, Mark Carney said, would have to weigh in. And it's no surprise to Canadians that, look, the E.U. itself, if you're a member nation, it's a bit of a hot mess.

And Canadians, business people that I speak to every day say they want less bureaucracy, more of the American model, if you will, not more of the European models.

Mark Carney would know this well. He is from Alberta. And you hear people who still really want that good relationship with the United States. Everyone can look at a map, and everyone sees their own bottom line. They want this trade war to end.

Now, does that mean you don't want to add on the E.U.? Sure, but they do not want to add on more regulations.

And again, Mark Carney was very clear, anything that happens would have to be approved by all the parliaments. Good luck with that. Canada already has a free trade agreement with the European Union. Several countries, including Italy and France, have not yet joined.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:25:05]

ABDELAZIZ: Let's go to the U.S. now where Pennsylvania Governor, Josh Shapiro, is calling for tougher restrictions on artificial intelligence. This is, of course, as President Trump downplays concerns that were raised by tech leaders.

Now, Shapiro is pushing for greater transparency in A.I. development, independent oversight of frontier models, and a stronger focus on safety. He is also calling for international cooperation and says, Trump should raise these A.I. concerns with Chinese leader Xi Jinping when they meet next week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): The federal government needs to work with leading researchers and experts, as we've done here in Pennsylvania, and with the American people, not against them, to develop strict guardrails on this technology, its development, and its deployment in the real world.

Look, I recognize that that is hard work, but we elect our leaders to take on the hardest problems, not to give up at the first site of difficulty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Now, some members of the U.S. Congress don't think that their colleagues are equipped or motivated to actually set boundaries for A.I. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego says more members of Congress need to listen to the experts. He is pushing for the creation of a commission on A.I.

This would include members of Congress and experts inside the industry. Gallego says working with A.I. skeptics and people who want to regulate A.I. will result in real solutions. Britain's King Charles is also weighing in on the -- on the A.I. debate, hosting an A.I. summit in Scotland. He invited technology leaders and experts to discuss the potential risks that A.I. could pose to humanity.

Our Anna Stewart has this report for us from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this summit was probably planned a long time ago, but the timing couldn't have been better, as the world debates the risks A.I. could pose to humans.

The King hosted the event at Dumfries House in Scotland and brought together A.I. leaders including Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA, Demis Hassabis, the founder and chair of Google DeepMind, as well as A.I. advisors from around the world and even representation from China, according to Buckingham Palace.

Opening the event, the King highlighted the very urgent need for the discussion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING CHARLES, KING OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: Those who have created these technologies are now increasingly warning that A.I. risks developing darker capacities, perhaps even to take life.

And in this regard, if I may say so, there seems urgency in adequately considering the existential dangers of such technologies falling into the wrong hands and being used in potentially catastrophic ways.

Surely, then, we need sufficient means of control before it is all too late.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: The King didn't enter a debate or share any opinions on how A.I. should be regulated, maintaining the usual distance that monarchs keep from politics.

But at the same time, using royal star power to shine a light on an issue clearly deemed important.

Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: Still to come here on "CNN Newsroom," a bitter pill to swallow for U.S. consumers dealing with high gasoline prices, why oil deals with Venezuela are not a magic bullet to make fuel cheaper.

Plus, a picture that is raising new questions about the future of the Kennedy Center. Details are just ahead.

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