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Talks Intensify amid Fears of Russian Invasion of Ukraine; British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Arrives in Kyiv; Fears Russia May Halt Gas Exports; Two Dozen New COVID-19 Cases at Olympics; Tom Brady to Retire; Denmark Drops All COVID-19 Restrictions; U.S. Secretary of State Committed to "Substantive Exchange" with Russia. Aired 10-10:40a ET

Aired February 01, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): The man of the moment: this hour we expect the Russian president to break his silence, after weeks of talks

between diplomats on the Ukraine-Russia crisis.

No more restrictions: Denmark embraces freedom from COVID as the government downgrades the danger. We're live in Copenhagen for you.

And the United Nations describing what it calls "horror scenes" in Syrian refugee camps. We've got a heartbreaking story out of Idlib this hour.

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ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson. Welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD.

We're waiting to hear from the Russian president amid an intense new round of talks over Moscow's troop buildup near Ukraine, both sides talking with

European leaders. Right now, Vladimir Putin meeting with Hungarian president Viktor Orban after a call with Italy's prime minister -- premier.

The Kremlin still denies any plans to invade Ukraine. We should also be hearing from British prime minister Boris Johnson, who just arrived in Kyiv

a short time ago. The top U.S. and Russian diplomats, Antony Blinken and Sergey Lavrov, also expected to speak today.

So can this be resolved peacefully?

Let's look at where things stand right now. Melissa Bell is in Kyiv. Nic Robertson is in Moscow.

And, Nic, we are waiting for that call between Lavrov and Blinken. We are also waiting to hear, as I described, from the man of the moment.

What can we expect at this point?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: After the Lavrov- Blinken phone call, we have been told to expect some press comments by Sergey Lavrov, which may give us an indication again of what -- of how far

down a diplomatic track or not Russia is prepared to go.

The central theme of their conversation is about Russia's response to the United States' letter that came in last week.

And certainly from President Putin, when he appears with Viktor Orban at a joint press conference, expected shortly, his press spokesperson earlier

today said, look, do expect to hear a question asked of President Putin that asks him about his response to the U.S. letter last week.

It is not clear that what sort of public response President Putin is going to give. But it is an indication that we're going to get a little bit more

on this subject. It has been very slow so far, by the accounts of, certainly, the people who are wanting to see this process of possible

diplomacy move forward quickly.

We also, you know, heard from Viktor Orban, when he sat down at his very long, socially distanced table with President Putin at the beginning of

their meeting. And he -- Orban is a very sort of -- perhaps the European Union's closest leader to President Putin.

And Orban said, we've known each other 13 years. This is our 12th meeting. But he said, look, you know, I think of my visit here as a peace mission.

And he said I want to assure you, this to President Putin, I want assure you that no European leader wants war. Everyone wants to solve this through

political means.

And that does seem to be the tone of what -- of what Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, is doing here. And let's just see, perhaps in the

next hour, minutes maybe, how President Putin begins to explain Russia's coming position in response to the U.S. letter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): On Russian state media, Ukrainian soldiers train on American anti-tank weapons as a pro-Russian separatist from Donbas in

Ukraine begs Moscow to send them weapons. The state seems to be readying the nation for a potential conflict. But are Russians listening?

In Moscow's Gorky Park, state media gets a cold shoulder.

"I try not to watch the news," she says. "I think they're escalating it a lot. I believe very little of what they're showing."

[10:05:00]

ROBERTSON (voice-over): "What the state media are saying, there's hardly any truth in it," he says. "It's just information that plays into someone's

hands."

Even so, people are worrying.

"Of course, we are worried," she says. "We hope that everything will settle down. We wish the Ukrainians well. They're our brothers."

"What can we do," she says. "Nothing depends on us. Absolutely nothing. So everything is possible."

Everyone here is waiting for President Putin to make his next move. One thing he doesn't seem to need to worry about is panic at home.

Outside the Kremlin, in Moscow's fabled Red Square, a winter fun fair to cheer Russians through the frigid months straddles the historic military

parade ground. Realities of war feel distant.

"I think there will be no war," she says. "Our president, whom we love, will not allow war between our states. We love Ukraine."

"I'm from Ukraine," she says. "I don't think there'll be war. Because we are a friendly country. And Russia and Ukraine are fraternal peoples."

Even the threat of western sanctions, despite Russia's ruble having a rough ride against the dollar recently, is being shrugged off.

"Well, sanctions don't scare us," she says. "Our homeland is so rich. We'll figure it out."

"We ordinary people, we will not be affected," he says. "There will be no sanctions on us."

"Of course, food becomes more expensive," she says. "But I'll just earn more." But optimism here belies the pressures on Putin. If diplomacy fails,

he'll have a heavy lift, prepping Russia's people for the pain that could come their way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: And, of course, the flip side of that is that, if there is no conflict and he goes for the path of diplomacy, despite these very heavy

demands that he's put on NATO and the United States, President Putin's ability to find a way out of that for his domestic audience is clearly

heightened by that -- or made easier, perhaps, by the fact that so many Russians haven't really engaged in the war rhetoric, haven't really engaged

in the detail, haven't really engaged in the pressure that President Putin is putting on the West at the moment.

That's how it appears, listening to people.

ANDERSON: Melissa, we've had days, weeks of talks and public posturing from all sides.

A caveat: we haven't actually heard from the Russian president himself in some time, as we look forward to hearing from him today. Boris Johnson is

in Kyiv, in Ukraine today.

What's the purpose of the British prime minister's visit?

And what's the mood there now?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he spoke before leaving London, Becky, explaining that he was hoping to engage all sides in some kind of

diplomatic outcome to all those many weeks, as you say, of talks and threats and very public intelligence statements from NATO allies. He is

still hoping that diplomacy can work.

Clearly, this is a show of solidarity with Ukrainians at the moment; also explaining before he left London that the U.K. is toughening its sanctions,

possibilities that, yesterday, legislation was introduced into the House of Commons that would allow the United Kingdom to go much further with its

sanctions than it has done before, targeting for instance people who work for Russian companies, Russian companies that are close to the Kremlin,

Russian companies that are strategic to Russia.

In fact, Russian companies of many different sorts and allowing them to go so far, Becky, as to target, for instance, the very many London properties

of Russian business men.

Now Moscow has reacted to that quite angrily, which gives you an idea that it does suggest that those sanctions would hurt Russians where it hurts. So

while that is being prepared, Boris Johnson spoke before he left London, pointing out that that was on the cards and being prepared.

But also saying that he still hoped diplomacy could work. Now also ahead of his departure, we heard from the head of the U.K. chief of the defense

staff, really echoing what the top U.S. general had said last Friday.

Now General Mark Milley had spoken of the largest buildup of troops that we had since seen since the Cold War.

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BELL: Chief of the defense staff saying something very similar, spending to that extremely large buildup on the other side of the Ukrainian border

by Russian forces, so again echoing that very public statement on what they know on intelligence, really looking to explain to the world and focus the

minds of other allies on what needs to be done and exposing what they believe is the severity of the threats from Russia.

So Boris Johnson will be holding a press conference with President Zelensky. We expect to hear more from the two men on those diplomatic

efforts but also on what is being prepared, should they fail.

So it is about showing solidarity with the Ukrainian president. We also learned before he left that the United Kingdom has pledged 88 million

pounds, nearly $120 million, toward helping Ukraine achieve more energy independence from Russia.

That is important because President Zelensky has long been explaining to his partners, his allies, that what he needs is to help, help in plugging

what he reckons is the $5 billion gap created here for the Ukrainian economy by all this uncertainty caused by the tensions that have been

ratcheting up over the course of the last few weeks and months.

The European Union had pledged $1.3 billion last month and that is going to be extremely important. Beyond that, there is the much more tangible, much

more concrete and extremely needed military help being given to Ukraine.

We know there was a fifth shipment of American weaponry yesterday in the shape of ammunition, 84 tons of it, the fifth such shipment since January

21st.

So these are allies specifically, the United Kingdom and United States, proving very steadfast, very solid, making a great show of their solidarity

and committing resources and weapons to a Ukraine that is very much in need of exactly that, Becky.

ANDERSON: Melissa, thank you.

Thank you, Melissa with analysis for you out of Kyiv and Moscow.

The prime minister of Poland warns the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is, quote, "a gun in the hands of Vladimir Putin." He calls the Russia-Germany pipeline a

threat to peace in Europe and says Russia can launch hybrid attacks and blackmail Europe by controlling supplies of gas and coal.

Those comments are a signal of the worsening energy crunch and skyrocketing costs that Europe could face if this conflict keeps escalating. Anna

Stewart explains a key role Russia plays in keeping much of the continent warm during the cold winter months.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Europe's winter could feel much colder in the coming weeks.

HENNING GLOYSTEIN, DIRECTOR, ENERGY, CLIMATE & RESOURCES EURASIA GROUP: If all Russian gas stops for Europe you'll see prices literally going --

really going through the roof.

STEWART: Gas dependency is a hard habit to kick.

(on camera): The E.U. relies on Russia for over 40 percent of its gas import and some countries are more vulnerable than others. For example, you

can see here Austria, Finland and Latvia rely on Russia for all of their imported gas.

Germany, Europe's economic powerhouse is particularly vulnerable. Not only does it rely on Russia for the majority of its gas imports but it depends

on gas for over a quarter of its energy. And actually this gas dependence has grown over the past few decades as Germany transitions away from coal

and nuclear power.

(voice-over): It's surprising, given the E.U. has faced this problem before.

JOSE MANUEL BARROSO, FORMER PRESIDENT EUROPEAN UNION: Guess that should come from Russia through Ukraine to the European Union is not coming.

STEWART: Russia has invested billions of in more pipelines to Europe since 2009. To avoid transiting through Ukraine. There's Nord Stream 1

shown here in yellow and alongside it the new $11 billion Nord Stream 2 currently awaiting certification by German regulators.

That pipeline future though is in doubt.

VICTORIA NULAND, U.S. UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS: If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move

forward.

STEWART: There are concerns that this measure and others, could trigger Russian retaliation against the west. It could suspend all gas exports to

Europe which is now scrambling to shore up supplies. One option is liquefied gas via ship.

GLOSTEIN: Over Christmas and New Year, European Union has quietly ordered an entire fleet of LNG imports, mostly from the U.S. and Qatar. And they

are all due to arrive this month and it's a lot of gas.

STEWART: It isn't a fix for all. Experts agree there wouldn't be enough LNG to replace Russian gas. Many European countries lack LNG terminals and

re-directing gas through Europe is also challenging due to limits on existing pipelines.

Another option is storage.

AMY MYERS JAFFE, RESEARCH PROFESSOR, FLETCHER SCHOOL, TUFTS UNIVERSITY: Europe still has nine weeks' supplies in storage. And there is the so-

called emergency cushion that puts another 10 percent. So all good. I mean maybe they could like squeak through.

STEWART: There are non-gas options.

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STEWART (voice-over): Experts say decommissioned coal and nuclear plants could be fired back up. Ultimately, Europe could survive a winter without

Russian gas but at a great financial cost.

It would also have a cost for Russia, one reason experts think full gas suspension to Europe is unlikely.

(on camera): Does Europe seek to reduce its reliance on Russian energy, does this backfire eventually longer term on Russia?

MYERS-JAFFE: We all thought it had in 2009, right?

Because, you know, all these LNG receiving terminals went in and the U.S. started drilling, drilling, drilling.

But you know having the actual physical asset and inventory of tanks and LNG export capacity -- none of that is useful if you don't use it in the

strategic way. And you're not thinking about the security premium which people felt they didn't have to pay anymore.

STEWART (voice-over): Energy security comes at a price -- Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Be sure to keep up with the latest news and analysis on what is the Russia-Ukraine standoff on our website, including a story asking if

Vladimir Putin will turn the second cold war into a hot one. And a look at his statements for more than a decade ago that foreshadowed the current

crisis. That is at cnn.com.

Denmark dropping all of its COVID restrictions. We'll find out what the country is doing right in the battle against the virus.

Plus, more people testing positive for COVID inside the Olympics bubble. What officials there are doing now to help keep the virus out.

And my colleague is Selina Wang in the closed loop system in Beijing. She shares what it is like to gain access inside.

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ANDERSON: Officials have detected 24 new COVID cases among Olympic athletes and personnel in Beijing. The majority of the infections were from

people arriving at the airport. The rest were from people already inside what is known as the closed loop.

Now so far, 200 COVID cases have been reported inside the Olympics bubble, much more than the 110 cases Beijing has seen since mid-January. As a

precaution, the city has sealed off several neighbored blocks near Olympic venues. Selina Wang is inside Beijing's closed loop and she joins us now

live.

With just three days to go until the start of the Winter Games, just describe what is going on where you are.

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, these games are being held under some of the strictest COVID countermeasures in the world. You've got

multiple hoops to go through, COVID tests to pass before getting on the airplane.

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WANG: And the minute you step off, you're basically confined to this bubble that these organizers are calling the closed loop. So all of our

movements, these Olympic participants' movements, they're carefully managed and controlled. We have no contact whatsoever with the broader Chinese

population.

Now the health officials have said, Becky, that the goal isn't to have zero COVID cases. It is to have zero COVID transmission inside the closed loop.

So yes, you're seeing cases but they're saying they're limiting the transmission of these cases.

Now of the positive cases, we know that nearly 70 of them are involving athletes or team officials. For the athletes that have tested positive,

this is just heartbreaking and frustrating for them, since some of them feel perfectly healthy.

But for anybody who tests positive inside the closed loop, they're immediately taken to a isolation facility or a hospital. They cannot leave

that location until they clear two negative PCR tests with at least 24 hours in between.

For some cases that can take as many as weeks. Now take a listen here to see what it was like to get into this bubble.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WANG (voice-over): My team and I are traveling to Beijing for Winter Olympic Games, held under some of the strictest COVID countermeasures in

the world. Our journey starts weeks before.

WANG: I'm here in Tokyo, it is 14 days before the games but I've already got to download this Olympic health app, start tracking my health in here

every day and upload my vaccine certificate. I'm getting some deja vu using this app, since we had to use a similar one for the Tokyo games.

WANG (voice-over): But this time I'm using a burner phone because of cybersecurity concerns in China.

WANG: For the next two weeks I'm limiting physical interactions with others as much as possible; 96 hours before departure, here I go in for my

first test.

WANG (voice-over): Back home, I upload my information to get this green QR code.

WANG: Here we go. We're taking off.

Just landed in Beijing. It's totally surreal. I haven't been back here since I moved about 1.5 years ago.

First thing I saw walking off the airplane is a sea of hazmat suits. Feels a bit more like going into a medical facility than the Olympic buzz you'd

expect getting off the airplane.

That was extremely painful. I just had a nose and a throat PCR test. I was tearing up a bit.

WANG (voice-over): I clear customs, immigration and get my Olympic badge without seeing a single face. I'm officially in what organizers are calling

the closed loop, multiple bubbles connected by dedicated transport. The goal: to keep Olympic participants separate from the rest of China.

WANG: Finally on my way to the hotel, on this special bus that is just for transporting Olympic participants.

Arrived at the hotel; they've got this giant wall all around the hotel so you can't just walk in and out easily.

WANG (voice-over): The local staff here are also part of this bubble. They will have to quarantine for 21 days before leaving the bubble and returning

to their homes in China. Beijing isn't taking any chances.

Entire communities in China have gone into lockdown over even just one COVID case.

WANG: I've been waiting six hours; just got the call. My results came back negative. I am so relieved but it is not over yet. I'll be tested daily and

will be mostly confined to this room and Olympic venues during my entire stay here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WANG: So, Becky, an extremely stressful experience, as you saw. So you can only imagine how much higher the stakes are for the athletes that have gone

through all of these processes to finally get in.

But some of them already testing positive, including, we had this three- time-Olympian Team USA bobsledder, Elana Meyers Taylor. She said on Instagram that after arriving in Beijing, two days later she tested

positive. She is now at an isolate facility.

But she is still hopeful that she might be able to make her competition, which is in a couple of weeks. But that is not guaranteed.

Also Audrey King, a skier from Hong Kong, she's in a similar situation, also stuck in isolation. Such a difficult position for them because, at a

time when they're supposed to be critically preparing, training, they're stuck, confined inside an isolation facility room, extremely challenging

Olympics, Becky.

ANDERSON: Absolutely. Three days to go. We'll check back in with you tomorrow. Thank you.

In American football, the GOAT is hanging up his cleats. Tom Brady announced his retirement in the past hour in an Instagram post, ending what

has to be an unparalleled 22-year career in the NFL, that included a record seven Super Bowl titles and a host of individual records.

The quarterback won his final Super Bowl a year ago at the age of 43.

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ANDERSON: Just ahead, the snow is deep and I'm afraid the suffering is deeper. We'll show you life inside a Syrian refugee camp during one of the

country's harshest winters in decades.

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ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. The time is half past 7:00. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.

More than 80 percent of Denmark is fully vaccinated. That is one reason why the country has just lifted all of its COVID-19 restrictions. The Danish

government says it no longer considers the virus a socially critical sickness.

[10:30:00]

ANDERSON: Denmark's health minister tells CNN his government promised there would only be restrictions if they were truly necessary. His comments

made to our Scott McLean, who joins us now live from Copenhagen.

Did the health minister say why vaccination rates were so high and how they came to this decision now?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, how you get people to take the vaccine is a question that a lot of countries now would like to know the

answer to. Denmark undoubtedly has some built-in advantages. The biggest one, the health minister says, is the fact there is this inherent trust

that Danes have in institutions and in government.

It was baked into the culture long before the pandemic. But the health minister, health officials here, also say that they have gone out of their

way to be open, to be transparent about both the pros and the cons of vaccination.

Case in point, last year, they stopped giving people the AstraZeneca vaccine and were open about the fact that it was because a very small

number of people had gotten a very rare blood clot. They say that didn't hurt vaccine confidence; it actually helped it.

Now you have this situation where Denmark has the second highest -- the second highest -- infection rate in the entire world right now, Becky, and

yet the Danish government is OK with the virus ripping through the population because they are so confident that the vaccination program is

going to do its job and not put pressure on hospitals.

They're certainly not seeing it right now. And they're not the only country making this very same calculation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN (voice-over): Loud music, stiff drinks and close talking: in Denmark, they're partying like it's 2019. After two years of on again/off

again restrictions, mask mandates and lockdowns, Denmark has officially kissed COVID restrictions goodbye.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am over it. Like, I think everybody is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm excited, we have been waiting for this moment for so long.

MCLEAN (voice-over): In reality, the pandemic hasn't gone away. In fact, new average daily infections in Denmark are more than 12 times higher than

the country's previous peak and rising.

MCLEAN: Is now really the best time to do away with the rules?

SOREN BROSTROM, DIRECTOR-GENERAL DANISH HEALTH AUTHORITY: Sure. Of course everybody is asking us that question. But when we look at our hospital

admission rates, day by day and we see fewer and fewer cases and we see very few cases in the elderly and that are vaccinated, actually admitted to

hospital or even dying.

MCLEAN: And that's just because of vaccination.

BROSTROM: I have no other good explanation why Denmark is in such a unique place.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Denmark has one of the highest vaccination rates on Earth. Late last year, they lifted most restrictions, only to once again

batten down the hatches in December, closing schools, mandating masks indoors and putting curfews on bars and restaurants. Now virtually all of

those restrictions are gone.

MCLEAN: Is it really the end this time?

MAGNUS HEUNICKE, DANISH HEALTH MINISTER: Well, we hope so. But we promised the citizens of Denmark that we will only have restrictions if they are

truly necessary. And we'll lift them as soon as we can.

MCLEAN (voice-over): It is not just Denmark; last week England lifted nearly all of its domestic restrictions, as lawmakers sat out a novel new

strategy.

SAJID JAVID, BRITISH HEALTH SECRETARY: We must learn to live with COVID in the same way that we have learned to live with flu.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Before the vaccine, COVID was a lot more deadly than the flu. But as immunity rose and a less severe variant emerged, deaths

directly caused by influenza or pneumonia are now not far off of COVID-19. And lately they're contributing factors far more often.

MCLEAN: Is it reasonable to treat COVID like we treat the flu?

LIAM SMEETH, LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE AND TROPICAL MEDICINE: I think it is not a bad model, unless the virus comes up with a nasty, highly infectious

variant.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Back in Denmark, people are free to circulate; so is the virus. But two years, three vaccine doses and a lot of sacrifice later,

COVID doesn't seem so scary anymore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN: Now the health minister will not guarantee that this is the end of restrictions for good. But he says that, for him to even consider the

return of restrictions, there would have to be a variant that is not only more transmissible but also a lot more deadly than Omicron.

ANDERSON: So what do travelers to Denmark need to know at this point?

MCLEAN: So if you've been vaccinated or recently recovered from the virus, you don't need to know anything. You can come in as if it were the year

2019.

If you're unvaccinated, though, there is a bit -- a few more hoops to jump through. You have to have a test before you get on your flight and you also

have to have a test after you arrive.

The Danish government is happy to trust their own citizens to do the right thing at this point, despite the real lack of regulations. The only other

rules that are in place right now are pretty sensible: wear a mask in hospitals and care home settings.

[10:35:00]

MCLEAN: But you don't even have to legally self-isolate if you test positive for the virus. Of course, they recommend that you do but,

technically, there would be no fine; you wouldn't get any in any kind of legal trouble if you showed up maskless to a party, having just tested

positive -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Thank you, Scott.

Scott McLean is in Copenhagen for you.

Let's get you up to speed on the other stories on our radar right now.

The U.S. will know sooner rather than later whether the Iran nuclear deal can be salvaged and that is according to a U.S. State Department official,

who says the latest round of talks in Vienna were among the most intensive yet. The official cited progress while cautioning "significant gaps

remain."

The Pentagon says U.S. military helped the UAE deter another inbound missile threat. There were no injuries or casualties but it was the third

missile attack on the UAE this month. So overnight into Monday, just this last weekend gone, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have taken responsibility for

all three.

Boeing and Qatar Airways have announced a new deal to buy up to 50 of the world's largest twin jet cargo airliners. That's the forthcoming 7778, now

expected in the year 2027. The agreement was signed Monday at the White House. It also includes 50 of the largest model of the 737 MAX.

Well, home means everything, especially when it is gone, it has been bombed and the bombs follow you until you end up in a refugee camp. And then you

watch your children left to walk barefoot on icy roads. The U.N. describing what it calls "horror scenes" in Syrian refugee camps.

The country is struggling through one of its harshest winters in years, especially in the northwest of the country. That is where Idlib is. CNN's

Arwa Damon shows us what life is like there in a Syrian camp. And it is a heartbreaking but important story. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What do you do when your home cannot protect you from the whipping winds?

When you can't warm the chill away from your children's cheeks or frozen hands?

Or when the snow collapses the only shelter you have?

"Look at all this," Fatima (ph) says, "can anyone have mercy?

Don't bring us food or water, just a home."

Her son's clothing lies drenched on the flooded floor. The children don't have proper shoes, the lucky ones they run around in rubber boots. Most are

in flip-flops and some, none at all.

This winter is among the harshest to hit Syria in decades. And for those living in camps, it's unbearable.

"Just help us to stay warm," Dalai (ph) pleads, "The kids are crying from the cold. We have collected everything there is to burn even from the

garbage, from plastic, to wood, to anything else."

But it is not safe. Idris was burnt when his parents used this paste that's left over from pressing olives for oil.

"I don't know what happened exactly but the stove exploded," his father says. Idris' skin melted as if he was poured acid on it.

Burnt injuries brought on by unsafe living conditions are common throughout these camps, especially in winter. And the weather is not just aggravating

already hazardous living conditions. According to the World Health Organization, the inability to stay warm is causing an increase in severe

respiratory illnesses among children, especially the little ones.

Dr. Abdurahman Shufan (ph) tries to stifle this baby's cries. But when he finally calms down, you can hear just how labored his breath is.

"This is what we were talking about," Dr. Shufan (ph) the doctor says, "children this young with bronchi allergy and bronchiolitis. It can be

deadly."

Hospitals don't have the support or medicines they need. Aid agencies don't have the funding they need. And while there are local efforts on the ground

to help, it is hardly enough.

The international community never stopped the mass killings of Syrian civilians. Will it now help them survive the winter?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: That's Arwa Damon reporting there.

This just in to CNN, we're learning that the top U.S. and Russian diplomats have wrapped up a call. Antony Blinken telling Sergey Lavrov that the U.S.

is willing to continue what he calls a, quote, "substantive exchange" with Russia over this Ukraine standoff.

But Blinken also again warned of severe and swift consequences, should Russia move forward and invade.

[10:40:00]

ANDERSON: Or as Joe Biden has described it further, invade Ukraine. We are waiting to hear from President Putin and when he starts with his

counterpart in Hungary, in this very room, we will get that for you. Taking a break at this point. Back after this.

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