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At Least 275 People Killed, 1000 Plus Injured; Government Launches Probe as Rail Traffic Resumes; Indian Government Launches Investigation; President Erdogan begins Historic Third Term; Ukraine War Ranges as June 6, 1944 Invasion Marked; AC Milan's Ibrahimovic Retires from Football. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired June 05, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNNI HOST: Despair and anguish in hospitals in India as the country reels from this weekend's devastating train crash. This hour I'll

speak to a Former Government Official who worked in the Ministry of Railways about how this happened.

First up though, oil prices rising after Saudi Arabia said it would go it alone and cut another one million barrels per day by next month. The

announcement made at OPEC Plus in Vienna over the weekend and is Riyadh's biggest cut in years.

Moscow claims without proof it has repelled a large scale offensive from Ukrainian forces in the Southern Donetsk area. Kyiv denied and offensive

took place but it has been signaling for weeks that its troops are preparing for a major counter offensive.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has named his government's new cabinet and almost every member is new, one of the most highly scrutinized

roles of Economy Minister will be held by an internationally respected former banker

Welcome back to our second hour of "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson. Time here is just after seven o'clock in the evening, more than

280 people are dead and over thousand are injured in one of the worst train accidents in India's history.

The government has launched an official investigation into what happened? The country sadly no stranger to these disasters in 2021 more than 16,000

people were killed in nearly 18,000 railway accidents across the country let those numbers sink in for a moment.

This recent incident is raising questions and rightfully so over the safety of the country's massive and outdated rail network. So tonight we ask who

is responsible for this crash. Well, normal train traffic has resumed after repair work was completed following Friday's collision. Let's kick this

part of the show off with CNN's Ivan Watson, who has the very latest from Eastern India.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Working on the railroad, an army of laborers laying new rail by hand, racing to reopen

this transport route after one of the deadliest train disasters India has seen in its modern history.

WATSON (on camera): On Friday night, three trains collided in this area and everywhere on the side of the tracks in this rural part of Eastern India.

There are massive railroad cars that were as you can see, severely damaged in this collision. This vehicle here this car was reserved for people with

disabilities. You can still see people's personal belongings down below right outside.

WATSON (voice over): It began with a passenger train moving at 128 kilometers or 80 miles per hour, slamming into a parked freight train

colliding after dark in this rural area. Villagers rescued passengers by the light of their cell phones.

WATSON (on camera): Did you actually as volunteers pull survivors from the train wagons?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, one the most hit train wagon, where I told the other guys to put the mobile light. I entered into it. It was no space

literally because it was so inclined that everybody was male, female, everyone was dumped at a place so we had to pull them very carefully. We

pulled them out, few were alive. We just separated them here dead so we don't have to waste the time.

WATSON (voice over): Crowds of volunteers gather outside local hospitals, local reporters interviewing a crash survivor being transferred for

treatment. Among the crowd here a worried mother, she's still searching for her missing son who was a passenger on the train. Inside the hospital some

of the more than 1000 injured in the crash, the road to recovery may not be easy.

[11:05:00]

This 52 year old farmer in so much pain, he can't lie down. I'm blessed to have another chance at life says Monto Kumar, the 32 year old said the

collision felt like an earthquake. Afterwards, I took my shirt and wrapped it around my head and started looking for my friends he says.

Kumar says he shared an ambulance with his friend who lost both legs and later died. The Indian government launched an investigation into this

disaster and vows to punish anyone responsible. The pressure is on to ensure a catastrophe like this never happens again. Ivan Watson CNN in

Odisha state in Eastern India.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: And more on that story later this hour. Saudi Arabia surprising oil traders with a production cut of about a million barrels a day starting

in July. And that is sending oil prices higher though they are off their earlier highs at this point.

Riyadh's voluntary cut goes beyond the deal by the OPEC Plus alliance to limit supply in 2024 to prop up prices. But even with today's gains, crude

prices are still a lot lower than they were at the beginning of the year.

Well, Alex Schindelar is the President of Energy Intelligence and Energy Information and Insight Company, joins me now from London. Let's start with

a very basic question here is Saudi Arabia acting in its own self-interests with this current production cut?

ALEX SCHINDELAR, PRESIDENT, ENERGY INTELLIGENCE: Hi Becky, great to join you. Well, I mean, Saudi Arabia has shown that it will defend its own

interests. That's what it's been pursuing over the last couple of months and indeed, years.

But in this case, it's very much working in the interests of the whole OPEC group, as far as we see it. I mean, that the overall strategy is to try to

stabilize oil prices, or at least stop them we've seen is the actual decline in prices over time which you've been referring to.

There's been a downward momentum that Saudi Arabia and all of OPEC, wanted to stem. And that really was, I think, what was driving a lot of the action

we saw over the last couple of days.

ANDERSON: Yes, and the Saudi Oil Minister has made it very clear that he has a real grievance with the oil speculators. He says that you know that

they are trying to prevent the volatility that we've seen of late in the oil market by looking at the sort of macroeconomic picture.

And that justifies he says, and its voluntary cut by the Saudis buy a million barrels a day, but he blames oil speculators, ultimately for the

volatility. Does he have a point here? Is he right?

SCHINDELAR: Well, I think what's really going on here is and what really is complaint is that ultimately, the market is looking very much at the number

of factors that are in and around the oil markets that are potentially weighing on oil prices.

Such as the concerns about the economic situation, the questions about when Chinese demand will return? The overall questions about the debt ceiling

that we saw over the last couple of days before that was resolved so there have been a lot of things that have been sort of on the margins, worries

and concerns that haven't really been dealing specifically with the fundamental.

So what the argument is with these targeting speculators is saying, look at the fundamentals here, look at the fundamentals of supply and demand, and

look at whether or not we have enough oil in the market.

That's where he wants the attention to turn back to and sort of filter out the noise that's on the sidelines, which is what people who are trading oil

as a financial product, when they're interested in the daily movement oil up and down, not the fundamentals of what's actually driving them oil in

the long term.

ANDERSON: At what price does Saudi Arabia balance its budgets at what oil price does it balance its budget. So critics will say, you know, this is a

voluntary cut working purely in the kingdom's self-interest to prop up the price of oil between sort of 75 and 85 bucks on the barrel. Is that a

reasonable argument?

SCHINDELAR: When you look at what is required on the Saudi budget, many different organizations including ours, energy intelligence look and say,

it looks like something in the $80 range is what's needed to drive the Saudi budget.

And critically funds as I think we all know this vision 2030 plan that's very important to Saudi Arabia's own internal interests. But I think we

heard a lot from the Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz over the last couple of days, saying very specifically that OPEC does not target specific

prices.

Many people maybe don't want to believe that but actually the truth of the matter is anytime OPEC tries to target prices, it never really ever worked.

So what OPEC has done and what OPEC is trying to do and what the Saudi Energy Minister is trying to do is trying to stabilize oil prices.

[11:10:00]

And like I said earlier, it's stopped this downward trajectory that we've seen over the last couple of months.

ANDERSON: Be that as it may, there will be those who argue this move threatens the credibility of OPEC, as you know, as an effective cartel for

providing a sort of, you know, a firm base under the market. There is also much speculation that there are members of OPEC, who, quite frankly, at

this point, may just want to go in alone what's going on behind the scenes as you understand it?

SCHINDELAR: Well, you know, I think remember back six months ago, but more back to October, there was a massive blow up politically, in the aftermath

that I think is you wait, and all the viewer's remember, the U.S. was very angry about what happened in Saudi Arabia and OPEC in general decided to

cut production in a very sort of unexpected way.

This time around we also see cuts of a million barrels a day by Saudi Arabia unilaterally, and then the extension of cuts through 2024, which

basically takes a lot of oil off the market for an awfully long time. There hasn't been a lot of pushback on that right now. And it sounds like even

though there's always an OPEC meeting, always a lot of geopolitical stuff happening behind the scenes.

It was managed pretty well, this time. And a lot of that stuff stays in the sidelines, or at least deep in the background, to actually allow OPEC to

come up with not one agreement, but three agreements, that one to extend and cuts through and through 2024. The other to remove a million barrels a

day just by Saudi Arabia itself.

And the third one, that resets the production levels that companies or countries are going to be producing at starting in 2024. They often start

with the one deal through they got three deals through, which suggests that actually, there's a fair amount of willing to compromise in this

circumstance to actually get these model deals through and get a stable oil market, which is what they're all targeting.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. Look if these carts end up pushing up the price of gas in the U.S. domestic space during the U.S. driving season. We know that

going to let's put it this way that's going to irritate the U.S. administration, what effect might the restoration of ties with Iran have on

oil production? I'm talking about ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran?

SCHINDELAR: Yes, I mean, I think it's important to view what's happening in the broader context of the Middle East mean that there's an agreement or

broad, I guess, announcement and principle between Saudi Arabia and Iran, to actually come to the table and find some sort of compromise in the

region that is a real game changer.

I mean, we call it sort of its baby steps, but significant baby steps in the region. If this actually works, then you're going to see a reduction in

tensions between the two countries. And in places like OPEC, you'll have easier ways of reaching agreements.

So it's shifting the geopolitical balance in the region. And it won't just be an OPEC; it'll be in other ways as well. The question is how is the U.S.

going to do all this? And it seems, again, back to your points ahead of the meeting, we had indications that actually.

Whatever happened in the meeting, even if a cut was announced, the U.S. was going to be OK with it. So this time around, even at the edge of the

driving season, it seemed like the U.S. and Saudi Arabia had reached some sort of pre meeting, understanding that this was not going to blow up like

it did last time.

ANDERSON: Yes, let's remember, the timing of that last significant cut was just before the U.S. midterms and the price of gas in the U.S. was

significantly higher than it is at present with much speculation that the reaction of the U.S. administration was purely a political one. Thank you.

We've got more expert analysis from across the region. In our "Meanwhile in the Middle East" newsletter that is delivered right to your inbox,

including a piece released just today, detailing Saudi Arabia's investment strategy, if oil prices do actually remain sluggish.

That includes quotes from a conversation I had with the Kingdom's Investment Minister in Riyadh just last week that is

cnn.com/mideastnewsletter. It's a jolly good read, you can click subscribe, or scan the QR code at the bottom of your screen.

Well, coming up next here on "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson, a deadly attack along the border of Israel and Egypt. We're going to take a

look at the different accounts of what happened and why?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:15:00]

ANDERSON: You're watching "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson. This program comes to you from our Middle East Programming Hub here in Abu

Dhabi, where the time is just after quarter past seven in the evening.

Back to our top story this hour, India's government has launched an official investigation into the country's deadliest rail crash in more than

two decades at least 275 people killed and more than thousand injured in Friday's collision.

Well, my next guest has served on India's Ministry of Railways and the Prime Minister's Task Force on Infrastructure. He's currently a Senior

Fellow at the Center for Policy Research Partha Mukhopadhyay joins us now live. It's good to have you sir. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

Let's start with our question of the hour. Who to your mind is responsible for this deadly crash?

PARTHA MUKHOPADHYAY, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTRE FOR POLICY RESEARCH: Good evening, Becky. I wish I knew then government wouldn't have to expend the

resources trying to find out. There is a Commissioner of Rail Safety who's an independent regulator who reports into the Ministry of Civil Aviation,

not the Ministry of Railways to preserve the regulatory independence.

And that person is currently engaged in inquiry and railway board I think is requested also for criminal inquiry which is very unusual, but that's

what the situation is. So under the circumstances, we hope we'll be able to find out what exactly happened soon because what happened is certainly

extremely unusual. The last time something like this happened was in 1995.

ANDERSON: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacting to the deadly crash over the weekend. Have a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER: This incident is very serious for the government orders for carrying out a thorough investigation has been given

and whoever is found guilty will get the strictest punishment that person will not be spared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Speaking to what you have just laid out for us of course what happened in this crash must be investigated. We must find out the how and

the whys? But in 2021 let's just be quite clear more than 16,000 people killed in nearly 18,000 railway accidents across the country.

The extensive rail network sir you will be well aware one of the largest in the world but built more than 160 years ago and its decaying infrastructure

is often cited as a cause for delay and accidents.

[11:20:00]

Should the government at least take responsibility?

MUKHOPADHYAY: Becky, I got no idea where you got that number from.

ANDERSON: While researchers and producers got number.

MUKHOPADHYAY: Yes. We might need to check with them, because the numbers that we have are very different. And interestingly, as it happens,

accidents have been going way down, developments are down from somewhere in the four hundreds, in about 20 years ago to somewhere in the low 40s now,

so the safety record of the railways has actually improved.

And there's a reason for that, because investments have gone on, not just in this government, but also in the previous governments. And in this

government in the last seven years or so they've invested about $12 billion in safety.

There can be issues recently, the Auditor General of India published a report, which questioned the delay and some of the actions that the

administrator -- was taken, some sure there is room for improvement. But this is not a system where people die every day.

In fact, it used to be the case that in Mumbai, there used to be a very large number of deaths about candidate on the suburban rail network by

people getting run over, that has now dropped significantly. But the numbers that you've pointed out and nothing close to what the actual

situation is.

ANDERSON: And I'll ensure that I get you the source of those numbers. How would you characterize the process of upgrading the Indian railways? I

mean, clearly, this is an enormous infrastructure. And there has been a significant commitment, not least by this current prime minister to upgrade

the system. How would you characterize the speed and scope of that upgrade?

MUKHOPADHYAY: So the system itself is huge, running about close to 12, 13,000 trains a day carrying over 20 million passengers, and about 3

million tons of freight, which is actually what makes it the money. And in terms of actually rolling out the modernization of infrastructure, it's an

ongoing process. But investments have been going on. So this year, capital investments would be about $30 billion.

That's about four times more than what it was 10 years ago, so but is their capacity to absorb that kind of investment. And that's not entirely clear

the member operations of the Railway Board yesterday, when she was speaking, spoke about our train collision avoidance system, and how they

have set aside about a billion and a half of that dollars.

But they haven't been able to roll it out as quickly as they wanted to, because they didn't have vendors to be able to provide this stuff for them.

So the ecosystem may not be fully prepared to absorb this kind of investment. And we do have delays in major projects, for example, our

dedicated freight corridors, the East and the West -- corridors are not running a special -- .

If they had run and we'd have less congestion, and therefore less chance of these kinds of accidents to happen. So the commercial considerations all

the time whenever you're doing safety, because you need to slow down railways, you need to stop railways, in order to carry out the safety

works.

But that's there in every organization when they have to. It's there when you repair something at home; we prefer to do it over the weekend or during

the day by taking a day off from work. So those kinds of considerations are ongoing and management takes day to day view of that. But there is money in

the system now and has been there for a while.

ANDERSON: I promise to get you the source of those numbers by the way in and have. This is the -- these numbers coming from the National Crime

Records as I understand it, as I'm being told.

MUKHOPADHYAY: Sure.

ANDERSON: It is clear that officials will be looking at every eventuality as to why this crash actually happened. There are some who are suggesting

human error. Even sabotage could have led to the crash that killed so many and has injured so many more. Would argue those surprise you if they were

actually to be the result of this investigation?

MUKHOPADHYAY: Sabotage definitely will. And human error -- you see, crane signaling systems as any colleagues in the U.S. or anywhere else.

[11:25:00]

That you are designed to be failsafe, which means that if they don't work, they revert back to all signals red and trains are supposed to stop. That's

the way green signaling systems are supposed to work that they are on the side of safety than other ones. So it's supposed to take care of even

tragedies like human error and things of that sort.

So this is which is why this is very unusual. And the way the train was shunted onto the wrong line, and then hit a stationary good strain is what

is quite striking. And as I said, the last time this happened was 1995. So it's been sabotaged.

I mean, the government has asked for a criminal inquiry, which means perhaps the thinking that way, but and I guess all eventualities need to be

explored, but extremely surprising if it did turn out to be the case.

ANDERSON: Sir, it's good to have you on tonight. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. Of course, our hearts go out to those who, to those

families who have lost loved ones, and we -- yes, and we hope that those who are injured to recover. Thank you very much indeed.

Well, an investigation is underway after three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian policeman were killed along the Egypt Israel border. Three

Israelis were laid to rest on Sunday. This is the first incident of its kind along the border in more than a decade. And there are some differences

between what each country is saying. Here's our Hadas Gold with more.

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Early Saturday morning two Israeli soldiers who were manning an outpost along the border between Egypt and

Israel along the Sinai Peninsula, when they did not respond to a check in by their comrades that triggered them to be checked in upon and that's when

their bodies were actually found to have been shot to death.

That triggered a manhunt and then an ensuing a firefight between what turned out to be an Egyptian security officer and Israeli soldiers ended in

a third Israeli soldier being killed as well as the Egyptian security officer.

Now the Israeli military says it appears as though this Egyptian security officer crossed the border fence the barrier between the two using what

appeared to have been some sort of emergency exit and entry point. And we do have an image that was reported by the Israeli public broadcaster Kan

News, which shows what seems to be a sort of small square opening in the fence.

Israeli media reporting that it was held shut just by zip ties. So those zip ties must have been cut some way for the security officer to be able to

cross the border. Now the Egyptian military is saying that this security officer was actually in pursuit of drug smugglers when he breached the

border and then engaged in the firefight, although the Egyptian military also saying that they are expressing condolences to those who were killed.

Now, the Israeli media is reporting that this officer was found to have not only his regular weapon, but extra magazines on his persons. But all

indications we're seeing from both Egyptian and Israeli officials is that they're trying to treat this as a very unusual and isolated incident. And

that it is not that it does not spiral into a bigger situation.

The Israeli Minister of Defense and the Egyptian Minister of Defense have already spoken on the phone together, saying that they're going to

cooperate on the investigation. And the Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson saying that this situation is not indicative of the relationship between

the two militaries, which often cooperate with one another, especially to try to thwart guns and weapons smuggling along this portion of the Sinai

desert.

But a lot of questions still to be still unanswered, including why was this Egyptian security officer crossing the border fence without alerting the

Israeli military and he seemed to be by him. Why was he going after drug smugglers as the Egyptian military says by himself.

And from the Israeli military there are a lot of questions about those two soldiers in those outposts they should have been checked in upon once an

hour that was not done. So according to the Israeli military, how also did somebody cross the border without triggering some sort of alarm, lots of

questions still to be answered on this very unusual incident. Hadas Gold, CNN Jerusalem.

ANDERSON: Coming up will the Turkish economy finally get some relief? President Erdogan is appointed, well, is a darling of the markets, Mehmet

Simsek as Finance Minister, more on that appointment and its potential impact after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00]

ANDERSON: Welcome back, you're watching "Connect the World" with me, Becky Anderson. The time here in Abu Dhabi is half past seven. Your headlines

this hour, Prince Harry expected in London's High Court on Tuesday. He'll give evidence in a phone hacking case but he was absent for opening

statements today.

His representatives say he left California on Sunday after celebrating his daughter's birthday. The lawsuit alleges mirror group newspapers obtained

information about the Duke of Sussex and others illegally. The near collision in the Taiwan Strait is ratcheting up tensions between the U.S.

and China.

And moment coming of the weekend when the U.S. says a Chinese military ship sailed directly in front of a navy destroyed in an unsafe manner and

violated maritime rules. China says U.S. started provocation and accuses Washington and its allies trying to destabilize the region.

Well, Iran says it is reopening its embassy in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on Tuesday as part of our ongoing efforts to resume relations

between the two countries. Back in March, Tehran and Riyadh announced they would reestablish diplomatic ties after seven years of hostility.

And this just into CNN, former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. He has just filed the paperwork

needed to run for president. He will now go head to head against his former boss Donald Trump to challenge President Joe Biden in 2024.

Well, a deeply polarized presidential election, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is calling for unity as he kicks off his historic third term.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT: Turkey needs the energy ideas and contributions of every citizen. All members of turkeys 85 million

population should stick together just like bricks forming a wall. Turkey needs unity and solidarity more than ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, after being sworn in on Saturday, Mr. Erdogan also announced his new cabinet on the domestic front. The former Economy

Minister Mehmet Simsek has been tapped as Treasury and Finance Minister.

Now Simsek is widely respected in international markets and likely signals a return to more conventional economic policies and the nation's new top

diplomat Hakan Fidan, the former Head of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization. Osman Sert served as a Research Director of the Ankara

Institute.

He served in the Foreign Minister's office from 2009 to 2014. He joins us now live from Ankara. And let's start with foreign policy which was your

file while you were working in government. What can we expect from Fidan's Foreign Minister?

[11:35:00]

OSMAN SERT, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, ANKARA INSTITUTE: Well, this cabinet is a bridge builder, both domestically and internationally indeed. And if you

look at Mr. Fidan's appointment as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he is a reliable person internationally. Indeed, during the last three years,

because of the isolation of Turkey in diplomatic terms, the intelligence office was indeed behaving as if a semi Minister of Foreign Affairs.

And with Israel, with Syria, with Russia with Egypt, always the means the chief intelligence officer was having deals with the other countries. And

if you look at the general map of the cabinet, it is trying to build bridges domestically and internationally.

For instance, the previous Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu was against and criticizing the United States very harshly, publicly speaking, and he

is not in the cabinet right now. And Mr. -- as the vice president, he is occurred and -- has an important place at the cabinet. And Hakan Fidan is

representing this normalization process at the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

ANDERSON: This is a really interesting lineup as a cabinet. I wonder whether you think this is the president conceding that he needs a reset,

both domestically and internationally.

SERT: Indeed, we can say it. If you look at the general reactions after announcement of the new cabinet, even the people, at least some of them who

didn't vote for Mr. Erdogan, they are a bit comfortable with the new government, at least they're not unhappy with the names announced by the

president.

As I have said at least three or four names originally Kurdish. And there is it is just giving an olive branch for the Kurds. And Mr. Suleyman Soylu,

the previous Minister of Interior was again, he was not popular among the Kurds.

And that's why I think with the new tone of Mr. President, he made the speech you have just showed previous than my view. And then he is I'm

trying to give this picture both domestically and internationally. He's trying to reset it. Of course, for Mr. President Erdogan, he is not so

predictable.

But at least he is trying to chance his chance to reset the relationship both in the country and internationally.

ANDERSON: And you make a very good point, you make a very good point about this sort of lack of predictability. Because when you look at the markets,

and you look at Turkish assets, the international investor, at least, isn't necessarily buying this appointment as Finance and Treasury Minister,

Mehmet Simsek as of yet, at least.

Before the run off, I asked President Erdogan in an exclusive interview, if Turkey can expect a change in economic policy; this is what he told me,

then.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERDOGAN: We have seen results in terms of the steps that we have taken. In this country, the inflation rates will come down along with the interest

rates so that we will come to a point where people will be relieved. I see this speaking as an economist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Let's be quite clear about this. We were discussing the president's very unorthodox economic policy, which is reduce interest rates

to bring down what is a really swingy level of inflation officially at around 40 percent could be some say as high as 100 percent.

And this has been widely criticized both domestically and internationally. Simsek's appointment, certainly on the face of it points to a much more

orthodox economic approach. Do you expect President Erdogan to take a step back and put economic policy back in the hands of the finance minister and

in the hands of the independent central bank?

SERT: I didn't even try it, because probably he sees what the problems are laying in front of Turkey. And Mr. Simsek had several conversations with

President Erdogan before the elections as well. And he listed the risks in front of Turkey regarding any kind of financial deadlock and other things.

And Mr. Erdogan appointed Mr. Simsek, knowing all the risks and knowing the current position of Mr. Simsek. And when he is taking over the power, just

being appointed as the minister, he made the statement, and he said that Turkey has no chance, then returning back to rational policies.

He proved that he didn't change his ideas, he is supporting orthodox policies. But we have two question marks. First, to what extent Mr. Erdogan

would let him do whatever he wants, whatever he needs to do to just correct economy.

[11:40:00]

And number two, to what extent the current conditions of the Turkish economy, the high inflation and the deficit of budget, and the current

account deficit will let Mr. Simsek to do whatever he really wants to do. These are the main problems. And as long as I think, I think Mr. Erdogan

will try to give a chance to Mr. Simsek to tidy up the economy.

ANDERSON: And we certainly have seen a move on the dollar lira rate. It's not the sort of, it's not a significant move of late. So maybe the

international investable, the markets waiting to see just how much involvement President Erdogan has, but it's going to be interesting to

watch.

Thank you, sir. So at the inauguration, we also saw a very warm embrace between Mr. Erdogan and the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The

question is will Mr. Erdogan clear the way for Sweden to join that alliance in the coming weeks again, something we will keep a keen eye on in my

exclusive interview, which was conducted about 10 days ago. It wasn't clear.

And certainly Mr. Erdogan wasn't prepared to say that he was prepared to go ahead and sign off on that, so again, extremely important one to watch,

still ahead, a CNN exclusive. Ukraine, cultivating a network of saboteurs inside Russia, why well to launch attacks, like this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Two exclusive reporting now from CNN. Sources telling us that Ukraine have cultivated a network of saboteurs to carry out attacks inside

Russia. U.S. officials believe Ukraine is providing these sabotage cells with drones including the ones that hit the Kremlin last month.

U.S. officials say the sabotage consists of pro Ukrainian sympathizers and operatives who are trained in this kind of warfare. Well, as Russia's war

against Ukraine rages on the wall prepares to Mark D-Day remembered as the greatest amphibious invasion in human history.

Tuesday marks the 79th anniversary of the World War Two offensive Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy France on June the sixth 1944 and

started their push to defeat Nazi Germany. Well, top U.S. General Mark Milley is in Normandy -- .

And CNN's Oren Liebermann talked with the joint, the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chief of Staff in an exclusive interview. It's good to have you there

and I think the sort of background for this conversation is so important.

[11:45:00]

Just explain the atmosphere there, if you will, before you tell us about what he told you about the war in Ukraine, Oren.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Becky, it's worth noting that we're very close to those beaches where Allied troops landed to begin the

liberation first France and then the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany. In fact, the town that we're staying in was one of the first towns

liberated, and we made that point to him.

This is an anniversary of the commemoration and celebration of the counter offensive that liberated Europe as we sit here waiting for another counter

offensive to take place in Ukraine. And although he argued a little bit with the scope and scale, the goal was the same there. And here, it's the

liberate occupied territory.

So we asked him about his anticipation for the counter offensive, and how he will know if it will be successful. He said, look, the U.S. and the West

other countries in particular have helped the poor in the weaponry that Ukraine needs for this kind of offensive, they're as prepared as they need

to be.

But war itself is also very difficult to predict. There are a lot of different probabilities and possibilities that lead to the outcome. So he

wouldn't go as far as to say whether it would be a successful counter- offensive. He was very careful in his wording here. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. MARK MILLEY, U.S. JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: It's too early to tell what outcomes are going to happen. I think the Ukrainians are very well

prepared, as you know very well, the United States and other allied countries in Europe and really around the world have provided training and

ammunition and advice, intelligence, et cetera to the Ukrainians, we're supporting them.

They're in a war, that's an existential threat for the very survival of Ukraine, and has greater meaning to the rest of the world for Europe,

really, for the United States, but also for the globe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: We did also ask about these recent attacks, we've seen drone attacks and other forms of attacks inside of Russia, and whether that risks

an escalation whether Russia might choose to escalate in response. He said, look, it's certainly a possibility that Russia might choose to escalate

with attacks within their own borders.

But to some extent, this is something the U.S. watches very closely and it's a part of war. If Russia was going to attack Ukraine, there should be

an anticipation that Ukraine might take the fight back to them. The U.S. monitors this very closely as of right now, it is a war between Ukraine and

Russia and the escalation is expected to be in Ukraine.

Should Russia choose to escalate outside Ukraine? Well, that puts this entire situation in an entirely different area, Becky.

ANDERSON: Oren Liebermann on the story for you with that exclusive interview. Thank you. Still to come into Milan, superstar Romelu Lukaku

opens up about his personal life. Ahead of the Champions League final weekend, what he has to say may have you well reaching the Kleenex?

And a pillar of football announces his retirement; we'll take a look at the amazing careers Zlatan Ibrahimovic, one of my favorite moments from my time

with him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: We are just days away from the Champions League final. And this year's match should be a blockbuster. Inter Milan will face Man City on

Saturday in Istanbul. Well, one of the Inter's key players is Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku who is playing in his first ever Champions League

final.

[11:50:00]

He is Belgium's all time, top goal scorer and spoke exclusively with CNN's Darren Lewis about his humble beginnings and where he is now. And Darren

joins us from London with more, Darren, on that interview. Tell us explain.

DARREN LEWIS, CNN SENIOR SPORTS ANALYST: Well, Becky, you and I were in Qatar, we saw some wonderful stories, didn't we during the World Cup that

symbolizes the triumph of the human spirit. And the Belgian international striker, his story is up alongside any and all of them I would suggest.

It was wonderfully told around about five years ago by a website called the players Tribune, I don't mind telling you, everybody watching, I read it

and cried. And I sent it to my wife and she read it and she cried. And what it was it told the story of when he was a youngster.

He, his father was a professional footballer, but when he retired, the money ran out. So they lived a good life up until then, but and as had

happened to any one of us, they fell on very hard times. So hard, in fact, that as a six year old, he watched his mother mix milk with water, so that

it would stretch to provide him for all of his brothers and sisters.

They couldn't even watch the Champions League, because they had no electricity. So he promised his father, his grandfather, I should say that

he would take care of his mother, just five days before his beloved grandfather passed away. So when I asked him what this moment would mean,

you can understand why he was a little bit emotional. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMELU LUKAKU, INTER MILAN STRIKER: I have a very good memory, so I can remember perfectly all those is in. I remember, like so many finals that I

wanted to watch that, you know, I couldn't -- a good school and go YouTube and watch them in the computer class.

At the time, like lies, they will live me and then I'll go and watch and then I have my classmates telling me oh, yes, this happened. I'm like, yes,

I saw them, I saw them. We see nothing. But to be honest, to be in this position now, tell my family there. It will be beautiful thing because then

it's like I couldn't watch.

But now you know, by the grace of God, I can play one. So it's a beautiful thing, you know, playing probably against the best this team in the world

actually. So I just want to enjoy it, you know, to be honest.

LEWIS: Your grandfather you've said he's the most important person to you after your mum and dad of course of you from the Congo.

LUKAKU: Yes.

LEWIS: So what do you think of this moment?

LUKAKU: I love, one thing is, when I see my son, this is so much of him like I have a picture of my grandfather on my WhatsApp. And when I look at

my youngest son, he looks; he looks like him so much. So you know, my grandfather for me is, he was my number one.

He was my number one, he was my biggest fan. My biggest fan, so it's I'm going to play. Yes, this is for him. So we go through so much in our

careers and sometimes people don't know the scale of the achievement.

LEWIS: When you get to a moment like this --

LUKAKU: This is for all the other girls who have scored everything. Our problems that I looked at -- when I look at my mom and I see this dance,

I'm like, I look at him, I said everyone and said like did it, I did it. It doesn't matter like you know wins or loses you know take it on my stride

you know this is real family issues. So you know, for me it was even the wealth of the world to me.

LEWIS: You mean the world to a lot of players from the --

LUKAKU: Thank you for this final video.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[11:55:00]

ANDERSON: Well, in tonight's parting shots, footballers, and fans alike bid a tearful farewell to AC Milan legends Zlatan Ibrahimovic after he

announced his retirement from football on Sunday. The Swedish ball star has had a staggering 24 year career spanning nineteen's and 561 goals for club

and country.

But beyond the glitz and glory, Zlatan brought a persona on and off the pitch that was unmatched. He is perhaps one of the most confident

footballers I've ever had the pleasure of sitting down with, if not the most confident.

I want to end our show with a classic Zlatan moment from my interview with him just before the 2022 Qatar World Cup. When I asked him the age old

question of who is the best, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC, SWEDISH FORMER PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER: To judge who is better, I think they're both on that level where you discuss about them.

And a nominal level you don't discuss because I'm above both of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Got to love him. Thank you for joining us. Good luck, Zlatan. Thank you for joining us. That was "Connect the World" with me Becky

Anderson. "One World" is up next here on CNN. From the team working with me here in Atlanta in Georgia out of our new control rooms there and in

London, it is very good evening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:00]

END