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UNSC to Vote on Resolution Calling for Gaza Ceasefire; U.S. Resolution Calling for Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Fails; Ukraine beat Bosnia- Herzegovina to Reach Play Off Final. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired March 22, 2024 - 09:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
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ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this is the scene of the United Nations as the Security Council prepares to vote on a U.S.
resolution aimed at securing an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. We'll bring you an update on that story in just a bit. It is 9 am in New York, 5 pm
here in Abu Dhabi. Hello and welcome to "Connect the World". I'm Eleni Giokos.
Now the resolution, which the U.S. has been working on for weeks calls for quotes, and immediate and sustained ceasefire in connection with the
release of all remaining hostages. Work is underway to ensure the resolution passes, according to diplomats, but Russia has in the past
threatened to use its veto.
This is consequential and of course, this vote comes almost 5.5 months since the October 7th attacks that killed more than 1200 people in Israel.
Now more than 250 people were kidnapped and taken hostage into Gaza. And the death toll is approaching 32,000 Palestinians and the vote comes as
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and the war cabinet. Here's what he had to say yesterday in Cairo
about the ceasefire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: There's a clear consensus around a number of shared priorities first, the need for an immediate sustained
ceasefire with the release of hostages that would create space to surge more humanitarian assistance to relieve the suffering of many people and to
build something more enduring.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Well, as Blinken is in Tel Aviv, CIA Director Bill Burns will be in Doha meeting with the Head of Israel's Intelligence Service and the Head of
Egypt's Intelligence for the resumption of hostage talks, and we've got team coverage for you. We got CNN's Paula Hancocks in Doha monitoring the
hostage talks, and we've got CNN's Jennifer Hansler in the State Department, as well.
And of course, we're keeping a very close watch on the UN Security Council. That meeting is set to get underway in just a bit. Jennifer, I want to
start with you, Israel and the U.S. relations have been strained of late if we could call it that the messaging from Washington has been a lot more
stern, and also warning against an offense of interest. So what is Blinken hope to get out of this meeting?
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Well, Eleni throughout the five and a half months of this conflict one thing we've heard consistently
from U.S. officials that it takes this in their face, person to person diplomacy for anything to get done for Israel to act on any of these U.S.
requests.
So we are seeing Secretary Blinken back in the region for the sixth time to press the Israelis on these key issues that he has been raising throughout
the course of this conflict. Number one he wants to see more humanitarian assistance reaching those in need in Gaza.
Blinken said yesterday in Egypt that Israel needs to do more. They need to open up more crossings, more land crossings for this aid to reach those in
need. So we expect this to be among the key topics of his conversations that just wrapped up there in Israel today.
Another thing we expect him to push is the need for Israel to not move forward on this offensive into Rafah, the U.S. has called this a mistake.
Blinken said yesterday it would be a humanitarian disaster if they were to move forward on this offensive that Netanyahu continues to threaten to push
forward even despite this U.S. international condemnation.
Now, the also the key issues that we expect to be discussed in Israel is this hostage deal is this need for an immediate ceasefire to get the
hostages home. Now Eleni, it's important to note that Blinken's trip did not just stop in Israel. He was also traveling throughout the region over
the past several days.
He was in Saudi Arabia two days ago. He was in Egypt yesterday. He met with his Arab contact group leaders from countries in the region to talk about
what comes next once the conflict does, in fact, come to an end. They want to have plans in place on security in Gaza, on governance in Gaza so that
they are able to take advantage of any sort of stoppage in the fighting.
So we don't necessarily expect a lot of concrete deliverables coming out of today's meetings out of this week's trip. But we do see Blinken laying out
the political groundwork, the path forward when things do come to an end Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Thank you so much for that. We've got Paula standing by as well. Look, there's hope that momentum is building on talks. And there's
a big question, are we close to some kind of deal? Paula, what are you hearing?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we've heard Eleni from the Secretary of State himself is that the gaps are narrowing but there are
still gaps.
[09:05:00]
He is hopeful that there will be a resolution on this. And we know that that there are more people coming here to Doha. We've got the Intelligence
Chief of the U.S. of Israel and Egypt is meeting as well with Qatar's Prime Minister to try and push these negotiations forward.
Now, David Barnea, the Mossad Director was only here just a few days ago. So the fact that he is coming back might suggest that he is -- there is
something to come back for and the fact that the group is widening as well. What we're seeing from the U.S. side certainly has this intensive
diplomatic push.
You have Secretary Blinken in Israel. You have Bill Burns, the CIA Director coming here to Doha. And then you also have this U.S. resolution in the
United Nations Security Council really pushing to try and secure this resolution showing the urgency of trying to make sure that more
humanitarian aid can get into Gaza, that there is this potential six week, temporary ceasefire.
And this is really one of the key messages that from the Biden Administration, they're bringing to the region at this point. Secretary
Biden -- sorry Secretary Blinken saying that I think an agreement is very much possible. But there are still real challenges.
There was a real effort at this point to at least get the first phase agreed on and that's why we understand there will be multiple phases to
this potential deal, because there are significant gaps. For example, Israel does not want to pull its military out of Gaza. They do not want a
permanent ceasefire.
Because they have been very clear that they still intend to go into Rafah. They still intend to have this major ground offensive in Rafah whereas
Hamas wants this permanent ceasefire, and they want the Israeli military out of Gaza. So that is a significant gap between these two sides, which is
why the focus has to be on phase one.
And then within that ceasefire, there's potential time and space to be able to narrow the differences on the other issues, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Paula Hancock, thank you so much. I want to take you now to the UN Security Council. You've got the United States Ambassador
speaking right now let's listen in.
LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: -- many of the same goals. First and foremost, we want to see an immediate and
sustained ceasefire as part of a deal that leads to the release of all hostages being held by Hamas and other groups. And that will allow much
more life-saving humanitarian aid to get into Gaza.
Of course, we can't just want that to happen. We have to make that happen. We have to do the hard work of diplomacy. I know you've heard me say that a
lot. And that's because it's the truth. A Security Council resolution means much less, if it is not actually made real on the ground.
That's why the United States, Egypt and Qatar are working around the clock in the region to secure an immediate and sustained ceasefire as part of a
deal that leads to the release of all hostages being held by Hamas and other groups that will help us address the dire humanitarian crisis in
Gaza. We believe we're close. We're not there yet, unfortunately.
And this moment, is one where the Security Council has a critical role to play. By adopting the resolution before us, we can put pressure on Hamas to
accept the deal on the table. Colleagues, you don't need me to tell you that every day without a deal, meaning every day without a ceasefire leads
to more needless suffering.
For more than 100 hostages, including a one year old child being held in captivity by Hamas and other groups, for innocent Palestinians in Gaza, who
had been displaced, who is starving, who desperately need peace. For Israelis who have continued to face missile attacks from Hamas, a terrorist
group that set this conflict into motion on October 7th.
Every day without a deal means more needless suffering. This resolution will move us closer to securing that deal, and help us alleviate that
suffering. And I urge all council members to vote yes, to vote for a resolution that at long last condemned Hamas for its horrific terrorist
attacks and sexual violence.
That makes clear that all civilians, Palestinians and Israelis should be able to live without fear of violence that demands the protection of
civilians in Gaza.
[09:10:00]
And stresses that a major ground offensive in Rafah poses a grave threat to civilians, even as we still work toward eliminating Hamas from all parts of
Gaza, that calls on Israel to eliminate all barriers and restrictions to humanitarian aid, especially as the threat of famine looms large in
Northern Gaza, that condemns calls to resettle Gaza, and makes clear that the Palestinian Authority should have ultimate authority over Gaza.
And that reiterates this Council's support for a two state solution. This is a strong resolution. It's the byproduct of exhaustive, inclusive
negotiations. It reflects the consensus of this council. And it does more than just call for a ceasefire. It helps to make -- make a ceasefire
possible. It would be a historic mistake for the Council to not adopt this text. And I again, urge all Council members to vote yes, thank you, Mr.
President.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thank the Representative of the United States for their statement. I give the floor to the Representative of Russian
Federation.
VASILY NEBENZIA, RUSSIAN AMBASADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: For half a year six months been unable to adopt a document with a demand for a ceasefire in
Gaza. All of the attempts a time and again came up against the resistance of the United States who four times in cold blood cast a veto in this
chamber.
In this time, we have heard from U.S. colleagues, repeatedly their justifications either they were saying that the achievement of a ceasefire
is premature, insofar as there is a need to give space for so called counterterrorism efforts of Israel, or they demanded for the Security
Council not to stand in the way of effective diplomacy of Washington on the ground.
That is a quote. Or they called for us to wait for the onset of Ramadan when apparently an agreement would definitely be reached for a ceasefire
for an end to the violence. And now, six months have elapsed Gaza has virtually been wiped from the earth.
And now the U.S. Representative without blinking has been asserting that Washington has finally begun to recognize the need for a ceasefire. This
sluggish thought process in Washington has cost the lives has been come at the cost of the lives of 32,000 peaceful Palestinians, two thirds of whom
are women and children.
And even now we have observed the typical hypocritical spectacle when wrapped up in a ceasefire, the United States have been trying to sell a
product to the membership of Security Council and to the entire international community.
They've been trying to sell something completely different, namely, a diluted formulation about a -- a definition and determination of the
imperative for a ceasefire this kind of philosophical passages about moral imperatives are seen in limited quantities in the work of Immanuel Kant
(ph).
However, to save the lives of a peaceful set of Palestinian civilians, this is not enough. And this is in no way what is stipulated in the mandate of
the UN Security Council the Council which is vested with a unique mechanism to demand a ceasefire, and was necessary to compel compliance there with.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during an official interview in Jeddah on the 20th of March with the Correspondent Alhadeff (ph) stated and
I quote, well, in fact, we actually have a resolution that we put forward right now, that's before the UN Security Council that does call for an
immediate ceasefire tied to the release of hostages.
And we hope very much that countries will support that end quote. However, in the text of the U.S. draft, which has been put to the vote today, there
is no such call. So what turns out is that either the U.S. Representative at the United Nations or the U.S. Secretary of State has been deliberately
misleading the international community.
Distinguished colleagues from the very onset, it was clear that the so called negotiations which our U.S. colleagues have been engaged in on this
issue have been focused merely to drag out the time. All of our comments all of our red lines were time and time disregarded as were the proposals
of a number of other delegations.
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This was some kind of an empty rhetoric -- rhetorical exercise rather than normal work on a document. The American product is exceedingly politicized.
The sole purpose of which is to help to play into -- play to the voters, to throw them a bone in the form of some kind of a mention of a ceasefire in
Gaza, and to establish the U.S.'s political ambitions in the region through the establishment of terrorist labels, and to ensure the impunity of Israel
whose crimes in the draft are not even assessed.
I wish to draw attention to the following. The U.S. draft contains an effective green light for Israel to mount a military operation in Rafah. At
the very least, the author's tried to make it to such that nothing would prevent Western Jerusalem from continuing their brutal cleansing of the
south of the Gaza Strip. And what is Washington actually trying to achieve?
We have already stated that we will no longer tolerate pointless resolutions which do not contain a call for a ceasefire, which lead us to
nowhere. This draft should not pass with the majority of the membership, to send a message about the in admissibility and not the palliative but the
actual intentions of Washington.
It would be very strange for us to see those members of the Council of whom there are a majority who understand this. And who persuaded us of the
deficiencies in the U.S. draft; it would be we'd be surprised if they now lift their hands, voting in favor of it.
Ladies and gentleman, if you do this, you will cover yourselves in disgrace. Consider once again, how will you look before the population of
the Middle East in front of your own populations if you support this hypocritical initiative, which is designed to disorient the international
community and essentially to undermine the authority of the council, making sure that it cannot have an impact on the situation on the ground that this
council will not be able to have an impact of the situation on the ground to ensure that it not get in the way of the White House.
Are you willing to play into their hands when it comes to this unsavory spectacle the Russian Federation will not do this as a permanent member of
the UN Security Council as one of the Founders of the United Nations. We recognize the historical global responsibility we shoulder for the
maintenance of international peace and security.
We cannot allow the Security Council to become an instrument in the advancement of Washington's destructive policy in the Middle East. If this
resolution is to be adopted, this would definitively close the door when it comes to discussions about the need for a ceasefire in Gaza.
This would free the hands of Israel and it would result in all of Gaza into its entire population having to face destruction, devastation or expulsion.
We are not guided by what is convenient for Washington -- for satellites -- the satellites that raise their hands following instructions from
Washington.
We do not follow this. What we, what guides us is what is necessary for the Palestinian people and what helps to advance peace. We call upon the
membership of the Security Council not to allow this to occur to vote against the U.S. draft.
Mr. President for the United Nations Security Council to ultimately be in a position to deliver upon its mandate for the mandate -- maintenance of
international peace and security a number of non-permanent members of the Security Council have drafted an alternative draft resolution which
stipulates black on white the demand for both a ceasefire and the unconditional release of hostages.
This is a balance and a political document. We see no reason for which the membership of the Security Council for the members of the Security Council
not to support this unless a ceasefire and the release of hostages is not part of their plans. This is an attempt to allow the council to comply with
the noble functions that have been vested in it. And I call for you not to let this opportunity slip away Thank you for your attention.
[09:20:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the Representative Russian Federation for their statement. I shall put the draft. I shall put the draft resolution to the
vote now. With those -- with those in favor of the draft resolution contained in document is yes s/2024/239 please raise their hand?
Those again -- those against of extension -- the result of the voting is as follows 11 votes in favor, 3 votes against, one abstention. The draft
resolution has not been adopted owning to the negative vote of a permanent member of the Council. I now -- I now give the floor to those members of
the Council who wish to make statements after the board
GIOKOS: All right, you have been watching the UN Security Council not passing the U.S.'s draft resolution calling for a ceasefire among other
things and of course, Russia using its veto power to vote against this draft resolution. It is a significant and consequential vote.
This is the first time the United States had put something like this to the fall -- to the UN Security Council it has vetoed others in the past, we've
got the U.S. Ambassador speaking again let's listen in.
THOMAS-GREENFIELD: And now, Russia and China will give you all sorts of explanations for his obstruction. But whether or not it will admit it,
there are two deeply, deeply cynical reasons behind its vote. First, Russia and China's still could not bring itself to condemn Hamas' terrorist
attacks on October 7th. Can we just pause on that for a moment?
Russia and China refuses to condemn Hamas from burning people alive for gunning down innocent civilians at a concert for raping women and girls for
taking hundreds of people hostage. This was the deadliest single attack on Jews since the Holocaust. And a permanent member of this Council can't even
condemn it. I'm sorry. It's really outrageous. And it's below the dignity of this body.
The second reason behind this veto is not just cynical, it's also petty. Russia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was
penned by the United States because it would rather see us fail than to see this council succeed. Even after inclusive consultations over weeks and
weeks, even after negotiations and edits produced a draft that received overwhelming Council support.
And as you saw today, nearly every council member voted to put the full weight of this body behind the diplomatic efforts to secure an immediate
and sustained ceasefire as part of a deal that leads to the release of all hostages that will allow much more humanitarian aid to get into Gaza.
But once again, Russia put politics over -- progress over progress. Russia, who has carried out an unprovoked war on its neighbor, has the audacity and
hypocrisy to throw stones when it lives in a glass house itself. So let's be honest, for all the fiery rhetoric.
We all know that Russia and China are not doing anything diplomatically to advance a lasting peace or to meaningfully contribute to the humanitarian
response efforts. Colleagues, there's obviously another resolution that some of you would like to be considered.
But in its current form, that text fails to support sensitive diplomacy in the region. Worse it is -- it could actually give Hamas an excuse to walk
away from the deal on the table. All of us want to see this Council speak out but we should not move forward with any resolution that jeopardizes the
ongoing negotiations.
[09:25:00]
And these are not just negotiations that are being carried out by the United States, others in the region; Qatar and Egypt are engaged on these
negotiations. So if that alternative resolution comes up for a vote and does not support the diplomacy happening on the ground, we may once again
find this council deadlocked.
I truly hope that that does not come about. And so far apart the United States we'll keep at it. We'll continue to work toward a deal alongside
Qatar and Egypt. And we will work with any council member that is seriously interested in adopting a resolution that will help make that deal possible.
Thank you, Mr. President.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thank the Representative of the United States for their statement. I give the floor to the Representative of the United
Kingdom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, President. The United Kingdom voted yes on the text before us this morning.
GIOKOS: All right. We've just heard from the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, responding to Russia vetoing its draft
resolution when it comes to potential ceasefire in Gaza release of hostages, and also allowing more humanitarian aid in the U.S., Ambassador
says are two reasons for that one is cynical, and one is petty.
There's a lot that's going on here. But most important to note is that this is a very big shift and move by the United States. It has vetoed other
similar draft resolutions brought forward by other nations and this time, the U.S. taking the lead on that.
Interesting to also note that the U.S. had consulted with other Security Council members in creating this draft resolution and now -- Russia of
course, one of the five countries that do have veto power have objected to this draft resolution.
We've got Paula Hancock standing by. She's been listening in from Doha. Paula, we've just heard from the U.S. Ambassador. We heard from the Russian
side as well. Interestingly, Russia has voted for similar draft resolutions brought forward they've abstained once, but this time, using the veto power
against the United States.
And frankly, just hearing some of the commentary from the Russian Ambassador saying, look, you know, the U.S. has, has stood by and watched
on for so long, then bringing this draft resolution is an interesting sort of development from the U.S.'s side and yet coming through and obstructing
this from actually being put through as a resolution in itself.
HANCOCKS: Well, the U.S. Ambassador said that Russia is putting politics before progress, saying that they are voting against the United States, and
that is their sole purpose for having vetoed this resolution. What we did hear from the Russian Ambassador to the UN there was calling out the United
States for in their words being hypocritical.
The fact -- that as you say they have abstained or voted against a number of similar resolutions, which have called for a ceasefire in the Gaza
Strip. And we heard the reckoning and the reasoning for that from the U.S. side, saying that some of the drafts that have come through before some of
the resolutions, including one that Russia mentioned just now as well, would potentially jeopardize talks that will be going on here in Doha.
So the concern from Washington is that some of these resolutions before do not take in the sensitivities or take into account the difficult
negotiations that are ongoing. And there are concerns from the U.S. side, that passing that resolution may let Hamas off the hook and may not make
them feel as pressured to come to an agreement when it comes to a temporary ceasefire and the return of some hostages for some Palestinian prisoner
releases as well.
So this really did turn out to be Russia versus the United States in the -- in the UN Security Council, as the U.S. Ambassador mentioned there are a
number of countries did support this resolution, but it only took one of the permanent members to veto it and that is not going ahead now.
So there certainly will be disappointment from the U.S. side that this didn't go ahead, not necessarily a huge amount of surprises. It was not
certain whether Russia would veto or abstain. They certainly weren't expected to vote alongside the United States.
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It has now as it puts more focus and more pressure on the talks here that we are expecting to happen today this Friday with the intelligence chiefs
of the U.S., Israel, Egypt and the Qatari Prime Minister to try and secure the ceasefire in this way, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right, Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for that analysis. It's a critical time as you say you are keeping a close watch on the
negotiations that are currently underway in Doha. We'll catch up with you a little later.
But ahead on "Connect the World" we are less than a minute away from the opening bell on Wall Street and the anticipation or the hope is that the
DOW Industrials approach, a previously unheard of milestone 40,000 is what we're hoping for and markets have just opened.
Of course, we'll bring you an update on where we stand and whether they can reach that 40k today? We're just below as the markets started trading day,
but they still have many hours left. Let's see if we can get there we'll be right back stay with us.
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GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching "Connect the World". Now we've been focusing on the DOW Jones. We mentioned
that 40,000 level but let's see where we are right now. We're at 39,769. We're down slightly, but -- you know, the trading day has just begun. Big
question on whether we'll see a breach of that 40,000 and whether it'll be able to sustain that level?
The Industrial Average reaching record highs this week, and closing just shy of course of that milestone. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 also having very
good weeks, as the U.S. Indices continue to fly in 2024. Someone that likes touching the stars is Anna Stewart, she joins us now.
Look, you know we get hung up on these milestones rights of 40,000 or any round number. You know, the question has always been -- you know is that
significant? But we know over long term markets always go up essentially, eventually and what is driving these numbers right now?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm just so sorry that it didn't meet the "Connect the World" target of hitting 40,000 at the right time. But maybe
it will. It is early minutes on the trading day.
[09:35:00]
Why is the DOW Jones looking like it might hit 40,000? Well, a number of reasons, really. First of all, there was the news from the Federal Reserve.
They're still very much expecting three rate cuts this year. So widely held rates, there's a lot of optimism and really looking at the economy,
everything is heading in the right direction at the moment.
Inflation has fallen of course, there's also there's greater resilience, I'm looking at sort of strong consumer spending, the job market is also
strong so all those indicators are looking good. And then you get to some of the components of the DOW Jones, particularly some of those big tech
stocks like Microsoft and IBM.
Every time we get a good sort of AI story, whether it's on the DOW Jones, frankly, on any index, it lifts rising tide lifts all boats, so we're
seeing lots of moves there. Yesterday, there was good news from Micron, which reported earnings, I believe on the NASDAQ, but that also lifted tech
stocks on the DOW Jones.
So this is why we're seeing lots of highs there. But I think your question as to whether it's relevant is a good one. We love a milestone. We love a
round number, right Eleni?
GIOKOS: Yeah, we absolutely do. In fact, Anna, I've got a really exciting graph. You know, I pulled the 25 year graph on the DOW Jones and -- you
know, my producers gonna put it up for us in just a moment. I mean you know from the Dot Com -- you know crash to what we saw during the -- you know,
2008, great financial crisis, of course, pandemic was pretty dramatic. But you see, over the long term markets do go up, right? It's just what that
catalyst is essentially going to be?
STEWART: Yeah, and investors will be rubbing their hands with glee if they're lucky enough to be invested in some of those stocks on the DOW
Jones. And you can just see there, but it is a price weighted index, this one. So essentially, the moves from the higher priced components move it
more so than the lower priced stocks.
So in that sense, it's a slightly different index to look at. Whether people in the U.S. will actually feel good as a result of this, if you're
investor? Sure, but inflation is still rising, albeit at a slower rate, interest rates are still high. So anyone with a mortgage or a loan is
feeling the cost there. I am sure though some U.S. politicians may be very happy that this will be a good news story, and I'm sure it will get owned
by both sides in the U.S. as the good news.
GIOKOS: Yes, exactly right. U.S. Presidents do like to own sort of the stock market rallies. Although I have to say I wish my parents bought into
the markets in the early 80s when I was born, and I could see this huge rise over long term and ignoring the downward cycles that always happen
Anna Stewart it's nice to see. Thank you so much.
All right, we've got sports coming up ahead. A late comeback leads to a dramatic win for Ukraine's national team in Euro 2024 qualifying. We giving
you details on that in just a moment.
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GIOKOS: Welcome back. A new UN report released to mark World Water Day on Friday warns that a lack of access to clean water is threatening peace
worldwide. It says that water is often a tool and a target when it comes to warfare and regional tensions over water.
The report says that more than 2 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water. It also says three and a half billion people lack access to
sanitation that safely managed. And with the climate crisis nearly one and a half a billion people have been affected by drought between 2002 and
2021. Now the report concludes the world is not on track to meet the United Nations' goal of ensuring everyone has access to safe and clean water by
2030.
Now the Brazilian ex-footballer Robinho was arrested on Thursday and is set to start a nine year prison sentence for rape. The former international was
driven away from his home in the City of Santos after Brazil's Supreme Court said he could not remain at liberty while appealing his conviction. A
court in Italy found him guilty in 2017 of taking part in the gang rape of a woman in Milan four years earlier. Robinho has always said he's innocent.
Ukraine's football team is one step closer to reaching this summer's European Championships. On Thursday, they picked up a crucial win over
Bosnia-Herzegovina in the playoff semi-final to set themselves up for a key clash against Iceland on Tuesday. Amanda Davies joins us now and Amanda my
producers just told me the Greece beats Kazakhstan 5-0. And they're playing Georgia next.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: That's quite exciting for me.
GIOKOS: I have to say, we shall watch that game.
DAVIES: Yeah, so it's a really busy couple of weeks actually, of international football matches. And I have to say over the course of the
last couple of years, every time we've spoken to a Ukrainian athlete from whatever sport they've talked about the importance for them of winning not
only in a sporting context, but for what it means for people at home since Russia's full blown invasion in February 2022.
They haven't qualified as a football team for a major tournament since then. So this is a huge milestone moment. They had to come from behind to
do it after an own goal that put Bosnia ahead but 2-1, they booked their place in that final against Iceland, as you mentioned on Tuesday.
It's a match that sets we played in Poland because it's not able to be played in Ukraine. And I have to say the bookmakers are pretty confident
for them. Iceland 500-1 for their chances at the European Championships finals in June and July.
But Ukraine 150-1 to win the entire thing so it's not probably not a bad bet but yeah, still 90 minutes of football and another win for them until
they get to that point. We've got lots of football coming up with just a couple of minutes in "Worlds Sports" Eleni -- not great though. I'm sorry.
GIOKOS: We'll see you after the break. And sadly, not Greece it's OK. I'll have to read up about it. Look Amanda we'll see after the break, I'll be
back at the top of the hour stay with us.
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(WORLD SPORT)
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