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Update Due in Trump Hush Money Case; Ukraine Fires U.S.-Made Longer- Range Missiles; Zelenskyy States Putin Will Not Stop on His Own; U.S. Envoy Meets Lebanese Prime Minister, Says Israel Hezbollah Ceasefire "Within Our Grasp"; Two Undersea Cables Cut, European Officials Cry Sabotage; Biden's Last G20 Summit; Harry Kane's New Statue Faces Criticism. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired November 19, 2024 - 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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ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Welcome to our second hour of the show. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi, where the time is 7:00 pm in the

evening. It's 5 pm in Beirut, 10 am in New York. Lots going on today in all of those timelines -- time zones.

We begin stateside where the major new update in Donald Trump's criminal hush money case. Any moment now, we will learn what happens next after

proceedings were put on hold last week following Trump's reelection.

Trump had been due to be sentenced next week over his conviction on 34 felony counts which were handed down earlier in the year. There's now a

huge question mark over whether or not that can happen at all.

Let's bring in Katelyn Polantz in Washington.

What more do we know about today's decision?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We're waiting on two things, what the prosecutors in this case say they want to see

happen here.

And then after that, what does the judge do?

Often a judge will take the lead of a prosecutor whenever they have won the case. But this is unprecedented circumstances with Donald Trump coming into

office.

And just a reminder of what is happening here. Donald Trump has been convicted by a jury in New York's state court system on these 34 counts of

hush money payments, business falsification of records, charges related to the payments to Stormy Daniels back in 2016, when he was still a candidate

for office.

And the question is, will Donald Trump be sentenced for those crimes?

He is convicted of them. What the district attorney's office has to weigh, as we're waiting on their filing today to see what they want to happen,

they have to weigh how to respect the jury's finding of guilt of Donald Trump here, the verdict in this case, with Trump as a criminal defendant

and then the Office of the Presidency.

What is the balance there as Trump will become President of the United States in January?

ANDERSON: This is all totally unprecedented ground in legal terms.

How might this affect the Trump transition and presidency at this point?

This is a one-term presidency, given that he has, of course, served before.

POLANTZ: Yes, so that is a big question in that we just don't know what the answer will be yet, Becky, because we have never been in this sort of

circumstance before, with someone incoming to the presidency who is a convicted criminal defendant.

Now one of the things that is happening in this case is that Judge Juan Merchan is also weighing if there should be some immunity around the

presidency related to the -- what the jury's findings were.

So as part of the case, should it be cut out and should it be dismissed outright?

Trump's team wants this whole conviction overturned. They want the case against him dismissed. They say he's coming in as president. And what we

know courts have done in the past is given essentially a bubble to the presidency, both around the actions taken while someone is president and

also to protect the leader of the free world.

The leader of the United States from having to face things that would take away from that very demanding and consequential job.

And so there's just a lot of questions about if he is sentenced, if he is sentenced, does that sentence be put on hold for some time?

Is it something so minimal that it could be resolved by January?

Or is he sentenced at all?

Is there the level of protection for president-elect right now that Trump's attorneys are arguing over and over again, very forcefully in every single

court, where he is facing some sort of legal fallout.

ANDERSON: It's always good to have you. Keep an eye on it for us. And as soon as you get any action, we'll get you back on. Thank you.

Turning now to what is a major escalation in Russia's war with Ukraine, the Russian defense ministry says that Kyiv has fired American-made longer-

range missiles into Russia's Bryansk region.

[10:05:06]

Now this attack coming just two days after Ukraine got the green light from the Biden administration. Russian president Vladimir Putin had warned the

U.S. against loosening restrictions on the weapons, saying it would risk direct involvement in the conflict.

Well, CNN's former Moscow bureau chief, Nathan Hodge, following this for us from London.

And just so we can sort of draw a line in the sand here, we are, of course, in the thousandth day of this war waged by Russia on Ukraine. It is only

recently, of course, that Ukraine has started firing into Russian territory.

And now, with these longer-range U.S. missiles, just in the past 24 hours, just how significant are the developments that we are learning today?

NATHAN HODGE, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Becky, I would say the real question a lot of ways here is who's doing the escalating here.

Yes, Ukraine has gotten the green light to go ahead and use this longer- range system to fire inside of Russian territory. But over the past several days, we've seen Russia blanketing Ukraine with drone and missile strikes.

There's incredible concern, especially in Washington, about the introduction of North Korean forces on the side of the Russians, especially

in the Kursk region, where they're believed to be in the thousands, where Ukraine has, in recent months, staged its own sort of surprise incursion.

And president Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has warned that those numbers, the numbers of the North Koreans could grow, you know, exponentially here.

So all of this is again happening against the background of, you know, a very serious moment, when we have an incoming administration, the Trump

administration.

Donald Trump has vowed that he can bring the warring parties to the table, that he can end this conflict quickly. And the jury, in some ways, is out

on whether the two sides here, the Russians and the Ukrainians, are positioning themselves so that they can negotiate from a position of

strength respectively.

But you know, clearly, there's been a lot of rhetoric particularly around the introduction of the ATACMs system, this longer range system that can

strike inside of Russian territory.

Russia has made it very clear that it sees this as a provocative move, that it's, quote, "throwing oil on the fire" here of the war, that it would see

the U.S. as being a direct party to the conflict.

And against this background, Becky, it's important to point out that Russia has come forward now with a formal revision of its nuclear doctrine that

would seem to sort of loosen the rules or widen the door a little bit for the -- for the ability of Russia to, you know, consider something to be

aggression that would reach the threshold.

That would require the retaliation, the use of nuclear weapons -- Becky.

ANDERSON: And Nathan, you're spot on in sort of, you know, ensuring that our viewers understand that, through the lens of a new Trump

administration, things are, you know, things are moving on the ground. And there is a lot of sort of back and forth as to exactly what happens post

January the 21st, when Trump moves into the White House.

Ahead of that now, President Zelenskyy of Ukraine has been pushing the Europeans to go harder for peace at this point.

Can you just lay out what the potential is for any sort of solution to this war anytime soon and before Trump takes office in January?

HODGE: Well, Becky, there's a lot of different things that are going on sort of in parallel tracks.

There's also a very serious discussion in Europe about the need to go it alone, essentially, if the United States, say, decides to pull the plug on

assistance to Ukraine.

Or even, you know, a bigger problem for Europe, which is to withdraw its support from NATO or to start to scale back on American commitments to

Europe.

So again, this is happening against the background of sort of a larger sort of geopolitical discussion game that's being played out in various European

capitals. No one really knows what the outcome, what kind, what a negotiated end to this war would look like.

You know, clearly though, you know, President Zelenskyy is making the case that he wants to see continued European support that may be independent of,

you know, whatever the new U.S. administration does. And I think the Russians also view a Trump administration as something of a wild card.

[10:10:02]

You know, yes, of course, there are often friendly signals. There do seem to be instances where we see members of the Republican Party, who seem to

be sort of mimicking or repeating or paralleling some of the statements about the Ukraine war that, you know, basically mirroring Kremlin talking

points.

But the Russians also know that this is no guarantee of the way that Trump, you know, way Trump may act once he's in office. So for them, it's also an

uncertain moment. So what we sort of see across the board here is a very -- sort of a very bloody minded effort to secure maximum gain.

And, you know, on the side of the Russians, they've been inflicting maximum punishment on Ukraine's civilian population. Again, these strikes over the

past few days have been, you know, quite clearly targeting Russia -- I mean, Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure ahead of what might be seen

as another long and very cold winter.

We're now 1,000 days after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia for which Ukraine's civilians have borne and paid a massive price -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Absolutely. Nathan, it's always good to have you, thank you. Your insight and analysis so important.

Our former Moscow bureau chief, Nathan Hodge.

Well, for some more perspective, Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Russian state media quoting the Russian defense ministry, now coming out with the first

details of what it claims were the first strikes by the Ukrainians using American-made longer-distance weapons to strike deep into Russian

territory.

The Russians claim that all five of these missiles were shot down, however, that parts of the missiles hit a military object, as that report said. Now

so far, there's been no confirmation of any of this coming from the Ukrainians or from the American side.

So right now it is only the Russians saying that. At the same time, of course, the other big breaking news story here in Russia is the fact that

Vladimir Putin has now signed off on an update of Russia's military doctrine for the use of nuclear weapons.

Now all of this essentially makes it easier for Russians to conduct first use of these types of weapons. The Russians are now saying that if Russia

is attacked by a non-nuclear country -- like, for instance, Ukraine, using long distance weapons like the ones that the Russians claim have now been

used.

And that if it is aided by a nuclear nation, like, for instance, the United States, that then that could trigger a nuclear response from the Russians.

The Russian spokesman for the Kremlin has come out and said that the Russians want any sort of adversaries to understand that a response from

the Russians would be coming if there would be an aggression.

It's unclear whether or not this will really change the game or change things on the ground. However, right now, it certainly -- it seems as

though the Russians are saying that, if the Ukrainians fire missiles deep into Russian territory, that this could also pit the United States and NATO

and Russia against one another -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Russia then fighting Ukraine on Europe's doorstep for 1,000 days now. We are going to get the thoughts of a former Swedish prime minister on

that recent escalation.

And new words of optimism for a possible Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire as a U.S. envoy returns to Lebanon. More on that is after this.

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ANDERSON: A ceasefire deal in Lebanon is within our grasp.

Those are the words from the U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, who returned to Beirut today to try to finalize details of a U.S.-brokered plan to end the

fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Now Hochstein, who also met the Lebanese prime minister, calling this a real opportunity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMOS HOCHSTEIN, STATE DEPARTMENT SENIOR ADVISER FOR GLOBAL ENERGY SECURITY: We've had very good discussions to narrow the gaps over the last several

days and weeks. And that trend continued today in the meeting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, we have, of course, heard words of optimism before and the fighting does rage on. Another Israeli airstrike in central Beirut killing

at least five people.

Well, Natasha Bertrand and Nic Robertson back with us this hour.

Natasha, you are at the Pentagon and you're getting a sense, at least from the U.S. perspective, of how this is going.

Is there a sense of urgency to get this deal done before the next president takes over, to get a win, effectively, for the Biden administration at this

point?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think U.S. officials definitely want a win for President Biden, especially on this

issue, because, of course, the president has been so preoccupied with this conflict in the Middle East over the last several months.

And the fact that Israel really has not listened to a lot of what the U.S. has advised them to do with regard to the wars in Gaza and in Lebanon. So

getting some kind of achievement here, showing that the U.S. still has some degree of influence and leverage over this peace negotiation process, that

is going to be really key.

And it's something that U.S. officials are, of course, keen to accomplish sooner rather than later.

We are told by people inside the Biden administration that it is their understanding that the incoming president, president-elect Trump, is not

going to throw a wrench in this, that he is not going to try to upend this peace process in order to wait and hold essentially for when he gets into

office, so that he can say that this was his victory.

And so for that reason, you know, in conjunction with the fact that U.S. officials here have gotten positive signals from the Israelis, that they

also want to complete a cease-fire deal sooner rather than later, has spurred U.S. officials to kind of move full steam ahead on this.

And that is why you're seeing Amos Hochstein in Lebanon today, saying that they are very optimistic that the window of securing something is happening

right now.

And I think that, you know, when the election happened, when, you know, Donald Trump won, it was very unclear at that point whether the U.S. would

be able to continue these negotiations.

But soon after those election results came in, they received indications from the Israelis that they don't necessarily want to drag this out any

longer, either.

And so while we have been here before in terms of feeling very close to a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, kind of being on the brink,

it does appear that U.S. officials are more confident now than they have been, that something is very, very close to being achieved.

ANDERSON: Let me bring you in, Nic, at this point because we know our sources have told us that Israel has been absolutely determined that it

will retain the right to retaliate if Hezbollah breaks the terms of this 60-day deal.

Whether or not that's going to stand in the way of a deal being brokered at this point remains to be seen. I guess it's worth discussing at this point,

then, whether Israel has actually completed on its goals with regard to Lebanon.

The prime minister continues to tell us that he hasn't completed on his stated goals on Gaza and that is why that conflict continues. He also says

that Hamas is standing in the way of a deal.

[10:20:00]

Hamas accused Israel of being -- standing in the way of a deal.

But be that as it may, has Israel completed on its goals in Lebanon?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, I think the answer has to be partial.

It wants to make sure its stated goal was to let those 60,000 people evacuated from close to the border area, business people with businesses,

important agricultural, high-tech businesses for the economy of the country and also all the people that live there.

When children who went to school there, large towns in some cases 20,000 people evacuated, that they would be able to go home, that they would be

free and safe from Hezbollah fire coming across the border.

To a degree some of that has been secured because the rockets that were coming across the border were generally pretty short-range. Some of them

sort of shoulder launched anti-tank missiles fired at people's houses, devastating, deadly in some cases.

But Hezbollah still continues to be able to fire rockets. Debris falling on Tel Aviv last night. Somebody killed in the north of Israel yesterday as

well. So the threat, Hezbollah's threat still exists. So it it's hard to say that it's been achieved definitively.

And I think there's a sense creeping in on the Lebanese side, knowing that Amos Hochstein met earlier today with prime minister Najib Mikati. And he

also met -- went -- then went on to meet with the speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, from the Amal party, closely tied or closely

associated with Hezbollah.

The main interlocutor, Nabih Berri is the main interlocutor with Hezbollah for these -- for these U.S.-proposed negotiations. And what we heard from

Nabih Berri talking to local media -- and this is a first analysis of what he said. And we need to drill down and get a full and complete translation

of everything that he said to get the full context.

But he seemed to indicate that, yes, the talks are going well but he also seemed to have some skepticism that he was indicating in his language that

Israel had sort of reneged on some part of some understanding. And I think there's a vagueness in what Israel wants and that Hezbollah is willing to

go along with.

And is it written down?

Is it in verbal language?

But I don't get the sense that the complete job is done until Hezbollah actually stops firing those missiles and they're no longer sitting at the

border. They're not really sitting at the border but they're still firing the missiles.

ANDERSON: Good to have you both on this story. Appreciate your time and appreciate your analysis.

Well, today Ukraine is marking 1,000 days of war with Russia. And its president has this warning to Europe.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Putin is focused on winning this war. He will not stop on his own.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Volodymyr Zelenskyy urging his European allies to push harder toward what he called a just peace, even as they grapple with

the U.S. taking a step deeper into the fray by allowing the use of longer- range weapons on Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, my next guest writes, and I quote, "It was 1,000 days ago that President Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, expecting to capture

Kyiv and install a puppet regime within a week.

"Well, 1,000 days later, his army controls 17 percent of the country and has lost thousands of soldiers. That was a massive miscalculation that will

haunt Russia for generations."

The words of Carl Bildt, who is the co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, also former prime minister of Sweden. He joins me now

live.

It's good to have you, Carl. Thank you very much indeed for your time on what is a real grim milestone as far as this war on Ukraine is concerned

and at a time where, in the last 24 hours, we have seen the permission given by the United States for Ukraine to use these longer-range missiles

on Russia.

What do you make of that decision by the U.S. President?

Russia certainly sees it as more than provocative.

Your sense?

CARL BILDT, CO-CHAIR, EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: I think the escalation that we've seen lately is the escalation done by the Russians

for reasons I can understand, because of the difficult situation that they have.

I mean, they brought in, whatever, 10,000 North Korean troops. They had a massive missile barrage against the energy and infrastructure of Kyiv the

other day, of all of Ukraine, the other day.

[10:25:03]

So this particular move, I think, is a fairly natural one, that it will be possible for the Ukrainians to use also these weapons to strike Russian

military targets more or less in the vicinity of the border.

One should note that Ukraine have other, even more long-range weapons that they make themselves, that strikes far longer.

ANDERSON: The Ukrainian president addressing the European Parliament today -- and you will have heard his words, saying in part that Ukraine deserves

to make 2025 the year of peace.

What can Europe do to help that or effect that?

Certainly the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, making a call to President Putin over the weekend. The Ukrainian leader calling that opening a

Pandora's box, accusing, effectively without saying it, accusing Olaf Scholz of appeasement at what is a very, very important time.

And so how -- what's Europe's next move here?

And how can they help push this, the prospects of peace, harder?

BILDT: I think that, by far, most important thing that we Europeans and Americans hopefully can do is to send the message to Mr. Putin that he will

not succeed, that we will continue to support Ukraine -- that is financially, that is militarily, that is diplomatically, as long as is

necessary.

So that Mr. Putin will have to give up his intention to make further military advances and have to sit down on the negotiating table and do a

decent deal with President Zelenskyy.

That's not going to be easy. But we have to send the message to him, there is no military solution and we need to block his attempt at imposing a

military solution on Ukraine. That is absolutely critical.

ANDERSON: Were you disappointed to see reports of that call between the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and President Putin, the first call that

the German chancellor has made since this -- or the beginning of this war?

BILDT: Not necessarily. Talking doesn't change very much and it doesn't necessarily hurt. But I think -- that's my guess. It was a reflection of

two things. First, we have an election campaign coming up in Germany.

Second, we have a new president coming into the United States, who is evidently very keen to talk to President Putin.

Then I think the feeling was probably in Berlin, why leave all of the talking to the Americans?

But I don't think it changed very much.

ANDERSON: The same day that the U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use these longer-term weapons, the long -- long-range weapons, the Kremlin

updated its nuclear policy.

Now Moscow now says it reserves the right to use its nuclear deterrent to respond to aggression from any non-nuclear state, if it's supported by a

nuclear state,

I mean, this is ratcheting up the rhetoric. Whether or not this is just propaganda remains to be seen. This certainly suggests that the situation

has become more dangerous, not less, in the past 24 hours.

How concerned are you at this point of the prospect of a wider conflict here impacting Europe very directly?

BILDT: I mean, that particular exchange of nuclear doctrine was decided, I think, a couple of months ago by now. But it's now been formally ratified

the other day.

But I saw it at the time and see today more as a sign of weakness, that Mr. Putin is not convinced that his armies can deliver the result on the

battlefield that he wants.

And then he needs to rattle the threatened nuclear use in order to scare the West and scare the Ukrainians into some sort of agreement, whatever

that should be, or surrender to the Russian terms.

I do think, to add to that, that we are in a dangerous situation. But I think that particular nuclear saber rattling should be seen more as a sign

of Russian weakness than of sign of Russian strength.

ANDERSON: That's an interesting perspective.

Two undersea cables have been cut or broken in the Baltic Sea in as many days, Carl, one between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania

and Sweden.

Can you tell us what kind of communications this would disrupt and what the real world

impact might be?

BILDT: Well, I think details are somewhat scarce at the moment. But, I mean, some communications are disrupted. There are alternative ways of

doing it and there are ways of repairing it.

[10:30:00]

But we have -- we have to see. We have to look very carefully, keep -- deal with what it could be. I see the Germans are talking in terms of a

sabotage. Could be, could be other causes. It does happen now and then.

But it could also be as a malevolent actor, whoever that could be, that has done it.

ANDERSON: Carl, talking about Sweden here and, as former prime minister, it's worth getting your sort of insight into the fact that Sweden is now

sending out instructions, as I understand it, to citizens on how to cope with an outbreak of war.

You know, that suggests a real sense of concern at this point.

How should we consider -- or certainly how should Swedish citizens consider those instructions?

And how might we, who are further afield, look at those instructions?

And why now, very specifically, do you think?

BILDT: Well, we had those instructions, a leaflet going out to all of the families of Sweden during the entire Cold War period. And we update it now.

It was called, "If War Comes."

So what you're supposed to do. Then it disappeared for a couple of decades and then it was resurrected, whenever that could be, 10 years ago, and

dealing with emergencies. Could be natural disasters, could be other disasters of different sorts but also with the possibility of what could

happen if war strikes Sweden.

So it's a new version of that particular leaflet that is now being distributed. And in the expression of the fact that we need to be more

prepared for security and otherwise environment that is far more challenging and even dangerous than used to be the case before.

So that's the background to that sort of new version of that particular leaflet that is now coming out.

ANDERSON: Very briefly then and, finally, you wrote a piece in "Foreign Policy," where you sort of argued about, you know, the veracity of -- or

the strength of Donald Trump's deal making.

Of course, he has said that he will make good on his promise to end the war in a day when he becomes president.

And what would that look like, do you think, given -- and this piece that you have argued in talks, about the sort of, you know, the robustness or

not of the deals made in the past?

BILDT: Well, he's had his campaign piece in 24 hours. That's not going to happen. I mean, clearly.

Do I know what he intends to do?

No, I don't.

Do I think that he knows what he's going to do?

I doubt.

But I was looking at the record of his peacemaking during his first term in office. I mean, North Korea didn't really work out that particularly well.

They have more nuclear weapons now than then.

Iran didn't really work out very well with sort of skipping the JCPOA and maximum pressure. They are closer to nuclear weapons now than they were

then.

And then, of course, Afghanistan, where he really threw the Afghan government under the bus and just decided to turn to the Taliban.

So that particular record of Donald Trump is not entirely encouraging. I sincerely hope that he and the people around him have learned from those

failures.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Carl, thank you very much indeed for joining us on what is, as I say, a grim milestone, the 1,000th day of

Russia's war on Ukraine. Thank you, sir.

Well, still to come, Joe Biden shares what he sees as humanity's greatest threat as he wraps up his final G20 summit as U.S. president. That is up

next.

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ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD, 25 minutes past 7 here in Abu Dhabi.

The single greatest existential threat to humanity, that is how U.S. President Joe Biden described climate change on the last day of the G20

summit in Rio de Janeiro. Take a listen to what he told fellow leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: History is watching us. History is watching. I urge us to keep faith and keep going. This is the

single greatest existential threat to humanity if we do not deal with climate change.

Our children, our great-grandchildren, our great-great grandchildren, their future is going to determined by what we do in the next 4-6 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, the summit is Mr. Biden's final G20 as U.S. president. And he also used it to urge other members to continue making progress on a

range of other issues, including in Ukraine and Gaza.

Well, CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us now live from the G20 in Rio de Janeiro.

And Ukraine certainly played a significant role on the first day. And a narrow consensus reached by the group welcoming, quote, "all relevant and

constructive initiatives to support a comprehensive just and durable peace, condemning the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition."

No mention though, of Russian aggression. And I noted that because this was a G20, where Joe Biden wanted his sort of legacy of foreign policy support

for his positions going forward.

How will the Biden administration and the president himself feel about how his fellow leaders responded?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think there was some disappointment at that final communique, that it did lack that specific

language about Russian aggression that had been included in all of the G20 communiques since the war in Ukraine broke out.

What you hear from American officials is that the Brazilian organizers of the summit wanted the communique to be short. They wanted the language to

be tighter than in previous years. They're using that sort of as an explanation.

But I think at the end of the day, there is a lot of concern, both within the American government and also among Western leaders here in Rio, about

what comes next for Ukraine.

Certainly the incoming American president, Donald Trump, has taken a vastly different view of that conflict than President Biden. He casts a very

skeptical eye toward American assistance, both financial and military, continuing to go to Kyiv. And he has said that he would be able to resolve

the conflict in one day.

But he hasn't necessarily said how he would do it. The implication and fear, of course, here in Rio is that it would require territorial

concessions on the part of the Ukrainians. That's something that President Zelenskyy vehemently opposes and it has cast a shadow over this entire

summit as it comes to a conclusion today -- Becky

ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Kevin. Thank you very much indeed.

Kevin is in Rio de Janeiro, where the time is 12:39. It's 7:39 in the evening here in Abu Dhabi. We will be back after this very quick break.

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ANDERSON: Welcome back.

You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson.

Now an American coin, more than 370 years old, has set a record at auction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON (voice-over): The 3 pence struck in Boston in 1652 sold for just over $2.5 million, the most ever paid for a pre-Revolutionary coin. It was

discovered eight years ago in a cabinet in the Netherlands with a note attached written in 1798.

Look at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, a new statue of English football star Harry Kane is the latest sculpture to face criticism for failing to capture the essence of

its subject. Kane, though, was appreciative, all the same, as he went home to do the honors of unveiling it in his home town outside London.

The Bayern Munich player posted, calling it, quote, "a real proud moment for me to go back to where my life in football began and unveil a statue. I

hope that it helps inspire the next generation to work hard and believe in themselves."

Well, some congratulated King Kane, the overwhelming sentiment was one of confusion.

Staying in sport, tennis legend Rafael Nadal is set to take to the court in Spain in the last event of his very long and illustrious career. The 22-

time grand slam champ will be part of Spain's Davis Cup squad against the Netherlands. Patrick Snell, with the details -- Patrick.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Becky. Yes. Emotional day for everyone concerned. If you've been following the career of Rafah Nadal

closely, Becky, as I have, I met him for the first time at his first-ever Wimbledon back in 2003. He was only 17 then.

Fast forward to 2024 and we now know he's going to be playing singles in the Davis Cup matchup against the Netherlands. He's going to be taking on

Botic van de Zandschulp, who had a shock win over Carlos Alcaraz earlier this year at the U.S. Open.

So Nadal will play in the singles. We had thought it would just be the doubles potentially. It's going to be the singles. It's going to get very

emotional in just 70 minutes from right now, Becky, when he takes to the court.

ANDERSON: Wow, 21 years ago you met him for the first time and it seems like yesterday. But what a what a career the young man, because he is still

a young man, has had -- thank you.

And that is "WORLD SPORT" coming up after this.

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