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European Leaders Renew Focus on Ending Ukraine War; U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Meet Trump at White House; U.S.-Russian Diplomats to Meet in Turkiye; United Nations Scaling Back Humanitarian Operations; UAE Adviser Discusses Arab Nations' Day-After Plan for Gaza; Call to Earth: Koalas; Western Tourists Comment on Recent Trip to North Korea. Aired 10- 11a ET

Aired February 27, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Welcome to our second hour of the show. It's 7:00 here in Abu Dhabi, our Middle East broadcasting

headquarters.

President Donald Trump is expected to welcome U.K. prime minister Keir Starmer at the White House later today. The U.K. premier will be seeking

U.S. guarantees for Ukraine's security as part of any potential war deal with Russia, which Trump, of course, has been loath to give Israel.

Israel sending negotiators to Cairo to continue talks on the ceasefire and hostage deal. This after the defense minister said that the military will

retain a presence in parts of Gaza and Lebanon and Syria for as long as is needed.

As the Middle East region continues to dramatically change, the Kurdish military leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party or the PKK, as it's known,

has called on his followers to disarm, potentially ending a five decade insurgency with Turkiye.

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ANDERSON: Key leaders are putting renewed focus on ending Russia's war in Ukraine, meeting together this week in Ukraine's capital and separately

with the U.S. president in Washington, where Donald Trump hosting leaders from France, the U.K. and Ukraine all within a matter of days.

Today he sits down with British prime minister Keir Starmer, who is calling for the U.S. to provide a security backstop to European peacekeepers if and

when a peace deal is reached.

Well, tomorrow, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives to possibly sign a deal for the U.S. to acquire prized rare earth minerals from his

country. Key questions about that deal remain unanswered. Those valuable minerals are fanned out across Ukraine.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh visited a mining site that has come under Russian fire and he explains the complex negotiations behind the deal and how it

could all play out at the Trump Zelenskyy meeting on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: You join me at a titanium mine in Zhytomyr to the west of Kyiv in Ukraine. A

critical earth mineral, some call it a rare earth mineral.

And behind me is the huge volume of water used to blast into the ore. And you can see just them dropping off what they've scraped from one of the

huge basins here.

Look, this mine has its problems, Russian attacks on the electricity infrastructure here that keeps it running means sometimes they get three

hours functionality a day. And the electricity is very expensive.

All these elements really go into explaining how urgently Ukraine wants some kind of investment but also to the complexity of how much money you

might expect to get back from your immediate investment. They're not running on a profit here at all.

And you also get a sense, I think, as well, of exactly the scale of what Ukraine might potentially be able to offer here, the titanium used in so

many daily products that we have.

Now the deal in question, which is most likely to be signed before or during the Friday visit to the White House by Ukraine's President Volodymyr

Zelenskyy, is not that specific. It is a framework. It talks about creating a reconstruction and investment fund for Ukraine. And it talks about

relevant resources; doesn't specify what they are.

It puts some things, says it won't be some things, but it says we'll define what is going to be included in a later fund agreement. They'll start

negotiating as soon as this first one is actually signed.

Complicated?

Yes, but I think that's a deliberate design to weave between the almost reconcilable positions we're really seeing here. President Trump on one

side, saying, I want debt repaid and I want it repaid using these natural resources.

Zelenskyy saying, I don't recognize any of that money from the Biden administration as debt. It was grants. And I want to see this turning into

something about investing in Ukraine as well.

So that complexity really, I think, fudged around by this document that seems to get everyone over that obstacle.

But that doesn't stop the major focus of Friday, which is getting President Trump and President Zelenskyy in the same room together, healing that

horrific 10 days ago rift that began between them and enabling maybe the U.S.-Ukraine relationship to get back on an even keel.

But that's a big ask in itself, as indeed is turning something like this, massive as it is, into a profit that gets near the billions of dollars,

$0.5 trillion, that President Trump initially said he wanted back from Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: That's Nick Paton Walsh reporting there.

Well, Alex Marquardt joining me now from Washington, where the U.K. prime minister, of course, meets with Donald Trump a couple of hours from now.

[10:05:00]

And, Alex, it's being described as a as a critical mission for Mr. Starmer.

What are the expectations for any success on the part of the British leader?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think this is a huge challenge for the prime minister. In some ways, he is coming

to reinforce, of course, the U.S.-U.K. relationship.

But in other ways, Becky, he's taking the baton from president Macron of France, who is here., of course, just a few days ago. He is the second in

this three part series, whirlwind of European leaders coming this week. President Zelenskyy, of course, coming tomorrow.

So we can expect to hear the traditional lines from a British prime minister about the special relationship and how the U.K. is the U.S.'

number one ally but we'll also hear things that are, of course, more specific to the war in Ukraine, about how Europe needs to step up and spend

more on defense.

Which is something that Starmer said the U.K. would be doing. That is, of course, music to the Trump administration's ears. But Becky, what we're

watching very carefully and where it's going to start getting contentious is when Starmer starts to press the point about security guarantees.

If there is a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine and if there are European peacekeepers there on the ground, what will the U.S. contribute,

if anything?

Both the Ukrainians and the Europeans have made the case that the Americans have to be involved, that you can't have security guarantees, you can't

have any kind of deterrence without the Americans being there. Starmer has called it a backstop.

So what would that backstop look like?

For the time being, we have heard president Trump and his top officials rule out the possibility of American peacekeepers on the ground. They don't

want to put U.S. troops in harm's way.

So are there other things that the U.S. can do in order to support some kind of peacekeeping force, in order to make that force so strong and so

deterrent that Russia does not want to invade again?

That is the major question today. That, of course, is a point that President Zelenskyy will be pushing tomorrow as he signs this minerals deal

with president Trump, which, as you pointed out, does not contain any security guarantees.

So this European campaign is ongoing, trying to cajole and plead with the American president to stay involved, stay at Ukraine's side and continue

supporting Ukraine and not give in to demands of President Putin of Russia. Becky.

ANDERSON: Alex, it's good to have you. Thank you. Busy times in Washington, of course. And, Alex, we've talked about Keir Starmer's

position and the expectations getting into this meeting.

On the issue of rare minerals, is it any clearer at this point what that deal between the U.S. and Ukraine looks like?

What's the scope of it?

We know we've got a figure against it but what's the scope of it?

MARQUARDT: I think it's an excellent question. And no one has the answer to that because we don't know exactly what Ukraine has, where it is and how

accessible it is. There are mines like the one that our colleague, Nick Paton Walsh, was at, that are being developed and have been functioning for

quite some time.

And then there are assumptions, assessments about where certain minerals, natural resources and other rare earth minerals may be. But from our

understanding, a lot of that is based on decades-old assessments dating back to the Soviet era.

There's a belief that there are a lot of rare earth minerals that are not - - in not only difficult to reach areas in Eastern Ukraine where the war is being fought, that are covered in mines, for example.

But there are a lot also in the in the Russian occupied areas --

(CROSSTALK)

MARQUARDT: So when you look at the agreement, it does look like an agreement to talk about other things down the line -- a framework deal, a

deal to talk about another deal. So they have left a lot of the specifics for conversations later on.

And if you look at what's been agreed to now, there's nothing about locations, about the exact minerals themselves. It's kind of just more the

structure of this joint fund that the U.S. and Ukraine is setting up. So a lot more details to be thrashed out in the future. Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes. Yes. It's good to have you, Alex. It's always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed. The perspective from Washington at this point

extremely important.

Well, the U.S. State Department -- thank you -- says that Ukraine will not be on the agenda as delegates from the U.S. and Russia meet in Turkiye

today.

That meeting was announced following last week's visit by U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio to Saudi Arabia, where he held talks with Russia's

foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and his delegation.

Well, Thursday's discussions will focus on issues, we're told, related to embassies and consulates. Rubio recently said the U.S. embassy in Moscow

is, quote, "barely functioning" because it has been denied access to the banking system.

[10:10:06]

Well, Israel says it is sending negotiators to Cairo to continue ceasefire talks. The announcement comes just days before the first phase of the deal

with Hamas is set to expire.

It follows confirmation of the deaths of four Israeli hostages, whose bodies were returned by Hamas just hours ago. Well, Israel also releasing

hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. This is the final exchange of hostages and prisoners during what has become known as or what was

certainly couched as phase one.

So now the focus shifting to a potential second phase of that ceasefire deal. And that would require the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from

Gaza, including the area along the Egyptian border. But now a source saying Israeli troops won't be leaving that area.

Well, let's get you live to Tel Aviv and to CNN's Jeremy Diamond.

And with that in mind and we'll talk about, you know, the news that it is unlikely that the IDF will pull out of what's known as the Philadelphi

corridor in southern Gaza. Let's just start with these talks.

What are the possible paths forward at this point?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that the Israeli government certainly seems interested in staying in phase one and

trying to get more hostages out of Gaza.

And doing so will require, of course, that Hamas agree to release more hostages without any commitment from Israel to withdraw troops from Gaza or

end the war. You know, there's the possibility that a few additional hostages could be released as part of such an extension of phase one,

essentially.

But ultimately, there's no question that the overwhelming majority of the remaining hostages still held in Gaza will only be released as part of an

agreement between Israel and Hamas that would result in an end of the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. At least, that is certainly

Hamas' position.

And we know that the Israeli government has said that if Hamas does not leave power, then Israel will effectively return to the war in Gaza.

And certainly we have heard, over the course of the last several weeks of this ceasefire, the drums of war are certainly beating once again. But at

least for the time being, Israel has now agreed to send a delegation to Cairo.

Following security consultations earlier today, the Israeli prime minister agreed to send a delegation to Cairo to pursue negotiations over the next

phases of the ceasefire agreement.

The deputy head of the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence service, will go alongside Gal Hirsch, the coordinator of hostage affairs for the

prime minister, and Ophir Falck, a political advisor and foreign policy advisor to the Israeli prime minister.

Notably missing from that list is Ron Dermer, who has -- who is the minister of strategic affairs in Israel and has now been tapped to lead the

Israeli delegation going forward. So we will see how much progress they can actually make.

That phase one, of course, we saw the last Israeli hostages, the last four of the 33 Israeli hostages. Their bodies were released today or late last

night, I should say, by Hamas. Israel released 643 Palestinian prisoners. And so phase one is basically done now.

Day 42, which marked the end of that, comes on Saturday. But now the Israeli government is saying that they will also not withdraw from the

Philadelphi corridor, which they were also supposed to begin doing this coming Saturday.

With an Israeli source telling us that, quote, "we will not exit the Philadelphi corridor," saying that they will not allow Hamas to be able to

rearm itself through that corridor which separates Gaza and Egypt.

Of course, that was a key component of this agreement and also a previous sticking point to past agreements over a ceasefire by the Israeli prime

minister. So, all signs pointing to difficulties certainly lying ahead, a lot of uncertainty and, of course, so, so much on the line, Becky.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you.

After the break, my conversation with the United Nations' humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, who was recently in Gaza and he gives you his first

account of just how critical it is for that ceasefire to hold. More on that after this.

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ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi. We've been

discussing the Israel-Hamas ceasefire again under pressure.

Sources tell CNN Israel won't withdraw its forces from the Gaza-Egypt border. And that was part of what would have been phase two of this deal.

This coming just days before the first phase is set to expire.

Well, the United Nations humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, was in Gaza shortly after the ceasefire went into effect. He joined me in the studio

earlier on the developments and on what he saw.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FLETCHER, U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF: Well, I hope it's not just a temporary ceasefire. I, you know, I hope we can make it permanent because

what you see there is just devastation.

You know, everything has been flattened in the north of Gaza. You can't tell what was a school, what was a hospital, what was a home. We had staff

using GPS to find their homes, went into a hospital where doctors had carried on operating, even under fire from snipers.

And they've just left on the wall, it just says, "Tell them we did what we could."

And that was written by a guy called Dr. Mahmoud (ph), who was killed a couple of days later. And there's a challenge for all of us there, you

know.

Are we doing what we what we should now, what we could for the people of Gaza?

Utterly devastating. But the ceasefire has allowed us now a month where we fed 2 million people. We've vaccinated 100 percent of all those we wanted

to vaccinate for polio. We've got shelters in; 20,000 trucks worth full of food and medicine and tents and water and fuel.

So it's been a window of opportunity to reach as many survivors, save as many lives as possible. But we need it to continue.

ANDERSON: Tom, it's not clear that it will continue.

FLETCHER: And it's hanging by a thread. And, you know, I'm very conscious each day. We're working very hard with the parties to try not to give any

justification on the humanitarian side to end the ceasefire.

But the pressures are growing. You know, there are a lot of people who didn't want this ceasefire. And there are lots of people now who would like

to see it over and would like to see a return to conflict. And, you know, the people of Gaza, the people of Israel, deserve better than that.

USAID is responsible for over 40 percent of total global assistance. Certainly it was last year. There's a crippling freeze on USAID and the

billions it spends.

What impact is that having right now on conflicts like Gaza and, for example, Sudan?

FLETCHER: I mean, the U.S. has been this humanitarian superpower, a leader in that space for decades now. And U.S. support from the taxpayer has saved

hundreds of millions of lives.

And look, it's right that the public in any country asks, are we getting value for money?

It's right that politicians respond to that need to deliver at home as well as overseas. But the impact of those cuts is a is a body blow to our work.

But it's not about us. It's about the people we're there to serve.

[10:20:02]

And it will have a massive impact on programs -- Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Gaza, globally. Now we're waiting to see all the detail. And we've been

told that lifesaving work will be protected.

ANDERSON: When you say we've been told that lifesaving work won't be cut, what does that mean, is it clear?

FLETCHER: So we're working waiver by waiver, exemption by exemption to test what that really does mean. And it isn't completely clear yet. You

know, I think the review has been going on for some time now.

You know, they're looking at each individual project, I hope in some detail, to really assess the level of lifesaving work.

For me, lifesaving work is, are you feeding people who are starving?

Are you getting medicine to people who will die otherwise of diseases that we can deal with?

Are we stopping babies freezing because of the cold?

And there is a massive challenge out there, over 300 million people who need that support. And as I say, the U.S. has been at the core of that

effort for so long. So we've got to make the case afresh to the U.S. taxpayer, the U.S. public but also to other partners, to new partners, to

fill that space.

And ultimately to the public, because there's a sense, you know, people are looking inwards, aren't they?

They're retreating from the world. And we need people to rediscover solidarity, compassion and global leadership.

ANDERSON: It's been reported that you wrote a letter to OCHA staff that said, in part, the org must, quote, "reconfigure operational goals to match

available resources" and quote, "reprioritize the 2025 budget, focusing on the most urgent crises and scaling back less critical activities."

Did you write that letter?

And it does sound as if what you're saying is we're going to have to basically do triage at this point.

FLETCHER: Yes, I mean, these are tough letters to write because we already make very tough choices on where to spend the money and how to prioritize.

And now we have to go much, much harder, make much tougher choices.

And they are decisions over which lives to save ultimately. But I've got to be able to guarantee myself and the world that we are maximizing every

dollar we have to save lives and that we're dealing with any waste, any inefficiency, any bureaucracy, any duplication in the aid sector so that we

get that aid where it's meant to be.

ANDERSON: You emphasize the uncertainty right now. But let's assume that Donald Trump goes through with firing most of USAID's 10,000 strong

workforce.

If agencies like USAID goes dark and very specifically that one, long term, how bad will things get?

FLETCHER: Well, it's a dangerous world already and we've lost the ability, it seems, to stop conflicts. So the conflicts are more ferocious. They're

more intense. They're longer duration. So it's a really tough world out there.

And I think I'm probably the only person, in the last hundred days I've been in the job, to have been in Kupyansk. Damascus, Darfur and Gaza,

because these are often places that you can't get to as journalists even and that many NGOs can't get to.

So I feel a responsibility to come back and tell people how bad and how tough it is out there. The reality is -- you know, you've been reporting on

these issues. They -- these problems won't stay on the other side of the world.

Unless you go and meet these problems at source, they will come in your direction because epidemics don't stop at a border wall. Migration isn't

stopped by just building a big fence. Insecurity, terrorism is often incubated in areas of greatest poverty.

And that will come in our direction unless we're willing to lead in the world. And I don't think you build a golden age by retreating from those

problems.

ANDERSON: With the U.S. stepping back from its international commitments, how much more pivotal are partnerships going forward?

Partnerships with countries like Saudi Arabia or Qatar or the UAE, for example, where we are today, how important are those relationships for the

U.N., in the first instance, but for these areas of conflict and need?

FLETCHER: They're absolutely essential, these partnerships. And they were essential already. And, you know, many people are telling us that we were

overreliant on traditional donors.

And maybe this is a moment as a wakeup call for us that perhaps we did become overdependent on a small set of supporters, when actually this is

global work.

These international priorities, they're not American priorities or European priorities. They are U.N. priorities. And we represent the world. So I

think, you know, a country like the UAE brings this amazing problem-solving energy to these challenges.

It's actually not about money. Of course we need money. Of course we do. But it's about the innovation and about the ideas.

[10:25:00]

And about a genuine partnership, where we think, how do we crack these problems together?

ANDERSON: You said that you have heard other people talk about the fact that the system was too dependent on U.S. aid.

Do you believe that?

FLETCHER: I think it's important we've got a really good spread of supporters and donors. We should be there to represent the whole world. Now

I still hope that the U.S. will be a massive part of this effort. They bring all that history. They bring a lot of resource. They bring a lot of

power in the world.

And there's a really important role for them. But we've learned we can't be dependent on one donor. And we have to we have to get better at spreading

the load more widely.

ANDERSON: And I've heard you talk about the sort of ideas and creativity that you see here when it comes to humanitarian aid being worthy of export

elsewhere.

FLETCHER: Absolutely. And I think, you know, the UAE can be an ideas superpower and can export that same sort of innovation and drive. And this

sector is badly in need of it. And I lived here for four years, so I've seen that close up. I've experienced it close up.

I've seen how fast this country has changed and how much of that is based on human capacity and really good education and investment in people. And

now I hope that the UAE can take that model that's worked so well for it here and start to export that capacity.

You know, I'd like to see more Emiratis in the international system, leading the international humanitarian sector, driving that change more

widely. I think there's a real opportunity right now to spread the load -- and it's a huge load. But you know, this is a country that can do a massive

amount in humanitarian sector.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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ANDERSON: That's Tom Fletcher speaking to me earlier.

Well, breaking news just coming in to CNN. Several people have been struck and injured by a car in central Israel. That is according to emergency

responders. Police say they are investigating the incident at what is known as Karkur Junction in central Israel, as a car ramming attack.

Let's get you back to Tel Aviv and to CNN's Jeremy Diamond -- Jeremy.

DIAMOND: Becky, police say that they are investigating this as a suspected terror attack. They say that a driver rammed into pedestrians who were

standing at a bus stop in the northern part of central Israel, in the town of Pardes Hanna-Karkur.

Reports are that the driver then attempted to flee but police say they were able to stop the vehicle and neutralize the suspect, which typically means

that they were able to kill the suspect with gunfire.

Ten people were taken to the hospital in this instance; two of those are in serious condition. One of those is in, quote, "critical condition,"

according to medical authorities.

The police said that they found this vehicle, the suspicious vehicle, after it attempted to flee and that it was a person who was suspected of carrying

out this car ramming and that they then neutralized the suspect.

Of course, we know that last week there was this attempted bus bombing where four different explosive devices were found on buses. Three of those

had exploded in a vacant parking lot.

And so certainly this is a moment where Israeli authorities are on high alert for potential attacks such as this one. But again, a car ramming in

central Israel; 10 people taken to the hospital, two in serious condition, one in critical condition. Becky.

ANDERSON: CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv.

Well, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. Just ahead. I spoke this week to the UAE's diplomatic adviser to the president

here about the plan that the UAE and other Arab countries are working on for Gaza's day after.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANWAR GARGASH, DIPLOMATIC ADVISER TO THE PRESIDENT, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: That reconstruction plan cannot really take place without a clear path to a

two state solution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And testing the special relationship like never before. As the British prime minister prepares to arrive at the White House today, we look

at how the looming presence of Vladimir Putin could affect U.S.-U.K. relations.

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[10:30:00]

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ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky, Anderson. Here in the UAE is 7:30. Let's return to our top story and what

could be a crucial few days of talks over the war in Ukraine.

In the next couple of hours, the U.S. president will welcome the British prime minister at the White House. Keir Starmer aiming to get the U.S. to

agree to security guarantees for Ukraine, which would provide protection from potential Russian attacks there following any future peace deal.

Ukraine's president will visit Washington on Friday. Kyiv has confirmed that. He has been hoping that those security guarantees could be included

as part of a deal with the U.S. to access Ukraine's mineral resources.

But we understand that deal contains no specific guarantees for continued American support.

Well, the former British ambassador to the United States has said that the so-called special relationship is going to come under some pressure.

Nigel Sheinwald has cautioned that the new ambassador must work on, quote, "getting across to the president that alliances aren't just there for talk

about liberal values and the law and all those abstract things.

"They are there to ensure the protection of our countries, the security of our countries."

Nigel Sheinwald joins me now live from London.

I'm not sure that Donald Trump is particularly interested in what might have been the sort of narrative between the U.S. and U.K. back in the day -

- and by back in the day, I mean, what, a couple of months ago.

What we do know is that the U.K. prime minister has got some very specific sort of talking points to take into that meeting later today. Let's start,

Ambassador, if we can, with the U.K.'s, position with regard Ukraine.

What is Keir Starmer taking in and what is he hoping to get out of this meeting with Donald Trump?

NIGEL SHEINWALD, FORMER BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Well, you're right, Becky. There's a lot of history in the U.K.-U.S. relationship

and no British prime minister meeting an American president in the White House for the first time is going to rely on that.

They're not going to sit on, rest on their laurels and rely on the history but you're conscious of it going into the White House at that sort of

meeting.

I think there are two things in Keir Starmer's mind, above all. Number one, that the situation in Europe has been made much more difficult, much more

dangerous, because of Russian actions and their invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

And number two, obviously, that there's a new administration in Washington, the new sheriff in town that JD Vance talked about a couple of weeks ago.

And Europe wants to understand better what it means that we have an administration which is less interested in European security and defense

than before.

And those two things come together and they're both pretty big issues.

In the issue of a peace deal over Ukraine, which is what the president wants but it can't be a proper peace deal and it won't be agreed by Ukraine

or America's European partners and won't be a fair and lasting deal unless there is some sense that it can withstand the future threats from Russia as

well as the presence of Russians in the area.

[10:35:13]

So that's the issue. So talking about security guarantees, talking about how America would need to support any peacekeeping mission in the in

Ukraine after a deal. Those are the sort of things which Keir Starmer needs some clarification on from the president today.

ANDERSON: He is not going to want to wind Donald Trump up, because, at present -- let's just leave the Ukraine file aside. You know, as the U.K.

prime minister in a -- with a country that has left Europe post Brexit and looking for partnerships, opportunities, trade opportunities.

What Keir Starmer also will want to get out of president Trump is a commitment that Trump isn't going to whack tariffs U.K. exports to the

United States to ensure that he can provide some sort of buffer for the British economy.

How do you read that U.S.-U.K. relationship when it comes to the threat of tariffs on trade?

And how might the U.K. benefit from Donald Trump's, clear concern or horror that he has with the European Union when it comes to trade at present?

SHEINWALD: You're right, Becky, there's a lot to discuss. And it goes in different directions. And I'm quite sure that Keir Starmer has prepared

carefully for this.

I think you've seen, in the days before, he has talked very, very positively about his future relationship with the president. He's balancing

things very carefully.

He made a big announcement before setting off for Washington about our own defense expenditure over the next decade, which I think will give him a

platform, will help him in those discussions.

It's in earnest of what we're going to be doing. And as far as tariffs and trade, we are big trade partners of the United States. They have us -- and

investment partners, by the way, as well. So this is a two way relationship.

The U.K. is the sixth largest economy in the world. It's not a trifling economy, a small economy that the U.S. can ignore. And the fact is that our

own trade relationship in goods, which are things which animates president Trump and has done for decades, in that the U.K.-U.S. trade is in balance

or to the slight advantage of the United States.

So I think the U.K. is in a different position from the European Union, which, as you rightly say, we left, on the trade issue. And I'm sure that

the prime minister will argue that case, that we shouldn't be caught in the crosshairs of the president's -- the rest of the president's policies in

relation to tariffs.

At the same time, I think the prime minister would want the president to understand that we're involved in Europe. We want a better relationship

with Europe.

And indeed, we're going to be working with other Europeans to increase the overall European contribution to defense, something the president wants and

has been talking about, as other presidents have done over the past couple of decades.

So I think that there are some balancing acts in relation to Europe. We're not in it but we want to be closer partners. And I don't think Keir Starmer

will want to be blown off course on that, either.

He needs both a strong relationship with Trump and with America but also a different relationship with Europe at this rather important hinge moment in

international relations.

ANDERSON: It's terrific having you on at what is, as you say, an important moment in U.S.-U.K. relations. The new U.K. ambassador to Washington, of

course, has also had to work rather hard to ingratiate himself with Donald Trump after some choice words by Lord Mandelson (ph) about the U.S.

president in the past.

He has corrected himself and called those childish, I think was his line. So let's see how things go. Good to have you, sir. Thank you.

SHEINWALD: Thank you.

ANDERSON: Well, as negotiators return to Cairo to continue Gaza ceasefire talks, the rest of the region is looking further ahead to what is known as

the day after. Now Donald Trump's plan for the U.S. to take over Gaza and move its civilians out has drawn pushback from Arab leaders who are now

working on their own rebuttal plan.

I asked one of the key stakeholders, UAE diplomatic adviser to the president here, Anwar Gargash, what exactly that Arab proposal would

entail. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARGASH: Number one, it's a resilient position against any plan to move the population of Gaza into other parts of the world.

[10:40:17]

And I think in that position, of course, Egypt and Jordan and Saudi Arabia and all Arab countries are also with us in that position. So clearly that

is part of it.

I think the second affirmation here is that Gaza does need a reconstruction plan, a massive one. But that reconstruction plan cannot really take place

without a clear path to a two-state solution.

So clearly here you need the political stability of a road map in order for these big investments to come into place.

I think the third part is more regional also in the same statement. And that regional part is we all have to work together to de-escalate. I mean,

the region, in the past year plus, has gone through what is a geopolitical earthquake. We will need time to absorb what that means for us.

But clearly, the damage that we see in Gaza, the damage we see in the in south Lebanon, plus, of course, the Syrian situation after 13 or 14 years

of civil war and crisis, all this needs for us to take stock of and clearly understand that the path forward is de-escalation.

But the path forward is a clear reconstruction but with a political clarity. It's -- you can't just go and sort of invest billions without that

political clarity and come back to see yet another conflict.

ANDERSON: Do you believe -- and I'll start with you, that president Trump's deal for Gaza was intentionally provocative to force the hand of

Arab states to actually come up with a plan?

GARGASH: Well, I mean, I don't have a crystal ball, to be honest, Becky. But I think that president Trump, as we know, is a disrupter in many areas.

And I think the Arab, let's say, state system was up to the challenge, in my opinion.

And I think it allowed the Arab state system to step up. And we saw, for example, the informal meeting in Riyadh and subsequent meetings also in

Egypt. I think these are all parts of stepping up, to address the plan.

I think the plan, literally, the statement of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, is very clear, that we're completely against any movement of any Palestinian

people from Gaza.

But I think the plan, on the other hand, also puts across the challenge part that you spoke about.

So the idea basically is how can we have arrangements that will actually rebuild a totally devastated Gaza?

And how can we also ensure that that we don't have a reoccurrence of a seventh Gaza war once we have put these arrangements in place?

I mean, these are real challenges. I think the answer, as I articulated earlier, are fundamentally about a clear political horizon for a

Palestinian state. I mean, we can't really sort of wiggle our way out as the international community from that.

And as you mentioned, containment is failed. So containment is failed. I think this is the answer. That is, the conclusion is very clear here. The

conclusion is we do need to -- a bold plan of reconstruction but that plan of reconstruction must ensure that we don't go back to a situation of

conflict.

And to do that, you have to have a clear path forward where the Palestinians actually have a state.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: That is Anwar Gargash, the advisor to the president of the United Arab Emirates.

We will be right back after this.

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[10:45:00]

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ANDERSON: Well, today on our series "Call to Earth," we are heading to the east coast of Australia, where several projects are providing new hope in

rebuilding what is the devastated koala population there. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The last bushland along Australia's eastern coastline is some of the most important koala habitat in the

country.

But in New South Wales, some environmentalists fear that the combination of deforestation and climate change could see this iconic species disappear in

the state by 2050.

CLARE HOLDEM, KOALA KEEPER, KOALA CONSERVATION AUSTRALIA: They are an arboreal species. They can't survive a life on the ground, so trees are

vital to a koala's existence not only for food but for shelter and for breeding as well.

KINKADE: Listed as endangered by the Australian government, a new breeding center north of Sydney, run by the Koala Conservation Australia aims to

help the population rebound.

HOLDEM: The purpose is to collect genetically diverse and healthy koalas from the wild to form a founder population. We will then breed joeys or

juvenile koalas. And then those juvenile koalas will be released back to the wild to bolster existing populations that have low numbers.

KINKADE: During Australia's so-called Black Summer wildfires of 2019 and 2020, it's believed that more than 60,000 koalas perished or were harmed in

that one bushfire season alone.

HOLDEM: They were a really horrific time. The smoke was incredibly thick. It was very hard to breathe, so it was really stressful on the humans.

But every single one of our volunteers still came to work each day to help look after the koalas.

KINKADE: About a 90-minute drive north of the breeding center in Coffs Harbour, another plan to boost koala numbers is in the works. The New South

Wales government has committed to creating a national park.

JACK NESBITT, TRAINER AND HANDLER, CANINES FOR WILDLIFE: This area in particular is really valuable. And it's one of the last places on the East

Coast of Australia that still has habitat connection for koalas From the beach, basically on the coast, all the way up to 900 meters plus in the

mountains.

KINKADE: While currently undergoing assessment, the plan proposes adding up to 176,000 hectares of publicly-owned forests to existing protected

areas and form the new 315,000-hectare Great Koala National Park.

NESBITT: Without trees we don't have koalas and these forests need to be connected to help protect it.

KINKADE: Jack Nesbitt and his Canines for Wildlife team are mapping the trees used by different koalas.

[10:50:03]

NESBITT: It tells us the corridors not as humans, what we assume koalas are using to navigate and to travel but what they're actually using.

KINKADE: Wild koalas are nearly impossible to spot in the canopy, so Jack relies on help from Max, a seven-year-old English Springer Spaniel who's an

expert in sniffing out a telltale sign of a koala's presence.

NESBITT: Max is incredible for a lot of reasons. He's capable of detecting a number of species. But what we're here doing today is detecting koala

scat.

KINKADE: Max hurries through the bushland and when he finds what he's been looking for, it's a tennis ball for a treat. For Jack and his team, the

prize is a trove of genetic information, all bound up in what a koala leaves behind.

NESBITT: We're able to identify individual koalas from their poos so they're -- as the process moves through. And we have their genetic

fingerprint, we can identify individual koalas and where we've sampled them multiple times.

KINKADE: The movements of individuals are then plotted on a map, proving the wide range of habitat needed to sustain the koala and the imperative to

earn the necessary protections to save it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: And let us know what you are doing to answer the call with the #CalltoEarth. We will be right back.

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ANDERSON: The country known as the Hermit Kingdom wants more people to go and visit. North Korea admitted a limited number of Western tourists in

recent weeks, after COVID restrictions have kept the country largely sealed off for years. Will Ripley with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At first glance, this could be any elementary school recital until you notice the backdrop.

MIKE O'KENNEDY, BRITISH YOUTUBER: It's not until moments where you see a group of 7-year-old children doing synchronized dancing in front of a

giant, you know, LED screen, showing missiles, you know, blowing up boats, you know and it's like, oh, yes -- I'm in North Korea.

RIPLEY: British travel influencer Mike O'Kennedy, one of the first Western tourists to visit North Korea since before the pandemic. State-controlled

Western tourism is making a limited return to Rason, an isolated region near China and Russia.

O'KENNEDY: Yes. One of the most interesting parts for me was that, you know, given the fact that tourists haven't been allowed in for five years,

there was a sense of isolation in the air.

RIPLEY: Strict COVID-19 protocols kept already isolated North Korea even more sealed off from the world.

JUSTIN MARTELL, TOUR OPERATOR, YOUNG PIONEER TOURS: But there seems to be a rumor that COVID-19 got into the country via a balloon sent from South

Korea that was infected with COVID-19.

RIPLEY: Bizarre theories aside, American tour guide Justin Martell says COVID paranoia is still everywhere. And yet, despite five years of near

total isolation, North Koreans aren't entirely in the dark.

MARTELL: So they're aware that Donald Trump is now the president once again and they are aware of the fact that talks broke down last time during

the first Trump presidency.

[10:55:05]

So when I asked the question, would you like Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump to meet again, the response I got was, if Kim Jong-un wants to do it, then,

of course, we support it.

RIPLEY: He says traveling to the secret state is not for everyone. Sightseeing feels more like a school field trip. Itineraries are tightly

controlled, unauthorized photos are forbidden. But any glimpse of the hermetically sealed nation is social media gold.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am in North Korea.

RIPLEY: Which may explain why so many social media influencers are snatching up seats.

Ever since the death of American college student Otto Warmbier in 2017, the U.S. State Department has banned American tourists from visiting North

Korea. But that's not stopping some from trying.

WENDY ARBEIT, U.S. EXTREME TRAVELER: I do have a U.S. passport and I also have a German passport. So that was my ticket in.

RIPLEY: American Wendy Arbeit calls herself an extreme traveler. North Korea is her 195th country.

RIPLEY: So how does North Korea stack up?

ARBEIT: It was definitely one of the more unusual places to go. You know, I have to be honest, I was surprised how good the food was. They were very

lavish in the food that they gave us. There was a flaming snail that was brought to me and I was like, I don't know what to do with this but it's

cool.

RIPLEY: The United Nations says nearly half of North Korea's population is undernourished. For them, flaming snail is almost certainly not on the

menu.

But for Western influencers, a country sealed off from the world is the ultimate feast for content -- Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: And that is it for CONNECT THE WORLD. From the team working with me here, it is a very good evening.

END