Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

Trump's Envoy Lands In Moscow; Canada-U.S. Standoff In Focus At G7; Court Keeps Palestinian Activist In ICE Detention. Aired 10:00-11a ET

Aired March 13, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:28]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi. This is Connect the World.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to our second hour of Connect the World. I'm Eleni Giokos live in Abu Dhabi.

Donald Trump's envoy in Moscow tried to get Russia on board with Ukraine cease fire. But even as he arrives, a Kremlin aid pours cold water on the

plan. We're live in Moscow. Canada hosting foreign ministers of the G7 today, with the U.S. Secretary of State attending. What will we learn about

Canada's relations with the White House? And U.S. Court tells Mahmoud Khalil, targeted by ICE agents for protesting. He must stay in detention

for now, even as protests calling for his release spring up around the country.

Well, we begin with breaking news out of Moscow. A Kremlin spokesperson saying Russia isn't necessarily rejecting a U.S.-Led proposal for a cease

fire in the Ukraine war, despite remarks by an aide to President Putin earlier in the day that seemed to pour cold water on it. That aide had

objected to a temporary truce, arguing that it would give the Ukrainian army a chance to regroup. This comes as Russia says its forces have taken

back a key town in its Kursk region which had been occupied by Ukraine.

Now, according to Russian state media, the Kremlin says the operation to oust the remaining Ukrainian forces from Kursk is in its final stage. CNN's

Frederik Pleitgen joins us now live in Moscow. So, Fred, what is the Kremlin saying right now?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Eleni. Well, they are saying that it's not an outright rejection, but certainly

the Russians are making clear that they're not a big fan of the idea of a temporary ceasefire because they believe that it would benefit the

Ukrainians a lot more than it benefits the Russians. It's been quite interesting to see throughout the course of the day. Right now, the

Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, he's actually in town here in Moscow. He's having meetings with Vladimir Putin. And even he talked to

Russian press and said he didn't believe it would be a good idea for such a cease fire to happen because he thinks that the Ukrainians would use that

to rearm themselves.

And then there was that Kremlin aide, Yuriy Ushakov, who also said that he believes that a ceasefire, an immediate ceasefire, would not beneficial for

the Russian Federation. I want to listen in to what exactly he had to say. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YURIY USHAKOV, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT AIDE (voiceover): This is nothing more than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military and nothing more. We

believe that our goal is a long-term peaceful settlement. That is what we are striving for, a peaceful settlement that takes into account the

legitimate interests of our country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: So what the Russians seem to be saying there, Eleni, is that they want the negotiations to take place before there is a cease fire. They want

all of these other issues to be brought out of the way before there is an actual cease fire. Some of the points Yuriy Ushakov was also talking about.

The Russians obviously don't want any sort of NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine. They certainly don't want Ukraine to be part of NATO.

But one of the other things that we also have to take into account is that, as you were just mentioning right now, this does come, of course, as the

Russians are making major advances on the battlefield, especially in that Kursk region, that little, very small area, that small foothold that the

Ukrainians still have on Russian territory. Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes. So. So tell me exactly what's happening in Kursk right now and how significant it is in the greater scheme of things in terms of getting

the cease fire on the go.

PLEITGEN: Well, first of all, I think that it could be a major issue as far as that ceasefire is concerned because one of the things that the Russians

have said is that they believe that any sort of negotiations that take place about a wider peace need to exclude the objective of Kursk. They want

to take that back militarily. They want to oust the Ukrainians from that. They don't want that to become a bargaining chips when they speak to the

Ukrainians and of course, the U.S. later, to try and hammer out a larger peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. And now the Russians believe

they are actually on the verge of doing that.

They say that they've just taken back the really major town, the only major town that the Ukrainians were holding there. And we say, major, this town

only had about 5,000 inhabitants to begin with. The Russians are now saying they are inside that town. They've taken that town, and that they're also

in the process of kicking Ukrainian forces out of the rest of the Kursk region as well. They think that they're going to be able to do that within

the next couple of days.

However, one of the things that we have to point out, and we are seeing some pictures on our screen right now of Vladimir Putin, who visited the

Kursk region yesterday, is that the Russians are now talking about a possible buffer zone between the Russian Kursk region and Ukraine, which

could obviously mean months of more fighting to come. Eleni.

[10:05:16]

GIOKOS: All right, Fred Clarken, thank you so much. I want to now bring in our panel on the Ukraine cease fire proposal, the tensions between the U.S.

and its allies. We've got a lot to get through and the wider geopolitical implications of all of this. From Washington, Evelyn Farkas is the former

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. We're also joined by Arancha Gonzalez, a former minister of

Foreign affairs for the European Union and cooperation in the Spanish government.

Thank you so much to both of you for joining us today. And so much is going on. Arancha, I want to start off with you. The Kremlin is saying the U.S.-

Ukraine peace proposal will give the Ukrainian army a breather. We're also hearing that they're not necessarily pouring cold water onto this, but

they've got certain things that they want to negotiate first. So what do you believe comes next?

ARANCHA GONZALEZ, FMR. SPANISH FOREIGN MIN., EUROPEAN UNION AND COOPERATION: So what we know now is that the ceasefire that we've seen so

far is the one between the U.S. and Ukraine in Jeddah. But we are left with the problem of Russia. Let's remember that it was Russia that invaded

Ukraine in the first place. And Russia has shown no interest in starting peace talks if it's not to shape the stocks with their own conditions. And

this is where the problem starts because their conditions are impossible to accept, not only for Ukraine, but more broadly for Europe and I believe,

also for the U.S.

GIOKOS: Yes, and that's a really good point because they do have certain things that I want. Troops on Ukrainian territory, foreign troops. I mean,

there's a list of things.

But Evelyn, I want you to jump in here. Tell me about what we've been seeing in the Kursk region. In particular, Russian generals are claiming

that Ukrainians saw soldiers have been taken prisoner there. Do you believe this is a negotiation tactic? Because generally what we've seen in Kursk,

and apparently this could also be a general bargaining chip that Russia wants to ensure that it takes that territory back. And even talking about a

potential buffer zone.

EVELYN FARKAS, FMR. U.S. DEP. ASST. SECY. OF DEFENSE FOR RUSSIA/UKRAINE/EURASIA: Yes. I think that the Russians are clearly stalling

here because they suddenly have the advantage in Kursk. That's partly because the United States froze our military assistance to Ukraine, I

suspect because the Ukrainians were using the intelligence to target those forces attacking them in the Kursk area, including the North Koreans. And

so now the Russians, because they're having an advantage on the ground, they're stalling for time. So, they may take this ceasefire, but they'll

drag it out for as long as they think they need to actually recapture Kursk. That's what I'm afraid of. But ultimately, I do agree, you know,

that, that the terms that the Russians have put out there are very far from any kind of compromise right now.

GIOKOS: Yes. And it just shifts the timeline completely. Arancha, Evelyn, please stand by for me. We've got lots of news we are covering today and

would love for you to weigh in just a moment.

So, all of this is happening while we're expecting NATO's Secretary General Margaret at the White House in about two hours time. International

diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is with us.

Nic, what are we expecting from this meeting? We know that the Trump administration, Donald Trump, wants to see a lot more effort from NATO's

members to increase military spending. So what is in store today?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, look, what Mark Russia is going to want to make sure of is that there's no policy shift

coming from the United States on its position within NATO. He wants and makes NATO member members want United States to stay part of that 32-nation

alliance, as they say, the most effective and biggest military defensive alliance since World War II. It works. They don't want to change it.

There are parts they do want to change and that's what Russia will be stressing and that is the amount being paid by and spent by European

nations and Canada as well, potentially in terms of their commitment defense spending as a percentage of GDP. That's something Donald Trump's

been pressing for.

But you know, as Mark Rutte goes into this meeting, he will be very well aware of some of the comments coming from President Trump just recently

speaking about the possibility of having some kind of two-tier nature where the Article 5 commonality, you know, one attacked everyone comes to their

defense. Maybe Trump mused that shouldn't apply to the nations that don't pay a significant percentage of their GDP on defense spending. That's, you

know, that's not put down in writing. That's not policy. And I think the position that's happening at NATO right now is sort of keep calm and carry

on, but they really want to make sure that none of this is coming forward in policy. Another muse by President Trump the other day was to move the

35,000 U.S. Troops currently stationed in Germany to Hungary.

[10:10:05]

You know, all of this is confusing, and this comes against the backdrop of tension between the U.S. and Europe over finances. But I think Russia's

message to Trump here will be, yes, we want you in NATO. Yes, you're an important part of NATO, and most significantly NATO, other member nations

are stepping up and spending more. Look at the conversations in Brussels last week, look at the conversations in Paris this week with defense

ministers there and Europe. European Union leaders last week in Brussels. It's all about how much they can spend, an uplift of maybe 800 billion

euros, what they can spend it on, making Europe better at spending its money, more effective at spending its money on defense commonality,

breaking down of trade barriers, all these sorts of things.

These will be the positives I would suspect Mark Rutte will be pushing forward to President Trump. But this is a concern. Europe and NATO allies

confidence in the United States has been shaken and it's going to take more than one meeting to steady that.

GIOKOS: Yes, absolutely. It just reminds me of the confrontation that we saw during the Munich security conference not too long ago, Nic. So we'll

be keeping a close watch on that. Thank you so much for your reporting.

Meantime, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Quebec, Canada for the G7 meeting today, and we're learning that he skipped the welcome reception

yesterday afternoon as department official tell CNN he was working on cease fire issues between Ukraine and Russia. I want to go back to our panel now.

We still have Arancha and Evelyn with us. and Arancha, I want you to start -- I want to start with you. The G7 meeting being held, it's being held in

Canada.

You've got tensions between the U.S. And Canada for various reasons, whether it's got to do with tariffs, whether the United States wants to

fold in Canada as the 51st state. It's just absolutely tense right now. How do you think foreign ministers are going to approach Marco Rubio? What is

their angle?

GONZALEZ: Well, I hope the message they send to Marco Rubio is a threefold message. First priority is Ukraine, and we will not achieve peace in

Ukraine if we do not strengthen Ukrainians hand. That is the priority because what we know is that Russia is playing for time, and playing for

time is just trying to ensure that the U.S. just moves quickly and gets a quick, aand let's say dirty deal.

Second message is that it's about Ukraine's independence and sovereignty. It's the existence of Ukraine as an independent country, and three, that

allies will not accept that the security architecture of Europe be unilaterally drawn by Russia. I hope these are the three messages that they

give to Marco Rubio.

And I do hope also that very discreetly they send another one, which is that an unreliable security alliance is not a security alliance, and that

therefore, when you do not feel that you've got a security alliance, you're going to work for your own.

GIOKOS: Absolutely. Especially if there's signs that it could be unraveling and the strength of that. Evelyn, NATO's Secretary General Mark Rutte is at

the Oval Office. You know, I think there's a lot of concern because we've seen hostility playing out in the Oval Office before with Donald Trump and

Zelensky as an example. How do you think the reception will be of Mark Rutte given that President Trump has voiced, I think, his concern about

NATO's members just not doing enough. What do you think the strategy is going to be?

FARKAS: Well, it's hard to say because so much with President Trump is sort of based on how he feels personally about the leaders in question and then

also, of course, the issues. But the personal connection, I think, in the past has been very good with Secretary General Rutte. So, I would imagine

that he would be able to manage the optics.

But on the substance, we have real issues because President Trump is essentially challenging the entire underpinning of NATO. We must have

deterrence against Russia, China, you know, all of our potential adversaries. And that rests upon the collective security which is enshrined

in a treaty, by the way. So, the president of the United States cannot unilaterally alter that treaty.

GIOKOS: Yes, I mean, but we have seen threats before, and I think everyone's on sort of tenterhook, is wondering how this is ultimately going

to play out. So Evelyn, let me ask you this. In terms of what we're seeing at the G7 today and what we're expecting to come through from Marco Rubio,

how are you assessing what the United States needs to be doing? Because not too long ago, we heard that, you know, the U.S. didn't want to say that

Russia was the aggressor, was talking about Russia joining in the G7 once again.

[10:15:03]

FARKAS: Well, I hope that the secretary will not raise those issues again because it's not helpful. It only helps Vladimir Putin. I agree with the

former foreign minister regarding, you know, what the priority should be Ukraine, but also frankly, making sure that we don't have a trade war and

we don't increase protectionism globally because we know from the past history that that could very well lead to an actual conflict. So, what we

want to do is take down the temperature and move everything to negotiation, negotiating the tariffs, negotiating access to resources in Canada and in

Greenland and elsewhere. And we can do that. We are allies.

So there really isn't, there isn't, it isn't necessary to have this level of acrimony and stress in the relationships.

GIOKOS: Arancha, as a European leader, what is your biggest concern about how the Trump administration is going to move forward with these extremely

high-stakes meetings? You know, from what we're seeing at the G7 to what we're seeing with NATO, Mark Rutte as well. I mean, there's so much at

stake, and frankly, we've just seen an injection of an enormous amount of uncertainty, whether it's economic uncertainty, whether it's geopolitical

uncertainty, whether the traditional friends and allies still have that bond with what's your sense?

GONZALEZ: So for me, the biggest concern is that the U.S. weakens the hands of Ukraine and strengthens the hands of Russia. Because in doing that, it

will not achieve a long-lasting peace, which is what we are all looking for. So I think the biggest message and the clearest message that Europe

should send to the U.S. is working together because at the end we have the same objective, which is a long-lasting peace in Ukraine. And this will not

be achieved by weakening Ukraine.

This will not be achieved by weakening Europe and weakening Canada and weakening American allies around the world. That's the very hard lesson.

This is what we are seeing militarily, what we are seeing in the economy and what we are seeing the suffering in the U.S. becoming a reality, too.

The pain that unilateralism brings also to the U.S.

So, time to reset, time to behave like allies. Time to look for working together to ensure long lasting peace and more prosperous economies.

GIOKOS: So, Arancha, you know, a couple of weeks, a few weeks ago, we saw that Russia was invited to Saudi Arabia to engage in conversations with the

United States. Europeans felt left out. We also saw Europe saying, Europe needs to be part of the conversation. Do you think there's a window for

that to occur now? Do you think things are changing?

GIOKOS: Well, I don't think that just that Europe needs to be seated or have a place in the conversation. This is about the security architecture

of the European continent. So, I frankly fail to see how this security will work to produce peace and stability in the European continent if Europe is

not seated at the table.

Now, the lesson for us Europeans is that maybe we've been a little bit too reluctant to take a prominent role and that now we have to take that

prominent role and that we have to be ready to put our suggestions, our ideas, our plans, and even our conditions on the table, which is what you

see happening today is Europe taking its future and the future of the security architecture of the continent more in its hands.

And yes, doing this, understanding that this will be good for Europe, but this will ultimately also be good for the U.S. even if the current U.S.

Administration doesn't see it like this at the moment.

GIOKOS: Yes, that's a really good point. Evelyn, I'm giving you the last word in terms of what you believe we should be seeing in the next day in

terms of conversations to really cement the fact that the U.S. is part of being, you know, is part of what the Europeans want as well, and not

actually on the side of Vladimir Putin, which has been, you know, one of the things that we've been hearing for quite some time.

FARKAS: Well, I think really a unified statement of support for Ukraine. Again, the most urgent thing that we need to do right now is to help

Ukraine in the negotiating process and help them prevail against the Russians and then to highlight, you know, that Russia really is the

aggressor here and Russia is the aggressor in many other contexts. Let's not forget, you know, Georgia is 20 percent occupied by Russia and Russia

is threatening other countries as well. So, I think it's important for a unified front against the autocrats, against Russia, China, Iran, and North

Korea.

GIOKOS: All right, Evelyn Farkas, as well as Arancha Gonzalez, thank you so much for joining us today and for your insights. Much appreciated.

[10:20:00]

All right. So how do Ukrainians feel about the push for a ceasefire? A few of them spoke out in Kryvyi Rih, which has been pounded by Russian missiles

and drones this week. They are skeptical about Russia's commitment to a lasting peace.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have always taken revenge on us for the fact that we fought for independence. They will not change their doctrine. Even if

the war ends, it will be temporary. They will use it to gather the arsenal and to make a blow the same way they did in Grozny. They wiped it from the

face of earth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they agree to a 30-day ceasefire, maybe Russia will stop shooting, but it will be specifically to build up more weapons, to get

more weapons to use later, or to make some other provocation like they did before shelling their own city and saying that it was from our side.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When there was a kind of ceasefire before the full- scale war, we believed in it very strongly. But then we woke up in the morning to the sound of sirens and being hit from all sides.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Coming up, the latest on Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who remains in a U.S. Immigration detention facility. What his wife is saying

now about his arrest. We'll be bringing you that story right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil will remain in a U.S. Immigration detention facility in Louisiana following his first court

appearance on Wednesday. He's more than a thousand miles away from his wife, who is eight months pregnant. Noor Abdalla spoke about her husband's

case to Reuters on Wednesday, saying Khalil had raised fears that immigration authorities could come knocking at their door just two days

before his arrest in New York. She says, she was naive for believing he would be safe. And she added, quote, "I think it would be very devastating

for me and for him to meet his first child behind a glass screen."

I want to bring in Prem Thacker. He's a reporter for Zeteo News who has been closely following the story from day one. Prem, great to have you with

us. Thanks so much for taking the time.

So in another example of Khalil's concerns before being arrested, you learned that he reached out to Colombia for protection after a doxing

campaign against him, and he never got a reply. He told Colombia, quote, "I haven't been able to sleep fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might

come to my home. I urgently need legal support, and I urge you to intervene and provide the necessary protections to prevent further harm."

I want you to take us through that moment and how much it has escalated since then, including the news yesterday that Khalil has not been able to

walk, talk, in fact, to his lawyers for days now.

PREM THAKKER, REPORTER, ZETEO: Thank you, Eleni. Thank you very much for having me. Yes. So were made aware of these emails. And what was shocking

is that these emails were not without precedent, that he and, of course, other students as well had been expressing concern to the university for

months now.

One of his first emails that we had in this trove of communications was from January in which he expressed concern about doxxing, harassment, just

vicious words. He had been receiving threats. And so that was sort of the beginning of this ongoing communication with the university in which, as

you point out, he had sort of bumped the university a day before he was detained, expressing concern that. That he would be targeted by dangerous

individuals, including ICE showing up at his door offer and a day later, ICE to indeed show up at his door.

[10:25:37]

And one thing that I think is worth underscoring is that we had asked Columbia shortly after we reported on the initial detention of Mahmoud,

that we had asked them, hey, you know, had you been aware of DHS or ICE activity on or near campus in advance of this? Had you shared any

information about any Columbia affiliates, including Mahmoud, to the authorities? And they did not ask that question. And, of course, no comment

doesn't necessarily mean an affirmative answer.

However, what's also interesting is that the school had issued guidance regarding what students and faculty should do if they see ICE on campus

shortly again, before Mahmoud was detained. One interesting aspect of this is that they had sort of left room for the idea that officers might show up

on or near campus without a warrant. And they instructed Columbia affiliates to, quote, not interfere if that was the case, which is a far

cry from how the university behaved in 2017 in Trump's first term, in which they said that they will not allow agents to come on campus without a

warrant or some sort of court order.

GIOKOS: Really interesting timeline that you're sharing us with us there, Prem. You also got a written statement from Nur Abdullah Khalil's wife

where she said, in part, and I quote, "My parents came here from Syria. They believed living in the U.S. would bring a set sense of safety and

stability. But here I am, weeks before I'm due to give birth to our first child, and I feel more unsafe and unstable than I have in my entire life.

So how much does this underscore the outcry among many Americans right now, especially minority communities who fear this is a case of political

persecution?

THAKKER: Yes, it's fascinating how this moment really is the culmination of so many different issues regarding speech, regarding safety, regarding

America's immigration practices and policing practices that have been long- standing. I mean, the Trump administration's move to sort of use the law and bend it to its will, to target minorities, to target anyone, now that

it seems undesirable or offensive to the administration's sort of purported policy goals is longstanding. From his first term, there has been a

longstanding tradition, growing alarmingly of the administration, including other presidential administrations as well, sort of in the same way that

Mahmoud was disappeared, that has been the case for other undocumented immigrant screen card holders in the past.

This is also the culmination in a moment of an extreme crackdown on speech. You see this Yale scholar who's being unilaterally punished due to

accusations, not a full investigation, accusations from an AI-powered website that labels her sort of terrorist sympathizer. You have the Miami

Beach mayor moving to cut funding to an independent theater for screening the movie no Other Land. So this is the culmination of so much all at once.

And Noor's words ring so strongly because of that.

GIOKOS: So, in the meantime, the U.S. administration is also investigating around 60 universities and colleges and also saying that they're looking to

make more arrests. We don't even know what the charges against Khalil are just yet, but how do you believe that universities should be responding to

this crackdown? Because this isn't just about immigrants or green card holders. You know, it seems this is a blanket approach, and that's the fear

that this would set a precedent.

THAKKER: The fear throughout the United States, even before Donald Trump officially took office, was the idea of institutions obeying in advance of

institutions kowtowing, or trying to have it both ways, to both sort of satiate this administration, but also try to operate as planned.

As we've seen from this administration's slashing of the government, that cannot function, that cannot happen. I mean, again, the contrast between

how institutions, including universities, behaved in 2017 and throughout Trump's first term in staking consistent, coherent opposition to his attack

on institutions to now, in which they're all just trying to have it both ways, is shocking.

I mean, we see this in real time with the cut of $400 million in grant funding to Columbia University as punishment for supposedly not taking

anti-Semitism seriously enough, even though this institution, as we've seen, has not only allowed outside politicians to dictate policy, but has,

in fact had a very militant and carceral response to student protesters.

[10:30:08]

And so you think about all the different kinds of programs that Columbia is losing, all sorts of medical research studies, things related to veterans,

things related to cancer research. All this is being sacrificed on the altar of trying to impress this administration that will not be impressed.

GIOKOS: You know, the Trump administration has said that, you know, they're targeting Khalil because they view him as pro Hamas, anti-Semitic and so

forth. We don't know what the charges are, but we know that Marco Rubio was saying that Khalil could compromise U.S. Foreign policy.

From a legal standpoint, what are your findings right now in terms of how they can prove and justify their case?

THAKKER: So this is a very spurious charge. This is something that is rare, has been rarely tested throughout U.S. history that's been something on the

books in a broader act, the Immigration and Nationality Act, that has also been criticized for several things, including being responsible for

targeting Eastern European Jews in the 1950s. It is an act that can be used by an administration to be weaponized against individuals. And the issue is

that the way this works, this will go through immigration courts. And it's not quite clear if an immigration court will be apt to sort of go against

the secretary of State. It's unclear again, because it's so it hasn't been tested.

The real question is because there's so many questions of constitutionality about the First Amendment free speech, about the ability for one individual

member of the cabinet to just unilaterally deport someone. In the federal courts there will be so many more questions of constitutionality or

righteousness with this authority that has even barely been used before.

GIOKOS: All right, Prem Thaker, thank you so much for your insights. Thank you for joining us today on the show.

So you're watching Connect the World. Ahead on the show, how do Americans feel about President Trump's handling of the economy as well as tariffs? A

new CNN poll has some decidedly mixed results. We'll bring you the numbers right after.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back to Connect the World with me. Eleni Giosk here are your headlines.

A Kremlin spokesperson said a short time ago Russia isn't necessarily rejecting a U.S.-led proposal for a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. That's

despite a senior official earlier giving an interview saying a temporary truce would only help Ukraine and wasn't what Moscow wanted. U.S. special

envoy Steve Witkoff has just arrived in Moscow on a mission to persuade the Kremlin to stop fighting.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is in Washington today to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump about Ukraine's cease fire negotiations. That

meeting is expected to kick off in just under two hours.

[10:35:10]

Right now, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Canada meeting with G7 foreign ministers as President Trump continues today to fuel a global trade

war with his sweeping tariffs. Earlier, Rubio met with his Canadian counterpart who has called Trump's tariffs a move to weaken the country in

order to, quote, "eventually annex Canada".

CNN Politics Reporter, CNN Senior Politics Reporter. There we go. Stephen Collinson joins us now live from Washington to discuss. I've got to get in

the senior Stephen, because your analysis is brilliant and you know, we're all so addicted to what you've been writing.

And I have to say what we've been seeing over the past few days, in particular today, you've got Marco Rubio in candidate, you know, for the G7

meeting. You've got this relationship that clearly has eroded. They're talking about next in Canada. You've got tariffs that are escalating as

well. I want you to give me a sense of where we stand with this relationship and what it ultimately means in the long term.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, it's at a crossroads, certainly, because Canada is getting a new prime minister, Mark

Carney, tomorrow, the newly elected leader of the Liberal Party to take over from Justin Trudeau. Rubio flew to those talks, and he told reporters

that he wasn't there to discuss any of these questions that Trump has been raising about Canada's sovereignty, his demands for Canada to become the

51st state. But the Canadian foreign minister, Melanie Jolie, made clear that she's going to raise those issues because Canada sees them as

existential to its security. She's going to warn that Canada is the canary in the coal mine for other American allies and friends and they could be

next to feel Donald Trump's wrath.

In fact, they already are if you think about some of the tariffs that have been rolling out this week and the retaliation from the European Union. So

clearly, relations with Canada are in a very bad spot. At the same time, it'll be interesting to see how Carney handles this. He's probably going to

call an election in Canada to try and build on the momentum the Liberals have had. You could argue if you were cynical, that from Canada, from the

Liberal Party's point of view in Canada, it really helps them if the dispute with the United States goes on for another couple of months because

that's the Liberals' best chance of winning the election against the conservatives.

GIOKOS: I just wonder how this entire confrontation by the United States towards the rest of the world and even its closest ally, that being Canada,

is being taken up by Americans. What is their view? Are people, do people believe that this is going to be net positive, that it is going to

strengthen America?

COLLINSON: Well, I think Donald Trump is representing the people who put him in office. And, certainly, there is not much sign that hardcore

Republicans are beginning to tire of the president. But what we have seen this week is interesting. I think in some CNN polling, there are growing

signs of concern about the way the president is managing the economy. There's 56 percent of Americans now disapprove of him on this issue. And

this is significant because he spent most of the presidential election campaign last year evoking his first term as a kind of economic golden age,

before the pandemic swept that all away.

What we're also seeing is growing number of Americans who are skeptical that the economy is heading in the right direction. More now say the

economy will be in bad shape in a year's time, as when Trump took office. And he's only been in office for two months or less than two months.

So I think what we're seeing is a growing peeling away from Trump of some of those voters. He added on to the Republican base in the election.

Economic sentiment is diminishing with younger voters, with minority voters and with independent voters. That could be a sign of political trouble to

come if this tariff war starts to hike prices in an economy that is already showing some signs of diminishing consumer sentiment.

GIOKOS: Yes, exactly. And I think you hit the nail on the head there. If he breaks his promises, particularly with the economy, that could spell

trouble. I want you to stick with me because what we've been seeing is a lot of issues. And the old adage, politics makes strange bedfellows, rings

true, very true with this one. On the left, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and on the far right, political strategist Steve Bannon.

Bannon recently appeared on Newsom's podcast and found a surprising yet solid alliance one issue. Elon Musk.

[10:40:12]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GAVIN NEWSOM, GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA: Your issues with. With Elon, and we haven't even gotten to that. And I know that's all came up.

STEVE BANNON, EXECUTIVE AND FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: Do I have any issues have? Do I have any issues?

NEWSOM: Yes, I know. Well, you called him evil. You called him a racist. You have --

BANNON: Parasitic illegal alien.

NEWSOM: Parasitic illegal alien I think was your exact phrase. Your phrase, not mine. Though we may share some commonality in terms of concern about

what he's doing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Right. Stephen, if these guys can see eye to eye on this issue, you know, I wonder if we can find common ground on the bigger problems facing

the world. What do you think?

COLLINSON: Well, it's very strange. Steve Bannon dislikes Elon Musk for many reasons, including the fact that he's an example of the globalized

economy. Economy, which Bannon, who is a former political guru of Trump and now hosts a podcast, doesn't like. But some people think that within

Trump's camp that Bannon is a little angry that he's been superseded by Musk in the president's affections.

This is very odd because Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, seems to be starting to think about and act upon a presidential

campaign for 2028. On the one hand, I think this is a symptom of Democrats grappling with the fact that their party went far to the left and seemed to

lose the ability to talk to a lot of the people that Trump was very successful in talking to. More conservative social Americans, perhaps.

And you could see this as a way of Newsom perhaps preparing the groundwork for any eventual general election campaign. The problem is that he's

alienating quite a lot of hardcore Democrats, the kind of Democrats that he will need in a primary race if he's ever to win the Democratic nomination.

So, I think Newsom is trying some new things, but he's taking quite a big risk.

GIOKOS: Yes. So Donald Trump as well as Melania Trump have got this whole side hustle thing going. I mean, we heard about the meme coins that they

dropped as the inauguration was basically underway, which was really kind of peculiar because we've never seen anything like this. And then just

shocking the world completely, where we saw basically trying to sell Teslas outside of the White House. What do you make of all of this? I mean, is

this conflict of interest? Is this just completely unprecedented when you - - when it comes to how a President of the United States is acting and basically trying to sell a product?

COLLINSON: Well, the conflicts of interest are so massive and so vast that they're almost not being commented upon. And I guess that is Trump's

strategy. He floods the zone with so many questionable things that it's hard to get your mind around any one of them. But, you know, the idea that

any other president of the modern age would use the presidency as a vehicle for enriching themselves would in itself be the biggest scandal of their

presidency.

So you mentioned that photo op with Elon Musk at the White House. That was the first time that the President had appeared in public since we had two

days of massive sell-offs on Wall Street. We saw stocks crash, taking with them billions of dollars of retirement savings of Americans who have their

retirement savings in the stock market.

But yet Trump didn't choose to stand with working class voters as he did during the campaign when he donned an apron and served fries at a

McDonald's. He chose to stand with the richest man in the world. And he said he hoped that his actions standing there and buying a Tesla on the

South Lawn of the White House would boost the share price of Tesla. He was siding with his rich friend instead of the Americans that elected him and

got him power.

GIOKOS: Yes. Here raising stuff and really good to speak to you, Stephen. Thank you so much for the analysis. We're going to a very short break.

We'll be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:45:33]

GIOKOS: In the 19th and early 20th centuries, commercial whaling practices devastated whale populations worldwide. The number of humpback whales, for

instance, were reduced by an estimated 95 percent at their height. An international ban on whaling in 1985 has since helped the humpback

population rebound, now numbering more than 80,000 worldwide. Today, on call to Earth, we visit Cape Town for a firsthand look at the measures that

have been taken to help the species recover.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A light fog hangs over South Africa's scenic Cape Peninsula on an early morning in December. For renowned photographer Chris

Fallows and his wife and co-captain Monique, it's a picture perfect start to the day.

CHRIS FALLOWS, PHOTOGRAPHER AND CONSERVATIONIST: So we try to create exceptional images. And this morning we're very lucky. We've got a

beautiful scene developing with tablecloth rolling over Table Mountain. First, rays of light are just starting to kiss that iconic landmark and

it's looking pretty good. Just need to find the whales now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're searching specifically for the playful and acrobatic humpback.

FALLOWS: That's a young humpback whale. That's the species we're looking for.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it's more than one or two they're hoping to find.

FALLOWS: So early in the morning, we usually find ones and twos that then lead us to either a feeding area or are part of a structure that actually

comes together and forms a supergroup.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A so-called supergroup is when at least 20 individuals, often many more, are feeding close to each other.

FALLOWS: So these supergroups of whales have really only been around for probably the last 10 years or so. Before that, they were extremely

difficult to find. And in recent times, as their population has started to recover, so, we've ever increasingly started seeing big groups of these

whales, which has been truly incredible. It's one of the great positive news stories on the ocean. Just listen to those sounds. It's such an

incredible sensory experience.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Though the population has rebounded from the days of commercial whaling, new dangers have emerged. Climate change, entanglement

in fishing gear, and ship strikes are now some of their biggest threats.

FALLOWS: Come on. Whale fleek. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: South Africa has laws in place that prohibit people and vessels getting any closer than 300 meters to a whale without the

proper permits.

MONIQUE FALLOWS: Here comes the fluke.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But Chris and Monique have both the permits and decades of experience that allows them to get this close.

FALLOWS: Slowly on this side next to us, slow down a whisker, go neutral.

M. FALLOWS: I would say maybe 70 percent of my attention is making sure that I'm not going to impact animal in any way in terms of where the boat

is. So I'm extremely aware that is the number one focus when we are out there.

FALLOWS: Oh, magic man. Oh, what a magic one. Obviously, one of my key objectives is to create works of art that are amongst the best in the

world. But equally, I think my primary objective is to inspire people. And I think that is a way to connect people with the ocean and hopefully create

more ambassadors to make sure that they, like me, love these animals and realize the importance of conserving them.

[10:50:10]

That's it. That was a good one. That was a really good one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their days in the water are also dedicated to collecting data to share with environmental authorities like the Department

of Forest, Fisheries and the Environment.

FALLOWS: So we south 33 degrees.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And capturing photo IDs of individual whales for a conservation project called Happy Whale that helps track their movements

non-invasively.

M. FALLOWS: I'll go on the left side, you go on the right side. Okay.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chris has spent the better part of three decades photographing some of the planet's most legendary and imperiled wildlife.

But the comeback of the humpbacks paints a different picture.

FALLOWS: They are incredibly important animals. And for me, the humpback is really the phoenix that gives all species that have turned to ashes hope

that they too could rise again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Well, let us know what you're doing to answer the call with the hashtag call to Earth. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Well, let's get you up to speed on some stories that are on our radar right now. Israel says it struck a terrorist command center belonging

to Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Syrian capital Damascus. The IDF said it won't allow terrorist organizations to entrench themselves in Syrian

territory. A spokesperson for the militant group says the building that was bombed was an empty residential house and no one was hurt.

The White House has withdrawn its nominee to lead the Centers for Disease control and prevention. Dr. Dave Weldon's nomination had been sharply

criticized for by health experts for his stance questioning vaccine safety. And White House officials privately voiced concerns over his recent

comments on vaccines.

Now we've all been there, waking up with a dread of the workday ahead and maybe once in a while calling in sick. No harm done, right? But if you're

in Saudi Arabia, beware. Seriously, now.

The Ministry of Health is warning against faking illness to skip work with strict penalties of more than $25,000 and up to one year in prison. So what

if you're actually sick? Then you make absolutely sure to get permission for your sick leave from the official governmental platform. Really

important.

And now I want to take you to a video causing outrage in Australia. It reportedly shows an American social media influencer, Sam Jones, taking a

wild baby wombat away from its mother in Australia. I want you to take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAM JONES: Just caught a baby wombat.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Now, the video appears to show the baby wombat's mother chasing after Jones. Australian officials are examining the American's visa to

determine if she breached any conditions of her visit.

Now, the Prime Minister is among those outraged by the social media influencer stunt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: They are gentle, lovely creatures. To take a baby wombat from its mother and clearly causing

distress from the mother is just an outrage. And you know, I suggest to this so-called influencer, maybe she might try some other Australian

animals. Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there.

[10:55:15]

GIOKOS: Well, CNN has reached out to Jones but has not received a response.

Right. For today's parting shots, Picasso's work goes to Iran. The paintings of the renowned artist have found a temporary home in the Tehran

Museum of Contemporary Art. More than works are currently on display with some rare paintings exhibited in Iran for the first time. The exhibition

spans across all nine galleries of the museum and it shows different periods of the artist's career. Really beautiful.

Well, that's it for Connect the world. Stay with CNN. One World is up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END