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Latest Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 59 in Gaza; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Bolsters Support in Norway, Looking for Ceasefire Everywhere in Ukraine Territory; Ukraine-Russia Negotiations to Continue in Saudi Arabia Next Week; Egypt Condemns Renewed Israeli Ground Operations in Gaza; American Detained by Taliban in Afghanistan Has Been Freed; International Olympic Committee Votes for New President. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired March 20, 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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ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm Becky Anderson.

Time here just after 6 pm.

And today, for the first time, the ceasefire imploded. Hamas fired rockets toward Israel. I spoke with the Egyptian foreign ministry about the

collapse of negotiations.

Well, we expect President Zelenskyy to speak any minute now after Russia and Ukraine launched new strikes, despite the ongoing effort for peace

talks.

And in an emotional interview, the mother of a Venezuelan deported from the U.S. says she does not know where her son is. More on the fallout from

Donald Trump's deportation flights to El Salvador, including the looming deadline for the Justice Department.

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ANDERSON: Well, three straight days of Israeli airstrikes, a new ground offensive and hundreds more deaths, Gaza again under siege after the

shattering of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Israeli strikes killed nearly 60 Palestinians over the past day.

Israel blaming Hamas for the renewed fighting, saying it refused to accept new ceasefire terms; while Hamas says it remains committed to the original

ceasefire agreement signed in January. The Israeli defense minister issued a blunt, ominous warning today about Gaza's future if the hostages held

there are not released.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISRAEL KATZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): Residents of Gaza, this is the last warning. The airstrike against Hamas terrorists was

only the first step. What is coming will be more difficult and you will pay the price.

Soon the evacuation of residents from combat zones will begin again. If they don't return the Israeli hostages and Hamas is not being removed from

Gaza, Israel will act with force like you haven't seen before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Hamas, for the first time, responding to the new Israeli attacks, firing three rockets at Israel. Israel's military says one was

intercepted. Two others fell in an open area. I want to bring in Nic Robertson, live in Sderot in Israel, very close to the border with Gaza.

Nic, just bring us up to speed on what has been happening there.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Becky, we can see into Gaza behind us, Beit Hanoun. And it's one of those areas that the IDF

dropped leaflets over yesterday, telling residents that it was no longer safe to live there.

It was one of the places that was struck overnight. And while we've been here in the last hour or so, we've seen at least one airstrike on Beit

Hanoun. It certainly appeared to be an airstrike because there was a huge plume of smoke that rose up. And we heard the fighter jets in the sky

moving off the targets immediately after.

And that's something we've witnessed from here many, many, many times during the course of the 15-month war. The difference now, today, of

course, that this is a renewed offensive. The defense minister, Israel Katz, saying complete ruin, if in essence, the people of Gaza don't

themselves remove Hamas.

We know from the health officials in Gaza that, overnight, last night into today, 85 people, they say, have been killed; 133 wounded in these strikes.

And Hamas, as you say, for the first time, firing rockets out of Gaza since the ceasefire ended. These have been -- for Hamas, these have been

relatively long-range rockets aimed at Tel Aviv.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: Nic, I'm going to jump in because the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is speaking alongside the Norwegian prime minister in

Oslo. Let's listen in.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Dear guests, dear journalists, dear Norway, I'm thankful for this support for

our joint work, for today's meeting. It is very warm and it has been very meaningful and useful.

For three years throughout the war, Norway has taken a principled position and we will never forget that. It has been, as a matter of principle, on

the side of justice, on the side of common sense and on the side of defending life. You immediately understood what was happening.

[10:05:00]

And we have discussed it many times, what this war is bringing and has brought to our homes, what Russia has brought to our homes. And we can

thank you, therefore, for your substantial support, financial support. This has helped. This has helped us a lot, helped our resilience.

I'm grateful for your energy support. And I requested, I approached you, Prime Minister, and we are grateful for Norway's help. It helped us survive

the winters of this war. That was one of the biggest challenges, those winters when Russia targeted our energy system.

But Ukrainians withstood and we managed to meet the needs, of basic needs of our people and maintain our independence. Together with Europe, we are

working on restoring peace and guaranteeing security that we need very much.

I am hoping for Norway's role in this, that this will be tangible and in our work with all our partners.

As for our diplomacy and future security guarantees, Europe, America and all our partners in the world must work together. I hope Norway will be

part of the efforts to guarantee our security.

And I would like to note your recent decision to increase support for Ukraine to almost US$ 8 billion to date. And this indeed helps us, gives us

additional confidence and is a serious contribution.

What's especially important at this moment?

It is especially important at this moment, now that the diplomacy has stepped up for the sake of ending this war. And I agree with you. Indeed,

it is very important that Ukraine has an excellent approach as these diplomatic steps in excellent form. And I'm grateful to you, Jonas, for

what you're doing in this.

I emphasize that only a -- on -- a reliable end to the war is possible only when Ukraine has a strong position. And we hope that this will be fair,

because the war is in the territory of our country. And it is important so that Putin stops manipulating, takes steps that the world expects.

And one of these steps should be a ceasefire. And we are working with the United States and with the other partners that peace in the sky and a

cessation of strikes on energy, on our people, a ceasefire in the sea may be considered safe navigation. We must also approach a ceasefire everywhere

in the territory of our state.

These are important steps on the part of all sides. And everybody has seen that Ukraine unconditionally agrees to this. And we are waiting for the

aggressor to agree. At least we are expecting that partners will put pressure on Russia.

Of course, what's important to us is the return of our prisoners, war prisoners, our civilians and our children. Bringing them home is a complex

and difficult process. We are fighting every day to have a result. Yesterday was a moment of happiness, to see more than 190 people, 197

people returned home.

And these moments are very heartrending moments of war. And they go hand in hand, moments of tragedy and moments of happiness, when loved ones welcome

their loved ones home.

These are important diplomacy steps and we are very much counting on diplomacy. That will put pressure on Russia. We spoke with the prime

minister today about specific steps to strengthen our defense capability.

We are grateful for the NASAMS. They have never let us down. They've always defended us from Russia's missile strikes. It is important for us to expect

so manufacturing and our joint manufacturing in defense that we must and will develop.

I am sure that Europe now needs a new wave of industrial technological development, so that the continent has everything it needs for defense and

so that Europe can be more independent and more -- can be more powerful in this global competition.

[10:10:06]

And that Europeans have good jobs. And we must do more. We must pay joint attention to the development and defense of the infrastructure.

Our experience shows that we must talk about it. Everybody can see how much danger there is for the undersea infrastructure in European seas, through

enemy activity. We can see changing -- changes in the challenges through the development of drone technology.

And these are new technological challenges that every country needs to respond to in its own way. And we need to do more in Europe for the sake of

security. Ukraine is ready to join relevant efforts.

And I invite Norway -- and we're working together with Norway within existing security coalitions. And I'm glad that we have this partnership to

develop an air defense coalition and other technological coalitions.

We must do more in the manufacturing of various types of drones. This is being done fast in Ukraine. It is cheaper and it is effective in practice.

We can see that. And the most effective and quickest way today in Europe is to do that in Ukraine.

And so I think, together with Europe, with Norway, we can give more security to our peoples and to the people of Europe. Thank you, Norway,

again, for your comprehensive assistance. And glory to Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So now we will open up for questions. And the first question comes from the Norwegian broadcaster TV2.

QUESTION (through translator): Hello, Mr. President, welcome to Norway.

QUESTION: In English, by popular demand from the press corps.

So after the last week's events in negotiations about a ceasefire, what are your realistic hopes now?

When can such a ceasefire enter into force?

And if I may add, there seems to be different kinds of understanding in Moscow and Washington at the moment, what a limited ceasefire could mean,

what items are included.

What is your understanding?

Does this proposal for a limited ceasefire include both civilian infrastructure and energy supply infrastructure or just one of them?

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Thank you for your question. I will proceed from what I heard and what we agreed with the American side before

their contact with Russians and the latest conversation with president Trump after his conversation with the Kremlin.

We initially proposed a ceasefire in the sky and in the sea because it isn't that difficult to monitor, as the first step, because we didn't

believe the Russians would accept any kind of ceasefire because they want - - and we believe they want to continue the war. They want to continue destroying us.

But the American side said, no; they want to end the war. We want to end the war, too.

Who's going to argue?

So let's take relevant steps. And at the meeting in Jeddah, the American side made a leap, a step forward, a very quick one and said, let's talk

about not a limited ceasefire but a comprehensive ceasefire.

We responded at once. At the meeting, my team got in touch with me because this was a change to the agenda that they brought. And I said, immediately,

we confirm; we want to move toward an end to the war. And everybody was pleased. And I believe that was a successful meeting.

Moreover, I think this was our first bilateral meeting with such a positive result. Despite such a long meeting, more than nine hours, what's important

is that, after this, the Americans were in contact with the Russians. And again, I think there was a step back because they started talking about a

partial ceasefire.

So, look, we prefer to make steps forward.

[10:15:00]

But we are ready in partnership with the Americans, to take a step back and talk about a limited ceasefire today.

And based on what we discussed with president Trump at the meeting is this follows a ceasefire to secure the energy grid of both countries. That is no

attacks on the energy infrastructure and other civilian infrastructure. That's how it sounds.

I raised this issue with president Trump. And I said that, in my opinion, our side will draw up a list of civilian infrastructure facilities, which

we believe are civilian. I don't want for there to be room for variations in understanding on what both sides are agreeing or, God forbid, if next,

at the next meeting, the sides agree on Monday in Saudi Arabia.

Our technical teams will be there. So the structure, I believe, is that Ukraine will be meeting with America. And then, as the American partners

said, there will be some shuttle diplomacy. And then America will meet with Russia.

All these meetings will be in parallel, in the same country on the same subject, as I said.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The next question comes from Bloomberg.

QUESTION: Question to Mr. President, follow up on the energy infrastructure involved in discussions.

Is it only the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant that's under discussion in terms of United States taking ownership in it?

Or are any other Ukrainian energy assets being discussed as part of any potential agreement?

ZELENSKYY: OK.

(Speaking foreign language).

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Thank you for your question. All nuclear power stations belong to the people of Ukraine. These are state-owned power

stations, nuclear power stations. They are not in private hands.

We have thermal power stations; also, green energy. There are private partnerships there. That's -- the energy sector is fully private. And that

is right.

But all nuclear power belongs to the state and including the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhya region in Enerhodar city, where the occupied plant

is, that also belongs to the state. And that is recognized by all, by the IAEA and the international institutions.

The personnel working there now are the personnel that have been paid by the state of Ukraine and they're citizens of Ukraine. Yes, their management

changed at the power plant. The Russians illegally changed the management.

But all the staff, all the specialists, all the nuclear power specialists are Ukrainian.

And you know what conditions they are kept in?

Some of their children have been taken out, put on the bus and taken to the territory of the Russian Federation. That's how the people are working.

Well, you will do anything for your child. And I, as a father, I can tell you that's the fact. Therefore, a nuclear power station that isn't working

or is dangerous because it is being maintained but it is not serviced properly, despite the IAEA visits and the supervision, everybody, everybody

understands it needs to be cooled regularly.

There needs to be correct technical maintenance. After the Russians blew up the dam, there is no normal water supply there. It is a complicated

process. It's been made more difficult and it is in difficult technical conditions.

The question put to us by the Americans -- and I don't know whether they've discussed it with the Russians or not.

President Trump asked me, what do you think about this plant?

I said, if it isn't Ukrainian, it will not work for anyone. It is illegal. It won't be able to work.

And we cannot make -- run this station because it is state-owned. Now we've heard voices, the Americans are thinking about this, how to find a way out

of the situation and they want to take it away from the Russians and invest in it, modernize it. That is a different question.

[10:20:00]

That is an open question and we can talk about it. But in terms of ownership, we definitely did not discuss that with president Trump.

Moreover, we did not discuss the messages you mentioned. I have seen these messages in the press, in terms of all of power generation in Ukraine.

We're not going to discuss that.

We have 15 nuclear reactors working today. They all belong to the state. We are part of the European power grid. And this is a serious guarantee of our

energy security.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The next question comes from the Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

QUESTION: Yes, thank you,

Mr. President, in March 2022, you said you were willing to discuss neutrality, which implies no to NATO membership.

Is that a question that you still are willing to discuss, neutrality?

ZELENSKYY (through translator): I have never said that I am ready to discuss Ukraine's neutrality. That was never put that way. The Russians

raised this question when they came to us with an ultimatum.

The first ultimatum we received said, in the document, though it didn't even propose, Putin demanded this, a reduction in the Ukrainian army to

50,000-70,000.

Can you imagine the difference?

The army that's holding back the Russians is 800,000.

Can you imagine what they wanted?

They wanted 50,000-70,000 army and nonaligned status in principle. Neutral, that's neutrality. They wanted us to recognize the Occupied Territories as

Russian. And there were many other things.

We have always said that we don't quite understand what we are discussing. This is an ultimatum. It is not a proposal to end the war.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the last question goes to AFP.

QUESTION: Pierre from AFP.

Mr. President, president Trump reportedly is considering recognizing Crimea as Russian territory as part of a bid to end the war.

Is it something that you discussed during your conversation with him yesterday?

And generally speaking, have U.S. officials ever mentioned in their contacts with Ukraine that there would be a will to recognize some Occupied

Territories as Russian?

Thank you.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Thank you.

Actually, I wanted to finish the previous question Madam Journalist said -- mentioned neutrality.

If this is about NATO and if that's what you meant when you said neutrality, nonaligned with NATO, I've always said, unfortunately, we are

not invited into NATO. We would like to. And this would have solved, we believe, this would have solved many problems. And we discussed this with

journalists today.

When people are asking how to strengthen our army, strengthen air defense, give us money so that there's a big army.

Where to hold exercises, where to conduct training, what the contingent should be, who's in the sky?

Who's at sea?

Can we just say NATO?

Can we just make us part of NATO?

It's cheaper and it's simpler. But again, there's nothing to discuss. The United States, as the main ally in NATO, is not supporting Ukraine's NATO

membership. That's where we are today. And I don't think we can just give it away to the Russians. I think this is a great gift to them, taking this

off the table. I believe that's wrong. That's my belief.

As for your question about Crimea, the Crimea is a Ukrainian peninsula. Trump did not raise this with me. We discussed Crimea with him in September

in New York. He was interested to know what this would look like, why the Ukrainians love Crimea, because they heard the Ukrainians love Crimea.

And we just talked about it. And I said it is a unique nature place. It's a Ukrainian peninsula. And I don't want to take the time. In addition to

common sense things, that Crimea is dying without Ukrainians, because anything to do, all the logistics is linked to mainland Ukraine -- water

supply, logistics.

But the main thing for tourism, Crimea's unique nature reserve, it's tourism.

[10:25:06]

And what's the main thing for tourism is tourists. There are no tourists in Crimea. For 11 years, there has been no tourism in Crimea. In summer, it

saw 3 million tourists. It used to see 3 million tourists; 2.8 million were Ukrainians. That's my answer.

You can do whatever you want, five-star hotels, many buildings. But you're not going to import millions of tourists. Ukrainians used to holiday there

because this is their peninsula. And nobody can do anything about that. People are not paid salaries there now. There's nothing there now. It's

dying. All this nature is dying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And on that note, we need to wrap up this press conference. Thank you.

ANDERSON: Right.

Well, the Ukrainian president on a trip to Oslo in Norway, thanking the Norwegians for their financial support and for their energy support. He

said that he has agreed to a limited ceasefire, to secure the energy grid of both Ukraine and Russia.

All the nuclear power stations, he said, belonged to Ukraine, including the occupied Zaporizhzhya plant. He did not agree to the U.S. taking ownership

of that plant, he said.

And in response to reports that Donald Trump is considering recognizing Crimea as Russian, he said Trump has not raised that with him.

Jens Stoltenberg, the former NATO chief, now Norwegian finance minister, also meeting with the Ukrainian president. And Reuters reporting that

Norway is the only European nation that can finance increased support to Ukraine from its own coffers rather than from debt, as it is, of course,

home to the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world.

Norway, a member of NATO but not a European Union member; it shares a border with Russia in the Arctic. And Zelenskyy, also speaking there to the

happiness his people felt, as prisoners from Russia were returned home overnight in what he describes as a diplomatic step or a diplomacy step.

He invited Norway to join air defense and tech coalition to develop equipment, including drones, to help with security and defense.

A lot going on there, we learned a lot. William Taylor is the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. He joins us from Washington.

Orysia Lutsevych is the head of the Ukraine Forum at the strategic think tank, Chatham House, and she is joining us from London.

So let's start with you, Orysia.

What did you make of what we've just heard?

ORYSIA LUTSEVYCH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, RUSSIA AND EURASIA PROGRAMME; HEAD OF THE UKRAINE FORUM: I think it's important that President Zelenskyy again

emphasized Ukraine's commitment to peace and Putin's unwillingness to show any confidence or trust building measures to do it.

Let's remember that prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia have been taking place throughout three years of this full-scale war.

And the fact that Trump was not able to achieve unconditional ceasefire from Putin and allowed the Kremlin to impose restrictions on that ceasefire

shows to the difficulty of those negotiations and something that White House now has to grapple with.

ANDERSON: Ambassador, let me bring you in here and just your perspective of what we've heard and where we are at this point with regard the limited

ceasefire, the rhetoric from Russia on where it plans to go next and where you believe this situation sits at present.

WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Yes, thanks. So I agree with Orysia, that Russia is the problem in this negotiation. President

Zelenskyy and president Trump both agreed on a full ceasefire, not a partial ceasefire.

That was the understanding that the Americans then took to the Russians. And President Putin apparently resisted and disagreed. And he put these

conditions on that you just mentioned.

He also would not agree to cease a full ceasefire, which would include on the ground. So the next step, of course, is now for the Americans to put

some pressure and the Europeans put some pressure on President Putin, to come along in this negotiation; implement the first part for sure. Begin

these negotiations in Saudi Arabia next week.

And -- but the pressure needs to be on the Russians because the Americans and the Ukrainians are in agreement.

ANDERSON: To both of you -- and I'll start with you. Ambassador Williams (sic), there does seem to have been a shift in Donald Trump's rhetoric on

Ukraine.

[10:30:00]

And President Zelenskyy describing his call with Donald Trump yesterday as positive and said he does not feel pressured. And you certainly get a sense

of, at least in principle, some positivity or optimism from the Ukrainian president. I just wonder how significant that call was and what you make of

this change in tone, Ambassador.

TAYLOR: It's a very important change in tone. It was not a good tone two weeks ago. It is a much improved tone. And that suggests that the Americans

and the Ukrainians are on the same page. They said that.

Yes, President Zelenskyy said it was a good call. President Trump said it was a good call, that, with the White House report, was it was a fantastic

call, was the word they used. All to say that they are -- the Americans and the Ukrainians are now in sync. They are on the same track. And that's a

very good place compared to three weeks ago.

Orysia.

LUTSEVYCH: I think what we are seeing is that continued bilateral, high- level relations. For Ukraine and for Europe, for the same matter, it's critical that the White House and Trump personally understands what it

means, actually, to deliver concessions to the White House on a silver platter.

Because previous statements from Trump and from his advisers were like, as if they were actually imposing Russian war termination objectives on

Ukraine and putting no pressure on Putin.

So the fact that Zelenskyy could reiterate his willingness to work with Trump, his willingness to sign the critical minerals deal and actually

offer the role for America, including securing, for example, one of the largest nuclear power stations, safety for the whole of continent and

probably the region.

It's something where Zelenskyy is trying to keep America involved for the sake of Ukraine and for the sake of Europe.

ANDERSON: Yes, I mean, he was asked about Zaporizhzhya, wasn't he, and the nuclear plants. He said those are state-owned and he hasn't been asked, to

date, at least, by the U.S. president, that he pass those into U.S. hands.

But clearly there is impetus, intention on the part of the Trump administration or Donald Trump himself to -- for the U.S. to take some of

those assets into U.S. hands, be it the energy assets, the mineral assets, in order to, as Donald Trump describes it, provide some security through

U.S. ownership.

I just wonder, Orysia and Ambassador Taylor, we've talked about where we are at and we have talked about what is coming up and these bilateral talks

again hosted by Saudi Arabia.

Orysia, to you, how far from a sort of robust narrative, about an end to this war, do you believe we are?

We know Donald Trump wants to see an end to this as soon as possible. Many will say the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin is playing the long game. That's what

he does.

What's your sense at this point, Orysia?

LUTSEVYCH: Well, you're absolutely right saying that Trump and Putin are operating on different timelines. Trump is in a hurry and that is actually

quite dangerous because that prevents a kind of a strategic thinking and mounting the right pressure on Putin to really concede and to treat these

negotiations in genuine will.

And Putin, who has all the time he needs, he has no accountability or necessity to be accountable to his voters. It's an autocracy.

So Putin will procrastinate in these negotiations and diplomacy in order to keep America interested, for something else to be at this high table with

Donald Trump as a superpower and to, you know, to demonstrate that he can get his way regardless of what Europeans think, what other countries think.

This is his game.

ANDERSON: Very briefly, Ambassador, Russia clearly looking for the normalization of relations with the U.S. and others.

What's your sense at this point?

TAYLOR: Well, let me go back. On Trump being in a hurry and Putin being eager to drag it out, I think that's right. But that may be OK for the

United States and for Ukraine. That is, Trump has urgency. Trump wants to get this done. He wants to stop this war. That's a good thing.

[10:35:00]

Or it could be a good thing if he puts pressure on Putin to stop the war. Putin is resisting. Putin is opposed to that. Donald Trump has a mission.

He's given himself a mission. He's given his people a mission to stop this war.

And he could use the leverage that he's got. He could use the cards that he has to play, as, in his words, to put pressure on Putin to come to the

table and to change Putin's idea, to bring him to the table. So I think that could be the way to go to get to the end of this war that you're

talking about.

ANDERSON: Good to have you both. Thank you very much indeed.

And some breaking news in to CNN. An American citizen who was detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan for more than two years has been freed. A source

telling CNN, the 66-year old George Glezmann is now on his way to the United States and that a breakthrough was made by Qatar during a recent

meeting with the Taliban.

Much more on this story, of course, as we get it.

You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Time in Abu Dhabi is 6:35 in the evening. This is our Middle East programming headquarters. More news ahead

after this.

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[10:40:00]

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ANDERSON: Egypt scrambling to revive the Gaza ceasefire and hostage talks in coordination with Qatar. But with the Israeli military ramping up its

attacks on Hamas, with a ground offensive inside Gaza once again, it does beg the question of whether the Israelis actually want to get back to the

negotiating table.

I asked Tamim Khallaf from the Egyptian foreign ministry about that and what his government is hearing from the Israelis. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAMIM KHALLAF, SPOKESPERSON, EGYPT MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: This is a very serious and profound escalation. It is a setback. Back in 19th of

January, when Egypt and the United States and Qatar had announced to the world that we had achieved a ceasefire, the international community had

sighed, had expressed a sigh of relief.

And we thought that this was going to be the beginning of the end of the war between Hamas and Israel. And therefore, seeing these pictures and the

developments taking place is obviously of a serious, profound concern.

It is a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement and, therefore, we continue to exert all of the necessary efforts that we are engaging with

the relative parties in order to provide the consolidation of the ceasefire and ensure that we contain this escalation.

This is going to be a serious development and one that will trigger ripple effects, which we hope would not continue.

ANDERSON: The Israeli defense minister warning that, unless hostages are released, what follows from Israel, and I quote him here, "will be much

harsher."

That doesn't sound like an Israel prepared to return to the negotiating table, sir, does it?

KHALLAF: It doesn't. And I think it's an isolationist policy and runs diametrically opposed to what the global community would like to see. The

international community wants to see a cessation of hostilities, wants to see an end to the war.

The entire international community has seen 16 months of horror and bloodshed and Palestinians being killed. And therefore, this policy is an

isolationist one and it's an obstructionist one to the collective will of the international community, which wants to see an end to this war.

ANDERSON: You have said that you believe the international community wants to see an end to this war.

What are you hearing from the Americans on your efforts to restart ceasefire negotiations?

Are they still interested?

KHALLAF: Well, we've been engaged positively and constructively with the U.S. administration. Our foreign minister had met very recently with Steve

Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy on the Middle East.

And we had good discussions, not only on the necessity of continuing the talks and ensuring the consolidation of the ceasefire agreement but also on

the reconstruction plan, which Egypt had put forward for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Gaza.

And the discussions were positive and constructive and we continue to engage with the U.S. administration in order to achieve the relative calm

that we would like to see ensue in Gaza.

ANDERSON: Do Egypt and Qatar still have a role in these ceasefire negotiations?

Or are we not in a new reality, where it appears that Israel and the U.S. will dictate the course?

KHALLAF: Of course we are. We continue to engage constructively in this, in this process. It is of absolute importance that we continue in our

efforts in order to achieve the consolidation of the ceasefire agreement.

There is no other alternative except the ceasefire agreement in order to provide necessary calm and peace that is necessary in Gaza. But this is

also incumbent on members of the international community, to place pressure on the state of Israel because the collective will of the global community

is to see an end to this war.

ANDERSON: The collective will of the international community has gotten us nowhere with regard an end to this conflict. Israel has blockaded aid since

the beginning of March.

What's your assessment of the situation on the ground at these key border crossings?

KHALLAF: It's a very dire humanitarian situation and at a time when the ceasefire agreement had given us some hope that Palestinian people would be

afforded the necessary humanitarian aid that they deserve and that they need.

It is extremely condemnable that the state of Israel, in blatant violations of international law and its responsibility as an occupying power to

provide the necessary humanitarian access to the people in Gaza. This is a catastrophic situation that is unfolding.

We've had 5,000 trucks of humanitarian aid that have come in from Egypt into Gaza following the ceasefire agreement.

[10:45:04]

And therefore the suspension of humanitarian aid going into Gaza is again a blatant violation of international law. It will exacerbate the situation

even further among Palestinians, who are who are in dire humanitarian need.

ANDERSON: The Houthis in Yemen have claimed that their recent ballistic missile attacks directed at Israel are in support of the Palestinians. Now

reports suggest one of their missiles in the past week or so landed in Egypt's Sinai, not far from the coastal town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Can you confirm that and what is your response to this Houthi, quote, "support," ostensible support for the Palestinians with these attacks?

KHALLAF: Well, look, I think there's an outpour of anger in around the region and, quite frankly, around the world regarding Israel's practices

and activities against Palestinians.

But let me just say this. If there's one country that has been impacted directly from destabilizing activities in the Red Sea, it has been Egypt.

We've been losing approximately $800 million every single month as a result of destabilizing activities in the Red Sea, which is a total aggregate

amount of $8 billion since the beginning of the war.

And this is quite a significant amount of money for a developing country such as Egypt. And therefore, again, this is -- we need to continue

exerting all of our efforts.

ANDERSON: Do you then applaud Donald Trump's decision to go on the offensive against Houthi military infrastructure?

KHALLAF: Look, I think the way that we can end this war and the way that we can end all of these attacks that are being -- creating destabilizing

activities is precisely to end the Palestinian -- the conflict in Gaza.

We have to find the necessary solution that provides the relative peace and tranquility in this region. And therefore, the solution here is a political

one and has to be done through negotiations.

ANDERSON: Can you confirm that a or some missiles headed for Egypt landed in the Sinai?

KHALLAF: I've heard reports that have indicated so I cannot confirm the validity of that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Right. And we will have more from that conversation tomorrow, diving deeper into what is the Egyptian led plan for Gaza's reconstruction,

after, of course, the guns go silent.

More now on that breaking news that we brought you just moments ago. American citizen George Glezmann, who was detained by the Taliban in

Afghanistan, has been freed in a deal negotiated by Qatar.

A source tells CNN he is now on his way to the United States. CNN's chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt is following the latest for

us from Washington.

Alex, what do we understand to be the details on this?

How did all of this unfold?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Glezmann, Becky, has been in Taliban custody since December of 2022. So more than two

years now.

He went to Afghanistan on a personal trip in 2022. This was long after the Taliban had taken over the country and he did so to explore, he said, the

richness of Afghanistan. The Biden administration and then the Trump administration have both been working feverishly to try to get Glezmann

released by the Taliban.

In the final moments of the Biden administration, two Americans were actually released. Glezmann was not one of them and that was a big

disappointment to both administrations.

The efforts have continued. We understand that this came about after weeks of negotiations with the Taliban that were mediated and coordinated by the

Qataris. There was a breakthrough, we understand, several weeks ago, in those talks between the Taliban and Qatar, in order to get Glezmann

released.

So this really has been a long time in the making. We have seen pictures posted by the Taliban of the American delegation. It was led by Adam

Boehler, who is in charge of hostage affairs for the Trump administration.

And surprisingly, Zalmay Khalilzad, ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, who was not known, I believe, to have any real role in the Trump administration but

he had previously served in the previous Trump administration, leading those negotiations with the Taliban in order to coordinate the American

forces leaving Afghanistan.

And so we did hear from Khalilzad. He tweeted about the release of Glezmann, calling it "a goodwill gesture to Trump and the American people

on behalf of the Taliban."

From what we understand, this was not a trade. This was just a release; unlike the previous release of William McEntee and Ryan Corbett back in

January, they were released for a Taliban member who had been convicted of narcoterrorism.

So this was a show of goodwill, according to Khalilzad. We've also heard from the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who said that this is a positive

and constructive step.

[10:50:04]

It's a reminder, he says, of other Americans still detained in Afghanistan. One American that we know -- and apparently there are several, according to

Rubio -- is Mahmoud Habibi. Not too many details about him.

And in fact, the Taliban says that they are not holding him. So the efforts to continue to release other Americans do continue. But this is certainly

good news for George Glezmann today, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes, good stuff, Alex. Thank you very much indeed.

All right. It is a busy news hour. Also happening, voting, as we understand it, is either expected to or has got underway just for a new president of

the International Olympic Committee. We're going to see where that vote stands right now. And we think they have a result. So let's just listen in.

(AUDIO GAP)

ANDERSON: All right. And I've got CNN's Amanda Davies. She's been all over this. She joins me now.

Amanda, how does this one go -- or hold on for a minute. Let's just listen in again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I invited three scrutineers, along with the technicians of Lumi and the chief ethics and compliance officer, to accompany the

president outside of this room. And then we will resume here in the room and the announcement will be made by the president in 30 minutes. Please be

back in your seat in time.

Thank you very much.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON (voice-over): We have been given our schedule there. Amanda Davies has been all over this. As I say, she joins me now.

So just walk us through where we are at. Seven contenders there were at this point.

(CROSSTALK)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- Becky. I have to say that is a real surprise. This has been billed as perhaps the most hotly contested, most

anticipated election for the top job in sport, the most powerful role in sport, just the 10th ever president of the International Olympic Committee.

As exciting as watching the back of people's heads, pressing buttons, can be, that was actually quite exciting. Seven candidates, as you rightly

said. And very, very surprisingly, it seems we have a winner after the first round of voting.

A 50 percent majority was needed by the candidate. It was expected that we would go a few rounds, with some of the backmarkers being knocked out round

by round, and then their votes being shared until we ultimately got to the winner.

But it seems, after that first round of voting, the 109 members of the International Olympic Committee, who are an eclectic, diverse bunch -- from

the likes of Princess Anne and Prince Albert of Monaco to former athletes and sports people, to business lawyers and administrators.

They are the people who hold this power in their hands. And they have made a decision. I can't tell you much more than that because, I mean, it has

been likened to being like a papal conclave. It's a secret vote that is people pressing buttons. We don't hear the, you know, the breakdown of the

results.

But the members have to go in there and put their phones by the door. So often in sporting votes, you know, you'll have received a text message.

Somebody will give you a hint of how it's played out. We are waiting for the next 30 minutes and then it will be announced.

ANDERSON: Not on this occasion. Yes. Well, at least we know that we're going to get this result 30 minutes from now or 25 or so minutes from now.

What's the job description briefly for what is this prestigious role?

And what are some of the issues that the IOC president has to deal with?

DAVIES: Yes, I mean, that is no exaggeration to say it's the most powerful in sport. The outgoing president, Thomas Bach, said to me, you have to put

the athletes first.

But this is a role that is sport. It is politics, it is business. It covers all of it. And we have -- you know, Thomas Bach was a fencer who was a

lawyer, who then became the president. We have two former athletes in the mix this time, in Sebastian Coe, the British distance runner, and the

Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry.

[10:55:00]

She was looking to become the first African and the first female president in this role. But then you have the person who many people thought was the

favorite, Juan Antonio Samaranch. He's a Spanish businessman and he brings his experience from the world of business.

Also being on sporting committees but following in the footsteps of his dad, who was a former IOC president. There are so many items on the in-

tray, though, that cover both the worlds of sport and politics.

One of them, what happens in terms of the reintroduction of Russian and Belarusian athletes?

They, of course, have been banned from international sport since the invasion of Ukraine.

What do they do about gender eligibility issues?

What about their relationship with president Trump?

So much on the agenda for them.

ANDERSON: Yes. Good stuff. Well, thank you. You teed it up beautifully and we will go live with the result when we get it here on CNN. Thank you.

Just in time for tonight's "Parting Shots" and a celebration of spring that is bigger than Christmas and New Year's combined. Nowruz, which means new

day in Persian, is a celebration of rebirth and new beginnings.

It falls on the first day of spring, a time when life comes back after a long, cold winter. As well as bonfires and dinners showcasing fish, Haft-

sin is a central element of Nowruz. It consists of a colorful spread of seven items, starting with S, in Farsi, for good luck.

I tried to do my own spread here in the studio, although it's a digital one. Nowruz Mubarak from all of us here in Abu Dhabi.

That's it.

END