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Connect the World
Spain, Portugal Hit by Major Power Outage; Putin Announces Three-Day Ceasefire in Ukraine May 8; 3 Children with U.S. Citizenship Deported with Their Mothers; Spain, Portugal Hit by Major Power Outrage; Trump: Zelenskyy more interested in Peace Deal after Talk. Aired 9-9:45a ET
Aired April 28, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: You're looking at a train station in Valencia in Spain that has been hit by a massive power outage
there. Well authorities there say is impacting the entire Iberian Peninsula. It is 03:00 p.m. in Southern Spain, 05:00 p.m. here in Abu
Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching "Connect the World".
Also coming up, Russian President Vladimir Putin is declaring a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine starting next week, and he is calling on Kyiv to do
the same. The stock market in New York opens in about 30 minutes from now. Futures look relatively calm given what we've been through over the last,
what, couple of months in the midst of global uncertainty.
China denying any recent phone call between leader Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. I'll get you to New York in about 30 minutes for the opening bell
there. Let's get straight to our breaking news this hour out of southern Europe. And a massive power outage has knocked out electricity across Spain
and Portugal, causing chaos at airports, train stations and on the roads.
Portuguese national grid operator says all of the Iberian Peninsula has been impacted, and that some parts of France, what also affected, CNN's
Salma Abdelaziz is in London, Salma.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chaos and confusion, I think those are absolutely the words of the day around mid-day local time in both Spain and
Portugal, multiple towns, multiple cities, experiencing a complete electricity outage, a complete power outage. We're talking about tens of
millions of people now who are experiencing a total blackout.
You can see what those images look like there on your screen. That means trains have come to a standstill. That means airports are filled with
passengers who simply don't know what to do. This is mid-day. Remember, so schools, businesses, shops, restaurants, all of those, of course, coming to
a standstill with people struggling to figure out what's next.
Now, to that confusion, because the first question here, Becky, is of course, for everyone there, when will the power come back? Authorities say
they're scrambling to restore electricity in these places. They simply don't know the cause though, of what's caused this outage.
There are investigations underway, but of course, the priority is to bring the power back. It's also unclear how widespread this power outage is. You
mentioned those reports that these outages may go as far as France. Then you have to remember just how disruptive this is to daily life, reports
that even traffic lights are not working.
The Mayor of Madrid appealing to people to please proceed calmly, to be careful, because that is how much life has come to a standstill. Also
reports that mobile services, cell phones are not working. So, talking about communications being cut as well. So absolutely right now for tens of
millions of people, there is a sense of scramble, a sense of panic.
And no clear answer as to when these services will be restored, or why they were even cut in the first place.
ANDERSON: Salma, I'm just getting news on parts of Southwest France, briefly affected. News is coming into CNN by this power cut, but now
focusing on supporting Spain, as far as we can tell, described, certainly in the southwest of the country of France, as being briefly impacted by a
small power cut.
That's a spokeswoman for France's electricity transmission operator RTE telling CNN on Monday. Obviously, nobody wants to speculate at this point
as to what has happened, but certainly this being described in region as exceptional and extraordinary. Again, many questions about why and how long
it might take before the power is restored.
And at this point, your reporting suggests that there is no clear answer to either of those questions, correct?
ABDELAZIZ: No clear answer to either of those questions. And I think also the extent of the issue is still being understood. I mean, as you just
mentioned there, we're starting to understand just how far wide this could reach, as deep into Spain. It's also affecting cell phone services.
So again, we're trying to understand how many industries, how many services are affected by this. We talked about traffic lights just being able to
cross the street right now could be dangerous in one of these towns or cities. But you also have to think about hospitals. How are they continuing
to provide medical care, if at all, particularly emergency care if these cities have been plunged into darkness.
[09:05:00]
You also have to remember, of course, for schools, for children who aren't going to be able to have that electricity and can't even get in touch with
their parents, potentially. So, a lot of fear, a lot of concern, while authorities are scrambling, as you said, to get a hold of what is an
unprecedented power outage across Spain, Portugal and parts of Europe.
ANDERSON: Let's just hear from the Mayor of Madrid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSE LUIS MARTINEZ-ALMEIDA, MAYOR OF MADRID: At this moment, is necessary to keep all roads clear. Traffic lights are currently off, but what is
essential is that emergency services can move. We have also closed the tunnels on street 30, and at the same time, calls to 112, please, only
those that are truly urgent.
And if they are not attended to, they can go to police stations and to the fire stations of the City Council of Madrid for assistance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: So, a major power outage reported in Spain and Portugal, small power outages set in France as well. The extent of this breaking news not
clear as of yet. The countries of Spain and Portugal alone have a combined population of something like 50 million.
Authorities at this stage, then simply calling for calm as they, Salma, workout. What is going on, on the ground, why this has happened, and how
long this outage might last? Do we have any further information at this point?
ABDELAZIZ: I think what you hear there from the Mayor of Madrid is absolutely key right now, Becky, which is his concern around emergency
services, because, of course, there will be an overload, if you will, in terms of calls to emergency services, in terms of demands to emergency
services.
So, he's already beginning to understand that, and I'm sure that -- there is that sense, of course, across both those countries, that the emergency
services will be strained and they need to reach out and they need to take care of those who are most in need. But again, we don't even know how
affected communications are, because we have this indication that cell phones have also been impacted by this power outage.
So, a lot there, that's not even clear yet, because people simply aren't connected at this time. But for those authorities on the ground, the first
priority will be restoring power as quickly as possible, particularly providing those emergency services to people who need it, and then figuring
out what on earth happened here.
ANDERSON: And as you are talking, we are just getting more news into CNN. So let me just read for our viewers what we have from Spain's National
Railway Company, who say simply, all rail traffic in Spain has now come to a halt. This is from Renfe on X, the entire national electricity grid was
cut off at 12:30 p.m. local time.
That is, if you are watching in the state, 07:30 a.m. Eastern Time. That is, according to the National Railway Company, it runs more than 1000
trains a day, transporting nearly a million and a half passengers across 5000 journeys. Renfe trains include public rail services that the state
considers essential, with a travel fleet that includes high speed trains, EuroMed and intercity trains.
So as things stand at the moment, CNN reporting that all rail traffic in Spain has come to a halt, according to Spain's National Railway Company.
More on this, as we get it. We'll let you go and let you get on with talking to your sources and digging for further information. Thank you,
Salma.
Well, other Breaking News this hour, Russia's President has unilaterally declared a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine starting May the eighth, and he
is calling on Kyiv to do the same. The truce marks the 80th Anniversary of Victory Day and the defeat of Nazi Germany. CNN, Senior International
Correspondent Frederik Pleitgen is in Moscow.
He joins us now. Let's just get up to speed. What we know so far at this point? Fred, please.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Vladimir Putin, Becky, announced this ceasefire earlier today, where, as you said,
he said it would start at the beginning of May 8th and last until the end of May 10th. So, a three-day ceasefire that was announced.
And certainly, on the face of it, it makes a lot of sense for the Russians to do that to May 9th is, of course, by far the most important public
holiday here in this country, commemorating the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 and this being the 80th anniversary of that, that means it's a lot
larger than it normally even is.
[09:10:00]
But of course, that day also plays a big role in Ukraine, much of the fighting in World War Two happened in the Ukrainian SSR, which, of course,
was part of the Soviet Union back then. And a lot of people lost their lives fighting in the war back then. So certainly, both of these countries,
for them, it's an important public holiday.
However, of course, we need to see the wider context of this as well, and it does come as the U.S., and specifically President Trump seems to be
somewhat souring too, of Vladimir Putin and somewhat sour to the peace negotiations that the Trump Administration has put into place.
Of course, Steve Witkoff, the president's negotiator, was on the ground here in Moscow on Friday. And then we heard some comments from President
Trump over the course of the weekend that indicated he was somewhat disappointed in the way that the Russians were conducting themselves.
He said yesterday that he would tell us in two weeks whether or not he can trust Vladimir Putin. He also threatened possible secondary sanctions, as
he put it, against Russia, which would first and foremost hit the oil exports that, of course, Russia is still conducting on a large scale.
It does appear as though the Russians may have heard that message, because in Vladimir Putin's decree announcing that ceasefire. He also reiterated
that the Russians, as he put it, are ready for unconditional face to face negotiations, direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side.
Now, of course, all of this as the Trump Administration, though, is saying that they want an unconditional 30-day ceasefire to be put in place. And
the Ukrainians have also said that for them, unless a ceasefire is unconditional and is set in motion immediately and lasts for 30 days, they
believe that all this is as they put tactical games on the part of the Russians.
So certainly, there is that wider context here, but the way that the Russian side is portraying it, we've heard several Russian politicians come
out throughout the course of the day. Vladimir Putin is in Saint Petersburg today, where he's addressing Russian lawmakers.
They are saying they believe that now the ball is in Ukraine's court to not only accept the ceasefire, but also to enter into those direct negotiations
with the Russian side, Becky.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Fred, thank you. Let's stay on this with Former United States Ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor. It's good to
have you, William, thank you for joining us. Ambassador, first, I want to get your reaction to this announcement by the Russian President this three-
day ceasefire. Your initial thoughts?
WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: My thoughts, Becky, are the same thoughts that others have had, which are that the Russians don't
adhere to ceasefires. They keep fighting, they keep shelling, they keep attacking Ukrainian cities. This is likely no different.
And we know that President Trump and President Zelenskyy have offered President Putin a ceasefire, comprehensive ceasefire, air, land and sea for
30 days. And President Trump made that offer to President Putin, and President Putin said no. So, you got to be a little skeptical of this
ceasefire on the part of President Putin today.
ANDERSON: OK, so why this announcement very specifically now? The world saw the image of President Trump, of course, sitting with Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the pope's funeral this weekend. That was splashed across social media, and he said that this may have motivated
Putin to take this action now.
TAYLOR: I think so. I think there are probably two things. One, he does have this May 9th Victory Day coming up. But the second thing is, exactly
what you said, President Zelenskyy and President Trump had a very good, short, but a very good conversation in the Vatican, directly for the first
time, really, with no filters, with no aids, with no one else there.
They had a direct conversation, and it sounds like from both sides report, it was a very good one. And coming out of that conversation, as you
reported, President Trump is increasingly irritated with President Putin, who keeps attacking Ukrainian cities, and who keeps being the obstacle, who
continues to obstruct any movement for a real ceasefire, which President Trump is trying to get.
So, I think there is that response from President Putin. He realizes that he is starting to be on the losing side.
ANDERSON: Just getting the Ukrainian response, Ambassador. This is it. Quote, the ceasefire must be unconditional, because everything else is just
Putin's tactical games. Well, it is conditional to a degree or to the degree that it is just three days. And as you rightly point out, the
Russians have been offered a 30-day ceasefire, and that has been an offer that's been on the table now for some time.
[09:15:00]
So, I guess that begs the question, what is Russia hoping to get out of this ceasefire?
TAYLOR: They would like to get out of the ceasefire, some ability to have their celebration in Moscow. The celebration in Moscow is a Victory Day.
And clearly the Russians are not looking at victory at this point. Clearly the Russians have not accomplished anywhere near what they had hoped to
accomplish in Ukraine when they invaded, first in 2014.
But then again, of course, in 2022, so they are looking at a non-Victory Day. They're looking, if they can -- if they are still fighting it on May
9th, this is not a victory. And this will be evident to the Russian people that they have not accomplished that victory.
ANDERSON: On the point of claiming some sort of victory. Would you expect President Trump to likely claim such for himself? How do you think, or how
are you hearing at this point that this offer from President Putin is playing out in Washington?
TAYLOR: With skepticism, again, the Americans, the United States Administration has a proposal which, by the way, Becky, they may be
modifying. They may be making some changes to this proposal that we've seen last week based on input that they've gotten from the Ukrainians and from
Europeans. In London last week, there's some good suggestions that came.
And there may be a change, again, based on a growing frustration with the Russians, there may be a change in that proposal. So that's the proposal
that they would like to move forward on. This would give President Trump, if he can pull off an agreement that is satisfactory to the Ukrainians and
to the Europeans, if he can push Putin through that kind of a solution, that kind of an agreement, that would be a victory for President Trump.
ANDERSON: OK, well, we are not there by any stretch at this point, at least not from the Kremlin's perspective. We will continue to monitor this. And
it's always good to have you for your analysis and insight sir -- important. Thank you. Well, Donald Trump's policies are so unpopular in
Canada, they could affect election results.
How tensions with the United States could lead to a reversal of fortunes as the voting there begins. And the latest on our breaking news out of
Southern Europe, what we know about a massive power outage, which is ongoing as we speak. More on that is after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:00]
ANDERSON: Well, you're watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson. It's 19 minutes past 5 here in the UAE, in Abu Dhabi our Middle East
programming headquarters. It is nearly 20 past 9 on the East Coast. And to U.S. politics and the president, who often seems, let's reword that is
obsessed with poll numbers.
He faces an early reckoning. On the eve of his 100th day back in the office. A new CNN poll has Donald Trump's approval rating at 41 percent
down 7 points since late February. That is the lowest number of any U.S. President at this time in office, dating back at least 70 years.
Even on immigration, one of his main campaign planks, the numbers are lower, down from 51 percent in March to 45 percent now. The White House
Border Czar says the immigration crackdown has had a huge impact on illegal entries into the United States. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: Under first 100 days was actually January 20, April 1 last year, 184,000 illegal aliens were released into
United States. Are this administration nine?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Let's unpack all of this with Stephen Collinson in Washington. Good to have you, Stephen, always a pleasure. What do you make of the Trump
Administration's messaging on immigration? Even as our polling shows, the American people souring on Trump's handling of it in his presidency.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: I think they believe ultimately, in what they're doing, and they believe that this is a
political issue that will help the president, notwithstanding the polling. They think that this hard line is popular with the public, and to some
extent, I think they're right.
There was great concern in the Biden Administration that, that administration wasn't doing enough to secure borders. The issue here, of
course, is that it appears like a lot of people may be being swept up in these deportations, who are not having due process, who are not allowed to
challenge allegations against them.
Even in some cases, there have been some U.S. citizens who have been deported. The Trump Administration, however, I think is quite happy with
that. It wants to be seen as the tough guy. It believes it's politically the right thing to do.
ANDERSON: Right.
COLLINSON: And it is at the core of Trump's entire political philosophy.
ANDERSON: Well, to your point, three young kids who are U.S. citizens, including one with cancer, were deported with their mothers, according to
their lawyers. Just moments ago, the U.S. Border Czar commenting at a White House briefing about this very case. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOMAN: Well, as far as the U.S. 3 -- kids, I'd said from day one, if you enter this country legally, it's a crime. If remain this country legally,
and you ignore judge's order about itself, about deporting if you choose, have U.S. citizen child, knowing you're in this country legally, you put
yourself in that position.
You put your family in that position. What we did is remove children with their mothers, who requested the children de part with them. There was a
parental decision. Parental want to -- parenting one on one, the mothers made that choice. And I tell you what, we didn't do it.
The story today be Trump Administration separating families again. No, we're keeping families again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: I just wonder what? And you know, perhaps it's not as important what you make of that justification, although I'm interested to hear your
thoughts, but what the American public are likely to hear to make of that justification, Stephen?
COLLINSON: Well, certainly there is clearly a lack of compassion at the most basic humanitarian level. We've seen that in some other cases,
including that of a Maryland man, an undocumented migrant that was deported to El Salvador, against the ruling of a judge and the administration is not
doing anything to get him back from a notorious prison in El Salvador.
I think it does go to the question of how far can the president push this without alienating even more members of the U.S. public and creating a
feeling that this is not what America is all about? There are also legal questions in some of these cases. For instance, in the case of some of the
young children that were deported with their mothers, a judge has raised serious questions about whether those American citizens, the three-year-
olds, actually had due process.
But this is an administration that isn't particularly interested. I think, in the anomalies it is testing the rule of law at every moment.
[09:25:00]
And until, I think the bottom falls out of public support for this, they will continue to pursue this, whether it is compassionate or not.
ANDERSON: Its critics will say this is an administration no interest in due process whatsoever. This will continue, and we will continue to cover it.
Always good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.
COLLINSON: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Polls opening across Canada for federal elections with concerns about the U.S. looming large, Donald Trump's trade war and takeover threats
have become a major issue in the campaigns. Of course, voters are deciding if they should give interim Prime Minister Mark Carney a full mandate,
which would keep the liberal party in power, or if they give the conservatives a turn.
This election also taking place just two days after what was a tragic attack in Vancouver, a 30-year-old man now charged with the crowd ramming
that killed at least 11 people on Saturday. CNN's Paula Newton is in the Canadian capital of Ottawa. Voting has just begun in the past hour or so.
How is this anti-Trump sentiment in Canada expected to play out in these polls, Paula?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has been it has been absolutely galvanizing, in a sense, Becky, reminding Canadians that this is an
existential threat. The tariffs would have been bad enough, but the fact that Donald Trump continually says that he thinks Canada would be better
off as the 51st state that has really garnered so much anxiety in this country.
And anti-Americanism, an uncommon anti-Americanism, and that is what will be playing out in the polls today. You know, Becky, the turnaround in the
polls here, between the Liberal Party, which was led by Justin Trudeau, now led by Mark Carney, it has been historic. You have to think the
Conservative Leader, Pierre Poilievre, was actually ahead by almost 25 points just four short months ago.
Now, although polls have tightened, it does look like Mark Carney is slightly ahead, but that does not matter, right, Becky, you and I both know
what matters is what the voters say today. This will be, in fact, a very close election, as people in Canada decide who would be best in order to
fight this threat coming from Donald Trump himself, in a way, Becky, Canada has its groove back, right?
They everyone here has told me that they understand what is at stake, and they want a good fighter. I will comment as well, Becky, that the news from
Vancouver was absolutely shattering. Everyone here in the country, and mostly in Vancouver, just disturbed, really, by what they saw in this
attack.
The leaders themselves shifting around their schedules and showing an uncommon amount of emotion. And Becky, I do want to highlight that although
this campaign was in certain ways lack luster, kind of boring, even by Canadian standards, if you can imagine, but also historic in terms of the
way it's flipped the polls.
When we talk about what Canadians saw through this election, they saw very thoughtful leaders. It was a worthy election where issues were discussed
and that was taken through yesterday, which I have to say, all of the leaders took on the right tone as so many Canadians really tried to take in
what had happened here, the senseless attack and what it meant to communities all over Canada going forward.
ANDERSON: Yeah, and that attack in Vancouver, of course, coming at the very end of the main candidates' campaigns you've talked about, the tone, the
atmosphere within which those campaigning sort of dealt with that. Is it, is the attack expected to have any actual impact on the election itself?
NEWTON: No, I wouldn't say so at all. I will say one thing, though, it again brings to the fore, Becky, so many issues that so many communities
around the world deal with, right, and police say that the suspect in this case, the allegations are that he was known to police and that this person
may have been in a mental health crisis.
When you think about the ramifications of that, it doesn't matter if you are in Vancouver or Boston, the way the Vancouver Mayor was just in, he was
talking to them about security, or if you are in Berlin. What does society do to make sure that people who are in crisis get the help they need?
And also, Becky, I will point out that Vancouver police call this a watershed moment in terms of their operations. Let's talk again about the
fact that the World Cup will be coming to Vancouver next year, and everybody looking to see how they will secure those community sites.
Canadians are steadfast in saying that, look, they don't want this to turn into a police state. But even as they vote today, Becky, they are
wondering, what can mitigate these kinds of tragedies? How can you actually prevent them, and what do Canadians need to do to make sure that that
happens that will be front of mind in polls.
[09:30:00]
ANDERSON: It's always good to have you. Paula, thank you. Paula Newton is there in Ottawa. Paula and I used to do a lot of business news together
back in the day, and we used to watch this the opening bell on a regular basis on Wall Street. Well, once again, it is front and center for us.
We are about to hear the opening bell on Wall Street. These markets expected to come out of the gate a little slowly today. It has to be said
we are waiting on some significant tech earnings. In fact, I think that bell has run. We'll get a lot more news after this short break. Should we
check in on those markets now, or should we do it after?
There you go, the DOW Jones up about a quarter of 1 percent. We'll check in on these other markets after this short break. And we will also report on
eye witnesses to the chaos on the ground in Spain as a massive and ongoing power outage. It's much of Southern Europe. More on that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: An update on our breaking news this hour, a massive power outage in Southern Europe. Spain's national railway company says its operations
have been completely halted. Electricity is out across Spain and Portugal, and part of France. Madalena Malveiro is joining us from Lisbon, where she
describes a chaotic situation. Tell us just what you are seeing and experiencing.
MADALENA MALVEIRO, EXPERIENCING BLACKOUT: Hi, so a lot of supermarkets are closed. Everybody in the streets is just walking in a very fussy way.
Others are really relaxed, like just having a chill moment in restaurants. But overall, a lot of traffic.
[09:35:00]
Everybody is getting out of work to go to home. So, yeah, it's pretty much traffic. It's overall chaotic here. No, we not have no traffic lights --
ANDERSON: And it's very unclear what's happened and why? Well, we know what's happened, why it's happened, and how long it'll be until it comes
back on? Are people relatively calm? Or do you get a sense that people are sort of very concerned about what's going on?
MALVEIRO: Yeah, like in the streets, I think people are grabbing their cars and going home and buying a lot of stuff. But in social media, people are
kind of chill and jogging around like another COVID situation. So, I think it's a mix of feelings here.
ANDERSON: Just for those who don't know Lisbon, just explain what it would be like on a normal day, or a normal Monday, when the electricity is on?
And how people are going to get around, and how chaotic things will be when everybody hits the roads in their cars? Just explain for us what it's like
in the city.
MALVEIRO: OK. So, the thing is, we cannot work without internet, you know. And so, a lot of people, they don't have internet because we have some
networks that work and others that doesn't. So, there -- people are kind of confused on how long this is going to last if they stay at work with their
networks and or if they go home and wait for the -- to this -- for this to be resolved.
People are saying this going to take like, between like, one and three days, but we are not sure. So, like, we kind of, we don't know what to
expect. So yeah, but in a normal day we yeah, people are agitated more than normal.
ANDERSON: Yeah. Well, you reflect a complete sense of sort of confusion, really, but you know a sense of calm that certainly authorities across
Southern Europe, understand. We will take a very short break at this point and back with our breaking news after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson, and I want to get back to the main story this hour. Russian
President Vladimir Putin unilaterally declaring a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine to begin on May the eighth.
This also comes after President Trump sat down with Ukraine's Leader inside the Vatican on Saturday, saying, after that, Mr. Zelenskyy, see more
interested in a peace deal, but he wasn't sure if Russia's President was.
[09:40:00]
Well, CNN's Chief National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt is following all of this from D.C. And many inferring from the very positive
readouts from both sides from that meeting in Rome. Alex, that Trump's thinking has shifted somewhat. Now we are seeing Putin announce the
ceasefire. What's going on here? What does he -- where does the U.S. stand at this point? Is it clear?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the one thing that is clear, Becky, is that this frustration is growing. The
American pressure is building that Putin may indeed be feeling this pressure now that after this weekend, meeting with President Zelenskyy,
after several days of bombing the Ukrainians and seeing that American response that President Putin may be trying to show the Americans that he
is indeed perhaps trying to get to a place where the fighting could stop.
But obviously it's not clear what was said exactly between these two men and these remarkable photos in St. Peter's Basilica at the funeral of Pope
Francis. But there was that statement that President Trump put out not too long after that on Truth Social in which he pointed to those attacks by
Russian missiles on civilian areas.
And then he said, quote, it makes me think that maybe Putin doesn't want to stop the war. He's just tapping me along and has to be dealt with
differently through banking or secondary sanctions, he asks. Now, this is something that he has raised the possibility of before, if Putin doesn't go
along with things of adding more sanctions, but really, we've seen much, a much softer approach from the American side towards the Russians.
Today, we heard from President Trump's Spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt. She said that he is growing increasingly frustrated with the leaders of both
countries. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He wants to see a permanent ceasefire. I understand Vladimir Putin, this morning, offered a temporary
ceasefire. The president has made it clear he wants to see a permanent ceasefire first, to stop the killing, stop the bloodshed. And while he
remains optimistic, he can strike a deal.
He's also being realistic as well. And both leaders need to come to the table to negotiate their way out of this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUARDT: Becky, there's been a series of meetings over the course of the past few days. We're told that the sides are getting closer to agreeing to
some kind of framework, but it is clear that some gaps, significant gaps, remain. Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying, just yesterday, we saying
just yesterday, were close, but not close enough.
I think the big question we'll be asking the Trump Administration today is whether this offer of a Russian ceasefire, whether they believe that it's
actually being done in good faith, and that this is something that the Russians would actually follow through with unlike previous ceasefires,
Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Alex. Thank you.
MARQUARDT: Thank you.
ANDERSON: "World Sport", after this short break. I'll be back with more of CNN's Breaking News in about 15 minutes time. Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
END
