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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Trump And Putin To Meet In Alaska For High-Stakes Summit; Possible Land-For-Ceasefire Scenarios In Ukraine; Jimmy Lai Trial Abruptly Adjourned Due To Health Emergency; Meeting Is A Reminder Of Alaska Past As Russian Colony. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired August 15, 2025 - 04:30   ET

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

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[04:30:44]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back to Early Start. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. You know, world leaders from around the world, they are keeping a very close eye on today's high stakes summit, including Germany's chancellor who is currently says that he was calling on Russia to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine at that summit.

Friedrich Merz says that the meeting between President Trump and Putin will provide an opportunity for peace. The German chancellor calling on Putin to drop all preconditions for a ceasefire and then to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

When we get to that point, though, let's bring in CNN's Sebastian Shukla now, who's live at this hour from Berlin. Sebastian, you've been watching this very closely. Do you know -- do we know this point, what Russia is saying in anticipation of the summit?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Well, the messaging coming from Moscow and the one that will be broadcast diplomatically and beamed to TV screens and written in newspapers all around the world will be about Russia's reintroduction on the international diplomatic stage.

Since February 2022, negotiating and talking with Russia was largely viewed as a no go. It had been on the diplomatic naughty step talking directly to Vladimir Putin was that heads of state generally didn't do particularly the heads and leaders of the Western world.

So when he appears alongside Donald Trump in Alaska later today, that one to one tete a tet which they will have through interpreters, then that roundtable meeting between the two heads and their respective advisers and then this slated press conference, we will see something that we have not seen for almost three years or over three years, which is Vladimir Putin taking a top seat at the negotiating table, discussing the very hottest issues on the planet and especially with regards to bringing about the end to this war in Ukraine.

I want you to take a listen to what the Russian president had to say just yesterday, previewing and trailing the summit today with Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The current American administration, which as everyone knows, is making, in my opinion, quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities, stop the crisis and reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUKLA: Now, what we will try to learn today and what we should hopefully understand is a little bit more about what exactly the discuss Russians will focus on. European leaders said this week that nothing can be discussed with regards land swapping without there being a ceasefire in place for the Russians. For their part, and particularly for Vladimir Putin, the discussions around ending the war and agreeing to a ceasefire of hostilities focus on targeting and tackling the root causes of the Ukraine crisis, as the Kremlin calls it.

And don't forget, this war was begun on a pretext of a denazification and the fact that European powers were encroaching too close to Russia's borders. President Putin has viewed the Ukraine issue as existential to Russian national security. And, you know, we'll start to see the messaging come out now, percolate slowly. I think we'll start to hear it ramp up, particularly as morning comes in Alaska.

But last night, as the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov arrived, he spoke to reporters and he said, you know, we never make any plans advance. We know that we have arguments are clear and understandable position. We will present it.

What European leaders and what President Trump is alleged to have agreed on is that the idea of land swapping is a complete and utter no go, particularly without Ukrainians being at the table and particularly without an agreement of a ceasefire being in place before anything is discussed before then. We will wait to see, Polo. It's going to be a really interesting day diplomatically to see how all of this shakes out.

[04:35:04]

SANDOVAL: Without a doubt. Sebastian, thank you so much for all your reporting there out of Berlin.

You know Mr. Trump, he has suggested a peace agreement could require some sort of give and take, a give and taking of territory in Ukraine. Russia has reportedly demanded more land as a condition for ceasefire. But as Nick Paton Walsh explains, actually giving up territory, that is hard, if not nearly an impossible sell for Ukraine.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Any peace deal in Ukraine is going to ultimately be about land. And when President Trump talks about swapping territories, this is Russian occupied areas. But it's these three parts here, black surrounded, that have always been part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most maximalist war goals. It's what he wants.

The lines we've drawn as best as we can here. But the stakes are incredibly high. Any minor inaccuracy of my pen could be a place that thousands people have fought and died for or still live.

Now, in just recent days, there's been a tiny advance here by the Russians, but it's significant and caused some concern and even denials and reinforcements sent from Kyiv. But this Donetsk area is potentially, if we understand what the Kremlins proposed, somewhere they want Ukrainians to withdraw from entirely in exchange for a ceasefire.

And look at it's a huge area. What could they give back? These tiny border parts, occupied by Russia, a buffer zone, President Putin calls it. But it's hardly a fair exchange. And so the real hard to solve question, what happens to Zaporizhzhia here and Kherson?

Now Russia occupies probably about 2/3 of each, but Putin wants all of it. They were kicked out the Russians here in the first year of the war. But it's impossible to imagine Ukraine deciding to pull out of massive areas like this. And equally impossible to imagine the Russians will give up a big strategic gain of a land corridor that they managed to take when the big invasion began, down to Crimea that they've hold since 2014. That's the sticking point and there's very little obvious way through it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Great analysis from Nick there. Still to come, media tycoon Jimmy Lai. He appears in court, but the proceedings were quickly adjourned and tell you why with the latest out of Hong Kong.

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[04:42:10]

SANDOVAL: Story that's developing at this hour, the trial for Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai that came to an abrupt halt earlier today after a judge actually paused proceedings until Monday.

Closing arguments, those were actually set to begin, but Lai's defense attorneys, they raised concerns about his health, specifically his heart. A 77-year-old appearing thin and even frail during court. And a judge ruled that it was not prudent to carry on until his medical needs have been attended to and addressed. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout picks up that story.

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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm standing outside the court where the national security trial of Jimmy Lai is hearing closing arguments. A number of people are standing outside waiting in line, braving the high humidity and occasional rain to bear witness to this event. Security is tight. Police officers, police vehicles are out in Florida force. People across Hong Kong and around the world are watching this trial very closely.

LU STOUT (voice-over): Jimmy Lai was the media mogul who risked his fortune for Hong Kong's freedom. Now awaiting his fate in jail, he is a flashpoint between the U.S. and China. Before his victory in October 2024, Donald Trump, in a phone interview with Hugh Hewitt, vowed to secure Lai's release, saying he would do so, quote, 100 percent, yes. And as President Trump pledged to raise Lai's case in trade talks with China.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think talking about Jimmy Lai is a very good idea. We'll put it down, and we'll put it down as part of the negotiation.

LU STOUT: In a radio interview with Fox News this week, Trump said.

TRUMP: I am going to do everything I can to save him.

LU STOUT: Two people campaigning for Lai's release say that they were told U.S. officials did bring up Lai's case during the talks. Since those talks, the U.S.-China trade truce has been extended, but China is standing firm, its U.S. embassy spokesman saying, we strongly oppose external forces using judicial cases as a pretext to interfere in China's internal affairs or to smear and undermine Hong Kong's rule of law.

A rabble rousing tycoon behind a popular pro-democracy tabloid, Jimmy Lai had long been a thorn in the side of Beijing. His high profile trial, which began nearly two years ago, is now coming to an end. He's charged with two counts of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security, along with a separate charge of sedition. He's pleaded not guilty.

His arrest after a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing, which China and local leaders said restored stability to Hong Kong after months of anti-government protests in 2019.

At that time, Lai had lobbied foreign governments to apply pressure on China and made this direct appeal to President Trump.

JIMMY LAI, FOUNDER, APPLE DAILY: Mr. President, you're the only one who can save us. If you save us and stop China suppression, you also save the world.

[04:45:08]

LU STOUT (voice-over): Prosecutors say Lai's actions amount to lobbying for sanctions against Hong Kong and China, which is banned under the National Security Law. His lawyers argue he stopped doing so after the law came into effect. Day one of closing arguments was adjourned due to concerns for Lai's health. Lai has spent more than 1,600 days in prison, much of it in solitary confinement.

SEBASTIAN LAI, JIMMY LAI'S SON: If you put a 77-year-old man in a concrete box in solid confinement. Solid confinement, by the way, is a form of torture, right? So 15 days of solid confinement is prolonged solid confinement. You put him in a concrete box under the Hong Kong sun for essentially close to half a decade. It is detrimental to his life. That's not conjecture. That's just a basic factor.

LU STOUT (voice-over): The Hong Kong government says Lai had requested his removal from the general prison population. And the remarks by Sebastian Lai regarding Lai Chee-ying's solitary confinement are completely fact twisting, reflecting a malicious intention to smear and attack the HKSAR government.

Lai faces a possible sentence of life in prison. And for the 77-year- old, life would most likely mean life. Lai has already been in jail for nearly five years. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Coming up, we'll take you back to your top story as the U.S. and Russian presidents get ready to head to Alaska for a historic summit. But the meeting has some Russians reminiscing about how the region went from a Russian colony to a U.S. state. Look at the symbolism behind the location of the summit after this break.

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[04:51:08]

SANDOVAL: And in just a matter of hours, Donald Trump will be leaving Washington as heads to Alaska for a summit with Vladimir Putin. Now, this meeting is raising awareness of a storied past between Alaska and Russia. In fact, some Russian nationalists, they are seizing on this summit to reignite this debate, claiming that Alaska should still belong to their country, as it did until the U.S. purchased it in 1867. CNN's Tom Foreman with this look back.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not exactly a home field advantage for Vladimir Putin, but Alaska might feel like home, a vast land with centuries old cultural, political, business and military ties to his country.

JILL DOUGHERTY, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Every Russian knows that Alaska used to be part of Russia. And when you get into kind of the far right nationalists, they want it back.

TRUMP: I'm going to see Putin. I'm going to Russia on Friday.

FOREMAN (voice-over): President Trump stumbled this week in calling Alaska Russia, but some Russian commentators are speaking clearly. Alaska is our wound that never heals, one said on Russian TV. Why? In the 1700s, Alaska was claimed by the Russian empire, a place where Russian fur traders violently pushed aside and enslaved native people.

And Russian missionaries established Orthodox churches, dozens of which still exist. When the United States bought Alaska in 1867 for just over $7 million or 2 cents an acre, many Americans considered it a foolish deal until vast reserves of natural resources proved otherwise.

Ever since, some Russians have persisted in their belief that they were swindled. And Alaska remains as much Russian as American. The descendants of Russian colonists, another commentator notes, for them, everything around is part of a common heritage.

The two nations are physically quite close, about two and a half miles, separate islands belonging to Russia and Alaska, mainland to mainland, it's about 55 miles.

SARAH PALIN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.

FOREMAN (voice-over): So while Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was ridiculed for this comment in 2008.

PALIN: I can see Russia from my house.

FOREMAN (voice-over): She was also right. In World War II, when the Soviet Union was an American ally, some downed Soviet pilots were buried in Alaska. The summit will take place near their graves. And even though the Cold War saw Alaska emerge as a powerful military position for keeping an eye on the Soviets, plenty of Russians still nostalgically eye Alaska.

DOUGHERTY: Land, territory, language, culture, history. That is really important to Russians. So when they look at Alaska, it's all there and they remember it used to be ours.

FOREMAN: And of course, all of this could play into an idea central to Russia's argument about Ukraine, the notion that just because some land was once part of one nation doesn't mean it can't be part of another. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

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SANDOVAL: So what about residents and tourists who are in Alaska right now? Here's how they're reacting to these two leaders heading their way later today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING LEE, TOURIST FROM MARYLAND: I found it ironic that were going to be here when my two favorite dictators are going to be in the city. No, I just think it's a distraction to alleviate some of the other issues Trump is facing.

JUSTIN AHSAN, ANCHORAGE RESIDENT: Yes, you know, I heard about it's something to go with the Ukrainian war. So, you know, I hope peace goes out. You know, we don't want another war.

[04:55:07]

JEAN PAUL BAQUIRAN, ANCHORAGE RESIDENT: I think it's great. I mean, Alaska is very vital to the United States and it's a prominent state for, you know, the red state as you can say. Trump is a big, you know, factor here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Well, demonstrators, they gathered on Thursday along a road in central Anchorage to show support for Ukraine. They are asking President Trump to arrange a peace deal without conceding Ukrainian territory over to Russia.

Thank you for joining us in the last hour here on Early Start. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York, but I'll be right back with much more news after the break.

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