Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Russians Look to Raise Kursk; Pakistan/India Summit Ends in Failure

Aired July 17, 2001 - 08:31   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, one of the most important planning tools we have here at CNN is our morning conference call.

That is when we talk to our sources around the world about stories they are working on. Today we're checking in with producer Ryan Chilcote, who is on the Barents Sea, where the Russians are trying to raise the Kursk submarine, and we're also in touch with David Clinch, who is our coordinating producer of the coverage of Pakistan and India's summit in Agra, India.

David, let me start with you. What are you looking at today?

DAVID CLINCH, INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENT EDITOR: Hi, Carol.

Well, we're wrapping up, really, our coverage of the summit here in Agra. The Indians and Pakistanis had a three-day summit over the weekend which ended unsuccessfully yesterday, Monday. So today Satinder Bindra, our New Delhi bureau chief, has just filed a piece from Agra, the site of the Taj Mahal, wrapping up the Indian version of why the talks failed. Our reporter, correspondent in Islamabad, Pakistan, Nic Robertson, is filing from there today on the Pakistani version of events.

The one thing the two sides agree is that the issue of Kashmir is the one problem that still exists between them and the reason the talks failed. And on the subject of Kashmir, we have our correspondent, our Bangkok bureau chief, who is actually in New Delhi at the moment, in India, filing a piece today which will (AUDIO GAP) looking really at the anatomy of the problem of Kashmir, why it has been a problem, why it is a problem, why it most likely always will be a problem between India and Pakistan. He is going to analyze that.

And in Kashmir itself, our reporter Kasra Naji is filing on the violence there. The suggestions from analysts and from reporters that I've spoken to here is that the level of violence in Kashmir may very well rise significantly since the failure of the talks.

So that's what we're planning for today.

LIN: A lot to do today. David, logistically, what is involved in coordinating this kind of coverage? What was it like for you in Agra? CLINCH: Well, it was very interesting. I had never been in India before. I knew somewhat of what to expect, but we had problems of trying to apply our 21st century high tech equipment to a not very high tech environment. I think we blew out the power in the city of Agra a couple of times. That was one of the problems. And then things you don't really think about when you're covering a story, how to keep monkeys away from your light positions. Apparently water is the best solution, threatening them with water.

LIN: Oh, dear.

CLINCH: And language problems, obviously. There are, I don't know how many, more than 50 languages we had to deal with around here.

LIN: All of that.

CLINCH: So lots of things you, the normal things and some not very normal things.

LIN: Yes, which is what we love about the job. Thank you very much, David Clinch, for calling in.

Let's head over now to the Barents Sea, where we find producer Ryan Chilcote. Ryan, you are literally on the Barents Sea, is that right?

RYAN CHILCOTE, PRODUCER: That's correct. I'm actually now looking at the Russian coast, which is a nice sight to see because this, we're heading back into land and it means that this 10 hour trip back to land is about to end. So I'm pretty happy about that, quite frankly.

LIN: Right. What's involved in today's mission? What are you looking at?

CHILCOTE: We, our mission began yesterday. We took a 10 hour trip on a passenger ship that the Russian government organized to bring journalists out to the site where the Russian government is lifting the Kursk submarine. That's the nuclear submarine that sank a year ago. And that operation is just getting underway.

So we went out there with our reporter Jill Dougherty, the Moscow bureau chief. And she, you know, we gathered elements for a story today about the Russians undertaking this operation and looked at how complex this is. It's never really been done, bringing a nuclear submarine from down from 100 meters below the surface of the water back and bringing it into port.

And we went to Norway, actually, two days before that, to find out what the Norwegians think about it. They're obviously a little bit nervous about a nuclear submarine being raised that has reactors on it.

LIN: All right, Ryan, looking forward to your coverage today. Thanks for checking in.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com