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New Day Sunday

World Leaders Race for Peace Deal; Holding Onto Hope for Kayla; Bruce Jenner Involved in Fatal Car Crash; Brian Williams Temporarily Stops Anchoring

Aired February 08, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Next hour of your NEW DAY starts now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: So glad to have your company as always. I'm Chris Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you.

PAUL: Yes, we want to begin this morning with some breaking news we're getting out of Ukraine -- deadly shelling is continuing to rock the city of Donetsk this morning.

BLACKWELL: Now, according to pro-Russian rebels here, eight people were killed this weekend in clashes. Ukrainian forces say they lost 12 soldiers while eliminating -- that's their word -- 70 insurgents across the conflict zone.

PAUL: Despite some failed efforts to broker a peace deal, we had just learned that the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France have reportedly all agreed to meet in Belarus on Wednesday.

BLACKWELL: CNN's senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh joins us live in Donetsk.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have been hearing consistent shelling since we woke up this morning and the morning before that. No signs of the artillery exchanges happening around this, the key strong hold of the self declared People's Republic is letting up at all. But you mentioned that plan for potentially the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, Germany, the so-called Normandy format, all meet in the Belarusian capital on Wednesday.

Now, there are a lot of work that has to be done before that. Imagine the symbolism, frankly, those four heads of state all going to the same place to talk peace. It pretty much has to succeed in some way or know where it's going for them to take that kind of high visibility move. There will be further meetings apparently happening in Berlin tomorrow to discuss exactly how some sort of agreement could be fashioned here. But we know what the problem is. Ukraine doesn't want its

territorial integrity touched here. Obviously the separatists by name consider themselves to be separate from Ukraine here and have ambitions to be closer to Russia potentially maybe part of the agreement may involve some sort of what we refer to as a frozen conflict status for the Donetsk region, perhaps administered by peacekeepers. That's one option. But that won't really to many Ukrainians liking, and perhaps also not necessarily giving up territory to the separatists who are advancing on many areas, it seems, with quite a degree of success.

So, a very complicated task ahead before everyone meets on Wednesday and a lot can still go wrong here before that Minsk meeting -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: There is some good news we're hearing from the Ukrainian president that progress, his word, has been made today. We'll see if that progress ends with an agreement, some deal in Belarus.

Nick Paton Walsh for us in Donetsk, thank you, Nick.

PAUL: Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry is weighing in on the crisis in Ukraine. He spoke a short time ago in Munich, Germany, where he is attending a security conference there. And he reiterated there's no military solution to the Ukraine conflict and said the U.S. and Europe are still united on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are united. We are working closely together. We all agree that this challenge will not end through military force. We are united in our diplomacy. But the longer that it takes, the more the off-ramps are avoided, the more we will be forced to raise the costs on Russia and its proxies.

This much I can assure you -- no matter what the United States, France, Germany and our allies and partners, no matter what, we will stand together in support of Ukraine in a defense of the common understanding that international borders must not, cannot be changed by force in Europe or anywhere else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Now, earlier today, I asked State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki whether the U.S. is considering support or would be willing to provide arms to Ukraine itself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPT. SPOKESWOMAN: We're talking about with weapons and reports of weapons are defensive weapons. Obviously there's a lot we're weighing to determine whether or not that kind of assistance is something we're going to be delivering from the United States. We're not talking about military force, we're talking about defensive weapons to help the people of Ukraine and the government of Ukraine defend themselves.

But there is a lot we're weighing in this decision. Nobody wants to have a proxy war with Russia. Nobody is talking about a military solution. We are on exactly the same page as our European partners on that front.

PAUL: In terms of defensive weapons then, when you discuss -- when that comes into the discussion, is the U.S. the only ones talking about defensive weapons or are there other nations that would back the U.S. on that?

PSAKI: Well, I think, one, we've been, working in lock step, at every stage in this process. There's been debates about the tactics.

The secretary just talked about sanctions. When we first started talking about sanctions, there were a number of countries that weren't sure if that was the right approach. We did. We pushed for it, and at the end of the day we worked in lock step to put in sanctions in a -- new sanctions in place that really held Russia accountable.

I'm not sure where we'll end with this, where the United States will decide, whether we'll decide we're going to do more in assistance in the form of defense of weapons or not. We're going to be talking to other countries about what they're willing to do. We haven't made the decision at this point to provide that kind of assistance.

PAUL: The vice president said yesterday to Russian president, get out of Ukraine or face the consequences. Help the U.S. understand what are those consequences.

PSAKI: Well, we've already put in place a range of consequences in the form of economic sanctions, not just the United States but our European partners as well. And there's no question the Russian economy is feeling the pain and the impact of those sanctions.

The fact is, we have a range of options at our disposal. Everyone knows we're discussing defensive weapons and whether or not that's an appropriate type of weapons. We've also provided a range of economic assistance, a range of nonlethal assistance in the form of material.

So, there are a lot of steps we can take. Our focus here, our goal I should say is not to continue to isolate Russia, it's not to continue to preserve our economy, it's for Russia to change their behavior.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: We also talked about the fight against ISIS and the coalition strategies. So, we're going to have more from that in just a couple of few minutes.

BLACKWELL: Kimberly Marten joins us now. She is a professor of political science at Columbia University.

Kimberly, it's good to have you with us. KIMBERLY MARTEN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Thank you, Victor. Good

to be here.

BLACKWELL: So, the leaders are headed back to Minsk. Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France meeting here. What I see here, tell me what you think, there would have to be some major concession because there is no low hanging fruit here on which these parties can agree?

MARTEN: Well, I think everybody is clear that these are last ditch attempts to resolve the situation. One thing to consider is that our European partners are incredibly important because they have a tool at their disposal that they have not yet used. They could kick Russia out of the SWIFT banking system which would mean Russian enterprises and industries that do any kind of international business whatsoever would not be able to send money through any kind of international banks and it was that step of kicking Iran out of the SWIFT system that had a very big impact on the sanctions in Iran. So, there are alternatives here that the Europeans could put forward.

BLACKWELL: Any indication they will do that?

MARTEN: It's not clear. But one thing to think about when we're talking about the possibility of sending weapons, it's also not clear that sending weapons to Ukraine would make any difference. All the evidence we have is Putin is going to push ahead militarily no matter what happens on the military side. They're so much stronger on the military side.

BLACKWELL: I wonder when we send these weapons, are the Ukrainians ready to use them in the way that they say they need them for defensive measures? Because you may also have to send U.S. troops?

MARTEN: The real concern is that there would have to be U.S. advisers on the ground, both to help in training the Ukrainian troops to use the weapons and in monitoring how they are used, because Ukraine is filled with informal militias who are not under central control of Kiev.

And what that means is that U.S. weapons could be sent in a way that they were targeting civilians. We know that the Ukrainian security forces are also penetrated by Russian agents. Russian agents could give incorrect coordinates to the Ukrainians to make it look like the U.S. was targeting civilians. Or even that they were targeting Russian territory. It would give him more support for taking even stronger military action against Ukraine.

BLACKWELL: Kimberly, we have a statement from the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Let's put it up on the screen for everyone. It says they also expect that their efforts during the Minstk meeting will lead to bilateral cease-fire. Does diplomacy have a chance of working?

MARTEN: It could work temporarily. But what we have seen is that up until this point Vladimir Putin has not taken the idea of cease-fire seriously. The Minsk agreement has never worked. And so, there will have to be a real commitment on the part of Russia to change the direction it has taken and the support of rebels in Eastern Ukraine.

And so, we have not seen evidence of that but we can always hope that something will change, that the domestic pressure on Putin may become strong enough that he doesn't have any choice except to start not continuing the aggression.

BLACKWELL: All right. Kimberly Marten at Columbia University -- thanks so much.

MARTEN: Thank you, Victor.

PAUL: Well, an Arizona is missing somebody that they loved dearly. Kayla Mueller left Prescott to go to Syria, and she did this to help war refugees. She was kidnapped by ISIS, and Kyung Lah is in Prescott, Arizona, with more.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the agony, the waiting is weighing heavily on this town as it waits and hopes to hear some words soon about Kayla Mueller. That story coming up in a live report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Thirteen minutes past the hour this morning.

There's an Arizona town that can only wait. They're hoping, they're praying that one of their own is going to come home safely.

It's been a year and a half at this point since Kayla Mueller disappeared in Syria. She was kidnapped by ISIS militants. And her parents are begging ISIS to contact them directly.

This, of course, after the terrorists claimed a Jordanian airstrike killed her. ISIS has shown no proof of that, we want to point out.

But CNN's Kyung Lah is in Mueller's town of Prescott.

And I know that you've been talking to a lot of people there who knew Kayla, who know her. What are they telling you about her? Help us understand her more.

LAH: Well, Christie, she basically represents the best of this town and, frankly, in this country. She grew up here. A lot of people know her and she grew up wanting to change the world. Everyone we met said this, that they hope to learn the truth about her soon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (voice-over): The signs of anguish remain quiet but palpable in Prescott, Arizona, an idyllic town oceans away from the savagery of Syria. Twenty-six-year-old Kayla Mueller, an ISIS hostage for more than a year, but to those who know her in Prescott, even as a teenager, she was a defender of social justice, especially for those who cannot fight. Northern Arizona professor Carol Thompson taught, advised and

then befriended Mueller.

PROF. CAROL THOMPSON, NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY: She profoundly understood that peace will not come without justice and it's useless to have peace without justice.

LAH (on camera): Professor Thompson teaches here in Arizona. We spoke by telephone because she's on sabbatical in Zimbabwe helping farmers. Kayla Mueller thought she might follow Thompson's footsteps and work in Africa.

(voice-over): But it's this conflict, Syria, and its nearly 4 million refugees that captured her heart. She posted this video supporting refugees in 2011.

KAYLA MUELLER: I am in solidarity with the Syrian people. I reject the brutality and killing that the Syrian authorities are committing against the Syrian people.

LAH: By the following year, she would make her first trip to the Syrian/Turkish border. Professor Thompson says they spoke often and at length about social justice versus personal risk.

THOMPSON: Kayla went very much beyond me, her professor, to join in the suffering and, yes, she knew very profoundly the risks of that and that was her choice.

LAH: A choice friends say her parents supported. This weekend, they remain surrounded by spiritual counsel, family and friends as they have since her capture awaiting the truth about their daughter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: We have been in people who are speaking with the family. They say the worst part for them, for anyone who loves Kayla Mueller, is the not knowing -- Victor, Christi.

BLACKWELL: Kyung, we know about these communications between the Mueller family and is. It appears that they've had communications back and forth and when they referenced that, you know, she was your guest. Do we know if the government knew about these communications and how and how often they communicated?

LAH: We haven't spoken directly to the family so we don't know the number of communications or exactly in what format, but certainly the government has been linked-in from the very start, from all the comments we've heard from Washington.

The parents here have been in touch with the government and looping them in with their communications with ISIS. We can't characterize what those conversations are, but we know from the statement that the family has recently release that they want to talk directly with is, they want to find out what happened to their daughter. They did release that public statement because they're hoping is will hear and that someone will either contact them directly by telephone or use some sort of electronic communications to reach the family.

BLACKWELL: All right. Kyung Lah for us in Prescott, Arizona, thank you so much.

PAUL: And, of course, there were new airstrikes this weekend in Iraq and Syria, but with Secretary of State John Kerry saying there's more to the fight against ISIS than on the battlefield, we want to take a look at what could be next. What's the next step here for the U.S. and coalition forces?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Twenty-two minutes past the hour. And as Jordan ramps up airstrikes against ISIS targets, Secretary of State John Kerry says beating the terror group on the battle field is not enough. A long- term fight has to be won in classrooms, community centers and churches. He goes on to say there has to be a focus on ISIS recruitment.

Earlier today, I asked State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki how the U.S. and other coalition members plan to do that?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PSAKI: And the fact is there's been a lot of focus for good reason on the military component of the anti-ISIL coalition. But there are four other components that we're working with our international partners with, more than 60, on how to address, not just going after foreign fighters and financing but also delegitimizing ISIL, because if we can't delegitimize the ideology, then we can't go after the growth of this mentality.

And he talked a little bit today as well as part of that discussion about providing opportunities and part of what we're looking at around the world now is that young people don't have economic opportunities, they don't have alternate choices. So, we need to work on a way to present alternate choices to the young people who are becoming recruits to terrorist organizations like ISIL, like al Shabaab, like Boko Haram around the world.

PAUL: Moving on to Jordan here, the interior minister has been very clear, saying this is our war. This is not a war of the West. If Jordan -- and they seem to have been successful with airstrikes, and I know the U.S. supported those airstrikes. If Jordan would choose to send ground troops in, does that mean the U.S. will do the same?

PSAKI: We've been clear that we're not considering sending ground troops in. That's not going to change. Obviously every country makes their own decisions and we certainly generally support them in that.

Our view is that the ground troops are going to be primarily Iraqi forces fighting against ISIL in Iraq. We've seen some success with the opposition forces. We're starting our train and equip program next month fighting against ISIL in Syria. Obviously, different countries will make their own decisions. The United States is not planning on sending ground troops in, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: A U.S. military official has told CNN the military is prepared to recommend ground forces if ISIS maintains defenses around the Iraqi city of Mosul. Officials say Iraqi forces could begin to retake the ISIS strong hold as soon as April.

BLACKWELL: There have been lots of reports and conversations on television about Bruce Jenner in the past couple of weeks but now it's for a different reason. The Olympic hero involved in a deadly crash that sent seven people to the hospital.

(COMMECIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Twenty-eight minutes after the hour.

Now, here's a look at stories developing this morning. Reality star and Olympian Bruce Jenner was involved in a fatal car crash yesterday afternoon in Malibu.

Here's what authorities are telling us. First, that there's no evidence he was being chased by photographers. Jenner's publicist tells CNN that he was not injured in the crash but one person died. Five children, two adults also sent to hospitals with injuries. The Los Angeles County sheriff's department is, of course, investigating this case.

PAUL: And "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams announced he's temporarily stepping down. He's under investigation by NBC over the accuracy of a story he told about his 2003 war mission in Iraq.

Here's part of his statement. Quote, "I've decided to take myself off of my daily broadcast for the next several days and Lester Holt has kindly agreed to sit in for me to allow us to adequately deal with this issue. Upon my return, I will continue my career-long effort to be worthy of the trust of those who place their trust in us."

And we'll, of course, keep you posted on all of that and more. But we're so grateful you started your morning with us. Make great memories.

BLACKWELL: "INSIDE POLITICS WITH JOHN KING" is next, and then "STATE OF THE UNION WITH DANA BASH". Stay with us this morning.