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Quest Means Business

Trump Get Warm Welcome in Qatar on His Middle East Trip; Trump Brand Expands as U.S. Strengthens Middle East Ties; Cassie Ventura Gives Second Day of Testimony in Combs Case; Interview with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani Amid Trump Visit; Trump Family's Growing Crypto Empire. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired May 14, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:13]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: So the market taking a bit of a breather, a bit up, a bit down, but yes, it is a breather. And you know

what? We will take it. Those are the markets and these are the main events.

Donald Trump announces a blockbuster Boeing deal on his visit to Qatar. This hour, the Qatari Prime Minister joins us live. Stay tuned for that.

Germany's chancellor wants to build Europe's strongest conventional army.

And the daughter of a French crypto boss narrowly escapes a kidnaping attempt.

Live from New York. It is Wednesday, May 14th. I am Paula Newton, in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

And a good evening to everyone. The second day of U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East visit featured an historic meeting and a major aircraft

deal.

The President spent much of the day in Qatar, a convoy of red cyber trucks you see them there, led him to the Emir's offices, where he was met by

riders and Arabian horses.

Before leaving Riyadh, Mr. Trump sat down with Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa. It was the first time in a quarter century that the

leaders of the two countries have met.

Now, during the visit, President Trump announced a major deal between Qatar Airways and Boeing. The White House says the agreement is for up to 210

jets and is worth possibly $96 billion. The company could use the orders. It faced difficult headwinds last year after the door plug blew off a 737

Max, revealing significant quality control issues, and a strike forced the company to pause production.

Now you'll want to stay tuned for this. Becky Anderson will be live with the Qatari Prime Minister in just a moment. First, though, we do want to

get straight to our Stephen Collinson, who has been following all of this from Washington.

You know, Stephen, I expected that Middle East would be talking policy. I did not expect to be speaking so much about planes on so many levels, and a

consequential visit, really, in so many ways.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, and I think this is the way that Donald Trump sees his presidency and the Gulf States are the

perfect place for him to put his belief that he is there to make deals, to drum up business and investment for the U.S. economy, and that is what he

is doing right throughout this trip.

The deal for Boeing, as you say, is a boost for a company that has been really, going through the wringer in the United States over the last four

or five years. Trump has actually been a very big critic of Boeing because he is angry about the delays and the cost overruns on the two Boeing 747

jets that will in future serve as Air Force One. That's what has led to this whole other side issue that has taken a lot of the political focus of

this trip.

The intention of the Qataris to perhaps gift a $400 million Boeing 747-8 to Trump that he could use as the future Air Force One until those jets come

on stream and which then apparently would be sent to his presidential library. So it is all about Boeing, although the Syria issue you mentioned

there, I think is really significant and perhaps will be the biggest geopolitical takeaway of the trip.

NEWTON: Yes, and whether you are talking about Syria or Qatar, I mean, a policy shift for the United States, indeed, I am wondering what the

reaction has been there in Washington. There have been a lot of headlines about that airplane and the fact that even Republicans do not want Donald

Trump to take that airplane, that gift of an airplane from Qatar. And yet, there is a lot more at stake here even beyond that airplane.

COLLINSON: Yes, there has been a backlash against the issue of taking this plane, including from some Republicans who are normally allied with Trump

on Capitol Hill. The big concerns, of course, are the fact that this could infringe the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits foreign leaders giving

American presidents gifts because of the obvious conflict of interest issues, and there is the question of whether this plane is secure, whether,

you know, given the fact it has been out there in the world and people have known that Trump is interested in it, has it been played to the actions of

foreign intelligence agencies?

It would probably cost hundreds of millions of dollars to get this jet stripped down, to make sure there is no surveillance devices on it and to

give it the extra protections that the Air Force One usually has. For example, the President is supposed to be able to keep airborne indefinitely

on Air Force One in the event of a nuclear war. So that has taken some of the focus.

We haven't had a great deal of reaction yet in the United States to the lifting of sanctions against Syria, which is a potentially controversial

move, especially because this was something that was opposed by the Israelis.

[16:05:13]

It is significant that Trump will not be going to Israel on this trip to the Middle East. There is daylight opening up, in fact, between the Trump

administration and the Israelis on not just the issue of Syria, but over Yemen, the deal that the U.S. supposedly did with the Houthis to stop

firing, which didn't apply to Israel. The Iran talks as well, which were jumped on Netanyahu the last time he was in Washington. So that's a really

interesting wrinkle of this trip, I think.

NEWTON: Right. Stephen, stay with me here as we continue to watch live pictures here. That is Donald Trump with the Emir getting the FIFA soccer

ball. We would call it football in other parts of the world.

Remember the United States, Canada and Mexico will be hosting, jointly the next FIFA World Cup, and he is taking it because Qatar was quite

controversially the last host of the World Cup. I say controversial, not for the games, but what happened before, which, again, Stephen just

highlights some of the pitfalls in terms of the way this President has decided to do business with the Middle East.

And whether it is Syria, when you're talking face-to-face with a man who used to be on the terrorists most wanted list, but now leads Syria or the

Emir here, who has had his fair share of controversies.

COLLINSON: That's true. I mean, a lot of lawmakers in the United States are still very suspicious of Qatar's links to Hamas. The fact that Hamas had an

office in Doha in the same way, in fact, as the Taliban had an office in Doha during the Afghan war.

Those links that the Qataris had, however, have been very useful to the United States in foreign policy because they allow them to act as an

intermediary for the United States with groups that it would not be able to publicly meet for political reasons, obvious reasons.

It is interesting as well, the World Cup, when it was in Qatar, it was a sign, as this trip by the President is of the increasing influence of those

Gulf countries, a shift of power from the West to the East, to these oil rich companies with a great deal of money to spend.

You know, they're buying up World Cups, they're buying sports teams and sports leagues. The World Cup, after it has been in the United States and

then in Spain and Morocco; the next time, it will be going back to the Gulf, to Saudi Arabia in 2034, and the head of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, he

has been a lot around Trump recently.

He was in the White House recently. He is on this trip. He seems to pop up in a lot of places where President Trump shows up.

NEWTON: Indeed, he has been in the Oval Office more than once, and I noticed prominently in the Oval Office that you do have the FIFA World Cup

there, the prize in front of or just behind the shoulder of the President a couple times. Again, sports mingling with Big Business there and also

geopolitics.

Stephen Collinson, grateful to you as we continue to watch these live events from Doha, and a reminder that we will bring you Becky Anderson's

interview with the Emir as soon as we have it.

Now, Donald Trump's first big overseas trip. We were just discussing it. This is the first one of his second term, and it is all about Big Business

and business for his family as well.

Critics say the dealmaker-in-chief is focused less on diplomacy and more on the Trump brand, with plans for luxury skyscrapers, golf courses, resorts

and real estate across much of the Middle East.

CNN's Kyung Lah has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN, SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A close look at the Trump organization portfolio finds the Trump family's business

ties to the Middle East have more than tripled since his first term in office, according to a CNN tally.

Even after Trump retook office, the Trump brand has been out promoting flashy new construction projects in countries President Trump is visiting

this week.

ERIC TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP'S SON AND VICE PRESIDENT OF TRUMP ORGANIZATION: On behalf of my family. We love Dubai. We love the Gulf.

LAH (voice over): In Dubai, a new Trump International Hotel and Tower; in Saudi Arabia, a new Trump Tower in Jeddah and two projects in Riyadh.

E. TRUMP: We are going to redefine luxury anywhere in the world.

LAH (voice over): His sons sealing deals for projects around the Middle East.

PRESENTER: The project, unlike any other.

LAH (voice over): In Oman, Don, Jr. and Eric Trump met with the Crown Prince last summer about a Trump branded resort being developed with the

nation's tourism arm.

PRESENTER: Trump International Hotel Oman.

LAH (voice over): In Qatar, a Trump branded golf club announced just last month, involves a firm that's headed by a Qatari official and backed by

Qatar's Sovereign Wealth Fund.

A Trump organization spokesperson says the company does not conduct business with any government entity, adding the Trump branding agreement on

the Qatar project is with a builder, a separate company.

[16:10:00]

Eric Trump, is currently in charge of Trump Org decisions and has promised to keep them separate from his father. But the President still owns the

company, so he stands to make money on any successful deal, whether he's involved or not. The Trump organization has said Trump would put his assets

in a trust managed by his children.

E. TRUMP: We'll make sure that there's no conflicts and we will have those signed off by the best legal teams in the world.

LAH (voice over): During his first term, Trump's company pledged to make no new deals overseas, but not this time around. And it's not just Trump's

real estate deals.

An Abu Dhabi backed fund is using a cryptocurrency from the Trump family crypto firm World Liberty Financial for a $2 billion investment.

Critics say the result the public can't separate Trump the President from Trump the businessman.

NOAH BOOKBINDER, CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON: Is he making the decision from the basis of what's in the United States'

interest? What's in the American people's interest, or is he looking to benefit his business partners, his own business, his own bottom line?

LAH (voice over): The White House rejects those questions.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing

anything for his own benefit.

LAH (voice over): Trump says his business relationships aren't just for the billionaires, but for Americans.

D. TRUMP: It's an honor to have such a great investor investing in our country.

LAH (voice over): One publicized early win came from this Emirati billionaire, Hussain Sajwani. He built a Trump branded golf course and

villas in Dubai years ago, and spent New Year's Eve at Mar-a-Lago. He's promising to invest $20 billion in U.S. data centers. I sat down with

Sajwani earlier this year.

LAH (on camera): The election of Mr. Trump impacted the decision to invest.

HUSSAIN SAJWANI, CHAIRMAN, DAMAC PROPERTIES: Yes, impacted from the point of view that we think it's going to be more pro-business. And if that

happens, of course we'll invest.

LAH (on camera): How important is the Trump name to your business, to your brand?

SAJWANI: It's very important, those villas we have done. We made money out of them, you know, and customers are happy and we are happy and he's happy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Okay. Germany's new chancellor is calling on the West to have more of a united front, ahead of potential peace talks between Ukraine and

Russia on Thursday. It was part of Friedrich Merz's first major speech in Parliament since taking office. He also laid out an ambitious plan to boost

growth in Europe's top economy, and is vowing to make Germany's Army the strongest in Europe.

Anna Stewart has been taking a look for us. She joins us now live in London.

Good to see you, and you know, the strongest conventional army in Europe. That's what he was just articulating, it is quite the ambition and a

watershed moment really in German history. I think it is hard to overstate it, but I ask you, Anna, you know, does Merz have the political and

economic capital to really see this through? We know the struggles of the German economy in the last few months.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: And the political struggles, frankly, of the new chancellor. He had a pretty rocky start last week. It was meant to be a

rubber stamping vote in Parliament just to appoint him chancellor, and he actually lost it and had to go to a second vote.

So it does make you question how much support there is within the coalition and within Parliament, more generally. There was nothing new in the speech

in Parliament today. Everything has been said before in terms of there will be a huge focus on both spending, which is of course pretty different from

chancellors and governments we've seen in recent years. No more austerity. This will be a spend, spend, spend government.

And also, of course, a big focus on a return to Defense and the military, which we haven't seen, frankly, for decades since the Second World War.

Really strong words, though, from the chancellor, particularly about Defense. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): In the future, the German government will provide all the financial resources the Bundeswehr

needs to become the strongest conventional army in Europe. This is only fitting for Europe's most populous and economically powerful country.

Our friends and partners expect nothing less from us. They are demanding it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: And he has already cleared the path here. Already, they have got through Parliament legislation to ensure that they can actually spend more

on Defense, getting out of so-called fiscal debt rules that have been in Germany for many years. The question is, how much are we actually talking

about in terms of the Defense spend? Reuters and Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, are saying around $68 billion just for Defense. That would be a 15

percent increase on last year's budget. So pretty sizable.

That said, there is also a separate defense fund of $100 billion that was dipped into last year. It is possible they will also dip into that next

year. We are talking about a big increase. Perhaps it will hit the 3.5 percent of GDP target that we believe NATO is looking at right now, but

certainly a big change for this government.

NEWTON: A big change, and we can't forget, obviously, that this could also lend a much needed boost to the German economy, depending on how that

procurement continues.

Anna Stewart, grateful to you. Thanks so much.

Now, disturbing details in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial, still to come for us, the explicit images the jury was shown in the abuse his ex-girlfriend

says she endured.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:17:38]

NEWTON: The ex-girlfriend of Sean "Diddy" Combs, Cassie Ventura is back on the stand today, testifying in his sex trafficking trial. Prosecutors

showed sexually explicit images as Ventura spoke about alleged abuse and Combs' so-called group sex parties. Ventura also said Combs threatened to

release video of her at these parties when he was angry or wanted her to be fearful.

CNN's Leigh Waldman is outside the courthouse in New York. We do want to warn everyone that some of what we are about to report may be disturbing

for some viewers.

I mean, look, another emotional day of testimony. What did -- what more did the jury hear about what she endured?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, good to be with you.

Her direct testimony actually just ended. They are taking a quick break for about 10 minutes before that cross-examination is set to begin.

But just the last few moments of that testimony were heartbreaking. She shared that in 2018, Ventura -- Cassie Ventura shared that in 2018, she

went to dinner with Combs for what she thought was a closure conversation. She said the dinner was fine. He drove her home, and then "he raped me in

my living room. I just remember crying and saying no, but it was very fast."

And at that time, Ventura was dating her now husband, who has been seen at this courthouse supporting her through this testimony. And we know,

according to her testimony in February 2023, she had to check into a rehab facility because she was dealing with what she called were flashbacks from

what she endured during that more than 10-year long relationship with the defendant, Sean "Diddy" Combs.

She said she had feelings of being suicidal because of what she endured, and she is speaking also about the $20 million settlement that came from a

lawsuit that she filed back in November 2023. That lawsuit settled 24 hours after she filed it with some of these elicit details that she is sharing on

this stand today.

She said that she reached that number, and she is telling the jury, I can't carry this anymore. That's why she is testifying in this. "I can't carry

the shame, the guilt, the way we are, the way I was guided to treat people like they were disposable." And when was asked by the prosecution who was

disposable, she said, escorts, anybody, everybody. So more heartbreaking details being shared.

[16:20:03]

And you mentioned those photos that are being shown to the members of the jury, sexually explicit images from those freak offs encounters that she

was made to endure.

And we saw a woman in the jury who let out a deep breath, and she put her hand on her chest. Another man quickly looked away, another juror taking

note about what he saw today -- Paula.

NEWTON: Well then, certainly an emotional day and as viewers may have noticed from our courtroom sketches, miss Ventura is pregnant as well,

which obviously heightens emotion in the courtroom with everyone.

Leigh Waldman, thanks so much. Grateful to you.

To France now where the daughter of a cryptocurrency boss managed to avoid getting kidnapped. The incident was caught on camera Tuesday. Have a look.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

NEWTON: This is a very disturbing scene. Four masked men attacked the daughter of the CEO of Paymium, her partner and their child. I mean, you

can see there for yourself. This was in broad daylight in Central Paris. The three fought back with the help of bystanders.

Now, in January, a leading crypto figure and his wife were kidnapped from their home in Central France.

David Balland had his hand mutilated before being freed. Ari Redbord joins us now. He is the global head of policy at TRM Labs, a company that helps

organizations track crypto related crimes.

He also worked at the U.S. Treasury and is a former U.S. Federal prosecutor. And obviously very good to have you on board here, as we all

take in these very shocking images.

I mean, what is behind this in terms of the nature of crypto itself? How easy is it to make some of these crimes and their ransoms untraceable?

Can you hear me, Mr. Redbord? Mr. Redbord, can you hear me? It is Paula Newton in New York.

Okay, we are going to endeavor to get back in touch as we discuss that story. In the meantime, though, the Israeli military has issued evacuation

orders for a Gaza city neighborhood where thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering. It has accused Hamas of embedding in the area

and is vowing to attack it with "extreme force."

Now the order comes after a powerful strike on a hospital in Khan Younis, apparently targeting the de facto leader of Hamas. We will not know,

apparently, if Mohammed Sinwar was among the 28 people killed. We will have more news in a moment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:26:53]

NEWTON: And more on our top story tonight, U.S. President Donald Trump deepens ties with Qatar, receiving a lavish welcome as his Middle East tour

continues.

Now, he arrived a short while ago at the Lusail Palace for a state dinner.

Back home, though, he is coming under fire for wanting to accept a luxury jet from Qatar to use as Air Force One.

We do want to go now straight to Doha, where our Becky Anderson is standing by with the Qatari Prime Minister -- Becky.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: That's right, Paula. Thank you very much indeed. And sir, thank you, Prime Minister.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, thank you for doing this interview with me. Youve just wrapped up a state dinner with the U.S. President. How was it?

MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN BIN JASSIM AL THANI, QATARI FOREIGN MINISTER :Well it is wonderful. It was an amazing event. It is a historical event,

actually to have -- this is the first State Visit by a U.S. President to Qatar. So we are honored to him.

ANDERSON: Well, it certainly sounded very jovial and quite the welcome today with the red cyber trucks and the camels.

AL THANI: Well, actually, this is the typical Qatari way of welcoming. The cyber trucks has been in the forces, in the internal security forces for a

while, so it is not to please anyone, by the way, just for you and for the audience to know that.

ANDERSON: I was going to ask, but I won't. I will move on. It is good to hear that.

Listen, today, President Trump described Qatar's leader, the Emir, as a long-time friend and trusted partner. How has this relationship developed

and evolved since Donald Trump's first term in office, when, frankly, he accused Qatar of sponsoring terrorism?

AL THANI: Well, actually, look, our relationship with the United States has been very institutional and well-established for decades.

Now, this partnership has been through a lot of, you know, different periods where Qatar always stood up for the United States. There was a

certain point of time when President Trump was in office for the first time, where there were some miscommunication, unfortunately, where it led

to these kinds of false accusations against my country, which, we have seen that the institutional relationship has safeguarded this relationship

between the two countries.

And basically, we went back on track during his first administration, and we worked together very closely during that time and we are continuing

working with under President Biden administration and then with President Trump again.

ANDERSON: And how would you characterize that relationship now?

AL THANI: Well, I believe United States for Qatar, considered the most important strategic ally that we've been working together in different

areas, whether it is in security, Defense, investments, trade and energy, education. There are -- it is not just, you know -- it is not a one-way

partnership. It is a two-way partnership where I think it is mutually beneficial for both countries.

ANDERSON: And importantly, the U.S. sees Qatar as indispensable when it comes to the country's strategic mediation role across a whole slew of

conflicts. A small country with a long outreach is, as you describe it.

And I want to talk about that. Before we do, let's start with business and the whole host of deals announced today between Doha and Washington.

The White House touting a figure of some $1.2 trillion. That is a huge sum. Can you just break it down for us?

AL THANI: Well, basically, it is very simple. $1.2 trillion is the expected value of the economic partnership between the two countries for the next 10

years, and this is basically -- either it will be through an investment and the investment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, which is the commitment that

QIA is going to do throughout the next few years.

Of course, adding to this, the Boeing deal, which is the largest deal in the history of aviation for Qatar Airways by buying the 210 airplanes from

Boeing.

And then also, we have some Defense procurement as well, plus the energy partnership that we have where the next couple of years we will be the

opening of the Golden Pass, the LNG terminal and the largest ethane cracker and petrochemical chemical complex in the world, that's invested by Qatar

as well, will be open hopefully next year.

[16:30:40]

ANDERSON: Were you asked by the president to match the trillion-dollar sums being committed by Riyadh and Abu Dhabi as a prerequisite for this trip?

AL-THANI: No, actually, there was no -- there was nothing like this. It wasn't a race between the GCC countries. We were basically invited the

president since he's coming to the region to come to Qatar because of the relationship that we have together with the United States. And we believe

that there are a lot of topics of interest that we can discuss. Of course, the region is going through a turmoil, and it's a very delicate situation

for us in the region and the United States, all in stabilizing the region is indispensable.

We had a lot to talk about, whether it's on Gaza, Syria, Iran, and other issues, plus the bilateral relationship. So I believe that the agenda

wasn't really focused only on the investments or the numbers that's been announced. And this number actually happened to be with that size and this

announcement, because of the size of the deals that we were already planning.

ANDERSON: Well, you pointed out that there is a commitment to buy over 200 jets from Boeing, price tag of around $200 million. Given it is Boeing's

failure to deliver a new Air Force One to the president on time as promised, something like a five-year delay, sir, are you confident that the

aircraft manufacturer will deliver on time and on budget for you?

AL-THANI: Well, Boeing has been a reliable partner for Qatar Airways for a long time. And of course we trust them and we trust -- we are confident

that they are going to continue this partnership together with Qatar Airways.

Qatar Airways has been nominated as the top airline in the world for many years consecutively and we are using Boeing actually quite significantly in

our fleet.

ANDERSON: Can we take a moment to get to the bottom of this offer by Qatar of a multi-million dollar Boeing 747-8 to President Trump? When did your

government first start talking to the U.S. about this aircraft, and who broached the subject first? Was it the U.S. or was it Qatar?

AL-THANI: Well, actually, it's a -- you know, I know that there were a lot of speculations about this topic. I don't know what is the reason that

instigate this. This is a very simple government-to-government dealing when Ministry of Defense and Department of Defense are still exchanging the

possibility of transferring one of our 747s-8 to be used as Air Force One, and it's still under the legal review.

So there is nothing really -- I don't know what was, like, why it became, like, so big as a news that this is something that, you know, considered,

you know, very, in a very strange way. It's -- we have done a lot together with the U.S. For example, the airlifting that happened during Afghanistan

evacuation, 80 percent of that being taken care of from Qatar.

ANDERSON: I think the point is that this -- people are confused as to whether this is a personal offer to President Trump from the emir.

Certainly, President Donald Trump suggesting in an interview on Tuesday that Qatar approached him, claiming that one Qatari official said, if I can

help you, let me do that. Is that true?

AL-THANI: Well, it is a government to government transaction. It has nothing to do with personnel, whether it's on the U.S. side or on the

Qatari side. It's the Ministry of Defense and Department of Defense. So I don't see anything in that.

ANDERSON: It's -- you know, you're alluding to the fact this has created huge controversy in the States. And this is sort of bipartisan criticism,

Republicans and Democrats accusing the president of graft, and Qatar of buying influence. Are you?

[16:35:03]

AL-THANI: Why would we buy an influence in the United State? if you will look just, you know, in the last 10 years of the U.S.-Qatar relationship,

Qatar has been always there for the U.S. when it's needed, whether it's on the war against terror, whether it's in the evacuation of Afghanistan,

whether it's on releasing hostages from different countries around the world. And Qatar has been always a reliable partner for the U.S., has been

always stepping up to help and to support the U.S. because we believe that this friendship needs to be mutually beneficial for both countries. It

cannot be a one-way relationship.

ANDERSON: Did you anticipate the strong backlash that this announcement or this offer, as you say, it is not yet signed off on, but this offer? Did

you did you anticipate the backlash and might you have made another decision, you know, were you to have thought that this would happen?

AL-THANI: Well, actually, nothing is changing our decision. At the end of the day, if there is something that the U.S. need and it's completely legal

and we can, we are able to help and to support the U.S. and we are not shying away from that. We are proud people and even if there is something

is coming out of Qatar for the U.S., it's coming out of love. It doesn't come out of in exchange of anything for that.

ANDERSON: It sits with the lawyers, as I understand it, at present. If it's not deemed legal, the offer would be withdrawn, I assume.

AL-THANI: Yes. Of course. I mean, we will not do anything illegal. I mean, if there was something illegal, there were many ways to hide these kind of

transactions and will not be visible for the public. I mean, this is a very clear exchange that's happening between the two governments, and this is

happening between countries around the world. I don't see any controversy in it. I don't know why it's been taken to a different direction. And it's

being politicized this way.

ANDERSON: The offer still stands.

AL-THANI: Well, it's basically, as I told you, we have, we have done, you know, just, you know, something that we are standing with an ally, with a

partner and basically it's still under review between the two departments.

ANDERSON: Can we talk about Syria?

AL-THANI: Sure.

ANDERSON: You're a strong backer of this new government, and you've been lobbying for sanctions release for some time now to unblock aid into the

country. Now, Donald Trump in Riyadh announced that he is lifting sanctions. This news is making huge waves across this region. What do you

now believe that you can accomplish for Syria?

AL-THANI: Well, I think, first of all, the Syrian people deserve to live a dignified life. And basically the sanctions were imposed on Assad regime,

given his behavior against his own people. And now, if the sanctions remained as they were, how we will be able to help the Syrian people to

change their situation and to get out of the consequences of the civil war that they had -- that they've been through in the last 12 years, maybe.

So lifting the sanctions, we believe it is the right step moving forward. Now, there are a lot of questions being raised about, OK, how do we know

the current government, what's about their background? Everyone has these questions and these are legitimate questions since it's a new government

and given --

ANDERSON: Do you share this?

AL-THANI: Give this background, of course we have no knowledge about this government until they became power. So basically what we've been -- what we

decided to do is to start engaging with them, to start to see if they are saying and doing the right things, then we should support them. We should

support the stability of Syria. We should support that Syria shouldn't fail and shouldn't turn into a chaos.

And basically what we've been hearing and what we've been seeing until now, we've been hearing like things. Of course, there will be downsides from

time to time. There will be some mistakes happening here and there. And this is a country which is getting out of civil war after a long time. So

we believe disengaging is going to be the biggest mistake, will leave us with just one option, chaos.

But engaging and engaging in a constructive manner, trying to help to alleviate the situation over there in Syria and making sure that we are

working together with them step by step, that's the only way for us where we will have a chance to have a better Syria and stabilized Syria.

[16:40:15]

ANDERSON: And you've said this before, you know, this a revitalized Syria, you know, helps a more peaceful, stable and secure region. I mean, what

happens in Syria doesn't stay in Syria.

AL-THANI: It is indeed. Actually, Syria has been historically, if you look at it, it's center of gravity in the region. If there is a stability over

there, this stability has its effect around the region. If it's destabilized, then we can see the entire region being destabilized.

And look, Becky, the Syrian people, they are an outstanding people. You can see them everywhere around the world. You see how innovative they are, how

creative they are, how productive they are. They migrated from Syria, running away from fleeing the civil war. But when they went to the

countries that they migrated to, they became doctors, engineers, they became innovators, businessmen.

In some countries where they have employment issues, they became employers even. So I believe that we have a strong belief in the Syrian people that

they can lift up the situation over there in Syria. We just need to help them, to enable them.

ANDERSON: Do you believe that Syria can be one unified country? We're certainly seeing Turkey and Israel battling for territory and influence

there. What's your sense?

AL-THANI: Well, we believe that the fate of the Syrian -- of Syria should be in the hands of the Syrian people. Syria has been this country that has

the beauty of diversity for ages, for centuries. And it is the great demonstration of the harmony of that region where you can see people from

different backgrounds, from different sects, from different ethnicities, living side by side together peacefully. And no one really thinks about

what's the background of each other.

And basically this harmonization that's unfortunately been somehow cracked by the civil war needs to come back. And we believe that there is a lot of

hope that this is coming back. This is coming back as one country. At the end of the day, what's the activities that's been done by Israel recently

and the bombing, we have said that many times and repeatedly, this has been an irresponsible act from the beginning and it means only just to

destabilize Syria.

Now, when people are talking about an area of influence, whether it's on Turkey or Israel, Syria is for the Syrian people. And those are the ones

who should decide.

ANDERSON: President Trump wants Syria to normalize relations with Israel. Your reaction to what would be a seismic shift in geopolitics were that to

happen? Do you expect that to happen?

AL-THANI: Well, what we are hearing from the Syrian government, they don't want to engage in war with their neighbors. They want to have a peace with

their neighbors. Israel has occupied territories in Syria. If they have a deal that will make sure that the Syrian lands are back to their people, we

don't see an obstacle to have a peace together and normalization together. We should go back to the root cause of the issue.

We shouldn't just, you know, forget about it and just address, you know, what if we make peace with Israel or what if not? Basically the reason of

the conflict between Israel and different countries in the region is the occupation of the Palestinian territory, of the Arabian territories in

Syria. Once those are liberated or, you know, returned back to the people, we are, we said it many times and repeatedly, Arab peace initiative for

Palestine, two-state solution.

We are willing to normalize. We are willing to engage. We are willing to give the security guarantees for Israel. And I'm sure that the withdrawal

from the Syrian lands also will bring back security to Israel and will bring peace for the Syrian and the Israeli people.

[16:45:00]

ANDERSON: What you're saying is that Qatar, along with many other Arab states, would normalize relations but for the current situation and the

root cause.

And let's talk about Gaza. You've been deeply involved in mediating between Israel and Hamas for more than 19 months. I've been in and out of this

country and watched the efforts that have been put into that mediation. There's a high-level Israeli delegation here today. Steve Witkoff is here,

Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, and his hostage, chief hostage negotiator, Adam Boehler.

What can you tell us about any progress in those talks, the indirect talks, of course, with Hamas here?

AL-THANI: Well, the progress that we have achieved by releasing Edan Alexander, the Israeli-American citizen the day before yesterday, from our

perspective, we were seeing it as a breakthrough that will help in bring back the talks on track and bring us a ceasefire and opening up a

humanitarian corridor for the humanitarian assistance to come to the people of Gaza. Unfortunately, Israeli reaction to this was a mass bombing the

next day, while sending the delegation and statements coming out of the Israeli government that this delegation is coming to negotiate a hostage

deal without ending the war, which is basically sending the signal that we are not interested in negotiations.

This was a bad signal, and we have highlighted this concern to the Israelis, and we told them that we need to engage in a meaningful

negotiations, that making sure that returns all the hostages safely and ending the war in Gaza, and making sure that the humanitarian suffering is

lifted from Gaza. Right now, our teams are engaging with both parties. We hope to see some progress. I'm not sure if this progress will be something

seen very soon with this continuing behavior.

ANDERSON: With serious doubts about Israel's willingness to come to a deal, I have to ask, what purpose do these talks serve at this point? I know when

you and I talked back in January, Steve Witkoff had been -- made huge efforts and you applauded him for getting that ceasefire and hostage deal

cut at that stage.

I mean, do you feel we're further away from a solution to this at this point than ever?

AL-THANI: Well, basically, as you refer to our talks in January when we reached the deal earlier this year, Steve Witkoff has put a lot of efforts

in that Steve Witkoff is continuing helping us and supporting us and supporting the process. But at the end of the day, whether it's us or Steve

Witkoff, the U.S., Egypt, we work together collectively to reach a solution.

At the end of the day, it lies within the parties. If there is no willingness to engage in a meaningful negotiations, then how can we reach

the solution? We convene, we try to facilitate, we try to bridge the gaps. But at the end of the day, the decisions in the hands of the parties, of

the main stakeholders, not us.

ANDERSON: Prime Minister, can I ask you what you think of the American plan to create its own private aid mechanism with this month long blockade

continuing and the prospect of famine in Gaza?

AL-THANI: There is no any plan presented to us yet. And we hear things in the media here and there, and we don't see a necessity for a plan because

the U.N. has been there, has been working relentlessly, has been targeted for the last 19 months during the war, The U.N. should be protected and

should be able to also to do its role in delivering humanitarian aid for the people. There is no conflict that we've been watching in the recent

history that's like Gaza blockaded and not allowing humanitarian aid to get into the people.

We see famine there, we see starvation, and we just read reports and watching the news every day as it became unfortunately like a normalized

news, which is basically something we believe it's terrible for, not only for the Gazans people, but for the rest of the world.

[16:50:05]

It's just setting a precedent for more and more dangerous situations to get this way.

ANDERSON: Before I let you go, this is my final question. The U.S. is in talks with Iran. Donald Trump has said the time to choose is now. This is

not an offer that will last forever. He said he'd discussed Iran with the emir today. Did he share what that U.S. offer to Iran looks like? Are they

close to a deal? And he talked about how the emir has been a great help. So what's Qatar's involvement here?

AL-THANI: Well, well, actually, we had a very good and very productive discussion between his highness, the emir, and the president about the

negotiations on the Iran nuclear program. We strongly believe that this can be only solved diplomatically. And we believe that escalation is not in the

interest of any party. We are trying our best to support that effort. Our colleagues in Oman is doing an outstanding job in mediating the conflict

between them and any kind of support that we are able to provide. When we are reaching out to the parties, we are doing our utmost.

The discussion basically between his highness and the president is just highlighting the risks of not having a deal and what would be the best way

to mitigate those through finding a compromise between the U.S. and Iran that can bring us to a deal.

ANDERSON: It is 10 12:00. It's very late. You've had a long supper and a very long day. I very much appreciate your time tonight. And with that,

we'll close this out. Thank you very much indeed.

AL-THANI: Thank you. Thank you, Becky.

ANDERSON: Paula, back to you.

NEWTON: We are grateful to you, Becky, and stay with CNN as we continue to parse what was a very newsworthy interview.

Thanks, Becky.

Now we go to the Trump family's crypto empire, it continues to expand, and so does the controversy surrounding it. Stay with us.

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NEWTON: And some news just in to CNN. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not listed as a delegate to talks with Ukraine in Turkey.

[16:55:04]

Now, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said he would only attend the discussions in Ankara if the Russian president came as well. He told CNN in

recent days that any outcome other than a ceasefire would be a failure. And we'll bring you more on that in the hours to come.

Now, the Trump family's crypto business is raising eyebrows among lawmakers and watchdog groups. They control the crypto exchange World Liberty

Financial, a crypto mining firm. American Bitcoin, top holders of the president's meme coin, have been promised a private dinner with Mr. Trump.

Even allies of the industry say the optics do not help their efforts.

Allison Morrow has been following this story for us and she joins us now from New York.

I mean, suffice it to say that in terms of what makes lawmakers queasy, even Republican ones, this is it.

ALLISON MORROW, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR WRITER: Absolutely. I mean, so Trump has gone from in a few years being a huge skeptic and even calling bitcoin

a scam to being one of its biggest cheerleaders. He's actively deregulating the industries that have historically held crypto, which is still a young

industry, in check and boosting the actual products that help him and his family profit, including his sons, who just launched their bitcoin mining

company is going to go public so soon investors can back their operation and once again line the Trump family coffers.

NEWTON: But how much money is at stake here? I think some of the figures that we have seen so far are quite eye-watering.

MORROW: Yes. I mean, so just with this private dinner auction that you mentioned, this is through Trump's meme coin, which is essentially a

useless coin. It's just for funneling money and for like saying that you support the president, and they collect money through transaction fees on

those exchanges. So there was an estimated $1.5 million just in trading fees over the three to four weeks that the auction was open.

So it's a pretty eye-watering stat. And the thing with crypto is that there's just kind of unlimited avenues for funneling money into these

projects.

NEWTON: Yes, and not a heck of a lot of transparency, which is why it is worrying people.

Allison, I do want to ask you as well, the first lady herself also got in on the act.

MORROW: Yes, there is a Melania meme coin. It's not as popular as the Trump meme coin, but these are -- I just have to underscore, these are tokens

that even people in the industry kind of roll their eyes at. They're -- there's no indication that the president and first lady's coins are scams.

But these kinds of tokens are widely used in some of the scams that we report on regularly.

NEWTON: Yes, which obviously is an issue, as you said, just in terms of transparency.

Allison Morrow for us. Thanks for following the story. Appreciate it.

MORROW: Thanks.

NEWTON: Now before we go, we will give you a final check of those markets. Stocks were mixed as Wall Street waits for new economic data and of course,

Trump's latest trade deals. The Dow closed slightly slower. You see it there, down almost 90 points. The S&P 500 posted slight gains in seesaw day

of trading. The Nasdaq picked up 0.7 percent, but it has been a winner over the last few days, up about 7 percent really just in the last few days.

Now, that tech heavy index was boosted by new A.I. deals announced on Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East both yesterday and today. The Dow 30

is reflecting some of that deal-making momentum. Nvidia, which will provide chips to Saudi Arabia, closed up more than 4 percent. Boeing up more than

half of a percent after that massive order we were discussing from Qatar.

UnitedHealthcare fell for another day after its CEO abruptly stepped down earlier this week. Keep in mind, it is a very large component of the Dow

and will continue to affect that index.

That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Paula Newton. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" is next.

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