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Hala Gorani Tonight
Eleven Killed In St. Petersburg Metro Blast; Russian PM: St. Petersburg Blast Is Terror Attack; No One Has Claimed Responsibility For Terror Attack; Spokesman: Trump Briefed On St. Petersburg Attack; Russia's Bloody History Of Terror Attacks; Russia: White House: U.S. Condemns St. Petersburg Attack; Trump Advisor Jared Kushner Visits Iraq; Trump Kicks Off Critical Week of Diplomacy; U.K. and Spain in Brexit-Fueled Dispute; Samsung's S8 Security Feature Tricked by Photo. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired April 03, 2017 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:22]
HANNAH VAUGHAN JONES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to a special edition of THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. I'm Hannah Vaughan Jones sitting in for Hala
Gorani.
Right now, a desperate search for answers is underway in Russia as they try to uncover who is behind a deadly terror attack in the heart of St.
Pietersburg. Eleven people were killed and dozens more injured when a blast ripped through a crowded subway train in Russia's second largest
city.
Just a few miles away, the president, Vladimir Putin was visiting the city for a meeting with the president of Belarus, and this is how he responded
when news of the attack first came in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There's been an explosion in the St. Petersburg Metro. There are killed and wounded. And
at the beginning of our meeting, I'd like to express my sincere sorrow and condolences to relatives of those who died or who were injured.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Well, as Mr. Putin spoke, emergency services were responding to a chaotic scene at Metro station. Eyewitnesses captures the aftermath of the
blast. The train's door torn from its hinges, and smoke and debris filling the air as bloodied victims lay injured on the platform.
Well, at another Metro station, the police discovered a second device, however they did manage to disarm that device safely. Russia's prime
minister, Dmitry Medvedev confirmed that authorities are treating this bombing as an act of terror.
CNN's Paula Newton joins us now live from St. Petersburg with the very latest developments. Paula, I know you have long been there in the city,
but you are at the scene of this attack, what is the mood like now?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you can imagine the state of shock. It is been a little bit more than seven hours, and people here were
streaming out of the station with a sense of panic, and you can see from the images, Hannah, the force of the explosion.
People from inside of the cars said they were prepared to die. It exploded between the stations. Authorities here, Hannah, saying that if the train
driver had not driven into the platform or the next station, many more people would have died.
People described a scene of panic trying to break open windows, prying open those doors and getting out of the train as people were splattered in mud.
A lot of people were looking around, Hannah, and they did not know if they were injured or not.
Other people rushing on the car to help those that were clearly injured. As you mentioned, an anti-terror investigation unit is on the story, but
what you can see here is still a lot of panic. Pardon me, a lot of the condolences here, and people have been laying flowers.
And you still really get the sense that people are in shock here. I can tell you there are people here with tears in their eyes. This is something
this city was not prepared for in the sense that it has not been struck by this kind of terror in Russia before.
And of course, many shocked it is not lost on anybody that the president, Vladimir Putin, this is his hometown, and he was in the city when this
happened -- Hannah.
JONES: Yes. Exactly I was going to ask you about the location and of course, the timing of this, the fact that it happened in Russia's second
city, and happened when the president is in town, what is being read into that in terms of looking for a possible perpetrator and motivation?
NEWTON: I mean, nothing yet, certainly the president's office has not made any of this, in fact, we just heard from him moments ago he did not mention
the terror attack again and mentioning it only once today. This is a certain stoicism that you see comes out sometimes in the attacks.
On the other hand, Hannah, I can tell you from years of covering this Vladimir Putin is usually says two things about really trying to counter
this kind of terrorism. He says you have to be consistent and merciless.
It is will be interesting to see in the coming days to see Vladimir Putin's reaction to this. In the meantime, many people have said, I mean, you can
see here, Hanna, that people are trying to pass flowers and candles so that they can light here in a vigil.
I can tell you there is a vigil here and another one at the station, the other station that was also hit during this attack. They will try as best
they can to pull together in the city. Again, they are just trying to come to terms with what has been a very shocking ordeal for many.
JONES: Absolutely. Paula Newton there live for us in St. Petersburg where that makeshift memorial is now being setup. Paula, thanks very much.
And Monday's attack is, of course, likely to provoke a very strong response from Moscow. Let's get straight to CNN's Matthew Chance. He is live for
us now in the Russian capital. Matthew, good to see you. The kremlin seemingly very quick to act, speak out, presumably they'll be quick also to
condemn and ultimately punish for these crimes.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I expect so, because the investigators are already on the scene. They're already
scouring the platform for any forensic evidence that they can to try and piece together not just what happened exactly, but who may have been
responsible.
[15:05:04]And you can bet they are going to be focusing very hard this evening to try and work out who the suspects might be, and what they can do
to get those suspects off of the streets, because there is already one additional device that has been found at a Metro station just a short
distance from the one where the blast took place.
And of course, the potential is that it could be follow-up attacks, and more devices, and so the authorities are desperately at this point trying
to make sure there aren't any further blasts in the hours ahead as they are attempt to crackdown on the suspects and to bring those responsible into
custody.
JONES: Matthew, how is all of this being covered in the Russian media?
CHANCE: Well, the Russian media actually despite the fact the Russian president has been a little kind of not very communicative to say the least
when it comes to this issue. The Russian media has been blanket coverage on this. We've been seeing horrific images broadcast on Russian television
of the immediate aftermath of the attack.
A lot of people had cell phones, and taking cell phone videos, and still photographs of the crumpled wreckage of the train, smoke filling the
corridors of the Metro station, and of course, of the blood splattered platforms and the walls of the platform, and the casualties strewn around.
It's been accompanied by some absolutely heart wrenching testimony from eyewitnesses as well. One person telling a newspaper here that people were
bloody and they had their hair burned. Another person who was on board the train when the explosion took place saying that everybody in the Metro car,
everyone expected death.
When people tried to help each other, they brought each other out, and everyone was covered in blood. So it is absolutely horrific images being
painted by the eyewitnesses, and of course, by the video that we are seeing broadcast across the Russian media right now.
JONES: Yes, and it is not just the video that we are look at right now, but we understand there might also be some sort of surveillance or CCTV
from inside the Metro, which of course could potentially I guess gives the authorities those clues as to how this bomb may have been planted and who
by?
CHANCE: Yes, there will be. There is a lot of surveillance cameras, particularly in Metro stations across Russia, and particularly in St.
Petersburg, and so I expect there will be lots of clues that the authorities and the investigators will be able to glean from scouring over
the CCTV footage.
And there is speculation that one of the perpetrators may have been identified, but it is speculation at this point. But, look, I mean, we are
at the very early start, and the very early phase of the investigation into this, into this attack, into this explosion.
We are expecting over the coming hours and definitely the coming days and weeks to get much more clarity on what was behind it, and what were the
motives behind this attack as well.
JONES: Matthew Chance live in Moscow, thank you.
Now this terror attack comes at a time when Russia is still firmly in the global spotlight. There's, of course, the probe into the ties between
Russia and some the U.S. president, Donald Trump's campaign officials, and into Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election.
Add to that Russia's intervention in Syria as well as the ongoing anti- corruption protests in the country. Let's discuss all of this now with Garry Kasparov. He's is a pro-democracy activist and the author of "Winter
is Coming." He is also the chairman of the Human Rights Foundation and a former world chess champion. Gary Kasparov joins me from New York. Sir,
thank you very much for being on the program this evening.
GARRY KASPAROV, CHAIRMAN, THE HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION: Thanks for inviting me.
JONES: We have mentioned already that this is Russia's international standing if you'd like on the international stage rather is very important,
but I want to think of this more on the domestic front, and talk about the domestic political situation. Do you believe this attack could have been
politically motivated?
KASPAROV: Probably, yes, but it depends by whom. It goes -- first, I want to offer my condolences and sympathy to the people of Russia, but I want
people to not make Russian people, and the Putin's regime, don't condemn them.
When we condemn Putin's regime, we do not condemn Russian people, and this is the case where we should remember that people will suffer in this
attack. They live on the dictatorship, and 18 years of Putin's rule have been marked by consistent terroristic attacks.
From the very beginning where Putin's rise to power in 1999, this mysterious apartment bombing and many pointed that KGB at least if not a
perpetrator, but at least a part of this attack. It is not a paranoia, but it is an attempt to analyze Putin's regime and record.
That every time that we face such a horrible attack, somehow, it was very convenient politically for Putin to have his net grab for power. I don't
know what will happen tomorrow regarding the terrorists.
[15:10:01]But I can tell you that within the next few days, we will hear new initiatives from Putin's puppet parliament introducing new draconian
laws, you know, banning demonstrations, less than 10 days ago, Putin faced a massive demonstration first in many years that I think shaking his
confidence.
And now he has a perfect opportunity to shut down the process before it begins, and people are willing to sacrifice security, and people are
willing to sacrifice their freedom not just in Russia.
JONES: You've mentioned about what Putin might do next, what we might hear from the kremlin, does this attack or an attack like this embolden
President Putin or does it perhap kind of portray his vulnerabilities in terms of the protest that he is facing within his country and the activist
like yourself who want to see him toppled from power.
KASPAROV: Look, you know, he had 18 years of unbeaten record of using terrorism as an opportunity to grab more power, and I expect that he will
do the same because it worked for him before, and he is not a man who is going to change the algorithm that was so successful. So I don't know
exactly what --
JONES: What about the start of a revolution. Do you think this is the start of a revolution?
KASPAROV: No, it is not a revolution, but it is the first time that we saw and quite a shock to the kremlin that it is a process that mainly involved
young people. You know, the young generation, and definitely kremlin was looking desperately for counter move and I don't know how these terrorist
attacks are connected to kremlin strategy. But, you know, while we don't know who did it or committed this heinous crime, and I know who will be
benefit, and it will be Vladimir Putin.
JONES: Do you have any idea who might be behind it, which group?
KASPAROV: Look, you know, even if it is a terrorist group, and we didn't hear anything about it, I bet you as before, the KGB definitely had enough
information about the activities of the groups, because, again, it is for this for many years while Putin was confident about his grip on power,
nothing has happened to Russia.
And suddenly now, when his confidence was shaken and we have a terrible, terrible tragedies in Petersburg, and by the way, Putin is also there, and
let's not forget that these terrorist attacks will be used by other leaders worldwide to justify their crackdown.
And I have no doubt that President Trump will revive his rhetorics about siding up with Russia to fight the international terrorism.
JONES: You are obviously speaking to us from New York at the moment, there has been very little comment so far from the White House on this atrocity,
and the comment that we have had has been very specific with the wording and not necessarily sending the condolences to President Putin, but rather
to the Russian people, and do you think that is a sign of the fractured relationship between the kremlin and the White House right now?
KASPAROV: I think it is -- I think that it is a good sign, and Trump administration understands that, you know, any attempt to do something with
Putin right now could be counterproductive, because the investigation is going on and today, they are more preoccupied with the appointment of a new
Supreme Court judge rather than with anything else in the world.
JONES: You are an activist, and I know that you are hoping to gain some power within Russia yourself within your organization, and what happens
next though? Do you think that we will see a clamp down, and what kind of clamp down would that be in terms of your activities within Russia?
KASPAROV: Let's make absolutely clear, you know, I am chairman of the The Human Rights Foundation based in New York, has nothing to do with Russian
fight for power. There is no one is fighting Putin for power in Russia because it is a dictatorship and I hope one day my country is free and
maybe I will go back to help the country, but I am not involved in any power struggle.
I want a country free from Putin's dictatorship, and I'm afraid that as long as Putin stays in power, we will see more of these terrorist attacks,
and don't forget that this is a man who are committed many crimes in Syria, and he will not stop at human costs if he believes it helps him to stay in
power.
JONES: But do you think it is likely then that the perpetrators of this crime are people in a perhaps similar situation to yourself and they are
suppressed at the moment from being a political entity within Russia and fighting against Putin on a political stage?
KASPAROV: No, this is absolutely ridiculous. All I know about with Putin, it is peaceful. We didn't even have a single broken window and not about
burning cars, and every time that people fill the streets protesting against Putin, they were met by riot police and they were arrested.
Now many of them in jail or killed or many of us them like myself are in exile, but the protests against Putin was always peaceful. That is why I
don't think that the people who are protesting against Putin regime want to see Russia free.
They have anything to do with these crimes. More likely that those who are trying to keep Putin in power are behind it to make sure that they'll have
another opportunity to put more pressure on the Russian people.
[15:15:03]JONES: Gary Kasparov, many thanks for joining us on THE WORLD RIGHT NOW and our sympathies, of course, to you for the loss of 11 of your
fellow countrymen in this atrocity.
KASPAROV: Thank you.
JONES: Now there's been more reaction from the White House, just in the last few minutes on this atrocity, here is what Press Secretary Sean Spicer
had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The United States condemns this reprehensible attack and act of violence. Our thoughts and prayers are
with the injured and the Russian people as we extend are deepest condolences to the loved ones who have been killed and injured.
Attacks like these on ordinary citizens just going about their lives remind us that the world must work as one to combat the violence in all forms.
The United States is prepared to offer assistance to Russia that it may require in investigating this crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: So they get assistance offered and condolences to the Russian people from Sean Spicer and the White House. Now, after the break here on
THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, we will continue our coverage of the Metro blast in St. Petersburg and look back at Russia's bloody history of terrorist
attacks.
And then resetting relations, Donald Trump meets with three world leaders this week. We'll look at his focus on international diplomacy when THE
WORLD RIGHT NOW returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JONES: Welcome back. Continuing our coverage now of today's deadly terror attack in St. Petersburg. Eleven people were killed and dozens of others
were injured when a blast ripped through a crowded subway train in Russia's second largest city. It is far from the first terror attack that Russia
has suffered. Phil Black has a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russia's military brutally crushed Chechen separatists when they fought to break
away from the Russian Federation around the turn of the century, but the war did not end.
Fighters went underground or deep into forest to continue their campaign against the Russian state. In 2002, Chechens invaded a Moscow theater
holding 850 people hostage, 129 were killed mostly from the Russian security forces to knock out the terrorist.
Two passenger planes which had departed Moscow in August, 2004 were brought down by explosions almost simultaneously. Authorities blamed two Chechen
women. The combined death toll, 89 people.
The next month, the world watched with horror as more than a thousand people were held hostage for days at a school in Bezlin (ph) in the North
Caucuses. It ended when the Russian forces stormed the school. More than 330 people were killed including 186 children.
Moscow's Metro system was targeted with suicide bombs in both 2004 and 2010 killing around 80. In November 2009, a bomb derailed the high speed train
between Moscow and St. Petersburg killing 28 people. Thirty six died in January of 2011 when the arrivals area at Moscow (inaudible) Airport was
struck by a suicide blast.
[15:20:08]Before the St. Petersburg Metro bombing, the most recent terror attacks in Russia took place in the southern city of (inaudible) at the end
of 2013. First, the local train station was hit killing 18 people. A day later, a suicide blast tore apart a bus killing a further 16.
Russian authorities are now also worried about the terror threat from Syria. It is believed thousands of people from the Russian Federation have
traveled to Syria to join Islamist groups.
President Vladimir Putin told the Russian people that is why he ordered the airstrikes there in late 2015 to kill the terrorists before they could
return to kill people within Russia's borders.
Analysts believed Russia's efforts in Syria have also motivated the Islamists to strike back at Moscow, and point to the ISIS bomb, which
brought down a Russian passenger jet over the Sinai Peninsula in October of 2015.
Russia has dedicated huge resources to fighting terrorism at home and abroad. Authorities will be desperate to learn how those responsible for
the St. Petersburg attack were able to get passed Russia's formidable security and intelligence services. Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Let's discuss all of this now with Oliver Caroll. He is the managing editor of the "Moscow Times" and joins me live here in the studio.
Thanks very much for coming in.
You've lived in St. Petersburg, so you'll know more than many about the symbolic nature of these attacks in Russia's second city when the president
is in town.
OLIVER CARROLL, MANAGING EDITOR, "THE MOSCOW TIMES": Exactly, I lived in St. Petersburg from 2009 to 2011, and these attacks happened right in the
heart of the city, not necessarily the tourist heart, but the community heart. And they hit right at the place where most of the population use
the Metro daily.
So really, this is very close to Russian sensibilities. It has not been, St. Petersburg, has not really been affected by Russia's fairly regular
terrorist threats. It has been mostly focused on Moscow, and the certain cities in the North Caucuses.
So St. Petersburg, this was something very, very new, and I was speaking to people with my friends in St. Petersburg and they were telling me how they
were seeing the city basically shocked a lot more with car crashes, and generally speaking that people really didn't know what is going on.
JONES: Do you think that they would be more prepared for something like this happening, largely, because as we saw from Phil's report, this
transport network in the major cities has been attacked on numerous occasions, and it is one of the most obvious attack routes I suppose.
CARROLL: Sure, and majorly, it is Moscow, which has been affected even when it happens in Moscow, the effect of the responses has been ranging
from the professional to chaotic. So it would have been hard to expect in the second city without a sort of the dress rehearsal for the response to
be brilliant.
At the same time, there have been a lot of examples of the Russians, themselves, coming up to help again people offering lifts to people who are
stranded and people helping other people out, and the response by the train driver was apparently fairly good in that he went to the next station.
So it is not all a bad picture, but generally speaking, the emergency services in Russia are underfunded, and the response is going to be fairly
chaotic.
JONES: Talk to us about the regional look or the domestic scene within Russia at the moment, and it is a long time since many of us have talked
about talk of Chechnya and the like, and we don't know who is behind the bombing, but you are familiar with North Caucuses in that region, just
explain for our viewers what is going on there and why is it dormant for a period of time and perhaps coming to fruition.
CARROLL: Well, it seems dormant, and certainly compared to previous times in 2000 the second Chechen war, and when largely the threat was ended by
the Chechens turning against themselves?
JONES: This is a separatist movement to be breaking away from the federation.
CARROLL: Yes, and certainly, the emphasis of the first Chechen war, and then we saw other sections of the Caucasus being involved. I was down in
Dagestan, the neighboring republic. I was down in Dagestan in every March of last year, and it is fair to say that most of that area has been turned
into a police state.
A lot of sections of it at least where there are mountainous villages surrounded by a military cordon and in order to get in, you actually got to
have locals have a special code they say to security services to get in and out again.
So it is a very, we say that Russia has not really seen the terrorist attacks, but that part of Russia has. Not only terrorist attacks, but also
very robust and one would also say effective judged by the fact that there are not many terrorist attacks outside of the area by the security
services, so it is basically an issue down there.
JONES: Russia would say that it is absolutely tackling terrorism on foreign fields, though, most predominantly at the moment in Syria, and the
Russian critics would say it is not targeting ISIS, and yet, the terrorists on the other hand who come back to Russia are the perpetrators behind these
crimes today. It is a contraction in terms, isn't it? They either tackling ISIS or they are being tackled by ISIS?
CARROLL: Yes. I think that it is not so much terrorists coming back, but though certainly, in some evidence of the last few years that certainly
since 2014 and 2015 that people, the people before, actually the Olympics in Sochi, and in '13, '14, '15, and radicals were allowed to leave.
They are not really being allowed back in. There is some people have said so, but the evidence that I have seen, there is a robust response there.
What we have been seeing is that previous Islamic fighters, and some of them have been sort of driven into the forests and so on.
And those groups are showing signs of associating with Islamic groups outside, and a lot of the ISIS, and sometimes ISIS have been -- the Islamic
States have claimed responsibility, and it has to be those local groups acting on the Islamic State brand as it were. So to complicate the
picture, but certainly it is not stable down there.
JONES: Very complicated picture, and we should stress that we don't know yet who is behind the attack today as well, but great to get the analysis
in the broader context of wider Russia. Oliver, thanks very much indeed for coming in.
And still to come on the program the leaders of United States and Egypt find common ground on fighting terrorism. It is the beginning of a
critical week of diplomacy for U.S. President Donald Trump.
And then one of Mr. Trump's closest advisers and family members is traveling to the war zone for a closer look at the fight against ISIS. We
will be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JONES: Welcome back. Russia is reeling after a deadly terror attack in St. Petersburg Metro station. Officials say 11 people were killed and
dozens more wounded when an explosion rips through a crowded train car.
[15:30:10] No one has claimed responsibility, but Russian's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is calling it an act of terror.
The President of Colombia says there are no more missing people following a weekend of deadly mudslides, but at least 254 people lost their lives when
torrential rain caused rivers around the southern city of Mocoa to overflow. Scientists are blaming the deadly slides on a number of factors
including widespread deforestation, poor housing, and a densely packed population.
Violence has erupted over Ecuador's presidential election. Hundreds of supporters of the conservative candidate Guillermo Lasso clashed with
police after the leftist candidate Lenin Moreno claimed victory. Moreno has a narrow lead over Lasso with more than 96 percent of those votes
counted. However, Lasso has demanded a recount claiming electoral fraud.
OK. We want to get more now on our top story in today's deadly terror attack on the St. Petersburg metro system. Let's bring in Jill Dougherty
now. She's a CNN contributor and former CNN Moscow bureau chief.
Jill, very good to have you on the program. We hear so much about Russia on the international stage, but we don't hear so much about the domestic
threats it potentially faces as well. I was just touching on this with our guests a little bit earlier. But who do you think could be behind this
attack, given your knowledge of Russia's domestic situation?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, one hesitates to kind of be definitive because the investigation is still ongoing, but I think you
really have to look at the fighters from Chechnya and the southern part, those Caucasian regions in the south of Russia who went to Syria to fight.
They were highly radicalized, joined jihad in Syria, and then have been slowly, as that fight continues and actually Russians have been carrying
out a real crackdown on those groups, they are now doing what President Putin had warned could happen. And there is great concern about which is
returning home. And that, I would think, would be a definite possibility or something that they would want to the look at.
These would be people, again, most of them Chechens but, you know, some are actually regular Russian nationality people or ethnic stock who have gone
to Syria and now are coming back to carry out attacks.
You realize, of course, you know, Hannah, that in Syria right now, the second language that is spoken among the terrorists after Arabic is
Russian. And there are thousands of Chechen and other people from, you know, the south of Russia who are fighting in Syria. The estimates are
kind of all over the place, but they talk about, say, 1,500, maybe 2,000, up to about 4,000, maybe even 5,000. So you're talking about significant
numbers.
VAUGHAN JONES: What then could be the political consequences of this attack?
DOUGHERTY: Well, it depends, I think, on what President Putin does. I mean, he has been very strict in crackdowns after previous terrorist
attacks, so we've been watching now what he's been doing. He said very little actually, kind of what you would expect, that there's an
investigation ongoing. We will see whether this is terrorism.
Notably, the Prime Minister Medvedev did refer to it as a terrorist act, but then President Putin pretty much went along his schedule in St.
Petersburg. As we've been reporting, he was actually physically in the city on other events when this happened, but he went about his schedule,
meeting with the President of Byelorussia.
So he is continuing, and that's politically significant. Not halting everything, not giving the impression that this terrorist act has really
taken any -- has had any real effect on him, but it is highly significant. After all, this is his hometown, St. Petersburg.
And throughout his career, the primary issue that he has been concerned about is security, especially terrorism against Russia. So it will be
highly important, of course, to see what he will be saying and, more importantly, what he will be doing.
VAUGHAN JONES: Jill, as you'd expect, we've been getting a lot of reaction from world leaders as well, people sending their condolences to the Russian
people. I just want to pick up on the wording, though, from the U.S. when it comes to sending these condolences.
Perhaps I'm reading too much into it but, for example, we heard earlier from the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley. She said, "We
would like to extend our condolences to the people of Russia." Then we also had, just few minutes ago, Sean Spicer, the White House Press
Secretary, also talking about sending condolences to the people of Russia. President Trump, himself, has talked about it being a terrible thing, but
he hasn't said anything specific about President Putin. Am I reading too much into that?
[15:35:11] DOUGHERTY: You know, in a way, I think perhaps you are, but I think it's important to pay attention to the wording. I mean, usually,
condolences are sent to the Russian people, to the American people, to the French people, et cetera. I wouldn't read too, too much into that, but I
think watching what President Trump says about this would be important.
I mean, you know, the fine-tuned statement just came from Sean Spicer who was briefing at the White House, which offers support to Russia should they
want it in any type of investigation into this attack.
VAUGHAN JONES: Right.
DOUGHERTY: It also --
VAUGHAN JONES: Right.
DOUGHERTY: You know, remember that during the American presidential campaign, Mr. Trump at that point, candidate Trump, did talk about how it
would be good to cooperate with Russia, especially on terrorism. Now, the issue of Russia has become very, you could really say, highly toxic in the
United States right now with the charges of Russia interfering in the U.S. election. But I think that still remains the hope, certainly, of President
Trump and, more importantly, of President Putin, that he wants the United States to join them.
VAUGHAN JONES: Yes. Jill, the reason I asked --
DOUGHERTY: In an investigation.
VAUGHAN JONES: The reason I asked this is because just last week when we had the terror atrocity in London, President Trump then took to Twitter to
say that he'd spoken to the British Prime Minister Theresa May, and that she was doing a good job and that she was remaining strong through all of
this. I wonder just wonder whether you think we might get the same phone call and then Twitter chat afterwards from President Trump once he has,
perhaps, spoken to President Putin?
DOUGHERTY: Entirely possible. And as we all know, the tweets are not as finely tuned. It will be very interesting and important to watch. I noted
that at the press briefing, they said that they have not spoken, but, you know, potentially they could. And that would be very significant to see
whether President Trump, obviously, will express his condolences. But whether he will, once again, raise that issue of working with Russia in
fighting terrorism, that's really what President Putin wants to hear.
VAUGHAN JONES: Jill Dougherty, thanks very much for your analysis on this. We appreciate it.
We are going to move away now to a different story. One of President Trump's top advisors delivered a message to Iraq's Prime Minister today in
person. Jared Kushner met with Haider al-Abadi and other senior officials in Baghdad, pledging U.S. support in the fight against terrorism. Kushner
traveled with the top U.S. military officer, the Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joseph Dunford. They're getting a firsthand assessment of Iraq's
battle against ISIS.
Let's get more now from our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr. Barbara, why is the President's son-in-law in Iraq?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Mr. Kushner is taking on a much-expanded role in the White House as a senior advisor to the
President, working on several matters, including several foreign policy issues.
But at the White House briefing a short time ago, they were straightforward. He is taking on these issues. This was an opportunity
for him to travel to Iraq to meet firsthand, along with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, with Iraqi officials to meet U.S. troops to see for himself
how the fight against ISIS is going.
I think it's fair to say, right now, it appears to be exactly what it is, giving this man an opportunity firsthand to see the fight against ISIS.
But it's not lost on anybody, from the Prime Minister Abadi to General Dunford to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, that Mr. Kushner is very close to
the President, and as his son-in-law, is a very trusted advisor and as a conduit to Mr. Trump. If somebody in Iraq has something to say, something
to offer, they can be sure that Mr. Kushner will be listening on behalf of the President -- Hannah.
VAUGHAN JONES: There's definitely been a lot of questions about nepotism within the White House over the last week or so, many people wondering what
Jared Kushner doesn't have some sort of involvement in when it comes to the foreign policy. Is he effectively the de facto Secretary of State?
STARR: Well, you know, this is a phrase that's been tossed around Washington a fair bit with some, you know, sense of currency on it. But I
think that it's very clear that Mr. Rex Tillerson is the Secretary of State engaging in formal diplomatic activities.
You cannot underestimate, though, that Mr. Kushner is very influential and is very trusted by the President. He is appearing more around town. He's
been here at the Pentagon in meetings with the Saudis and the Defense Secretary. He is very much in the center of things at the White House.
And I would say, increasingly day by day, a force to be reckoned with.
[15:40:09] VAUGHAN JONES: When it comes to the conversations that he is actually going to be having in Iraq as well, what is the United States set
to get out of this? Other than, of course, the ongoing fight against ISIS and the battle for Mosul, et cetera, but what else could the United States
potentially want out of future relations with Iraq?
STARR: Well, one of the things on the table right now is to begin to think about what happens after ISIS is militarily defeated, what kind of U.S.
military presence might stay in Iraq to continue to help Iraqi forces be fully trained, fully capable of continuing to defend their country. There
is a growing sense at the Pentagon and in other places that the U.S. presence there may be enduring for some time to come -- Hannah.
VAUGHAN JONES: Barbara Starr, thanks very much.
STARR: Sure.
VAUGHAN JONES: Now, to Washington where Donald Trump has kicked off a critical week of international diplomacy. The fight against ISIS, Middle
East peace, trade relations with China, and North Korea's nuclear threat, well, they are all on the President's plate this week as he meets with
three world leaders.
First up, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The White House rolled out the welcome mat for him today. And President Trump made clear he wants
to reset relations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just want to let everybody know, in case there was any doubt, that we are very much behind President
el-Sisi. He's done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation. We are very much behind Egypt and the people of Egypt. We will fight terrorism
and other things, and we're going to be friends for a long, long period of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUGHAN JONES: Well, looking ahead, the King of Jordan will visit the White House on Wednesday. And then on Thursday, Mr. Trump heads to his
Mar-a-Lago in Florida for two days of meetings with the Chinese President Xi Jinping.
El-Sisi seized power by military force in 2013, toppling Egypt's first democratically elected government. His government is accused of human
rights abuses, and critics say that Mr. Trump's meetings today sends the wrong message about repressive regimes. Let's get some perspective now
from CNN Global Affairs Analyst Aaron David Miller.
Aaron, good to have you with us. Let's just talk, overall, to start off with, he's pressed the reset button, we think. This is Donald Trump, of
course. When he takes to Twitter on Saturday and reflects on his week of diplomatic efforts, what would success look like?
AARON DAVID MILLER, VICE PRESIDENT FOR NEW INITIATIVES, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS: What, for this week? Look, by and
large, despite all the tweeting and the rather unorthodox style delegation of key foreign policy issues and security portfolios to his son-in-law,
which is clearly unorthodox -- positive or negative, unclear at this point -- the reality is that this President seems to have pivoted from the galaxy
far, far away of campaigning to the reality that he's back on planet Earth, at least when it comes to foreign policy in terms of the governance.
We heard a lot of talk about undermining the One China policy. Well, that's not going to happen. We heard a lot of talk about shredding the
Iran agreement. Well, that is not going happen.
A lot of talk about moving the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, that's not going to happen. A lot of talk of acquiescing the notion that
Japan and South Korea ought to defend themselves with nuclear weapons. That's not going to happen.
So with the exception of several, well, quasi train wrecks, phone call with the Prime Minister of Australia and some serious tick tock with the
President of Mexico, most of President Trump's meetings, frankly, have come and gone pretty conventionally. And I am not at all sure that the three
this week, frankly, are, you know, end up that much outside the parameters of traditional American foreign policy and even beyond the parameters of
his predecessor.
Even with Sisi, for example, the notion that, somehow, Mr. Trump now prefers values over interests and order before freedom, and that somehow
giving Sisi a pass on human rights, look, the reality is the Obama administration tried to make human rights the centerpiece of their agenda.
But even Mr. Trump's predecessor, toward the end of his tenure, was in a position where he was thinking about it and, in fact, did restore delivery
of some military equipment to the Egyptians.
VAUGHAN JONES: OK.
MILLER: So, right now, frankly, I don't see much of a profound change most anywhere abroad. At home is a different story.
VAUGHAN JONES: OK. The China is the big one, right, at the end of the week. This is at Mar-a-Lago with the Chinese President. He's talked so
tough about China for so long now that, presumably, he has to go in hard on what he wants. And this is going to be a kind of golf diplomacy without
the golf, because we understand they're not actually going to play any golf. But how is that going to work out?
[15:45:14] MILLER: Look, I think President Xi knows exactly what he wants. And Xi's goals for meetings, I think, are pretty modest. He wants to try
to figure out where Mr. Trump is.
Is he going to challenge Chinese efforts to gain primacy in their traditional spheres of influence? Is he going to impose tariffs? Is he
really serious about the possibility of a preemptive strike against North Korean ballistic missile sites or nuclear technology?
Mr. Trump has a much harder lift, I think, because what he wants --
VAUGHAN JONES: Aaron --
MILLER: What he wants, frankly, with respect to North Korea, President Xi is not prepared to give.
VAUGHAN JONES: Aaron David Miller, we have to leave it there. Thanks very much for your analysis on what is sure to be a crucial week in diplomacy
for President Trump. Thank you.
MILLER: Yes. Thank you.
VAUGHAN JONES: This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
Now, this is rocky headland, population just 30,000, is at the center of the latest Brexit-related row. We will be live in Gibraltar next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUGHAN JONES: Welcome back. Spain's Foreign Minister is calling on the U.K. not to lose its temper. As the Brexit fields, the dispute grows.
It's all over Gibraltar. The British-controlled rocky headland on the southern tip of Spain with a population of just over 30,000.
The E.U.'s negotiating documents suggest Gibraltar could only be part of any future deal if Spain gave its approval. Well, that led to some fiery
rhetoric from politicians in the U.K. and the suggestion from one that the U.K. could even go to war over the dispute. Here is what Gibraltar's Chief
Minister told CNN earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FABIAN PICARDO, CHIEF MINISTER OF GIBRALTAR: Spain, I think, has misjudged this issue. I think she's misjudged the passions that her attempt to
ostracize Gibraltar from any future trade deal would give rise to in the United Kingdom. I think she now understands that she may have overplayed
her hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUGHAN JONES: Well, let's go live now to Gibraltar where our International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is covering this growing
dispute.
Nic, good to see you. Give us the broader background on this. Why would Gibraltar be a point of contention for Brexit at all?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, that's part of the confusion, on the British part at least, and it's part of, you know,
why there's a sort of a political backlash against Prime Minister Theresa May. Because when she sent her original letter to the President of the
European Council outlining the key points for her on the Brexit negotiations and he then responded with his negotiating points two days
later, the expectation didn't seem to be there in Britain that Gibraltar would be drawn into this.
[15:49:59} And so what happened over the weekend, you have the former conservative party chairman, Lord Michael Howard, comparing Theresa May's
potential support of Gibraltar to that of Margaret Thatcher over the Falkland Islands, that, potentially, she would go to war. This is how he
put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LORD MICHAEL HOWARD, FORMER CHAIRMAN, CONSERVATIVE AND UNIONIST PARTY: It is a remarkable coincidence that it's 35 years to the week since another
woman Prime Minister sent a task force halfway across the world to safeguard the freedom of another small group of British people against
another Spanish-speaking country. And I think Theresa May has the same resolve as her predecessor did, and she will look after the interests of
Gibraltar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: So this caused the Foreign Minister in Spain to say that he was surprised at the tone coming from Britain, that they lost their composure
that he normally expects to come from Britain. So the temperature was really raising on this.
This morning at 10 Downing Street, Theresa May's office, they were briefing that -- they weren't criticizing Michael Howard. They were saying that he
was showing resolve, or this was the resolve he expected Theresa May to show. There's a strong part of her party that expects her to go into these
negotiations with a stiff backbone, if you will, and perhaps he best represents that.
But at the same time, Theresa May, laughing when asked about this later in the day, quoting Winston Churchill, that it was better for jaw-jaw-jaw
rather than the obvious war-war-war, and that she was interested in negotiating with all E.U. partners, including Spain, to get the best deal
for everyone.
At the same time, you heard from the Chief Minister there from Gibraltar. He's received phone calls from Theresa May, from the Foreign Minister Boris
Johnson, saying that they support him and they stand right behind Gibraltar.
And, of course, the population here completely opposed in every opportunity. They've had to vote about it, opposed to any kind of
sovereignty with Spain. Maybe 30,000 people, but 99 percent of them, in 2002, the last time they had a vote on this, voted to continue with British
sovereignty.
So it's a passionate issue here, passionate for the British. But it really highlights just how sensitive and potentially treacherous the sort of
thorny issues that we don't see in the initial phases of Brexit are beginning to pop up and how quickly they can spike into what amounts to,
you know, an international shouting match here.
VAUGHAN JONES: Nic, just briefly as well, I mean, do you think this is going to be a problem on the Falkland scale? And if yes, I mean,
presumably, that would be a game-changer as far as the Brexit negotiations go.
ROBERTSON: Well, look, I mean, the critics, the political opposition in Britain, is already saying that, you know, Theresa May here or this tone
coming from her Conservative Party is detrimental to the negotiating process. That said, because they are making potential enemies out of
longtime allies like Spain, just that it's unnecessary. That's the view.
But the reality is Theresa May is not sending a military task force to Gibraltar the same way that Margaret Thatcher sent one to the Falklands.
No one really is expecting this to get to a level of war, and everyone does seem to be trying to play it down.
But again, it just underlines how potentially explosive some of these keenly felt issues that have been buried in the sort of the good nature and
the politics, if you will, the E.U. has had over the past decade or so.
VAUGHAN JONES: Nic, thanks very much indeed. Appreciate it.
Now, we want take you back to St. Petersburg in Russia now where a vigil is being held for the victims of today's terror attack. You can see there
live pictures. It is coming up to 11:00 in the evening local time there in St. Petersburg.
The attack itself happened seven or eight hours ago when a blast exploded, a bomb exploded, on the metro system in St. Petersburg. It happened
between two stations, the stations with Sennaya and the Technology Institute. Eleven people lost their lives. There are also scores more in
the hospital, some of them critically injured. But this is a makeshift memorial that's been set up outside the St. Petersburg metro.
Plenty more after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:56:02] VAUGHAN JONES: It has been a tough year for Samsung, and now another headache after the long awaited launch of its new Galaxy S8 phone.
It seems some new security features may not be all that secure at all. Samuel Burke explains.
SAMUEL BURKE, CNNMONEY BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Hannah, it seems like Samsung came this close to getting the debut of this phone
perfect. Remember, this is just a debut. They actually haven't released it to the market yet, not for a few weeks. So, right now, just tech
bloggers are testing it out.
And Samsung has talked about four different ways to get into the new Galaxy S8 -- using a password, your thumbprint, your iris actually, and also
facial recognition. But one blogger called MarcianoTech decided to try a picture of his face instead of using his face to get in. So you see him
holding up a phone where with a picture of his face to the Samsung Galaxy S8. He has to try a few times, but you there he is able to get in, not
using his actual flesh but a picture of his face.
That has some people concerned, given the fact that it's very easy to get a picture of a friend or a family member if you're trying to get into their
phone. Samsung has the following to say about this debacle, quote, "It's important to reiterate that facial recognition, while convenient, can only
be used for opening your Galaxy S8 or S8 Plus and currently cannot be used to authenticate access to Samsung Pay or a secure folder."
So basically, what they're saying is, you can't use facial recognition to get into some other parts of the phone. But who cares? If you can use
facial recognition to get into the phone, you're already getting into the phone if you've stolen a picture of somebody.
And, of course, somebody like you, Hannah, who is on television every day, you have an easily Google-able face, well, let's hope your phone doesn't
get into the hands of the wrong person.
VAUGHAN JONES: Let's hope so. That has been THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Thanks so much for watching. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
