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Hala Gorani Tonight
Biden On His Way To Europe For Key Talks With Allies; White House: U.S. Has Purchased 500 Million Doses Of Pfizer's COVID Vaccines And Will Donate Them Worldwide; European Parliament Approves COVID Travel Pass; Biden Heads For High-Stakes First Trip Abroad As President; G7 Leaders Face Historic Response To COVID-19 Pandemic; Australian PM To Take A Hard Line On China At 67; Royal Baby Name. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired June 09, 2021 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello and welcome, I'm Hala Gorani. We are live tonight and for the rest of the week from the stunning English
County of Cornwall. The weather may not be cooperating but you can see from the back drop behind me, very picturesque post card photo of the English
coastline in this part of the country.
The G7 Summit is taking place this week in Carbis Bay located just a few miles away from me on the tip of southern England. CNN will have special
coverage throughout the big event as U.S. President Joe Biden makes his first trip abroad as president.
Mr. Biden is in the air right now, he's expected to land in the next hour, when he gets here, he'll be kicking off one of the busiest weeks of his
presidency so far. Not only is he joining G7 leaders for talks on trade and the pandemic. Over the next few days, he'll also meet with NATO allies, EU
officials and in Geneva, the Russian President Vladimir Putin. He says the goal of these talks is to reaffirm America's presence on the world stage
and to rebuild ties with the U.S'. partners.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Strengthening the alliance, making clear to Putin and to China that Europe and the United States are
tight and the G7 is going to move.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know --
BIDEN: Thank you --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, CNN's Jeff Zeleny looks at some of the challenges Mr. Biden will be facing this week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joe Biden is stepping on the world stage for the first time as president, and equal to foreign leaders
after spending a lifetime as someone's envoy. As Air Force One touches down today in the United Kingdom, Biden has made clear his intent on reassuring
the world that democracy works and is alive in America.
BIDEN: And I told every world leader I have ever met over the years, it's never ever been a good bet to bet against America and is still isn't.
ZELENY: The week-long European tour includes a stop in Cornwall on the southern coast of England to see British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and
other leaders at the group of 7. First lady Jill Biden joins at Windsor Castle for an audience with Queen Elizabeth, and then to Brussels for a
summit with NATO allies and to Geneva to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Biden is carrying a message of Trans-Atlantic unity and
trying to move beyond the lingering baggage of President Trump's America first agenda.
BIDEN: America has been tested, and we've come out stronger for it. We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again.
ZELENY: No American President has laud this many miles around the globe as Biden. Thirty-six years in the Senate, eight years as vice president, and
then as a private citizen including this 2019 visit to Germany during the second year of the Trump administration.
BIDEN: We will be back. We will be back. Don't have any doubt about that.
ZELENY: Biden is back, but confronting a wave of new challenges like COVID, climate change and cyber attacks. Provocations that are testing the new
president in America's place in the world in the post-Trump era. He believes in the power of personal relationships, but knows well skepticism
toward the U.S. is running high after only recently starting to share vaccines with the world.
For Biden, the meeting with Putin holds the highest stakes, with some critics questioning why he's giving the Russian adversary a meeting at all.
JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We do not regard in meeting with the Russian president as a reward. Joe Biden is not meeting with
Vladimir Putin despite our country's differences. He's meeting with him because of our country's differences.
ZELENY: Even inside the West Wing, the summit was subject to internal debates. CNN has learned that Biden insisted on engaging Putin face-to-
face.
SULLIVAN: There's never any substitute for leader-to-leader engagement, particularly for complex relationships. But with Putin, this is
exponentially the case.
ZELENY: At the White House, the first five months of Biden's presidency have been dominated by domestic challenges. Yet, foreign policy is Biden's
first love. At long last, he's setting it and will be judged by it.
BIDEN: The United States is determined to re-engage with Europe, to consult with you, to earn back our position of trust and leadership.
ZELENY: Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Falmouth, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right, let's get more details from our correspondents, Scott McLean is in London, Arlette Saenz is with me here in Falmouth in Cornwall.
First, before I get to you, we have some breaking news. The United States is announcing that it has bought half a billion doses of Pfizer's vaccine,
and that it intends on distributing a couple hundred million this year and 300 million next year through COVAX system.
Some of these doses will go to poorer countries including developing nations in Africa among other places. Of course, the big challenge here is
always to distribute to get these vaccine doses before they expire in a timely fashion to those who need it most.
[14:05:00]
All right, let's start with Arlette here. And this is going to be for the U.S., a much more welcoming G7 I'm sure than it was when President Trump
was in office, right? Because this is what backed the kind of the old world weather with Joe Biden.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and that's what President Biden's message had been dating back to his campaign. Thus, when
he took office, it would essentially be this return of America's commitment to the U.S. allies. And so, you're going to see the president over the
course of the next few days really try to stress that message, both of that G7 Summit right here in Cornwall, and also when he moves on to the NATO and
the EU Summit.
All of this teeing up that big meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
GORANI: Yes --
SAENZ: The president is hoping that he can show a united front with allies as he heads into that meeting with Putin where he is expected to challenge
the Russian president on things like cyber attacks and human rights violations, while also try and find areas for agreement. But the White
House very carefully choreographed all of this by starting with the allies first, to try to show that united front next.
GORANI: Right, and even Emmanuel Macron before the G7 in Beirut had met with Putin before meeting with -- this is interesting, the sequence, the
order of things here is interesting. Scott McLean, from the perspective of Boris Johnson; the U.K. Prime Minister, who is hosting this G7 meeting here
in Cornwall, what is the objective for the U.K. government?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think Boris Johnson has a lot to -- a lot on his plate, and a lot of things that he wants to show the world
probably from the American perspective, he wants to show that, you know, he's not Donald Trump lite, he is not the British Donald Trump as he's
sometimes portrayed in the American press.
He's far from it. In fact, his policies don't really line up with the Republican Party in very many ways at all. And on issues like the
environment, he wants to show that he has a robust agenda, he has ambitious targets that he's trying to set the U.K. on the path toward achieving, and
he's serious about the U.K. becoming a leader on that as well.
He is also, you know, going to be asked by President Biden to get on board with things like this action plan on countering Russian aggression, and as
Arlette had mentioned, and also on standing up against human rights violations taking place in China. That might be a little bit of a touchy
subject, Hala, for European countries which by the way, the EU just signed onto a very wide-ranging economic arrangement with China.
It doesn't really have a great mechanism in it to hold them to account on human rights issues. And the other broad issue here after the G7, obviously
President Biden is going to NATO, and we know that he can talk tough with adversaries, but the question is what kind of Joe Biden are we going to get
when it comes to allies.
NATO countries obviously are supposed to pay in 2 percent at least of their GDP in defense spending, most NATO countries don't do that. In fact, the
U.S. spends more than double all other NATO countries combined, and we all remember Donald Trump back in 2019 and in previous years having no issue
shaming his allies into trying to get them to spend more on defense spending.
By contrast, this time around, Hala, the Biden White House is saying that they'll discuss effective burden sharing with other countries. And so, this
may be a good case study on whether or not the U.S. can catch more flies with honey or with vinegar. Traditionally, the U.S. in recent years hasn't
had luck with either strategy, really.
GORANI: Well, it could be the same message delivered in two entirely different ways. Arlette, let's talk about this announcement by the United
States that they're buying and intending on distributing 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. This is kind of from the Biden administration, first
of all, an absolute reaffirmation in the belief that vaccines are essential to ending this pandemic. But also it's a charm offensive to the world.
SAENZ: Right --
GORANI: Isn't it?
SAENZ: Yes, he is coming to the G7 Summit with some tangible items that people can point to that the U.S. is going to be a major player in
combating this pandemic. The United States had been under a lot of pressure when it came to vaccines and sharing that worldwide, and now with this new
announcement that the president has purchased 500 million doses of Pfizer and will be donating that over the course of the next two years. It just
shows that the U.S. really took that pressure to heart and trying -- and just trying to establish themselves as one of the key leaders when it comes
to combating the COVID-19 vaccine.
The COVID -- White House COVID Director Jeffrey Zients had been working on this, trying to strike some type of agreement over the course of the past
month. So that when they came to the international stage, they would have something to show for it and also be able to pressure other countries to
follow suit.
[14:10:00]
GORANI: All right, well, this is an announcement that's made as we mentioned, as we told our viewers less than an hour before Joe Biden, the
U.S. President is due to land here in the U.K. and we'll be covering that live. Thanks very much, Arlette Saenz and Scott McLean is in London.
Arlette, did you have to deal with Cicadas in Washington?
SAENZ: I did not have to deal with Cicadas, but my colleagues who landed a short while ago did.
GORANI: Well, President Biden gave a rather unusual warning to reporters this morning before he boarded Air Force One. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Watch out for the Cicadas. I just got one. It got me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, you can see him swatting the pesky Cicada off his neck just hours earlier. So many Cicadas, so many invaded the White House press
charter plane that it couldn't take off. Airline officials had to call for a replacement jet, delaying the flight by more than six hours, that's a lot
of Cicadas by the way if you have to cancel a whole flight.
The large flying bugs have swarmed be eastern U.S. in recent weeks. It's a phenomenon that happens thankfully only every 17 years just about. Be kind
of problematic if it was every Summer. Well, the G7 leaders have not arrived in England yet, their likenesses are already standing tall near a
Cornish beach. Let me explain.
This has been dubbed the Mount Recyclemore. It's a Mount Rushmore-style sculpture depicting the G7 leaders heads but built entirely out of
electronic waste. This is making a point that climate change is causing big problems for the environment, and this is expected to be, of course,
climate change a big issue on the table this G7.
Foreign aid will be another key issue at the summit, and host, Boris Johnson is already on the defensive. He's facing major criticism over plans
to cut the U.K.'s overseas aids spending. But in the House of Commons today, Johnson insisted that the move was necessary. Here is how he's
defending it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: We are in very difficult financial times, but you shouldn't -- you shouldn't believe the lefty
propaganda Mr. Speaker, that you hear from people often. We're spending 10 billion pounds overseas.
We've actually increased -- we've increased -- all they want to do is run this country down, Mr. Speaker, run this country down. Where we've -- where
we've increased -- where we've increased spending on girls education alone to half a billion pounds, almost half a -- that is a fantastic sum of money
to be spending in difficult times, Mr. Speaker, we should be proud.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, another G7 leader, the French President Emmanuel Macron is heading here as well, but first, he's appealing to the French public not to
act violently no matter how angry they are. This after a constituent slapped him across the face on Tuesday. Here is another look at that
moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: It happened in southeast France where Macron was meeting restaurant owners. Ahead of today's easing of COVID-19 restrictions in France, and
here is how Mr. Macron responded to that today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT, FRANCE (through translator): There is stupidity and when stupidity combines with violence, it is unacceptable. That's
something else. It must not be mixed up. I hear the anger. Anger is expressed in democracy. You know, I'm always going to meet people. I always
go in contact within range of yelling, as I say, and I care.
People express their anger to me. Sometimes their dismay and I'm always there. Sometimes I have the answer, other times I don't. I try to build it.
Sometimes I get it wrong and other times I get it right. This is legitimate anger and we will always be there to respond to it. Stupidity and violence,
no. Not in a democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, two people were arrested by the way, the man who administered the slap and someone accompanying him. Meantime France is continuing to
ease COVID restrictions. It's implementing a new color-coded traffic light system for international travelers today.
It means different rules will apply to travelers coming from green, orange or red countries depending on their vaccination status. France also is
allowing indoor dining at restaurant and cafes with 50 percent capacity permitted inside, and a maximum of six people per table, and it is pushing
back a nightly curfew by two hours.
So, France is kind of coming back when it comes to eating indoors, going to bars and cafes. The French way of life. This comes as the European
parliament has formerly approved the EU's COVID travel certificate by a wide margin. The pass will indicate whether you've been vaccinated against
COVID, have tested negative or have recovered from COVID. It takes effect across the EU on July 1st. CNN's Melissa Bell is live in Paris with more.
How will it work practically?
[14:15:00]
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Well, in practice, this is a system, Hala, that will allow Europeans once again to get across their own borders.
That is of course that crucial element of where the European Union is, which is the free movement of people has been so troubled over the course
of the last year by different restrictions, a lack of coordination from Brussels, borders that have popped up where we were not used to seeing
borders before. So first and foremost, this was about Europeans being able to cross fairly easily from one country to another.
So, yes, the system which will be in place by July 1st already in place in some countries, but of course, it's important to remember, Hala, that in
the end borders remain the competency of member states. So for instance, France from today as you say has its very own system of green, orange and
red.
If you come from a green zone, so anywhere in the European Union and a certain number of other countries, Japan, Singapore, Australia and you're
vaccinated, well, you can come to Paris from today with no other restriction. People who haven't been vaccinated from those countries still
have to provide a negative PRC test.
Then you have the orange countries, they include the U.K., they include the United States where people who have been vaccinated still have to provide a
PCR test. So, there are negotiations under way between Europeans and Americans for instance on how to make their codes, those QR codes or the
certificates, the pieces of paper you can receive valid from one continent to another, Hala.
GORANI: OK, and what about -- I mean, is there a circuit breaker mechanism if all of a sudden there's some sort of big uptick in numbers. What's the
plan?
BELL: Yes, in the end, this remains the competency of member states. And all the country has to do is notify Brussels that it's put in place these
breaks with regard to this variant that it's worried about. So it's allowed for all that. What's remarkable in all this, Hala, is that in a matter of a
couple of months, the European Union of 27 different countries with different interests, some tourism and still getting this done fast, either
data protection and therefore being cautious, they've managed to do it.
And really, what we're passing to is a world where what matters is whether or not you've been vaccinated rather than where you're coming from. Very
slowly, that's where we're headed. The European Union has been ahead of most in that game.
GORANI: All right, Melissa Bell live in Paris. Thanks very much. Still to come, no seat at the table, but at the top of the agenda. China not
represented at the G7 Summit, but it will likely dominate the discussion. We'll explain after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
GORANI: Well, China won't be present at the G7 gathering in Cornwall this week. It's not a member of this club, but Beijing's growing influence will
be on the agenda for sure. The U.S. is looking to rally the world's democratic nations, and before he left, President Joe Biden told reporters
one of his main goals is making it clear to Vladimir Putin and to China that Europe and the U.S. are tight once again.
The U.S. Senate is also concerned about China's increasing economic power in a very rare bipartisan move. Lawmakers passed the bill that would invest
some $200 billion in American technology, science and research still needs to clear the house, but the Senate Democratic leader says it's an important
first step that will super charge American innovation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Around the globe, authoritarian governments believe that squabbling democracy like ours can't unite around national
priorities. They believe that democracy itself is a relic of the past. And that by beating us to emerging technologies, they, many of the more
autocracies will be able to research -- reshape the world in their own image. Well, let me tell you something, I believe they are wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, it's a tug of war of course. Who will dominate the next century technologically? CNN's David Culver has more on the bill and on
China's reaction. He's in Shanghai.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is rare to see agreement on both sides of the aisle in Washington. But when it comes to China and
what the U.S. perceives to be a growing threat, not only economic one, but also a national security one, there is agreement from the Senate in
particular and moving forward with this bill that would allow the U.S. to put in billions of dollars into research and development, technology, all
in an effort to compete against what's happening here in China.
And China has seen great advancement in recent years and they have being pouring likewise of billions into their own RND as well as into their 5G
roll out and it's caused greater concern for the U.S., and that it could be used in military operations as well that likewise could threaten global
security.
So, the U.S. has this bill that is likely to go onto the house and then to President Biden and could likely become law. And that's causing Beijing to
react with a lot of anger and frustration considering this to be a cold war ideology. They say that the U.S. is trying to contain China's growth and
development, and they simply say they will not stand by this moving forward.
However, it does look very likely that this will continue, and not only will it continue from the U.S., but now you have President Biden joining
with other world leaders at the G7 and China will very likely be one of the biggest topics and agenda items for those high-level discussions.
And putting more pressure on Beijing from an international perspective and will likewise see here probably some of the countering propaganda continue
to surface, and not only will that propaganda surface, but it'll also try to win over some of the developing nations, western democracies aside and
trying to perhaps even spread some of the influence that has already been tarnished a bit by the initial outbreak of COVID-19, and what has been
perceived to have been the mishandling of that here in China.
Going forward, it is likely to put more pressure on Beijing. However, they are standing by their line that this is the U.S. essentially putting them
in a corner and trying to stop them from continuing on with their own development. David Culver, CNN, Shanghai.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, we're entering the Summer months, so, a lot of people have travel and vacations on their minds, and the European parliament has
formally approved the EU's COVID travel certificate by a wide margin. Let's bring in Spanish MEP Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar; he's the EU parliament's
rapporteur on vaccine certificates.
So, he's the man of the hour in terms of who we need to talk to, to get more information on how this is all going to work. Explain to us, so from
the first of July, there will be a travel vaccine certificate that people can either digitally obtain or have a hard copy. How will it work
logistically?
JUAN FERNANDO LOPEZ AGUILAR, E.U. PARLIAMENT RAPPORTEUR ON VACCINE CERTIFICATE: Make imprints. We started 2021 as the Summer 2020 we had which
was a nightmare. Precisely because the COVID pandemic brought about an accumulation of emergency measures being adopted unilaterally by member
states. Hindering the most valuable asset of the European experience, which is precisely free movement which is a fundamental right.
[14:25:00]
So, we asked the commission to take initiative and legislate on the matter to restore Schengen which is free area, free movement as a fundamental
right of the European citizens. To regain trust that you can get to travel again. And these urgent procedure has finally come to -- piece of
legislation is European regulation, which is European binding law for all the member states which will create a unitary certificate valid in all
member states which will do the trick of reopening borders and allowing the bearers of that certificate to travel with no additional restrictions, no
more PCRs, no more antigen tests in so much as they can certify that they have been vaccinated. They have been recovered from the --
GORANI: Yes --
AGUILAR: COVID or they are -- PCR in the latest couple of days. So, that will do the trick. We also -- important --
GORANI: So, this is for -- but if a traveler cannot prove that they've either been vaccinated, recovered from COVID or have a negative test, there
won't be freedom of movement for them. They have to meet at least one of those requirements, correct?
AGUILAR: Vaccination is not an obligation. You can always refuse. But then you will have to undergo the type of measures that the member states may
impose, you know, in order to control the pandemic, and so far as the pandemic is still there. The pandemic is to be withered away by a
declaration of the World Health Organization, but in as much as it is there, and member states will have their confidence to apply for certain
restriction. But now we have come to unitary solution which will return the task work --
GORANI: Sure --
AGUILAR: Of the measures that we have been for all too long. So, that means that at least for those --
GORANI: So --
AGUILAR: Will have been vaccinated or prove technological tests or PRC, they can't even delay this hour, antigen tests in the latest hour. That
certificate will be valid for all, same format incomparable between the member states, and that --
GORANI: I think --
AGUILAR: Will create legal certainty and remove the discrimination that we have seen for all too long.
GORANI: I can guarantee you, there are people on the edge of their seats, their chairs, their sofas, whatever, who are desperate to travel to the
European Union this Summer. But they are not EU citizens or residents of the EU. Americans, people in Asia, people in Africa, if they have been
double vaccinated, is it the case that regardless of where they come from, they will be able to sign up to this EU COVID certificate and travel freely
within the 27 countries?
AGUILAR: Yes, COVID certificate is meant to be binding not for the European Union member states, not for third states, but there will always be the
chance for the citizens coming to the European Union from abroad to be certified in the same conditions. So, if they have been vaccinated and that
the vaccines are not recognized by these regulations, we've got vaccines of the European Medical Agency or least of emergency of the World Health
Organization, they will be granted free access to the Schengen area, in the same conditions up to European citizens.
GORANI: And that is regardless of whether or not there is severe outbreaks in the country of origin? So for instance, if someone is traveling from a
country where there's a big outbreak, but they have been vaccinated twice and they can prove it with an EMA approved vaccine, they will be allowed to
sign up to this COVID certificate?
AGUILAR: They are certain, derogation or special derogation measures in the regulation. But now they are subject also to European law. They have to be
justified. They have to be necessary. They have to be announced with a certain anticipation, 48 hours. They have to be announced 24 hours in
advance to the citizens that might be that consideration, and of course, they have to be limited in their scope and in the duration of that measure.
So, there are meant to be exception provided that the main aim of the new regulation is precisely to reignite free movement and to reignite not only
mutual trust between member states, but there has been a landscape of security and discrimination and legal uncertainty and reignite free
movement, regaining the trust of the European citizens, then they can dare to travel again.
GORANI: All right, thank you so much for joining us, Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar who is the EU parliament's rapporteur on vaccine certificates and a
member of the European parliament. Thanks very much for all those clarifications. Still to come tonight, we'll take a closer look at what is
on the agenda for this G7 summit and why things might be a little bit different now that Donald Trump is no longer at the table. Maybe a lot
different actually.
[14:30:00]
Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GORANI: Welcome back to Cornwall, seven major world leaders are en route to this part of the English coast for the first face-to-face G7 summit in
nearly two years. The U.S. President Joe Biden is in the air aboard Air Force One. He's scheduled to land in half an hour. Nic Robertson tells us
what's on the agenda.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: President Biden will be arriving late Wednesday. But if prime minister Boris Johnson will be here
to meet with him, they will have a bilateral on Thursday. And it's Friday when the other G7 leaders will get around the table together.
The first face-to-face G7 summit leaders' meeting in almost two years, strict COVID protocols will be observed. There's tight security around the
venue. Naval ships out to sea. Thousands of police drafted in from around the country.
The important things on the agenda will be dealing with the COVID pandemic, dealing with the economic impact of it and, most importantly, prime
minister Boris Johnson, who is hosting this event, said he wants to set a target of having every one globally vaccinated by the end of 2022.
These richer nations, these richest of the democracies, around the world, to help the poorer nations. Also on the agenda is helping education of
women in developing nations as well as global corporate taxation.
Some of that has already been nailed down by G7 finance ministers just over the past few days. So these leaders will be doing what they like to do
best, meeting face-to-face, not via a computer screen.
[14:35:00]
ROBERTSON: Hammering out what they consider to be the important global issues and, in their minds, making the planet a better and safer place for
us to live in -- Nic Robertson, CNN, Carbis Bay, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Let's bring in Susan Glasser, CNN global affairs analyst and a staff writer at "The New Yorker."
Thanks for being with us, Susan. I wonder if the world leaders will have the same challenge as meeting face-to-face for the first time in 1.5 years,
if there will be any awkwardness strange body language.
The big difference this year is there's no Trump in the White House and it's Joe Biden back to kind of the old world order.
SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: That's right. Zero fatigue among these diplomats is one thing but I think Trump fatigue for four years,
there was an enormous amount of anxiety. Every time world leaders would get together on the part of our European allies a real concern, what was Trump
doing to do?
What was he doing to say?
Was he going to refuse to recommit to the NATO founding principal of collecting defense?
He did that at his first meeting.
Is he going to blow up the communique at the last minute?
That actually happened at the summit meeting in Canada. So they are pretty sure that Joe Biden will not do any of those things. In that sense, the bar
has been set pretty low for Biden on this first foreign trip because Donald Trump makes it easy for him to jump right over that and have a success in
the realm of personal diplomacy.
GORANI: You mentioned Quebec 2018, that famous photo of Donald Trump sitting with his arms crossed definitively with John Bolton to his right
and all the world leaders crowded around him.
That kind of just became a symbol of his -- of how he interacted, of his relationship with world leaders.
Moving on now, beyond Donald Trump, Joe Biden, what do the first few months in the White House for Joe Biden tell us about his approach to foreign
policy as he gets ready to meet the G7 leaders in Cornwall?
GLASSER: First of all, Biden has not just his tenure as president and vice president for Barack Obama but also years in the Senate, decades in the
Senate, including as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
His press secretary, Jen Psaki, joked earlier, when she asked what was he doing to prepare for this upcoming foreign trip, she said he's been
preparing for it for 50 years.
And I do think that it's a stage on which Biden feels comfortable, where he has relationships with some leaders. Although many of them are new to him
personally. He doesn't know or have a long tenure with Macron in France. This is Merkel's last major round of summit meetings.
This question of the transition in Germany will loom large absolutely over the gathering. But for Joe Biden, I do think he's made it very clear. He
sees the world as lining up right now as a contest between democracies and autocracies.
And it's putting the onus on his fellow allies. We have to show that democracy works if we're going to be in an existential competition with
China and Russia and others. And it's a big challenge to lay on the table.
GORANI: It's a big challenge because in the United States there's so many questions hanging over the process itself and in other parts of the world
as well.
I wonder, looking forward to the Biden-Putin meeting in Geneva next week, after those meetings between Biden and Donald Trump (sic) here, what do you
anticipate?
GLASSER: Well, look, the Biden-Putin summit obviously comes at the end of this round of diplomacy and that's by design. I think the Biden team in
Washington was concerned to make the messaging, hey, we're on the same page with our allies, unlike in the Trump era.
We're going to consult with them extensively. We're not looking to make some sort of a separate piece with Russia. We are quite the opposite,
looking to present a united front. That I think tells you a bit about the staging leading up to it.
But in truth, this summit meeting is more likely to produce some tough words on both sides than it is any concrete new agreements. Biden said he
wants to look Biden in the eye and tell him face-to-face, knock it off when it comes to provocations like the continued rounds of cyber hacking and
election interference here in the U.S., the aggressive gestures toward neighbors like Ukraine, Putin's apparent agreement and approval of Belarus'
extraordinary state sponsored hijacking of a European jetliner that they forced down just a couple of weeks ago in order to drag an opposition
journalist off the plane.
[14:40:00]
GLASSER: So these are a lot of things on the agenda but not clear that there will be agreement that comes out of it.
GORANI: It's going to be interesting to watch and observe all of these events as they unfold. And as we mentioned at the top of the hour the U.S.
President hasn't landed yet in the U.K., due to land in about half an hour. Susan Glasser, it's always a pleasure talking to you. Thanks for joining us
on the program.
Now to Nicaragua, where police have detained five high-profile opposition leaders within less than a week. Four out of the five have announced their
intention to run against long time president Daniel Ortega in November's elections.
CNN's Matt Rivers is following the story from Mexico City.
It's difficult not to see this as a way to remove these opposition candidates from the equation here.
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, two plus two equals four. You can't look at what's going on over the past week and really come
to any other conclusion other than the Ortega administration and critics will now call it is clearly trying to clear out any opposition ahead of
presidential elections coming this November.
It started last week with the detention of a very high-profile candidate. She was someone who many people felt had a chance to unseat Ortega. She
announces her candidacy last week and just a few hours after, here come money laundering charges and also ideological falseness charges, whatever
that means.
It's as vague as it sounds and it's a political tool, according to critics, human rights organizations and it allows the Ortega administration to
silence dissent. This continued with three other presidential candidates being detained, a key opposition leader being detained, three of them yet
on Tuesday.
This is the continuation of several years of Ortega trying to silence dissent in his country. Going back to massive protesters in 2018 against
the government, shortly thereafter a lot of vague national security laws were passed that essentially criminalized anyone speaking out against the
government.
Although what we had seen over the past week is surely the most intense of those moves that he's made, to silence anyone who disagrees with him in
that country, to the point where a top U.S. State Department official tweeted yesterday that Ortega's recent actions leave the United States and
the international community no choice but to treat Ortega as a dictator.
GORANI: All right. Matt Rivers, thanks very much.
Still to come tonight, the sharp rise in ransomware attacks across the globe. How the threat is becoming more dangerous and more complex. Also we
will be covering the U.S. President's arrival in the U.K. shortly. We'll be right back.
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[14:45:00]
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GORANI: Welcome back.
President Biden has landed in the U.K. ahead of the G7 summit happening here in Cornwall. He's landed at the Royal Air Force Mildenhall in Suffolk,
England. He's going to then make his way to Cornwall airport. That will happen in a few hours. It'll be local time a late night for him.
He won't arrive in Cornwall proper until five minutes before 11:00 pm. Then he'll make his way to Tregenna Castle. We'll get back to those images for
you once we see the U.S. President emerge.
The world is seeing a marked and increasingly rise in ransomware attacks. Concerns are bound to be addressed at this week's G7. Nick Paton Walsh has
been digging deep into this issue for us.
What have you got?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: As you mentioned, President Biden and Russian president Vladimir Putin may find this comes
into their conversation because a lot of the ransomware attacks that hit things like the Colonial Pipelines are cues of emanating from Russia.
Ransomware may sound very other. Names like DarkSide, et cetera, quite unfamiliar but it's increasingly something that's penetrating not only
major infrastructure but private companies with a startling rise, as we learned, globally, it seems, during the pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (voice-over): They feel almost daily now, cyberattacks. As we moved online with the pandemic, crime moved with us. In the European Union last
year, new figures obtained by CNN show significant cyberattacks doubled with hospitals horrifyingly hit harder than before often with ransomware
targeting private data.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People pandemic a lot of street vendors were abandoned online and that happened in (INAUDIBLE). So security was (INAUDIBLE). At
the same time (INAUDIBLE) for a lot of time and this gave a lot of opportunities to be able to explore the abilities and exploit (INAUDIBLE)
systems (INAUDIBLE).
WALSH (voice-over): The average cost of an attack doubled just so far this year to now $1.8 million. Say security experts, so far, the highest ransom
now astronomical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe 50 million, five-zero, was the sum that I heard.
WALSH (voice-over): The latest, a so-called triple extortion. They don't just encrypt the data on your computer until you pay up or just threaten to
release it online. Instead, they use that data to attack your systems again and even to blackmail your customers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are trying to more purposeful. They try to penetrate as fully as possible so that they can extract as much money as
possible. If you're a customer of this company, whose data has been (INAUDIBLE), they will threaten to release your information or they'll also
call your other companies that are your partners.
WALSH (voice-over): And there's new ransomware known as far less attacks that don't require the human error of clicking on a suspicious link. They
seep into the operating system of your computer and never show up as a file on the hard drive.
Hard to know if it's even happened.
The solution, say experts, like with kidnappings, don't pay. But that's tough when privacy is key to a business' survival. This leaves police
following the money, usually the bitcoin.
Ransomware criminals DarkSide were behind the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attacks that froze up U.S. gas stations. The FBI quickly recovered half the
$4 million paid out as this graphic of the bitcoin short route shows the FBI traced its path relatively easily with the help of cybersecurity
experts Elliptic (ph).
Other scams, like the one on Twitter last year, are a lot more complex, with hundreds of cryptotransfers over months.
[14:50:00]
WALSH (voice-over): It's in the real world, though, they get caught.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) criminals won't cash out dollars or euros or whatever. And so in the vast majority of cases we do see (INAUDIBLE)
exchange. If that exchange is regulated, then we should be identifying their customers and reporting any suspicious activity.
WALSH (voice-over): Still, it gets harder, with tricks like mixes that enable users' cryptocurrencies to get mixed together, like shuffling used
dollar bills, disguising their ownership.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's about identifying who the perpetrators are but also ensuring that it's very difficult for these criminals to cash out. It means
that there's less of an incentive to commit this kind of crime in the first place.
WALSH (voice-over): In short, don't pay the money. But if you already have, follow it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right, Nick Paton Walsh, reporting.
Just moment ago, the U.S. President disembarked from Air Force One, the president and the first lady Jill Biden at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk,
hundreds of miles away from where the G7 summit is due to take place. The president, the first lady will be flying to Cornwall in just a few hours.
There will be some remarks made to the military community in the next few minutes. That is something that Joe Biden, the U.S. President, whose first
trip abroad it is, as president, will be taking part in.
As I mentioned, then it will be wheels up to Cornwall airport and it will be late. The weather is not great. They probably won't be a huge delegation
but there will be an honor guard arrival ceremony at Cornwall airport at that time.
Then the U.S. President Joe Biden and his team, his advisers, will make their way to Tregenna Castle, where the G7 summit will take place.
Still to come, what is in a name?
Apparently, quite a lot, especially if you're part of one of the world's most high profile families. Details on the latest royal controversy -- or
manufactured controversy. We'll ask Max Foster.
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GORANI: Welcome back. Here is a look at some of the images coming in to us.
[14:30:00]
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GORANI: RAF Mildenhall, as I was talking you through some of the images that came to us earlier. Joe Biden has arrived in England for talks with
allies. You can see the large American flag and American troops there to greet the U.S. President.
As we have been discussing there with our reporters on the ground, this is the first foreign trip for Joe Biden as U.S. President. He's due to give
remarks there in just the next few minutes and we will be bringing those live to you when they happen.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are denying a report that they did not consult the queen before naming their daughter Lilibet Diana. CNN's Max
Foster joins me now.
What's this latest controversy about?
Why would -- what was reported that the couple are saying was inaccurate?
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Where the information and mirrors and shadows are trying to make sense of it but effectively it's been some
speculation about whether or not Harry asked the queen's permission to use her nickname for his daughter.
That turned up in the BBC today, saying that Harry never asked. That was according to a royal source. Buckingham Palace not confirming or denying
that report, which got a lot of people interested in it.
Then we had a statement from the Sussex office, dismissing the BBC report.
"The Duke," Prince Harry, "spoke with his family in advance of the announcement. In fact, his grandmother was the first family member he
called. During that conversation he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honor.
"Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name."
Huge amount of debate and chatter about this here.
Who is right, who is wrong?
Is the BBC right, is the royal source right or are the Sussexes right?
You choose.
GORANI: All right. There you have it. Yet another topic of conversation surrounding Harry and Meghan, this time on whether or not they called the
queen before naming their child. Thanks very much, Max Foster.
Thanks for watching tonight. Do stay with CNN. I'll see you next hour and we'll have a special program at 10:00 pm British time. After the break,
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS is coming your way. Stay with us.
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