Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: Trump Envoy: Hamas has to Release all the Hostages; Macron, Starmer to Meet Trump Next Week to Talk Ukraine; Elon Musk has Voiced Support for Far-Right AFD Party; Ukrainian Parliament Member on Strained Relations with U.S.; Trump's Tariffs Threaten Businesses in Mexico, Canada; Speculation about the Next Actor to Play James Bond. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired February 21, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: But Israel accuses the group of a serious violation, saying the body of the Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas was not amongst the hostage remains returned on Thursday. Also, this hour, what's next for Ukraine and its President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as the rift of Donald Trump deepens, we're live in Kyiv and Washington with the latest. And we look ahead to a crucial election in Germany on Sunday, where the far right has gained ground.

The Israeli Prime Minister is calling Thursday's turn of events a cruel and vicious violation of the Gaza ceasefire. Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to make Hamas pay what he calls the full price for its failure to hand over the body of hostage Shiri Bibas, as promised. The mother of two was supposed to be one of the four bodies returned yesterday. Israel says it received the remains of another woman who was not a hostage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: In an unimaginable, cynical move they didn't return Shiri by her little children, the little angels, and put the body of a Gazan woman inside the casket. We will operate determinedly to bring Shiri home, along with our hostages, both the living and the dead, and ensured that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and vicious violation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Israeli authorities confirm they had received the remains of her two children, four-year-old, Ariel and nine-month-old Kfir, as well as 83-year-old Oded Lifshitz. Now Hamas says it will investigate Israel's claim, saying a mistake could have been made because of the number of bodies recovered from under the rubble following Israeli air strikes, the group says it's committed to fully fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire.

Nic Robertson joins us from Jerusalem. If we look at the language from Netanyahu he seems to have lost patience, though, and the whole thing looks like it's looking vulnerable now the deal. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Certainly, the way the Prime Minister frames it, it's looking vulnerable. There's so much pressure on him, however, in the country, to bring all the hostages and as many hostages as they're alive, back as soon as possible. And that's certainly something that his office, the Prime Minister's Office, say they've been focusing on in their negotiations.

But there are those right wingers in the prime minister's government who want A, return to war, B, a price to be extracted from Hamas from this and also, I think we can add in to that combustible mixture of anger at Hamas over the missing body of Shiri Bibas. Add into that the fact that the investigators, the forensic team that did the analysis that said Kfir, Ariel and Oded were all killed, said, or all dead, said that they were killed by Hamas in captivity in November 2023.

Now Hamas says they were killed in an Israeli air strike. But what the -- these sorts of late forensic autopsies, if you will, the Israeli officials are saying is, very clearly, they say, despite what Hamas says, that it was -- that, it was Hamas that killed them.

But I think on the one hand, you've got the prime minister, you've got these very strong statements from the right wingers within his government. But the president, for example, Isaac Herzog, announced his pain, his suffering, recognizing the country's pain and suffering as well over this failure to return Shiri Bibas' body.

But focus more on making sure the return of the other hostages happens. And this is something that the Families Forum that represents so many of the families of hostages want to see happen. They say, as much as there is anger and frustration, they are pushing the focus towards the continued release deals that are in process. And there is -- there are supposed to be six hostages living released on Saturday and Saturday tomorrow, in exchange for a significant number, 628 Palestinians, Max.

FOSTER: OK. Nic Robertson in Jerusalem thank you. U.S. President Donald Trump's Envoy for Hostage Affairs, called on Hamas to release all the hostages or face what he called total annihilation. Adam Boehler spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAM BOEHLER, U.S. ENVOY FOR HOSTAGE AFFAIRS: I mean, it's stunning. I don't know what they thought when they put the body of somebody else in a coffin and said that it was the mother of two kids that have been brutally murdered, whether they thought Israel wouldn't find that or not, but it's absolutely stunning.

[08:05:00]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Israel, according to Israel, there's also evidence that the children were murdered. Hamas had earlier, months ago, made a statement that they had been killed in an Israeli air strike. Do you know anything more about what Israel has found out?

BOEHLER: The Israelis called us. They called me. They called Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State, Mike Waltz just before these news reports came out, just before they released it, and they said that forensic evidence definitively proved that those two kids, those two boys, were brutally murdered in November, so a month after they were taken and they said that forensic evidence confirmed that.

COOPER: If the Israeli assessment is accurate, and Shiri Bibas' body was not handed over, would U.S. and Israeli officials view that as a violation of the ceasefire deal. Because, I mean, yeah, would that be a violation besides being horrific, I mean, just a horrific act.

BOEHLER: I mean, like you said, Anderson, it's horrific. It's a clear violation. And if I have one piece of advice for Hamas now, it's not only do you need to release her body immediately, but we have the bodies of four Americans that are still there. And we have one American, lexandria, I think you know his family well, and you've done a great job reporting on it. He needs to come home. And if I were them, I'd release everybody, or they're going to face total annihilation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Certainly, Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered Israel's military to conduct an operation in the occupied West Bank. It comes after Israeli authorities say bombs on at least three empty busses exploded near Tel Aviv in a suspected terror attack on Thursday night. A device was found on a fourth bus as well. No injuries reported. Israel is engaged in an increasingly militarized campaign in the West Bank since the October 7th attack saying it's targeting West Bank militants.

Now to Ukraine and the efforts to end Russia's war on that country. Russia claims its forces took control of two more villages in Ukraine's Donetsk region. On Friday, it comes as Donald Trump, Special Envoy spends a third day in Kyiv following talks with President Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian President says he's meeting with Keith Kellogg on Thursday restored hope, adding they discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. Meanwhile, back in Washington, Donald Trump is apparently still fuming over his fractured relationship with President Zelenskyy. Have a listen to what the U.S. National Security Adviser said on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The President has called Zelenskyy a dictator. Does he view Putin as a dictator?

MIKE WALTZ, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: President Trump is obviously very frustrated right now with President Zelenskyy, the fact that he hasn't come to the table, that he hasn't been willing to take this opportunity that we have offered. I think he eventually will get to that point, and I hope so very quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: We're covering both the Washington and Kyiv angles of this story, beginning Kyiv CNN's Nick Paton Walsh there and the talks of the envoy are they ongoing? Where are we with them?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Look, I think it's safe to presume that at least part of the delegations here must be continuing negotiations. We don't have running commentary from the presidency or from Kellogg's team as to the exact outcome of yesterday, or if that's continuing today.

Kellogg has been expected to stay here through today, certainly, but as we reported yesterday, the press availability for those two men after their meeting was expected but curtailed at the request of the American side. Zelenskyy has been forthright in trying to characterize those talks as productive.

He said in his nightly video address last night that he had hope restored after that particular meeting. But what seems to be key to all of this is less the intimate details of how a peace settlement might indeed be drafted down the line, and indeed the details of that that Ukraine wants to see as part of the U.S. Russia talks that have been going on without them.

It's this rare earth minerals deal which has loomed so large that form part of the national security advisers discuss -- press conference yesterday pushing Ukraine to accept that we understand that the first draft simply was a legal document, basically a list of assets that the U.S. wanted 50 percent control over for paying back past aid, not necessarily suggesting future security guarantees.

And so, we've heard from Zelenskyy that they are continuing to press that, he said, I paraphrase here, that the details are important, because they are what make an agreement work. But I think there's a real fear here in Ukraine that if that is not brought to some successful positive conclusion, it may derail or at least stall in the best of case U.S. support for Ukraine.

[08:10:00]

But all of this an extraordinary distraction from the real urgent issue, which is working out exactly what the Russian and U.S. Summit in Riyadh developed in terms of ideas for peace here. Trump has said he wants peace, but he has been involved in the last 48 hours in a very personal spat with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy saying how much he respected Trump and the American people, but then saying Trump comments that Ukraine started the war, Zelenskyy and he enjoyed a 4 percent approval rating. Well, he said that was a sign Trump was living in, quote, a disinformation space. And then we had the litany of falsehoods from President Trump about Zelenskyy saying that he was asleep when the Treasury Secretary tried to get a deal signed here, saying he was a dictator, refusing elections and the aid had been stolen here in Ukraine.

So, a massive deterioration before our eyes in the relationship between those two presidents, and with it, the relationship between Ukraine and the United States. I think Zelenskyy is using this Kellogg meeting to try and get things back on track, but it has been clear over the past weeks that Kellogg is not part of that negotiating team of cabinet level people who have been talking to the Russians, including the U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff.

So, a serious, I think, crisis over the past week, we had the anniversary on Monday, and I think Kyiv are trying to get their relationship with the White House back on track as soon as possible, so they can start dealing with the issue of aid and peace that is an urgent matter of survival here.

We saw ourselves last night, just drones, Russian drones, passing over here Central Kyiv, not far, surely, from where General Kellogg himself must be staying overnight, and air defenses trying to take them down. So yeah, an exceptionally tumultuous week for Ukraine, and one really, I think that's exposed how angrily Trump has reacted towards Zelenskyy, suggesting that he wasn't always telling the truth.

The things Trump said Zelenskyy had, frankly, to challenge. He couldn't let lie the idea that Ukraine started this war, that its president has a single digit approval rating, and so that has caused this enmity to boil to the surface in ways that could frankly dictate the outcome of the largest land conflict since the 1940s.

FOSTER: Nick in Ukraine thank you. Now to Washington, the Leaders of France the UK are both set to meet Donald Trump next week in an effort to get the NATO allies all on the same page when it comes to Russia and Ukraine.

CNN's Alayna Treene is going to be tracking that, because it always feels like they already had an impasse. This one idea that Russia, Ukraine started the war, but also that Zelenskyy isn't a legitimate leader. He doesn't have a mandate. These are things that Europe is very clear on, and that Donald Trump is very clear on, and that appears to be the starting point to these discussions.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: No, exactly they do seem very far apart in how they are characterizing the war. Who was the aggressor. And I note as well that we now know that the Trump Administration and the White House is trying to remove the words Russian aggression from a G7 contract, something they didn't do or they did have, actually in that agreement in 2024.

But look, these meetings next week are going to be very consequential to this overall -- you know broader negotiations and discussions of trying to find an off ramp to this war between Russia and Ukraine. I note as well, French President Emmanuel Macron is coming on Monday. He is going to be the first European Leader since Donald Trump has taken office to meet with the President at the White House.

And then we know UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be coming to the White House on Thursday. All of this coming though, as there have been a lot of concerns, one, of course, about the rhetoric that the President is using, calling Zelenskyy a dictator, suggesting falsely, that Ukraine started the war.

Things we have seen these leaders, many European leaders, criticize and respond to, but it also comes as there's been a lot of -- you know, angst around not having a seat at the table in some of these discussions. Particularly, of course, we saw the U.S. Delegation meet with the Russian Delegation in Riyadh.

Now to go back to Macron here, we did hear him. He did a live Q&A yesterday, remotely, where he was talking about what he wants to tell Donald Trump when he comes to Washington. He said he does not want the president to be weak in the face of Putin. Take a listen to how he said it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: What I am going to do is that I'm going to tell him, basically, you cannot be weak in the face of President Putin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, of course, Macron, I just remind you of his relationship with Donald Trump. They were both in office at the same time during Donald Trump's first term, and developed at one point this kind of bromance. We've also seen them continue to have a very warm relationship in the lead up to the president returning to office this time around.

We also know that they've spoken repeatedly, according to the White House Press Secretary, Karolin Levitt, in recent days. But one thing that was also interesting from what Macron said, there was he also later in that, in those remarks, said that -- you know this isn't just about Russia here, his message for Trump is going to be, what will this signal to other foreign adversaries, like Iran, like China, for example?

[08:15:00]

He said, how can you tell China not to invade Taiwan when you have -- you know, when you're saying that perhaps it's OK that Russia invaded Ukraine. So, a lot of very key discussions that are going to be happening here, and also all of this playing out, as we also know behind the scenes, they are still trying to land a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

I spoke -- the latest I spoke to my White House and Trump Administration officials about this yesterday. They said, as of now, there is still no date for that, but all of that kind of playing in the background and will be in the background while they meet here next week, Max.

FOSTER: Alayna, at the White House thank you very much indeed. Going to be fascinating. Now, one last note on the war in Ukraine, a former Moscow insider says the Kremlin is surprised at how much Donald Trump gave up in his government's recent comments about ending the war.

The Ex-Russian Minister, who now lives in exile, says Moscow expected to have to fight for some of the things the U.S. has already indicated it would give away. He says President Trump is throwing a lifeline to Vladimir Putin at a time when the Russian President is struggling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VLADIMIR MILOV, FORMER RUSSIAN DEPUTY MINISTER OF ENERGY: Russia is extremely exhausted after these three years, and there could not have been a more unfortunate moment to give away all these major concessions to Putin, because Putin's budget deficits are exploding because of extreme rise in military spending.

He's almost out of money in the government's Rainy Day (ph) Fund. He cannot count down inflation, which is one of the worst in the world and is a product of Western sanctions, and his military factories are running in three shifts, and at their -- you know, 100 percent production capacity, they cannot expand.

So, I can go on, but clearly, we see that Putin has reached many limits on different fronts. And at the very same time, he had been receiving this major gift from Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: All right. Still to come, it's being called a radical racist and anti-democratic, but the far-right alternative, the German Party, is surging in the polls. And on Sunday, voters in Europe's largest economy will have their say. Plus, the man who says he's taking a wood chipper to the U.S. government now has a new symbol, but for thousands of people suddenly out of work, it's no laughing matter.

FOSTER: German voters will cast their ballots on Sunday to elect a new parliament, and right now, all eyes are on a political force in the far right that is on the rise and hoping to gain legitimacy. Latest polls have the center right Christian Democrats in the lead with its leader, Friedrich Merz on track to be the next chancellor.

[08:20:00]

But the alternative for Germany, party, which has been accused of resurrecting Nazi era ideology and slogans, is now in second place. All mainstream parties have said they won't work with the AFD.

The election comes at a make-or-break moment for the world's third largest economy, and some business leaders are calling for a complete overhaul. As CNN's Anna Stewart explains, it's all happening amid a new threat from the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From chocolate to popcorn and even a flavor of algae ice cream.

STEWART: It's green.

STEWART (voice-over): Cologne has been taken over by sweets and snack firms from across the world. It's a chance to talk, to sell and to try.

STEWART: This isn't just a feast for the taste buds, it's a snapshot of global competition, and while chocolate and sweets may take center stage at this fair, underneath the sugar coating lies something more serious. Two years into a recession, and German businesses are craving change.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm really struggling with the situation, because I'm not happy with the situation.

SARA MARQUART, CEO OF CHOVIVA: Like you notice the regulations, the bureaucracy, like energy prices are high. It's very difficult to innovate as well, because there's a lot of hurdles.

GUIDO HENTSCHKE, DIRECTOR OF PROSWEETS: Really enjoy the thing in revelations, and it must stop, come on. It must stop.

STEWART (voice-over): A lack of investment, competition from China, and rising energy prices have hit the famed German manufacturing industry particularly hard.

CARSTEN BRZESKI, GLOBAL HEAD OF MACRO AT ING RESEARCH: I think the economy needs is a complete overhaul. And the answer might be that it's no longer the traditional industrial power houses that we knew from the past.

STEWART (voice-over): And with a new threat of tariffs coming from the U.S., change is needed quickly.

BRZESKI: If they do not manage to get growth back, if they mess it up once again, they know who is going to win the next elections, and this would be the far right AFD. And I think this scenario alone could be actually the glue that brings together all parties involved, and that could also be the motivation for the parties to think a big boulder.

STEWART (voice-over): Expectations for change are high at the Cologne sweet fair.

HENTSCHKE: I think it will change. The thing is, how quick you can change things.

STEWART (voice-over): And change is what's needed to win the hearts of German business. Anna Stewart, CNN, Cologne.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Just last weekend, Chancellor Scholz blasted the U.S. Vice President for publicly supporting Germany's far right party. Melanie Amann is Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the news magazine "Der Spiegel". She joins us live from Berlin. Thank you so much for joining us.

MELANIE AMANN, DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF DER SPIEGEL: Thanks for having me.

FOSTER: I mean, what's your theory about the rise of the right? Because, you know, the big overriding story in Germany is the economy, isn't it? Is it that the right has just spoken better to voters on how they would deal with that and help them feel wealthier?

AMANN: Well, yeah, it's definitely a big factor. The economic situation, Max, and Germans are worried that our country is in decline, this feeling of stagnation, this feeling of being like in a slump, so to say, is definitely a big factor. But it's not the only one, by far.

I mean, the topic of migration has had a lot of people in anxiety and worries. We have a quite a big influx of refugees coming still, even after 2015 where the big wave of immigrants came and we've had -- we've seen terrorist attacks committed by refugees, some of them where small kindergarten children died.

And this has caused an uproar, and has really framed this whole election campaign. So that's a big factor. And finally, I mean, we are maybe, as in the U.S., we are in a bit of a cultural war here. So, there's a debate about freedom of speech, there's a debate about transgender rights, about sexual education in schools. So, these topics are, there are ideological topics also framing the campaign.

FOSTER: Elon Musk getting involved. Obviously, when you talk about America, he's obviously a very powerful person there. Are we sometimes over exaggerating his impact on the election though. Is it just coming from the prism of Elon Musk, or is he actually having an impact there?

AMANN: It's an interesting question. I mean, he has been a big presence in the campaign, and the impact on the AFDs campaign has been good and bad. At the same time, good because it gave Alice Weidel, the candidate, the main -- the candidate for the AFD, a huge platform and a huge visibility.

She was like aside from Friedrich Merz, the only person that has really been noticed by the Trump Administration in a larger sense, and has been dealt with and taken seriously in the eyes of the German public.

[08:25:00]

So, this gave her a boost. On the other hand, the AFD has a very strong anti-American platform within the party, and they view a tech billionaire as somebody who is hostile to German values and hostile to our country. And so there might be many AFD people who don't view this as a huge plus that Elon Musk interfered in the campaign like this.

FOSTER: Either way, the AFD are going to do very well. They probably won't get into government, will they? Because it looks like we're going to get a coalition, and none of the other coalition partners are going to work with the AFD, but they will be a significant presence in Parliament, and they will define the debate, so they will affect policy that way.

AMANN: Absolutely, Max, they will. They will have a huge indirect impact on political debates. They will be a big presence in Parliament. They will be most likely if every fifth voter gives them their voice, as the polls predict right now, they will be the second biggest group in our parliament.

So, they will definitely shape the debate. They will influence the debate, but they will have no that's the good thing. They will have no direct impact on policy making. So that's reassuring. They won't have access to power as of yet. FOSTER: Obviously, we've got this situation at the moment, Trump versus effectively, all the European leaders when it comes to Ukraine a completely different type of language. We've got President Macron, pretty weak in France, your current chancellor, very weak there.

Are you concerned that Europe -- you know, Germany is the dominant economy in Europe, the powerhouse of Europe? Are you concerned that the wider EU, the wider Europe, is being affected by everything that's happening in your country and the fracturing of power effectively?

AMANN: Absolutely. I mean, we are the biggest economy. We should be politically, the strongest voice, unifying voice in Europe. We did have that role, and -- Angela Merkel for 16 years, and then it's kind of slipped through all of Scholz's fingers, out of neglect or out of disinterest or out of powerlessness.

We -- there are many reasons we can discuss here, but the point is we are not right now shaping, helping shape Europe to have a unified voice, and we desperately need this. So, you cannot overstate the importance of this election. If there's a stable government at the end, then there's a chance that Europe can unite.

And we can also present a unified response to the challenges presented by the Trump Administration, by China, by Russia, who is attacking our neighboring European country, Ukraine. So, it's important for us to -- that we have a leader who assumes this role, takes it seriously and can succeed in it.

FOSTER: OK. Melanie Amann, really appreciate your analysis today. Thank you.

AMANN: Thank you so much.

FOSTER: Well, Elon Musk isn't getting involved in the general election. He's celebrating as thousands of government workers lose their jobs. The tech billionaire took a victory lap for his efforts to shrink the federal work force at a conservative gathering on Thursday, and cheering him on was Argentina's President who gave the world's richest man an unusual gift as a token of his support. Stefano Pozzebon on has the details.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The President of Argentina Javier Milei brought a chainsaw as a present for Elon Musk as the two men met on Thursday afternoon in Washington, D.C., a sign of the close alignment between the two. Musk has praised Milei's policies in the past.

These policies include laying off more than 30,000 public workers and freezing the salaries of public work force in general in Argentina but you can see from he posted that were later released on social media that Musk has shown his appreciation for the chainsaw approach, which is, how will I cause his crusade to slash public spending in his own country?

The Argentinian President is in the U.S. until the end of the weekend, and is expected to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, on Saturday. And there is an event where U.S. President Donald Trump is also expected to attend. The same time, Milei Street comes at a moment when he is facing a mounting scandal over his involvement in the promotion of a meme coin in his native country.

Shortly after Milei posted about this meme coin on Friday evening last week, the value of this cryptocurrency crashed, causing considerable losses for thousands, if not tens of thousands, of investors. Milei has defended himself for saying that he did not intend to promote the cryptocurrency as a stable asset.

And at the same time, saying that people who invest in crypto should know the risk. For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

FOSTER: Still to come. The rift between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

[08:30:00]

I will talk to a member of Ukraine's Parliament -- feud and where it goes from here. And we're live in Rome with the latest on the health of Pope Francis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: From two capitals, we are getting two very different opinions of how the U.S. and Ukraine are getting along. In Kyiv Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's had a productive meeting with a special U.S. envoy is visiting, saying it's restored his hope, but we got very different words from Washington.

Donald Trump's National Security Adviser, says the president remains very frustrated with Mr. Zelenskyy. Our Jeff Zeleny has that story.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump remains very frustrated, in the words of one of his top advisers, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Over Zelenskyy is refusal to accept a deal, the U.S. is offering in exchange for peace negotiations.

That deal would be having access to some of the rare earth minerals found in Ukraine as a payback for some of the foreign assistance that's been given over the last three years. Now, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz telling reporters on Thursday, the president remains defiant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALTZ: His frustration with President Zelenskyy is that you've heard is multi fold. One, there needs to be a deep appreciation for what the American people, what the American taxpayer, what President Trump did in his first term, and what we've done since. So, some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, frankly, and insults to President Trump were unacceptable.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ZELENY: But that rhetoric certainly has been going both ways, with President Trump calling Zelenskyy a dictator, of course, that would be Putin. Zelenskyy was elected by a popular vote. Now there is no question, as the first month of this Trump Administration ends this Russia-U.S. relationship has been reset.

The question is for what and how leaders still would like to meet at some point. We shall see if that happens in the future. But there is no doubt, the relations between the United States and Ukraine certainly fraught. President Trump is playing hard ball. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

FOSTER: For more perspective on where the U.S. relationship with key stands right now. I'm joined by Oleksiy Goncharenko. He's been a member of the Ukrainian Parliament for more than a decade. You've seen, you know, tensions rise and fall with other countries, but this is a pretty bad one, isn't it? How would you describe it?

OLEKSIY GONCHARENKO, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Hello. My name is Oleksiy Goncharenko. Yeah, that is a really bad thing, and that is -- it's bad for United States. It's catastrophic for Ukraine, because we desperately need American support in the situations we are in, in this war.

[08:35:00]

I hope that it is more personal theme between two presidents, and I just want to remind our American friends and to President Trump that Ukraine is not one person. Is not President Zelenskyy, just it stands of millions of people who are waiting for this support, who are believing in the United States of America.

I would like also to remind that 30 years ago, Ukraine voluntarily gave up our nukes for the first and last time in human history and the pressure from the United States in order to support this policy of non-proliferation. And at that time, we received security guarantees from the United States.

And it's very important for us now to have support of the United States at the moment when we so critically need it.

FOSTER: Do you think President Zelenskyy made a rare slip up when he talked about the president being in a bubble of disinformation? Because that appears to been the comment that triggered the much bigger reaction from President Trump.

GONCHARENKO: Yeah. I think that President Zelenskyy should not say this. That is my personal opinion. We all know that President Trump doesn't like to be in any way criticized publicly and I -- but I want to assure you all who are watching you right now and administration of the United States that we are very thankful to American people.

We know that your support is vital for us. And also, I would like to tell you that after the war will end, Ukraine will also be a crucial partner of the United States. Our biggest asset and the rarest seen on Earth are not minerals. Is a human courage. And Ukraine today has 1 million people battle hard and army which is very strong and which will be very needed by the free world in such turbulence that we see in the world.

FOSTER: How do you think? How easy is it to sell to the Ukrainian people that the idea that Ukraine, the government, at least, would sign away half its minerals to the U.S. for past aid?

GONCHARENKO: That is something we don't know. We don't know exactly what is in this deal. I can tell you my personal attitude to this as a member of the parliament and Ukrainian citizen, if we're speaking about American companies coming and working in Ukraine and producing these minerals.

About American investments, I am all -- I am happy about this, and I welcome our partners and colleagues, and we want them to earn money here in Ukraine. That is absolutely normal thing. Another story is to give a bill for something which had happened years ago, two years, three years ago.

And I want to remind you that it was not Ukraine who chose what to receive. So, it was the United States who decided what to give us. So, after this, to give a bill on this, I'm not sure that it is a great idea. So, we need to understand what exactly we're speaking about.

Again, we are absolutely eager to work with Americans, to have American business here, working absolutely in all directions, including producing of minerals, maybe other things too. But it should be really fair theme for both sides.

FOSTER: You've got the British and French leaders traveling to Washington next week. It's growing into a really big event in America, effectively, the British and the French being seen as representatives of Europe on Ukraine, and there is this big difference between the two sides, which is the idea that Ukraine provoked the war and not Russia.

There doesn't seem to be any agreement between the Trump team and the U.K. and French teams on that. Are you concerned that, that meeting might do more harm than good?

GONCHARENKO: First of all, I don't think that President Trump thinks that Ukraine provoked the war and like there is no direct warning from him about this. It is kind of interpretation what he said. And I think he knows, like everybody in the world know, that it was Russia who started the war and attacked Ukraine in the night, bombed our cities, tanks coming and so on.

So, it's something which is, you know, it's a fact. It's very difficult to argue with the fact, which everybody knows. And I think again, the President Trump knows this too. I heard, by the way, number of Republicans speaking last days are saying, clearly, definitely, Russia, who is aggressive Putin is an enemy.

And Putin is not an enemy of just Ukraine. Putin is an enemy of Anglo- Saxons and first of all, the United States. That's how Putin says absolutely clearly. So, I think it is a common enemy. Yes, there is a notion between -- like President Trump said there is an ocean between United States and Russia, but there is just Ukraine between Europe and Russia.

[08:40:00]

That's true, but Europe is a key ally of the United States, and I don't think that you know, making America great again to start from, making America single again. You know, divorcing with Europe is not -- is definitely not what American administration wants. So, Ukraine is super important for Europe, and I think we will continue to work together and to fight together.

FOSTER: OK, Ukrainian Parliament member Oleksiy Goncharenko. Thank you very much indeed for joining us today.

GONCHARENKO: Thank you.

FOSTER: The Vatican says Pope Francis has had another peaceful night in hospital where he's being treated for pneumonia in both lungs. The 88-year-old pontiff has taken, or was taken to hospital last week, and yesterday was said to be showing slight improvement. For the latest, let's bring in CNN's Barbie Nadeau, who's outside the hospital in Rome.

Very difficult job you've got, because everyone wants as much information as possible. You know, he's a hugely adored figure, but you're, frankly, not getting enough, are you?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, know. I mean, we really are getting very curated information from the Vatican. They're giving us little bits of incremental information. He got out of bed and sat in a chair. Three days ago, he got out of bed and ate breakfast in a chair, yesterday.

Today, he got out of bed, sat in a chair and working with collaborators who are up there in the 10th floor of this hospital behind me. But what we do know that he's as of last night anyway, that he doesn't have a fever, that he doesn't have any sort of heart problem or other problem, with regard to how this new treatment and medication is working against this pneumonia that he has in both lungs.

Worth remembering, of course, is that he's 88 years old, and he's missing a part of one of his lungs that was removed when he was a young man because of an infection, a respiratory infection. And so, I think anyone worrying about an 88-year-old man or woman, any elderly person with compromised health and mobility issues, you know, it's going to be a long time before anybody says that he's completely out of the woods.

It's going to just take time for him to fight this pneumonia and then to regain his strength, and then to try to, you know, to try to take on the sort of pace that he was keeping up. You know, he was a very, very busy person before this illness, but we did see signs of his health getting worse.

The week before he went into the hospital, on a couple of occasions, he had to give his prepared remarks and his prayers to an aide to deliver. So, he was having a hard time catching his breath and speaking. So, all of this hospitalization a week ago, three days ago, the diagnosis for pneumonia, the treatment which seems to be working or is responding to this treatment.

All signs in the right direction in terms of recovery, but we just really don't know how long we can anticipate that he'll be in the hospital here behind me, or actually how he's doing. We haven't seen a photo. We haven't seen any sort of images of how he's doing or how he looks while he's getting this care, Max.

FOSTER: OK, Barbie, back with you when you do have some more information. Thank you. We'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00]

FOSTER: Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum says she wants to amend the country's constitution to more strictly protect its sovereignty. Her proposals would spell out that any foreign intervention in Mexican territory is prohibited without the permission of the government.

It comes after the U.S. designated several Mexican criminal cartels as terrorist organizations, which could pave the way for U.S. military strikes inside Mexico. The Mexican President says Washington didn't consult with a government over that. And the U.S. has been secretly flying drones already inside Mexican air space to spy on drug cartels, part of President Trump's increased focus on militarizing the southern border.

For now, tariffs on products from America's neighbors, Mexico and Canada, are scheduled to begin next month. The impact will be felt by consumers and businesses alike, as Isabel Rosales reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you enjoy a margarita every once in a while, frozen or on the rocks with lime juice and tequila, you're not alone. In fact, tequila is the second most popular spirit by revenue in the U.S., just behind vodka. And the U.S. brings in more of it than any other nation, but soon your spicy morgue could get pricier.

Tequila, mezcal and your favorite beer brands like Modelo and Corona, all of them are made in Mexico. But Mexico, along with Canada, is a prime target of President Trump's recent tariff barrage. And while for now, it's mostly talk, their businesses are already feeling the wait.

A plan to impose 25 percent duties on Mexican and Canadian imports is currently in the midst of a month long pause while negotiations take place.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: President Sheinbaum is a woman. I like her very much. They have agreed to put in 10,000 soldiers permanently, like forever, 10,000 soldiers at their side of the border, and stop fentanyl and illegal aliens from coming into our country. We haven't agreed on tariffs yet, and maybe we will, maybe we won.

ROSALES (voice-over): But at this Mexican distillery, the delay on a tariff decision is hardly good news. While the North American nations talk it out, woman owned and operated as they go, wines and liquors, is stuck in a holding pattern, because owner Melly Barajas has to plan everything from sourcing to hiring months in advance, she's left to play a waiting game.

MELLY BARAJAS, AZTECA WINES AND LIQUORS: We were put on hold until March. Do you get me? The uncertainty is affecting the girls, the whole production system, everything we have worked for during so many years because of a tariff.

ROSALES (voice-over): Well operations like Azteca's are on hold. Other alcohol companies with Mexico and Canada based products are looking at expediting their exports before the tariffs actually hit, but it's a short-term solution to what could become a permanent problem, and for Barajas, her business cannot function in the uncertainty.

BARAJAS: I wish they would let us work, that they let us bring that bread to our homes, and that the people who are our leaders sit down to make agreements. They are agreements that must exist in societies and companies and marriages, so sit down to negotiate. Let us work.

ROSALES (voice-over): With Trump's delayed tariff decision deadline quickly approaching, businesses like Azteca Wines and Liquors can only hope they won't soon be forced to pay the price. Isabel Rosales, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Still to come rivalry between the U.S. and Canada hit the ice on Thursday, and it went all the way to the wire. We'll tell you who came out on top, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:00]

FOSTER: With that goal, Team Canada finished off Team USA 3-2 in overtime last night in the inaugural 4 nations face off championships. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got all involved trolling President Trump tweeting, you can't take our country and you can't take our game. Andy Scholes joins me now. Do you hate it when politics gets involved in sport?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yeah, there's a lot going on. And this one, Max, you know, you had a lot of patriotism, lot of politics, you know, but these four nations face off. It was supposed to be an all-star exhibition for the best hockey players in the world. Really turned into like an Olympic gold medal type of atmosphere.

Both U.S. and Canada really wanting to win this badly, and President Trump even calling Team USA before the game to give a little pep talk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: -- The talent, the skill that you have is crazy, and just go out and have a good time tonight. And I just want to wish you a lot of luck. You really are a skill group of people. It's an honor to talk to you and get out there and there's no pressure whatsoever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. It was an awesome moment before the game in Boston, as the crowd at TD garden singing the national anthem together. Canada would take an early lead, but Auston Matthews would find Brady Tkachuk for the equalizer. The game would end up going to overtime, tied it to.

The USA had a great chance to win it, but Jordan Bennington blocks Matthews then snacks Tkachuk rebound shot, Bennington 31 saves, but none more important than those two moments later, Connor McDavid improving wise best player in the world with the game winner, but certainly not the guy you want to leave wide open in front of the net. Canada ends up winning 3-2 as they celebrate the inaugural 4 nations title.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONNOR MCDAVID, TEAM CANADA FORWARD: Just to see the reaction, just to know what it means to us, you know. I know it's just a quick tournament, you know, and it's not an Olympic gold medal or anything like that, but it means the world to our group, as you can see, everybody battles so hard all week. So that was special.

NATHAN MACKINNON, TEAM CANADA FORWARD: Connor is the best player in our game, and for him to put it in like that, and in such an intense atmosphere, obviously, in a hostile environment for Canadians, was special, and hopefully he can do that again next year too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: And, Max, you had Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's tweet reacting to the win. He wasn't the only Canadian who had thoughts this fan brought a sign to Boston, staking claim on the U.S. as his country's 11th province. At least you can say that Canada owns the night. I guess a little bit of a response to Trump saying that Canada could be the 51st state.

FOSTER: Yeah.

SCHOLES: But, you know, Max, like I mentioned, this was just like an all-star exhibition in terms of all-star events across all sports, this is as good as it gets. I mean, there was so much patriotism. The players wanted to win it so badly. It was a big hit, you know, for fans everywhere.

FOSTER: At least there some humor involved in that whole debate now.

SCHOLES: Right.

FOSTER: Andy, thank you so much. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The name is Bond. James Bond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: In case you didn't know, creative control of the James Bond movie franchise has been in the hands of one family, would you believe, for more than six decades. But now Guess who? Amazon, MGM Studios is taking over, as part of a deal announced on Thursday. And Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos is already drumming up excitement about who could be the next actor to play Bond? CNN entertainment reporter Elizabeth Wagmeister has more.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: A huge shock in Hollywood as a new business deal can determine the future of James Bond. For the past 60 years, one family has controlled everything related to James Bond, and that is the Broccoli family.

The producers behind the James Bond franchise, who have infamously been resistant to give up any creative control as it pertains to the James Bond film, but now the Broccoli family entering into a shocking deal with Amazon that hands over creative control to Jeff Bezos' company.

Now, Jeff Bezos has already gotten into the action, taking 2x with this post, quote, who do you pick as the next Bond? Clearly, Bezos, has already drumming up some excitement for the future of this iconic franchise, which has had 25 films and has made $7.8 billion over the past seven decades.

Now, the cast in question, of course, is top of mind, some fan favorites that have been floating around, everyone from Idris Elba to Henry Cavill to Aaron Taylor Johnson, who had been rumored last year to have actually been offered the part.

[08:55:00]

But the fact of the matter is, there's no next James Bond movie that is currently in the works. There's no script, there's no writer, and there's certainly no star. So, it remains to be seen when we will see that next James Bond movie, but it also remains to be seen what the future expansion of James Bond will be? Now that Amazon has creative control, is James Bond going to get the Marvel treatment.

Are they going to expand the world of this IP? So that it's not just theatrical films, but that there are television series and spin offs. Now, of course, any time you dig into the IP and expand a franchise, you run the risk of alienating lifelong fans who love James Bond.

So, it has to be done, right. But this is big news in the world of James Bond, and definitely a lot more to come. Back to you.

FOSTER: Idris Elba has my vote. Thanks for joining us here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster. "Connect the World" with Eleni, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)