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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Says He'll Meet with Trump on Monday in Washington; Zelenskyy Sees No Signals that Russia Is Preparing to End War; U.S. Deploys Troops, Equipment to Latin America, Caribbean, for Combating Drug Cartels; Adidas Apologizes to Mexican Artisans. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired August 16, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York. Wherever you may be watching from around the world, welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.

Ukraine's president says that he will be traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday. Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying just a few moments ago that they will be discussing details about ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

President Trump meanwhile, he arrived back in Washington just about an hour ago. These are some images there of the president arriving back in Washington, D.C., after that Alaska summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

During that flight, we learned that the White House has confirmed that he spoke with NATO leaders and also that he had a very lengthy call with his Ukrainian counterpart.

Despite no deal or decision on a ceasefire in Ukraine, president Trump is giving Friday's meeting with President Putin high marks, "a 10 out of 10," he told FOX News. Both men characterizing the summit in Anchorage, Alaska, as positive and also talked of progress that was made.

Particulars on that progress?

Well, that's still up in the air right now. After the summit, president Trump told FOX News that he agreed with Putin that the war will end with territory swapping. And he said that the next move is up to Ukraine's president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Now it's really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done and I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit. But it's up to President Zelenskyy. I think we are -- and if they'd like, I'll be at that next meeting.

They're going to set up a meeting between President Zelenskyy and President Putin and myself, I guess.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: What would your advice based on today when you talked to Volodymyr Zelenskyy?

What's your advice to --

TRUMP: Make a deal.

HANNITY: Make the deal.

TRUMP: Got to make a deal, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: I think there's nobody outside of the meeting actually knows what president Trump and Putin discussed during that summit on Friday. They didn't reveal it at a joint news briefing that happened during that summit.

And they also didn't take any questions from reporters after their remarks. In a break with tradition, Mr. Putin delivered his remarks first instead of the hosting U.S. president. The Russian leader said, in his view, the primary cause of the conflict must be eliminated for the fighting to end. Putin with this message for Europe and Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive all this in a constructive manner and will not create any obstacles, will not make attempts to disrupt the emerging progress through provocations and behind-the-scenes intrigues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: All right, let's get the latest now. Let's go to CNN's Clare Sebastian, who's standing by in London, monitoring the Russian reaction to Friday's summit.

But first, we want to go to CNN's Ben Wedeman, who's joining us from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Ben, as you now know, we're all learning about the Ukrainian president's plans to return to Washington and meet with president Trump.

Ben, do you think that that could provide a dose of perhaps some optimism to many Ukrainians, who badly need that after Friday's summit?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, certainly. The initial reaction, Polo, here to the summit was very negative. But it does appear that there might be a glimmer of hope coming out of it. After all, we did get this statement from the president's office here

in Kyiv, saying that President Zelenskyy had what is described as a long, substantive conversation initially, one-on-one between Zelenskyy and president Trump. And that was then joined by European leaders. The call lasted 1.5 hours, according to the statement.

And putting two and two together, we got a statement from the Elysee Palace in Paris, saying that those European leaders on the call were, of course, President Macron of France, the leaders of Germany, the U.K., Italy, Finland, Poland, the secretary general of NATO and the president of the European Commission.

Now in this statement, the presidency said Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace. It is important that America's strength has an impact on the development of the situation.

And President Zelenskyy also apparently agreed to the idea of a trilateral summit between President Putin, president Trump and President Zelenskyy.

[04:05:07]

Although it's worth noting that, in the past, when such summits have been proposed, it was the Russians that expressed the least enthusiasm about that possibility.

And speaking about little enthusiasm, certainly the reaction here in Kyiv, here in Ukraine, has been largely negative to this summit. Certainly the theatrics that we saw -- the red carpet, the jets accompanying the flying overhead -- generally, the warm reception was not welcomed here in Ukraine.

One activist describing the summit in Alaska as "a huge, empty, nothing. Alaska's only lesson: destroy, kill, rape, torture, steal and get a red carpet" -- Polo.

SANDOVAL: All right, Ben, stand by as we go to Clare now to get really further reaction in this case, more from what people are saying in Russia.

Clare, you heard from Ben's reporting, that general reaction in Ukraine to the theatrics of the summit.

What about Russia?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, this is something that Russians are waking up to this morning, Polo. A very clear success story. The optics, I think a win in themselves for Russia. Obviously, they're glossing over the fact that they didn't end up having lunch together.

The two leaders, they didn't take questions and they didn't agree to anything concrete in particular. But the optics are critical for Russia, which, I think, you know, in fighting this war, is really trying to revive its superpower status. So Putin and Trump standing next to each other, essentially making a

show of making these big decisions together, is all something that is playing heavily across the Russian media.

This morning, the Kremlin even putting out a video, which they say was American F-22 fighter jets escorting President Putin's plane out of Alaska. You can see it there. So really a sense for Russia that the chapter of Western isolation of that country has ended. And that is extremely positive for them.

I think, going forward, though, the big test will be that meeting that president Trump is talking about, the trilateral meeting between President Putin, President Zelenskyy and including himself, because Russia, of course, has made it a key part of its Ukraine policy, that it views President Zelenskyy as illegitimate.

It has repeatedly said that President Putin himself has repeatedly talked about this. They have said even in a peace memorandum that came out in June, stipulated that Ukraine would need to hold elections before signing a final settlement.

Because they believe, since President Zelenskyy did not hold elections last year -- because, according to the Ukrainian Constitution, he can't under a situation of martial law -- they are using that essentially against him.

So I think whether you can get President Putin to sit down with Zelenskyy, that will be the next major test for president Trump.

SANDOVAL: Clare Sebastian, Ben Wedeman, our thanks to you both for your reports.

You know one of president Trump's former national security advisors says that it's not even a question who walked away with a victory from the summit today. He was -- or I should say, on Friday, here was John Bolton in his conversation on CNN earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think Trump did not lose but Putin clearly won. Trump didn't come away with anything except more meetings.

Putin has, I think, gone a long way to reestablishing the relationship, which I've always believed was his key goal. He has escaped sanctions. He's not facing a ceasefire. The next meeting is not set.

Zelenskyy was not told any of this before this press conference. It's far from over. But I'd say Putin achieved most of what he wanted. Trump achieved very little.

And I will say one other thing. I thought Trump looked very tired up there. I mean very tired; not disappointed, tired.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: And during that summit, president Trump floated the idea that perhaps some of the future meetings, at least one of them, could happen, possibly, in Moscow. The U.S. president, he was noncommittal. But as CNN's Fareed Zakaria explains, the summit, a summit in Moscow would be a political giveaway to Mr. Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: The next thing would be to give him a summit where he can play host and peacemaker. But we've gotten nothing back from Putin and it's been a, you know, a series of unilateral concessions to Putin. And it's not clear yet what the United States, the West is getting.

So I'm all for making a deal. I'm all for compromise. I'm all for ending the war.

But if the strategy of preemptive concessions to Vladimir Putin has never worked in the past and is unlikely to work now, what we need is pressure on Putin, military pressure through military aid to Ukraine.

[04:10:03]

That's what will get his attention.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: I should clarify it was the Russian leader who initially floated the idea during that summit about a possible meeting happening in his home turf in Moscow.

For more perspective, now we're joined from Kyiv by Inna Sovsun, a Ukrainian parliament member.

It is so good to have you right now after what was an extremely busy Friday. And now with some of this new -- some of this news that we're getting right now from the Ukrainian leader.

Now that we've heard publicly from him for the first time since the summit concluded, what do you make of his post announcing a possible next step to peace with a trip to Washington?

INNA SOVSUN, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Well, I do think that President Zelenskyy does, as all Ukrainians, want to end this war. And he's using any chances that he has, talking to Trump, explaining to him the Ukrainian positions, making coalitions with the European partners.

So he is, as all Ukrainians again, so much willing to make the peace. However, of course, the situation in the south is very unfavorable to peace as of right now. So we are trying to show willingness for peace. We hope it will work out.

But so far, frankly speaking, we are seeing no progress with that regard as of yet. And the summit yesterday didn't really point out the road to peace as Ukrainians see that. SANDOVAL: I'll pose the same question that I asked our colleague a

short while ago.

Do you think this news now of the -- of Zelenskyy traveling to Washington, do you think it may potentially offer more hope for Ukrainians who certainly need it after that summit?

SOVSUN: Of course we need hope and we need this war to end. But unfortunately, we're not seeing any progress.

Look, one of the pieces of news that we're getting from the summit right now is that potential ceasefire, that the preliminary agreement, the ceasefire has been established during that summit.

Well, during this night only, Russia launched one missile, a missile attack and 85 drones, attacking Ukrainian territory. And that is after the so-called preliminary agreement to set up the ceasefire. Russians are doing nothing to show their goodwill to end this war.

They just continue to kill and attack. By keeping this pretense, that that they are willing to negotiate and to continue talking, well, I just want to see the single reason for the Russians to make the deal right now.

And the single sign from them that they really are willing to make the deal. Because what we're seeing now is they're continuing the attack on the front lines. They're continuing their air attacks every single day, every hour. And they're just making a good lip service. But they're not really showing that they're ready to stop this terrifying war.

SANDOVAL: Yes, well, you remind us that those attacks continue. We're seeing that video from the summit of these two leaders. And on top of them, a banner that says "Pursuing Peace."

Now I do want to look back again at that summit. In fact, it was just on Thursday that a Ukrainian journalist told me that one of the worst- case scenarios that could potentially come out of it would be for the U.S. to put stronger pressure on Ukraine.

Well, here we are, 24 hours later, Trump saying on Air Force One that it's up to Zelenskyy now to get it done.

Are you concerned that he's essentially shifting the burden to President Zelenskyy instead of Putin, who initiated the hostilities?

SOVSUN: Yes, I did. That is very terrifying. And the whole mood of yesterday's summit has been juxtapositions against the meeting of Trump and President Zelenskyy in the Oval. Right?

And the mood and the vibe of that meeting was very different. And it felt like in Oval, when he was meeting President Zelenskyy, he was meeting with the enemy. While here, he was meeting with a -- well, not probably a friend but a potential partner.

And that is, of course, very scary perspective for all of us. The red carpet has been an offense to all Ukrainians, frankly speaking. The red carpet to someone who has killed, raped, terrorized the whole nation is frankly just not something that the leader of the free world should be offering.

So we are seeing very little sign that this can go the right direction for us. There is very little hope that there will be any pressure put on President Putin.

We have actually heard president Trump saying that, as of right now, we're not discussing any sanctions, because I can see that Putin is willing to end this war.

Well, we have heard him trying to end this war with all drones attacks this night. Right?

So, of course, that is -- that all seems that, again, Ukraine is being made responsible for making peace. But we didn't make this war. Ukraine is being forced to, you know, to offer some territory, territorial swap.

Well, what has not being mentioned in that narrative is that what Ukraine is being offered is the idea of you can swap one piece of Ukrainian land for another piece of Ukrainian land.

[04:15:10]

But no country should be forced to do so. It's like asking a parent, which of your children you like better, right?

Which of your territory do you want to keep and which one do you want to, you know, to give up for a terrifying dictator?

And making us responsible for that is, of course, extremely unfair, as not something that the biggest democracy in the world should be doing.

SANDOVAL: Yes, that land that Ukrainians have died for.

Now, in terms of what you -- what you see, especially among your fellow colleagues there, and given as you describe a lack of positive signs and dwindling hope, how do you Ukrainians keep morale up, especially with Putin seeming to be emboldened after the meeting?

SOVSUN: One of the other story lines that we have been following yesterday here in Ukraine, that we had yesterday, Friday -- today is Saturday for us already.

One of the other story lines is the successes of some of the Ukrainian troops that have managed to suspend Russia's offensive in the area around Pokrovsk. Some of the fighters have managed to cut down the lines of attack of the Russians.

And that was happening while the summit was being prepared. So that shows us that we can still fight back and that we don't have to agree to anything just because this is the only option that is being offered, because we still have the strongest armed forces in Europe. We have committed army. We have a committed population -- of course,

extremely tired, extremely exhausted, feeling strong injustice being done to all of us. But it doesn't mean that that we're just ready to agree to anything just because that would be, A, extremely unfair; B, that will not be a lasting peace.

And as a Ukrainian citizen, as a mother, the thing I want least is to have a peace that will erupt in another war, in which my son, who is 12 years old now, will have to fight in the future.

SANDOVAL: A message not only as a member of parliament but as a mother as well. Inna Sovsun, thank you so much. It's always a pleasure to have you on. Certainly wish you and your family safety as we continue to follow what comes next and as we look ahead to the next meeting on Monday. Thank you.

SOVSUN: Thank you. Thank you.

SANDOVAL: We're going to have much, much more on all of this ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, including a look at how this is all playing out in Moscow.

But first, the Trump administration dialing back its efforts to control the D.C. Police Department. But it's not letting go. The latest on Donald Trump's crime emergency in the nation's capital ahead. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

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SANDOVAL: I want to share with you a disturbing scene out of Los Angeles, California. A man was seen yelling for help as a group of unidentified men appeared to pick him up and then pushed him into a vehicle outside of a city courthouse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you guys have a warrant?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please you can't get me. (INAUDIBLE).

SANDOVAL (voice-over): So was this some immigration enforcement action?

We still don't know. The men detaining him there, they're in plain clothes, some wearing masks. During the incident, one of them said that he was an ICE agent. Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security responded to CNN's questions about whether ICE was involved in this incident.

But it does come as ICE agents are increasingly making arrests at courthouses of migrants with pending immigration proceedings under guidance from the Trump administration.

And U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi, she's issued a new order, giving back control of Washington, D.C.'s, police department to its police chief. A federal judge ruling the administration does not have the authority to put the head of the DEA in place as an emergency police commissioner, as it tried to do earlier this week.

I want to go now to Brian Todd with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest tense chapter in this political standoff between the Trump administration and the D.C. government over president Trump's takeover of the D.C. Police started on Thursday.

When Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, issued an order to the D.C. government to accept DEA administrator Terry Cole as the district's, quote, "emergency police commissioner," basically giving him full control over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

The D.C. government sued to block that order. And on Friday evening, U.S. district judge Ana Reyes issued Instructions for the Trump administration to rewrite its directive. The Trump administration complied.

Now D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. attorney general Brian Schwalb claimed victory because it means D.C.'s police chief will not be replaced.

But even with that rewriting, the Trump administration will still be able to make demands of the D.C. Police. The DEA administrator, Terry Cole, would have to request any police action through Mayor Muriel Bowser.

But under law, Bowser would not be allowed to refuse any such request. So in effect, this does not change the big picture of Pam Bondi's order or of president Trump's emergency declaration earlier this week.

It just makes the entire process of issuing police orders a little bit more cumbersome. Meanwhile, local police, federal agents and the D.C. National Guard continued their stepped up patrols of the D.C. streets on Friday and later in the week.

And local police and federal agents have moved more aggressively to break down homeless encampments in the city -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: The United States now deploying more than 4,000 troops to Latin America and parts of the Caribbean. The two U.S. Defense officials are telling CNN that it's part of a ramped-up effort to fight drug cartels.

There's the U.S. Iwo Jima. It will be joining a broader deployment that already started the past -- over the last three weeks or so. It includes a nuclear submarine, planes, Navy destroyers, even a guided missile cruiser. They're all going to be part of this mission.

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One official telling CNN that the buildup is mostly a show of force for now but it will give the military some more options should the president decide to take action.

Well, the mayor of New Orleans has been indicted on charges of conspiracy, fraud and obstruction. Louisiana prosecutors are accusing Latoya Cantrell of a years-long scheme to hide a personal relationship with her bodyguard. They say that he was paid.

If -- they say that he was paid as if he were working while the two met alone and even took lavish vacations together. He's pleaded not guilty to fraud charges. Cantrell says that she's being unfairly targeted as a Black woman.

Investigators uncovered more than 15,000 encrypted text messages between the two that led to this federal grand jury indictment.

A U.S. federal appeals court will be allowing the Trump administration some drastic cuts to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. You see, that bureau protects consumers from predatory banking. Groups sued to stop the White House after president Trump replaced the agency's director.

The administration then paused the agency's work and planned cuts for most of its workforce. Well, a judge blocked the administration's moves but the appeals court then ruled the cuts could continue as long as the bureau is not completely shut down.

And there are new developments today after Friday's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that he will be meeting with Donald Trump in Washington in just a matter of days. The very latest on that coming up.

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And welcome back to all of you watching here in the United States and all around the world.

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SANDOVAL: I'm Polo Sandoval in New York and this is CNN NEWSROOM.

Ukraine's president says that hell be traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday. Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that they will be discussing details about ending Russia's war in Ukraine. Earlier, president Trump arrived back in Washington from his Alaska

summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin. During that flight, the White House says that he only spoke to NATO leaders but that he reportedly had what's described as a lengthy call with the Ukrainian president.

Despite no deal or a decision on a ceasefire in Ukraine, president Trump is giving the meeting high marks. In fact, both men characterizing the summit in Anchorage as positive and also talked of progress that they said was made.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Many points were agreed to and there are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant. But we have a very good chance of getting there.

We didn't get there but we have a very good chance of getting there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: After the summit, president Trump told FOX News it's now up to the president of Ukraine to reach a deal with Russia. And he said he agreed with Putin that the war will end with territory swapping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: It's kind of universal thinking, how this ends.

There is going to be some land swaps. There will be more Russian territory than there had been. And what Ukraine wants and needs desperately is our security measure that won't be NATO related.

If you had to look into your crystal ball, is that how it ends?

TRUMP: Well, I think those are points that we negotiated and those are points that we largely have agreed on actually. I think we've agreed on a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Senior government officials in Eastern Europe have already reacted with skepticism and also doubts to comments made by Russia's president during the summit in Alaska.

No one outside of the meeting actually know what president Trump and Putin discussed on Friday, because they didn't reveal it at a joint news briefing after the summit. And they also didn't take any questions from reporters, which was unusual.

Russian media, they also had a field day with the images of Mr. Putin receiving that red carpet treatment after he arrived in Alaska. You see him there shaking the president's hand after he touched down.

He's been really a pariah in the West since the start of the conflict in Ukraine. And he's also facing an arrest warrant from the International Court of Justice over suspected war crimes, which Russia has rejected. From Moscow, CNN's Fred Pleitgen gives us a look at how Putin's day actually played out back at home.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As you can imagine, the Russian state media pretty happy with the outcome so far. One of the things that's getting played again and again and again is president Trump saying that there could be a follow-up summit.

And President Putin then saying, "Next time in Moscow." That certainly is something that the Russian press is zeroing in on, generally saying that they believe that the meeting went very well for Vladimir Putin.

Obviously outlining the fact that Vladimir Putin does not appear to have made substantial concessions to the U.S. president, certainly not toward any ceasefire that might be imminent.

The fact that the Russian president spoke about the root causes of the conflict and that those need to be addressed, Russia's security concerns as well, that's the exact same rhetoric that we've been hearing from Vladimir Putin since the beginning of the full-on invasion of Ukraine.

And looking at how this evening unfolded, certainly, if you see some of the Russian officials that we've been monitoring that have been talking about this -- like, for instance, the spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry -- she said, look, people have been saying for the last three years that Russia is completely isolated.

And now they're seeing president Trump roll out the red carpet for the Russian president on U.S. territory, then saying that the U.S. media was going crazy about all this.

So certainly the Russians right now treating this as a positive outcome for Vladimir Putin. It was quite interesting to hear because the Russian media actually did speak to some Russian officials that then came out of those meetings. And the Russian ambassador to the United States talked about a positive atmosphere.

The Russian defense minister said that he was very upbeat after hearing about the meeting. So generally, it seems as though, in the Russian delegation, the mood is quite positive. But here as well, no one really knows what the agreements are that allegedly were put in place by these two leaders, that were agreed by these two leaders.

But the mood definitely, on the ground here in Russia, in Russian media and it seems also in the Russian delegation, seems to be a very positive one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: All right. I want to go live now to Berlin and Alexander Baunov for more on what would -- we could potentially expect next. He's a visiting fellow at European University and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Welcome to the program.

ALEXANDER BAUNOV, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Hi.

SANDOVAL: So I'm wondering if we could discuss what Putin and Trump each walked away with.

[04:35:00]

Let's start with the Russian leader.

Do you think he achieved most of what he wanted, Alexander?

I mean, he essentially avoided further sanctions. He walked down a red carpet and out of diplomatic isolation, not to mention that he gets to continue the war that he started.

BAUMANN: Exactly.

At the last moment before the meeting began, I summed it -- I summed it up in just one line. If Trump persuades Putin to agree to a ceasefire, the meeting is his success. Any other outcome is Putin's success. And we have any other outcome in this case.

SANDOVAL: So what about Trump?

(CROSSTALK)

BAUMANN: I'm sorry.

SANDOVAL: Sorry, Alexander, I think I cut you off because of our connection.

You were saying?

BAUMANN: Yes, absolutely.

The meeting is a success for Putin because he is breaking out of diplomatic isolation. Very typical for a dictator, especially for a dictator who is waging a war. And he is boosting his authority inside the country.

The domestic media are celebrating the visit as kind of historic event and the authority in so-called countries of the global majority or the global south, which are now the base of international support for Vladimir Putin, he is showing to the -- his non-Western allies that he's not that toxic figure he was before his meeting.

SANDOVAL: So then let's now pivot to the U.S. leader.

What did Trump walk away with or fly away with here?

I mean, so far -- and giving him the benefit of the doubt -- of the doubt, it doesn't appear that he actually caved into Putin's demands. And then now we're learning that he'll be hosting President Zelenskyy come Monday.

BAUMANN: Their reaction there, the statement by president Trump, was surprisingly short after the meeting. But what I read from this statement is that it was not possible for Vladimir Putin to steer the discussion away from Ukraine.

Because Russian delegation and, as I see, at least from my angle, American delegation came to this meeting from different agendas. Russian delegation has much broader agenda, including the reestablishment of full-scale bilateral diplomatic relations, reestablishment of commercial relations, projects in Arctic, strategic nuclear weapon.

All things under the sky, in fact. And the U.S. delegation was concentrated on the Ukrainian issue, which has to be resolved before anything mentioned by the Russian delegation can be discussed substantially.

And president Trump's statement was dedicated mostly to this particular Ukrainian issue. We don't have a lot of information about what was discussed. But the idea to steer the discussion away from Ukraine hasn't -- Putin and Russians were not successful in this.

SANDOVAL: I want to tap into your expertise now. When it comes to a phrase that we heard from the Russian leader during his remarks, it's something he's repeated before. I'll play it to remind our viewers and then I'll get your assessment right after.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN (through translator): Our country is sincerely interested in putting an end to this. But at the same time, we are convinced that, in order for the Ukrainian settlement to be sustainable and long-term, all the root causes of this crisis, which have been repeatedly discussed, must be eliminated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So "root causes;" can you explain to viewers around the world what the Russian leader is referring to and why it's really -- those two words are really quite telling when it comes to his maximalist goals.

BAUMANN: Yes, in this particular aspect, nothing has changed. And Putin has repeated this narrative about root causes and the idea that he is not agreed to any ceasefire.

He would be satisfied with something more comprehensive, a peace agreement that includes so-called root causes of the conflict, Russian security issues. And they are so multiple that, in one line, in just in a few words, we can say that Russians are talking about the overturning results of the Cold War.

[04:40:00]

Russia, Soviet Russia, Soviet Union was defeated in the Cold War and lost the status of global power, superpower, with area of influence; part of its own empire, its own military bloc. And to other charge this outcome is to dictate its condition to the West. The different conditions to the West and to the neighboring countries.

That's exactly what Putin wants to achieve. The right to -- well, to put satellite regimes in neighboring countries. Well, the right to dictate the conditions to which military bloc to join or not to join; to intervene in the domestic legislation of several countries, like in Ukraine, for instance.

The legislation about the state language, educational language, it's all linguistical issues about use of Russian language inside Ukraine, even the borders. Because Russia has changed its borders by force in -- not only in 2022 but it started in 2014.

And Russia now pretends, as a superpower, it has the right to define its borders by force and by its -- by its will, by its own, which hasn't happened in Europe since the second -- the end of Second World War. So multiple issues about this.

SANDOVAL: It is such a historic --

(CROSSTALK)

SANDOVAL: It's such important historic context, Alexander. So thank you so much for walking us through all that as we wait to see what comes next when President Putin, when President Zelenskyy and Donald Trump meet in Washington.

I want to thank you so much for your time, Alexander Baunov in Berlin.

BAUMANN: Thank you for the invitation.

SANDOVAL: Well, demonstrators, they sent a message to President Putin and Trump in Anchorage on Friday by displaying a huge Ukrainian flag.

You see the demonstration here. This was one of several pro Ukraine protests in the city ahead of and even during the summit. Members of the Ukrainian American community in New York, they also rallied on Friday. They gathered in the city's Little Ukraine neighborhood.

Some saying that they are trying to stay hopeful but said that it is very difficult because Russia conducted strikes in Ukraine just before the summit.

And still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, heavy rains triggering devastating flooding across southern Asia, killing hundreds of people. We'll have the very latest out of the region just ahead.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) SANDOVAL: The first Atlantic hurricane of the season, now a category

two storm. And it is expected to grow into a major hurricane later this weekend.

Erin, as it's called, it's already -- it has sustained winds of 100 miles/hour, about 155 kilometers/hour. The outer bands that you see there on the radar already being impacted or already affecting portions of the northern Leeward Islands.

Heavy rainfall also expected in the Virgin Islands as well as in Puerto Rico. Forecasters predicting that the storm could reach category four status by Sunday.

And devastating floods, they've already swept through southern Asia this week, killing more than 400 people. A disaster agency saying there that more than 320 of those deaths, they were in northwestern Pakistan. CNN's Ben Hunte has more on the floods that have also hit the Indian-administered Kashmir and Nepal regions.

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A wall of mud and water crashes down a mountainside in Indian-controlled Kashmir, the camera wildly swinging as its operator runs away.

Rescuers are still searching for survivors in the remote region after roaring flash floods swept through the area, killing dozens of people and leaving many more missing.

Officials say a sudden cloudburst created the waves of water that left some people stranded and washed away others. Authorities say many of the victims were Hindu pilgrims who were stopped for lunch at a village while on their way to a religious site. One man describes how quickly the floods overtook the area.

KULDEEP SINGH, WITNESS (through translator): Immediately after a loud sound, I saw flood water rushing in. Around 150 to 200 people were here at that time. I started running. When I looked back, I saw no one. I have no idea where all the people vanished.

HUNTE (voice-over): Nepal and Pakistan have also been battered by torrential rains, with ferocious floods killing more than 200 people in northwestern Pakistan in just 24 hours. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired an emergency meeting to assess the devastation. But forecasters warn some parts of Pakistan could flood even more.

Heavy rain, landslides and floods have inundated South Asia in recent weeks in what's been a particularly fierce monsoon season that began in early June. And some experts say climate change is to blame for the increasingly dangerous conditions.

RAVI CHOPRA, HIMALAYAN ECOLOGY EXPERT: Temperatures are rising. Snow, which did not melt earlier, is melting. And there is heavy rainfall on top of it. So the combination of melting snows, ice, water and lots of debris, this is what becomes a killer.

HUNTE (voice-over): Ben Hunte, CNN.

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SANDOVAL: The residents of a Portuguese village joining firefighters on Friday to fight some flames there that were threatening homes. Five large fires are burning in central and northern Portugal. Thousands of firefighters, they've already been deployed to the region.

Meanwhile, 14 major fires continue burning in Spain. And this as high winds and heat continue to fuel these flames. At least seven deaths have been confirmed in an area the size of London has already burned.

Residents of a Spanish village also helped with firefighting efforts there by gathering some water to try to put out those flames.

And Air Canada flight attendants are now on strike. The union announcing the action against the country's largest airline early on Saturday morning. They voted to strike after an impasse in reaching a new contract agreement.

Air Canada has opted to temporarily halt all flights ahead of a lockout and full system stoppage on Saturday. The airline says cancellations could impact as many as 130 passengers that it flies every day.

Still ahead, Adidas, the brand, saying sorry to Mexican artisans. Why the company is now apologizing and how Mexico is also reacting when we come back.

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SANDOVAL: And welcome back.

Sportswear company Adidas and the designer of one of their shoes, that mimicked a Mexican sandal design, have issued an apology. Well, now, Mexico, the country is now moving to further protect its cultural products as CNN's Valeria Leon explains.

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VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The hands of artisans in Villa Hidalgo, a village in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico, are just leather strips that shape this traditional sandals known as huaraches.

They are made, among others, in Raymundo's workshop, who claims his technique is an old one, handed down over generations since the 1880s, more or less, when huarache production began in the community.

This process is so labor intensive that he can only make two pairs of huaraches a day. The traditional indigenous sandal style was replicated by designer Willy Chavarria.

[04:55:00]

And sold by the Adidas brand under the name Oaxaca Slip-On. Authorities complained, considering it to be a cultural appropriation of footwear.

"It is intellectual property," Sheinbaum said. "And there must be compensation."

Both the designer and the brand apologized.

In his statement, the designer explained that his intention was to honor the culture and art of Oaxaca.

"It's a great achievement to have helped the company and the designer recognize their mistake and assume responsibility."

But this is not the first time a brand has committed an act of cultural appropriation.

Authorities of Villa Hidalgo are seeking to establish a handicrafts registry that protects the original designs. Mexico also has legislation that punished brands that use indigenous designs without authorization.

"We're calling on all communities to join together," Ignacio Fabian says, "to create a registry of the cultural heritage of indigenous communities."

This involving the slip-on sandals sparked outrage among local residents.

"These are Oaxacan creations," Liliana Velasco says, "and must be respected and valued."

They are asking that the complaint would be extended so that the originality of Mexican designs is respected -- Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

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SANDOVAL: And that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. I'll be right back with much more news in just a moment. Don't go anywhere.