Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Witkoff, Kushner to meet Putin Today; Pope Leo Wraps Up Apostolic Journey with a Mass after Welcoming the Lebanese Young People; More than 1200 People Killed in Massive Rainfalls and Cyclones in Sri Lanka and Parts of Southeast Asia. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired December 02, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead.

A high-level U.S. delegation is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming hours, hoping to reach a compromise to end the war in Ukraine.

President Trump huddles with top national security officials to discuss next steps for Venezuela as the uproar over a double-tap strike on an alleged drug boat grows louder.

And why a U.S. grocery chain's bags are becoming all the rage in the U.K.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us.

In the coming hours, Russian President Vladimir Putin will host Donald Trump's most trusted negotiators in Moscow. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are trying to sell Putin on the new terms of the U.S.-backed Ukraine peace deal.

The proposal was initially criticized as being too deferential to Moscow's maximalist demands. But it has been amended after negotiations with Ukrainian diplomats.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's President is working with European allies to ensure his country's needs are represented in the peace talks. He met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris and says there will be no peace without European involvement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The territorial issue is the most difficult. The issues of money and reconstruction, and I am speaking honestly, and we have discussed this, are, of course, hard to finalize without the presence of our European partners, because the money is in Europe.

To me, this does not seem entirely fair. And the issue of security guarantees is also crucial. We need concrete commitments from the United States and concrete commitments from Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Matthew Chance brings us the latest from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the mouthpiece of the Russian state, often voicing what the Kremlin is reluctant to say out loud. Now, Russian state television seems very upbeat about the upcoming Kremlin visit of Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy.

A lot of interesting and unexpected things are happening, comments this guest.

We can now say the Americans are seriously committed to a diplomatic solution. That's another.

The sheer pace of U.S. diplomacy has been hard to dismiss. The latest tough but constructive talks in Florida between U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators took, quote, "a step forward on some of the most problematic obstacles to ending the Ukraine war," one source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told CNN.

"It would be very premature to say we finalized everything here, as a lot of things still have to be done," the source said. "But the meeting was very focused, and the most problematic aspects of the peace proposals were discussed in detail," the source added, hinting that tentative progress in some areas could be made.

Areas like NATO membership, an aspiration for Ukraine but a red line for the Kremlin. The issue of Ukraine surrendering territory that Russia has annexed but not yet conquered, something Kyiv has refused to do.

In his numerous Kremlin encounters, Witkoff, who touched his hand to his heart when he first met President Vladimir Putin, has taken flak for being too deferential. He's been at the forefront of prisoner exchanges between the U.S. and Russia, talk of future economic cooperation, and boasted of developing a friendship with Putin.

A leaked transcript revealed Witkoff coached the Kremlin on dealing with Trump, further fueling allegations by his critics of bias.

[03:04:56]

But this time, on his sixth visit to Moscow as a Trump envoy, Witkoff has a hard sell, convincing a Russian strongman who has so far refused to compromise, to step back from his maximalist demands, and finally move to end the Ukraine war.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Peter Zalmayev is the director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative. He joins me now from Ukraine. I appreciate you talking with us.

PETER ZALMAYEV, DIRECTOR, EURASIA DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE: Pleasure.

CHURCH: So, dressed in full military fatigue, Russia's President Putin has been hyping up his upcoming high-stakes meeting with Witkoff and Kushner, boasting about Russian territorial gains ahead of these talks. Now, we don't know what exactly Witkoff is offering here, but we do know that the original peace plan that favored Russia has been reworked to consider Ukraine's top concerns, including territorial issues.

What might Putin's posturing signal, and do you expect a deal to come out of this?

ZALMAYEV: Well, first of all, no, I don't expect a deal to come out of this. I think both sides are sort of going along for the ride, pretending that they're interested, but Ukraine is still very wary of anything that is being suggested, and even with this plan having been reworked, whatever Zelenskyy was discussing with President Macron of France, I mean, this is all wishful thinking. You know, who knows if Vladimir Putin is willing to sign that.

I mean, he said that they originally submitted 28 capitulatory points of that, you know, peace plan, or plan of Ukraine's surrender, would actually form the baseline for any further talks. And now, as you mentioned, he is hyping up his territorial gains, which actually have not been corroborated by the Ukrainian side.

He's claiming that new towns have been captured. He's, you know, donning fatigues and looking like the macho military man, claiming that he's, you know, visiting the front lines, etc., to put pressure on the American side that, you know, you have to really give us everything you can, and then we'll see if we'll be ready to sit down and talk.

And the Russian side, as I just mentioned, you know, it's also not interested. I think Vladimir Putin, as he mentioned at a security forum in Kyrgyzstan the other day, you know, he wants to continue fighting. He feels that this momentum is in his favor.

And let's not forget, I mean, there's so much of the Russian economy, of Russian resources have been devoted to this war. It's not easy to wind it down. So I think Donald Trump is being played for a fool by the Russian side, and I think Witkoff will once again discover this.

And that's actually precisely why we're hearing the, you know, the outcome of these talks in the Kremlin will probably be under wraps. The Kremlin does not want to come out looking like the recalcitrant party, not willing to negotiate, and it's almost certain that Russians will not agree to whatever Witkoff brought them. CHURCH: And, of course, today's talks will be Putin's sixth meeting with Witkoff, a man with business experience but very little diplomatic background. And now the "Wall Street Journal" is reporting that Witkoff and Kushner, along with a Kremlin ally, have been discussing tapping into hundreds of billions of dollars of frozen Russian assets for U.S.-Russian investment projects.

How likely is it that U.S. business opportunities will help convince Putin to end his war in Ukraine, given they haven't in the past, have they?

ZALMAYEV: I don't know. Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion and opposition leader living in exile, the opposition leader of Russia, put it starkly at a NATO meeting the other day. He said that this is a scheme to enrich Trump's family.

Well, I don't have, you know, the proof of that, but once again, you know, we've been down that road before with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff trying to negotiate deals, you know, and these talks apparently occur or have been known to occur parallel to talks about various business deals, including a potential Russian-American deal, including using some of the frozen Russian assets, etc.

This is quite crass, if you ask me, because when people like that sit down and talk and they try to hash out sweet deals for themselves, I mean, thinking that, you know, as an added bonus, they may be winning their boss a Nobel Peace Prize, this, you know, goes against the wishes of the victim here, you know. If you're talking about ceding land of Ukraine as some sort of a real estate deal, you're talking about hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens still living in that territory. It is heartless, and I think it goes against, you know, America's own security interests as a country that has been, you know, at the forefront of supporting Ukraine as its ally in this war.

[03:10:01]

CHURCH: Right, and of course, on that very topic, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has said that the main sticking point is who gets critical territory in any exchange deal. How far do you think each side might go to make a deal on territory?

ZALMAYEV: I think Ukraine is willing to come to terms with the reality on the ground, so to speak, and probably freeze, you know, the war, the current lines, front lines. The sticking point is, of course, whether Russia will obtain the Europe or de facto recognition of its sovereignty.

But, you know, why would Putin negotiate to give away what he thinks is and what he believes, and it's actually part of Russia's constitution now, the territory that Ukraine is still occupying? Let me remind you that the four oblasts, or the four regions of Ukraine - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, they've all been written into the Russian constitution as belonging to Russia, as constituting Russia proper.

So for Putin to negotiate them away, which he considers its own territory, that's a nonstarter. What will he show to his people for all the hundreds of thousands of his war dead, and billions of dollars of expenses, and thousands of sanctions that he's brought upon Russia for that? So, no, it's a nonstarter, once again, for either side.

CHURCH: All right. We'll be watching to see what comes of all of this. Peter Zalmayev, thank you so much for joining us, I appreciate it.

Well President Donald Trump is weighing his next steps in Venezuela following a meeting with top national security officials in the Oval Office. This comes as the administration is facing intense scrutiny over a double tap strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean.

On Monday, the White House acknowledged that strike did occur in early September. They also confirmed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized it but the administration is now shifting responsibility for it to the head of U.S. Special Operations Command.

CNN recently spoke with a retired U.S. Brigadier General who explained that while secondary attacks do occur often, there's a clear red line on their legality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT (RET.), U.S. ARMY: In terms of following up on a target that hasn't been destroyed, it's done all the time in the military. We have a process called the D4 cycle - decide, detect, deliver, assess.

When you conduct an artillery campaign, when you conduct an air campaign, if you have been given a mission to destroy a target and it's not destroyed, you attack again. Now that's different if you see people standing outside that target with their hands up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Alayna Treene is tracking these developments and brings us the latest from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Donald Trump and his top military officials are facing growing scrutiny as the White House is now confirming that the military carried out what they call a double tap strike on a boat off of the Venezuelan coast back in September. Now sources have told CNN and other outlets that two people at least on board had survived that initial attack before the second strike was carried out, killing all 11 people on board.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said and confirmed that both of those strikes had taken place. She said that the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was the one who had initially authorized those strikes, but that it was the Admiral Frank Mitch Bradley, who is now the commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command, to carry out those strikes.

All to say she also repeatedly argued that what he did was lawful and within their authority. Listen.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have made it clear that presidentially designated narco-terrorist groups are subject to lethal targeting in accordance with the laws of war. With respect to the strikes in question on September 2nd, Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes. Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.

TREENE: Now still, some members of Congress and many legal experts are arguing whether or not that actually was legal and if this could even amount to a war crime, which is what we've heard from people like Senator Angus King and other lawmakers as well.

Now, another key question, of course, is where does the administration go from here as it relates to Venezuela?

On Monday evening, the President convened a meeting with top cabinet officials as well as members of his national security team to game out next steps on Venezuela, among other issues. One of the people who was expected to attend that meeting was Pete Hegseth, the Defense Secretary himself.

[03:15:00]

And so a lot of questions on Monday regarding those two strikes back in September likely coming up in that meeting as well as this potential, and President Trump has said this himself, that future strikes could involve potential strikes on land. All to say this also comes after the president confirmed that he spoke by phone with the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. He didn't say that the call went well, but he didn't say that it went bad either.

Alayna Treene, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTYPE)

CHURCH: Despite his calls for diplomacy, Venezuela's president remains defiant in the face of this mounting U.S. military pressure. At a rally on Monday, Nicolas Maduro danced to a remix of his own speech and said his country will not be subject to the, quote, "peace of slaves."

Stefano Pozzebon was there in Caracas and brings us the latest on the mood in Venezuela.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Nicolas Maduro's supporters came out in numbers this Monday. We're actually only a couple of blocks from the presidential palace. Maduro himself is speaking on a stage.

What you're seeing here is the power base of the Venezuelan government. It's workers' unions, public employees. It's people who depend on government benefits for their daily livelihoods.

And this is a movement that has been on power in Venezuela for the last 25 years. Shows of force like this one send a message that the movement is not ready to give up power anytime soon. They've told us, for example, that this is just the latest of a long series of confrontations with Washington and that they hope that their leader, Maduro, is not going to bend down to the pressure coming down from President Donald Trump.

This is not the majority of Venezuelans. However, it shows that the government is still capable of rallying up the crowd and rallying up its power base and sends exactly the message that Maduro wants to, that he's on a stage, on center, on television, and seemingly unshakable.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Just ahead, we take you to Lebanon and check in on the final leg of Pope Leo's first overseas trip. Back with that and more in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Looking at live pictures here, Pope Leo XIV is holding a public mass at Beirut's waterfront on the final day of his first trip abroad as pontiff. He's just visited the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion to silently pray, the blast was caused by the ignition of confiscated chemical cargo taken from a ship back in 2014. The explosion killed more than 200 people and injured 7000.

On Monday, Pope Leo met with Lebanon's youth, urging them not to lose hope amid the country's deep wounds. CNN's Christopher Lamb is in Beirut with more on the Pope's visit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A warm welcome on the streets of Beirut for Pope Leo. In Lebanon, during his first overseas trip, the first American pope in the heart of the Middle East with a message of peace.

POPE LEO XIV, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: In an age when coexistence can seem like a distant dream, the people of Lebanon, while embracing different religions, stand as a powerful reminder that fear, distrust and prejudice do not have the final word and that unity, reconciliation and peace are possible.

LAMB (voice-over): For a country which has been through so much, Leo's visit lifting their spirits. The people here want more than nice words. MARC BEYROUTHY, PROFESSOR: We need, if you want, practical things that the Pope will ask maybe to the church or to the maybe international community. We know the Pope that he's not a political figure and he doesn't have arms but he has, you know, he's the Pope, people would listen to him.

LAMB (voice-over): The Pope in a country with a sizeable Christian community, one as old as Christianity itself, excited to meet Leo, as were young people. But, like thousands of Lebanese Christians, many have been leaving, Leo urging them to stay. The Pope's visit to Lebanon won't be able to resolve the country's problems but it is offering a glimmer of hope.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, more than 1200 dead, many missing and millions coping with the aftermath of severe storms in Asia. We will have a live report after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

Donald Trump's son-in-law and special envoy are traveling to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff will be discussing the U.S.-backed plan to end the war in Ukraine with the architects of the war itself. It's unclear whether Putin will accept any of the changes to the original plan which had reflected Russia's maximalist war goals.

Top national security officials have met with President Trump in the Oval Office to discuss potential next steps in Venezuela. This comes amid bipartisan backlash over a double-tap strike on an alleged drug- trafficking boat in the Caribbean.

[03:30:03]

The White House says the head of U.S. Special Operations Command is responsible despite the Defense Secretary authorizing the attacks.

Pope Leo XIV celebrates a public mass at Beirut's waterfront on the final day of his first trip abroad as pontiff. He has been emphasizing interfaith cooperation and peace throughout his six-day Middle East tour.

More than 1200 people have been killed by flooding and landslides caused by heavy rainfall throughout parts of Asia. Cyclone-fueled downpours battered areas of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia and Sri Lanka was struck by a separate storm. Hundreds more are still missing with millions affected as the disaster damaged homes and cut off communities from critical supplies.

CNN's Mike Valerio is following developments from Beijing, he joins us now. So, Mike, the death toll is horrifying with many still missing. What more are you learning about the aftermath of these severe storms?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're learning and absorbing really the scale of these storms. Rosemary, we have the President of Sri Lanka suggesting that the scale of devastation could be larger than what Sri Lanka experienced during the 2004 tsunami. Let that sit with you for a second, more than a million people evacuated from Indonesia.

But we're going to play a story that shows you the worst of what we've seen, it lasts about two minutes. Just look at what people are dealing with across the region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIO (voice-over): Across flood-ravaged Sri Lanka, the military called in to airlift fuel for families cut off from the rest of the country by Cyclone Ditwah. Social media video from Sri Lanka's air force showing a child rescued, pulled up to safety as neighboring India and Pakistan also send in aircraft to help.

In Indonesia's West Sumatra, signs of Cyclone Senyar's human toll are everywhere. Orange body bags carried by rescue and recovery teams. This man lost both his mother and mother-in-law, saying they were sick and could not walk.

UNKNOWN (through translator): This building used to be my house. This was a mosque, and that was my parents' house, a rice mill, my younger brother's house, and my in-laws.

VALERIO (voice-over): This is a before view of Songkhla province in Thailand from October, and this is a view from Sunday. A snapshot of West Sumatra from the summer, and one from over the weekend.

Sri Lanka's President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, emphasizing the scale of the catastrophe.

ANURA KUMARA DISSANAYAKE, SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT (through translator): As a country, we are facing the largest and most challenging natural disaster in our history. We also recognize that what we are undertaking is the most difficult rescue operation in our nation's history.

VALERIO (voice-over): In Sri Lanka, more than 24,000 police, army, and air force personnel are still trying to reach families stranded by floods, authorities said.

UNKNOWN (through translator): In the night, things were normal. By the next morning, everything was underwater, including our house. Seven of us, including children, took refuge on the top floor.

There are another 15 adults still there. Their houses are completely underwater. VALERIO (voice-over): Back in Indonesia, mud in some areas seen coming

up to the top of door frames. This woman says her child was the one who rescued her, and the flood was as high as the attic. She's gotten no food from the government yet, only from relatives, all as hundreds remain missing across the worst hit areas of Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIO: So I know, Rosemary, we have severe weather across our world all the time. It's totally overwhelming whenever we see it on the news.

But what we are tracking as these storylines move forward are all the people who are still missing. A lot of the severe weather even happened a week ago, Tuesday, local time. So at this hour, according to our latest CNN reporting, 475 people are still missing across Indonesia.

In Sri Lanka, it's 336 people who are still missing. So of course, there will be the cleanup, but really so much of the drama will center around getting to the areas that are still cut off and trying to find the people who are still missing, Rosemary.

CHURCH: It is a heartbreaking situation. Mike Valerio in Beijing, many thanks for that live report.

Trader Joe's supermarket doesn't have any stores in London, so why are people there so enthusiastic about them? We will find out when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN, this is your Business Breakout.

Financial markets in Tokyo and Hong Kong are holding steady amid a slide in cryptocurrency and a looming interest rate hike in Japan, the Seoul KOSPI is the exception up by nearly 2 percent.

And these are the business headlines.

Just days after warning of one technical problem with its popular A320 airplane, Airbus has announced another. The company says it has identified a supplier quality issue affecting metal panels. It calls the problem very limited, but Airbus shares were down following the news.

Amazon is testing ultra-fast deliveries in Seattle, Washington and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Some shoppers can choose the Amazon Now feature and receive groceries or household essentials within 30 minutes.

[03:40:04] Amazon Prime members will pay a $3.99 delivery fee, non-members will pay $13.99.

The British government has agreed to pay more for new medicines in exchange for lower tariffs for U.S. companies importing drugs from the U.K. The NHS will pay 25 percent more for medications, drugs shipped from the U.K. to the U.S. will be exempt from tariffs for the rest of President Trump's time in office.

Well how does an American grocery retailer with no stores outside the U.S. become a London fashion icon? Easy, it's in the bag.

CNN's Richard Quest and Anna Cooban investigate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT-LARGE, AND "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" ANCHOR: Trader Joe's is a grocery store institution known for high quality and reasonable prices, they're everywhere. The bags are also ubiquitous. There used to be a bit of a fashion statement here in New York, but now, the way they've taken off overseas, it's worth a great deal more.

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER: I'm in a trendy part of East London on a fact-finding mission because I want to know why these bags have really taken off in the U.K. despite the fact that Trader Joe's doesn't even have a store in the country.

UNKNOWN: Anytime I go anywhere, people are complimenting me on it, which is odd because it's just a thing you would have in the States.

UNKNOWN: Maybe people saw it on TikTok.

UNKNOWN: You see something, a piece of, like, something that people wear online, you see it, you like it because you see it more and more and more, you get used to it, and you think that's what you want to wear because everybody wears it, basically.

UNKNOWN: Yes, I did bring this back from L.A. all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to London.

UNKNOWN: It feels like it's not luxury, but something, like, niched. You know, you have to be in America to have one of those, so maybe that's the reason why people think it's cool, but it's basically just a supermarket.

COOBAN: As with all fashion trends, it's about individual taste.

UNKNOWN: I wouldn't wear it, but I'm a black-only wearer.

COOBAN: Anna Cooban, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Okay, it is official. Greece is now the top destination for retirement from abroad. That is according to International Living's "Annual Global Retirement Index."

It says the sun-soaked Mediterranean climate, combined with a golden visa program, makes Greece an easy and pleasurable choice for many. Rounding out the top five are more countries with favorable climates, Panama, Costa Rica, Portugal and Mexico. Some ideas there for you.

Beachgoers marked the opening of the first edition of Christmas in Rio with the lighting of a Christmas tree, but Sunday's event was no average tree lighting. The tree is floating near a beach in Rio de Janeiro, more than two million LED lights illuminate the 80-meter tree. Beautiful.

I want to thank you so much for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "World Sport" is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)