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Pope Leo XIV Leads More Than 150,000 In Prayer At St. Peter's Square; Putin Proposes Direct Talks With Ukraine On Thursday; Zelenskyy: Ukraine Ready To Meet, Urges Putin To Agree Ceasefire; India And Pakistan Ceasefire Holds; U.S.-China Trade Talks Set To Continue Today; Putin Proposes Direct Talks With Ukraine On Thursday. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired May 11, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:36]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Good Sunday morning to you. I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to have you along.

Any moment now, Pope Leo will lead the Regina Caeli prayer from the balcony in Saint Peter's square. Live pictures for you now. More than 150,000 people are expected to take part. The crowds have been gathering in Saint Peter's Square all morning.

CNN Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb is live in Rome. Christopher, tell us more about the significance of this moment.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, it's a celebratory atmosphere here. There's a -- estimated 150,000 people gathering to see Pope Leo, who has appeared on the balcony of Saint Peter's behind me.

We've had bands playing. We've had songs. And you can hear Pope Leo speaking. He's just said, dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday. And there's been a huge applause from the crowd.

He's speaking now to give his Regina Caeli address. He's going to be reflecting on Good Shepherd Sunday. The Good Shepherd, of course, is something that the Pope will seek to emulate in his ministry. OK.

POPE LEO XIV, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER (through translator): The mass always proclaims the Gospel of John, chapter 10, where Jesus reveals himself as the true shepherd that knows and loves his flock and gives eternal life.

On this Sunday, we are celebrating the World Day of Prayer. And moreover, today, we have the jubilee of the bands and the popular shows. I greet with affection all those pilgrims and I thank them because with their performances and their music they celebrate the festival of Christ, the shepherd, and the Church with its Holy Spirit.

Jesus says that he knows his sheep. That they listen to his voice and follow him. Pope Gregory the Great says also that he responds to those who love him. Today, I have the joy of praying with you, brothers and sisters and all the peoples of the world. And I pray particularly for those who lead a religious life and who are in the priesthood. It is very important that young people find in our community a welcome, are listened to and are encouraged in their vocational field, and that they can dedicate themselves generously to God and to their brethren.

I'd just like to recall to you that Pope Francis invited us to welcome and to accompany young people. And we beseech thee, heavenly Father, to ensure that they become shepherds according to their heart, and that he help us to walk the path of justice and truth.

So, young people, do not be afraid. Accept the invitation of the Church and of Christ the Redeemer.

[06:05:07]

The Virgin Mary, may she always accompany us on this journey with Christ. Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. For he whom you did merit to bear, alleluia. Has risen, as he said, alleluia. Pray for us to God, alleluia.

Rejoice and be glad, o Virgin Mary, alleluia. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia. Let us pray.

O God, who through the resurrection of thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave joy to the world, grant, we beseech thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Glory to the Son and Holy Ghost forever and ever. Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

He just prayed for eternal life for the dead and let them rest in peace.

The Lord be with you. May your name be blessed. (INAUDIBLE) in the name of the Christ, in the name of the almighty God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

BLACKWELL: All right. There's Pope Leo delivering the Regina Caeli there. And let's bring back Christopher Lamb who is there as well. Christopher, the remarks that the Pope made just before delivering the prayer focused especially on young people and inviting them to join the church, to accept the invitation, as he said.

LAMB: He's emphasizing in that -- in those words about the importance of vocation. Of course, it is Good Shepherd Sunday, which is focused on vocations to the priesthood and religious life, encouraging young people to consider a vocation to serve the church. He is also now speaking about wars are taking place in the world, condemning war, calling for peace. And that's something that the cardinals specifically asked for in the Pope in their pre-conclave discussions.

So, Pope Leo taking up that call from the cardinals to speak strongly as a moral voice on the world stage, and that is being welcomed here in the crowd. Pope Leo taking his own -- adopting his own style as pope for this prayer. He sang for part of it, which is not something that Francis did, but clearly connecting with the crowd who are enjoying what he has to say, are applauding him.

There's almost 150,000 here. There's been a celebratory atmosphere as they've gathered to listen to Pope Leo XIV's first Sunday address and remarks to them here in Saint Peter's, Victor.

BLACKWELL: There at Saint Peter's Square.

[06:10:00]

Thank you so much. Joining me now is assistant professor and interim director of Catholic Studies at Emory University, Susan Reynolds. Susan, good morning to you.

As we keep these live pictures up on the screen, your reaction to what we heard from Pope Leo and the way in which he delivered it. Christopher highlighted that he sang some part of the Regina Caeli.

SUSAN REYNOLDS, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF CATHOLIC STUDIES, EMORY UNIVERSITY: He did. We got to hear his singing voice. I imagine that he felt a little bit of pressure considering that currently there's a pilgrimage of musicians and bands underway, as you mentioned, at the top of the hour. And so that was a bold decision, I felt. And it was lovely to hear his singing voice.

I was really touched by the call that he issued to young people. We even heard an echo of that famous phrase kind of a motto of John Paul II, be not afraid, which really rings very iconically in the minds of Catholics who were alive during the papacy of John Paul II.

I myself was a young person during that papacy and that call that he issued there, young people be not afraid to embrace your vocation, to embrace the call that God wants for you in this life is very iconic.

BLACKWELL: And so, I've noticed that this is delivered from that central balcony there at Saint Peter's Basilica where he was first revealed as the -- as Pope Leo XIV. This typically the Regina Caeli, the Angelus prayer, those are delivered from a window at the Apostolic Palace.

What's the significance here? Is this just to accommodate the crowds, or is there something more?

REYNOLDS: I imagine that it's to accommodate the crowds. To enable people to welcome him, to embrace him.

If you recall that final day of Pope Francis' life, in which it was Easter Sunday, he found the strength to be in the Square, to be in Saint Peter's, recognizing that people want to embrace this leader as a way of finding themselves, a way of embracing God.

In some way he sees himself as kind of that symbol that people can look toward for that voice of spiritual authority and moral authority. I think it's kind of an act of generosity, in a way, for him to appear on the loggia, on the balcony, so that more people can welcome him.

BLACKWELL: Part of his conversations with the cardinals yesterday, he highlighted something that I found pretty interesting, artificial intelligence. He said to the cardinals, the developments in artificial intelligence pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor. And a reference to Leo XIII and how the industrial revolution and mirroring that in the current technological advances and how the church must lead and be an example.

REYNOLDS: That's right. That's absolutely fascinating and confirmed what many of us suspected about why he chose the name Leo. The industrial revolution, it's important to remember, for all of the technological and economic advances it occasioned, also brought about just a catastrophic situation for human rights.

The plight of the poor, the separation between the rich and the poor that the industrial revolution occasioned really was a crisis for people's understanding of what it meant to be a human being with intrinsic worth and dignity that's not connected from material output or labor.

And so, I think in this current moment we see that same sort of crisis. Anyone who's a teacher or a professor out there who just spent the last couple of weeks grading a bunch of final papers that were probably written by ChatGPT is probably, you know, joining in that crisis moment of all of us wringing our hands and saying, what is human labor? What does it mean to be human in an age when you can type the prompt into ChatGPT and it spits out, you know, whatever?

What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to have dignity? What does it mean to have worth? And how do we preserve the rights of workers, of laborers, of the poor in this age of massive technological revolution? I think it's a very fascinating and wise direction for him to be laying out.

BLACKWELL: Susan Reynolds of Emory University, thanks so much for being with us. And we're seeing some of the 150,000 people there at Saint Peter's Square after Pope Leo XIV has delivered the Regina Caeli.

[06:15:00]

Christopher Lamb is still there. Christopher, some people are filing out, but there is still that celebratory mood. We see and hear the bells there at the basilica. Tell us more.

LAMB: Victor, yes, really a celebration here today in Saint Peter's. As people filing in, there were bands playing. There's been applause for Pope Leo as he spoke.

He covered a number of topics in his Regina Caeli prayer. He talked about young people considering a vocation to the priesthood and religious life. He said to them, do not be afraid to consider that.

He also spoke about some of the wars going on in the world, made a strong appeal for the end of those -- to the end of those conflicts. He also then addressed specifically some of the pilgrims who were there in Saint Peter's. He made a shout out to some of those from Dallas, in Texas. Of course, that's special coming from the first American Pope born in Chicago.

And then there were the chants of viva il papa, long live the pope, as Pope Leo stood on the balcony and, of course, gave his blessing to the crowd. A little surprise, Victor, that the Pope started to sing parts of the Sunday Regina Caeli prayer. That's something that Pope Francis didn't do.

But he spontaneously sang it. And I think that also added to the joy of this moment. The first Sunday address and appearance from Pope Leo since his election, Victor.

BLACKWELL: And tomorrow, the pope will sit down with some of the journalists who traveled to Rome to cover the conclave. And I expect we'll hear more of the themes that he addressed this morning. Christopher Lamb there, Saint Peter's Square.

We'll take a break. We'll be right back.

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[06:21:59]

BLACKWELL: Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have brushed aside demands for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire starting on Monday. European leaders and the U.S. are trying to put pressure on Putin to agree to the month-long ceasefire in hopes of bringing an end to the war that has gone on for more than three years now.

President Putin yesterday proposed direct negotiations but he wants them done in Istanbul. And on Thursday, he made no reference to the European and U.S. demand.

Responding to Putin's speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, it is a positive sign that Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war, and that Kyiv is ready for direct talks with Russia but repeated a ceasefire must come first.

Nick Paton Walsh is live for us in Kyiv this morning. Is this the kind of delay, sleight of hand that many in Europe have said that Putin has been engaging in this entire process? This is just the next iteration.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Look, I think it's important to view it potentially in that context. He was very clearly given a demand by the four main European military powers, the biggest armies, two nuclear powers and Ukraine, with the backing of U.S. President Trump, they said to agree to this unconditional ceasefire.

And yes, he simply did not agree to it in the statements he made. He offered a slight carrot to diplomacy by suggesting direct talks specifically in Istanbul on Thursday.

I should point out that's not the first time that would indeed have happened. And it really, I think, depends on the level he's talking about. Previously, President Trump has talked about direct talks at the highest level. Moscow and Kyiv have suggested that might be something they could entertain in different types of language.

So, it's not a new idea. And indeed, yes, it is a next step of diplomacy that would follow three days, four days after that midnight ceasefire that's supposed to begin. So, Ukraine again today saying ceasefire first, talks later.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke to Trump multiple times prior to his visit to Kyiv, seemingly doing a lot of the diplomatic heavy lifting to get us to where we are right now. He, when arriving out of Kyiv in Poland, said again that you can't have negotiations while civilians are being killed as the Russian unilateral ceasefire ended at midnight last night, one which on the battlefield, Ukraine says they haven't really respected.

Again, Russian attack drones moved across Ukraine. So, we're into a complex moment here. It does at this stage seem that despite persistent European and Ukrainian demands, Russia has yet to agree to this ceasefire. In fact, Putin's comments were quite extensive in dismissing how Ukraine had respected the previous ceasefires that Russia has unilaterally called.

Indeed, Ukraine said it wasn't going to sign up to the last one because it said that Russia used the first one to basically reposition and improve its battlefield positions. So, we're into a complex moment ahead of midnight where it looks like the Kremlin is not about to sign on to that.

[06:25:01]

Then the question is are the penalties which Europe clearly stated -- those four European powers and Ukraine said they had American backing to implement the massive sanctions that Emmanuel Macron spoke about. Is that something that's going to kick in? Well, for that to happen all eyes are now on President Donald Trump who said he'll continue to work with Russia and Ukraine.

He talked positively about the process after Putin had spoken, not accepting the ceasefire. And he's about to embark on a trip around the region near Istanbul. A lot moving right now. But one thing is clear we don't have Russia signing on to the ceasefire at midnight tonight yet.

BLACKWELL: Nick Paton Walsh for us there in Kyiv, thanks so much. Relief in both India and Pakistan about this ceasefire. However, there are accusations from each side that the other has violated this. We'll talk about the steps forward after the break.

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[06:30:19]

BLACKWELL: New this morning, the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, it is holding. There were celebrations in the streets of Pakistan once the ceasefire was announced. It was around 5 p.m. in India and Pakistan.

The ceasefire ended their four days of direct military strikes. President Trump announced the truce and took credit for it. But there have been conflicting claims about the degree to which the U.S. was involved. We are covering this from all angles for you. We have CNN's Nic Robertson in Islamabad, Pakistan, and we have Matthew Chance in New Delhi.

Nic, we're starting with you. And today, a day of celebration there.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, a day of Thanksgiving. That's what the country is calling it, you know, to give gratitude to Allah, to thank the troops, to get that sense of national unity. And I think it is fair to say that Pakistan not only -- Pakistanis feel not only relieved, because let's not forget here, this was a very intense war at certain moments.

India striking deeper and more extensively into Pakistan than they have done in 50 years. The countries have fought several wars previously over issues in Kashmir. Every time Pakistan loses.

And recently, it really felt isolated from the international community that India was sort of looming over them. And you get a sense of this now from what we're hearing from politicians and the thanks that they're giving to President Trump. President Trump in his post today said that he will help Pakistan and India to deal with their issues over Kashmir.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today released a statement saying that they were grateful for President Trump and his team's involvement in the negotiations. That they looked forward to being able to, you know, find that support going forward. And I think it's also worth noting here that it's not just the United States that officials here have been thanking. It has been Turkey. It has been the UAE. It's been Saudi Arabia. The Greeks called up the other day.

China, a massive and stalwart ally whose military made a huge difference in the aerial dogfights of the fighter jets and the missiles supplied to Pakistan. Lessons, military lessons learned by both sides in this four-day conflict.

But I think where Pakistan emerges today recognizes that it has huge challenges still in dealing with India going forward, particularly on the issue of Kashmir, particularly on the issue of the water that the treaty that India says it's going to continue to abrogate and not supply vital water to Pakistan.

And I think on that very intriguing and interesting question of the role that the United States played in, they saw something troubling. They piled in the diplomatic effort, both with India and Pakistan, working with both countries to resolve this and bring a ceasefire that teetered even to the last minute.

Pakistan thanks the United States for their engagement. India says, no, this was all done unilaterally between India and Pakistan. Historically, India does not want to internationalize the issue of Kashmir and other issues as well between the two countries.

Not clear why, but the quick analysis might be that India fears having other international players involved perhaps tips the balance against them. But certainly Pakistan feels that the balance has tipped towards them in terms of international support after what's happened over the past four days.

BLACKWELL: All right, Nic Robertson, for us there in Islamabad. That takes us right now to Matthew Chance, CNN's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent, Matthew. And this is the right segue into you, because there was so much gratitude from the Pakistani Prime Minister to the -- the president, the U.S. administration. India says not only did the U.S. not play a major role here, no one will come in from outside of these two countries to -- to negotiate Kashmir.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, there's definitely been a distinct, you know, different emphasis here in India in terms of the role the United States played. And there are a couple of reasons for that. One of them, as Nic was just saying, is that here in India, there's a longstanding refusal to participate in sort of or allow international mediation when it comes to the -- the -- the dispute over Kashmir.

It's been a long running dispute. It's been going on for many decades, really for nearly 78 years, in fact, since the early days of the foundation of the state of India.

[06:35:00]

And from the outset, India has categorically refused or at least in recent years, India has categorically refused to engage in negotiations. That's one of the reasons why it's been so reluctant to acknowledge there was a U.S. broker brokering aspect of this -- of this -- of this latest ceasefire.

There's also, you know, nationalistic reasons as well. You know, India has, you know, a very strong nationalistic sort of body of support. And it didn't want to project the idea, I don't think, that this peace was in some way imposed upon it from an outside power. The message, the narrative that the Indian government very much wants to put across to its own people is that this was something that was its initiative, something that it agreed to do on its own terms.

And I think that's why there's a real difference in the narratives coming out of India and Pakistan right now on, you know, why this ceasefire and how this ceasefire took shape.

BLACKWELL: Matthew Chance for us there, New Delhi. Matthew, thank you.

All right. So the administration has been spending days trying to downplay expectations for these talks with China in Switzerland. And now President Trump has posted on social media a total reset negotiated. We'll get into that for people who are hoping for a breakthrough in President Trump's trade war. Round two of talks between the U.S. and China today.

We'll discuss, next.

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[06:41:13]

BLACKWELL: This morning, a source tells CNN that U.S. and Chinese officials are preparing for a second day of trade talks in Geneva, Switzerland. The U.S. still has a 145% tariff on most goods shipped to the states from China.

Joining me now to unpack this and all the other political headlines this week, Washington Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times, Lynn Sweet.

Lynn, good morning to you. And I want to start with what I teased before the break. The White House spent the week lowering expectations. It's just an icebreaker and no big deal coming out of this. We're just going to talk. And then the president posted on social media, total reset negotiated in a friendly but constructive manner.

Good progress made. Just a meeting seems like that's not going to live up to this. What's the White House expecting or, I guess, suggesting out of these meetings?

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Well, good morning, Victor. What you saw was so characteristic of Trump, who is continually in search of quick solutions. And he could post what -- he could post solutions. He could post that he has a deal. And that doesn't mean that there is a deal. These trade talks, good.

Right now, trade is destabilized. Right now, the two, China and U.S., need to talk and they're talking. And that's good. It does not mean that there is a reset until you announce numbers. So when you talk about trade, as opposed to some more complicated international issues, it really boils down to what are the numbers. And until we hear that, we don't know what the reset really means.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk now about the Ukraine and Russia saga. Ahead of yesterday's ultimatum, the president, Secretary Rubio, had said that, you know, it may be time to move on. They'd also discuss sanctions if there was no progress or a day from the start of the proposed ceasefire. And Putin has said, I'd rather have talks. What's the degree of frustration inside the White House? And could this be enough to peel off the president to say, well, Putin now wants to come to the table?

SWEET: Again, this goes back to the underlying issue with President Trump and now his administration, that he gets frustrated if things don't happen fast. So trade war, China, U.S., he wants it kind of done in a day. He's the president who said when he was running for office, I could have a peace deal and with Putin and Zelenskyy in a day. And these things take more than a day.

So, Victor, yes, perhaps the need to move on might not be propelled by facts on the ground or some delicate negotiations as much as Trump wanting to kind of check a box to clear a victory and move on. He has to live by his pledge to get these things done in a day, though at the moment there seems no political impact that his actions didn't meet his rhetoric.

BLACKWELL: All right. The president's preparing to travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. Sources say that he's looking for economic agreements. Of course, there's the Hamas-Israel -- Hamas-Israel war going on. Jared Kushner advising the president, he was influential in the Abraham Accords. What are the expectations for this trip?

SWEET: This is his first major international trip. And if it is sticking to just trade issues, there probably are more tangibles that could come out of it. Why do I say that? Because Trump's first administration, which Jared Kushner was able to create what is known as the Abraham Accords, which was normalizing business relationships with Israel. This comes in a much tougher climate as the Israeli-Hamas war has been dragging on.

[06:45:27]

Again, Trump thought he could quickly bring about a negotiated peace or a ceasefire and return of the hostages. Hostages are still being held. Netanyahu is still pursuing military action.

Now, is this going to be totally independent of striking a deal with these nations? Maybe. I'd say maybe on that one. But some of this does depend on what exactly Trump wants to claim as a victory. Sometimes in these trips, everything is pre-cooked and it's just a formality. In this case, not sure.

BLACKWELL: All right, Lynne Sweet, thanks so much. Enjoy the Sunday.

There's a lot going on in both India and Pakistan and Russia and Ukraine. We'll discuss all that and more with geopolitical expert after a break.

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[06:50:44]

BLACKWELL: Let's dig deeper now into the India-Pakistan ceasefire. Also, the efforts to get to a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine with Bobby Ghosh. She's the former Editor of "The Hindustan Times" and a geopolitics analyst.

Bobby, good morning to you.

BOBBY GHOSH, FORMER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, HINDUSTAN TIMES: Morning, Victor.

BLACKWELL: So let's start here with India and Pakistan. This ceasefire is holding for the first few hours. There were accusations from each that the other had violated. But, you know, we're several hours into it now. But you call this a new, more dangerous era. Why?

GHOSH: Well, if you look at how these spasms of violence between these two countries have gone in the past, Victor, there is a terrorist attack on India. India responds by striking terrorist targets in Pakistan. Pakistan then does some sort of a symbolic attack on India. And then the two sides call it quits. And each side then claims that it has achieved its results.

What's different this time is that the conflict has gone on for several days and the kinds of targets that each side has picked have now, the bar has been raised. India has now struck Pakistani military targets, not just terrorist targets, and sometimes quite deep into Pakistani territory, into important places, Pakistani military bases in and around the cities of Lahore, Rawalpindi. Quite close, we are told, to the headquarters of Pakistan's nuclear command.

Pakistan, likewise, has also struck at Indian military targets, brought down some Indian military jets. The exact numbers have not yet been confirmed. But clearly, the bar on both sides have been raised and the messaging from the governments on each side towards their own people. There's also the bar there has been raised that if the enemy attacks us, this is how far we're willing to go.

So the problem with any long running conflict like the Indian- Pakistani conflict is that every time there is a spasm of violence and the bar is raised, it means that the next time there is this sort of provocation and sort of toing and froing of attacks, you have to go up to the last bar and then go a step forward. That's the political reality of it. That's what comes off this kind of messaging.

The expectations that have been set with the population on both sides have been raised. And that's the real danger. And as long as the underlying conflict is not addressed, there's always a risk that we will come back to this place again.

BLACKWELL: So you say this is a more dangerous era and that's for every subsequent intersection. But at this intersection, do you believe that they have retreated from the type of escalation that that moved Vice President Vance from saying this is fundamentally not our business to attempting to get involved and mediate some -- some pause?

GHOSH: Well, they certainly have pulled back and it was expected that they would. There was expectations that once each side had that, if you were paying close attention to the propaganda messaging in both countries, there was always already this language that we have taught them a lesson that -- that -- that is those are trigger words. When one side says that, it means that we've done enough for now.

So I think that mediation or no mediation, mediation doesn't work if the two parties are not willing to get to use the off ramp that has been provided. And I think both parties had already signaled that they were ready for that step. And then a lot of other international players got involved.

The American president is trying to claim much of the credit for himself. The Indians are saying the Americans had no role. The Pakistanis are saying there were 36 countries, three dozen countries that were involved in the diplomatic effort.

I think for the people who are caught in the middle of this war, for ordinary Kashmiris, Indians and Pakistanis, they're just relieved that the ceasefire seems to be taking hold. They don't really care what the mediation process was like as long as the guns go silent.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about Russia and Ukraine. Do you think that this offer from President Putin attempting to skip by this -- this request or this demand for a 30-day ceasefire and go straight to talks in Istanbul on Thursday will be enough to peel off President Trump, who wants a quick finish, who wants a win from what we saw from him yesterday, standing shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and the rest of Europe?

[06:55:07]

GHOSH: I think it's designed to do that. Trump wants to -- wants quick action and Russia is showing that it is on the side of peace. And I think Zelenskyy's response is also designed to appease Trump to say, look, I'm not the one standing in the way of peace. The Europeans, I think, are taking a more realistic view. We've heard from President Macron of France saying this is Russia just buying time. I think that's the more accurate description of it. But both Moscow and Kyiv are signaling towards Washington, not towards the Europeans.

BLACKWELL: Bobby Ghosh, always good to have you.

GHOSH: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Still to come, millions of Catholics around the world tuned in to hear the new pontiff lead prayers this morning. More on Pope Leo's message to the faithful ahead.

And be sure to tune in a new episode of "My Happy Place" with award winning filmmaker and musician Questlove airs tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

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