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Connect the World
Biden Arrives in Geneva for Meeting with Putin Amid Backdrop of Looming Cold War-Style Rift; China Accuses NATO of "Cold War Mentality"; China Response to CNN Exclusive on Reported Power Plant Leak; Biden Administration: U.S. President to Discuss Issues Including Cyber Security, Syria & Ukraine; Biden Prepares for High-Stakes Sit-Down with Vladimir Putin; Athletes Could Be Disqualified for Breaking COVID-19 Rules. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired June 15, 2021 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi. This is "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Welcome back. This hour we look to U.S. President Joe Biden's real diplomatic challenges on the
international stage. And we await the sort of a controversial march of far right Israeli groups in Jerusalem.
Starting off with the U.S. President who is preparing for the final leg of his four pronged overseas trip happening amid the backdrop of what many are
describing as a looming Cold War. Joe Biden arrived in Geneva last hour for what has been a highly anticipated meeting tomorrow with Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
Earlier today in Brussels he met European leaders to talk about the threats the West faces from both Russia and China. Well, those European leaders
expressing a mixture of gratitude and relief that Joe Biden and not his predecessor, is representing the United States on the world stage.
They ironed out a trade dispute while looking for common ground to face down these challenges from Moscow and Beijing. European Commission
President Ursula Von Der Leyen laying out the stark differences between the West and China on the contentious issue of human rights have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: It comes to the system itself. It is comes to human rights and human dignity. We are systemic
rivals, without any question. And it was very clear in G7 that we have to speak up on that, that we have to call on that. And be very clear that this
is the main issue that clearly divides us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, if it was China during the G7 Summit in Cornwall that was front and center Russia, very much the topic of focus at NATO. The NATO
Summit in Brussels, and indeed, a topic of conversation clearly for these European leaders. Arlette Saenz is with us tonight from Brussels with more
details out of that EU/U.S. Summit and Fred Pleitgen in Geneva, ahead of this Biden Putin's sit down tomorrow.
Arlette let me start with you President Biden reiterating his theme for this overseas trip that America is back on the global stage. And that
message was well received as much with a sense of relief after the tempestuous relationship Europe had with Donald Trump as it was in actual
substance. So what was actually achieved?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Becky, President Biden certainly came here with the intention of showing allies that the United
States will have their back going forward after those four tumultuous years where President Trump really strains the United States relationship with so
many allies.
And over and over between his meetings at the G7 Summit then meetings here with NATO leaders as well as EU leaders, you heard President Biden really
reinforcing that message. And one item that he particularly was stressing over and over was that democracies will win out over a talker seat.
Now, President Biden very purposefully wanted to have some type of united front to show with Western Allies as he heads into that meeting with
Russian President Vladimir Putin and so you've seen him trying to cultivate those relationships and conversations heading into this face to face sit
down tomorrow.
Now the president this morning met here with EU leaders and really left that those meetings with two concrete actions try to signal that these
transatlantic ties are back and thriving. One of those being the establishment of a Tech and Trade Council to really try to counter a rising
China and then separately there was also a settlement in a seven 10 year trade dispute when it came to subsidies for Boeing and Airbus.
[11:05:00]
SAENZ: President Trump had really upped the ante in that dispute by slapping billions of dollars worth of tariffs on European goods. The
Europeans then countered, in turn, but President Biden in the United States hammering out a type of deal to try to put an end to that dispute.
But going into the Summit with President Putin tomorrow, President Biden seems to have a support from Western allies, even as there was some
skepticism from some NATO leaders about President Biden sitting down with Putin.
But the president says that he sat he spoke and made his case to NATO leaders, and that they were overall supportive of the president trying to
push back on Russia on things like cyber security or their treatment of opposition leaders, and also aggression, as you've seen much Russian
aggression as it relates to Eastern Europe. So all of these topics are the president expected to bring up in that meeting with Putin tomorrow.
ANDERSON: And Fred, Europe has its own issues with Russia, seen through the prism of other centers, it is clear that the U.S. of course needs Russia on
a number of files, not least that have the JCPOA talks going on in Vienna.
At present, one assumes that the U.S. will push Russia to position itself better as far as the West is concerned countering the Chinese. I just
wonder is it clear what the Kremlin takes into these talks and what the Kremlin hopes to get out of them?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: First of all, I think that the fact that the summit is taking place at all the Kremlin
already believes is certainly a win for Vladimir Putin because it really shows that the White House and President Biden specifically believe that
Russia is extremely important.
And as you mentioned, trying to be possibly a part of solving some of the world's problems, but of course, also is so much on the U.S.'s mind, that
they believe that a lot of the world's problems need to be addressed. Also problems obviously, that the U.S. has many of them with Russia as well.
The Kremlin for its part it's quite interesting, because they came out earlier this morning, and they said, look, even if there's not going to be
any sort of communique signed after the summit, even if there's not any documents signed, even there's not much headway is made on a lot of topics.
They believe that the summit is very much worthwhile.
They believe that it's important for these two leaders to sit down. And one of the things that the Kremlin has said and Vladimir Putin has said is he
wants to try and bring more stability into the relations between these two countries. They don't necessarily have to be good. But they want them to be
a little bit more predictable.
Of course, the past four years, really have been quite unpredictable and the relations between these two countries. But I think one of the things
that President Biden said before the summit even took place - was going to take place is very, very important, is that he said he wants to tell
Vladimir Putin exactly what the U.S.'s position are?
And from that, they want to go to areas where cooperation might be possible, like, for instance, on the JCPOA, which you've just mentioned,
which, of course, is extremely important, where the U.S. and Russia essentially have want the same outcome.
They want the U.S. to get back into the JCPOA, and they want Iran to get back into full compliance. Areas like Afghanistan, for instance, were both
countries do not want to see Afghanistan descend into chaos, after U.S. troops leave arms control is another one of those issues.
And then there are issues that they could define where that they might decide where it's going to be very difficult to make any sort of headway.
Like for instance, Ukraine were both have obviously been locked in very in positions that are very much against one another.
There's going to be some dicey topics like for instance, the treatment of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who of course, is still in jail as we
speak right now, the Russians, for instance, today, it's quite interesting. They have acknowledged that President Biden might bring that topic up.
In fact, I'm quite sure that he will bring that topic up. So it is something that is also going to be discussed at this meeting as well. So at
the very least, Vladimir Putin and President Biden going to see where they each other stand or where they stand, and then they're going to map out
where progress can be achieved and where the two countries are just going to remain at loggerheads for the time being Becky.
ANDERSON: The Biden Administration Arlette Saenz has been very clear its foreign policy is absolutely determined by what it means for people back
home, what it means for national security. Joe Biden puts an awful lot of stock in face to face diplomacy after all; he's been at it for 45 years.
So Russia, clearly an issue when it comes to the impact that it has had back home what's the atmosphere from the White House with regard Moscow at
present?
[11:10:00]
SAENZ: Well, President Biden is really heading into the summit wanting to show to the American people and to the world that he is ready to stand up
against Russian President Vladimir Putin, as we've seen some series of provocations are really over the course even over the past few months.
If you look just at the cyber security aspects, there have been several attacks on American companies that have originated from Russia and
President Biden has been made clear that he really wants to be forceful in making the case that that cannot happen.
But one thing heading into this Summit, there is a lot of expectation setting and a senior administration officials just a short while ago on Air
Force One said, said that people should have modest expectations of what is going to come out of this, they are not expecting any concrete deliverables
to be made.
But really, they want to see, as Fred was talking about, even on the on the Russian side a stable and predictable path when it comes to U.S. and Russia
relations. Now President Biden is heading into the summit as you mentioned, he is the type of person who values those face to face interactions. That
is how he creates these relationships with people he has met with Putin in the past.
So he has some concept and thinking of the way to approach Putin heading into this meeting, but he's been preparing with his advisors over the
course of the past few weeks. And even in the past few days, when he wasn't in those meetings at the G7 Summit or at NATO or EU, he was preparing with
his top aides, including the Secretary of State his National Security Adviser as well, even consulting some Russia experts from the previous
administration.
So Biden is really heading into this Summit with President Putin clear eyed about the person that he is meeting with. He called him a worthy adversary
but has insisted that he wants to make sure that Putin will uphold and work with international norms which so far he has not shown that he is doing.
ANDERSON: Finally, and briefly, Fred. Biden calls Putin a worthy adversary. Is it clear how Moscow perceives Joe Biden and this new administration?
PLEITGEN: Yes. Well, I think it's a very good question. And I think it's a very important question as well, because I think some of the messaging that
you've been seeing out of Moscow, or over the past couple of weeks and the past couple of months doesn't necessarily reflect the way that the Kremlin
really sees a President Joe Biden.
After President Biden made those remarks about Vladimir Putin being a killer or answered in the affirmative when he was asked whether he thought
that President Putin was a killer. There was a flurry really of activity on Russian state media where they were questioning President Biden's mental
health where they were saying that maybe he had gotten old, where they were sort of mocking the U.S. President.
But we've really seen all of that dissipate over the past couple of hours and days, really, where you can really see that the Biden Administration's
obviously tried to bring a lot of the emotion out of the whole equation.
But the Putin Administration has essentially done the same thing. Vladimir Putin, in an interview, of course, said that those remarks didn't mean
anything to him at all. He said that was just showboating that he realizes as part of U.S. politics, and that he did very much value the U.S.
President and the experience that the U.S. President has.
So I think that both leaders are under no illusions that they are going to meet a counterpart that is very well prepared, that is going to remain very
tough on interests of the country that they represent. But at the same time is also looking for, as Arlette put it better communications and also
possibly some areas where they could cooperate Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, on off ramp of sorts, it seems is what both countries are looking for. Arlette and Fred, thank you. Well, China also found itself
under fire as we've been discussing at the G7. A few days ago, the country used to being criticized by the West but the latest round has been quite
unprecedented now Beijing firing back. CNN's Ivan Watson has more on its response.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Chinese government is criticizing the NATO military alliance accusing it of slander and a
continuation of a Cold War mentality. And this is after the leaders of 30 NATO countries gathered in Brussels, and basically recognized China as a
competitor on the global stage not only for its growing military might, but also for its economic power.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: China's growing influence and international policies presents challenges to alliance security. Leaders
agreed that we need to address such challenges together as alliance and that we need to engage with China to defend our security interests. We are
concerned by China's coercive policies which stands in contrast to the fundamental values enshrined in the Washington treaty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:15:00]
WATSON: In its final statement, NATO highlighted the fact that China's nuclear arsenal is growing and it is increasing its delivery mechanisms for
nuclear warheads. It also highlighted the fact that China has been conducting joint military exercises with Russia in NATO's backyard.
Now the Chinese Embassy to Brussels, it issued a statement and it pointed out, "The number of nuclear weapons in China is not at the same level as
that of NATO countries, such as the United States" going on to say "That people all over the world can see clearly whose military bases are all over
the world and whose aircraft carriers are showing off their military power" a clear dig at the U.S.
China's Global Time State Newspaper went on to accuse U.S. President Biden of essentially being on an anti-China road show both at the G7 Summit this
weekend in the United Kingdom, and now at the NATO Military Summit.
And it's clear that Biden was toughening up language in a way we haven't seen before at the G7 and that NATO while engaging at this high level
diplomacy, these are existing long existing disagreements between Washington and Beijing.
There's been a lot of harsh rhetoric in the past. What's new here is that you have a U.S. President who's working together with allies instead of
alienating them as Biden's predecessor did. And Beijing has not really faced this kind of criticism on a global stage before from such a wide
variety of governments. Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.
ANDERSON: Well, more than a year after Brexit, the UK spreading its wings courting trading partners and those include a new agreement with Australia
why some are not happy with that? Also ahead, Beijing responds to a CNN exclusive report of a leak at one of China's nuclear power plants this
despite evidence to the contrary.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: The U.S. and the EU have settled the longest running trade dispute in world trade. The conflict over government's subsidies for Boeing
and Airbus is ending after 17 years and official says the deal "Resolves the long standing trade irritant in the U.S./Europe relationship". Well,
Anna Stewart joining us now live with the details and what are the details Anna?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello Becky? Well, this as you say, it was a very long running dispute the best part actually of two decades really
the Boeing and Airbus both are facing big tariffs also many other products has been sort of a fight between the U.S. and the EU now for many, many
years.
[11:20:00]
STEWEART: Today, as a result of talks between President Biden and the EU, thankfully the spat appears to be at an end at least Becky for five years,
they're going to suspend those tariffs, they actually were already suspended from March to allow for these negotiations to have a little bit
of breathing space and that has now happened.
Now, good news for aircraft makers good news to Boeing and, of course, for Airbus, but also really good news for all of those products that were
facing tariffs on both sides of the Atlantic. We're talking about Parmesan cheese to Italian wine, we're talking about suitcases made in the U.S. so
that's really good news.
Also interesting that a lot was discussed here, about the threat of China, and how the West could be allies here? And rather than just slapping
tariffs on each other, perhaps try and tackle the issue of, for instance, one big remaining tariff issue is, of course, aluminum and steel, China
floods the market with cheap steel, the U.S. has put tariffs on European steel, could that be lifted? So it really paves the way for more
negotiations going forwards?
ANDERSON: Yes, and I just wonder, you know, this is clearly from the perspective of the EU and the U.S. a win, win. And on the issue of the
aircraft makers, and then there's sort of wider story on terrorists. But what does this mean, going forward? Is it any clearer what the U.S./EU
trade relationship will be in the future?
STEWART: Well, I think it certainly signals that it's going to be better than it was. And that has to be good news for both sides. But yes, while
this has been resolved, what hasn't yet been resolved is what's going to happen with the American tariffs on European steel and aluminum?
The signals are good, but nothing's really been agreed there and then what about digital taxes because that's something of course, that the EU and the
U.S. really haven't agreed on at all. It's been wrapped into much larger talks on corporate taxation.
But ultimately, if those don't sort of resolve themselves, we could see more of tariffs actually be on the table, not less.
ANDERSON: Yes, fascinating Anna always a pleasure thank you. Well, if you are a regular viewer of the show, you may have been with us yesterday when
we brought you a CNN exclusive report that the U.S. government was assessing a report of a leak at the Taishan Nuclear Plant West of Hong
Kong.
Beijing now responding for the first time insisting that the area is safe, but the French company that co owns the plant paints a very different
picture. Here is my colleague David Culver.
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky Chinese officials are responding for the first time to CNN's exclusive reporting on a leak at a nuclear power
plant in Southern China. The Foreign Ministry saying Tuesday that the plant is safe and meets the requirements of the technical specifications that is
a stark contrast to the initial alarming assessment made as recently as last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CULVER (voice over): A state of the art nuclear reactor in Southern China labeled an imminent radiological threat. That's at least what U.S.
officials were told by Framatome, a subsidiary of the French company that co owns and jointly operate the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong
Province.
A reported leak of fishing gas, a radiological byproduct of the nuclear reaction at the site that supplies power to the nearby metropolis of
Shenzhen while the Biden Administration has been monitoring the situation, it believes the plant is not yet at a crisis level according to sources.
NEIL HYATT, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD: Any release obviously a radioactive gas from a nuclear reactor is of concern. But there's no
evidence yet to suggest that sort of a widespread offsite release of radioactivity and poses a threat to human health.
CULVER (on camera): According to Framatome parent company, EDF, that gas has breached the first of three safety barriers between the radioactive
material and the atmosphere. EDF describes it as an increased concentration of noble gases and the primary circuit of reactor number one.
CULVER (voice over): The leak caused by a degradation of the housing of the fuel rods, EDF said Monday.
JACOPO BUONGIORNO, PROFESSOR, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: It's part all the number of scenarios that the system is designed for. So there
are regulatory limits or safety limits if you wish that accommodate these occurrences, and those are built into the plant from the very beginning.
CULVER (voice over): The amount of radioactivity at the plant remains below those limits set by Chinese authorities according to EDF, but EDF
subsidiary Framatome warned U.S. officials that Chinese regulators had recently raised that threshold by more than double to allow for the plant
to keep operating.
Chinese officials responding Tuesday to CNN's exclusive reporting, insisting there is no abnormality in the radiation environment around the
nuclear power plant, adding its safety is guaranteed. Experts and EDF say that Chinese standards are in line with other countries.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is probably a signature of things not being right inside the reactor internals it's difficult to see that the situation
is going to stabilize by itself.
[11:25:00]
CULVER (voice over): EDF says it is too early to confirm whether a complete shutdown of the reactor is needed. Paris and Beijing have an extremely
close relationship when it comes to nuclear energy. But Framatome needed official permission to use American technical assistance to fix the issue.
As under U.S. government sanctions its Chinese partner is on the U.S. entity list. They're warning of an imminent radiological threat might have
been used to expedite that help and cut through bureaucratic red tape clouded by a tense U.S./China relationship. Most are seemingly confident
one of China's biggest nuclear power plants is operating safely for now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CULVER: While U.S. officials continue to assess the situation China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson went on to say that China's National Nuclear
Safety Administration has been cooperating with its counterparts in other nuclear energy countries, stressing that China's nuclear power plants as of
now have maintained a good operating record Becky.
ANDERSON: David Culver reporting for you. You're watching "Connect the World" I'm Becky Anderson for you. Coming up, new tensions and ominous
warnings we are live from Jerusalem where a controversial march is just moments from starting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, U.S. President Joe Biden has now arrived in Geneva. He is meeting with the Swiss President. And of course this is all ahead of the
meeting with the Russian President tomorrow Air Force One landing in Geneva at around 4:20 local time.
Officials aboard the plane said Joe Biden would meet Putin at 1P Wednesday at the Lakeside Villa that you are looking at now where the summit will
occur. Putin will arrive to the villa first both will be greeted by the Swiss President before all three pose for a photo. What happens after that
is anyone's guess at the moment we will discuss that shortly.
First, I want to get you to Jerusalem, where far right Israelis are holding a controversial march through the Old City. Palestinians warned that the
march could lead to "Dangerous repercussions". Now of course, this all comes just weeks after the conflict in Gaza and just days into Israel's new
governments.
CNN's Hadas Gold has been following this for us. She's been on the story of Israel's last tumultuous month or so, joining us now from Damascus Gate in
Jerusalem with the very latest.
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: And as we see the march has gathered for the beginning of this flag waving and this was - this will be a ceremonial event as far as the
Israeli far rights are concerned. Just explain the background to this and the context if you will.
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Becky, so we are at Damascus Gate. This is the main entrance for Muslim worshippers to enter the Old City. And
the martyrs are expected to arrive here within the next few minutes.
They will dance with their flags in this Plaza behind me but they will not be allowed through the Damascus Gate police have blocked that off.
Instead we're expecting them to walk along the outside of the Old City before entering the Old City through Jaffa Gate through a different gate.
Now this march was supposed to take place last month it's an annual March by these mostly of Right Wing groups where they celebrate when Israel gain
control of the Western Wall.
Now the marches was to take place on Jerusalem day last month, but it was canceled right as it got underway when Hamas fired seven rockets towards
Jerusalem of course that helping to kick off that bloody 11 day conflict in Gaza.
There is a huge police presence here, Becky this time around. Police have completely cleared out the plaza and the surrounding streets from
Palestinian counter demonstrators. They are nowhere near here we can hear the martyrs but they have not yet made their way down here.
But we have already been receiving warnings today from the Palestinian Prime Minister who called it a provocateur - who called it a provocation.
And the Hamas spokesman said that it would be a fuse for a new explosion to defend Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque.
Now this march will be the first real test for this new government that was just sworn in on Sunday led by Naftali Bennett, the leader of the right-
wing Yamina party.
And their first - one of their first decisions was just to allow this march to take place because when it was rescheduled for today that was a decision
actually undertaken by the previous Prime Minister by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
They're allowing it to take place they're not allowing them to march through the Muslim Quarter. They're not allowing them to march through
Damascus Gate behind me. There will be a big question of what will happen will we see Hamas try to do something?
We've already - Hamas has already said that they've launched incendiary balloons over the border. Will we see any sort of other responses for them?
And then of course, how will the government responds to any sort of action by Hamas or any other groups? Will that break this very tenuous ceasefire?
ANDERSON: Right.
GOLD: This is a very important test for this new government, one that is being watched by many people in this region, Becky?
ANDERSON: And Hadas Gold, that Damascus Gate, apologies viewers. We are having some technical issues there. But you heard Hadas describing exactly
what is going on and the context for today's march.
Well, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin they've both got complaints, grievances questions, the U.S. President now in Geneva, the setting for his historic
face to face meeting with the Russian leader. The Kremlin says Wednesday summit could last up to five hours and Mr. Biden taking no chances.
This was telling CNN, he held a meeting with a group of Russia experts earlier this month to get their input on dealing with Mr. Putin ahead of
the summer.
I'm sure - I don't suppose for a moment that that was the only meeting, of course that he had with this regard. In fact, we are told that during this,
what is a four pronged trip, as it were Cornwall, Windsor, to see the Queen, Brussels, the NATO and EU summits and indeed this Putin summit has
been punctuated by an awful lot of preparation ahead of this meeting tomorrow.
Evelyn Farkas is the Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia. I want to get her perspective on this. She is
out of Washington, D.C. for us tonight. What does Joe Biden take into this meeting? And what does he want to take away? What is the Washington
perspective, Evelyn?
EVELYN FARKAS, FORMER U.S. DEPUTY, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR RUSSIA, UKRAINE & EURASIA: Becky, thanks for the opportunity. I think the
first thing we have to remember is this meeting is happening because Ukraine, Ukraine was threatened by Russian forces on their border and a
blockade in the Black Sea.
And Alexi Navalny, the opposition leader jailed in Russia was hanging on for dear life, and the Russian authorities weren't letting him go to
prison.
So President Biden reached out to President Putin. And one of the things he offered was this meeting, so it may be saved Navalny's life and probably
saved Ukraine from another invasion.
Now, what do we expect there, frankly speaking not very much in terms of outcomes, nothing tangible, it would be great if the Russians, you know,
release the two Americans that they're essentially holding hostage for political reasons.
But I think the best thing we can achieve and this is what I'm hoping President Biden does, is that he goes in there and he tells the Russian
president that the Russian Foreign Policy is reckless; it's aggressive and is dangerous.
And if the Russian government continues with all of the things they've been doing invading neighbors attacking elections, you know harboring cyber
criminals and conducting their own cyber, that there will be consequences.
[11:35:00]
FARKAS: And that we lay them out that the - that the U.S. government lays out those consequences because without a firm response and a firm approach
to the Russian government, they're going to continue attacking all of us.
ANDERSON: Washington, of course, needs Moscow, on a myriad of issues, not least that of Iran and the JCPOA tool. So as much as you talk about
President Biden going in and accusing the Russian leader of recklessness and danger.
And hold on for one second, I just want to pause for a moment we are just getting some pictures and this is Joe Biden with the Swiss President. Let's
listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, guys. Let's go. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Right, well, in amongst the throng of media, who are being ushered out of the room, Joe Biden, sitting down with the Swiss President,
Joe Biden, of course, has just arrived in Geneva meeting with guide Papa Milan. And who is the Swiss President?
Let me just bring in, Evelyn if you don't mind, my colleague, Matthew Charles, who is in Geneva. Matthew, what do you suspect we can expect from
this meeting?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, it's a - it's a good question. But it's, it's no secret. I think, Becky, that
there's a list as long as your arm of fraud issues between the two countries between the two presidents that they both say they're going to
discuss, you know, whether it's new cyber warfare or cyber attacks, whether it's the crackdown on the opposition inside Russia or whether it's the
military threat that Russia poses to its neighbors.
All of those issues are ones that President Biden says he's going to speak frankly to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin about that summit when
it takes place tomorrow, Wednesday, here in Geneva, Switzerland.
In terms of, you know what progress can be made on any of those issues? Well, you know, I think expectations are low. And both sides are basically
saying that the fact that there's a meeting at all, given how bad the Russian U.S. relationship is, is being interpreted as an achievement.
ANDERSON: Evelyn and I wonder what you believe; success would look like, as far as this Biden Administration is concerned?
FARKAS: Yes, I mean, first, Becky, I just want to say that, you know, all of these things that President Biden is telling the Russian government
they've done that's aggressive.
There's evidence for it, you know, the international community agrees on Ukraine, for example, through the UN, you know, the intelligence agencies
of many countries also have verified that the Russians have attacked multiple elections, not just the U.S. elections, twice, presidential
elections twice.
So the assassinations have also been verified by intelligence agencies. So I just want to make sure that that the word allegation isn't used, because
there's a lot of evidence. And in fact, in some cases, the Russians, you know, agree, yes, we invaded Ukraine.
So basically, what I think the best thing we can achieve to come out of this is that the Russian President is made to understand why this is so
dangerous, because all of these actions, they've been taking one after another, it's escalatory. And it will lead to miscalculation if we're not
careful.
We don't have rules of the road for cyber operations. You know, how we are adversaries in the cyber Arena in a safe way. For example, arms control, we
are nuclear adversaries, but it's contained because they're sort of rules of the road. We need that same thing for cyber.
And I would say what you were asking about Iran and other areas where we need the Russians, I would say the world needs the Russians on climate
change. I mean, they're obviously a polluter and they're also reliant on fossil fuel energy, so they need to make a shift.
The world needs the Russians on Coronavirus, right, because one country that's not putting the pandemic under control is a weakness for all of us.
On Iran, I think yes, we would like the Russians with us. The reality is that the Russians would also like to be at the table.
Don't forget that Russia is not really objectively speaking leaving aside their nuclear weapons and economic, military political power worldwide
right? So they want to be at the table because that helps Putin maintain his power at home, his legitimacy globally.
[11:40:00]
FARKAS: And so they want to be there. But Russia is also a spoiler in other parts of the world, Libya, Syria and they're going to need us if they want
to get out of those messes.
ANDERSON: Yes, there's some certainly some opportunistic environments that the Russians have gotten themselves embroiled in as it were, for good, bad
or indifferent as far as the West is concerned. Joe Biden, Matthew has described Putin as a worthy adversary. How does the Kremlin perceive Joe
Biden?
CHANCE: Well, I mean, Vladimir Putin has, you know, spoken about Joe Biden as a, you know, a career politician. He's talks about him as being very
experienced.
You know, I look, I mean, I did not expecting to have the same kind of rapport that President Putin had with Joe Biden's predecessor, Donald
Trump, who you know, of course, the Russians enjoyed very much in the sense that he was apparently incapable of criticizing Vladimir Putin to his face.
I think that the - Vladimir Putin is probably bracing himself for a much Stuart Sterner, much more tense meeting than the one for instance, he would
have enjoyed in 2018 in Helsinki, with President Trump.
But I mean, I think in terms of, you know, what the Russians want from this, I mean, I don't think that that changes from one president to
another. What the Russians want is for the United States and for Joe Biden to basically accept that it is going to meddle in the affairs of its
neighbors.
It wants the United States to accept that it is going to target and attempt to silence or even kill the people that Russia wants to silence or attempt
to kill and crackdown on dissidents inside Russia for instance.
There's been some talk about whether any agreement can be reached on cyber warfare. But of course, you have to remember Becky that the Russians don't
even acknowledge that they carry out cyber attacks on United States they categorically deny it.
And so the idea that there's going to be some sort of agreement on that, that Russia is going to back down on any of those issues you know, it's - I
didn't expect it to happen.
ANDERSON: You made Evelyn, thank you, Matthew, Evelyn, what I thought was a really important point earlier on, you said that there are no rules of the
road when it comes to cyber warfare.
And I'm sure that will concern many of our viewers who are watching this today as we clearly realize that we live in quite a different world than
that, which, you know, perhaps many of us have grown up in just how concerned is Washington about this new cyber reality?
FARKAS: I would say Becky hyper concerned, because the reality is that the Russians are they already have malware bots, sitting on the U.S. energy
grid, water grid, they've made intrusions into nuclear facilities, we saw that these sites, and that's the Russian government, OK.
In addition to that, we see these cyber criminals who are essentially given refuge in Russia much the way, you know, the Afghan government gave al
Qaeda refuge, you know, before they attacked the United States and the West.
So you know, the Russian government in addition to these Russian criminals, they are conducting attacks on critical infrastructure. So the
infrastructure that you and I depend on every day, you know, to light our homes and drink water. Why is that?
It's because Russia views the United States as a political adversary. They want America and its allies to be weak. They don't want democracy to be
strong anywhere in the world, because it's a threat to Vladimir Putin, who was an autocratic doesn't want democracy inside of Russia.
And so anything he can do to weaken us. And they go so far as to think that eventually they'll be in some kind of military war with us, which they
can't win conventionally, because we are stronger, especially when you count our allies, not just NATO, but Asian and other allies, then Russia
will would lose.
So they, their idea through their military doctrine is to take us off the battlefield or dissuade us from fighting by doing - by launching a cyber
attack somewhere on a critical infrastructure. And then we say, oh, boy, this is bad.
We surrender, go ahead and invade the Baltic countries or whatever you want to do. And that's not how it works. I mean, that's what I think President
Biden needs to communicate. If you continue with this reckless behavior, the American people, the Western world is not going to just continue to sit
there.
At a minimum we're going to ratchet up sanctions so they look more like the sanctions that we have against Iran in North Korea and that will hurt it.
We don't want to do that because we don't want to hurt the Russian people. But that will hurt.
[11:45:00]
ANDERSON: A perspective from Washington for you ahead of what is this important meeting between these two leaders on Wednesday; Matthew Chance is
in Geneva with a preview for you of that. Thank you both, will have extensive special coverage all day Wednesday of the summit between the U.S.
and Russian Presidents.
Be sure to stay with CNN for that. Next, lock stock and barrels of enthusiasm. We're going to meet the young entrepreneur who wants to keep
people more connected by getting them off their phones.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: In a world that is more connected than ever, sometimes it can feel anything bad and for some young people being in class can at times be
in direct competition with being on their phones. Well, that is something one young entrepreneur is working to change. My colleague Anna Stewart has
his story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART (voice over): Entrepreneurs from around the world are gathering in Dubai's AI and block chain summit. Among the crowd is Craig Fernandes, a
young startup founder eager to make some new contacts.
CRAIG FERNANDES, FOUNDER AND CEO, LOCK&STOCK: It's been a while it's been like maybe one and a half two years since like October of 2019 since we
were at an event.
STEWART (voice over): In person events are slowly returning and with the highest vaccination rate in the world, the UAE believes it's best suited to
lead the charge. Health and Safety aside, conferences like this always come with a fair share of stress. From I'm checking in--
FERNANDES: Will you be sure to come earlier?
STEWART (voice over): --to finding the right booth. Small prices to pay for entrepreneurs like Craig, who missed out on networking opportunities during
the COVID pandemic.
FERNANDES: Hi, Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to meet you.
FERNANDES: Nice to meet you.
STEWART (voice over): He's here to spread awareness for his company "Lock & Stock" an education marketplace that rewards students for locking their
phones in class.
FERNANDES: As long as their phone is locked, they're earning these rewards or keys as we call them. They're like our in app currency. With those keys
students can get access to offers and discounts from brands. Students get access to weekly prizes. And also students get access to scholarships. Do
you have a business card --?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
FERNANDES: Thank you very much. Here's my business card as well.
STEWART (voice over): At only 24 Craig is not your typical entrepreneur. In the U.S. alone the average age of a startup founder is 45 according to the
Harvard Business Review.
[11:50:00]
FERNANDES: Yes, I was 20 years old when we launched "Lock & Stock" and back then I didn't even have facial hair. I was 20 but I look like I was 15.
Every once in a while when I woke up to a booth and I looked the other person in the eye, I can see that they're looking at me and thinking this
guy's too young. You know, what's, what's he doing here? And that's it's just an uphill battle that you have to climb.
STEWART (voice over): Events like this give Craig a chance to overcome that age barrier and prove himself to future clients and investors from
presenting.
FERNANDES: "Lock & Stock" processed $1.1 million in scholarships last year.
STEWART (voice over): Just scheduled meetings on the side.
FERNANDES: You go, very nice to meet you, man.
STEWART (voice over): The real game changer today was meeting people face to face.
FERNANDES: I think more than anything else, it was great to be back in live exhibitions, Zoom exhibitions just on for me, frankly speaking.
STEWART (voice over): Craig is leaving with a pocket full of business cards. He believes these new potential partners will help him grow his
startup.
FERNANDES: Another real work starts.
STEWART (voice over): Anna Stewart, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You're watching "Connect the World". Olympic organizers have published their third and final version of the Tokyo 2020 playbook and
there is a new warning for athletes who break COVID-19 protocols and we'll get you live to Tokyo up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, let's connect you now to Jerusalem where far right Israelis are holding a controversial march through the Old City Palestinians warned
that the march could lead to "Dangerous repercussions".
Well, these are live images of just outside Damascus Gate this crowd has been prevented from using that gate which is the normal route of this
march. And this comes just weeks after the conflict in Gaza and just days into Israel's new government. More on this as we get it.
Well, Olympic organizers are warning athletes they could be disqualified if they break COVID-19 protocol. This comes as the IOC Vice President arrived
in Tokyo to help with preparations for the games, which are 38 days away.
This despite public concerns and protests against it due to the COVID outbreak in Japan, meanwhile, the Olympic Torch Relay moving along in
regions still under a state of emergency another clear sign that plans are pushing full steam ahead. Selina Wang joining us live from Tokyo Selina?
Selina, we just seen the torch be - the torch procession. Can you hear me?
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Becky apologies, I just lost you there but do you mind quickly repeating the question?
ANDERSON: Yes, no, Selina really just the details on what you see happening at present?
WANG: Yes, Becky? Well, exactly. I mean, the punishment here is stark. They're saying if athletes break the rules, the warnings, the range of
punishments could go from warnings to disqualification to even financial penalties.
But Becky, what's really clear from this third and final playbook is that it is going to be a major logistical hurdle and a lot of bureaucracy that
these athletes and participants are going to have to go through.
[11:55:00]
WANG: So athletes will be tested twice within 96 hours before leaving for Japan. They'll be tested upon arrival and tested daily after that. They're
asked to wear masks as much as possible. Avoid public transportation and only go to designated places.
In addition to that, there's going to be social distancing, instead of the usual mixing and mingling and partying. Now, if an athlete tests positive
for COVID-19, they will have to take designated transportation to a facility outside of the Olympic Village.
Their close contacts would then be tested and monitored. That athlete that tested positive would not be able to continue to compete. Now these
athletes are also going to be contact traced. They'll be monitored by GPS if a test - positive test is confirmed that GPS will be used to retro
actively trace.
Now Olympic organizers say they expect more than 80 percent of the Olympic Village to be vaccinated. They've already banned overseas spectators; they
have been reiterating that they think they can hold safe and secure games.
But Becky still major concerns from the medical community despite this litany of restrictions, "The Lancet Medical Journal" writing recently that
they think they're still a risk. These Olympic Games could seed new outbreaks here in Japan as well as around the world when these Olympic
participants return home.
And meanwhile, just 5 percent of the Japanese population has been fully vaccinated. They're trying to speed things up, but it's not going to be
fast enough. Take a listen to what the Vaccine Minister in Japan had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TARO KONO, JAPANESE MINISTER FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM & REGULATORY REFORM: Well, daily, I think we're administering about 800,000 doses a day and it's
going up. So hopefully sometime by the end of June, I think we'll reach one million a day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WANG: But Becky even at that rate, the vast majority of the Japanese population would still be unvaccinated by the time the games begin, Becky.
ANDERSON: Say safe, stay well, wherever you are watching, Selina, thank you. Zain Asher is up after this short break with "One world".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
