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Ukrainians Evacuate Azovstal Steel Plant; Finland and Sweden Formally Apply to NATO; Hezbollah Loses Majority, Lebanon Gets New Government; The Taliban's Afghanistan; E.U. Plan to Lessen Russian Energy Dependence; U.S. Easing Oil Sanctions on Venezuela. Aired 10-10:45a ET

Aired May 18, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

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ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the battlefield to a courtroom in Kyiv, a guilty plea from a Russian soldier

for crimes committed during the war in Ukraine.

Buses carry hundreds of Ukrainians from the Azovstal steel plant, the last holdouts in Mariupol. Debate on both sides as to their fate.

Will they be interrogated as criminals?

Or returned home as heroes?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: "When you don't have money," she tells, us, "when you don't have a job, you don't

have income, would you be able to eat proper food when there is no work?"

GIOKOS (voice-over): Hunger haunts Afghanistan and a new report squaring blame on both the Biden and Trump administrations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: I am Eleni Giokos in, Abu Dhabi welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD.

We start with the first guilty plea from a Russian soldier, for war crimes committed during Russia's nearly three month-long war on Ukraine. It

happened in a courtroom in Kyiv a few hours ago.

The 21-year-old soldier was charged with killing a 62 year old --

(AUDIO GAP)

GIOKOS: -- and charges unacceptable are courageous (ph) and staged. How today's guilty plea will impact the fate of Ukrainian soldiers who left the

besieged steel plant in Mariupol is still unclear.

Russia's defense ministry released video, showing what it says are some of the nearly 1,000 Ukrainians, who Russia says surrendered. A separatist

leader in Russian controlled Donetsk is telling Russian state media, they should be tried in court. Ukraine is pushing for a prisoner of war

exchange.

Meantime, Russian airstrikes are pounding possessions in Donetsk and Luhansk. This video shows the aftermath of the strike in Bakmutsk (ph), an

important hub for Ukraine's military, with a hospital that treats wounded soldiers.

And here you see a 9 year old boy wounded in a strike. Another reminder of the excruciating human toll of this war. Scenes like this leading many to

accuse Russia of war crimes. And we have Melissa Bell connecting us today from the Ukrainian capital. We have Suzanne Malveaux in Lviv, in Western

Ukraine for us.

Melissa, I want to start with you because you are in Kyiv. You have been watching this trial play out. Now we have a guilty plea from the Russian

soldier.

What more can you tell us?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A guilty plea and that's about as far as we're able to get here at this Kyiv courthouse. The hearing was suspended a

while ago. Because they were just too many journalists inside of the courtroom. Both foreign and Ukrainian.

And it gives you an idea of the appetite. There is for this trial. The first war crimes trial being held by Ukrainian authorities, by the

Ukrainian judiciary since the war began. It is Vadim Shyshimarin that we are hearing from. He entered a guilty plea. He did not take the

opportunity, though, to make a statement today.

Just to give you the bare facts of the case, reminding you he's a 21-year- old Russian soldier. On the fourth day of the war, what we understand is that -- or the prosecution is saying, his convoy was hit. He and a group of

other Russian soldiers escaped in a car.

They saw an unarmed civilian on a bicycle on the telephone and shot him because they feared that the man, the civilian, might report them to

authorities. Those are the bare facts of the case.

What is interesting, Eleni, is that we should be finding out more about exactly what went on that day. What we have learned today is that,

tomorrow, when these court proceedings resume, we will be hearing a man called by the prosecution, another Russian prisoner of war, called by the

prosecution who will be providing more details about exactly what happened that day in that car. The circumstances in which that civilian was shot.

GIOKOS: All, right Melissa very good to see. Thank you so, much.

We also have Suzanne Malveaux in Lviv for us.

And Suzanne, the Russians are calling this specific trial outrageous. And while this is on the go, the fate of those that have just been let out of

the Azovstal steel plant.

[10:05:00]

GIOKOS: Their fate lies in the hands of the Russians right now. What more are we learning?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Well, there certainly is a great deal of concern in fear among the family members of those being held by the

Russians. And now new numbers at least, from the Russian side.

The Russian defense minister saying that 1,000 of those Ukrainian military forces have been taken out of the steel plant, most of them held in a

detention center that is not far from the front lines.

They say about 80 of those people are wounded, a little bit more than 50 are severely wounded. That would be the group in the hospital, in the group

that the Ukrainians would like at least to go ahead and try to negotiate with them, with the Russians, for some sort of a swap, a prisoner deal

there.

There are a lot of questions in terms of whether or not that will really take place. Whether or not that will, happen what we have heard from the

separatist leader of the Donetsk region is that they believe, they are saying, although it is not verifiable, neither of those new numbers have

we've gotten from the Russians, that those inside of the plant now are the top commanders of the Ukrainian military.

And this complicates things quite a bit. If in fact, it is true, this will not be an easy negotiation to have them removed or evacuated or rescued,

whatever term that they might use to negotiate with the Ukrainians.

That would not likely be an easy thing to do. And, secondly the separatist leader also saying that, very likely, they would stand trial for potential

war crimes. And so this is not a group, either inside of that steel plant or outside, where their fate is known.

So there's a lot of questions, a lot of concerns. Potentially, it might not go in the direction in which those Ukrainian forces and their families

would like.

GIOKOS: Yes, Suzanne. Really interesting to see the messaging from both sides. On the one end the Ukrainians are saying that this is a delicate

time, where there are possibilities for negotiations.

On the other, side the Russians are watching closely the trial that we are seeing playing out in Kyiv.

To what extent will this complicate the ability for the Ukrainians to make an exchange and something quite imminent?

MALVEAUX: It complicates it quite a bit. You have heard from the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, he has been trying to comfort his people and comfort

these families by saying that there is a process that is in place.

The Ukrainian officials, whether they are military or intelligence, are working with, overseeing the process, working with international mediators.

How much control and power they really have over this, it still remains a question here.

Whether or not these are high value targets, people that are inside of the steel plant, certainly will make a difference, it will complicate the

situation.

As we see the trial Being played out here, what's taking place, whether or not the Russians, who they say, have their own investigative unit, will

find these individuals guilty, as they see it, of war crimes or crimes against individuals who are friendly to the Russians in that Donetsk

region.

Will certainly make a difference in terms of their future, their potential release and that potential exchange with the Russian prisoners as well.

GIOKOS: Suzanne, thank you so much.

Melissa Bell, much appreciated.

Good to see you both.

It is now clear that one impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is that it is strengthening NATO. Finland and Sweden each formally applied to join

the NATO alliance on Wednesday. The two nations had long prided themselves on their neutrality but Russia's aggression caused them to shift their

views.

The application process could take several months but NATO's secretary- general says this is an important step in each nation's security.

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JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Every nation has the right to choose its own path. You have both made your choice of the fellow (ph)

democratic processes. And I warmly welcome the requests by Finland and Sweden to join NATO.

You are our closest partners. And your membership in NATO would increase our shared security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: So, Nina dos Santos, it is now official. Applications have been put through. Here is the reality. We know that Sweden and Finland have

always had military that would be NATO compliant. They did that strategically. But there is a long process ahead and, of course, Turkey is

creating a new challenge.

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NINA DOS SANTOS, CNNMONEY EUROPE EDITOR: Yes, that is right. I spoke to the prime minister of Sweden yesterday. And she appeared to say that she

was looking forward to more cooperation with Turkey, perhaps coded diplomatic language.

But we might be able to talk about how we can smooth this process and expedite it for a country like Sweden. Obviously, the prime minister of

this country, international diplomat appear to think that they can smooth things over with Turkey and press ahead with this momentous decision to say

no to being neutral for the foreseeable future. And yes to joining NATO.

Here on the streets of Stockholm, that has prompted quite a lot of soul searching. As I have been finding out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOS SANTOS (voice-over): For Anna Linna Dugita (ph), who's just escaped the war in Ukraine with her mother and young baby, Stockholm means safety

for now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here, it is all calm. The people who are living here, 100 kilometers from this war, and you do not feel it right here. It is

difficult to understand the situation until you are not in it.

DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Sweden has for years offered sanctuary to people like Anna (ph), fleeing conflicts across the world, unimpeded thanks to the

nation's once cherished neutrality.

But now that is about to change as the country prepares to join NATO alongside neighboring Finland.

MAGDALENA ANDERSSON, SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER: Every country has their own rights to make their decisions. And we think this is better for the future,

to be member in NATO, for the security of Sweden and the Swedish people.

DOS SANTOS: Sweden and Finland have changed their minds on NATO at lightning speed. But this is not a decision that either side is taking

lightly. For these Nordic neighbors, joining NATO means turning their backs on a deliberate policy of military non-alignment, that has served them well

for many generations.

For NATO, it also means a much longer border with Russia to police.

DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Russia has begun to talk down the significance of this expansion of the alliance, the exact opposite of Vladimir Putin's

intentions.

Public support for NATO membership was overwhelmingly high in Finland. But here in Sweden, the debate is more nuanced.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).

DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Seventy-year-old Anita Sullivan (ph) says that there is still room for a peacemaker in today's world order and that Sweden

should continue to fulfill that role. Russia has not been to war with Sweden for two centuries, she says. The war news about Russia, they're just

NATO propaganda.

Anton Hamburg (ph), an economic student in his 20s, says the decision has been rushed.

ANTON HAMBURG (PH), ECONOMIC STUDENT: I don't think people should be scared that Russia is going to invade Sweden. I think that is preposterous.

They are not going to invade Sweden.

DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Amid fears the Ukraine invasion could spark a bigger conflict, we meet Finer Pinal (ph), who fled his native Germany

after the Second World War, first for neutral Austria before settling in Sweden 60 years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now it comes back all the memories of anything what could happen for those people.

DOS SANTOS: So how do you feel about Sweden's move now to join NATO?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it is right because nobody knows what will happen in the next 10 years. That is my concern.

DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Anna (ph) is also positive about NATO's expansion. Just sad her country was not afforded its protection.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have an opportunity to be safe and to protect their people. What's happening right now in our country, it may happen to

any of us.

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DOS SANTOS: So as you can, see their Sweden of course, is welcoming people. Young and old from conflicts, that are very recent to ones. The

types of conflicts that this war in Ukraine is worrying people. Very much about and NATO's expansion, hopefully, will be designed to prevent --

Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes, you are right. It is a big deal, especially for Sweden. Because its strategy of neutrality, the message says the war began when we

started hearing Finland and Sweden could potentially join, is that it could be expedited and could happen relatively quickly. But Turkey might be a

challenge.

To what extent is that being discussed?

DOS SANTOS: Yes, it is being discussed enormously here behind closed doors here in Stockholm, not least because the ruling party that is coming up for

elections in four months' time had a couple of key policy tenements (ph).

That was on the one, hand up until the start of March, absolutely no to NATO and on the other hand we will not negotiate with Turkey because we

don't share -- we share some misgivings over differences on the asylum Sweden has given to people from the Kurdish community, people who Recep

Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, accuses of terrorist activities.

And he wants some people handed over, he says. Also the two countries have differences on an arms embargo which is imposed by Sweden back in 2019.

[10:15:00]

DOS SANTOS: When Turkey had a military operation in northeastern Syria against the separatists there.

So they have differences and also remember that Sweden has a big defense sector itself. Turkey is also trying to beef up its defense sector,

particularly when it comes to unmanned combat drones.

So there is a lot of business on the sidelines of this, probably negotiations about things that have not yet come to the fore. But

diplomatically they can get over it and certainly one thing that will help is the fact the leader of this country and Finland will be heading over to

Washington to meet with Joe Biden tomorrow at the White House. Eleni.

GIOKOS: Importantly, as you say, it's conversations that are happening behind closed doors that we need to try and find in terms of content and

messaging. Nina dos Santos, always good to see you, thank you so much.

Ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, why the E.U. is pushing to break Europe's dependence on Russian energy.

And a U.S. watchdog report reveals just how responsible America is for the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. We're live from Kabul after the break.

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GIOKOS: The leader of Hezbollah is expected to address supporters in the coming hours after his part's setback in Lebanon's election Sunday. It's

now remains to be seen whether the disparate parties can work together to turn around Lebanon's battered economy. Ben Wedeman reports the results

send a strong message.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every vote counts, the saying goes. And in Lebanon, despite low expectations, perhaps

change can come through the ballot box.

With the official results finally in, it appears Hezbollah, which, for the past four years led a majority coalition in parliament, has lost that

majority, a blow to its prestige and a boom to the supporters of the October 2019 uprising against the political elite.

The so-called revolutionaries often came to blows with Hezbollah supporters.

WEDEMAN: These ashes are all that remain of what was a fist, symbolizing the uprising of 2019 against the ruling elite. But Monday evening, when it

was becoming increasingly apparent, the Hezbollah led coalition might lose its majority in parliament, the people, presumably supporters of Hezbollah,

came and burnt that fist down.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Hezbollah, which maintains a powerful and well armed militia, has made clear it has red lines, says analyst Mohanad Hage Ali.

MOHANAD HAGE ALI, ANALYST, CARNEGIE MIDDLE EAST CENTER: Do not try, us do not touch upon these issues. We will not discuss the weapons issue. And on

the other side, it is raising the bar when it comes to Hezbollah's arsenal, et cetera. So it seems we are back to the same level of polarization, which

created the violence that we saw in the past.

[10:20:00]

WEDEMAN (voice-over): The 2019 uprising sputtered out as the country was gripped by the coronavirus pandemic, the economic crisis and the port

blast. But its legacy emerged in this election, with around 10 percent of the seats in parliament going to reformist candidates.

Researcher Ibrahim Halawi sees signs of hope.

IBRAHIM HALAWI, RESEARCHER, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: This has given the Lebanese society at least the idea that something is possible, that the

system is not sort of ahistorical and inherent, that things can change.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): That change, however, may not happen soon. It will take months of political horse trading for the perpetually squabbling

politicians to agree on a new government. And more paralysis will only exacerbate the ongoing economic collapse. Change can't come soon enough --

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: For many, the scenes are hard to forget. Chaos at Kabul airport last year. When America and its allies withdrew from Afghanistan. Since the

Taliban took over, the government, the country has plunged into an economic crisis. Millions of people are starving.

A new report by a U.S. watchdog takes a hard look at what led up to all of this. It found that America's decision to withdraw was, quote, "the most

important factor in the collapse of Afghanistan's military."

The scathing report blames both the Trump and Biden administrations, for leaving the door open for a Taliban takeover. CNN chief international

anchor Christiane Amanpour is in Kabul, where she's been seeing the harsh realities of the life in Taliban's Afghanistan.

Christiane, to repeat, this is the single most important factor in the collapse of the Afghan military. And when we see some of the details of his

report I, have to say, when I speak to people in Afghanistan, this is what they've been feeling since the exit last year.

AMANPOUR: Eleni, that's absolutely right. That's what I've heard from Afghans since that collapse and even before, while the negotiations were

going on, when Donald Trump had these negotiations, practically unconditional with the Taliban, starting back in 2020, when the signal was

given loud and clear that the United States is out of here and that they are going to be entirely out of here, not even leaving any kind of remnant

force to do counterterrorism or the like.

He created and he started that deal by implementing it. It happened practically overnight and it just left this whole place with a huge vacuum.

Unfortunately, the Afghan national army have been blamed, as, you know, the United States, ever since the collapse back in August, kept saying, well,

if the Afghans aren't going to fight for themselves, why should we?

When they had been saying, if we're going to be left on our own after having been practically handheld for the past 20 years by the U.S. and

NATO, then what are we going to do?

We're going to have to accept reality. So that confluence of events led to the situation that we are in right now, with the Taliban back with, poverty

grinding because of international sanctions on this country, because of all sorts of issues regarding the Taliban there, adherence to the international

community's laws and regulations and human rights.

This is playing out in real time. The people, as always, it is the people who are paying for these geopolitical catastrophes, really.

GIOKOS: Absolutely. You've asked such pressing questions to the Taliban leadership, who, frankly have been walking circles around your questions,

hiding behind religion or what they call processes. Young girls are not in school in terms of secondary school.

What are the girls telling you right now?

Do they believe there's a chance they might be able to get back?

AMANPOUR: First and foremost, the people who we've been talking to in my report that will air later today in a couple of hours are extremely

disappointed, extremely afraid. Many say they're very depressed. Many say they have lost hope. Many say they struggled and their parents struggled.

They believed in Western promises, that this was going to be at least a place where girls could get their education and actually make a life for

themselves. What the fact of the matter is, is that the Taliban says government run secondary schools are closed for girls.

But and it's so complicated here, those who can afford it can still go to secondary school at the still open private schools. Not everyone can afford

it and not all the private schools remain open.

[10:25:00]

AMANPOUR: And even foreign NGOs, which have been supporting certain private schools, pulled out, many of them. Therefore, those avenues are

closed for now.

We know that the primary schools are open. We know the universities are open even, for girls, despite the fact that many, if not most of them,

operate on a segregated basis so that girls and boys are not in fact studying at the same time.

It is a terribly complicated situation and what's even worse, what's made it even worse, is that this flow of edicts has been coming. Either enforced

or not enforced, they have a chilling effect. It is very unclear exactly what is going on, except for these edicts that keep coming.

The face covering has not been implemented yet today somebody said there should be black head coverings and black hijab, not even a colorful scarf

like this. Girls have been pushing back on that.

But I have watched what I call resistance, education leaders, those who are stepping into the breach, giving some girls at least some opportunity to

learn a trade that they might be able to use to support themselves and earn some money down the road.

But this aspect of banning girls from going to high school is one that is going to haunt this government and until it actually gets together and does

for fulfill the promises that has made to us via our interview publicly, saying it wants to have a better relationship with the U.S. and the

international community, it wants the sanctions removed, this is going to be the sticking point for sure.

GIOKOS: Absolutely. So many promises have been broken since we've been hearing from the Taliban. Christiane Amanpour, thank you so much, really

good to have you on the ground there.

Still ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, the U.N. secretary general has a big warning about the global energy system and the new plan to improve it.

And energy high on the agenda in Europe, especially if it wants to be independent of Russian energy. Why the E.U. says it can't happen soon

enough. That's all just ahead.

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GIOKOS: The European Union is laying out more plans involving big money to lessen the bloc's need for Russian energy. The Kremlin is bankrolling its

unprovoked war on Ukraine through the sale of its oil and gas.

Now the E.U. says that it wants to invest an extra $221 billion to speed up its transition to renewable energy. The E.U. Commission president says

there is no time to waste.

[10:30:00]

URSULA VAN DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Putin's war is, as we all see, heavily disrupting the global energy market. And it shows on

one hand how dependent we are on imported fossil fuels.

But it also shows how vulnerable we are on relying on Russia for importing our fossil fuels. And therefore we must now reduce our as soon as possible

our dependency on Russian fossil fuels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Anna Stewart keeping an eye on all of this.

This is one big conversation we've been having since the start of this war, just how to wean Europe off Russian oil and gas. It is going to be tough

because that means economic pain. But more money being thrown at this transition, it cannot happen fast enough.

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really can't. We have known now for weeks and months the E.U. has not done enough over the years to you, know

reduce its reliance on Russian energy. Well, here is a plan to do just that.

And it's a very expensive plan, $220 billion. But overall if it can, wean off of Russian energy, that should save it around $100 billion a year.

That is roughly how much it is spending on Russian energy.

It has already cut out coal, the E.U. Commission would like to remove Russian oil from the picture. This year it's running into difficulties

there. It is planning to reduce Russian gas by two-thirds.

Now this plan is finding other gas, particularly for this year, looking at LNG from elsewhere, the U.S. and Canada in particular. Also, really ramping

up and accelerating its plans for greener energy. And that has been really clear. That's a lot of the investment we are talking about in terms of the

$220 billion.

Also making it easier, removing some of the red tape in terms of creating new green energy projects, new public buildings in the E.U. will have to

have solar panels on their roofs by 2025. It is a really comprehensive package. It goes a long way to meeting some of the issues here.

The problem, as ever with E.U. policies, it must be approved by all of the member states and it needs to be implemented. This would mean action and

some sacrifice and compromise from all of the member states here. Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes, hopefully, they'll work together on this. I have to ask you, I have been watching the oil major any has been doing reopening ruble and

euro accounts to pay for Russian oil and gas.

Is there a sense of confusion in terms of whether European companies are able to still purchase at this juncture?

STEWART: What is so interesting we had a briefing on this yesterday. The picture is even more confusing after the briefing than it was before. It

seems to actually contradict some guidance they gave out last week.

Supplies are in a really tough position right now. The Kremlin says they have to pay for the gas in rubles. It's a very elaborate scheme in which to

do so, which may save some face and mean that they don't breach sanctions. But the guidance is really unclear.

Interestingly, we've had news from a Finnish gas firm today. Now they say they will not pay for Russian gas using rubles or any kind of payment

Gazprom has promoted. And as a result, they say they are prepared that Russian gas could be cut off for them as soon as this weekend. That has

always been the situation for Poland and Bulgaria. Eleni.

GIOKOS: Anna Stewart, thank you so much, always good to see. you

Now a stark warning from the U.N. secretary general on the global energy system. Antonio Guterres calls the war in Ukraine a wakeup call to fix the

system and to ditch fossil fuels. He's unveiled a five point plan to speed up the transition to renewable energy.

You see it here, the big financial take away, an investment of $4 trillion in renewable energy each year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: The global energy system is broken and bringing us ever closer to climate catastrophe. Fossil

fuels are a dead end environmentally and economically. The war in Ukraine and its immediate effects on energy prices is yet another wakeup call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Guterres there in a prerecorded speech for the World Meteorological Organization's annual report which says the world's oceans

grew to their warmest and most acidic levels on record last year.

Now the U.S. is easing sanctions of Venezuela in hopes it'll help the country's economic and political strife. To be, clear the U.S. is not

lifting the sanctions, just easing them. Which will let the last U.S. oil company in Venezuela, Chevron, negotiate what the Venezuelan state oil

company on future activities in return for political progress.

President Nicolas Maduro's government began formal talks with the U.S.- backed opposition, Tuesday. Stefano Pozzebon joins us now from Bogota, Colombia, with the details.

[10:35:00]

GIOKOS: So really interesting, we have a huge oil supply constraint coming through. And now we are seeing sanctions being eased in Venezuela,

specifically in the light of Chevron, to open those talks.

And why is this happening?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly Eleni. A lot of moving parts in the story, I think here the tit-for-tat if you want is political.

It's a political deal that the White House is offering to Maduro. What is happening, the increasing prices that Anna, for example, was talking about

has created an environment, when the White House feels confident enough to offer Maduro of easing some of the sanctions in exchange for political

concessions.

The state of the Venezuelan oil industry is so dire after more than 20 years of mismanagement and corruption. It is not likely that bringing

Venezuela back into the oil market will morning to night immediately lower down the price of oil.

What the White House is trying to get is a strong, political concessions with Maduro. At a time where easing sanctions is made more convenient,

maybe less politically costly because of the increased oil prices as a consequence of the war in Ukraine.

And just as you said, the immediate outcome of this offer was a political one. We are seeing the members of the opposition and representatives of the

government of Nicolas Maduro to announce a formal return to formal negotiations yesterday with a picture that was posted at the same time on

Twitter.

And that means that the battle is now a political battle.

Will Maduro actually comply, make further political concessions, so now that he knows, Biden is indeed ready to lift and to ease some of the

sanctions at these moments?

GIOKOS: Stefano, thank you so very much for that update.

(WORLD SPORT)

GIOKOS: And a report says that China's plane crash in March may have been deliberate. "The Wall Street Journal" says flight data suggests somebody in

the cockpit intentionally downed the jet, killing all 132 passengers and crew on board. It was China's deadliest air disaster in decades.

North Korea's COVID outbreak is still growing. The country reports more than 230,000 new cases, six deaths between Monday and Tuesday. That brings

the death toll to 62. Leader Kim Jong-un' is holding meetings to analyze the crisis and the country's prevention policy.

Just ahead, plenty of smiles and handshakes for Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, in Canada. But this is no ordinary royal tour. I will

explain next.

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GIOKOS: A reconciliation with indigenous communities, that is the focus of the royal tour of Canada by Britain's Prince Charles and his wife, the

Duchess of Cornwall. They are also marking Queen Elizabeth platinum jubilee. She is Canada's head of state.

Before Charles and Camilla arrived on Tuesday for their third day tour, they faced calls for the monarch to apologize for the treatment of

indigenous children in Canada's residential schools. Paula Newton is live for us from the Canadian capital, Ottawa.

Paula, really good to see you. Here's a reality: a lot of these trips are turning out to be a moment of reckoning for the monarchy, to look inward in

terms of the treatment of indigenous people, not only in Canada.

We have seen this playing out but what is happening right now where you are?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly Eleni. Here is the issue, the world is getting a good look, a sober look at what's the new

monarchy will look like.

And to that, the Duke and Duchess today here, in the capital, as you say, following on comments of, course the minute that they landed, Prince

Charles making the comment that look, he understands this is a different future. And that people must reconcile with what happened.

The past, of course, here, as you say indigenous peoples, really wanting the queen, the crown to also apologize, Eleni, for what was an incredibly

dark past. You are talking about thousands of indigenous children, forcibly taken from their families and, in many cases, either neglected, abused or,

in some cases, outright murdered.

This is the legacy that Canada is dealing with. While the Catholic Church around many of these institutions, the Anglican Church ran a few dozen of

them. There are people in this country as well, calling for the crown.

And that means Prince Charles in this instance to really reconcile himself to that. Today, he will take another stab at that, along the events

including meeting with Canadian indigenous peoples. Eleni.

GIOKOS: Paula, thank you so much for that update.

[10:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END