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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Speaks after Meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; Ukrainian Delegation Led by Defense Minister to Be in Istanbul on Friday; Zelenskyy Reports Russia Doesn't Seem Serious about Peace Talks; Trump in Abu Dhabi on Final Leg of Middle East Tour; U.S. Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Birthright Citizenship; Qatari PM Dismisses Trump Gift Jet Controversy. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired May 15, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): -- Turkish, English, Russian and Ukrainian.

So our team in Istanbul will be well represented.

Now the number one point on the agenda is a ceasefire. And I still believe that Russia is still not being serious about these meetings. It does not

want to end the war. But we hope that they will demonstrate something during the meeting.

We spoke with the president of Turkiye. Tomorrow morning we will join a summit of the European Political Community in Tirana, Albania. This meeting

was organized in advance and will have more than 40 leaders. These are our brief plans for the immediate future and I am ready for your questions.

Ukraine TV.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Ukraine is interested. President Erdogan and I agreed that our group and the Turkish group will be present. We will

definitely meet the American, Turkish and Ukrainian groups. There will be a meeting like that.

And we will definitely have a meeting with the Russian side. And I hope this meeting will take place, that this wasn't just a show. But some of the

meeting will be there. And the agenda, our group knows their mandate and I think it's quite clear. And they will be ready to meet them.

We are awaiting certain signals from the Turkish and American side, some specifics as to what time the group, the groups will meet today or

tomorrow. Our group that I am sending to Istanbul will be there tomorrow.

So this fragile opportunity will not be broken by Ukraine. We will be constructive and we will be present in various formats that will be agreed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Next question, The Wall Street Journal.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): But the chief of the general staff. And the head of the security service and several others in our delegation who

accompanied me today -- and myself included -- there's nothing for us to do here because Putin has not arrived and maybe will not arrive. Nobody

knows that.

President Trump has indicated that he may appear. But apart from this signal in the media, we have no other information.

Not with me, no.

QUESTION: Mr. President, you have said earlier that the one thing you want to discuss, first of all, is the ceasefire and that there could be no

substantial negotiations without a ceasefire. You mentioned the mandate of the talks tomorrow.

Will you be discussing anything else?

Will you be discussing anything else?

Or if the Russians refuse the ceasefire, will be the end of it?

Thank you so much.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Look, the question is that it isn't the first time we have negotiations. And the negotiations happen in different

formats. You saw it in Saudi Arabia. You saw several meetings. You also saw the meetings in London and France and meetings on various platforms. And

Turkiye today.

It isn't easy to speak in this format or another with the Russian Federation. As you know, in Saudi Arabia, there were various formats. We

don't talk to them directly. But this is an opportunity because the Russia said in the media that Putin is ready for direct talks. And immediately I

responded.

[10:05:00]

He named the date.

I responded that we would be there on this date. Then different information appeared that it's not yet clear. So this is just talk for now. I believe

all sides need to demonstrate their readiness to talk. And the first step should be an unconditional ceasefire.

If an unconditional ceasefire can be done, can be agreed today at the level of technical groups, without leaders, this is no problem. We don't need to

meet because that's the first step.

If there is a signal from the Russian Federation that we heard that an unconditional ceasefire needs to be decided in direct talks between the

leaders, I am here and we are ready to have direct talks. That's all.

(OFF MIKE COMMENTS)

QUESTION: Mr. President, Turkiye has been reliable and sincere actor in efforts to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine.

If the negotiations to be held in Istanbul failed to make progress, what will be Ukraine's next step?

And how would you define a just peace for Ukraine?

Thank you.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Thank you. I don't want to waste time now on discussing what is a just peace, because some will like and some will be

irritated.

Everybody understands that there needs to be a just peace and a secure Ukraine and security in Ukraine needs to be consistent with the guarantees

and the -- of the U.N. charter.

And President Erdogan and all our partners, including Ukraine, confirmed this. Everybody needs to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty

of this or that country.

As for today's demonstration or the level of delegation and the level of decision making, again, I stress we don't need to talk about the level of

delegations if they are capable of agreeing something. We all are talking about results. Our presence and our level demonstrates that we want the war

to end quickly and all of those people here.

We all have a mandate institutionally from the people of Ukraine or our legislative powers. We have the mandate to agree certain steps that lead

toward an end to the war.

On the other side, we see representatives of the Russian Federation and we understand their level; not Ukraine's level, not because we don't respect

them. Everybody can see that. The USA sees it and Turkiye sees it.

Russia needs to demonstrate something, either by a higher level of delegation or the leader's level or some kind of decisions. If there is no

such demonstration, then they are not ready to talk about an end to the war or to make decisions, which means that there is no political will.

And that means that Russia doesn't feel it needs to end the war. And that means that there is no political, economic or other forms of pressure on

the Russian Federation. And therefore we ask, if there is no ceasefire, if there is no serious decisions, no bilateral meetings, we ask for

appropriate sanctions.

That will be an incentive for a quicker end to the war or at least an incentive to speed up our discussions of it.

And we need a strong package of sanctions, mentioned recently in recent weeks by the United States, by the countries of Europe and by the countries

of the global south, which do not support sanctions, as you know, due to certain economic relations with Russia.

[10:10:00]

But for now, Russia demonstrates that it doesn't want the war to end. And I think there needs to be pressure from the global south.

Next question.

QUESTION (through translator): Mr. President, after your meme in the airport, "I'm here," which became a meme and went viral and became a

sentence on Putin, did you hear signals from partners, from the American partners, the European partners, about any pressure that they are ready to

put?

Are they ready to adopt sanctions or are they saying again that they are deferring their last warning?

And what about weapons from the United States?

Did president Trump promise you any?

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Thank you for your question. Ukraine's main task, I believe, is to be consistent and constructive. And even now,

despite the level of the delegations, we are dispatching our delegation at the level of the minister of defense so that later nobody says that there

was something up to Ukraine.

As regards disrupting some kind of talks -- and that's important to me and therefore I am giving this signal now because I don't want the Russian

Federation to say, oh,, we don't know. We're feeling that something's not going well. So that's one thing.

Another story is that we are expecting sanctions if Russia fails to move forward to end the war. You can see that nobody is talking about an end to

the war. Everybody is talking about a ceasefire because everybody understands how complicated this is with these people.

Number three, I believe the leader of the Kremlin needs to demonstrate his leadership. And if he is ready to talk, we need to meet without any

conditions, as he wanted. Let us meet. We are in Ankara. We came here. We are sending a group to Istanbul.

He's not in Istanbul. He's not here. We cannot run around the world looking for this man. I think everybody should help the sides to negotiate and put

an end to this war with some steps or other steps.

The United States, I believe the United States now and Turkiye feel disrespect from Russia, in my opinion. No time for the meeting, no agenda,

no high level over delegation. That is disrespect.

I'm not saying the Russians have disrespect for us but that's mirrored by us. But they are here. So this is disrespect for Erdogan, disrespect for

Trump. Trump is sending a large group of people, this secretary of state, Rubio.

Nobody from the other side, Ukraine and Russia secretary and secretary of state Rubio is here. The foreign minister of Turkiye is here. The foreign

minister of Ukraine is here.

Where is the counterpart from the Russian Federation?

This is not disrespect for Ukraine only. This is disrespect for everyone, above all for Turkiye, because the meetings are here.

Next question.

QUESTION: Hello, Mr. President, to two very quick questions.

First one, before you coming here, Mr. Lavrov have just called your -- have just called your attempt to -- your request for Mr. Putin to be here

pathetic, Mr. Lavrov said, because he says that he never meant to be here, Putin.

Second question, if you've been coordinating your moves here with Mr. Trump?

Thank you.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Our teams are in touch. We didn't coordinate personally with president Trump these latest actions. We

understand that the meeting is in Turkiye and we have sent a high-level delegation. And both our sides have done this. He is on a tour of the

Middle East, President Trump.

[10:15:00]

And clearly every day he has meetings with the relevant leaders that have been agreed in advance; decisions, projects and documents. But he said he

is ready to get involved. So he has signaled the fact that, if the leader of Ukraine and the president of Russia is there, the president of the

United States will join in.

This is political will and showing that the president is ready to help. And that is how I am taking it.

As for the foreign minister of Russia. I didn't make any suggestions to Putin. We all understood that he was proposing direct talks.

Why did he propose direct talks?

Because he didn't want a ceasefire. He doesn't have to meet. He can just say, OK, we'll have a ceasefire. There were attempts to agree it at Easter.

We didn't meet and we didn't even agree anything. He just said -- and we want to show that we will make relevant steps as well.

He said they will not -- they would not attack Ukraine. I mean, that was a lie. About 50 percent. But it was reduced, the fire was reduced. So we are

ready to reciprocate and all our partners say support this.

And we said why not?

So we demonstrated our support and equally he can demonstrate his will. He can just say this in the media, we are ready for a 30-day ceasefire. We

don't need to meet. But in order to defer powerful sanctions from the Americans, he wants to show that he is constructive and that he is ready

for negotiations.

But he says they have lots of issues about the ceasefire and they are ready to discuss it in direct talks. That's how everybody understood it.

And I said, I'm ready. And president Trump said, I'm ready. We didn't have to coordinate. President Trump said, if the leaders are there, I'll be

there. And that's normal. That is a positive for the whole world.

However, whatever we might think of one another, it is a hope for the entire world that a great war will end.

Next question.

QUESTION: (Speaking foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) question in Turkish.

QUESTION: (Speaking foreign language).

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Our position, which I can represent today as the guarantor of the Constitution -- and our position is in the

Constitution of Ukraine.

[10:20:03]

Crimea is part of our country. And Turkiye, thank God, supports this position, understands this and supports the U.N. charter and supports the

view that Crimea is Ukraine and it is a Ukrainian peninsula.

President Erdogan himself always starts a conversation with me when we discuss Ukraine's territorial integrity, he always says, I confirm again

that I support Ukraine's territorial integrity. And we do not recognize the temporarily occupied territories as Russian. The Crimean peninsula is

Ukrainian.

He always supports this and I'm grateful for that. That is my position. He, that is his position. And the majority of the world have the same position.

So we cannot discuss territorial issues in violation of our Constitution. The territories' issues, the -- how we restore our territorial integrity,

what humanitarian crisis are taking place in our occupied territories, that is something we are ready and want to discuss. There are many details.

But whenever we discuss this, I always stress -- and this is my unwavering position -- that, legally, we will never recognize our temporarily

occupied territories as Russian. This is Ukrainian land.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: News agencies, please.

QUESTION: Thank you so much, Mr. President.

Could you give us a much more detailed --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Media?

QUESTION: AFP, Agence France-Presse.

Thank you so much.

Could you give us a bit more details about your discussions with President Erdogan?

And what did you suggested for obersch (ph), for best for finding a solution to this blocked situation?

ZELENSKYY (through translator): When people don't want a result, when people don't want to talk, when people only use weapons to resolve issues,

that's war. And when we don't see an end to this war, people turn to diplomacy to avoid what you've just said, to avoid a dead end.

And so one has to take steps to bring peace as closer, to do everything you can to increase pressure on the aggressor in various ways; to increase

weapons, supplies and security for Ukraine, security guarantees for Ukraine, to put pressure on the party that doesn't seek an end to the war.

And the position of the United States has always been, as you can see, President Trump's has been consistent in putting pressure both ways. I

believe we were under pressure more than Russia. That is my view. But Ukraine, step by step, has demonstrated that, believe us, it isn't about

Ukraine.

Ukraine is simply standing firm and defending itself. But we're not going to gamble away our lives and our land. But that doesn't mean we are the

aggressor. So step by step, we confirmed this at various diplomatic venues, agreeing to many different compromises because now everybody is viewing a

total ceasefire as an important step.

That was a compromise for us, an unconditional ceasefire. We have a lot of conditions that we wanted to put to the aggressor.

But we agreed, if America takes certain steps, we were in dialogue with them and we agreed to these steps and many others. There were many

diplomatic steps that Ukraine made to -- toward some kind of format, some minimum formats that would bring peace closer. But it cannot be one way.

And pressure cannot go one way.

[10:25:00]

So we would like to see pressure on Russia, on Putin; sanctions from Europe, the United States and other countries as the minimum.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Right. You've been listening to Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ankara, in Turkiye very specifically. Let's point out, there

is no Russian president there. CNN's chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward is live for us in Istanbul.

What are your key takeouts from that press conference?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, first and foremost, the key takeout is that these talks will go ahead, that

President Zelenskyy has sent a delegation. The delegation should be arriving in Istanbul or should be in place, rather, by tomorrow morning.

He mentioned that there will be talks with the Americans. There will be talks with the Turks. And also he said there will be direct talks with the

Russians, which is not insignificant, Becky, in the sense that we haven't had direct talks being held between Russia and Ukraine since 2022, when

there were talks in Belarus and in Turkiye.

Those talks fell apart around the same time that Russian forces were pushed out of the north and all of the atrocities were discovered in the town of

Bucha, most specifically.

He basically said that there's no indication that Putin wants peace. He does not seem to be overly impressed by the delegates that the Russian

president has sent, the highest-ranking one being Vladimir Medinsky, who's a senior presidential aide and sort of the head or the point man for these

talks.

Ukraine is sending its defense minister and a variety of other military and civilian personnel. Ukraine's foreign minister already here as well.

He said as well that he felt not just that Ukraine had been disrespected by this decision to send a relatively low ranking, more technical delegation

on the Russian part.

But also that the U.S. and Turkiye, he sees as being disrespected because the U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, is here, although he's actually

in Antalya for NATO foreign minister talks, and Ukraine as well has sent its foreign minister.

But he did underscore, Becky, we will be present. We will be constructive and we will try to seize what he called this fragile opportunity. He said

Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire. At this stage, there is no real sense that these talks might lead to that.

But at the very least, we do know now that these talks will go ahead. He also threw out kind of an interesting curve ball, which was the potential

prospect that President Putin could still change his mind and come tomorrow to participate.

He also mentioned that president Trump potentially could come tomorrow. I will say, from what we've heard from Dmitry Peskov, who's President Putin's

spokesperson, President Putin is not planning to attend.

Also, our Jeff Zeleny had reported that, for now, the plan is for president Trump not to attend either but essentially leaving maybe just a tiny bit of

wiggle room for these talks to take on a much more significant tenor by having more high-level or the highest level of representatives present,

Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes.

Are you getting any perspective from the U.S. side as to what their thinking is at this point?

I mean, to be honest, there's been a lot of mixed messages. We've heard president Trump go back and forth on this, originally telling President

Zelenskyy on Truth Social, have the meeting. Then indicating that he might come to the meeting, then saying that he's not coming to the meeting.

Then saying that Putin would only come to the meeting if he came to the meeting but that he wasn't disappointed that Putin isn't coming to the

meeting and really seeking to kind of shift the focus on this very lucrative visit to various Gulf states.

So it's been difficult to kind of follow the throughline there. We know -- and we've heard from secretary of state Marco Rubio -- that the White House

is very much fixated on this idea of trying to get the two sides at the highest levels at the table, to make some kind of a deal.

But they have also indicated repeatedly, Becky, that their patience is wearing thin. And if that prospect for a deal continues to dim, as it has

been over the last of the couple of months, last couple of months, rather, that they will move on essentially.

ANDERSON: Good to have you there, Clarissa. Thank you.

Clarissa Ward is in Istanbul in Turkiye.

You are watching a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD. We're coming to you from just a short distance away from the Qasr Al Watan, which is the

presidential palace here in Abu Dhabi. 0

[10:30:03]

And we are following what is the final stop of the U.S. president's Middle East tour happening right here, of course, in the UAE. Donald Trump getting

another lavish greeting upon arrival after those festive displays in Riyadh and in Doha.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON (voice-over): Well, the last leg of this trip will have a major focus on tech deals after the two countries reached a $1.4 trillion

investment framework back in March. Well, before heading here, president Trump addressed U.S. troops in Doha at the largest U.S. military base in

the Middle East. Have a listen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Thank you very much, everybody. This is an honor.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON (voice-over): Well, in a campaign-style speech, the president praised the U.S. relationship with Qatar while projecting an image of U.S.

military strength.

TRUMP: As president, my priority is to end conflicts, not start them. But I will never hesitate to wield American power if it's necessary to defend

the United States of America or our partners. And this is one of our great partners right here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Right. Stephen Collinson is with us.

President Trump, of course, here in Abu Dhabi. Now you've written about Trump's many geopolitical shakeups that have been on show on this trip:

the decision on Syria, the pressure on Iran and the overt distance from Israel.

And I just wonder whether these are actual shifts in U.S. foreign policy to your mind.

And what strikes you most about this trip?

What's been the most important moment to your mind so far, Stephen?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think the question is always with Trump is, is there anything beyond the sizzle, the big

announcement, the photo-op?

So we had the meeting with the Syrian leader in Riyadh, which I think is probably the most substantive moment of this trip, Trump talking about how

he's going to lift sanctions. He can do some of that himself. And that could really help the conditions in Syria, where people have very dire

humanitarian conditions.

There's a lack of food. The place needs to be rebuilt. Congress has to get involved. And that is going to require, I think, some rather stronger

signals from the Syrian government about its willingness to fight terrorism, to flush out ISIS and to protect minorities in Syria, for

example.

But I think that is the most substantive geopolitical moment of this trip. Trump has been involved as well on a trip which the White House said was

primarily about drumming up business for the United States.

As you say, in these Iran talks and on the issue of humanitarian aid to Gaza, on both of those, once again, he's saying quite strange things. He

was talking about how Iran has essentially agreed to a deal on its nuclear program. That seems very farfetched.

And now he's back to this question of what to do with Gaza after the war and talking vaguely about a freedom zone. So yes, there is movement. But as

always, with Trump, finding a way to evaluate the rhetoric and substance is quite difficult.

ANDERSON: In your latest piece, you posed this question about Donald Trump.

Can he apply himself sufficiently to reach genuine breakthroughs from openings he creates?

Can he?

COLLINSON: Well, the evidence isn't that great so far. If you look, for example, at his trade deals, the two big trade deals he's proclaimed as

basically world economy-changing deals with the United Kingdom and with China, both of these really are agreements to talk about having a trade

deal.

The one with the U.K. for example, is far less expensive than the one that the U.K. recently concluded with India. So I think the jury is still out on

that question. And I think that applies to across the board with Trump internationally.

Look at what's happening in Turkiye right now with these Ukraine talks. To be honest, it looks a bit of a farce. Trump had tried to get Vladimir Putin

there. He didn't show up. Now he's saying that nothing is going to happen until he himself gets to sit down with Putin.

So it's very improvisational with Trump. There's often a sense, not just in his foreign policy but the way he conducts his presidency, that he's just

trying to get to push the ball forward to the evening of any particular day, to push crises and questions aside.

[10:35:04]

And that's very much the issue, I think, with Ukraine.

When does it come to a point, for example, when the U.S. would use leverage against Russia to try and pressure Putin more, to sit down to talks that he

clearly doesn't want to have?

So with Trump, again, it's all about the photo-op and whether he follows up, whether there is a policy process.

If you look at historic U.S. peacekeeping, for example, in Bosnia or its involvement in Northern Ireland, these were processes that took substantive

lower-level diplomacy for weeks and months and years before the principals got involved and were able to make the big calls.

Does that look like something that the Trump administration is capable of doing and is willing to do?

Right now it doesn't look like it.

ANDERSON: Yes. All right. We're looking -- thank you. Stephen, it's been great having you on while we've been taking ourselves through this three-

leg tour with Donald Trump, of course, in this region, the Arabian Peninsula.

We're looking at pictures just coming into us from moments ago. This is Donald Trump at the Sheikh Zayed Mosque here in the UAE. He said that this

is an incredible culture. He removed his shoes, walked on what is one of the biggest carpets in the world, I have to tell you. That is just about 20

minutes from here.

And that part of his journey into the UAE, he arrived earlier this afternoon and will be having a state dinner at the presidential palace

later on today. More news after this.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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ANDERSON: You're watching a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, here in Abu Dhabi. We are closely following the third and

final leg of U.S. president Donald Trump's tour of the Middle East.

He arrived in the United Arab Emirates about two hours ago. The U.S. and UAE are expected to sign major investment deals in tech and AI during

president Trump's visit.

Last hour, I sat down with Omran Sharaf, who is UAE assistant foreign minister for advanced science and technology. And we talked about the

importance of this presidential visit for the UAE and what it means for this country's future. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMRAN SHARAF, DIRECTOR, PROGRAMS MANAGEMENT, MOHAMMED BIN RASHID SPACE CENTRE: The first time we met, I was working in the space program, if you

remember and it was right after the UAE reached Mars on the 9th of February 2021.

[10:40:00]

ANDERSON: I wanted to just to explain your background, because it provides some context as to what you have done as a young Emirati and what the --

and how those syncs with the vision of this small, young, very feisty nation?

What are the expectations for you out of this trip?

SHARAF: It's a very important and historical trip, if you look at my background and how it started, even with the Emirates Mars mission, our

main partner, our main knowledge transfer partner was United States. We couldn't have done it if we didn't work together hand in hand.

Both teams from both nations working on very advanced, critical and quite sophisticated technologies that had to put systems in place that emphasized

safeguards, responsible behavior, transparency measures that made us work comfortably together. And together on the 9th of 2021 we reached Mars.

And today we look at the UAE and the U.S. how far it's reached in its relationships when it comes to technology that goes beyond just space and

areas related to AI and other important and critical technologies.

ANDERSON: And perhaps more than any other Gulf nation, investment plays a central role in what is the deepening of the relationship with the United

States and indeed, what the UAE can secure off the back of that investment. Back in 2018 here the leadership launched a vision for the UAE to become a

global leader in AI and advanced technology by 2031.

Can you just talk us through how a $1.4 trillion commitment in the U.S. over the next 10 years, a trillion already invested in AI, advanced

tech and energy in the U.S. fits into the national interests of the UAE.

SHARAF: So the UAE is one of the largest foreign investors in the U.S. economy. And I think the announcement that was made very recently of having

$1.4 trillion further invested in the U.S. economy, which is also mainly focused on technology, mainly AI, that tells you a lot about how the UAE

looks at its foreign relations and also at its commitments to its partners.

At the same time that the future of its economy and how technology is playing a vital role in shaping that future that's not just going to affect

us as a nation but also our partnering nations.

ANDERSON: And it's interesting, because that very much aligns with the sort of America First policy that the U.S. president has. And the sort of

sweet

spot for that is the effort to get the U.S. economy in a leadership role against, for example, China. I mean, there's an AI race going on out there.

That's one lens through which you can look at the energy and effort that the U.S. president is putting into getting these investments into the U.S.

The other lens that we should look at is what the UAE's sort of national interests are in. What is a -- it's a big bet this. I mean, the UAE has

taken a big bet.

It is looking to diversify its economy away from its reliance on hydrocarbons and it is betting that its future will be dominated by these

future facing technologies, correct?

SHARAF: Exactly but at the same time for us, you know, with the way we look at our relationship with the U.S. It's a relationship that's been

there for very long time. So for me, the $1.4 trillion investment is a reflection of that relationship that we had for very long time.

So it's not kind of the main reason for us to establish close cooperation with U.S. entities but it's a result of decades of work that happened

between both nations and building this relationship. And it's a reflection of how deep it has reached. Honestly, it's a transformative kind of step by

the UAE and by the U.S.

It's for us. We always look at these opportunities as a win-win situation for both sides. So this, such investments will not just create

opportunities for the UAE and the UAE, whether it's economic, whether it's social, whether it's impact on the region but also for the U.S. economy,

the jobs that will be created in the U.S. and also in the UAE, the kind of talent that it will attract to the UAE and also to the U.S.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Omran Sharaf speaking to me earlier.

Still to come, a major case before the U.S. Supreme Court this hour.

Can president Trump end birthright citizenship and can lower courts stand in the way?

We'll speak with an expert on political science and constitutional law.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:45:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Other breaking news, the landmark case now before the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices at this moment

are hearing oral arguments and questioning attorneys as they look at one of president Donald Trump's most controversial executive orders to end

birthright citizenship.

Now that order, which was signed by Mr. Trump on his first day in office, would bar federal agencies from issuing passports and other documents to

children born to non-U.S. citizens.

It's important to note, though, the hearing today isn't dealing directly with the constitutionality of Trump's order. It's focused on whether three

lower courts overstepped their authority by issuing nationwide injunctions that blocked that order from taking effect.

Joining me now is Corey Brettschneider. He's a professor of political science at Brown University and has written several books on democracy and

presidential power, including "The Oath and the Office: A Guide to the Constitution for Future Presidents."

So there are two things sort of at play here but today is a little bit more about the procedural aspect of it. And we saw that, as the questioning is

starting, I'm sort of following along as I can't listen to the oral arguments right now. But I'm trying to follow along with my colleagues

online.

What are you watching for, listening for in the questions that we'll hear from the justices and what that could tell us about where they may be

leaning?

COREY BRETTSCHNEIDER, AUTHOR; TEACHER AT BROWN UNIVERSITY: Well, we're thinking about two things. As you said. The first is the procedural issue

of whether or not the lower courts can stop an unconstitutional -- or what they think is an unconstitutional executive order nationally, not just in

their locality.

And then, of course, the other question is whether or not the executive order saying that there no longer is birthright citizenship is or is not,

on the substance, constitutional. And although they started with the procedural question, it looks like now they're getting into, very recently,

some of the substance of the matter.

What's interesting and kind of horrible, frankly, about this moment is that the executive order is blatantly unconstitutional in the sense that the

Constitution says in its text explicitly that, if you're born in the United States, you're a citizen.

And we have a case from the 19th century that says it's just as plain as it looks. But, of course, Donald Trump is trying to undo our settled

understanding of what a constitutional democracy is. And that's why we are where we are.

I should say, it really is a fringe theory that Trump and now, unfortunately, the solicitor general are relying on. And I don't expect it

to go very far in the end, regardless of what happens when it comes to the injunctions.

HILL: So we expect that may not go very far in the end. But when we look at the injunction as well, this is raising an issue that a number of

presidents have raised issues with, right, that has come up certainly in the past.

Can one lower court say something that then impacts the entire country?

That's essentially what they have to get to the bottom of.

[10:50:00]

BRETTSCHNEIDER: That's right.

And you know, the argument of the Trump administration is who is this one local judge, you know, to make a decision that's going to impact the entire

country?

And won't that allow for a disproportionate amount of power for one federal judge?

The argument on the other side is, if you think the Supreme Court can stop an executive order, well, the Supreme Court is an appellate court, a court

of review. So it has to start somewhere, where we hear the arguments.

And we're hearing -- I'm not sure how the justices will come out on this. But certainly we've already seen from Justice Sotomayor that she thinks it

makes no sense to get rid of nationwide injunctions by the lower courts.

HILL: And also just to sort of level set on expectations here, they're hearing arguments today. The Supreme Court is known for moving at a

somewhat glacial pace, although I guess this is a little bit faster than what we've seen in the past.

When will we actually hear from the Supreme Court on the matter?

BRETTSCHNEIDER: It's really up to them. I mean, as you say, they can go extremely slow or extremely fast. And part of that is strategy. You know,

if they want to undo this injunction, if they want to allow birthright citizenship, they could go very fast. I don't expect them to do that. I

think they're going to strike it down.

And so my prediction is that, in a relatively short period of time, we're going to see a ruling, saying that this is unconstitutional, what the

administration, the president is trying to do here, to essentially revoke the right of birthright citizenship, explicitly put into the 14th

Amendment.

HILL: And then just real quickly and then same timeframe when it comes to the injunction question?

BRETTSCHNEIDER: We just don't know. I mean, you know, that would upend right now. Certainly lower courts can issue nationwide injunctions. And it

would be a dire moment to undo that power as we're seeing this administration roll out executive order after executive order.

I should say, it isn't only unconstitutional in my view but some of them, like this one that we're talking about, birthright citizenship, I think,

are explicitly aimed at challenging the courts and the Constitution. So it would be a weird moment, in a moment of challenge to the courts, that they

undid one of their main powers.

HILL: Yes. Corey Brettschneider, good to have you here. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Stay with us ahead here. After the break, we rejoin Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. The final stop, of course, of president Trump's first major overseas

trip of his second term. Stay with us. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.

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ANDERSON: Well, Donald Trump in the UAE now, arriving a couple of hours ago. This is the last leg of his four-day, three-nation Middle East visit.

Plenty of fanfare greeted the U.S. president here as well, each nation wanting to bolster its ties with the United States.

Well, he then met with top UAE officials, including the president and his national security adviser. Later, he'll take part in a bilateral meeting

and then as guest of honor at a dinner at the presidential palace, just a stone's throw from where we are.

Much of the talk during the president's tour has been about Qatar's proposed gift of a $400 million plane to initially serve as Air Force One.

The Qatari prime minister dismissing the controversy surrounding president Trump's plan to accept the gift of that jet.

I spoke to him about that on Wednesday when I was in Doha and here is part of that interview.

[10:55:00]

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SHEIKH TAMIM BIN HAMAD AL THANI, QATARI PRIME MINISTER: Well, actually, nothing is changing our decision. At the end of the day, if there is

something that the U.S. needs and it's completely legal and we can, we are able to help and to support the U.S.

And we are not shying away from that. We are proud people. And even if there is something is coming out of Qatar for the U.S., it's coming out of

love. It doesn't come out of in exchange of anything for that.

ANDERSON: It sits with the lawyers, as I understand it, at present. If it's not deemed legal, the offer would be withdrawn, I assume.

AL-THANI: Yes, of course. I mean, we will not do anything illegal. I mean, if there was something illegal, there were many ways to hide these kind of

transactions and will not be visible for the public.

I mean, this is a very clear exchange that's happening between the two governments. And this is happening between countries around the world. I

don't see any controversy in it. I don't know why it's been taken to a different direction. And it's being politicized this way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The Qatari prime minister, who is also the foreign minister, speaking to me yesterday in Doha.

Well, that is it for this special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next.

END