Return to Transcripts main page
Isa Soares Tonight
Trump's Trade War With Canada Escalates; U.S.-Ukraine Talks In Saudi Arabia Focus On Ceasefire and Minerals Deal; Former Philippines President Duterte En Route To The Hague; Ukraine Backs U.S. Proposal; Ukraine Ready to Accept Ceasefire Proposal; Students Celebrate Freedom To Learn. Aired 2- 3p ET
Aired March 11, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, President Trump fires another shot
across the border, escalating tariff threats on Canada and sending markets into the red yet again. Meanwhile, cautious optimism in Saudi Arabia where
American and Ukrainian diplomats are meeting for peace talks.
We'll have the very latest on those talks from Jeddah. Plus, former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is on his way to The Hague. We'll
break down his historic ICC arrest with former chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo. But first, President Trump has thrown fuel on the trade war fire
with Canada as U.S. markets tank for a second day this week.
Mr. Trump threatening to shut down Canada's auto industry, writing, "I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an additional 25 percent tariff
to 50 percent on all steel and aluminum coming into the United States from Canada." And this, he writes, will go into effect, as you can see there,
tomorrow morning.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford yesterday announced a 25 percent surcharge on electricity exports to three U.S. states in response to broad U.S. tariffs
against Canada. And those White House tariffs will come at a cost to U.S. businesses. Canada, as you can see there is the number one supplier of
aluminum to the United States.
The announcement has been sending the big three U.S. auto stocks pretty much sinking. Let's show you the numbers if we have them here, and it's the
last thing broader U.S. markets wanted to hear really, following Monday's mass selloff. The Nasdaq closing down 4 percent, almost down 4 percent
yesterday.
Numbers right now, as you can see again, pretty much a day of red right there down 1 percent, it was -- it was much steeper earlier. Dow Industrial
there, one and two-tenths of a percent, the Nasdaq also in the red, same picture with the S&P, not great, a lot of volatility today. President Trump
has said he isn't paying attention to the markets.
Although, we know that he does pay attention to the markets. Here's what he -- the White House had to say just in the last 30 minutes or so.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: When it comes to the stock market, the numbers that we see today, the numbers we saw yesterday, the
numbers we saw -- we'll see tomorrow are a snap shot of a moment in time. And as President Trump has said, and I'm here to echo the remarks of this
President and of this White House, we are in a period of economic transition.
The President is again responding to the fact that Canada has been ripping off the United States of America and hard-working Americans for decades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, joining me now with more details, the CNN senior White House correspondent Kevin Liptak along with Paula Newton, monitoring the action
out of Canada. And Kevin, let me go to you first. I mean, this is certainly ratcheting things up at a time when many of course, are worried about the
instability and the impact this will have on the U.S. economy.
What is the President saying on this new threat? How is he threading this needle to the U.S., to the American public?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, he has not come out to speak any further than the message that you just saw. And I think that's probably
intentional. And we saw that play out yesterday afternoon as well as the markets were taking the President -- uncharacteristically stayed behind
closed doors and didn't comment, probably watching the markets, keeping his eye on how that red kept spreading across the board.
But it was notable there to hear from Karoline Leavitt, try and frame this market instability as what she called a period of transition. You have
heard other Trump advisors say that this is going to amount to short-term pain. I think the question that a lot of investors and a lot of everyday
Americans have is how long that period will last, and what exactly the threshold inside this White House will be for further pain, for further
economic instability.
Certainly, the President very intent on keeping this trade war going, certainly with Canada. I think it was notable this morning when I was
talking to White House officials, they did not necessarily know that this new threat was coming, this new threat to double the tariffs on steel and
aluminum.
[14:05:00]
They had not put these tariffs straight down onto paper before the President came out and threatened them. And I think that just underscores
how haphazard in a way this has been throughout the course of the President's term so far. He has threatened the tariffs. He has applied the
tariffs. He has delayed the tariffs. He has caused exemptions on these tariffs and it all has left global partners.
Some of the United States' closest trading partners scrambling to keep up essentially, and that's exactly what you see him doing here with Canada, in
part in the President's own mind, the uncertainty is the plan. He has kept these leaders on their toes. He has kept them close to the phone, trying to
contact him, trying to essentially plead with him for exemptions.
And I think that is part of what he sees as the outcome of this whole tariff war. But certainly, when it comes to the economy, you hear plenty of
Republicans in Washington and certainly plenty of the President's own allies on Wall Street looking for some sort of plan here, trying to
ascertain exactly what the President is trying to do.
We will hear from the President later today when he speaks to the business roundtable after the markets closed, notably, try and put some more meat on
the bones when it comes to his economic plan. I do think it was notable in the back half of what the President said, he continues these sort of
expansionist tones towards Canada, saying that --
SOARES: Yes --
LIPTAK: It was an artificial line of separation. It will be important to see when exactly he speaks with the new Premier Mark Carney. The White
House says today that the two men have not spoken just yet.
SOARES: Yes, and stay with us, Kevin. Let me go to Paula. And Paula, not only is this incredibly punitive as we -- as Kevin just laid out, but the
language continues to escalate as we heard President Trump continuing kind of to taunt Canada about becoming their 51st state. Give us the reaction
from there and the impact these tariffs could have on these key industries.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's get first to the reaction from the prime minister-designate. And he, in fact did comment on a post on X
saying "President Trump's latest tariffs are an attack on Canadian workers, families and businesses. My government will ensure our response has maximum
impact in the U.S. and minimal impact here in Canada."
I mean, look, at the end of the day, this is an escalation in the middle of what is a historic period of transition in Canada. We are probably about 48
to 72 hours, Isa, from having Justin Trudeau officially resign, which means Mark Carney does become the Prime Minister of Canada, and in Canada within
weeks, I believe will be in the middle of a national election campaign.
Not opportune, to say the least, Isa, to be in the middle of a trade war with your greatest trading partner. Right now, Canada remains resolute.
They will continue on their tariffs right now. But what has also entered the fray here is an escalation that came not from the Prime Minister and
the federal government, but from the Premier of Ontario, who speaks for the province's the largest economy, and the most populous province in Canada.
He certainly doesn't speak for the country. I want you to listen to him now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG FORD, PREMIER, ONTARIO, CANADA: He had a mandate to lower inflation, lower cost of living, create more jobs, and it's backfired on him.
Inflation is going up. Jobs will be lost. There's taking -- he's taking more money out of Americans' pockets for what reason? We're still trying to
figure this out. Let's sit down at the table and negotiate this deal.
If there's things he doesn't like, then we sit down and we have a conversation. But just going tit-for-tat, back and forth, all it does is
hurt Americans and Canadians. It's unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: So, the point here is that there are negotiations behind the scenes, Isa, but they do actually have to reach to the Oval Office, and
then the Oval Office, Donald Trump has to have a counterpart to actually speak to. This will likely get a lot worse before it gets any better. And
speaking with industry executives this morning, Isa, they believe this will in some cases be catastrophic, not just for Canadian businesses that are
already looking to lay off employees, but also in key manufacturing industries in the United States that will, at least temporarily feel real
pain from these tariffs.
I know the White House continues to say this is some kind of transition that affects the stock market. It --
SOARES: Yes --
NEWTON: One hundred percent is not. It is affecting Americans and their livelihoods.
SOARES: Yes, extraordinary really, tit-for-tat. Do not know how we de- escalate at this moment. But I know you'll stay across it, Paula. Thank you very much. Kevin Liptak, appreciate it. Let's get the reaction from the
market as we were saying, stocks are down in the red again, second day. Let's go to Anna Stewart, keeping an eye on all of this for us.
And Anna, you know, you and I have spoken at great lengths, we share an office together, we've spoken at great lengths about this. Investors, they
really crave stability, clarity, not this uncertainty, not this chaos they have been seeing.
[14:10:00]
Talk us through what you have seen.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Yes, I'd say not much stability that we're seeing today. Certainly, I think investors are frankly quite fed up. Let's
run you through some numbers we have. The Dow Jones down nearly 500 points at the moment. It was down more than 600 points in the last couple of
hours. And it's worth noting that actually the Dow has been down more than 400 points five days this month, and we're actually only on the seventh
trading day.
So, that shows you just how volatile it has been in the month of March. The Nasdaq, S&P also down, worth remembering, the S&P comes off an all-time
high in February just a month ago. And actually we are in a bull market. We've been in a bull market for more than two years, and there is some
chatter about market, sort of stock valuations here.
And that feeds into the story. There is no doubt, though, that the catalyst here is very much the uncertainty over tariffs. And also, of course, the
fears about recession.
SOARES: Anna Stewart there for us, appreciate it, thank you very much, Anna. We are -- got some breaking news coming in now on the talks that are
taking place in Saudi Arabia between the U.S., as you well know and Ukraine. A joint statement basically says that Ukraine has expressed
readiness to accept a U.S. proposal for an immediate interim 30-day ceasefire, would have to be accepted, of course, by Russia.
The U.S. also saying it will resume Intelligence sharing and military aid, of course, Ukraine, something that it had stopped, if you remember last
week. Keeping an eye on all of this is Nic Robertson. Nic, they've been talking for some eight hours or so, in fact, stay here. Let's go to Jeddah.
We have that shot up? Do we have -- do we have the shot? Can we bring it up? Secretary Rubio is about to speak.
MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: This war, it's a terrible war, a costly war, a bloody war. And his number one interest is ending this
war once and for all. Today, we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a ceasefire and into immediate
negotiations to end this conflict in a way that's enduring and sustainable, and accounts for their interests, their security, their ability to prosper
as a nation.
I want to personally thank -- we both want to thank the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, his majesty for hosting us, for making this possible. They've been
instrumental in this process, and we're very grateful to them for hosting us here today. And, you know, hopefully we'll take this offer now to the
Russians, and we hope that they'll say yes.
That they'll say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court. And -- but again, the President's objective here is number one, above everything else,
he wants the war to end. And I think today, Ukraine has taken a concrete step in that regard, we hope the Russians will reciprocate.
MIKE WALTZ, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, just to add to the secretary's comments, the Ukrainian delegation today made something very
clear that they share President Trump's vision for peace, they share his determination to end the fighting, to end the killing, to end the tragic
kind of meat grinder of people and national treasure that's happening on the front end in Ukraine. Number one.
Number two, they made concrete steps and concrete proposals not only accepting our proposal for a full ceasefire, which you can see the details
of which are in our joint statement that we released together. But we also got into substantive details on how this war is going to permanently end.
What type of guarantees they're going to have for their long-term security and prosperity, but also, really looking at what it's going to take to
finally end this -- the horrific fighting.
The other piece that I just want to make very clear is President Trump started this diplomatic effort in the Oval Office, talking to both leaders,
both President Putin and President Zelenskyy back-to-back. And now that shuttle diplomacy continues, we have a named delegation in terms of next
steps from the Russian side, we have a named delegation in terms of next steps from the Ukrainian side.
I will talk to my Russian counterpart in the coming days, Secretary Rubio will be with G7 Foreign Ministers, in the next couple of days, we have the
NATO Secretary General in the White House on Thursday, and we'll take -- we'll take the process forward from there. So, as a result of that, and I
think as a result of this positive step forward, the President has decided to lift the pause on aid and on our security assistance to Ukraine going
forward. And that's effective immediately.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, your colleagues have chosen three questioners. Let's start with Alex Marquardt of CNN.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. Several questions on the ceasefire. We understood that coming into this,
this was a Ukrainian proposal for a partial ceasefire.
[14:15:00]
How did this become an American proposal for an immediate 30-day ceasefire? And to be clear, you're talking about a complete ceasefire across the
frontline, not just the aerial and maritime ceasefire that the Ukrainians proposed. And then finally, how do you expect to take this to the Russians?
Is it Mr. Witkoff, who we understand is heading to Moscow later this week? Will he deliver that to Putin? Will it be President Trump to President
Putin? Will it be you and your counterparts? How will that actually happen and when?
RUBIO: Well, on the first point, your question is, yes, it's -- that's the offer. The offer is to stop the shooting. The goal here is, the only way
out to end this war is to negotiate out of it. There's no military solution to this war. The solution to this war and the way to end it and to achieve
the President's objective of peace is to negotiate.
But before you can negotiate, you have to stop shooting at each other, and that's what the President has wanted to see. And that's what -- that's the
commitment we got today from the Ukrainian side, their willingness to do that obviously now that will be delivered to the Russians, it will be
delivered to them directly through multiple channels, meaning not only will they obviously see it, we've -- you know, it will be communicated to them
through our diplomatic channels, through conversations and other methods.
But there will obviously be -- we're all aware, and our hope is that the Russians will say yes, that they will also agree. So, the shooting will
stop, the killing will stop, the dying will stop, and the talks can begin about how to end this war permanently in a way that's acceptable and
enduring for both sides.
WALTZ: Look, there's been all kinds of discussions in terms of different types of ceasefires. You know, there was -- there was the deal in terms of
grain moving years ago. There's been discussion of halting aerial attacks on each other's infrastructure. The President made --has made it clear and
certainly made it clear to us that all fighting needs to stop. And the Ukrainians have agreed to that proposal, they're ready for peace, and now
we'll take that to the Russians and get their response.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, next. Jennifer Jacobs, "CBS".
JENNIFER JACOBS, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, CBS: Great, hi --
WALTZ: Hi --
RUBIO: Hi --
JACOBS: Are you expecting any goodwill gestures from Russia? Do you have a deadline in mind for when you're hoping for them to reciprocate on that,
those two things?
RUBIO: Well, on -- we're going to take the offer to them. We're going to tell them this is what's on the table. Ukraine is ready to stop shooting
and start talking, and now it will be up to them to say yes or no. I hope they're going to say yes. And if they do, then I think we've made great
progress. If they say no, then we'll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.
But the President's been abundantly clear, he wants the shooting to stop. He wants the warfare to stop. He wants the dying and the suffering to stop.
And he believes, and rightfully so, that the only way to end this war is to negotiate an end to it. And we think that it's always easier to negotiate
an end to the war when people aren't shooting at each other.
That's how the President believes. That's what we hope to achieve. The Ukrainians today have expressed their willingness and readiness to do so
immediately. We hope the Russians' answer to that will also be yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But no deadline set, sir.
RUBIO: Well, the deadline is, we hope to do this as soon as possible. Every day that goes by that this war continues, people die, people are bombed,
people are hurt on both sides of this conflict. The President wanted this war to end yesterday and the day before. The President's been clear, he
wants peace. And so, we want to see it as soon as possible.
So, our hope is that the Russians will answer yes as quickly as possible, so we can get to the second phase of this, which is real negotiations, not
never-ending dialogue, you know, talk forever, but real negotiations to end this conflict in a way that's acceptable to both sides, sustainable, and
that ensures the stability and security of Ukraine for the long term.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they will have goodwill gesture. Is there anything like the return of the stolen children or anything that you're expecting in
return?
WALTZ: Look, we've discussed a number of things. Prisoner exchanges, you know, folks that were detained and what have you. But the fighting has to
stop. I mean, that's what we agreed today. And just think about it. We've gone from if the war is going to end to now, how the war is going to end.
And this was -- this was an important first step.
And that was under President Trump's leadership. He has literally moved the entire global conversation to where we had a very senior Ukrainian
delegation with us today. We've had engagements with our Russian counterparts, and now it's how the war is going to end. And that's under
President Trump's leadership.
RUBIO: Just to answer your question one more time, the goal here is peace. That's the President's goal.
WALTZ: Yes --
RUBIO: The number -- the best goodwill gesture the Russians can provide is to say yes, to say yes to the offer that the Ukrainians have made to stop
the shooting, to stop the fighting and get to the table. If they do that, that's the best goodwill sign we could see. Obviously, as part of that
negotiation, as we're talking about how to end this conflict, there will be a lot of issues to unravel, among them, not the least of which is the
humanitarian concerns, the children, the prisoners of war, all the things that sadly come with these conflicts.
But the number one good-will gesture we could see from the Russians is to see the Ukrainian offer and reciprocate it with a yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, and next for "Reuters", Daphne Psaledakis.
DAPHNE PSALEDAKIS, REUTERS: Thank you so much.
RUBIO: Hi --
PSALEDAKIS: Could you clarify what security assistance will be resumed? Does this include the PDAs? And why wasn't the minerals deal signed today?
What are the outstanding issues there?
[14:20:00]
And if I may, is the relationship with the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy back on track? Do you back him?
RUBIO: Well, let me answer the second or the third. You had two -- and then I'll let the security adviser talk about the defense and security
assistance. On the second question -- well, let me answer first on the minerals deal, that's -- as part of our communication today, you know, that
is something that was negotiated through our treasury and his counterpart on the Ukrainian side.
And so, the President -- and you see that expressed, both Presidents will instruct the appropriate members of our government to bring to finality the
signature of the deal and the signature of this agreement, so, that was communicated today, and that's going to happen. That was not the subject of
our talks today.
I thought I made -- you know, I expressed that on our way in -- we were here in pursuit of peace. That doesn't mean the minerals deal is not very
important and most certainly is. And we expressed that today in the statements we put out jointly, that the President, our respective
Presidents have instructed the appropriate members of their governments to bring this to finality and to conclusion. The second part of your question
was.
PSALEDAKIS: Does the security assistance include --
RUBIO: No, there was one after that.
PSALEDAKIS: Is the Zelenskky relation --
WALTZ: There we go --
PSALEDAKIS: Back on track?
RUBIO: Yes, what's back on track here hopefully, is peace. That's what matters the most. I know everyone is looking for who likes -- this is --
this is serious stuff, OK? We're not. This is not mean girls -- this is not some episode of some television show. This is very serious. People are
going to -- today, people will die in this war. They died yesterday, and sadly, unless there's a ceasefire tonight, they'll die tomorrow.
The President wants that to stop. That's what he's interested in here. And that's why we came here. That's why we're grateful for the kingdom of Saudi
Arabia hosting us here. And what we leave here with today is a commitment that the Ukrainians are ready to stop fighting. They're ready to stop the
shooting so that they can get to the table and bring about peace for their country and for the world. On the security.
WALTZ: Well, I mean, I just can't echo enough, President Trump is President of peace. That's what he's demanding. And he's willing to take tough
measures on all sides to drive that home. And in terms of the security assistance, it's the current presidential drawdown authority. I'll refer to
the Defense Department on the eaches(ph) of what ammunition was where in the process. But it's the current PDA that will -- that will proceed to the
Ukrainians.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, everyone, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.
RUBIO: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks for your patience --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Effective immediately.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes --
WALTZ: Yes, thanks for your patience --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes --
RUBIO: Get strong --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hope so long -- we will be together --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least we have something recording this --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Indeed.
SOARES: If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date, the breaking news that we have been following here on CNN for the last few
minutes. We saw Secretary Rubio there as well as National Security adviser Mike Waltz in Jeddah at 9:20 in the evening. They have been holding talks
with Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia for some eight or so hours today.
And what we heard pretty astounding from the United States saying the U.S. has made a ceasefire offer, a U.S. proposal to enact what they're calling
an immediate interim 30-day ceasefire, which the Ukrainians -- says Rubio, have accepted. What we don't know at this stage are the guarantees.
Remember, this is something that the Ukrainians have been asking for some time.
Any sort of ceasefire would need to come with U.S. backstop, U.S. guarantees, a long-term guarantees as well. We're lacking a lot of details
in terms of how this would come about, who would monitor this ceasefire? We heard that this proposal will then be taken to Russia. And as we heard from
Secretary Rubio, the ball is in their court.
A lot we still don't know. These are initial steps, but certainly Secretary Rubio selling this as a very positive -- the first start on that to this.
Let's get more from our Nic Robertson who's been following and listening in to that. So Nic, not much in terms of detail, which is what we wanted. What
do you take away from it?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: There are a couple of things that I think I take away from that. When there were specifics asked
--
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: About the U.S. immediately restarting the Intelligence-sharing and the --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Military supplies. The specifics on that, Mike Waltz said, referred to the current PDA in the pipeline. Now, I don't know if he means
that, you know, each step forward or each step going forward, Ukraine is going to have to measure up to what the Trump administration wants, to be
able to keep getting those weapons.
That's sort of implicit in the way this process has gone. But for right now, it's restarting. That's absolutely critical for Ukraine. They can't
afford to run short, but to specifically the air defense missiles. But I think the other piece that I found interesting was, again, Mike Waltz said
that the -- you know, that we've talked about what type of guarantees they'll get for long-term prosperity.
It's money. It's money. It's -- you're selling the idea of prosperity for the country. But what Ukraine wanted was security guarantees --
SOARES: All right --
ROBERTSON: So that Russia wouldn't do that again, and we didn't get a sense of that.
[14:25:00]
But of course, this is -- look, you have to accept this is a first step.
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: And they've moved the ball to where they want to move it to. They've got a narrative that Trump has wanted this. Trump has got this. The
Ukrainians have got the weapons supplies back. But some of the language points to the length of the process to begin the process towards a lasting
peace, begin a --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Process towards a lasting peace. It's going to be drawn out, and of course, the next stop is Russia.
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Trump has used maximum leverage here on Ukraine to stop the weapons, to force them into this position. What is he prepared to do to get
the Russians who are -- who are incredible negotiators, who will nickel- and-dime and finick over every single point, want their own specifics locked in. We're blind to all of that right now.
SOARES: And just take a step back, Nic, because, you know, for the last two weeks or so, we've been talking about -- we heard from President Trump
saying, if we have this minerals deal, then in many ways we have people on the ground, that is a -- that's a security guarantee in itself. What has
happened to that?
ROBERTSON: Well, I think it's in that word, prosperity. I go back to that. For Trump, everything is in the money that comes out of it. This is how he
does his negotiations --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: This is what he's famous for. This is -- this is how he's built himself. This idea that the United States will get money out of Ukraine for
its minerals is a business proposition. But with that business proposition, implicitly is, there's money at stake, and the U.S. would be prepared to
pony up and protect that investment. Now, we heard none of that --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Today. We know the French have been in the mix --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: The British have been in the mix to send troops, the Turkish who are members of NATO have one of the -- have the biggest army, standing army
in NATO potentially in the mix to send troops. But we've heard none of those details, and this has been turned from a proposal that was sort of
begun by Macron, rounded out by --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Starmer, put forward by the Ukrainians to very specific and definitive language. Look at the -- at the joint statement. It is very
clear, and they said it very clearly. This is a U.S. proposal. It is a U.S. win. It's a U.S. proposal. So, the initiative is being taken away here from
what the Europeans might have been wanting to do, there is so much more to explore and so much more to understand.
SOARES: I suppose for President Zelenskyy, it was about healing that relationship with President Trump and trying to bring him back in.
ROBERTSON: And is it even healed? Because --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Rubio -- well, Rubio --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Didn't say that.
SOARES: No, he did not --
ROBERTSON: No, he avoided it. So, I think that's an open question. You know, is Zelenskyy still in the Oval Office doghouse?
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: And that's an open question.
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: And that speaks to the nature of what's going on here.
SOARES: And the other aspect of this, he was saying, you know, the ball is now in Russia's court. Why would Russia sign up to this? Does it have any -
- I mean, would they be asking for any concessions or so out of Russia?
ROBERTSON: Putin is believed to be susceptible to economic pressure, although he's withstood it so far. Susceptible, in as much as it's believed
that his economy can't continue to withstand the spend, men and material that he's had. And President Trump did last weekend say that he could put
pressure on Putin, and he could enact sanctions and put tariffs on Russia.
The preponderance of the language that Trump has used so far around this has been to put pressure on Ukraine, and that's, if you will, the easy bit,
because in Trump language, he had all the cards --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: He had the cards --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Although what Ukraine showed us today with the big drone strike on Moscow is --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: They have some cards. So, it's going to be in Moscow's understanding now. Absent real pressure from Trump in the way that Russia
has negotiated in the past, they don't move quickly, they move slowly. They take a lot of caution at every step. And they will wait to see if
necessary, what pressure Trump will put on them. And of course, we don't know what this ceasefire means. Cease the lines --
SOARES: Yes, where --
ROBERTSON: Now, do they move back?
SOARES: Exactly, where does it start? Who guarantees it? Who oversees it? Who monitors all of this?
ROBERTSON: But --
SOARES: We have so many questions --
ROBERTSON: But the beauty in a deal like this, to get it going --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Which is what they said. So important for Trump is the lack of detail to get --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: It going --
SOARES: Of course, that --
ROBERTSON: And after that it can stumble.
SOARES: First steps, we'll sure see, Nic. Appreciate it, thank you very much. Let's get more on this breaking news story that we have been
following here for the past what? Ten, twelve minutes or so. Global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw is with me now. He's often -- we often speak from
Ukraine. And Michael, just your reaction, first of all, so what we've heard from Secretary Rubio following these talks in Jeddah with the Ukrainian
delegation.
MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Good to be with you. Stunning. I mean, none of us expected this to happen. We expected a quiet
day of talks about technicalities, maybe continuing tomorrow. And we were talking only a few hours ago, perhaps about that rare earth minerals deals
-- deal being signed, and that would be the biggest accomplishment from today.
[14:30:20]
But this is a mind-boggling. And Mr. Zelenskyy has delivered his evening address Just a few minutes ago, and he said, I'm translating from
Ukrainian, there's not only calls for cessation of missiles, drones, and bombs, but also, cessation of hostilities along the entire frontline. And
he said, Ukraine is ready for peace. But basically, he ended by saying the ball is in Russia's court and let's see what they say.
Now, it's hard to add on to our colleagues' great analysis, but I have to say if one is slightly cynical and we deserve to be cynical when it talks
to Russia and holding to agreements, any pause could, of course, give them time to regroup. And then, we also don't know behind the scenes deals. What
will Mr. Trump offered to Russia to not only bring them back to the table, but to cease fire and talk to the Ukrainians about peace?
SOARES: Yes, and the big concern and something that we have spoken about, and we've spoken to Nic a great length as well, we saw the president -- we
saw the French president, we saw Prime Minister Stammer going to United States, and pretty much all diplomacy push that we've seen in the past two
weeks across Europe, it's this point over security guarantees or what they're also Europeans like to call a backstop.
I mean, if you're one if you're one of those leaders right now today and you're seeing this broad agreement with a lack of specifics, Michael, do
you take this as the initial first step, you're happy and you work on the details? How do you make sense of what of this supposed agreement?
BOCIURKIW: Sure. Well, Isa, in the old days that would have been an easy question to answer, but we're now in a scenario where Mr. Trump will say
one thing one minute and do something else the next. I mean, look at my home country, Canada, what just happened. Ontario's stopping the United
States -- the Northern States with extra tariffs for electricity. And then, Mr. Trump firing back with outlandish tariffs. So, that's where we're in
right now.
And, you know, again, I want to feel positive about this and optimistic, but we have to remember that Mr. Trump is prone to changing his mind and he
may overrule his team and go back. And one more other slight thing is we're not quite sure if this is the total resumption of military aid. It could
be, for example, one small pot of presidential authority funding, that's another kind of thing in the weeds here, too.
SOARES: Yes, stay with us. I'm seeing that Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainians presidential chief of staff, messaging is basically saying protecting
Ukraine's interest is the most important thing for us. A just peace is the keys for -- the key for us, we want peace. Thank you for a constructive
meeting.
And stay with us because I want to just bring Nic Robertson into to this conversation as well, Nic. And you know, the reason why we are talking --
you know, we are holding back or slightly reticent (INAUDIBLE) is because we have been here before with a ceasefire and that wasn't -- you know, that
wasn't -- that was broken too, and we heard president Zelenskyy making that point when he went to the White House. Speak to that.
ROBERTSON: These ceasefires are very complex things. So, it's not just enough to say that everyone stopped shooting. OK. That works on day one day
two. And I'm sure Michael is very infamously versed with how these things fall apart.
The mechanism last time during the ceasefire, there was Minsk 1 and Minsk 2, which interestingly, Russia was at the table as -- you know, to -- as an
independent status. Anyway, that's another story. But what happened was you make the small guns stop firing and then you pull back the bigger guns, you
know, 12 kilometers from the frontline or 20 kilometers and things like that.
But to do that you need people to verify it. Who's going to verify it? Who's going to verify it on the Russian side? Last time, the Russians
verified the -- you know, the Ukraine -- the Ukrainians who were fighting against their government. So, are the Russians going to verify their own
pullback of weapons? How does that -- even that work? And even last time, it didn't work.
SOARES: Yes.
ROBERTSON: So, the -- I'm troubled by the lack of detail, it shouldn't trouble me, but as Michael was saying, past what we've seen, how Russia
behaves in these situations don't take anything at face value.
[14:35:00]
SOARES: And, Michael, I mean, we are troubled by the lack of detail because as journalists we like detail We also want to know, this tells us whether
there's any hope of this actually sticking, right? At the moment though just taking this first step, you often -- you're often in Ukraine. We often
speak from Ukraine. How would this be received you think by Ukrainians?
BOCIURKIW: Yes, excuse me. Well, right now, very skeptically. And I'll tell you why, I'm checking my Telegram feed right now in Ukrainian is -- a
ballistic missile hit Odessa in the past hour or so. So, presumably the Russians would have received some advanced word of this peace deal, why
would you start shooting ballistic missiles again?
But you know, for sure, the Ukrainians want nothing more than peace right now, because it's been very, very bad on a daily and nightly basis with
hundreds and hundreds of drones and missiles. If I could go back quickly to what Nic was saying there, when I was -- no, a couple of things here. It
may be just purely coincidence, but the secretary general of the OSCE, the organization I used to work for, who could be tasked, at least in part, to
monitor a ceasefire, is in Moscow today, or was in Moscow today. So, the Russians actually took him around to see some of the damage from that
massive overnight Ukrainian drone strike and basically said, see, this is how the Ukrainians act.
But the other thing Nic was talking about, these are very, very difficult things to monitor. I remember when I was with the OSCE Special Monitoring
Mission in Ukraine, 2014, 2015, when we had ceasefires or some kind of agreements, we would literally have observers with measuring tapes to
measure the width of a gun barrel or things like that to see if there are any violations. So, that speaks to the kind of effort, the kind of trained
eyes and expertise, not to mention bravery, of course, as well to go out there and monitor these things.
This is a very, very much longer frontline now as well. So, it would take a lot of monitoring muscle to make sure there's compliance from both sides.
SOARES: Michael Bociurkiw, you're appreciated. Thank you, Michael. And just very quickly, I'm seeing from President Zelenskyy, who's just given a video
addresses and today in conversation, there was a proposal from the American side that the first step immediately and try to establish a complete
ceasefire for 30 days, not only with regards to missiles, drones, and bombs, not only in the Black Sea, but also along the entire frontline.
Ukraine accepts this proposal. We consider it positive. We are ready to take such a step, and the United States of America must convince Russia,
says President Zelenskyy, to do so. That is, we agree. And if the Russians agree, the silence will work at the very moment.
We will continue covering this breaking news. Do stay right here. We're just going to take a very short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:40:00]
SOARES: And if you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with the breaking news that we've been following for the past, what, half an hour or
so. Ukraine says in the last few minutes it is ready to accept a ceasefire proposal, 30-day ceasefire proposal put across by the United States. It's a
U.S. proposal, interim 30-day proposal. Ukrainians have accepted. Washington will return would lift, of course, that pause in security
assistance, Ukraine intelligence sharing, of course, that the U.S. froze last week.
U.S. Secretary of State Mark Rubio, who spoke just moments ago alongside the national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said the ball is now in Russia's
court, and they'll be taking the offer to Moscow.
A lot of questions over the guarantees, the long-term guarantees for Ukraine, who monitors this. It was a proposal lacking detail, of course.
But we will get the reaction from Ukraine in just a moment. But this is the breaking news that we've been following for you here on the show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And it is the ninth annual My Freedom Day and CNN is partnering with young people right around the world who refuse to stay silent in the
face of injustice. And all day long right here on CNN, we've highlighted the work being done by students to combat modern-day slavery. And they've
been passionate about this year's theme, Freedom to Learn. The students in Libya told us what freedom means to them. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The purpose of freedom is to create it for others.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Freedom is nothing but a chance to do it better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The secret of freedom is courage.
CROWD: My Freedom Day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Joining us now is CNN's Lynda Kinkade. She's at the Atlanta International School to highlight the work of students there. Lynda, good
to see you. Give us a sense of how students are marking that day there.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Isa. it's been an amazing day. We've had bake sales, panel discussions. And just moments ago, the entire school,
from kindergarten to grade 12 held a mass demonstration, a huge walkout, some 1,200 students coming around the track field here. These are some of
the organizers.
Macy, just explain for us why you organized this demonstration.
MACY: Yes. So, we wanted to do a 12-minute walkout to represent the 12 million children worldwide who do not get the right to an education. And
so, we really want to emphasize that they don't get an education due to being asked to work in challenging like situations or being stuck in
trafficking situations.
KINKADE: And, Kayshuan (ph), ach grade had to highlight the right of a child. What are some of those rights?
KAYSHUAN (PH): Some of the rights of a child include the right to a home, to family, to food and water, and we decided to include the rights of a
child this year because the theme is Freedom to Learn, and by learning about these rights, children can better protect themselves and the ones
around them.
KINKADE: And just give us the chant, three chants, just to show what you've been doing the last few minutes.
CROWD: Freedom is a right, not a fight. Freedom is a right, not a fight. Freedom is a right, not a fight.
KINKADE: So, Isa, as you can see, these students all year round have an anti-trafficking group. So, they focus on this issue of modern-day slavery
every day of the school year.
SOARES: Incredibly grateful to them, Lynda. Thank you very much and fantastic cause. Lynda Kinkade there in Atlanta. We're going to take a
short break. Pardon me. We'll be back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
SOARES: And if you're just joining, let me bring you up to date, the breaking news we've been following here on the show out of Saudi Arabia and
Jeddah, where the U.S. says it will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine, that is
according to a joint statement about the meeting -- the meetings between the two countries in Jeddah, Ukraine, and the United States. It says Kyiv
also expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate Interim 30-day ceasefire.
Let's discuss this. You just break in the last 40 minutes or so with Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian member of parliament and the leader of the Golos Party.
Kira, you and I spoke last week. I remember our conversation. You said very clearly, what was fundamental, what was important was a security guarantees
were attached to this.
I mean, when I look at the -- what has been proposed, I mean, lacking detail here, do you see anything here that says security guarantees?
KIRA RUDIK, UKRAINIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT AND LEADER, GOLOS PARTY: Hello, Isa. And good to be on the show again. We didn't see the security
guarantees they're in this discussion. However, we know that they were discussed and they were -- in this joint statement there was a saying that
these discussions were productive. So, I think we can be moderately optimistic right now because the United States have put pressure on Ukraine
to show our goodwill. Right now, we need to see that they will able -- be able to do that with Russia as well.
We are ready for peace. We made it very clear. However, again, we need to see that it is possible to make sure that Russia will keep their part of
the bargain. For right now, it is unclear for us. So, the United States delegation claimed that they will go back to Russia and figure out what is
possible as of right now.
We are talking about only the 30-day interim ceasefire. Of course, we are very concerned if Russia will be able to first agree to that and then
execute on that. But the most important news are that the United States are lifting the ban on supplying of their military aid, which is very critical
for our soldiers, no matter what would Russia agree to or not.
SOARES: Yes, exactly. This is something that has concerned so many in the last week or so, and intelligence sharing too. And, Kira, what is your
sense, you know, we heard from Secretary Rubio saying the ball is now in their court, speaking of the Russians? I mean, what is the sense of whether
-- your sense of whether the Russians will actually accept this, you know, or whether this is a strategy they may want to drag on as they continue to
pound Ukraine? How do you assess how they may move here?
RUDIK: Isa, the ball was always in Russia's court, right?
SOARES: Yes.
RUDIK: We don't see anything that changed here. Russia has started the war. It's in their hands to end it. It's in their hands to pull their troops, to
stop attacking our peaceful cities, to stop marching forward at the frontline.
It is -- it was always like that. And if the United States administration needed proof from Ukraine that we are telling the truth, well, here is the
proof for you. First, Ukraine's will to move forward with the negotiation and these discussions today as well.
So, we don't know what Russia will do. We know one thing not to trust Russia and we were very clear on warning about that, both by President
Zelenskyy to Donald Trump, and then to -- by our delegations, who I'm sure has presented the facts from the past that you cannot trust Russia. They
will break their part of the deal.
[14:50:00]
SOARES: Oh, and it's very much on Russia. The question then becomes, what will Russia ask for as part of an agreement? We know already what they've
said no to. You and I discussed this. No Ukraine and NATO. They didn't want troops on the -- along the line. I mean, how far -- how much do you think
this will drag on? There is no timeline here. And this is critical for Ukraine.
RUDIK: There is no timeline, but we have seen that the United States have pressured Ukraine to come to the part of the negotiations. Now, we need to
see what the United States will be able to do to pressure Russia into coming to the negotiations and then, like, keeping their part of the deal
if there would be any deal.
We don't see right now, again, any security guarantees at the table, and everything that Ukraine can agree to long-term needs to base on the
security guarantees. So, that I think is still open. That's why I'm saying we are moderately optimistic after these talks. And the most important
thing that happened is the renewal of the military aid. And we will see what will happen next.
And I'm sure that President Trump, as of right now, has gotten clear understanding that Ukraine is the country and nation that wants peace most
of all, most of anybody else in the world, because it is our people who are being killed at the battlefield and at their peaceful homes.
SOARES: Yes, and we heard from President Zelenskyy a video address, he said, our position is absolutely clear. Ukraine has been seeking peace
since the first second of the war, and we want to do everything we can to ensure that peace is achieved as quickly as reliably as possible, so that
there is no more war.
What we don't have in terms of detail, Kira, exactly is the question of, you know, monitoring. Who monitors this? Who monitors this 30-day
ceasefire? I mean, I know you're probably going to tell me these are initial steps. These are first steps. Do you have any clarity? What are you
hearing on your end?
RUDIK: No, but, Isa, are we are coming back to our initial question, we -- about the security guarantees, because answering that you will have an
answer who will be monitoring ceasefire? How it will happen. These things do not happen, like, oh, everybody agreed it and it will work. Because,
again, we have seen that it didn't work in the past for us.
So, we hope that a part that is pressuring for these 30 days ceasefire, and we know that this is American administration has some answer to who will be
monitoring that, how it will be monitored and what would happen if the deal is broken from one of the sides.
SOARES: Look, we've been here before where ceasefires were put in place. Ceasefires were broken. By Russia. Just give us your sentiment right now.
This is something there was a sense of frustration when you and I spoke this week. It seems we've come a long way in a week following on from that
pretty horrific Oval Office debacle between both presidents, how do you measure this moment here, Kira?
RUDIK: So, I think right now it is a good step forward, but I'm very concerned that the trust is broken, especially when I came back to Ukraine.
I see that here on the ground people start asking our questions like we are the victim of this war and how friendly is the country who is putting a
pressure on us first and doesn't even know how to deal with aggressor.
So, I don't think that we were ever a problem. And we here on the ground don't think that too. So, the question would be right now that the world
will be watching at is how would United States administration deal with Russia?
We have seen how they deal with the victim of the war. How they would act with the aggressor? And I think it's not only us who are watching. China,
Iran, North Korea, they are watching very closely too. And it will be an important task for the new administration on how they would deal and how
would they deliver on that promise. Bringing Russia to the table, making them to get into the deal and then keeping their part of the bargain.
SOARES: Yes, and we heard from Secretary Rubio saying, we hope that they'll say yes, speaking of Putin, and that they'll say yes to peace, the ball is
now in their court. If they say no, then, we'll unfortunately know what the impediment to peace is for sure.
I mean, it's hard to predict what we're likely to see here. This may drag on for some time. What is clear that we heard from Zelenskyy is that this
proposal, Kira, would cover the entire frontline, not just air and sea, and this is incredibly important.
[14:55:00]
RUDIK: Absolutely. It is important because, again, we want to stop killing of other people. First, this is our goal. We don't know if Russia would
agree to that because of the delay with the American supplies, they feel that we are weakened out and they would want to march forward, that they
would want to use this momentum. And again, we have seen what the United States has done to bring us to the table. We just hope that there are this
like pieces of leverage in place to bring Russia to the table and make them behave.
SOARES: Kira, really appreciate you coming on this breaking news. At least we have some positive news. Hopefully, the start of some positive news, of
course, for Ukraine and into this war. It may -- it seems like it may be a long process, but we'll see what comes out of the diplomacy between the
United States and Russia. Kira Rudik there for us in Kyiv. Appreciate it, Kira. Thank you very much.
President Zelenskyy also saying that the proposed silence in the sky and at sea, the release of Ukrainian prisoners to establish confidence in this
whole situation, and the importance, of course, the return of Ukrainian children from Russia. We will continue on this breaking news story.
Do stay right here. Erica Hill has more with CNN Newsroom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
