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One World with Zain Asher
Soon: Trump And Putin Meet In Alaska For High-Stakes Summit; Poll: American Support For Aid To Ukraine Has Climbed; Fact-Checking Trump's Claims On Russia And The Ukraine War; Maxwell Arrival Sparks Tension At Texas Prison Camp; Putin's Long, Complicated History With U.S. Presidents; Israeli Minister Taunting Of Palestinian Icon Sparks Outrage; Climate Change Fuels Intense Wildfire Seasons Across The Globe; Russia's Centuries- Old Alaskan History; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired August 15, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Ukrainian president won't be at this negotiating table. Vladimir Putin is expected to arrive in Anchorage about a half hour
after Donald Trump, marking the first time in a decade he has set foot on U.S. soil.
Now, the Kremlin's top diplomat meantime is already there. You see him speaking to reporters and wearing a sweatshirt with the Cyrillic
abbreviation for the USSR, the former Soviet Union. Here's what Sergey Lavrov had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGEY LAVROV, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION (through translator): We never make any plans in advance. We know that we
have arguments, a clear understandable position. We will present it. Much has already been done during the visits of the U.S. President Special Envoy
Witkoff. This is what the Russian president talked about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, the U.S. president, meantime, is also making his position clear after boarding Air Force One. Trump once again threatened Putin with
severe consequences if progress isn't made. And he said he will address Russia's continued bombardment of Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We saw that Russia continued its violence into Ukraine last night, launching even more drones. What did you make of that?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No. I think they're trying to negotiate. He's trying to set the stage. I've been in his mind. That helps
him make a better deal. It actually hurts him. Maybe it's a part of the world, maybe it's his fabric, his genes, his genetics. But he thinks that
makes him -- gives him strength to negotiate. I think it hurts him, but I'll be talking to him about it later.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: CNN's Kevin Liptak is in Anchorage for CNN. Good to have you there, Kevin.
You know, we heard from President Trump on Air Force One. And he was very careful, right, to again try and frame this summit with what are his
expectations going in.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And he said very specifically that he was not coming here, then negotiate a deal on behalf
of the Ukrainians. His goals are sort of much less than that.
And it's an extension of what we've been hearing from him really over the last several days. He has sort of continuously updated us on his
expectations for this summit.
But I think it's notable. It's almost -- we almost have a better picture of what will happen if this summit is unsuccessful than if it is successful.
You know, he said that he's ready to get up and walk out if he's not hearing from Vladimir Putin the things he wants to hear about ending the
war. He says that there will be severe consequences if Putin doesn't agree to end the conflict.
And he says he's willing to downgrade the joint press conference that they have planned into a solo press conference if he doesn't think this meeting
went well.
I think we have a much less clear portrait of what an actual successful summit will look like. You know, President Trump hasn't said what he needs
to hear from Putin in terms of how the war will end, what his conditions will be, what these potential land swaps as the president calls them, might
look like that he thinks would constitute a fair deal, nor is it explicitly clear whether Putin and Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy will come to a table
together, which the president has said is his ultimate goal in all of this is to try and gather them for a trilateral summit where all of these things
can be discussed.
We also -- I think it was pretty interesting, heard from the president when he was asked about the prospect of American security guarantees for
Ukraine. He was asked about that on Air Force One, and he just said maybe. He didn't say one way or the other, whether the U.S. would commit to using
its own security forces to try and guarantee that Putin doesn't go for more land in Ukraine if an ultimate peace deal is reached, which is a condition
that many Europeans and, of course, the Ukrainians say will be necessary in order for Vladimir Putin to sort of stay where he is, you know, if an
agreement is reached that he's not able, in two or three years, to just go after the rest of the country.
And so the president, I think, not necessarily explicit about what cards he himself is putting on the table as part of these discussions. It's also
been interesting to learn who the president has been speaking to on his way here aboard Air Force One.
He says that he spoke to the president of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, who is a top ally of Vladimir Putin, but perhaps more importantly in this
context, is a supporter of the war in Ukraine, you know, Putin used Belarus to, in part, to position troops ahead of the invasion. He's repositioned
tactical nuclear weapons inside Belarus.
And it's notable, you know, for all of the efforts by European leaders and by Zelenskyy to try and get into Trump's ear in the days leading up to the
summit. It seems as if it's an ally of Putin who may have had the last word before the president sits down for these very, very critical talks later
today.
Now, aboard Air Force One, the president has a whole delegation with him. He obviously has the national security officials like Marco Rubio, Steve
Witkoff, who met with Putin last week. He has also brought top economic officials, the Treasury Secretary, the Commerce Secretary, which gives you
a sense, potentially, of some of the economic areas that the two men will discuss.
[12:05:07]
You know, Putin has said that he wants this meeting to be out about more than just Ukraine. He wants it to be about restoring some of these
bilateral ties that have gone by the wayside, including the economic ones. He has also brought a business delegation.
But on the plane, President Trump says that while he is interested in some of these business deals, the matter of Ukraine will have to be resolved
before that can really be discussed, Paula.
NEWTON: Yes. And in our reporting, we got some indication that the Russians apparently understand that as well. We will see in the coming hours if that
turns out to be true.
Kevin Liptak for us in Anchorage. Grateful to you.
Now, Americans are closely divided on whether the U.S. has a responsibility to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia, with half saying the U.S.
does have a responsibility.
Now, a new Pew Research Center poll finds that overall 40 percent say they're very or somewhat confident in President Trump to make wise
decisions when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Fifty-nine percent, though, say they're not too confident or not at all confident in his decision-making possibilities.
Now, another poll shows American support for sending aid to Ukraine has, in fact, climbed sharply since March. And this is interesting. The increase
largely driven by Republicans.
CNN's data analyst takes a closer look at these numbers for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: The big summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump is nearly here, of
course, to discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
And it comes at a time in which the Republican base, Donald Trump's Republican base, is moving further into the Ukrainian camp as opposed to
moving away from them, which is something we've seen over the last couple of years.
What are we talking about here? How about Republicans who believe that the U.S. gives Ukraine too much support? Well, in February back at the
beginning of the Trump administration, look at that. Forty-seven percent, the plurality said, yes, the U.S. gives too much support to Ukraine
compared to 30 percent who said, no. Look at where we are now.
The yes has dropped 17 points to just 30 percent. The no has jumped 16 points to 46 percent. A real inverse from where we were at the beginning of
the year. Republicans, Donald Trump's base, no longer believes that the U.S. gives too much support to Ukraine.
Now, of course, on the all-important issue of arms, it's even more dramatic movement. What are we talking about? U.S. should give Ukraine more arms and
military supplies.
Back in March, it was just 30 percent. Look at where we are now, 51 percent. My goodness gracious, up like a rocket, 21 points now the majority
of Republicans. Republicans believe that the U.S. should give Ukraine more arms.
Now, of course, this summit taking part in Alaska, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, how do Americans feel about Vladimir Putin? They hate
him. They absolutely hate him. They don't trust him. Unfavorable view of Putin.
Look at this among all adults, 88 percent. Republicans, 84 percent. Any idea that Republicans like Vladimir Putin? Uh-uh. Definitely not the case,
84 percent unfavorable view. Look at this. Independence, 88 percent. And Democrats, 93 percent.
Whenever you get 93 percent of Democrats and 84 percent of Republicans agreeing on anything, you know that's a uniformly held belief pretty much
in the United States. And it is universally held in terms of unfavorable view of Vladimir Putin.
Indeed, of course, Alaska, where the summit is taking place, you might recall back in 1867, we bought it. We bought Alaska from the Russians. Back
then, it was called Seward's Folly. Wasn't exactly the most popular thing.
But I tell you, Seward's Folly's got nothing on unpopular views about Vladimir Putin right now, because Vladimir Putin absolutely despised by
Americans. Back to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: All right. Thanks to Harry Enten there.
Now, U.S. President has made a number of claims on the Russia-Ukraine war from how much aid the U.S. has actually given Ukraine to why Russia failed
to seize Kyiv. That are, in fact, demonstrably false.
CNN's Daniel Dale is here to fact check the president. Daniel, Donald Trump, you know, the bold claims at times come fast and furious, especially
when it comes to things like U.S. aid to Ukraine. What have you learned from your fact check?
DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: He has said over and over, including at least twice this week, that the U.S. has provided more than triple the aid
to Ukraine than -- than Europe has. He says the U.S. has provided 350 billion compared to just 100 billion for Europe.
Now, those claims are not even close to true. In fact, that is a reversal of reality. So, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy,
which is a German think tank that closely tracks this aid data, the U.S. had allocated 134 billion in wartime aid to Ukraine through June.
But Europe, collectively, the E.U. and individual countries had allocated 195 billion. Now, the gap is even larger in terms of aid committed, though
not necessarily spent, 139 billion for the U.S. to 300 billion for Europe, collectively.
Now, I asked the White House to justify these figures, or if they could justify these figures, and they tried to do so using some very fuzzy math.
What they did was add in actual aid allocations and loans, which fair enough, but then they also added in things like the cost of U.S. inflation
to U.S. households. Somehow they -- they attributed that -- they -- they attributed that to the war in Ukraine, and they added that to the actual
aid figures, and they did not try to explain how inflation in the U.S. counts as assistance to the Ukrainian people.
[12:10:18]
And that's not the only false claim President Trump has made recently. He also claimed on Monday, for example, that Russia would have taken -- would
have entered Kiev in four hours upon its initial 2022 invasion if only it had taken the highway, he said instead a Russian general made a quote-
unquote, brilliant decision to go through farmland.
Now, that is just fake history. I spoke to military analysts about this. If you remember the 2022 invasion, Russia's initial invasion plan made heavy
use of highways. The plan was to take major roads, major highways, and invade Kyiv before Ukraine could respond. They took heavy losses. There was
fierce Ukrainian resistance.
Now, some Russian vehicles did get stuck in the mud were forced off road, but they do not simply neglect paved ground as the president stated.
So, we have other false claims too, but overall, for months now, this has just been a barrage of inaccuracy on the subject of the war, the Russian
invasion, President Zelenskyy from President Trump.
NEWTON: Yes. And it is important that that kind of shorthand, you know, doesn't make it in -- into an analysis. And it was interesting to see Harry
Enten's analysis there of the actual views of Americans and how they've changed over the last few months, despite what the president has said.
Daniel Dale, grateful to you. Appreciate it.
Now, at the venue of the summit, dozens of protesters lined a road in Anchorage to voice their support for Ukraine. They flagged Ukraine -- they
waved Ukrainian flags and shouted slogans, demanding President Trump should not give any concessions to the Kremlin for ending its war. They also had
choice words for both leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to stand with Ukraine.
(CHEERS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump thinks he can negotiate anything. He can't negotiate himself out of a paper bag.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are our allies. Russia is our enemy. Let's not give (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is just grandstanding for Donald Trump. He likes to look good and think he's doing something, but he's not doing anything.
And meeting with Putin is -- I mean, actually, I don't know who's worse in terms of making a deal and not actually adhering to it. So, there's two
guys in a room neither of whom can be trusted or can trust each other.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: America can help, but Trump has failed again and again. Are we really going to make any progress with Putin, who hasn't even
bothered to show up for so many other instances?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: I want to bring in, as Stephen Sestanovich is a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, and formerly, the U.S. Ambassador at
large to the former Soviet Union. And grateful to have you with us as we await this summit.
I want to ask you pointblank, do you believe there is any chance that in the coming hours Putin will actually consider a ceasefire?
STEPHEN SESTANOVICH, SENIOR FELLOW, RUSSIAN/EURASIAN STUDIES, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: I think it's very limited. Putin has said the conditions
for ceasefire have not been met, conditions for meeting with Zelenskyy have not been met. So, you're much more likely to get a muddled result from this
-- from this meeting.
The question will be, does Trump conclude from a Trump -- from a muddled result that he needs to put more pressure on Ukraine or more pressure on
Russia? And that is going to be the -- the debate that follows -- follows this meeting.
NEWTON: We saw Sergey Lavrov, you know, come into Anchorage with that sweater. It amplifies quite bluntly, in fact, Russia's confidence going in
here. This is a winner for Russia, for Putin, and for Russians themselves.
I'm assuming you see it that way as well. And if so, what would Putin's motivations be? Like what is he going in? How does -- what does a win look
like for him right now? Because even just setting foot on U.S. soil, he's already gotten what he wants.
SESTANOVICH: Yes, word about Sergey Lavrov. He's not really considered a Putin insider, but he is sort of a pillar of the old Soviet Foreign
Ministry establishment. Students in his day used to call him our future Gromyko, meaning the longstanding foreign minister who always said "Nyet."
For Putin, a -- a win here is one that looks at like at backing away by the United States from future support for Ukraine, a willingness to push
Ukraine to make concessions, a willingness to exclude Europeans from a -- from a settlement.
[12:15:00]
Remember, the president had a phone call this week with European leaders and with Zelenskyy in which they agreed on the need for unity, for
recognizing Ukraine's sovereignty, for not recognizing Russia's conquests.
If the president comes out of this looking as though he has forgotten or repudiated that agreement, that is just a huge present for President Putin.
NEWTON: And leaves both Ukraine and Europe in a very vulnerable position.
I want to go back to something you were speaking of earlier, and those are the conditions as far as Putin is concerned.
Now, you say that he always says that those conditions for a ceasefire haven't been met, and -- and you say what he means by that is that the U.S.
and Ukraine haven't made concessions yet.
I argue all of this actually accepts Russia's original premise, right, that its war on Ukraine is in some way righteous. It seems to me that the
groundwork has already been laid for that.
Again, I go back to my original question. What concessions would Putin possibly agree to in the coming hours?
SESTANOVICH: Putin is not coming to this meeting with the idea that he's making concessions. He's coming to this meeting with the idea that he's
making progress in normalizing Russian-American relations, in splitting the United States from its European allies and from -- from Ukraine.
For, you know, specific concessions, he would like the United States to commit to talking about territorial adjustments, really recognizing Russian
conquests, even in a partial way. And -- and creating a framework in which the United States would discuss limits on Ukraine's ability to defend
itself, limits on its security relationship with Western countries, those are -- that's what Putin means by creating the preconditions for a
ceasefire and for negotiations.
NEWTON: And I don't have a lot of time left, but do you believe that it's more likely that Vladimir Putin will come out the victor in all of this one
way or the other?
SESTANOVICH: I -- I -- I think you mean Trump, not Biden. The big risk for Trump is that he ends up looking like a loser here, that he's looking weak,
confused, manipulated by Putin. I don't actually understand why the president isn't more worried about that perception.
You know, earlier, he -- month or so ago, he was talking tough about Putin. Now, he's -- he seems much more confused and much more ready to talk about
pushing Ukraine.
For him, by the way, trying to deal with those issues in a joint press conference is very, very risky. The president is not doing concessions.
NEWTON: Yes, and you highlight what could be to come in the coming hours as we all await that summit in Anchorage. Stephen Sestanovich, grateful to
you. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
SESTANOVICH: Thanks.
NEWTON: Now, still to come for us, swift reaction after a top Israeli official threatens a prominent Palestinian activist and posts video on
social media. Those details, next.
Plus, how Ghislaine Maxwell's transfer to a less restrictive prison camp has been received by her fellow inmates.
And wildfires right across the globe are growing more intense and more frequent. The likely cause behind the destructive trend, that's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:20:22]
NEWTON: So we're keeping a close watch on Erin which has now strengthened into the Atlantic's first hurricane of the 2025 season.
Now, the storm is now a category one hurricane. You see the map there with sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour. It formed near the Leeward
Islands in the North Caribbean. Erin is expected to gain significant strength this weekend and could become a category four storm as early as
Sunday night as you see from the map there. It is unlikely to make landfall though.
Now, Ghislaine Maxwell's arrival at a Texas prison camp has sparked tensions at the minimum security all-female facility.
CNN understands staff have warned inmates to use discretion around the Jeffrey Epstein conspirator who is serving 20 years behind bars for sex
trafficking minors.
Questions have been raised over Maxwell's move to the less restrictive prison camp with her attorney saying it's because she needs a safer
placement. While Maxwell's living conditions are more relaxed in this facility, she is not being afforded the same privileges as others.
CNN's crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz has been a cross story for us. You know, it is interesting how really so many are seized by this.
Those in the prison system, those in the Department of Justice, but also the people in Texas who have this in their backyard.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes. This is something that a lot of people are reacting to. I've been on the phone with a prison
consultant, lawyers for people representing people in the prison, people in touch, or who know this prison very, very well. It's a prison camp in
Bryan, Texas, all women, all white collar, non-violent offenders there.
And the mood since Ghislaine Maxwell (TECHNICAL DISCUSSION) -- it's there now, Paula. The inmates, they have indeed been warned by prison officials
as far as I'm told, that they should be using their discretion if they're going to be talking about Ghislaine Maxwell publicly.
And that sort of message is being sent across the prison by how the prison officials have handled things and example, I was told by the lawyer of one
of the inmates there, the inmate is named Julie Howell. Julie Howell provided a quote to a newspaper, "The Daily Telegraph," saying she was
disgusted that Ghislaine Maxwell, someone who was convicted of sex trafficking minors, had been moved to that prison.
And then Julie Howell, she was pulled out of a puppy training class inside the prison camp that she was taking part in, and that she was sent out of
the prison, moved to a detention center in Houston.
Her lawyer, Patrick McLain, told me yesterday that nobody now is going to be saying anything about Ghislaine Maxwell. Are you kidding? That's what he
said there.
Also, Paula, I should mention about that puppy training class. That is something that is a privilege of the -- some of the women, for some of the
women, in the prison camp in Bryan, Texas, but it is something that the CEO of the company that helps to provide dogs to prisoners, matching inmates,
two puppies to train so that they can then become service dogs later.
Ghislaine Maxwell, she will not be eligible to apply for that because she has been convicted of a crime against children. That's one of the things
that they will not allow for people who may want to take part in that program.
The other thing I should note is that the Bureau of Prisons, the Justice Department, they have not been answering any questions about the transfer
of Ghislaine Maxwell from the Federal Correctional Institute in Tallahassee, Florida, where there would be violent offenders, where it has
a little bit more security, the double barbed wire fence around it compared to the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, where it is prison, so it's a harsh
place to live, but it is somewhat more comfortable for the women there than in other parts of the Bureau of Prisons system.
[12:25:05]
The attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell, he has said very little as well, not responding to requests that I put in and questions I put to him about this
particular story of what's happening in the prison now. But he did say in a social media post yesterday that Ghislaine is in a safer facility, and she
faced serious danger previously in Tallahassee.
NEWTON: Yes. This is still not making sense to a lot of people who've been watching this case closely.
Katelyn Polantz, thanks so much.
Now, a lot of consequences of today's summit are serious. Vladimir Putin still has some less than serious duties to take care of. We will explain
after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: And a warm welcome back to "One World." I'm Paula Newton.
Now, Vladimir Putin is on his way to Anchorage, Alaska for his high-stakes summit with Donald Trump. That'll happen just a few hours from now.
Before he left, the Russian president met with a children's ice hockey team at a sports complex in Magadan. He also spoke with local government
officials at a plant that the Kremlin says produces capsules with high Omega-3 content.
And he laid flowers at Magadan's Heroes of AlSib Memorial, which symbolizes the cooperation between the Soviet Union and the United States during World
War II.
Now, the Russian leader is setting the stage for his meeting with Mr. Trump with something he has used before with the U.S. President, flattery.
Fred Pleitgen reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[12:30:06]
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Russian state TV counting down the minutes to the landmark summit between
President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. After days of silence, Putin, with his first public remarks, meeting his most senior
officials, praising President Trump.
The current American administration, he says, which is making, in my opinion, quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities, stop
the crisis and reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict in order to create long-term conditions for peace
between our countries.
But more than long-term peace talks, President Trump says he wants an immediate ceasefire as the fighting on the battlefields in Ukraine grinds
on. It's Trump threatening, quote, "severe consequences" if the summit doesn't yield real progress towards a ceasefire.
I asked a member of Russia's delegation about the U.S.'s tough talk.
PLEITGEN: So, sir, President Trump has threatened severe consequences if there's no movement towards a ceasefire. What's Russia hoping to get out of
this meeting?
KIRILL DMITRIEV, RUSSIAN SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY: Well, I think dialogue is very important. And I think it's a very positive meeting for the world
because during Biden administration, no dialogue was happening.
So, I think it's very important to hear Russian position directly. And there's lots of misunderstandings, misinformation about the Russian
position. And it's also a chance to sort of reset if the meeting goes well. U.S.-Russia relations.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Moscow hoping for sanctions relief and lucrative business deals with the U.S. in the future, especially in the Arctic.
Russians fascinated by the summit venue. Alaska, once part of Russia, until it was sold to the U.S. in the 19th century. Some Russians still bitter
feeling Alaska should be theirs.
Neither in the Tsarist nor in the Soviet nor in the post-Soviet era have the top leaders of our country visited Alaska, a Russian state TV
correspondent says in a report from Alaska. But should they not take back the land sold in 1867 by Alexander II for the colossal sum at the time of
$7,200,000 dollars?
But for now, many Russians hope their president will be able to take back the diplomatic initiative and persuade President Trump into laying off
possible severe sanctions and tariffs.
The Kremlin spokesman praising Putin's relations with the U.S. president.
President Trump is demonstrating an unprecedentedly unusual approach to solving the most difficult issues, he says, which is highly praised by
Moscow and President Putin personally.
While both Washington and Moscow say the personal chemistry between the two leaders is good, the coming hours will show if they're strong enough to
move closer to ending the fighting in Ukraine.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, while both Presidents Trump and Putin have shown signs of optimism ahead of the summit, some Western diplomats are expressing doubt
that talks will lead to any kind of a breakthrough here.
Now, one of those diplomats says the likelihood of significant progress towards peace is low. He questioned whether the Russian leader is ready to
make the concessions needed to reach a peace deal.
A European diplomat though believes that President Trump might be motivated to put more pressure on Moscow if the talks don't produce a positive
result.
Now, as we wait, of course, for the Russian and U.S. presidents to arrive in Anchorage for their historic meeting, we want to take a look at Vladimir
Putin's long and complicated history with American presidents.
Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Vladimir Putin has now been leading Russia across the administrations of five American presidents, a
period when he's launched multiple invasions and allegedly overseen assassinations, hacking and meddling campaigns, always while working the
angles toward the person in the Oval Office he's dealing with.
SAMUEL CHARAP, RAND CORPORATION: He does at least reportedly employ some of the tactics he learned when he was in the KGB, in terms of assessing --
trying to find weaknesses in -- in those who he's talking to and trying to exploit them.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy.
TODD (voice-over): George W. Bush had only been in office a few months when he swaggered out of a meeting with Vladimir Putin and made a declaration.
BUSH: I was able to get a sense of his soul.
TODD: Almost immediately, then-Senator Joe Biden tried to tamp down enthusiasm for the former KGB colonel.
JOE BIDEN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'd caution the administration against being excessively optimistic about Mr. Putin and his
-- and his intentions.
KEITH DARDEN, PROFESSOR, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: Joe Biden is one of the -- the American politicians who identified very early the type of man he was
dealing with Vladimir Putin. He did not trust Putin.
TODD (voice-over): Ten years after his initial warnings about Putin, Biden, as vice president, met face-to-face with Putin in Moscow. Biden told a
journalist that he said to Putin during that 2011 encounter, quote, "I'm looking into your eyes, and I don't think you have a soul."
[12:35:08]
Biden claimed Putin smiled and replied, quote, "We understand one another." Putin later said he didn't remember that exchange, and analysts say Biden
hasn't always gotten the Putin portfolio exactly right.
BETH SANNER, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: During the Obama administration, Biden was given the charge for that, along with
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
TODD (voice-over): Obama, his vice president, and secretary of state famously tried to hit the reset button with Putin's regime. But by 2013,
the relationship was so bad that the two men could barely look at each other during a meeting in Northern Ireland.
Then came Russia's invasion of Crimea and its intervention in Syria during Obama's watch.
CHARAP: I think Obama had a much more difficult time with him trying to maybe understand where he's coming from, but failing in the end.
TODD (voice-over): Obama's successor thought he'd figured out Putin and that he could cut deals with him.
TRUMP: I think I'd get very -- along very well with Vladimir Putin.
TODD (voice-over): But many analysts believe Putin played Donald Trump from the start, especially when Trump took the word of Putin over his own
intelligence agencies, which had concluded that Russia had meddled in the 2016 election.
TRUMP: I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this. I don't see any reason why it would be.
SANNER: That was the kind of thing where Putin was able, I think, in some ways, to very craftily control the room.
TODD: The analysts we spoke to say one thing that Vladimir Putin has insisted on throughout is to be seen as an equal with any U.S. president he
deals with.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: OK. Still to come for us, say, spike in temperatures fuels wildfires across Europe and beyond during another intense wildfire season.
We will have an update.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: International condemnation is growing against Israel as it moves forward with plans to expand its West Bank settlements with more than 3,400
new housing units. Just like those you see there.
They are considered illegal under international law. But U.N. resolutions reinforcing that designation have done little to stop Israeli actions in
the West Bank, including Jewish settler attacks on Palestinians who live there. And settlement plans that have rapidly increased under U.S.
President Trump.
[12:40:00]
Meantime, there was immediate outrage from Palestinian officials after a right-wing Israeli minister posted this video online, taunting a prominent
Palestinian political activist in his jail cell.
Marwan Barghouti has been imprisoned since 2002. Supporters call him the, quote, Palestinian Nelson Mandela.
CNN's Oren Liebermann picks up the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: The video from far-right Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, sparked outrage
almost immediately after he posted it to his telegram on Friday morning.
In this short clip, it's only about 13 seconds long, Ben Gvir can be seen in a prison with Marwan Barghouti, an imprisoned Palestinian leader who is
perhaps the most popular Palestinian politician and is considered one of the only few who can unite Palestinian society.
He has been in prison since 2002 after he was convicted of orchestrating the killings of five Israelis during the Second Intifada.
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza nearly two years ago, he has been held in solitary confinement.
If you look at this video, Barghouti appears gaunt and frail. He is seen nodding slightly as Ben Gvir talks to him. Ben Gvir says in part of this
video, whoever harms the people of Israel, whoever kills children, whoever kills women, we will wipe them out.
At that point, Barghouti tries to interject. He says, you know, and then Ben Gvir cuts him off and the video ends a short time later.
Right after the video came out, Barghouti's wife, Fadwa Al-Barghouti, published a statement saying she doesn't even recognize her own husband.
On Facebook, she said, "They are still, Marwan, pursuing you and following you even in the solitary confinement cell where you've been living for two
years. The struggle against the occupation and its symbols with you continues and the chains are still on your hands. But I know your spirit
and determination and I know that you will remain free and your only concern is the plight of your people to end their suffering which has
reached unbearable levels in Gaza and to achieve their freedom and preserve their dignity."
We saw similar statements from the vice presidency of the Palestinian Authority, even from Hamas, the rival political party of Barghouti's Fatah
party, as well as a number of other statements.
And that gives you an idea of how significant Marwan Barghouti is to the -- to the Palestinian people and to the Palestinian cause.
It's also unclear why Ben Gvir was in southern Israel in the prison in which Barghouti is being held. But it appears he may have simply posted
this video because of the outrage he knew it would spark.
He has taken and made provocative decisions and actions before and perhaps this is very much in that vein. There have been multiple efforts over the
years to try to get Barghouti released in some sort of prisoner exchange, but Israel has refused to budge on his imprisonment.
Oren Liebermann, CNN in Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, a warming climate and dry conditions have contributed longer, more intense wildfire seasons right around the globe for the last several
years.
In Europe, high temperatures are fueling heat waves and wildfires. Spain is enduring multiple heat waves this year and is asking for help embattling
the wildfires now raging right across their country.
Happening right now in the United States, there are nearly 40 large active wildfires. Colorado has declared a state of emergency as at least 20 blazes
burn across the state. Scorching 81,000 hectares or 200,000 acres.
According to the U.S. government surveys, over the last couple of decades, wildfires have exploded in number and size, particularly in the western
states likely due to climate change.
It is now time for "The Exchange." Joining me is Alice Hill, a senior fellow for Climate Change Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. Good
to have you with us.
As all of us really are in a sense of disbelief and quite frankly, despair as we see these wildfires just grow on so many continents, I do want to
start in Europe, another intense wildfire season there.
You know, Europe, it must be said, is warming twice as fast as the global average. Now, you argue Europe should move beyond emergency firefighting to
prevent this kind of damage. How best to do that?
ALICE HILL, SENIOR FELLOW FOR CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Well, it's an all-of-above strategy. It's not one thing, but we
need to recognize that the nature of fire has changed. These fires burn more intensely. They can have their own weather.
And also with greater heat, we are going to see more fire in the future. And that means we need to detect the fires. We need to prepare for them by
changing some of our land use, building practices.
And then we need to approve our response so that we can get to fires earlier and suppress them or have areas that are prescribed burns or -- or
burns that we intentionally set. So, we remove some of that flammable vegetation.
[12:45:02]
And then finally, we need to think about how we rebuild so that we're not rebuilding in ways that make us vulnerable in the future.
And both in Europe and in the United States, we are learning together that the tools we have may not be adequate to the fires we're seeing.
NEWTON: And I do want to get to that in more detail, but I want to ask you, some people are just so fatalistic about this, so as if, you know, the --
it's the weather. But the management really can make a difference, right?
HILL: Oh, absolutely. We have know that if we build fire-resistant homes, and they don't cost that much more. Those homes are much more likely to
survive a fire.
If we remove vegetation, the plantings around our house, and put rock or pebbles or whatever, that will reduce the likelihood of a -- a house
igniting.
And then we have to look at human behavior. How can we reduce the chance that humans are setting fires with campfires? Detection from above when a
fire is ignited, and then putting out that fire quickly, if it's an area that will cause a huge conflagration.
Drones, AI, all of these tools can help us really assess and better combat fires.
NEWTON: Yes. It was startling to me, in fact, that the vast majority of all of these fires are ignited by human activity. Obviously, that should be
obvious to someone like me, it wasn't.
I do want to talk to you about forestry. It wasn't. Just going to be blunt about that.
HILL: Right.
NEWTON: So much has been said about forestry management. Do you see jurisdictions around the world now that are leading the way in terms of
those fire management techniques?
You know, you talked about drones, you talked about satellite management. I've seen research in the last few weeks saying that, look, the satellite
monitoring, the early warning might really be important here.
HILL: Oh, absolutely. Early warning is critical in terms of allowing people to get away and making sure that resources are deployed to the place where
the fire is starting.
And we actually have AI that now tells us places more likely to ignite studies done in Hawaii that showed if we have paid attention to those areas
in this particularly hot conditions, we might be better able to understand where we're going to see fires.
So, there's a lot of change of foot, including forest management, as you've mentioned. And that means that perhaps we have these prescribed burns that
was naturally occurring before. At least in the United States, we had Smokey the Bear, which was a concept to suppress all fires.
There's a greater understanding in fire science now that sometimes we need to let places burn. The challenge is we have people living in those places
and we really don't want to lose those structures. So, how do we balance all that and not have a prescribed burn go out of control?
Unfortunately, in the United States, in both Colorado and the Grand Canyon and in Utah, we've had prescribed burns get out of control. And that has
undermined this concept of trying to have controlled burns that reduce the fuel in the forest.
NEWTON: Alice, I don't have a lot of time left, but do you have, you know, kind of a measure of hope in the years to come that these things have
become so severe that action is being taken?
HILL: Absolutely. I think we are beginning to understand these wildfires in a way that we understood, have learned about urban wildfires.
If you think about it, for a long time, we really didn't understand how urban wildfires spread, that they spread from inside the house typically
and then to the next door neighbors. Now, we have a new kind of fire hitting populated areas where the fire is coming from the outside.
And we have firefighters, fire scientists beginning to understand we need new techniques. We need to think differently about fire, particularly this
fire that creates its own weather, these huge columns of smoke and fire and more heat.
So, we are seeing progress, I think, in the decades to come. We'll see greater protections in place and less loss from these wildfires.
NEWTON: And that is the bottom line. We want less loss. And thank you for helping us to be informed about this and be hopeful as opposed to helpless.
Alice Hill for us. Thanks so much.
HILL: Thank you.
NEWTON: And we'll be right back.
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[12:50:07]
NEWTON: So, we are less than three hours from the big meeting in Alaska between Presidents Trump and Putin, and entrepreneurs are using the summit
as an opportunity.
Look at those. They are Matryoshka dolls. Those looking to commemorate this summit can get nesting dolls of Trump and Putin, or t-shirts and various
other souvenirs. Russia's Union collector's president says Russia-U.S. relations are always on trend.
Now, Trump and Putin's Alaska summit here, the world will be watching, and could one day be remembered for what ends up happening, adding to the
already monumental Russian-Alaskan history.
CNN's Tom Foreman has more now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not exactly a home- field advantage for Vladimir Putin, but Alaska might feel like home, a vast land
with centuries-old cultural, political, business, and military ties to his country.
JILL DOUGHERTY, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Every Russian knows that Alaska used to be part of Russia. And when you get into the kind
of the far-right nationalists, they want it back.
TRUMP: I'm going to see Putin. I'm going to Russia on Friday.
FOREMAN (voice-over): President Trump stumbled this week in calling Alaska "Russia." But some Russian commentators are speaking clearly.
Alaska is our wound that never heals, one said on Russian TV. Why? In the 1700s, Alaska was claimed by the Russian empire, a place where Russian fur
traders violently pushed aside and enslaved native people, and Russian missionaries established orthodox churches, dozens of which still exist.
When the United States bought Alaska in 1867 for just over $7 million or $0.02 an acre, many Americans considered it a foolish deal, until vast
reserves of natural resources proved otherwise.
Ever since, some Russians have persisted in their belief that they were swindled, and Alaska remains as much Russian as American.
The descendants of Russian colonists, another commentator notes, for them, everything around is part of a common heritage.
The two nations are physically quite close, about two and a half miles separate islands belonging to Russia and Alaska. Mainland to mainland, it's
about 55 miles.
SARAH PALIN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.
FOREMAN (voice-over): So, while Republican vice-presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, was ridiculed for this comment in 2008 --
TINA FEY, FORMER CAST MEMBER, NBC'S "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": I can see Russia from my house.
FOREMAN (voice-over): -- she was also right.
In World War II, when the Soviet Union was an American ally, some downed Soviet pilots were buried in Alaska. The summit will take place near their
graves.
And even though the Cold War saw Alaska emerge as a powerful military position for keeping an eye on the Soviets, plenty of Russians still
nostalgically eye Alaska.
[12:55:06]
DOUGHERTY: Land, territory, language, culture, history that is really important to Russians. So, when they look at Alaska, it's all there. And
they remember, "It used to be ours."
FOREMAN: And, of course, all of this could play into an idea central to Russia's argument about Ukraine, the notion that just because some land was
once part of one nation doesn't mean it can't be part of another.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: OK. I want to thank you for watching "One World." Stay with us. We will have much more on the special coverage of the meeting between
Presidents Trump and Putin in Alaska. That starts in about an hour from now.
But first is "Amanpour."
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END
