Interview with State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki; Crisis in Ukraine
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Ukraine's prime minister said today that Russia wants to start World War III. I'm Jake Tapper. This is THE LEAD. The world lead, split focus, President Obama managing or trying to the U.S. response to the crisis in Ukraine, while also on a trip to Asia. He says targeted sanctions against the Russians are -- quote -- "ready to go." But even he doesn't seem sure about the steps taken thus far. Does anyone know what to do next? Also in world, remember when we were this close to finding Flight 370? Well, those hopes have faded faster than the black box pings. There's still nothing to show for all the searching. So what now? And the politics lead.</s>REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Oh, don't make me do this.</s>TAPPER: That's House Speaker John Boehner. And, yes, he's been teased for shedding more tears than Claire Danes, but this time Speaker Boehner is doing the mocking, comparing his own party to cry babies, saying they are too afraid to tackle a vital issue. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Jake Tapper. Welcome to THE LEAD. We will begin with the world lead. A busload of 13 people, most of them military observers from Europe, have been taken hostage by pro-Russian militants in an Eastern Ukraine city held by separatists, according to Ukraine's Interior Ministry. It's an ominous sign, and we have already seen plenty of those, that the situation inside that country is spinning out of control. President Obama again today warned Russia of imminent consequences, but did so at a time when much of his attention has been taken up by his trip through Asia.</s>TAPPER (voice-over): This afternoon, Ukraine is ablaze in conflict, literally ablaze. Smoke from roadblocks and a destroyed Ukrainian military helicopter are darkening the sky. The Ukraine prime minister today accused Russia of wanting to start the third world war. This issue is preoccupying the president, even as he tours through Asia. He took time to talk to the leaders of Europe today to discuss what is next for Ukraine, not that the president's trip to Asia is behind the scenes so picture-perfect, in addition to whatever awkwardness was apparent when he offered for Japan in its bitter land dispute rivalry with China.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, obviously, this isn't a red line that I'm drawing. It is the standard interpretation over multiple administrations of the terms of the alliance.</s>TAPPER: The president's failure to reach a Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, trade deal that would part of his much ballyhooed pivot to Asia, was a disappointment and led critics to deem the trip all sushi, no success. Today, the president landed in South Korea, just in time for those neighbors to the north in Pyongyang to begin what looked like preparations for a fourth nuclear weapons test.</s>OBAMA: The United States and South Korea stand shoulder to shoulder, both in the fact Pyongyang's provocations and in our refusal to accept a nuclear Korea -- North Korea.</s>TAPPER: Meanwhile, the Israeli-Palestinian peace deal that Secretary of State John Kerry has been pushing has scattered to the winds like a handful of sand.</s>OBAMA: This is a problem that's been going on for 60, 70, 80 years. We didn't anticipate that we were going to solve it during the course of a six- or nine-month negotiation.</s>TAPPER: There are limited successes here and there, but behind the smiles, the administration's ability to solve international problems seems faltering.</s>OBAMA: There are no guarantees in life generally, and certainly no guarantees in foreign policy.</s>TAPPER: No guarantees paired with little room for error leaves the administration on precipitous footing. And as Ukraine threatens to erupt, the president assures the nation that he's prepared.</s>OBAMA: We will continue to keep some arrows in our quiver, in the event that we see a further deterioration of the situation over the next several days or weeks.</s>TAPPER: One of those arrows in his quiver is sanctions, further sanctions on Russia. Senior U.S. officials tell CNN that those sanctions the president is talking about won't come this weekend. They are actually expected to come down next some time next week, but Ukraine, of course, is on the brink now, the country bracing itself for the very real possibility for war. Let's bring in our chief national correspondent, Jim Sciutto. Jim, I want to start with this hostage situation in Eastern Ukraine. What do we know?</s>JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: These are observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the OSCE. They were entering or attempting to enter the town of Slavyansk. And some of these pro-Russian militants that we have been talking about and reporting about recently took them and they accused one of their members of being a spy for the Kiev government. This is a group of international nations, half a dozen nations. They had some Ukrainian security guards and in effect they're accusing of trying to bring a spy in. U.S. official says this kind of abduction, these kinds of abductions have been happening more often. And they leave no doubt as to who they hold responsible to say Russia very much has the ability to control these groups, and they are not doing that.</s>TAPPER: The OSCE is supposed to be brought in to help keep the peace, not be held hostage.</s>SCIUTTO: No question. That's exactly their role. And they have had issues like this before. Early on in the crisis, they were trying to get into Crimea when things were messy there. They were blocked by pro-Russian separatists, this kind of thing. And this has been part of the discussions between the U.S. and Russian officials and Ukrainian officials to get observers on the ground there, one, to monitor to kind of keep the peace, not as peacekeepers, but to monitor the situation, and back up Russian claims that Russians, if they are indeed under threat there, are actually under threat.</s>TAPPER: I want to turn to the sanctions that are being proposed by President Obama. You have spoke to some Ukrainian officials. Are they happy?</s>SCIUTTO: They are not happy. Of course, whenever they comment, they will always preface those comments by saying we are thankful for all the support that the U.S. and the West have offered to this point. But when you talk about this next round of sanctions being much like the first, targeting individuals, perhaps some institutions, they say that's not what we need now. That's not enough. They have asked explicitly for weaponry. I went to U.S. officials and they said, listen, we're open to additional requests from the Ukrainians. We are not open to weaponry.</s>TAPPER: All right, Jim Sciutto, thank you so much. Russian President Vladimir Putin has totally brushed off the effectiveness of sanctions. Now Josh Rogin over at the Daily Beast is reporting that Putin has decided to cut off all high-level communications between the U.S. and Russia, at least in the short- term. Let's bring in Jen Psaki. She's the spokeswoman for the State Department. Jen, thanks for being here.</s>JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: My pleasure.</s>TAPPER: The Daily Beast reporting about Putin cutting off contact, high-level contact, at least in the short-term, can you elaborate on any of that?</s>PSAKI: Well, Jake, what I will say is, we still continue to work with Russian on a range of global issues, whether that's the removal of chemical weapons from Syria -- we're up over 90 percent -- or on the P5-plus-one talks to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapon. I have seen the story and certainly the comments. But, in practice, we have continued to work with Russia, even while we have had strong disagreements about the steps they have taken in Ukraine.</s>TAPPER: Ukraine's prime minister says the Russia want to start World War III. If that is true, what is the U.S. prepared to do about it?</s>PSAKI: Well, we certainly hope that's not the case. We continue to believe there's no military solution to what is happening on the ground in Ukraine. We're watching issues like troop movements very closely. We're working closely with the Ukrainian government, but out effort remains on a political issue here. And that's what we continue to works toward.</s>TAPPER: I will be frank. It doesn't look like whatever the administration is trying to do in Ukraine is working. Can you point to an example of success with the president's Ukraine policy?</s>PSAKI: Well, Jake, we have put in place several rounds of sanctions. Obviously, we're not just...</s>TAPPER: But they are not working, Jen.</s>PSAKI: Well, they are working. Regardless of what the Russians say, the facts on the ground, the impacts on their economy, is a striking difference from what they are saying.</s>TAPPER: Right. But, by the administration's own words, the Russians have agents in Eastern Ukraine. They have expanded beyond Crimea. So whether or not the sanctions are taking effect, they don't appear to be having any sort of deterrent effect.</s>PSAKI: Well, Jake, what is happening in Eastern Ukraine right now, beyond Crimea, is really focused around Slavyansk. That's the area where we have seen the OSCE monitors be captured. That's the area where we have seen a lot of activity by the separatists. But, again, this does not mean that we should not still continue to take actions, including additional sanctions, putting additional consequences in place. We are seeing an impact. We have seen even President Putin admit this week that there's an impact on the Russian economy from the steps we have taken.</s>TAPPER: Why not consider what several Republicans and even some Democrats are calling for, which is military aid to the Ukrainian military so they can defend themselves? Of course, they will never be able to match Russia, but they might be more of a deterrent if they have weapons in their possession that the U.S. has provided.</s>PSAKI: What we don't want to get into here is a proxy war with Russia. And you're right. You touched on it. We're never going to get to the point where the Ukrainian military can match what the Russian military is capable of. But our hope here is to de-escalate, prevent military action, address what is happening with Russian separatists. And we're continuing to work on that.</s>TAPPER: I want to shift to North Korea, because today North Korea said that it detained a 24-year-old American they described Miller Matthew Todd. Probably, his name is Matthew Todd Miller. As he was seeking asylum, they say -- it apparently happened on April 10, more than two weeks ago. They announced it while President Obama was in South Korea, not surprisingly. How long has the U.S. government known about Matthew Miller being in North Korea?</s>PSAKI: Well, Jake, there are a range of reports out there about a U.S. citizen. Because of privacy concerns, I can't discuss them. I can tell you that, as in any case, we are in touch with our protecting power, which is Sweden, to look into more details about these reports.</s>TAPPER: All right. Jen Psaki, State Department spokesperson, we appreciate it. Thanks for coming on.</s>PSAKI: Thank you, Jake.</s>TAPPER: Coming up next, the unexplored area is rapidly shrinking in the patch of ocean where that robo-sub is searching for Flight 370 still coming up snake eyes, so what is the next move? And, as more bodies are pulled from that doomed ferry off South Korea, rescuers are now painting a very grim and tragic portrait of its final hours. Stay with us.