kurt volker, thank you for joining us.uture of ukraine took center stage at munich's security conference over the last few days before the u.s. announced it would meet with russian officials, our foreign affairs correspondent and defense correspondent nick schifrin sat down in germany with melanie joly, talking about u.s. economic threats against canada and tensions in munich between the u.s. and its closest allies. nick: here in munich this weekend, you told europeans, quote, you're next on tariffs and that canada and europe had to work together when it comes to tariffs. has the trump administration's trade talk and rhetoric here even in europe, affected how the u.s. is perceived as an ally? melanie: well, when it comes to tariffs, it's already the case in the sense that steel and aluminum tariffs are already being imposed starting march 12th on european allies and on everybody actually. canada is the biggest client of the u.s. we buy from americans more than china, japan, france and the uk. we are the best neighbors, we

thank you very much, kurt volker.n. >>> adam johnson, i want him to comment if on a little politics here as it relates to the market. >> yeah. stuart: is the market worried about the tariffs we're going to impose on china and everybody else? >> well, it is, and yet it's such a work in progress, no one knows how it's going to to play out. and, in fact, if you saw in the if journal this morning, there's even talk about -- well, mr. trump said late yesterday that a maybe there's some sort of, quote, deal that can be made with china. so my, my view, stuart, is that all the talk about tariffs is simply posturing. it's the gamesmanship that's happening behind the scenes that that's trying to force issues. think of what we've already seen. when mr. trump wanted both mexico and canada to enforce their own borders and they said no, fine, i'll slap tariffs on you. within one day they each decided, well, in mexico it would be remain in mexico, and canada committed to putting mounties on the border. a similar is thing happened wi

ambassador to nato kurt volker thanks very much for being here.t to hear earlier guest scribed described as eventually hammer i have to agree, i agree with vice president that there are cases, where our friends canada, and mexico have not treated us fairly. and we should be able to talk about that and fix that, but to put tariffs on everything, that is going to have a lot of unintended consequences, that american consumers are going to pay for. maria: now, what do you think will be the results here? because he could actually pull back, before midnight if he gets some kind of a promise from canada or mexico to stop the flow of he fentanyl. i mean, you know. this is a drug war, not necessarily a trade war, yet. >> that is what i hope he is doing that is what i hope he is doing i hope putting this out there as a very big threat, and then talking with them to say he specifically we need you to do this then reach an agreement empty about what they do not with actually impose tariffs that would be the right way to two. but to impose on everything i thin

>> john: for more let's bring inter for coal kurt volker, former u.s. investor to nato.m the 30,000-foot level we have been talking about this for an awfully long time. what do you think? >> i think he is determined, he wants to end this war and will do everything possible to do it. he has been saying a lot of things. we have heard a lot the last three weeks, first three weeks of his presidency, but he has been holding putin a comfortable, saying he is prepared to escalate with sanctions if needed, saying putin is in a weak position and he needs to end it, talking about the terrible loss of life, talking about getting access to minerals from ukraine, talking about a deterrent force of european forces inside ukraine that would prevent future war, there is just a lot that has been put out on the table, and i think this has captured putin's attention and putin is now indicating that he is ready to have some talks, and that is why he accepted trump's phone call and trump has very clearly trying to move this along to get an immediate cease-fire and deterrence of future attack

. >> joining me now is kurt volker, a former u.s. ambassador to nato, also served as a special representative for ukraine negotiations during the first trump term. mister ambassador, thanks so much for joining us. what was so striking about what we heard from the secretary? there is a lot of what he was saying was kind of always understood to be the reality, but officials never said it out loud, and certainly not as directly as we just heard it. what did you make of that? >> yeah, that's exactly what i took away as well. that nothing in what he said is actually all that new. it was just expressed in a very direct and harsh way. i would also point out that nato membership should not be part of a negotiated settlement. it's none of russia's business. we should not be talking with russia about ukraine's future nato membership. that's for ukraine and nato allies to decide later. what i think the administration is setting out there. and to be clear, this is a prepared speech. pete hegseth. so it was obviously written in advance and cleare

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ambassador to nato, kurt volker, also former special representative for ukraine ambassador. it is always great to see you. you are joining us from munich, where there's an awful lot going on right now. the u.s. senate, chair of the armed services committee, republican roger wicker, gave an interview with politico a short time ago where he talked about some of the comments that have been made the last few days in europe first in brussels, now in munich, by secretary pete hegseth and others. and senator wicker says, quote, i prefer we didn't give away negotiating positions before we actually get started talking about the end of the russia ukraine war. specifically, he's talking about saying that ukraine won't be part of nato. there are other things as well. what do you think of that? >> right. >> well, i think. >> that that is is right in principle. i don't agree necessarily. that's what hegseth was doing. but it's been clarified already by vice president vance, both in his interview with the wall street journal and then some of the conversations he's already been having here

joining us now is kurt volker, former u.s. ambassador to nato, who is also u.s. special representative for ukraine. negotiations. during the first trump administration. so, ambassador, you have trump and putin getting together to decide to move forward immediately with negotiations and then informing zelenskyy. that is the word that trump used. is zelenskyy right to see this as a slight? >> well. >> i. >> think it's a little too much too soon to say that. as we know. president trump met. >> with president zelenskyy twice this autumn. >> they had a couple. >> of phone calls as well at their press conference. together in new york in september. then president, you know, candidate trump said that the first thing he would do is to call putin. and president trump has recognized that the issue here is getting putin to end the war. the ukrainians are ready to end the war. they're ready to negotiate. it's the russians. it's putin who has not been. so what president trump, i think is doing is getting putin to the table. and i do think this is an important step. and even wi

ambassador kurt volker, it's always good to see you. thank you for coming in. >> john relli new this morning. defense secretary pete hegseth is ordering the military to draw up plans for an 8% budget cut for each of the next five years. this seems a pretty quick reversal from just a few days ago, when he seemed to urge an increase in defense spending. >> well, i think the u.s. needs to spend more than the biden administration was willing to who historically underinvested in the capabilities of our military. listen, any defense secretary would be lying if they said they didn't want more. you always want more. but we live in fiscally constrained times where we need to be responsible with taxpayer dollars, with $37 trillion in debt, that's a national security liability as well. >> all right. let's get right to cnn national correspondent natasha bertrand at the pentagon. i mean, that was a few days ago. >> it's really. >> unclear what's happened here. >> in terms. >> of this. >> shift, john, but i will note that one thing that has changed i

with the email from the munich security conference is kurt volker. he's a former us ambassador to nato. he was the us special representative to ukraine during the 1st trump administration and bastards. good to have you back on the program. be to see you. i'll ask you what many here in europe many, i'm sure in munich, where you are, or asking after learning of trumps piece plans for ukraine. has the united states betrayed its ally ukraine? oh no, i don't think so at all. i think this is very much in line with what president trump the present zalinski discussed throughout the autumn. you remember they met in september, they had a few phone calls, name it again to turn it down in paris. and uh, president trump made clear he wants to end the war as quickly as possible that he needs to call president vladimir putin, which he has now done. he called zelinski right afterwards to give him the retail. he is indeed pushing for anna to or as quickly as possible. and as he said, as jane events subs earlier today, that all the options are on the table. you agree

we're doing an e mail from the munich security conference is kurt volker. he's a former us ambassador to nato. he was the us special representative to ukraine during the 1st trump administration. ambassador. it's good to have you back on the program be to see you. i'll ask you what many here in europe many, i'm sure in munich, where you are, are asking after learning of trumps piece plants for ukraine. has the united states betrayed its ally ukraine? oh no, i don't think so at all. i think it is very much in line with what president trump and present zalinski discussed throughout the autumn. you remember they met in september, they had a few phone calls, name it again to turn it down in paris. and our president drum made clear, he wants to end the war as quickly as possible that he needs to call president vladimir putin, which he has now done. he called zelinski right afterwards to give him the retail. he is indeed pushing for anna to or as quickly as possible. and as he said, as j events subs earlier today, that all the options are on the table, ukraine's

all right, kurt volker, former us ambassador tomato and former us special envoy for ukraine negotiations. thanks so much for joining us on alger pleasure. thank you. the still ahead on out 0. 7. tell gary all bring of the latest on protests held on the bank of river. water sharing issues with india and history is on byron side. ahead of their champions league match against the celtic theatre will explain, explain the well federal showing itself to be relevant. active 11 small code is coming out of the seniors across the black sea. the false for us is going to feel really cold in this time, both of these a night term temperatures. and if you come fast to what we've been focusing on a mountain standard 7, kansas city is and not as cold as it could be, the snow falling on the high ground of east in 30, otherwise each writing rating for greece. not so much in the south of turkey, but certainly me trust to syria and lebanon that significant, right, and on shore breeze means an increase in the likelihood of cat or shells from egypt all the way down, all the way around. 11 times charged that wa

again, joe concha on donald trump being the first sitting president to attend the super bowl , kurt volker and democrat new jersey senator andy kim saying his party is ready to shut down the government over trump's executive order, abby hornacek is here on the secret service super bowl recruiting add, did you see that, the 11:00 a.m. hour of "varney & company" is next. ♪ where ya headed? susan: where am i headed? am i just gonna take what the markets gives me? no. i can do some research. ya know, that's backed by j.p. morgan's leading strategists like us. when you want to invest with more confidence... the answer is j.p. morgan wealth management after last month's massive solar flare added a 25th hour to the day, businesses are wondering "what should we do with it?" i'm thinking company wide power nap. [ employees snoring ] anything can change the world of work. from hr to payroll, adp designs for the next anything. investment opportunities are everywhere you turn. but at t. rowe price, we're letting curiosity light the way. asking smart questions and how these innovations will create a he

kurt volker, thank you for joining us. let's talk the latest news from vice president j.d.ce who suppressed a lot of people when he said sending u.s. troops to ukraine moscow failed to negotiate in good faith remains on the table. how do you feel those comments from the vice president's? >> yeah, i think what he is doing with president trump and what he is doing is ratcheting up the pressure on vladimir putin and also provide encouragement for them to actually come to talks and end the war. it is a push and a pole designed to get putin to stop the war. the idea we would impose sanctions is on that threat side but also get some carrots to say what you we can have here and stop and deal with issues later. >> carley: which brings me to this back here at home, kurt, why do you think president trump wants to end this war in europe so badly? it was a campaign promise and top priority for him. why is it america's best interest to end the war in ukraine? >> first off, president trump comes at a human point of view. you look at the terrible loss of life. so many ukrainians killed, t

. >> i had i heard kurt volker, who is the former u.s. special representative for ukraine negotiations, say this morning on our air that maybe america first isn't the right term, that it's america's strength is what trump is trying to put forward for his second term. all right, everybody, stand by. who knows what the breaking news is going to be when we're in the break. so stay with us have i got news for you is back for another season roy wood jr., amber ruffin and michael ian black are finding the funny in the week's biggest stories. >> to give you. >> all four years of. >> something to talk about. >> if we are live. >> have i got news for you saturday at nine on cnn. >> sa'ar tech. >> zyrtec. >> allergy relief works. >> fast and lasts a full. >> 24 hours, so dave can be the. >> deliverer of dance. >> okay. >> dave. >> let's be more than our. >> allergies. >> seize the day with. >> zyrtec. >> look at him streaming. directv without a satellite dish. just livin it up. >> did you see how fast that guy found the game? he hardly struggled. >

and certainly one of president trump's previous envoys, kurt volker, who was his envoy to ukraine, isvery clear that he believes the u.s. will have to keep arming ukraine because it actually works. and you don't want necessarily i assume even this administration doesn't want russia to have the whole kit and caboodle in ukraine. >> yeah, i think that's absolutely correct. and, you know, you're absolutely right, christiane, about the javelins, because they were instrumental in really stopping the russian onslaught, because the russians were basically going to do a pincer movement to capture kyiv and basically decapitate the ukrainian regime. they were obviously unsuccessful in that. and when you look at what is happening right now, you have ukrainian forces in part of russia in the kursk region, a very small part of russia, you know, it's about maybe half the size of a normal u.s. county that they currently occupy. and it is one of those things where right now, in the tactical sense, the ukrainians are preventing the russians from capturing the town of pokrovsk in the east. and that is

ambassador to nato, kurt volker. he also served as u.s. special representative for ukraine negotiations during the first trump administration. now, i want to begin with your reaction to this new reporting of talks set to take place in saudi arabia in the coming days. this seems to be moving quickly, yet there appears to be no clear strategy from the trump administration this week. well. >> i think it is moving quickly because president trump is definitely pushing this. he wants to see an end to the fighting in ukraine as soon as possible. and it's clear that what they're doing is they're not pushing out any particular plan. they are trying to listen to what our european allies are saying. what president zelenskyy is saying, they want to hear from the russians. and i think that what president trump has already done is he's put in place a few mechanisms in which he can apply pressure to putin, but also offer a way out. and it's sort of, as president zelenskyy just said in that clip, he's trying to set the conditions for negotiations, trying