Sweden will step up insurance checks on foreign ships as worries about Russia rise
The government in Stockholm said that, starting July 1, the coast guard and the Swedish Maritime Administration will be tasked with collecting insurance information not just from ships that call at Swedish ports, but also those that pass through the country's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.
'This underlines Sweden's clear presence in the Baltic Sea, which in itself has a deterrent effect,' Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a statement. 'It also provides Sweden and our allies with important information about vessels that can be used as a basis for sanctions listings of more vessels in the shadow fleet.'
Russia uses its shadow fleet to transport oil and gas, or to carry stolen Ukrainian grain. The European Union has now targeted almost 350 of the ships in total in sanctions packages, most recently on May 20.
Kristersson said that 'we are seeing more and more problematic events in the Baltic Sea and this requires us not only to hope for the best, but also to plan for the worst.'
The average age of the vessels is around 18 years, meaning they're near the end of their lifespan and are more vulnerable to accidents, especially if they're not well-maintained.
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17 minutes ago
President Trump returns from summit with no deal
The summit took place for more than two and a half hours as Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is set to travel to Washington, D.C. on Monday to meet with President Trump.
Politico
18 minutes ago
- Politico
Playbook: What comes next after the Trump-Putin summit
Presented by With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco Good Saturday morning to all. This is Emily Ngo, helming today's Playbook from New York City. Get in touch. DRIVING THE DAY President Donald Trump's historic summit in Alaska yesterday with Russian President Vladimir Putin yielded no agreement to end Russia's war on Ukraine — but Trump announced in an early-morning update that he now seeks a full peace deal rather than a ceasefire as the next move. It's a move, WaPo's David Stern and Ellen Francis write, that amounts to a 'dramatic reversal that aligns him with' Putin's wishes. Trump will also host Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday at the White House, he said in his Truth Social post. He said he had spoken by phone post-summit with the Ukrainian president and European leaders, including NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. 'It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up,' the president posted. 'If all works out,' he added, a meeting between him, Putin and Zelenskyy could come next. A trilateral summit is backed by European leaders, Gabriel Gavin and Camille Gijs report for POLITICO, with many European capitals 'voicing their approval' in the immediate aftermath of the meeting. And it's certainly preferred by Zelenskyy, who wants a seat at the table and posted on social media this morning: 'In my conversation with President Trump, I said that sanctions should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war.' Despite the morning posturing, Kyiv avoided a worst-case scenario that some Ukraine backers had feared: Trump and Putin declaring that they'd reached a deal to end the conflict and pressuring Zelenskyy to sign off, POLITICO's Eli Stokols reports. Trump had greeted Putin on U.S. soil for the first time in a decade in Anchorage with a literal red carpet, military flyover salute and ride in the presidential limo. But that warm welcome was eclipsed by a chilly post-summit news conference where Putin commandeered the spotlight by speaking first and a dour Trump conceded they had no breakthroughs. 'There's no deal until there's a deal,' the president said. Neither leader took questions from the press. The high-profile, three-hour meeting also showed that Putin — ostracized by the rest of the Western world — maintains the advantage in his diplomatic relationship with Trump, POLITICO's Jamie Dettmer writes, unpacking all the reasons why Putin was delighted with the summit. There were no signs that Putin is ready to shift away from his main goal — to control Ukraine, a nation he doesn't believe should even exist, Jamie writes. All the while, he was elevated by Trump. 'The summit legitimized him on the world stage,' Michael Carpenter, a former senior director for Europe in the NSC under President Joe Biden, told Jamie. Putin 'won the informational war' and 'used Trump to show that he is not isolated,' Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of the foreign affairs committee in the Ukrainian Parliament, told the NYT. That, of course, is not how Trump sees it. Yesterday's meeting was 'a great and very successful day in Alaska!' he said in his Truth Social post early today. 'Potentially, millions of people's lives will be saved.' Overnight, European officials weighed what could come next in talks to end the war. According to two EU diplomats, an extraordinary meeting of ambassadors representing all 27 member countries was convened to discuss the bloc's next steps, POLITICO's Gabriel and Camille report. Trump commended Putin repeatedly in a post-summit interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, calling the Russian leader strong, 'tough as hell' and smart. 'He's a very smart guy,' Trump said. 'Nothing brought him to the table, so to speak. I think that he respects our country now. He didn't respect it under Biden. I can tell you that. I was so happy when he said, 'This would have never happened.'' Putin had flattered Trump in the closed-door talks by agreeing with the president's false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. 'He said, 'Your election was rigged because you have mail-in voting,'' the president told Hannity. 'We talked about 2020. He said, 'You won that election by so much.' … He said that 'if you would have won, we wouldn't have had a war, you'd have all these millions of people alive now instead of dead.'' Putin said about as much at the news conference. He also suggested that the next meeting be hosted in Moscow. 'I'll get a little heat on that one,' Trump replied. 'But I could see it possibly happening.' 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: At a federal judge's prompting, the Trump administration and D.C. leaders reached a temporary deal that sees the Justice Department partially retreating from its effort to seize control of local D.C. police, POLITICO's Daniel Barnes and colleagues report. Police Chief Pamela Smith is still in charge now. That followed Judge Ana Reyes indicating that otherwise she'd likely side with D.C. AG Brian Schwalb in his lawsuit over AG Pam Bondi's original directive. But this legal dispute is far from over: On the unresolved question of whether Trump can force D.C. police to help with immigration enforcement — despite sanctuary city laws — Reyes suggested that Trump might triumph next week. That could lead to 'a major power clash in entirely untested territory as the District clings to its limited self-governance,' WaPo's Meagan Flynn and colleagues report. On the ground: Police cleared out more homeless camps around the city, regardless of city notices that told some people they could stay for a few more days, NYT's Mark Walker and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs report. And in Southeast Washington neighborhoods most afflicted by violence, NYT's Clyde McGrady finds that many residents agree crime is a problem — but mistrust Trump's sincerity and motives. Beyond D.C.: As FBI Director Kash Patel works to reorient the bureau more toward fighting violent crime across the country — and intends to slash 15 percent of the headcount — some officials worry that its work on national security threats will suffer, MSNBC's Ken Dilanian and Marc Santia report. … Dallas' success in ending homelessness downtown is now threatened by HUD ending a program that helped fund the change — but which the administration has attacked as 'woke,' WaPo's Rachel Siegel reports. … Politically, some Democrats worry that Republicans have the upper hand, and that Dems' efforts to push back against false Trump claims will alienate voters, USA Today's Francesca Chambers and Phillip Bailey report. 2. RED-LIGHT REDISTRICT: California Democrats officially unveiled their plans for gerrymandering the state to counter Texas Republicans, per the L.A. Times. As expected, the new map would aim to flip as many as five GOP-held seats and shore up vulnerable Democratic incumbents. But it's nonetheless a risky move by California Gov. Gavin Newsom that will have to pass muster with voters in a special election, POLITICO's Blake Jones and Melanie Mason note. The NRCC indicated that it would sue. And Republican former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could be a galvanizing leader of opposition to sidelining the state's independent redistricting, NYT's Laurel Rosenhall writes. 3. CLIMATE FILES: 'Trump administration deepens crackdown on solar and wind tax credits,' by POLITICO's Kelsey Tamborrino and James Bikales: 'The new Treasury Department guidance would undo years of existing practice defining when a solar or wind project has started construction, a key metric that spells out when developers can claim lucrative tax credits. … Friday's guidance appeared to strike a compromise between the two [GOP] sides, winning tentative praise from both the House Freedom Caucus and the moderate Republicans.' From 30,000 feet: Environmental advocacy groups face an existential moment of crisis as Trump effectively shutters the federal government's efforts to fight climate change, NYT's David Gelles and colleagues report. 4. HARD DAYS IN THE BIG EASY: New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was indicted on federal criminal charges over her alleged efforts to cover up a relationship with her bodyguard, The Times-Picayune's James Finn reports. Coming after a wide-ranging investigation that lasted for years, the grand jury's 18 counts against Cantrell and Jeffrey Vappie amount to 'a stunning low point' for the Democrat. Cantrell stands accused of fraudulently using taxpayer money for romantic vacations, deleting messages and lying to the FBI about it. Cantrell's office said her lawyer is 'thoroughly reviewing' the indictment; she has generally remained defiant in the face of the federal probes. 5. THE IMMIGRANTS TRUMP WANTS: The administration is considering setting the nation's refugee cap at 40,000 for the next year, Reuters' Ted Hesson scooped. Some three-quarters of those slots would be reserved for Afrikaners — a largely Dutch-descended white minority in South Africa — a remarkable transformation of a refugee program that has historically focused on people fleeing war, genocide or natural disasters. Trump has insisted that Afrikaners, who have generally enjoyed positions of privilege in their country, now face anti-white discrimination. 6. THE PURGE: In a 2-1 ruling, a federal appellate panel greenlit the dismantling of the CFPB, getting one step closer to the beginning of mass firings at the consumer protection agency, per Reuters. Two Trump appointees found that a lower court, which had blocked the layoffs, had lacked jurisdiction to do so. But the ruling won't go into effect right away, so it may be appealed. Meanwhile at the IRS, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week forced the removals of three top executives, cementing his power as acting commissioner, WaPo's Jacob Bogage and Shannon Najmabadi report. 7. JUDICIARY SQUARE: A federal judge blocked the FTC for now from investigating Media Matters, saying the agency's demand was 'straightforward' political retaliation in violation of the First Amendment, per Bloomberg. … Another judge prevented the Trump administration again from trying to end the Flores Settlement Agreement, which sets care standards for kids in immigration detention, per the NYT. … And the legal fight over Alina Habba's fate as U.S. attorney for New Jersey will likely see its first ruling Wednesday, although the federal judge hearing the case didn't tip his hand either way, POLITICO's Matt Friedman reports. 8. SCHOOL DAZE: 'Education Dept. says it'll pull funding from five Virginia districts over gender policies,' by WaPo's Karina Elwood: 'The school districts in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and Alexandria had faced a Friday deadline to respond to findings from the federal agency that policies such as those allowing students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity violated Title IX … Education Department spokeswoman Madi Biedermann said in a statement early Friday evening that the agency would begin the process to suspend or terminate federal financial assistance to the divisions.' 9. WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN: 'Trump Administration Eyeing Chips Act Funds for Intel Stake,' by Bloomberg's Joe Deaux and colleagues: 'The government's talks focus on using Chips Act funding to at least partially finance an equity stake in Intel … [though] discussions are in early stages and other options could be under consideration. It's unclear if the approach would involve converting some or all of Intel's existing Chips Act grants into equity, allocating new funding from a broader pool or combining Chips Act money with other financing streams.' CLICKER — 'The nation's cartoonists on the week in politics,' edited by Matt Wuerker — 17 funnies GREAT WEEKEND READS: — 'A family opened a town's first bookstore. A bathroom bill is driving them away,' by WaPo's Casey Parks: 'The Phelans ran the only bookstore in Vermillion, South Dakota. They sold it and moved after a new law would have required their daughter to use a boy's bathroom.' — 'After the Trade War,' by Michael Froman in Foreign Affairs: 'Remaking Rules From the Ruins of the Rules-Based System.' — 'Meet the Lobbyist Fighting Against 'Perfectly Legal' Corruption in DC,' by Dave Levinthal in Washingtonian: 'Good government advocate Craig Holman has spent decades battling against the power of big money and special interests in Washington politics. These days, his work feels especially urgent.' — 'The Strange Espionage Case of Sue Mi Terry,' by Suki Kim in N.Y. Mag: 'How a high-flying former CIA analyst was charged with being an unregistered foreign agent.' — 'Amid Trump 2.0, Insiders at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Describe a Mission Divided,' by Vanity Fair's Evgenia Peretz: 'Billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan built the charitable behemoth in their image: science-based, research-backed, and driven by empathy. Now some staff question whether that's changed.' — 'A Giant Indian Drugmaker Failed to Fix Safety Breaches. The FDA Let It Off the Hook Again and Again,' by ProPublica's Megan Rose and Debbie Cenziper: 'Documents obtained by ProPublica offer a rare glimpse into discussions between the global drugmaker Sun Pharma and the FDA, exposing how the agency tolerated substandard manufacturing for years.' — 'The Crypto Maniacs and the Torture Townhouse,' by N.Y. Mag's Ezra Marcus and Jen Wieczner: 'How two men charged with an outrageous kidnapping scheme introduced a new kind of crime to the city.' — 'I Never Understood Our Data-Saturated Life Until a Hurricane Shut It Down,' by Trevor Quirk in the NYT Magazine: 'When Helene disconnected my part of North Carolina for weeks, my neighbors and I had to relearn old ways of knowing what was happening — and what wasn't.' — 'Canada Is Killing Itself,' by The Atlantic's Elaina Plott Calabro: 'The country gave its citizens the right to die. Doctors are struggling to keep up with demand.' — 'The Long, Strange Trip of Rick Perry,' by NYT's Robert Draper: 'The former Texas governor and Trump energy secretary has now dedicated his life to promoting the powerful psychedelic ibogaine.' TALK OF THE TOWN Elon Musk's SpaceX has likely paid hardly any income taxes for decades, an NYT investigation found. Spike Lee endorsed Zohran Mamdani. PLAYBOOK ARTS SECTION — The Kennedy Center's SVP of artistic programming/VP and executive producer of theater, Jeffrey Finn, is resigning next month, NYT's Michael Paulson reports. And as Trump revamps the medals for the Kennedy Center Honors, the local family that has crafted them for nearly half a century has been jettisoned, likely for Tiffany & Company, WaPo's Janay Kingsberry and Travis Andrews report. MEDIA MOVE — Ana Ceballos is joining the L.A. Times as a Washington correspondent. She previously was a state government and political reporter at the Miami Herald, where she won a Pulitzer and Polk Award. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) … New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy … VA Secretary Doug Collins … Chase Oliver (4-0) … Business Roundtable's Josh Bolten … Steve Abbott of Sen. Susan Collins' (R-Maine) office … Ramesh Ponnuru … Michael Grunwald … Voter Participation Center's Tom Lopach … Danielle Jones … Rational 360's Chris Golden … Dave DenHerder … Neil McKiernan of American Defense International … Tom Anfinson … Rick Chessen … Adam Hersh … Karly Lah … Michael K. Lavers … Seth Colton … Jerry Hagstrom of the Hagstrom Report and National Journal … Stacey Daniels of Senate Majority Leader John Thune's office … Options Clearing Corporation's Jim Hall … Edelman's Tyson Greaves … Grant Rumley … Ellen Weissfeld … former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D-Ill.) … former Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Dick Zimmer (R-N.J.) and Rick Berg (R-N.D.) … Abe Adams of Targeted Victory … Frontline/PBS' Martha Mendoza … POLITICO's Dominick Pierre … Steve Demby … Peter Owens THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): CBS 'Face the Nation': Secretary of State Marco Rubio … Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) … Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) … Fiona Hill. NBC 'Meet the Press': Secretary of State Marco Rubio … Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Panel: Sara Fagen, Jonathan Martin, Andrea Mitchell and Ned Price. ABC 'This Week': Secretary of State Marco Rubio … Jake Sullivan … Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) … Robert Dannenberg. Fox News 'Sunday Morning Futures': Secretary of State Marco Rubio … Ed Martin … Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) … Kevin McCarthy. FOX 'Fox News Sunday': Special envoy Steve Witkoff … Jake Sullivan … Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.). Panel: Michael Allen, Mary Katharine Ham, Hans Nichols and Juan Williams. CNN 'State of the Union': Special envoy Steve Witkoff … Mike Pence. Panel: Brad Todd, Kristen Soltis Anderson, Bakari Sellers and Nayyera Haq. MSNBC 'The Weekend': Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta … Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) … Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek … Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott … Djimon Hounsou. NewsNation 'The Hill Sunday': Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) … Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-Fla.) … Kay Bailey Hutchison. Panel: George Will, Jessica Taylor, Franco Ordoñez and Hannah Brandt. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
USA Today
30 minutes ago
- USA Today
From no-deal to Putin's deal? A flummoxing summit, a Trump flip
Vladimir Putin was smiling. Donald Trump was not. When the leaders of Russia and the United States shook hands on stage after failing to reach a deal at their Alaska summit, President Trump had a look on his face that his four predecessors might have recognized after their own encounters with the former KGB agent who has defied the world in his determination to rebuild an empire. Trump looked tired, annoyed and worried, his path ahead so uncharted that he uncharacteristically refused to take a single question from the phalanx of reporters raising their hands in front of him. Putin, who had a small smile on his face, was relaxed enough to teasingly suggest they next meet in Moscow − speaking in English, so no one would miss the point. Hours after Air Force One landed back in Washington, though, Trump seemed revived, embracing a new and entirely different plan for peace. He jettisoned what until 24 hours earlier had been his first priority and a strategy supported by Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO allies. "It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up," Trump said on the social-media platform Truth Social. Which was, by the way, the approach that Putin had wanted all along. Zelenskyy would meet with him at the White House on Aug. 18, Trump announced, to consider what happens next. The Ukrainian leader has consistently opposed peace talks without a ceasefire because it would give Russia a chance to press its battlefield advantage undeterred. The fear among Ukraine's supporters is a replay of the last time the Ukrainian leader was in the Oval Office, in February. He was berated by the president and Vice President JD Vance for insufficient gratitude toward the United States for its help and for standing in the way of a peace agreement with Russia. "Now it is really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done," Trump told Sean Hannity of Fox News after the summit. Then a three-way meeting with Putin could follow. For Putin, a limousine lift and a red-carpet welcome There's no wonder why Putin looked pleased in Alaska. The summit was a windfall for him, ending his isolation from the West since the Ukraine invasion with a red-carpet welcome and a rare ride in the back seat of the armored presidential limousine, nicknamed "The Beast." The Russian leader could be seen through the window talking and laughing with the president. He looked delighted to be back on U.S. soil for the first time in a decade. Joined by two advisers each, they spoke for about three hours before skipping a planned luncheon and economic meeting, instead heading to a news-conference-without-questions. Afterwards, the two leaders took separate cars back to the airfield. The summit didn't achieve what Trump said beforehand he wanted most: A ceasefire. In their statements afterwards, the word "ceasefire" wasn't mentioned. Trump also had set a series of deadlines for Russia to agree to progress or face secondary sanctions. The most recent deadline passed on Aug. 8, the day they agreed to meet in Alaska. After the summit, he didn't mention the word "sanctions" either. By the next morning, after all, a "mere Ceasefire Agreement" was no longer the goal. A campaign promise, now 200 days overdue No major promise Trump made during the 2024 campaign has proved harder to deliver than his assurance that he could settle the grinding war in Ukraine in his first day in office, a confidence based largely on his relationship with Putin. But that was more than 200 days ago, and despite Trump's move from friendly entreaties to undefined threats of "very severe consequences," Russia's attacks on Ukraine's armed forces and its civilians have not abated. Despite the declaration "PURSUING PEACE" that was stamped on the blue backdrop behind the two men. "So there's no deal until there's a deal," Trump told the expectant audience, an unhappy admission from a self-described master negotiator who titled his first book "The Art of the Deal." The flummox that showed on Trump's face at the Aug. 15 news conference would have been familiar to Barack Obama, who sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to meet with the Russian foreign minister with a red "Reset" button as a visual aid for a new era of relations, only to watch Moscow illegally annex Crimea in 2014. Or Joe Biden when Putin ignored his warnings and invaded Ukraine in 2022. Or George W. Bush, when he watched events unfold after prematurely declaring after his first meeting with Putin in 2001 that he had "looked the man in the eye" and determined that he was "straightforward and trustworthy." Those are not the adjectives presidents have used about Putin since then. That said, Trump's tone toward Putin remained chummy − calling him "Vladimir" − even after the summit failed to reach the goals he had set beforehand. "We got along great," he told Fox News. "I always had a great relationship with President Putin."
