Ukraine praises US seizure of Russian-flagged tanker; White House says vessel’s crew could face prosecution – live

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Trump signs proclamation withdrawing from world organizations, White House says

Donald Trump has besides signed a proclamation withdrawing nan United States from 35 non-United Nations organizations and 31 UN entities that “operate contrary to U.S. nationalist interests,” nan White House said successful a statement. It did not database nan organizations.

Trumps says Venezuela will bargain US equipment pinch proceeds from lipid waste nether caller deal

Donald Trump has said successful a post connected his Truth Social level that Venezuela will beryllium purchasing American-made products pinch nan money they person from nan caller woody arranged pinch his administration.

I person conscionable been informed that Venezuela is going to beryllium purchasing ONLY American Made Products, pinch nan money they person from our caller Oil Deal. These purchases will include, among different things, American Agricultural Products, and American Made Medicines, Medical Devices, and Equipment to amended Venezuela’s Electric Grid and Energy Facilities.

In different words, Venezuela is committing to doing business pinch nan United States of America arsenic their main partner — A wise choice, and a very bully point for nan group of Venezuela, and nan United States.

The time truthful far

• The US seized 2 sanctioned lipid tankers linked to Venezuela successful 2 abstracted missions successful nan North Atlantic and nan Caribbean.

• After a two-week pursuit, US forces boarded nan Russian-flagged Marinera - primitively known arsenic nan Bella 1 - complete alleged sanctions violations, successful a high-stakes cognition that could consequence confrontation pinch nan Kremlin aft Moscow reportedly dispatched a submarine to safeguard nan vessel.

• The UK confirmed it provided assistance for nan seizure of nan Marinera, pinch nan RAF providing other surveillance and navy refuelling while seizure nether way. The UK based on nan cognition was ineligible and justified because nan “stateless” alloy had breached US sanctions connected Iran. The UK’s support was “in afloat compliance pinch world law”, defence caput John Healey said.

• However, Russia said nan seizure had violated maritime law aft claiming it had fixed nan alloy support to alert nan Russian emblem a period ago.

• Meanwhile nan US Coast Guard said it had separately intercepted different dark-fleet tanker that is nether sanctions, nan M Sophia, successful a pre-dawn cognition successful nan Caribbean.

• The White House property caput Karoline Leavitt later confirmed that nan Marinera unit members were now taxable to prosecution and could beryllium transferred to nan US “if necessary”.

• The Russian overseas ministry demanded nan US guarantee nan humane and honorable curen of Russian citizens onboard nan Marinera and guarantee their swift return to Russia.

• Ukraine’s overseas curate said Kyiv welcomed nan seizure of nan tanker, adding it was a bully illustration of really to enactment against Moscow and said it showcased “President Trump’s resolute leadership”. “We invited specified an attack to dealing pinch Russia: act, not fear. This is besides applicable to nan bid process and bringing a lasting bid closer,” Andrii Sybiha wrote connected X.

• On Venezuela, nan White House besides claimed that lipid from nan state would get successful nan US “very soon”, pursuing Trump’s announcement of a woody pinch Caracas to get entree to up to $2bn worthy of Venezuelan crude.

• But Venezuela’s state-run lipid institution PDVSA said that it is progressing successful negotiations pinch nan US for lipid sales, arsenic a committee personnel for nan institution told Reuters nan US will request to bargain cargoes astatine world prices. “If they want to bargain it, they will person it successful owed time, sold astatine nan world price,” PDVSA committee personnel Wills Rangel told Reuters. “Not nan measurement [Trump] intends, arsenic if that lipid belongs to them because we supposedly beryllium them. We do not beryllium thing to nan United States.”

• US caput of authorities Marco Rubio told reporters that nan US “is not winging it” successful Venezuela and that nan Trump management has a semipermanent scheme for nan country. The three-step scheme for Venezuela that will statesman pinch stabilizing nan state aft US forces seized Nicolás Maduro connected Saturday, overseeing nan country’s betterment and yet a modulation to a much typical shape of government, Rubio told reporters.

• Rubio besides confirmed he would beryllium gathering pinch Denmark adjacent week to talk Greenland.

• Leavitt told reporters that nan Trump management was “actively discussing” nan acquisition of nan land and while diplomacy was nan first option, “all options are ever connected nan table”. In a connection earlier successful nan day, Leavitt had added that “utilizing nan US subject is ever an action astatine nan commander-in-chief’s disposal”. She besides said told reporters that nan US controlling Greenland would deter Russian and Chinese aggression successful nan Arctic.

'We do not beryllium US anything': Venezuelan lipid institution says negotiations ongoing

Venezuela’s state-run lipid institution PDVSA has said that it is progressing successful negotiations pinch nan US for lipid sales, arsenic a committee personnel for nan institution told Reuters the US will request to bargain cargoes astatine world prices.

On Tuesday, Washington announced a woody pinch Caracas to get entree to up to $2bn worthy of Venezuelan crude, a motion that Venezuelan authorities officials are responding to Donald Trump’s request that they unfastened up to US lipid companies aliases consequence much subject intervention.

Trump has said he wants interim Venezuelan president Delcy Rodríguez, installed this week aft nan US deposed Nicolás Maduro, to springiness nan US and backstage companies “total access” to her country’s lipid industry.

And earlier, White House property caput Karoline Leavitt told reporters Venezuelan lipid would beryllium arriving successful nan US “very soon”.

PDVSA said successful a little connection that nan parties person been talking astir akin position arsenic those successful spot pinch overseas partners specified arsenic Chevron, nan company’s main associated task partner, which presently controls each lipid exports to nan US.

The process ... is based connected strictly commercialized transactions nether position that are legal, transparent and beneficial for some parties.

PDVSA committee personnel Wills Rangel, who is besides a national leader, told Reuters nan US will request to bargain cargoes astatine world prices if nan state wants Venezuelan oil.

If they want to bargain it, they will person it successful owed time, sold astatine nan world price. Not nan measurement [Trump] intends, as if that lipid belongs to them because we supposedly beryllium them. We do not beryllium thing to nan United States.

Chevron, which has a typical US licence to export Venezuelan crude contempt sanctions, is nan only institution presently exporting crude from nan country, Rangel added, arsenic a US blockade connected Venezuela keeps exports bound to China, nan main destination of its oil, paralyzed.

US authorities person released 2 videos filmed by nan subject pursuing nan abstracted seizures of nan Sophia and Marinera lipid tankers connected Wednesday.

US homeland information caput Kristi Noem and US Southern Command posted nan clips connected X, which appear to show nan US subject intercepting a Venezuela-linked tanker successful nan Caribbean Sea. The footage was released connected nan aforesaid time US forces besides intercepted and seized nan Russian-flagged Marinera successful nan northbound Atlantic.

We person nan clips here:

Marinera was 'stateless vessel' pinch 'long history of nefarious activity', says UK defence secretary, arguing ngo was lawful

Britain’s Ministry of Defence said it had provided subject thief to nan US forces that seized a Russian-flagged lipid tanker north-west of Britain and Ireland, initially arguing nan cognition was ineligible because nan alloy had breached US sanctions connected Iran.

John Healey, nan defence secretary, said the UK had allowed US craft to usage bases to hole for and transportation retired nan mission, while nan RAF had provided other surveillance and nan navy refuelling while nan last seizure was nether way.

Healey said British engagement was justified nether world rule because nan Marinera, which was sailing from nan Caribbean Sea towards Russia, had antecedently been placed nether sanctions erstwhile it was known arsenic nan Bella 1.

“This ship, pinch a nefarious history, is portion of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion which is fuelling terrorism, conflict and misery from nan Middle East to Ukraine,” Healey said.

John Healey issuing a connection to MPs successful nan House of Commons connected 7 January. Photograph: Parliament TV/PA

Later, Healey expanded nan justification for nan seizure. The tanker, he told MPs successful nan evening, had changed its sanction “five times successful nan past 5 years” and had been falsely flying nan emblem of Guyana erstwhile it was called Bella 1 and arrived successful nan Caribbean.

A “stateless” vessel, nan defence caput said, “may beryllium lawfully intercepted and subjected to nan rule of nan interdicting state”. Stateless ships are mostly considered to beryllium without protection nether world law, though there is statement about nan grade to which they tin beryllium boarded aliases seized.

The Marinera was also, nan curate said, part “of an expanding web of protector shipping that fuels and costs instability” and that “Russia operates a immense protector fleet of its ain to bankroll its forbidden penetration of Ukraine”. Stopping specified ships from trading covertly was hurting Russia’s warfare effort, he added.

The UK had decided to assistance successful consequence to a petition from nan US for help, nan defence caput said. But British forces only played a supporting domiciled and nary British forces took portion successful nan boarding, Healey told MPs connected Wednesday evening.

Explainer: what are Trump’s existent options for gaining power of Greenland?

By Jon Henley and Miranda Bryant

The Trump administration has said many times that nan US needs to summation power of Greenland, a mineral-rich, mostly self-governing portion of Denmark pinch overseas and information argumentation tally from Copenhagen.

The White House has said utilizing nan US subject is “always an option”, but fewer analysts judge an equipped cognition is apt and France’s overseas curate has said nan US caput of state, Marco Rubio, has ruled retired nan anticipation of an invasion.

Here are 5 options Donald Trump has successful bid to return complete Greenland:

Explainer: why truthful overmuch liking successful a rusty tanker successful nan Atlantic?

by Tural Ahmedzade, Harvey Symons, Oliver Holmes and Dan Sabbagh

A massive, rusty crude lipid tanker floating northbound done nan Atlantic has go nan centre of world liking aft it was followed for days and yet seized by US forces while Russia’s subject rushed towards it.

Despite not carrying immoderate oil, nan 300-metre-long vessel is intelligibly of value. Theories for why scope from speculation that high-value Russian weapons are hidden successful nan hull, to nan ship’s imaginable to go a symbolic trophy successful a transatlantic powerfulness struggle betwixt Washington and Moscow.

Currently called nan Marinera, nan name-changing vessel is portion of nan protector aliases “ghost” fleets utilized by Russia, Iran and Venezuela to debar occidental sanctions. For years these vessels person moved cargo and inexpensive substance astir nan globe, including to China.

Washington and its European friends person agelong sought to ace down connected nan illicit maritime trade. Those efforts reached a captious constituent past period aft Donald Trump imposed a naval blockade connected sanctions-busting tankers operating adjacent Venezuela, location to nan world’s largest lipid reserves and a cardinal destination for protector fleet vessels.

Read nan afloat explainer astatine nan nexus below:

Rubio says US scheme for Venezuela is stability, recovery, past transition

Further to his insistence that the US is “not winging it” successful Venezuela, we person much specifications connected what caput of authorities Marco Rubio said earlier regarding nan US’s scheme for nan country.

Rubio said the United States has a three-step scheme for Venezuela that will statesman pinch stabilizing the country aft US forces seized Nicolás Maduro connected Saturday, overseeing nan country’s recovery and finally a modulation to a much typical shape of government, Reuters reports.

“We don’t want it descending into chaos,” said Rubio, aft briefing US senators connected nan Trump administration’s scheme for nan country. He added that he was moving pinch Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, and had spoken pinch her respective times since nan weekend’s ambush successful Caracas.

A tightened quarantine connected Venezuelan lipid would beryllium cardinal to that effort, he said:

We are successful nan midst correct now and successful truth about to execute connected a woody to return each nan oil. We are going to return betwixt 30 and 50 cardinal barrels of oil. We’re going to waste it successful nan marketplace astatine marketplace rates, not astatine nan discounts Venezuela was getting.

That money will past beryllium handled successful specified a measurement that we will power really it is disbursed successful a measurement that benefits nan Venezuelan people, not corruption, not nan regime.

Rubio went on:

The 2nd shape will beryllium a shape that we telephone recovery, and that is ensuring that American, occidental and different companies person entree to nan Venezuelan marketplace successful a measurement that’s fair.

Also, astatine nan aforesaid time, statesman to create nan process of reconciliation nationally wrong Venezuela, truthful that nan guidance forces tin beryllium amnestied and released and from prisons aliases brought backmost to nan country, and begin to rebuild civilian society.

And past nan 3rd phase, of course, will beryllium 1 of transition.

Ukraine welcomes US seizure of Russian-flagged tanker

Ukraine’s overseas curate has said that Kyiv welcomes nan US seizure of nan Marinera Russian-flagged tanker linked to Venezuela, adding that it showed Donald Trump’s “resolute leadership”.

“The apprehension of a Russian-flagged vessel successful nan North Atlantic underscores nan United States’ and President Trump’s resolute leadership,” Andrii Sybiha wrote connected X.

“We invited specified an attack to dealing pinch Russia: act, not fear. This is besides applicable to nan bid process and bringing a lasting bid closer.”