ISTANBUL

Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Wednesday, including the White House saying that US is weighing options to acquire Greenland; Ukraine, UK and France signing declaration on multinational force deployment; and US President Donald Trump saying that interim authorities in Venezuela had agreed to transfer between 30 and 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the US.

TOP STORIES

• US weighing options, including military, to acquire Greenland: White House

The administration of US President Donald Trump is discussing a "range of options" for acquiring Greenland, including utilizing the US military, the White House said.

"President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in response to Anadolu's inquiry.

"The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal," Leavitt added.

The statement came following Trump's repeated proposals to acquire the island for strategic purposes.

• Ukraine, UK, France sign declaration on multinational force deployment

The leaders of Ukraine, France, and the UK signed a declaration of intent in Paris regarding the deployment of multinational forces to support Kyiv’s defense, reconstruction, and strategic stability.

The declaration was signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer following the conclusion of the "Coalition of the Willing" summit in the French capital, a statement announced.

The gathering, described by Zelenskyy as the "most representative meeting" of the coalition, aimed to solidify support for Ukraine's defense capabilities and political steps toward peace.

The summit involved 35 countries led by the UK and France that are willing to deploy troops in the event of a ceasefire with Russia. A US delegation, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, also attended the summit.

• Trump says Venezuela to transfer up to 30-50M barrels of oil to US

US President Donald Trump said that interim authorities in Venezuela had agreed to transfer between 30 and 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the US to be sold at market price.

"I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America," Trump said in a statement via his social media company Truth Social.

"This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!" he added.

The president added that Energy Secretary Chris Wright had been asked to execute the plan "immediately," with the oil to be transported on storage ships directly to US unloading docks.​​​​​​​

​​​NEWS IN BRIEF

• Venezuela’s Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez was formally sworn in as interim president, following the capture of President Maduro in a US operation over the weekend.
  
• Seven US service members were injured during the US' weekend operation in Venezuela to capture President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, according to media reports.
  
• Washington and its European allies have agreed to establish a ceasefire monitoring mechanism for Ukraine under US leadership, as part of a broader framework of security guarantees aimed at ensuring a lasting peace, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
  
• The SDF terrorist group renewed shelling of residential neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo in northern Syria on Tuesday evening, hours after earlier attacks that killed four people and injured several others, local media reported.
  
• European leaders attending the "Coalition of the Willing" meeting in Paris pledged "legally and politically binding" guarantees for Ukraine, EU Council President Antonio Costa said.
  
• Syria and Israel agreed to set up a "joint fusion mechanism" following a meeting in Paris under the auspices of the US, according to a joint statement.
  
• US special envoy Steve Witkoff said Tuesday that a delegation meeting in the French capital with European leaders and Ukrainian officials produced “significant progress” on key elements of a proposed peace plan for Ukraine.
  
• Somalia condemned Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar’s “unauthorized incursion” into Somaliland, calling on Tel Aviv to “immediately cease” all actions undermining Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
  
• Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office has taken over the investigation following the attack on Berlin's power grid, the weekly Der Spiegel news magazine cited security circles as saying.
  
• A police officer was killed in clashes with armed protesters in western Iran, local media reported.
  
• UK Technology Secretary Liz Kendall urged Elon Musk’s X platform to urgently address the use of its artificial intelligence chatbot Grok to create non-consensual sexualized deepfake images of women and girls.
  
• Egypt warned against remaining silent over Israel’s recognition of the breakaway Somaliland region, calling the move “a serious threat” to regional and international peace and security.
  
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized that Arctic security remains a key priority for Europe, underlining that Greenland, as part of Denmark, is a NATO member.
  
• A Taiwanese F-16 fighter jet crashed off the island's eastern coast Tuesday evening, prompting a search and rescue operation for the pilot, according to the Central News Agency.
  
• The EU called on Israel to allow international NGOs to deliver life-saving aid to civilians in Palestine, and warned that aid cannot reach the needed scale in Gaza without them.
  
• Swiss resort bar, where 40 people were killed in a deadly New Year's fire, had not undergone an annual inspection for the last five years despite regulations, local authorities said Tuesday.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Chevron charters 11 ships to Venezuela as embargo continues

Chevron has chartered a fleet of at least 11 tankers scheduled to arrive in Venezuela in January, as an American embargo continues on that nation's oil following a recent US military operation, according to a Bloomberg report Tuesday.

The ships are headed to the Venezuelan government-controlled ports of Jose and Bajo Grande to load crude oil destined exclusively for refineries in the US, it said.

• Nvidia to expand partnership with Siemens to develop industrial AI systems

US chipmaker Nvidia and Germany-based Siemens announced Tuesday they are expanding their strategic partnership to develop industrial artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, aiming to accelerate the integration of AI into the real world.

"Together, the companies aim to develop industrial and physical AI solutions that will bring AI-driven innovation to every industry and industrial workflow, as well as accelerate each others’ operations," Nvidia said in a statement.