Vladimir Putin used a blend of charm, calculated stalling and pointed threats to show U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner exactly where Russia stands on peace with Ukraine. Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, and Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, enjoyed a stroll through Moscow and lunch at an upscale restaurant Tuesday while the Russian president made them wait several hours for a meeting at the Kremlin about ending the war in Ukraine. While the Americans killed time, Putin addressed the press at an investment forum where he blamed Europe for thwarting the peace process and hinted at future escalation. “We’re not planning to wage a war with Europe, but if Europe decides to start a war, we’re ready right now,” he said. Unsurprisingly for those who know the Russian president’s habit of keeping foreign dignitaries twiddling their thumbs, Tuesday’s talks began almost three hours later than the 5 p.m. start time initially indicated by Putin’s spokesperson. A video posted by the Kremlin showed Putin welcoming Witkoff and Kushner and asking whether they were enjoying Moscow, to which Witkoff replied: “It’s a magnificent city.”  Discussions in the Russian capital on the almost four-year war on Ukraine didn’t conclude until long after midnight local time.  In a post on X, Putin’s foreign policy adviser Kirill Dmitriev, who was present at the talks, called the meeting “productive.”  Donald Trump’s latest push to inject new momentum into a ceasefire effort, with a plan that heavily favored Moscow, has ramped up pressure on Kyiv and alarmed European officials. | Pete Marovich/Getty Images Putin aide Yuri Ushakov, who was also present, described the conversation as “useful, constructive, and highly substantive,” but added there was still a “lot of work” to be done.  “We’re not further from peace that’s for sure,” he said.   According to Ushakov, Putin flagged “the destructive actions of the European side” — an indication he may try to pin the blame for any failure to reach a peace deal on the EU, which was notably left out of the meeting. Trump’s latest push to inject new momentum into a ceasefire effort — with a plan that, in its original 28-point leaked version, heavily favored Moscow —has ramped up pressure on Kyiv and alarmed European officials.  Among other things, it asks Ukraine to give up territory in the country’s east not yet occupied by Russian forces and to formalize that it will not seek to join NATO.  Though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the talks as confronting Ukraine with possibly the “most difficult moment in history,” he has signaled he is open to dialogue. Less clear is what Trump is requiring from Russia, or what Moscow is willing to concede.  In the days preceding the Moscow talks, Putin showed no signs of straying from his demand of Ukraine’s effective capitulation, denouncing Zelenskyy as an illegitimate leader with whom he could not strike a deal.  Vladimir Putin spoke to the press at an annual investment forum, blaming Europe for stalled peace talks and hinting at escalation. | Pool Photo by Kristina Kormilitsyna via Getty Images In fact, neither earlier talks in Istanbul, an August summit in Alaska between Trump and Putin or five previous visits to Moscow by Witkoff have resulted in the Kremlin softening its stance or its bellicose rhetoric. In comments to POLITICO, State Duma politician Pyotr Tolstoy echoed that inflexible position, saying that “no decisions will be made that would undermine Russia’s security. This must be clearly understood.” So far, there is no sign that Tuesday’s talks will prompt any shift in Moscow’s position. “No doubt Putin believes he has laid everything out once again, and now it’s up to the others to decide among themselves whether they want to end the war,” says Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of political consultancy R.Politik. Putin is ready for peace, she says. “Just on his terms.”

On the edge of Burgenland, Austria, Werner Michlits Jr. is busy harvesting grapes. That’s a welcome distraction from the waiting game EU-U.S. trade negotiations have put him and other winemakers in, wondering if they’ll lose their most lucrative market. Winemakers in Europe and their import and distribution partners in the U.S. are facing twin crises: a 15 percent tariff on European wine entering the U.S. and a declining dollar. Many American importers stocked up on wine ahead of an Aug. 1 tariff deadline, leaving them cash-strapped for the next few months and placing winemakers in a holding pattern while trade negotiations continue. Michlits, who runs the Meinklang farm and winery with his wife and parents, exports more than a third of its wine to the U.S. Some importers have asked if he can lower prices to offset tariffs. “But it’s impossible. We are already at our maximum,” he said. “It’s a little bit sad, because we have so much invested in this relationship. In the end, it’s the consumers in America that have to pay, or they will drink other wines.”  European exporters have long benefited from tariff-free access to the American market on most alcohol and had hoped they would win an exemption in the trade deal struck this summer. A 15 percent rate isn’t as bad as it could have been. President Donald Trump at one point threatened 200 percent.  “From one day to the next, our exports stopped for an entire month,” said Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, secretary-general of European Committee of Wine Companies, or CEEV, which represents EU wine companies.   But it’s still significant. CEEV estimates that the wine industry could lose €800 million to €1 billion over the next year. It’s not only that Europeans will stop sending wines, but producers will also earn less on the wines they are sending.  Lamberto Frescobaldi, one of the largest wine producers in Italy, said the average price of Italian wine being sent to the U.S. has dropped 10 percent over the past three months.  “It kills me to think we would be less involved in the U.S. For many Italians, the U.S. has been the country of home, opportunity. It is a very, very difficult thing that we are not a good guest any longer there,” said the 30th-generation Florentine winemaker. ‘A FRAGILE AND SCARY TIME’  Across the ocean, it’s killing their counterparts, too.  “A wine that a restaurant bought in November of last year is going to be 35 percent more expensive this year,” said Ben Aneff, president of the U.S. Wine Trade Alliance, citing tariffs and the plunging dollar. “It’s hard to overstate the problem we expect that to start causing.”  European winemakers exported more than €4.88 billion worth of wine in 2024 to the U.S., their largest destination market. In parallel, for every dollar generated by wine exporters, American distribution and hospitality sectors earn $4.50, the European industry estimates. Importers and distributors have been hit hardest so far. Aneff said that European wines account for 75 percent of the industry’s profits. Most distributors have halted all hiring, and some have started layoffs. Harry Root, owner of Grassroots Wine in Charleston, South Carolina, focuses on small, family-owned wineries around the world, with about 60 percent of them in Europe. At this time last year his business was growing 13 percent year-on-year. This year, sales are flat. “And the only reason it’s flat is because we’ve had competitors going out of business. It’s a fragile and scary time,” Root said. His strategy for the rest of the year is to be more conservative with his European buying. But like most importers, he bought as much as possible before tariffs took effect.  BAD FOR EUROPE, BAD FOR THE U.S. This causes other issues though, particularly for American wineries.  “Subsequently, we have had to slow purchase from American producers because we have so much capital tied up in tariffs and EU wine,” said Root.  The way wine sales work in the U.S. goes back to the Prohibition era a century ago, when most states implemented what’s known as the three-tier system. Wineries sell to distributors, who sell to retailers and restaurateurs, who sell to consumers. Even if a retailer really wants a certain domestic wine, or has a good relationship with a winemaker, they cannot go out and purchase that wine on their own. “No other product in the country is sold this way,” said Aneff. “Distributors, who sometimes make up to 65 percent of revenue from imported wine, when they get a huge tariff bill, they buy less, including less American wine. Last time this happened, we had U.S. wineries who lost their distribution in states like New York because distributors had financial issues caused by tariffs.” That’s why American wine groups including Napa Valley Vintners, The Wine Institute, Wine America, and the National Association of Wine Retailers have sent a joint letter to Trump asking him to reconsider his European tariffs. They warned that the 15 percent tariff rate could reduce American alcohol sales by nearly $2 billion and put 25,000 U.S. jobs at risk.  “We import about $4.5 billion of European wine a year, resulting in $23 billion worth of sales in the U.S.,” said Aneff. “That surplus goes to the 6,000 importers and distributors who have employees, to independent retailers, to hundreds of thousands of restaurants and their employees. There is no other imported product that would have economics like that.” The wine world is in trouble not only because of tariffs. Climate change and extreme weather events and declining consumption are threatening the industry in both Europe and the U.S. But those are long-term problems, while this is immediate. WHAT CONSUMERS WANT The next few months will be telling as consumers grapple with higher prices. Wine is not fungible: the whole point of terroir is that wine is distinct, and of a place. A Pinot Noir from Burgundy is not the same as a Pinot Noir from Oregon. Both can be fantastic, but they’re different. “The flat reality is that when someone wants a burgundy from France, that’s what they want. If you go to the grocery store and want strawberries and they say ‘Here’s tomatoes,’ that’s not the same thing,” said Aneff. He’s had to raise prices on effectively everything at Tribeca Wine Merchants, his wine shop in New York City, to offset tariffs — even on U.S. wines.  But not everyone sees doomsday ahead. Peter Eizel, wine buyer at Martha’s Vineyard, a busy wine shop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said he thinks consumers are willing to pay a couple dollars more for European wines.  He stocked up earlier this year, but there are some bottles you can only buy in certain seasons, like Beaujolais Nouveau. He ordered his cases a few weeks ago and said wines that he would normally sell for $10 will go for $11.99. He expects them to still fly off the shelves.  “If I said to someone, ‘Well the price of X, Y, Z wine is gonna go up $2 or $5, but I have this other wine from this country over here and it’s quality-wise about the same, and I can get it to you $4 cheaper,’ my customers will say, ‘I don’t care that it’s cheaper, it tastes different,’” he said.  The organizers of Vinitaly, the world’s largest wine show, are betting he’s right. Vinitaly has run in Verona for 58 years, but this October will stage its fair in Chicago for the second time. Adolfo Rebughini, general manager of Veronafiere, which organizes Vinitaly, expects about 1,600 U.S. buyers in Chicago this year — a strong number despite the situation.  “We’re going full steam ahead with the U.S. because it is such a critical market for Italian wine producers,” Rebughini said.  Italian wine exports to the U.S. account for roughly €2 billion per year, according to Rebughini. Veronafiere estimates the Italian wine sector could lose €317 million per year, but if the dollar keeps weakening that could reach €450 million.  Certain wines are more at risk. Sixty percent of all Moscato d’Asti is exported to the U.S., 48 percent of all Pinot Grigio and 46 percent of all Chianti. Some European wineries are looking outside the U.S., particularly to Canada, Mexico and Brazil. They welcome the EU’s deal with the South American Mercosur bloc and are excited about a prospective free-trade accord with India, where wine is currently taxed at 150 percent nationally, plus state taxes. But any benefit from those deals could be years away.  “We try to compensate with other markets, but there is no way that any other trade alternative that the EU could have could compensate for the losses of the U.S.” said Recarte of CEEV. “We understand that the Commission has been supporting us strongly, asking wines and spirits to have a special status in the second package.” Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told European lawmakers last week that he was working to expand exemptions on the 15 percent U.S. tariffs to include wine and spirits, signaling that no progress has yet been made.  For now, winemakers are living in limbo.  “We all still hope this disappears as fast as it appeared,” said Michlits, pausing the harvest for a rain break. “We all want tariffs to go away.”

BELGRADE — Serbia has arrested 11 of its citizens on suspicion of high-profile hate crimes in Berlin and Paris — involving pigs’ heads and green paint — that were widely viewed as seeking to stir up tensions between religious groups in Western capitals over the war in Gaza. The Serbian interior ministry said the main organizer of the group with the initials M.G. was still on the run and had acted on the “instructions of a foreign intelligence service.” Since Stars of David were painted across Paris in 2023, French authorities have told the media that they have been seeking to stop Russian attempts to sow instability. The Serbian interior ministry gave no indication of which “foreign intelligence service” was involved in the more recent offences. The Serbian ministry said the 11 detainees were part of a group of 14 and that their activities between April and September 2025 had included “throwing green paint on the Holocaust [memorial in Paris], several synagogues and a Jewish restaurant.” The individuals also placed “pigs’ heads near Muslim religious buildings, all in the Paris area, as well as in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin,” the statement continued. The ministry added the group had “aimed to spread ideas that advocate and incite hatred, discrimination and violence” based on “differences in race, skin color, religious affiliation, nationality and ethnic origin.” The suspects are being held in Smederevo, a city close to the capital Belgrade, as they await questioning within the next 48 hours. The government, led by the Serbian Progressive Party, maintains a strong relationship with the Kremlin. It recently promoted a report by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) that claimed the EU is fomenting a “color revolution” in Serbia by supporting months-long anti-government protests. Serbia did not join the EU’s sanctions on Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and operates regular flights to St. Petersburg and Moscow.

CONSTRUCTION CHAOS AND DEEP DEBT PLUNGE EUROPEAN QUARTER REMAKE INTO CRISIS At its center is the Schuman roundabout revamp, now plagued by spiraling costs, bureaucratic spats and local frustration. By ELENA GIORDANO and SEB STARCEVIC in Brussels Photos by Arnau Busquets Guàrdia/POLITICO Exit the Berlaymont or Europa building and the dust stings your eyes, drilling pierces your ears and jackhammers rattle the glass facades as you weave through fenced-off detours, hemmed in by honking drivers trapped in perpetual traffic. Throughout the European Quarter of Brussels — where many of the European Union’s institutions are headquartered — the story is much the same, with tired office buildings torn down to make way for gleaming new developments, filling the streets with an incessant rumble of demolition and construction.   Even for a city used to reinventing itself, the European Quarter’s transformation is bold. But spiraling costs, bureaucratic spats and local frustration are beginning to overshadow what was meant to be a flagship renewal. At the center of it all is the Schuman roundabout, a traffic-choked junction now under full-scale redevelopment. By mid-2026, the concrete-heavy site is set to become a greened-up pedestrian promenade. Just down the road, a sprawling new European Commission conference center is rising at Rue de la Loi 93-97, replacing a long-abandoned office block and once-beloved mural. Another structure at Rue de l’Industrie 44 has been razed, although its future remains unclear. Around a dozen more sites around the quarter, from Rue de la Science to Avenue de Cortenbergh, are now in some state between demolition and reconstruction. Several streets, such as Rue Guimard, will be ripped up and have trees planted as part of an ambitious master plan to make the quarter greener. To that end, the Commission last year sold 23 of its office buildings to Belgium for €900 million to redevelop, in a bid to build a “modern, attractive and greener” district. Belgium bought 23 of the European Commission’s buildings, colored on the map above, to redevelop. | SFPI It’s a grand vision that taps into Brussels’ long history of chaotic redevelopment — captured in the deprecating term “Brusselization,” coined during the city’s notorious construction boom of the 1960s and 1970s. That era saw unchecked freedom to developers, razing much of the city’s Art Nouveau history and transforming the EU capital into a mishmash of architectural styles. But despite the buzz around the ambitious current makeover, not everyone is sold. With local businesses worried about the long-term impact on foot traffic, a paralyzed Brussels government, allegations of budgetary fraud and a city deep in debt, this redevelopment risks becoming the ultimate stress test for the capital of Belgium — and the EU.  LOCALS FEEL THE STRAIN Among business owners and employees around the Schuman roundabout POLITICO talked to, not everyone was convinced that the upheaval will be worth it. “It’s a mess,” said a staffer at Portuguese restaurant Puro, which borders the construction site, who like others in this story was granted anonymity to freely discuss the impact of the works. Lunchtime business has dropped, he said, though noted a slight uptick as work progresses. At nearby Papillon, a favorite spot for EU officials and diplomats, a manager called the noise “frustrating,” but said project managers had kept him informed. They’re still aiming to finish the work by April 2026, he added. A Commission employee, likewise granted anonymity, was more skeptical. “For a while, we have been receiving a lot of emails announcing the project,” she said. “I just hope there will actually be some green when the project is finished — so far it’s a lot of concrete.” Brussels has a reputation for never-ending, unsightly construction and bureaucratic paralysis — standing in stark contrast to cities in Asia or the Americas, where skyscrapers have been assembled and sinkholes filled in weeks or less. Making matters worse is the lack of coordination among various worksites in the EU capital. Brussels’ own Construction Coordination Commission is tasked with synchronizing infrastructure projects across a patchwork of institutions and municipalities. But in practice, that often falls short. “In Brussels, there’s a coordination problem,” admitted David Dubois, Cabinet chief of the Etterbeek municipality, which borders the Schuman site. “It’s not easy. It requires a lot of consultations, and there are many factors to take into consideration when working with different municipalities,” he added. CASH CRUNCH AND POLITICAL DISPUTES In early June, Brussels’ caretaker government asked EU institutions to contribute €3 million toward the Schuman redevelopment, warning that failing to do so before the end of the month could lead to “even further additional cost.” Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho confirmed the EU executive had received the request. “We will respond to the letter in due time,” she said, without giving away any details on if — or how much — the Commission would contribute. At the end of August, a spokesperson for the infrastructure agency Beliris told POLITICO they were not aware of any response from the Commission to the letter. The European Commission’s conference center is being built on Rue de la Loi. | Arnau Busquets Guàrdia/POLITICO Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever, however, slammed the region’s plea as a “true disgrace” and a “total humiliation,” urging EU institutions not to enable what he called the “failed state” politics of the capital. Dubois wasn’t surprised by the financial ask. “We know the reality that is going on with every construction site: With inflation and rising material costs, it’s difficult to finish the works and keep costs at the same level as they were defined a few weeks prior,” he said. “But this project — it’s symbolic, and we need to finish it. It’s important to create as quickly as possible an environment that is comfortable for citizens, so we have to move forward,” he added. Adding another twist, in late August Beliris announced that the revamp of the Schuman roundabout will be completed without its showpiece steel canopy — unless Brussels finds more money by mid-September. PARALYSIS AND DEBT The political situation isn’t helping. Brussels has been without a functioning regional government for more than 13 months, with coalition negotiations stalled since the June 2024 elections. Talks resumed in mid-July, with six parties sitting down for formal coalition talks — but hopes for a new government unraveled within a day. “Everyone knows the situation is difficult, financially and politically,” said Dubois. “We’ve had no government, no direction, since the last election,” he added. Meanwhile, the capital’s debt exceeds €14 billion, with another €1.6 billion expected to be added this year. A recent investigation by The Brussels Times reported that €250 million in EU infrastructure loans may have been diverted to cover general expenses instead of transportation projects, potentially violating EU rules. Following the investigation, the Flemish nationalist New Flemish Alliance party, led by De Wever, called for a parliamentary inquiry into possible budgetary fraud. For now, hard-hatted construction crews are plowing ahead, chiseling sidewalks, pouring fresh cement and weaving scaffolding ever higher, with pedestrians forced to pick their way through fenced-off detours. The Schuman roundabout is supposed to be completed by April of next year — but don’t expect the noise and detours to end for the European Quarter as Brusselization marches on.

WARSAW — Donald Tusk’s coalition is scrambling after an ill-judged transparency drive revealed that some of Poland’s long-awaited EU Covid recovery cash went to eyebrow-raising projects, including a swingers’ club, a pizzeria with a solarium and a chain of vodka bars. The uproar, which erupted after the government published interactive online maps of grant recipients in a bid to showcase openness, has handed the far-right Law and Justice (PiS) party an irresistible target. Clicking through the data revealed that the 1.2 billion złoty (€282.3 million) program meant to revive hotels, restaurants and cultural venues battered by the pandemic had also bankrolled yachts, a pizzeria that added tanning beds, and, in one widely shared case, a business in southern Poland registered at the same address as a sex club. PiS, clawing at every opportunity to regain momentum since losing power in 2023, has wasted no time in framing the row as proof of Tusk-era cronyism and waste. “One of the biggest scandals since 1989,” thundered PiS MEP Tobiasz Bocheński, staging a stunt on Saturday outside the prime minister’s office with a mock plaque for the fictional “Ministry of Herring and Vodka” — a nod to one grant recipient. The party has promised parliamentary inspections and prosecutor referrals to trace every “link, dependency and decision-making chain.” FROM FLAGSHIP TO FLAK MAGNET The 1.2 billion złoty HoReCa scheme is part of the 254 billion złoty (€59.8 billion) Poland is due from the EU’s National Recovery Plan. Brussels had frozen the funds during PiS rule due to rule-of-law concerns, and unlocking them was a central promise of Tusk’s 2023 election campaign. The HoReCa cash was designed to help small and medium-sized tourism and hospitality businesses diversify so they could survive another crisis. Instead, the map swiftly transformed the program from a showcase into a political headache. One restaurant owner in Łódź, whose grant was flagged online for financing two yachts, defended the purchase as a legitimate way to diversify his business in case of future lockdowns. Clicking through the data revealed that the 1.2 billion złoty program meant to revive hotels, restaurants and cultural venues battered by the pandemic. | Pawel Supernak/EPA “We didn’t get this money for vacations,” Grzegorz Urbaniak told the portal Money.pl, arguing that boats could be rented to tourists when restaurants were closed.  The owner of the business registered at the same address as a swingers’ club said his grant had paid for metalworking machinery, not adult entertainment. Officials stress that many of the eyebrow-raising purchases met program rules negotiated by the PiS government in 2021, which allowed spending on “diversification” projects such as tourist rentals or eco-friendly attractions. Tusk has promised “zero tolerance” for abuse of EU funds.  “We put too much effort into unlocking these billions to allow anyone to waste them,” Tusk said on X on Saturday, vowing that “anyone who made mistakes will face consequences, regardless of their position or party affiliation.” Prosecutors have opened preliminary inquiries, and the funds ministry says an audit will deliver initial results by late September. COALITION STRAIN For Tusk, the row piles fresh pressure onto an already crowded agenda. The ministry overseeing the funds is run by Polska 2050, a coalition partner led by parliament speaker Szymon Hołownia. His 31-seat party is crucial to Tusk’s majority but has had its own PR headaches, including a summer scandal over a late-night meeting with PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński. For PiS, the flap has become a way to question Tusk’s ability to manage his coalition and to highlight tensions between the prime minister and Hołownia. The controversy has drawn attention to the role of Polska 2050 in overseeing the program and given PiS an opportunity to criticize both leaders at once. The spending row comes only weeks after Tusk reshuffled his Cabinet in a bid to regain momentum following a presidential election loss, a shake-up that underscored both the fragility of his coalition and the difficulty of keeping it aligned. The presidential election saw nationalist Karol Nawrocki defeat Tusk’s preferred candidate, Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, a result that dealt a major blow to the government’s reform agenda and is expected to make passing legislation far more difficult.

Justin Trudeau was seen at a Katy Perry concert in Montreal, days after the pair were spotted having dinner together. The former Canadian prime minister was photographed at the show Wednesday night, sending gossip websites into a frenzy. On Monday, entertainment website TMZ published a photo of Trudeau and Perry having dinner at a high-end restaurant in Montreal, after taking her dog for a walk in a park. Earlier this month, it was reported that Perry had split from actor Orlando Bloom after a seven-year relationship. Trudeau and his wife Sophie split in 2023 after 18 years of marriage. Trudeau was Canadian prime minister from 2015 until March of this year after announcing plans to resign in January. In December 2024, his close ally, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, quit amid tensions over how to respond to Donald Trump’s threat to slap a 25 percent levy on Canadian goods and services. In April, Perry became the first pop star in space on board Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket.