Trump says he is likely to meet Putin ‘very soon’
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US President Donald Trump has given Russia until Aug 8 to make progress towards peace or face new penalties.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
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- The White House announced Donald Trump is open to meeting Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, potentially next week.
- This follows a discussion with Nato leaders and a meeting between a US envoy and Putin, described as "highly productive".
- Trump gave Russia until August 8 to make progress toward peace or face new penalties, despite openness to meetings.
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WASHINGTON - Mr Donald Trump said on Aug 6 he could meet Mr Vladimir Putin “very soon”, following what the US President described as highly productive talks in Moscow between his special envoy and the Russian leader.
The potential summit was discussed in a call between Mr Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky that, according to a senior source in Kyiv, included Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte and the leaders of Britain, Germany and Finland.
“There’s a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House, when asked when he would meet the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.
He gave no indication where the meeting might take place. It would be the first US-Russia leadership summit since former president Joe Biden met with his counterpart in Geneva in June 2021.
The New York Times and CNN, citing people familar with the plan, said Mr Trump plans to sit down with Mr Putin as early as next week, and then wants a three-way meeting with the Russian leader and Mr Zelensky.
“It seems that Russia is now more inclined to agree to a ceasefire; the pressure on them is working. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us or the United States in the details,” Mr Zelensky said on the evening of Aug 6.
Mr Trump’s phone call with Mr Zelensky came after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian leadership in Moscow
“Great progress was made!” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that afterwards he had briefed some European allies.
“Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come,” he said.
Minutes later, however, a senior US official said that “secondary sanctions” were still expected to be implemented in two days’ time.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Mr Witkoff was returning with a ceasefire proposal from Moscow that would have to be discussed with Ukraine and Washington’s European allies.
He also cast caution on the timeline for a Trump-Putin meeting, saying there was “a lot of work ahead,” adding it could be “weeks maybe”.
Long process
Mr Trump, who had boasted he could end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office, has given Russia until Aug 8 to make progress towards peace or face new penalties.
Three rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul have failed to make headway on a ceasefire, with the two sides far apart in their demands.
Russia has escalated drone and missile attacks against its pro-Western neighbour to a record high and accelerated its advance on the ground.
“A quite useful and constructive conversation took place,” Mr Putin’s aide, Mr Yuri Ushakov, told journalists, including AFP, after the three-hour meeting with Mr Witkoff.
The two men exchanged “signals” on their positions, Mr Ushakov said, without elaborating.
Mr Zelensky confirmed his call with Mr Trump and confirmed European leaders had taken part, although he didn’t name them.
Sanctions threat
Mr Trump has voiced increasing frustration with Mr Putin in recent weeks over Russia’s unrelenting offensive.
The White House has not officially outlined what action it would take against Russia, but Mr Trump has previously threatened to impose “secondary tariffs” targeting Russia’s key trade partners, such as China and India.
On Aug 6, Mr Trump ordered steeper tariffs on Indian goods
Without explicitly naming Mr Trump, the Kremlin on Aug 5 slammed “threats” to hike tariffs on Russia’s trading partners as “illegitimate.”
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine since February 2022 has killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed swathes of the country and forced millions to flee their homes.
Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede more territory and renounce Western support if it wants the fighting to stop.
Kyiv is calling for an immediate ceasefire, and Mr Zelensky last week urged his allies to push for “regime change” in Moscow.
Nuclear rhetoric
The Witkoff visit came as Moscow-Washington tensions are running high.
Mr Trump said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be moved
Moscow then said that it was ending a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear-capable intermediate-range missiles, suggesting that it could deploy such weapons in response to what it alleged were similar US deployments within striking distance of Russia. AFP
