US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his special envoy Steve Witkoff had made “great progress” in his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Washington continued its preparations to impose secondary sanctions on Friday.
The meeting came two days before a deadline set by Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Trump has been increasingly frustrated with Putin over the lack of progress towards peace and has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries that buy Russian exports.
A White House official said that while the meeting had gone well and Moscow was eager to continue engaging with the US, secondary sanctions that Trump has threatened against countries doing business with Russia were still expected to be implemented on Friday. No details were provided.
“My special envoy, Steve Witkoff, just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Great progress was made!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“Everyone agrees this war must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come,” he added.
A Kremlin aide earlier on Wednesday said Witkoff held “useful and constructive” talks with Putin on Wednesday. The two met for about three hours on a last-minute mission to seek a breakthrough in the three-and-a-half-year war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the two sides had exchanged “signals” on the Ukraine issue and discussed the possibility of developing strategic co-operation between Moscow and Washington, but declined to give more details until Witkoff had reported back to Trump.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed pressure had worked on Russia and Moscow was now more amenable to a ceasefire.
“It seems that Russia is now more inclined to a ceasefire. The pressure on them works. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details — neither us nor the US,” Zelensky said in his nightly address.
Writing separately on the X social media platform, Zelensky said he had discussed Witkoff's visit to Russia with Trump, adding that he had reiterated Ukraine's support for a just peace and its continued determination to defend itself.
“Ukraine will definitely defend its independence. We all need a lasting and reliable peace. Russia must end the war that it itself started,” Zelensky said, adding that European leaders had joined the call with Trump.
Trump on Truth Social said he had updated some of Washington's European allies after Witkoff's meeting.
PRESSURE ON INDIA
Trump took a key step towards punitive measures on Wednesday when he imposed an additional 25% tariff on imports from India, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil. No similar order was signed for China, which also imports Russian oil.
The new measure raises tariffs on some Indian goods to as high as 50% — among the steepest faced by any US trading partner.
The Kremlin says threats to penalise countries that trade with Russia are illegal.
It was not clear what Russia might have offered to Witkoff to stave off Trump's threat.
Ushakov, who was present, told Russian news outlet Zvezda: “We had a very useful and constructive conversation.”
He added: “On our part, in particular on the Ukrainian issue, some signals were transmitted. Corresponding signals were also received from President Trump.”
Bloomberg and independent Russian news outlet The Bell reported that the Kremlin might propose a moratorium on air strikes by Russia and Ukraine — an idea mentioned last week by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting with Putin.
Such a move, if agreed, would fall well short of the full and immediate ceasefire that Ukraine and the US have been seeking for months. But it would offer some relief to both sides.
AIR ATTACKS
Since the two sides resumed direct peace talks in May, Russia has carried out its heaviest air attacks of the war, killing at least 72 people in the capital Kyiv alone. Trump last week called the Russian attacks “disgusting”.
Ukraine continues to strike Russian refineries and oil depots, which it has hit many times.
Zelensky said on Wednesday that Russia had attacked a gas pumping station in southern Ukraine in what he called a deliberate and cynical blow to preparations for the winter heating season. Russia said it had hit gas infrastructure supplying the Ukrainian military.
Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Zelensky, said on Wednesday that a full ceasefire and a leaders' summit were required.
“The war must stop and for now this is on Russia,” he posted on Telegram.
Putin is unlikely to bow to Trump's sanctions ultimatum because he believes he is winning the war and his military goals take precedence over his desire to improve relations with the US, three sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters.
The Russian sources told Reuters that Putin was sceptical that yet more US sanctions would have much of an impact after successive waves of economic penalties.
Reuters
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