US President Donald Trump may meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as next week, a White House official stated on Wednesday. This potential meeting comes as the US plans to enforce secondary sanctions on Friday, aiming to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. If the meeting takes place, it would be the first between a sitting US and Russian president since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021.
According to a report by The New York Times, Trump informed European leaders during a Wednesday call that he intends to meet with Putin, followed by a trilateral meeting involving both the Russian leader and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the report, saying, “The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky.”
This development follows a meeting on Wednesday between Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff, which Trump hailed as having achieved “great progress.” The meeting occurred just two days before a deadline set by Trump for Russia to agree to peace or face new sanctions. Trump has been increasingly vocal about his frustration with the lack of progress toward peace and has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries, including India, that continue to purchase Russian oil.
The White House official noted that despite the positive tone of the meeting and Moscow’s desire to continue engaging, the secondary sanctions threatened against countries doing business with Russia are still expected to be implemented on Friday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio later told Fox Business that more work remains to be done to reach an agreement. A Kremlin aide also described the three-hour talks with Witkoff as “useful and constructive,” noting that “signals” on the Ukraine issue were exchanged.
In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Zelensky expressed optimism, believing that the pressure on Russia is working and that Moscow is now more inclined toward a ceasefire. On the social media platform X, Zelensky said he had discussed Witkoff’s visit with Trump and reiterated Ukraine’s commitment to a just peace and self-defense.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump had taken a step toward punitive measures by imposing an additional 25% tariff on imports from India, citing its continued purchases of Russian oil. This raises tariffs on some Indian goods to as high as 50%. Notably, no similar order was signed for China, another major buyer of Russian oil. The Kremlin has labeled the threats to penalize trading partners as illegal.
According to Russian sources close to the Kremlin, Putin is skeptical that the new wave of US sanctions will have a significant impact and is unlikely to bow to Trump’s ultimatum, as he believes Russia is winning the war.
