President Trump stated Wednesday there is a “good probability” he’ll meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy quickly — as Mr. Trump presses Russia to finish its three-year invasion of Ukraine.
White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated Wednesday that Russia recommended a gathering between the U.S. president and Putin, and Mr. Trump is “open” to the concept of a gathering with each Russia and Ukraine’s leaders.
Requested hours later whether or not Putin and Zelenskyy had agreed to a summit, Mr. Trump instructed reporters, “there’s an excellent prospect that they’ll.” He stated it is not clear the place the assembly would happen. Russia and Ukraine haven’t commented publicly on the potential for a gathering.
Mr. Trump’s feedback got here simply days earlier than his Friday deadline for Russia to both strike a ceasefire cope with Ukraine or face sanctions. Putin met with Mr. Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow earlier Wednesday. The U.S. president referred to as the hourslong assembly “extremely productive” and wrote that “nice progress was made” in a Reality Social publish — a change of tone after Mr. Trump expressed frustration with Russia for a lot of final month.
Mr. Trump additionally held a name Wednesday with European leaders and NATO Secretary-Normal Mark Rutte.
A senior Trump administration official instructed CBS Information earlier Wednesday the assembly between Witkoff and Putin “went effectively.”
“The Russians are desirous to proceed partaking with the USA,” the official stated.
Requested concerning the Witkoff-Putin assembly, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated: “We’ll have another discussions all through the day, after which hopefully there will be some bulletins right here pretty quickly. Possibly optimistic, perhaps not. We’ll see.”
Mr. Trump has pressed each Russia and Ukraine to achieve a ceasefire, however he has oscillated between blaming Putin and Zelenskyy for an absence of progress. In current weeks, Mr. Trump has grown irritated with Putin over Russia’s continued assaults on Ukrainian cities.
Final week, Mr. Trump demanded that Putin strike a ceasefire cope with Ukraine inside 10 days, or Russia may face repercussions, together with sanctions on Russia and international locations that do enterprise with it. That deadline runs out on Friday.
“The secondary sanctions are nonetheless anticipated to be applied on Friday,” the senior Trump administration official instructed CBS Information following the Putin-Witkoff assembly.
Mr. Trump has already begun focusing on some Russian buying and selling companions, slapping a further 25% tariff on Indian items Wednesday as a result of the South Asian nation continues to purchase oil from Russia. That brings the whole tax on Indian imports to 50%.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev — the deputy chair of Russia’s safety council — responded to Mr. Trump’s sanction threats final week by warning: “Every new ultimatum is a menace and a step in direction of warfare.”
Mr. Trump referred to as Medvedev’s assertion “extremely provocative” and stated he was ordering two submarines to be “positioned within the applicable areas” in response.
At different factors, Mr. Trump has lashed out at Zelenskyy and accused him of prolonging Russia’s invasion, which started in February 2022. He publicly argued with the Ukrainian chief in an Oval Workplace assembly, and in not less than two instances, his administration has quickly paused essential U.S. army help to Ukraine earlier than restoring the shipments.
