US envoy Witkov meets Putin before sanctions deadline
US envoy Steve Witkov met with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the sanctions set by President Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in person next week, days after Putin’s Trump-imposed deadline to end the war in Ukraine, according to reports.
Trump met with Putin, and later the New York Times reported first, adding that the plan was disclosed on July 6th in a call with European leaders.
The White House did not confirm the meeting, but showed that the “Russians” were seeking the meeting.
“As President Trump said today in the true social terms, great progress has been made in the special envoy group convention with Putin,” White House spokesman Caroline Leavitt said in a statement. “The Russians have expressed their desire to meet President Trump, and the president is open to meeting both Putin and Zelensky. President Trump hopes that this brutal war will be over.”
The Washington Post later reported that a meeting between Trump and Putin would take place.
At a press conference with Apple CEO Tim Cook on July 6, Trump was asked if a summit between Zelensky and Putin is expected to occur — a meeting that Trump said would promote earlier.
“There’s a good chance that a meeting will be held soon,” Trump said, adding a word of caution.
“I was disappointed before,” he said.
On July 28, Trump announced that he would either give Russia 10-12 days to end the three-year war in Ukraine, or face “severe tariffs.” That deadline will fall on August 8th.
Trump has threatened to impose “secondary tariffs” of up to 100% on countries that trade with Russia, particularly those in the energy sector. The president signed an executive order that imposes an additional 25% tariff on imports from India in retaliation for Indian oil imports, doubled India’s US tariff rate to 50%. It will be set to take effect on August 7th.
Trump’s August 6th move marks the first time when the president deploys so-called “secondary tariffs” on his Russian trading partners.
Trump became increasingly panicked by the Russian leaders when Putin said he was “absolutely crazy” and Putin “absolutely crazy” after Russia chatted with Putin for two hours to launch a barrage of 367 drones and missiles in a Ukrainian city a week later, seeking the end of the war.
White House envoy Steve Witkov met with Putin in Moscow on August 6 in the Trump administration’s efforts to persuade Russian leaders to end the fight in Ukraine ahead of the deadline.
Contributor: Joey Garrison, USA Today; Reuters
