Donald Trump has finally addressed the possibility of a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, hours after reports of a summit started to circulate
Donald Trump has finally spoken out about the buzz surrounding a potential summit with Vladimir Putin, mere hours after speculation about such a meeting began to make headlines.
During a press conference at the White House on Wednesday evening, Trump indicated that there is a “very good prospect” for what could be a momentous one-on-one with Putin.
While the press conference in the Oval Office was primarily about Apple’s multi-billion-dollar investment in the US, the topic shifted when Trump was probed by journalists regarding the rumours of a summit with Putin.
He responded: “There is a very good prospect that we will [meet].”
This development unfolds as Trump dealt Russia two significant setbacks within hours earlier today, despite suggestions that he might be willing to engage with Putin as early as next week.
The White House reaffirmed on Wednesday its commitment to imposing secondary sanctions on Moscow, with this Friday, August 8, marking the deadline set by Trump for Putin to cease hostilities in Ukraine.
Washington had already issued a stark warning that it would severely impact the Russian economy if Moscow did not actively seek peace in Ukraine.
Today, the White House doubled down on its commitment to implement regulations that will bar third parties from engaging in trade with entities under Russian sanctions—a policy set to take effect in a mere 48 hours, reports the Express.
This firm stance was maintained despite President Trump’s remarks that his special envoy Steve Witkoff’s recent dialogue with Putin “went well”.
Taking to Truth Social this afternoon, President Trump posted: “My Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Great progress was made! Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this war must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”.
Earlier in the day, President Trump had branded Russia as an “extraordinary threat” to US national security and foreign policy. He announced this as he enacted an executive order to slap an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports of Russian oil.
President Trump clarified his position, stating: “I determine that it is necessary and appropriate to impose an additional ad valorem duty on imports of articles of India, which is directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil.”
The US administration is aiming to cut off a significant source of revenue for the Kremlin by targeting Russian oil sales, thereby crippling their ability to fund the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.