Zelensky and Trump speak by phone after US special envoy holds talks with Putin in Russia
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he is hopeful of making announcements later on Wednesday on whether potential sanctions against Russia would still proceed this week.
Rubio said he has spoken to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is on his way back from a trip to Russia, and would have more discussions throughout the day.
"We'll have more to say about that later on today," Rubio said when asked if sanctions on Russia would go into effect later this week, adding that there would hopefully be some announcements soon.
"Maybe positive, maybe not."
Russia earlier said Witkoff held "useful and constructive" talks with President Vladimir Putin, two days before the expiry of a deadline set by President Donald Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
an hour ago
- The Journal
Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in the next few days
THE KREMLIN HAS said that a summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was set for the 'coming days', with the two sides already having agreed the venue 'in principle.' The summit would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021, and comes as Trump seeks to broker an end to Russia's military assault on Ukraine. Three rounds of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to yield any progress towards a ceasefire, with the two sides appearing far apart in their demands to end the more than three-year-long conflict. Trump said yesterday he was likely to meet Putin face-to-face 'very soon.' 'At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement has been reached in principle to hold a bilateral summit in the coming days,' Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying on today by Russian state news agencies. 'We are now starting to work out the details together with our American colleagues,' Ushakov said. Advertisement The Kremlin said a venue had been agreed 'in principle', but did not indicate where the summit could take place. 'Next week has been set as a target date,' Ushakov added. Zelensky calls for meeting Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia launched its military offensive on Ukraine in February 2022. Russian bombardments have forced millions for flee their homes and destroyed swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine. Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire. Moscow has also repeatedly sought to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and ruled out a meeting between the two leaders until after the terms of a peace deal have been agreed. The announcement of the upcoming summit comes a day after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow. Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy, but Russia did not respond to that proposal, Ushakov said. Related Reads 'Good chance' of Trump and Putin meeting in coming days for Ukraine talks 'The Russian side left this option completely without comment,' he added. Earlier today, Zelenskyy had refreshed his call for a meeting with Putin – which he says is the only way to make progress towards peace. 'We in Ukraine have repeatedly said that finding real solutions can be truly effective at the level of leaders,' Zelenskyy wrote on social media. 'It is necessary to determine the timing for such a format and the range of issues to be addressed,' he added. The Ukrainian leader said this morning that he had planned to hold 'several' conversations throughout the course of the day including with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as French and Italian officials. 'The main thing is for Russia, which started this war, to take real steps to end its aggression,' Zelenskyy added. - © AFP 2025
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Trump's higher tariffs hit major US trading partners, sparking defiance and concern
US trade partners such as Switzerland, Brazil and India were still scrambling to get a better deal as President Donald Trump's higher tariff rates on imports from dozens of countries kicked in, raising the average US import duty to its highest in a century. The US Customs and Border Protection agency began collecting the higher tariffs of 10% to 50% at 12.01am EDT (05.01 Irish time) after weeks of suspense over Mr Trump's final tariff rates and frantic negotiations with major trading partners that sought to lower them. The leaders of Brazil and India vowed not to be cowed by Mr Trump's hardline bargaining position, even while their negotiators sought a reprieve from the highest tariff levels. The new rates will test Mr Trump's strategy for shrinking US trade deficits without causing massive disruptions to global supply chains or provoking higher inflation and stiff retaliation from trading partners. After unveiling his "Liberation Day" tariffs in April, Mr Trump has frequently modified his plan, slapping much higher rates on imports from some countries, including 50% for goods from Brazil, 39% from Switzerland, 35% from Canada and 25% from India. He announced yesterday a separate, 25% tariff on Indian goods to be imposed in 21 days over India's purchases of Russian oil. "RECIPROCAL TARIFFS TAKE EFFECT AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!," Mr Trump said on Truth Social just ahead of the deadline. "BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, LARGELY FROM COUNTRIES THAT HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE UNITED STATES FOR MANY YEARS, LAUGHING ALL THE WAY, WILL START FLOWING INTO THE USA. THE ONLY THING THAT CAN STOP AMERICA'S GREATNESS WOULD BE A RADICAL LEFT COURT THAT WANTS TO SEE OUR COUNTRY FAIL!" Tariffs are ultimately paid by companies importing the goods and consumers of end products. Eight major trading partners accounting for about 40% of US trade flows have reached framework deals for trade and investment concessions to Mr Trump, including the European Union, Japan and South Korea, reducing their base tariff rates to 15%. Britain won a 10% rate, while Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines secured rate reductions to 19% or 20%. "For those countries, it's less-bad news," said William Reinsch, a senior fellow and trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "There'll be some supply chain rearrangement. There'll be a new equilibrium. Prices here will go up, but it'll take a while for that to show up in a major way," Mr Reinsch said. Countries with punishingly high duties, such as India and Canada, "will continue to scramble around trying to fix this," he added. Switzerland's government will hold an emergency meeting today to decide its next move after President Karin Keller-Sutter returned home empty-handed from an 11th-hour trip to Washington aimed at averting the crippling US import tariff on Swiss goods. A last-minute attempt by South Africa to improve its offer in exchange for a lower tariff rate also failed. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held a telephone call with Mr Trump yesterday, and the two countries' trade negotiating teams will have more talks, Mr Ramaphosa's office said. Meanwhile, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said yesterday he would not humiliate himself by seeking a phone call with Mr Trump, even as he said his government would continue cabinet-level talks to lower a 50% tariff rate on Brazilian exports to the US. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was similarly defiant, saying he would not compromise the interests of the country's farmers after Mr Trump introduced a 50% tariff on Indian goods. Mr Trump's order has specified that any goods determined to have been transshipped from a third country to evade higher US tariffs will be subject to an additional 40% import duty, but his administration has released few details on how these goods would be identified or the provision enforced. Revenues, price hikes US import taxes are one part of a multilayered tariff strategy that includes national security-based sectoral tariffs on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, autos, steel, aluminium, copper, lumber and other goods. Mr Trump said yesterday that the microchip duties could reach 100%. China is on a separate tariff track and will face a potential tariff increase on 12 August unless Mr Trump approves an extension of a prior truce after talks last week in Sweden. He has said he may impose additional tariffs over China's purchases of Russian oil as he seeks to pressure Moscow into ending its war in Ukraine. Mr Trump has touted a vast increase in federal revenues from his import tax collections, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying tariff revenues could top $300 billion a year. The move will drive average US tariff rates to around 20%, the highest in a century and up from 2.5% when Mr Trump took office in January, the Atlantic Institute estimates. Commerce Department data released last week showed more evidence that tariffs began driving up US prices in June, including for home furnishings and durable household equipment, recreational goods and motor vehicles. Costs from Mr Trump's tariff war are mounting for a wide swath of companies, including bellwethers Caterpillar, Marriott, Molson Coors and Yum Brands. Toyota today said it expected a hit of nearly $10 billion from tariffs on cars imported into the US as it cut its full-year profit forecast by 16%.
Irish Independent
4 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Kremlin agrees to Putin/Trump summit on ending Ukraine war
It is expected to take place next week at a venue that has been decided 'in principle.' But the prospect of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, joining the summit to discuss ending Russia's 3-year-old invasion of its neighbour, has been played down. The White House had earlier reported Mr Trump was ready to consider the inclusion of Mr Zelensky. 'At the suggestion of the American side, it has been agreed in principle to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days, Mr Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters. Next week is the target date for a summit, Mr Ushakov said, while noting that such events take time to organise and no date is confirmed. The possible venue will be announced 'a little later,' he said. 'We propose, first of all, to focus on preparing a bilateral meeting with Trump, and we consider it most important that this meeting be successful and productive,' Mr Ushakov said. A meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Trump would be their first since the Republican president returned to office this year. It would be a significant milestone in the war, though there's no promise such a meeting would lead to the end of the fighting, since Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on their demands. Western officials have repeatedly accused Putin of stalling for time in peace negotiations to allow Russian forces time to capture more Ukrainian land. Mr Putin has in the past offered no concessions and will only accept a settlement on his terms. It was not clear whether Mr Trump's deadline for the Kremlin to stop the killing in Ukraine still stood. A new Gallup poll published y found that Ukrainians are increasingly eager for a settlement that ends the fight against Russia's invasion. The enthusiasm for a negotiated deal is a sharp reversal from 2022 — the year the war began — when Gallup found that about three-quarters of Ukrainians wanted to keep fighting until victory. Now only about one-quarter hold that view, with support for continuing the war declining steadily across all regions and demographic groups. The findings were based on samples of 1,000 or more respondents ages 15 and older living in Ukraine. Some territories under entrenched Russian control, representing about 10% of the population, were excluded from surveys conducted after 2022 due to lack of access. Since the start of the full-scale war, Russia's relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. On the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line snaking from northeast to southeast Ukraine, where tens of thousands of troops on both sides have died, Russia's bigger army is slowly capturing more land. The poll came out on the eve of Mr Trump's deadline tomorrow for Russia to stop the killing or face heavy economic sanctions. In the new Gallup survey, conducted in early July, about 7 in 10 Ukrainians say their country should seek to negotiate a settlement as soon as possible. Mr Zelensky last month renewed his offer to meet with Russia's Vladimir Putin, but his overture was rebuffed as Russia sticks to its demands, and the sides remain far apart. Most Ukrainians do not expect a lasting peace anytime soon, the poll found. Only about one-quarter say it's 'very' or 'somewhat' likely that active fighting will end within the next 12 months, while about 7 in 10 think it's 'somewhat' or 'very' unlikely that active fighting will be over in the next year.
