Trump could meet Putin as early as next week, according to reports
Trump will meet with Putin and then with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, The New York Times first reported, adding that the plans were disclosed in a call with European leaders on July 6.
The White House did not confirm the meeting, but indicated the "Russians" were pushing for a meeting.
'As President Trump said earlier today on TRUTH Social, great progress was made during Special Envoy Witkoff's meeting with President Putin," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. "The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky. President Trump wants this brutal war to end.'
The Washington Post also later reported that a Trump-Putin meeting will occur.
On July 28, Trump announced that he would be giving Russia 10-12 days to end it's three-year war on Ukraine or face "stiff tariffs." That deadline falls on Aug. 8.
Trump has threatened to impose 'secondary tariffs' of up to 100% on countries that trade with Russia, particularly energy.
The president signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on imports from India in retaliation for the country's Russian oil imports, doubling India's U.S. tariff rate to 50%. set to go into effect Aug. 7.
Trump's Aug. 6 move marks the first time the president has deployed his so-called "secondary tariffs" on Russian trading partners.
Trump has grown increasingly impatient with the Russian leader since May when he said Putin had "gone absolutely crazy" after Russian launched a barrage of 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities a week after he'd had a two-hour chat with Putin, seeking an end to the war.
White House envoy Steve Witkoff met Aug. 6 with Putin in Moscow in an effort by the Trump administration to convince the Russian leader to end fighting in Ukraine ahead of the deadline.
Contributing: Reuters; Joey Garrison
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