Trump hails progress in Russia talks, White House says secondary sanctions still planned
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam November 11, 2017. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his special envoy Steve Witkoff had made "great progress" in his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Washington continued its preparations to impose secondary sanctions on Friday.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said he had briefed some European allies about Witkoff's meeting with Putin, which was focused on ending the 3-1/2-year war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come," Trump added, without providing further details.
A White House official said earlier that the meeting had gone well, and Moscow was eager to continue engaging with the United States.
The official said secondary sanctions that Trump has threatened against countries doing business with Russia were still expected to be implemented on Friday. No details were provided.
Witkoff met Putin for around three hours on a last-minute mission to seek a breakthrough in the war. Trump has threatened sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil if no moves are made to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump took a key step in that direction on Wednesday when he imposed an additional 25% tariff on imports from India, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil. No similar order was signed for China, which also imports Russian oil.
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The new measure raises tariffs on some Indian goods to as high as 50% — among the steepest faced by any U.S. trading partner.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week warned Chinese officials that continued purchases of sanctioned Russian oil would lead to big tariffs due to legislation in Congress.
The U.S. and China have been engaged in discussions about trade and tariffs, with an eye to extending a 90-day tariff truce that is due to expire on August 12, when their bilateral tariffs shoot back up to triple-digit figures. REUTERS
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