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Trump redeploys nuclear subs after ‘foolish' Russian statements

Trump redeploys nuclear subs after ‘foolish' Russian statements

Washington | President Donald Trump said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in 'the appropriate regions' in response to statements from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
'Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev ... I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,' Trump said in a social media post on Saturday AEST.
Reuters
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President Donald Trump intends to meet soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a White House official, who said the meeting could come as early as next week. It was unclear if Putin had offered any concessions to Trump in exchange for a face-to-face meeting, which would be a significant win for the Russian leader after weeks of Trump's verbal attacks on him. In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was 'open' to meeting with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 'The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky,' Leavitt said. President Trump wants this brutal war to end.' Trump's openness to meeting with Putin came after a meeting earlier in the day in Moscow between Putin and the president's special envoy Steve Witkoff. Trump subsequently discussed the situation with European allies and Zelensky. The announcement of a possible Trump-Putin meeting capped a day of mixed signals. Trump praised Witkoff's meeting with Putin, writing on his social media platform that the session was 'highly productive' and that 'Great progress was made!' Several hours after Witkoff met Putin, however, Trump doubled tariffs on India to 50 percent, moving on his earlier threat to impose penalties on trading partners that have helped sustain the Russian economy and the Kremlin's war machine, especially by continuing to buy Russian oil.

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United States President Donald Trump 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. The meeting came two days before a deadline set by Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Trump has been increasingly frustrated with Putin over the lack of progress towards peace and has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries that buy Russian exports. A White House official said while the meeting had gone well, secondary sanctions that Trump has threatened against countries doing business with Russia were still expected to be implemented later this week. "My Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Great progress was made!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Everyone agrees this war must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come," he added. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, who was present, told Russian news outlet Zvezda: "We had a very useful and constructive conversation". He said the two sides had exchanged "signals" on the Ukraine issue and discussed the possibility of developing strategic cooperation between Moscow and Washington, but declined to give more details. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he believed Moscow was now more amenable to a ceasefire. "It seems that Russia is now more inclined to a ceasefire. The pressure on them works. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details — neither us nor the US, " Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. Writing separately on the X social media platform, Zelenskyy said he had discussed Witkoff's visit to Russia with Trump, adding that he had reiterated Ukraine's support for a just peace and its continued determination to defend itself. "Ukraine will definitely defend its independence. We all need a lasting and reliable peace. Russia must end the war that it itself started," Zelenskyy said, adding that European leaders had joined the call with Trump. Trump on Truth Social said he had updated some of Washington's European allies following Witkoff's meeting. Since the two sides resumed direct peace talks in May, Russia has carried out its heaviest air attacks of the war, killing at least 72 people in the capital Kyiv alone. Trump last week called the Russian attacks "disgusting". Ukraine continues to strike Russian refineries and oil depots, which it has hit many times. Pressure on India Meanwhile, Trump took a key step toward punitive measures when he imposed an additional 25 per cent 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. The new measure raises tariffs on some Indian goods to as high as 50% — among the steepest faced by any US trading partner. The Kremlin says threats to penalise countries that trade with Russia are illegal.

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