Trump could soon meet with Putin in bid to push for end to Ukraine war, official says
U.S. President Donald Trump could meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week as he seeks to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, a White House official said Wednesday.
The official cautioned that a meeting has not been scheduled and no location has been determined. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans.
The White House said Trump was also open to a meeting with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A meeting between Putin and Trump would be their first since Trump returned to office this year. It would be a significant milestone in the three-year-old 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.
Trump, appearing before reporters later at the White House, didn't answer questions about a potential location for a meeting but when asked about a summit with Putin and Zelenskyy, said "there's a very good prospect that they will" meet.
He declined to predict how close he was to reaching a deal to end the fighting, saying, "I've been disappointed before with this one."
'Still many impediments'
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was asked in an interview on Fox Business about a potential Trump-Putin meeting, said "a lot has to happen before that can occur."
Rubio said the U.S. would be having talks with its European allies and the Ukrainians over the next few days. He said Trump meeting directly with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine would help close an agreement, but said, "We've got to get close enough to that point so that a meeting like that will be productive and worth doing."
"Today was a good day, but we've got a lot of work ahead," he said. "There's still many impediments to overcome."
News of a potential meeting with Putin, which was first reported by The New York Times, came hours after Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow.
Trump had posted earlier on Truth Social that Witkoff "had a highly productive meeting" with Putin in which "great progress was made."
WATCH | What next after Witkoff's Moscow visit?:
What to expect following U.S. envoy, Putin ceasefire talks in Moscow
5 hours ago
Marcus Kolga, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, says 'it's only with significant pressure' that the U.S. and Russia will 'arrive at a meaningful ceasefire.' This comes after U.S. special envoy Steve Wtikoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has been willing to meet face-to-face with Putin to end the conflict, but Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea.
Trump has met with Zelenskyy several times this year, including a contentious February meeting in Washington. Though he has not yet met with Putin this year, Trump met with him five times during his first term.
Trump said earlier Wednesday that he had updated America's allies in Europe and that they would work toward an end to the war "in the days and weeks to come."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the "Russians had expressed their desire" to meet with Trump. The Kremlin has not yet commented on any potential meetings with Trump.
Witkoff met with Putin days before the White House's deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or potentially face severe economic penalties that could also hit countries buying its oil.
The meeting between Putin and Witkoff lasted about three hours, the Kremlin said.
Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Putin and Witkoff had a "useful and constructive conversation" that focused on the Ukrainian crisis and, in a nod toward improving relations between Washington and Moscow, "prospects for possible development of strategic co-operation" between the United States and Russia.
Earlier on Wednesday, the same White House official said the U.S. was still expected to impose secondary sanctions against Russia on Friday, after a 10-day deadline that Trump imposed is to expire. The White House has not yet released details about the sanctions.
Washington has threatened "severe tariffs" and other economic penalties if the killing doesn't stop.
Tariff threats
Trump also has threatened to slap tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, which could increase import taxes dramatically on China and India. He said Tuesday he hadn't publicly committed to any particular tariff rate, and indicated that his decision could depend on an outcome of the meeting with Putin.
Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Putin over Russia's escalating strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine, intended to erode morale and public appetite for the war. The intensified attacks have occurred even as Trump has urged the Russian leader in recent months to relent.
Zelenskyy said Wednesday evening that he and Trump spoke on the phone after Witkoff met with Putin. He said "European leaders also participated in the conversation," and "we discussed what was said in Moscow."
"It seems that Russia is now more inclined to agree to a ceasefire," Zelenskyy said, adding that the pressure on Moscow "is working," without elaborating.
Zelenskyy stressed it was important to make sure Russia does not "deceive us or the United States" when it comes to "the details" of a potential agreement. Kyiv proposes that Ukraine and its allies soon "talk to determine our position, our common position, and our common view."
Overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, Russian forces hit a recreational centre in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, killing two people and injuring 12, including two children, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said Wednesday.
Russian forces launched at least four strikes on the area and initially attacked with powerful glide bombs.
"There is zero military sense in this strike. Only cruelty to intimidate," Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram.
Russia also struck the Ukrainian power grid and facilities for heating and cooking gas, Zelenskyy said, as Ukraine makes preparations for winter. Western analysts and Ukrainian officials say Putin is stalling for time and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian forces push to capture more Ukraine land.
A Russian offensive that started in the spring and is expected to continue through the fall is advancing faster than last year's push but is making only slow and costly gains and has been unable to take any major cities.
The situation on the front line is critical for Ukrainian forces but defences are not about to collapse, analysts say.
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South Korea also agreed to purchase $100 billion in U.S. energy resources and commit $350 billion to U.S. investments, though the two countries have offered differing interpretations of how the investment fund would be structured and managed. In a separate radio interview, Yeo insisted that South Korea's major chipmakers — Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix — would be unaffected by the 100% tariffs that Trump has vowed to eventually impose on semiconductor imports. Yeo said Washington, under the recent tariff deal, agreed to designate Seoul as one of its most favored trade partners, shielding it from such rates. Swiss officials meet to tackle high tariffs The Swiss executive branch, the Federal Council, was expected to hold an extraordinary meeting Thursday afternoon after President Karin Keller-Sutter and other top Swiss officials returned from a hastily arranged trip to Washington, which initially appeared to produce few results, in a bid to avert steep 39% U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods. On her X account, Keller-Sutter posted photos of meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — with whom her team discussed tariffs and other issues — as well as with American and Swiss business leaders. Despite Keller-Sutter's diplomatic push, the United States as of Thursday went ahead with the 39% rate, her office said. Toyota profit takes a dive Toyota's profit plunged 37% in the April-June quarter, the company said Thursday, cutting its full year earnings forecasts largely because of Trump's tariffs. The Japanese automaker said it based its report on the assumption that Trump's tariffs on exports from Japan, including autos, would be 12.5% starting this month. As of now they stand at 15%. Toyota said the tariffs cost its quarterly operating profit 450 billion yen ($3 billion). Cost reduction efforts and the negative impact of an unfavorable exchange rate also hurt its bottom line. 'Despite a challenging external environment, we have continued to make comprehensive investments, as well as improvements such as increased unit sales, cost reductions and expanded value chain profits,' Toyota said in a statement that outlined its efforts to minimize the impact of the tariffs. Analysts say Toyota is likely among the worst hit by the tariffs among global companies, even compared with other Japanese automakers. Tariffs to affect more than half of Indian exports to the US A top body of Indian exporters said Thursday that the latest U.S. tariffs will impact nearly 55% of the country's outbound shipments to America and lead to exporters losing long-standing clients. 'Absorbing this sudden cost escalation is simply not viable. Margins are already thin,' S.C. Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, said in a statement. The tariffs effectively impose a cost burden, placing Indian exporters at a competitive disadvantage with countries that have lesser import taxes, he added. In 2024, the U.S. ran a $45.8 billion trade deficit in goods with India, meaning America imported more from India than it exported, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. American consumers and businesses buy pharmaceutical drugs, precious stones, and textiles and apparel from India, among other goods. Modi vows to defend farmers' interests Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India will never compromise the interests of farmers. 'For us, the interests of farmers are a top priority. I know I will have to personally pay a heavy price for it, but I am ready,' Modi said at a conference in what was seen as a message to the U.S. administration, which has been seeking greater access to India's agriculture and dairy sectors. India and the U.S. have had five rounds of negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement, but haven't been able to clinch one so far. On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order to place an additional 25% tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil. The order would go into effect in 21 days and bring the combined tariffs imposed on India to 50%. Sony profits are up Japanese entertainment and electronics company Sony said Thursday its profit surged 23% in the last quarter from the year before, as damage from Trump's tariffs was less than it had expected. Sony raised its forecast for its profit in the full fiscal year until March 2026 to 970 billion yen ($6.6 billion), from an earlier forecast of 930 billion yen ($6.3 billion). The revised projection is still lower than what it earned in the previous fiscal year at 1 trillion yen.
