Trump tells team to prepare meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy – CNN
Photo: Donald Trump (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump has urged his team to move quickly in planning meetings with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to CNN.
Yesterday, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow and held talks with Vladimir Putin. The key topic of discussion was the war in Ukraine.
Following the meeting, Trump informed European leaders in a phone call that he would like to meet with Putin, possibly as early as next week, after which trilateral talks involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would follow. A CNN source within the EU government confirmed the content of this conversation.
Two White House officials also told the outlet that Putin proposed a meeting with Trump during his talks with Witkoff.
According to the officials, Trump’s aides immediately began preparing for the meetings. While planning presidential trips and summits with two major world leaders typically takes time, White House sources noted that Trump urged his team to act quickly.
"No location has been settled on, but several options are under discussion, according to the White House. It said the talks could happen as soon as next week or within the next two weeks," CNN added.
Trump uncertain on tariffs but sees chance for talks
In early July, Trump gave Putin a 50-day deadline to end the war in Ukraine, threatening to impose sanctions and secondary tariffs, including against buyers of Russian oil.
Shortly afterward, the US President expressed frustration that Russia continued to bomb Ukrainian cities. As a result, he shortened the deadline to 10 days, with the deadline set to expire tomorrow, August 8.
It remains unclear whether Trump will impose secondary sanctions. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated last night that a decision would be made within the next 24 to 36 hours.
"Well, there's a very good prospect that they will, and we haven't determined where, but we had some very good talks with President Putin today, and there's a very good chance that we could be ending the round, ending the end to that road," stated the US President.
