A senior White House official said on Wednesday that planning for a face-to-face session is “well advanced.” If it happens, it would mark the first encounter between sitting U.S. and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021, eight months before Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Trump told European leaders in a conference call that he hopes to meet Putin first and then stage a three-way session with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the New York Times reported. “There’s a good chance there will be a meeting very soon,” he told reporters.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Moscow “expressed its desire” for talks and Trump is open to meeting both Putin and Zelensky.
Sanctions deadline
The diplomatic push comes two days before Trump’s deadline for Russia to accept a peace plan or face new penalties. After envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin on Wednesday—a discussion Trump called “great progress” but not a breakthrough—the White House said secondary sanctions on countries trading with Russia are still slated for Friday.
Trump’s frustration over stalled peace efforts has already produced a 25% surcharge on Indian imports because of New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil. “One of the next could be China,” he said, signaling possible tariffs similar to those announced against India.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described the Witkoff talks as “useful and constructive” and said signals on Ukraine were exchanged, but he withheld details until Witkoff briefs Trump.
Zelensky, in his nightly address, said pressure “works,” yet cautioned against “deception in the details.”
Air-strike pause floated
Bloomberg and Russia’s The Bell reported that the Kremlin may propose a mutual pause in airstrikes, an idea first aired by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. While short of the full ceasefire sought by Kyiv and Washington, it could ease pressure after Russia’s heaviest aerial assaults of the war—strikes that Trump last week called “disgusting.”
Russia continues to pound Ukrainian cities, while Kyiv targets Russian refineries and depots. Three Kremlin sources told Reuters Putin doubts further U.S. sanctions will bite enough to change his military calculus.
Despite that skepticism, Washington insists the looming measures—tariffs and secondary sanctions—will widen the cost of Russia’s war if no deal is reached.
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Source: Reuters, PAP, IAR