Russia confirms Trump to meet Putin 'next week' - Will it be end of Ukraine war?

Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill A Dmitriev, confirmed that he will meet United States President Donald Trump next week. Earlier, Trump hinted that he could meet Russian President Putin as soon as next week to discuss the war in Ukraine. The White House also said that Trump is “open” to the idea of a meeting with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In remarks on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Russian officials had expressed interest in meeting with Trump. Leavitt did not say when or where such a meeting could take place. The statement came after Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (August 6). Witkoff arrived in Russia, just two days ahead of the August 8 deadline set by Trump for Russia to reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine. The US president has previously said that he is committed to helping bring the war in Ukraine to an end. He initially promised to stop the conflict on “day one” of his presidency.

“The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the president is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelenskyy,” Leavitt told members of the press. While hosting Apple CEO Tim Cook in the Oval Office later that day, Trump answered vaguely but favourably. “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 of that road. There’s a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon,” Trump said. However, when pressed on whether a ceasefire deal was on the horizon, Trump expressed less optimism. “I’ve been disappointed before with this one,” he replied.

Witkoff meets Putin

Meanwhile, Putin held "constructive" talks with Witkoff in Moscow over the Ukraine conflict, the Kremlin said Wednesday after the three-hour meeting. "A quite useful and constructive conversation took place," Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov said, adding that as well as Ukraine, Russia-US strategic cooperation was discussed. In a social media post, Trump said Witkoff held a “highly productive” meeting with Putin and that “great progress was made!” Additionally, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a TV interview that the US now has a better understanding of what conditions would be required for Russia to end the war. “For the first time perhaps since this administration began, we have some concrete examples of the kinds of things that Russia would ask for in order to end the war,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow,” adding that questions of territory would be a key part of any deal.

What Zelensky said after Witkoff-Putin meet

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he and Trump agree that the war in Ukraine “must end,” following a high-level meeting in Moscow between Putin and Witkoff. “Right on my way from our brigades here in Sumy region, I spoke with President Trump. This conversation happened after President Trump’s representative, Steve Witkoff, visited Moscow. Our joint position with our partners is absolutely clear: the war must end. And it must be done honestly,” Zelensky wrote on X. He said European leaders were also on the call and thanked them for their support, stressing that Ukraine would “definitely defend its independence” while seeking a “lasting and reliable peace.”

Trump's tariff war over Russian oil

Trump has been targeting the countries that are trading with Russia. He imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for buying Russian oil. After the new levy, India will face the highest tariff of 50 per cent, along with Brazil. He has also warned of secondary sanctions and said that he may impose tariffs on China as well for buying Russian oil. "Could happen," Trump told reporters, after saying he expected to announce more secondary sanctions aimed at pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine. "It may happen ... I can't tell you yet," Trump said. “We did it with India. We're doing it probably with a couple of others. One of them could be China,” the US president added. On being asked why he is signalling out India while there are other countries that are buying Russian oil, Trump answered, “It's only been 8 hours. So let's see what happens. You're going to see a lot more...You're going to see so many secondary sanctions.”