President Donald Trump said that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is making progress with Russia, but the looming deadline for a U.S.-brokered ceasefire remains in place.
In late July, the president moved up his ultimatum for Russia to reach an agreement for a peace deal to early August, or there would be consequences.
Witkoff traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to meet with Russian leaders in a last-minute effort to push an agreement.
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Despite Trump insisting that he was sticking to his Friday deadline, the president indicated after the three-hour talks on Wednesday that he hoped to sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week.
He would also hold a meeting with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the New York Times.
The Kremlin called the Witkoff talks “useful and constructive.”
“My Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Great progress was made!”
“Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come,” the president wrote.
The president reportedly said that after that meeting, he updated other European allies.
A White House official told the Daily Beast that Witkoff’s meeting went well and the Russians are eager to continue engaging with the U.S., but despite progress being made, the secondary sanctions Trump has threatened are still expected to be implemented on Friday.
Trump said in mid-July that Russia would face additional sanctions and tariffs if it did not stop fighting in Ukraine within 50 days, as he accused Putin of not being serious about agreeing to a ceasefire. That would have put the deadline at September 2.
The president moved that timeline up late last month to 10 or 12 days while seated alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a visit to Scotland.
“I’m going to reduce that 50 days. I gave him a lesser number, because I think I already know the answer what’s going to happen,” Trump said.
The president threatened to impose new sanctions on Russian imports, which would have a minimal impact as trade between the two countries has largely stopped. But he also said he would impose 100 percent “secondary” tariffs, which would target the countries that do business with Russia in an effort to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and hurt the Russian economy.
On the campaign trail, Trump claimed he would end the war in Ukraine on day one in office after Russia invaded in 2022, but despite talks, he has struggled to close a deal.
The president has expressed his frustration with Putin in comments and posts over the past few months, calling the Russian leader “absolutely crazy.”
He also admitted in a rare move last month that a lot of Putin’s talk had been “meaningless” and Russia had been throwing a lot of “bulls**t” as it stalls on making a deal.
