MOSCOW:
President Donald Trump on Wednesday hailed talks between his envoy and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine as “highly productive” but US officials said sanctions would still be imposed on Moscow’s trading partners.
Trump, who had boasted he could end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office, has given Russia until Friday to make progress towards peace or face new penalties.
US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin for what the Kremlin said were “constructive” talks two days ahead of the US deadline for Russia.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that “great progress was made” during the meeting — but minutes later a senior US official said that “secondary sanctions” were still expected to be implemented on Friday.
Three rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul have failed to make headway on a ceasefire, with the two sides far apart in their demands.
Russia has escalated drone and missile attacks against its pro-Western neighbour to a record high and accelerated its advance on the ground.
“A quite useful and constructive conversation took place,” Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists, including AFP, after the three-hour meeting.
Putin and Witkoff exchanged “signals” on their positions, Ushakov said, without elaborating.
The Kremlin released a video of Putin shaking hands with Witkoff at the start of the meeting.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said later on Wednesday that he had spoken by phone with Trump after Witkoff visited Moscow.
“European leaders were on the call, and I am grateful to each of them for their support,” he added on social media, without saying which leaders took part in the call.
The White House has not officially outlined what action it would take against Russia, but Trump has previously threatened to impose “secondary tariffs” targeting Russia’s key trade partners, such as China and India.
On Wednesday Trump ordered steeper tariffs on Indian goods over New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
The move would aim to stifle Russian exports, but would risk significant international disruption.
Trump said on Tuesday that he would await the outcome of the Moscow talks before ordering any economic sanctions.
“We’re going to see what happens,” he told reporters. “We’ll make that determination at that time.”
