WASHINGTON
\nDonald Trump said Wednesday he could meet with Vladimir Putin \u201cvery soon,\u201d following what the US president described as highly productive talks in Moscow between his special envoy and the Russian leader. The potential summit was discussed in a call between Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky that, according to a senior source in Kyiv, included NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the leaders of Britain, Germany and Finland.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon,\u201d Trump told reporters at the White House when asked when he would meet the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.He gave no indication where the meeting with Putin might take place. The New York Times and CNN, citing people familiar with the plan, said Trump plans to sit down with Putin as early as next week, and then wants a three-way meeting with the Russian leader and Zelensky.
\nTrump\u2019s phone call with Zelensky came after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian leadership in Moscow earlier in the day for talks described by the Kremlin as \u201cproductive\u201d — with Trump\u2019s deadline looming to impose fresh sanctions over Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine.
\n\u201cGreat progress was made!\u201d Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that afterward he had briefed some European allies. \u201cEveryone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come,\u201d he said.
\nMinutes later, however, a senior US official said that \u201csecondary sanctions\u201d were still expected to be implemented in two days\u2019 time.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.
\nThree rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul have failed to make headway on a ceasefire, with the two sides far apart in their demands.
\nRussia has escalated drone and missile attacks against its neighbor, a US and European Union ally, to a record high and accelerated its advance on the ground.\u201dA quite useful and constructive conversation took place,\u201d Putin\u2019s aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists, including media, after the three-hour meeting with Witkoff.
\nThe two men exchanged \u201csignals\u201d on their positions, Ushakov said, without elaborating. Zelensky confirmed his call with Trump and confirmed European leaders had taken part, although he did not name them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON Donald Trump said Wednesday he could meet with Vladimir Putin \u201cvery soon,\u201d following what the US president described as highly productive talks in Moscow between his special envoy and the Russian leader. The potential summit was discussed in a call between Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky that, according to a senior source in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495560,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-495551","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n