U.S. President Donald Trump has informed European allies of his plan to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as early as next week in a renewed effort to broker peace between the two countries.
The plan to convene a meeting of the three leaders was detailed by Trump during a phone call on Wednesday, which also included Zelensky, according to a person familiar with the discussion. This diplomatic push came just hours after Putin concluded a three-hour discussion in Moscow with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.
On his social media platform, Trump described the meeting between Witkoff and Putin as “highly productive” and noted that “great progress was made.” Despite this perceived progress, Trump is still leaving open the possibility of imposing further penalties on Moscow’s oil revenues. A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, stated that the U.S. still expects to implement secondary sanctions on Friday, even while expressing satisfaction with the Witkoff-Putin meeting’s outcome.
The pursuit of a peace deal is occurring alongside other punitive measures. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50% as punishment for the country’s purchases of Russian energy. U.S. officials are also weighing additional actions to choke off energy sales, a key source of funding for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. Among the measures under consideration are new sanctions on Moscow’s covert fleet of oil tankers, known as the “shadow fleet,” and on the various entities that enable its operations.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov offered a more subdued take on the meeting, telling reporters that the Russian leader and Witkoff had exchanged “signals” on Ukraine, but he did not provide further details. The Russian government has largely remained silent on the substance of the three-hour conversation.
The “shadow tanker fleet” has become instrumental to Russia’s ability to circumvent U.S. and European sanctions and continue moving its oil globally. Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, highlighted this on the X platform, stating, “The shadow tanker fleet is the backbone of Russia’s sanctions evasion and war financing.”
The Trump administration’s deliberations on how to restrict Putin’s energy revenues are ongoing, with other possibilities including measures targeting specific oil companies and actions to better enforce existing sanctions. The full executive order on the India tariffs has already been released, providing a clear legal basis for the new economic measures.
Trump Plans To Meet Putin And Zelensky Next Week In A New Push For Peace
