U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in a last-ditch effort to bring Russia to the peace table.
Witkoff spoke with Putin for three hours in an attempt to come to peace terms before President Donald Trump’s promised tariffs and sanctions kick in on Friday, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Putin has so far been defiant in the face of American threats, insisting that Russia can weather any economic storm caused by Western sanctions or other economic measures.
Putin is unlikely to bow to Trump’s pressure, as he believes that he can still win the war and that any further economic restrictions from the West will not be much different from those under former President Joe Biden, three sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters.
Trump imposed a 10-day deadline for Putin to make a peace deal on July 29, threatening the Kremlin with secondary tariffs on purchasers of Russian goods and increased sanctions. Moreover, Congress could pass a bill that would enable Trump to enact tariffs as high as 500% on nations that purchase Russian oil, gas or Uranium.
Biden also imposed heavy sanctions on Russia, but ultimately failed to fully cripple its economy in the months and years following the initial February 2022 invasion.
NATO recently began coordinating shipping more weapons to Ukraine, buying around $1 billion worth of armaments from the U.S. to give to Kiev’s defense efforts. While Trump was initially skeptical of further U.S. involvement in Ukraine, he resumed shipping weapons to Ukraine on July 11 through NATO as a way to push Putin towards a deal.
Russia has demanded recognition of conquered territory in Ukraine as part of any peace deal, while Ukraine has denied all demands to cede its ground to the Kremlin.
The State Department and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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