US President Donald Trump’s deadline for Russia to end its war in Ukraine expires Friday, but his plans for applying new sanctions remain unclear amid fresh talks with Vladimir Putin. Trump has promised secondary sanctions on countries purchasing Russian energy, but his stance is changing by the day.
Trump wants to meet with Putin face-to-face and has tasked his team with moving ahead with preparations for a potential summit. However, European officials fear this may be an attempt to prolong the war while avoiding new US sanctions. The Kremlin has seized on the talks, saying they are moving forward with plans for a meeting.
The proposed summit is expected to take place in the United Arab Emirates, though no venue has been settled upon. Trump wants to meet both Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in a trilateral formal, but has not ruled out imposing new sanctions on Russia or its energy purchasers. The US and China are engaged in delicate trade negotiations, with some officials warning that applying secondary sanctions could scuttle these talks.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/08/politics/trump-putin-summit-sanctions-deadline