The US President Donald Trump will make a decision on secondary sanctions against Russia within the next 24-36 hours. The decision will depend on how much progress is made in the negotiations in the coming days. And before the final deadline, which is August 8, the US will work to bring the parties as "close" as possible.
This was stated by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio said that negotiations with European allies, as well as with the Ukrainians, will take place "in the coming days" to understand what progress can be made.
"And if things continue to develop, there will be an opportunity for the president to meet with both Vladimir Putin and President Zelensky — hopefully in the near future," the Secretary of State said.
He added that after the talks between Steve Witkoff and Putin on August 6, the US has a better understanding of "under what conditions Russia would be willing to end the war".
"And for the first time, perhaps since the beginning of this administration, we have concrete examples of what Russia wants to end the war. That hasnʼt happened before. Of course, Ukraine has the final say," the secretary of state said.
Rubio emphasized that the next stage is to bring the positions of Russia, Ukraine, and European allies closer together. It is necessary to "find a common ground between what Ukrainians can accept and what Russia demands".
Rubio says the issue of territories is complicated.
"There have to be concessions in any agreement, both from Russia and from Ukraine," he said.
"Itʼs very difficult. The war took many lives — Ukraine paid an extremely high price. So did Russia, but Ukrainians suffered more. Such concessions are not easy, especially if you have to explain them to society. But I can say one thing for sure: everyone wants the war to end. But on what terms — thatʼs the most difficult thing," says the Secretary of State.
If a compromise can be reached between the parties, then there will be an opportunity for Trump to meet with Putin and Zelensky to complete this process. Trumpʼs meeting with Putin, as well as the trilateral meeting of the leaders of Ukraine, the United States, and Russia, depends on how quickly the negotiations progress. If the positions are not close, the meeting of the leaders makes no sense, because there will be no result.
- Trumpʼs special representative, Steve Witkoff, met with Putin in Moscow on August 6, after which Trump and Zelensky spoke by phone. The American president described the meeting in Moscow as "significant progress". Zelensky said in an evening video address that European leaders were present during the phone call with Trump, and that Ukraine proposed to form a common position with partners at the level of security advisors.
- Trump said on July 29 that Washington would impose new tariffs and secondary sanctions against Russia within ten days if Moscow does not agree with Ukraine on a ceasefire. That is, Russia has a deadline of August 8. The Kremlin has repeatedly violated American deadlines, and Trump has threatened Russia with sanctions against it several times, but has never imposed them.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.