Trump says progress made in US envoy Witkoff's meeting with Putin

7/8/2025 6:20

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his special envoy Steve Witkoff had made "great progress" in his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Washington continued its preparations to impose secondary sanctions on Friday.



Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said he had briefed some European allies about Witkoff's meeting with Putin, which was focused on ending the 3-1/2-year war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.



"Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come," Trump added, without providing further details.



A White House official said earlier that the meeting had gone well, and Moscow was eager to continue engaging with the United States.



The official said secondary sanctions that Trump has threatened against countries doing business with Russia were still expected to be implemented on Friday. No details were provided.