Current News

/

ArcaMax

Russia says Putin conveyed 'signals' on Ukraine at Witkoff talks

Alex Wickham, Alberto Nardelli and Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Bloomberg News on

Published in News & Features

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump told European allies he’s planning to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as soon as next week in another bid to bring peace between the two countries.

Trump detailed the plans in a phone call Wednesday that also included Zelenskyy, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

The effort to convene a meeting of the three leaders came hours after Putin finished hosting U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff for three hours of discussions in Moscow. Trump in a social media post earlier on Wednesday said that there was “great progress made” in that meeting, while still leaving open the possibility of further penalties on Moscow’s oil revenues.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The New York Times first reported Trump’s plans as relayed on the call with the diplomats.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50% as punishment for its purchases of Russian energy. U.S. officials are weighing additional actions to choke off energy sales that are a key source of funds for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.

The Trump administration is considering new sanctions on Moscow’s covert fleet of oil tankers and several entities that enable them to operate, according to people familiar with the matter.

“Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies,” Trump said in the post. “Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come.”

Still, a White House official said the U.S. expected to implement secondary sanctions on Friday even as they expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the Witkoff-Putin meeting.

Putin’s government said little about the three-hour conversation, with Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov telling reporters the Russian leader exchanged “signals” with Trump on Ukraine, without elaborating.

Oil fell for the fifth straight session as traders waited to see whether U.S. President Donald Trump would impose more severe measures to restrict Russian energy flows.

 

West Texas Intermediate dipped 1.2% to settle just above $64 a barrel, notching the longest daily losing streak since September, as traders positioned for the possibility of a softer stance on Russia than the White House previously telegraphed.

Futures dipped further after reports that Trump plans to meet Putin in person as soon as next week.

The Russian vessels have become instrumental to its ability to move its oil despite US and European sanctions.

“The shadow tanker fleet is the backbone of Russia’s sanctions evasion and war financing,” Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, said on the X platform.

The Financial Times first reported the potential measures on Russia’s shadow fleet.

The people said the Trump administration is considering a range of options to restrict Putin’s energy revenues. Other possibilities could include measures targeting oil companies and actions to better enforce existing restrictions.

_____

(With assistance from Catherine Lucey, Gregory White, Kate Sullivan and Tony Halpin.)

_____


©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus