Trump Says ‘Very Good Chance’ of Summit to End Russia–Ukraine War

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Aug. 6 that there’s a “very good chance” of a summit to end the Russia–Ukraine conflict.

“We had some very good talks with President Putin today, and there’s a very good chance that we could be ending [the war],” Trump said in the Oval Office when asked about the chance of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the near future.

“That road was long and continues to be long, but there’s a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon,” he added.

Russian officials also expressed a desire to meet with Trump during talks between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin on Aug. 6, the White House said.

Trump is open to meeting both Putin and Zelenskyy, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Witkoff visited with Putin for about three hours on Aug. 6, ahead of Trump’s Aug. 8 deadline for Russia to agree to a cease-fire with Ukraine or face new economic sanctions and tariffs.

The U.S. president described the meeting as “highly productive.”

“Great progress was made!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies.

“Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come.”

Trump concluded his social media post without a clear indication that Russia is prepared to enter into a cease-fire agreement with Ukraine by Aug. 8.

Following the meeting, a White House official said secondary sanctions are still expected to go ahead on Aug. 8. The official provided no additional details about the new sanctions.

The Kremlin has yet to announce a shift in favor of a cease-fire with Ukraine after Putin’s meeting with Witkoff on Aug. 6. Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the two sides had a “useful and constructive conversation” about the Ukraine war.

Zelenskyy, on the other hand, said Russian interest in a truce following Witkoff’s visit to Moscow has increased.

“It seems that Russia is now more committed to a cease-fire,” Zelenskyy said in an Aug. 6 statement. “The pressure on them is working. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us or the United States in the details.”

Part of Trump’s cease-fire ultimatum entailed a threat of secondary tariffs targeting countries that continue to trade with Russia.

Last week, Trump ordered a 25 percent tariff on Indian goods, citing the country’s continued purchases of Russian fossil fuel products. On Aug. 6, Trump raised tariffs on India to 50 percent, again citing the country’s imports of Russian fossil fuel products.

No similar order was signed for China, which is also heavily reliant on Russian oil exports.