Trump Plans to Meet With Putin as Early as Next Week

President Donald Trump told European leaders he plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in person as soon as next week, reports the New York Times.

Trump, in a Truth Social post after a call with European leaders, said  that "everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come," though he didn't mention plans for his own meeting with Putin.

The president has sought to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The Times report came hours after Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow on Wednesday. Trump had posted earlier on Truth Social that Witkoff "had a highly productive meeting" with Putin in which "great progress was made."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelensky."

Her statement did not address the potential timing of any meeting. And, in fact, subsequent comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio did seem to be aimed at tempering expectations.

He reportedly told Fox News he did not know if a meeting would actually take place next week, indicating it "depends on how much progress the sides can make."

Washington has threatened "severe tariffs" and other economic penalties if the killing doesn't stop. Rubio said the president would make a decision on sanctions in "the next 24-36 hours." He also said  Putin-Trump conversation was possible over the next couple of days.

Trump also has threatened to slap tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, which could increase import taxes dramatically on China and India.

He said Tuesday he hadn't publicly committed to any particular tariff rate, and indicated that his decision could depend on an outcome of the meeting with Putin.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.