President says US will 'make that determination' on sanctions on countries that purchase Russian energy after Wednesday's meeting
US President Donald Trump said his special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with Russian officials on Wednesday as a deadline nears for the Kremlin to end the Ukraine war or face increased sanctions.
"We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow. We're going to see what happens," Trump told reporters Tuesday.
Asked whether he still plans to impose 100% tariffs on all countries that purchase Russian energy, including China, he said: "I never said a percentage, but we'll be doing quite a bit of that. We'll see what happens over the next fairly short period of time."
Trump said the US will "make that determination" on sanctions on countries that purchase Russian energy after Wednesday's meeting.
His comments came after State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed earlier Tuesday that Witkoff would be traveling to Russia "this week.”
"So we can confirm that from this podium. What that will entail, I have no details for you," Bruce told reporters.
Bruce said Trump is "not happy" with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Russia, "but he remains committed to diplomatic solutions" to end the war in Ukraine.
The visit will be taking place days before a 10-day deadline set by Trump for Russia to reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine, which will expire on Aug. 8.
