Russia secondary sanctions still on track for Friday after Putin, Witkoff meeting

WASHINGTON — US sanctions targeting nations that buy Russian oil will kick in on Friday after Vladimir Putin refused to end his invasion of Ukraine by President Trump’s deadline, a senior White House official said following direct talks between Washington and Moscow on Wednesday.

Following a three-hour meeting between Putin and Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff, the Kremlin said it wanted to continue talking — which Trump has publicly suspected of being a strategy to “tap along” his administration.

“The Russians are eager to continue engaging with the United States,” the US official said in a statement, adding: “The secondary sanctions are still expected to be implemented on Friday.”

The official also said Witkoff’s discussion with Putin “went well.”

Wednesday marked the first time the parties had met for such talks since April, when it became evident little progress was being made toward an end to Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.