Trump declares Russia an 'extraordinary threat to the US' - as Witkoff praises ‘highly productive’ Putin talks
by Danielle de Wolfe · LBCBy Danielle de Wolfe
Trump has declared Russia an 'extraordinary threat to the US,' as further details of United States envoy Steve Witkoff's meeting with Vladimir Putin emerged.
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Wednesday saw Trump roll out the first wave of US sanctions against Putin over Russia's refusal to stop the war in Ukraine and agree a ceasefire deal.
Signing an executive order in response to the "threat", the US president attempted to use his trade policy to strong-arm Russia into stopping the war with Ukraine.
"I have received additional information from various senior officials on, among other things, the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation with respect to the situation in Ukraine,’ states the order announced on Wednesday," Trump said.
"After considering this additional information, among other things, I find that the national emergency described in Executive Order 14066 continues and that the actions and policies of the Government of the Russian Federation continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States."
Wednesday saw Zelenskyy speak with Trump over the phone - just hours after he announced the US would impose a 25% tariff on imports from India as a penalty for purchasing Russian Federation oil.
It comes as further details emerged following "constructive" talks between Putin and Witkoff in Moscow, with Trump taking to his social media platform Truth Social to declare the talks "highly productive".
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The meeting came just days before Trump's deadline on a Ukraine ceasefire deal is set to expire.
Earlier in the day, the Kremlin issued a vaguely worded statement focussing on the talks, highlighting that both sides have exchanged "signals" during the talks in Moscow.
"My Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin," Trump said in the post on Wednesday.
"Great progress was made! Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies," Trump continued.
"Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Mr Trump has threatened Russia with a fresh wave of sanctions if Putin fails to agree to peace with Ukraine in the coming days.
The Kremlin is yet to provide details on Mr Witkoff’s meeting with Putin.
Earlier, Mr Witkoff took an early morning walk through Zaryadye Park, a stone's throw from the Kremlin, with Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president's envoy for investment and economic co-operation, footage aired by TASS showed.
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Mr Dmitriev played a key role in three rounds of direct talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in recent months, as well as discussions between Russian and US officials.
The negotiations made no progress on ending the three-year war following Russia's invasion of its neighbour.
Mr Trump has warned “severe tariffs” and other economic measures will hit Russia on Friday if the fighting continues.
Mr Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Mr Putin over Russia's escalating strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine, intended to erode morale and public appetite for the war.
Russia has continued to bombard Ukraine despite Trump’s calls for peace, hitting both residential areas and key infrastructure.
On Tuesday, Mr Trump said "we'll see what happens" regarding his threat to slap tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, which could increase import taxes dramatically on China and India.
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"We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow," the US president said.
"We're going to see what happens. We'll make that determination at that time."
Mr Trump said that he has not publicly committed to a specific tariff rate.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday welcomed Mr Witkoff's visit.
"We consider (talks with Mr Witkoff) important, substantive and very useful," he said.
Mr Trump initially gave Moscow a 50-day deadline, but later moved up his ultimatum as the Kremlin continued to bomb Ukrainian cities.