U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that President Donald Trump will make a decision regarding the implementation of secondary sanctions against Russia within the next 24-36 hours. This information was shared during a press conference referenced by the U.S. State Department.
“Much of it will depend on how the negotiations progress… And then, ultimately, the decision on whether he believes the sanctions still need to be imposed or not.”
– Marco Rubio
Rubio noted that the final decision is expected to be made by Friday, August 8. The U.S. government aims to bring the parties’ positions as close as possible and present the results to Trump.
“If we manage to get sufficient alignment between what the Ukrainians accept and what the Russians accept, then, I think, the President will have the opportunity to hold a meeting involving Putin and Zelensky to try to finalize this matter.”
– Marco Rubio
The Secretary of State also emphasized that a ceasefire must become an important part of the negotiation process, as it is difficult to reach peace agreements amid ongoing hostilities.
“But I think you will have to go a long way to understand how to end the war.”
– Marco Rubio
Regarding a possible call between Trump and Putin, Rubio stated that there are currently no concrete plans, but such a conversation could take place in the coming days.
Earlier reports indicated that Trump plans a personal meeting with Vladimir Putin as soon as next week. The U.S. president himself confirmed a “high likelihood” of meetings with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine.
On August 6, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff held a lengthy meeting with Putin in Moscow, the details of which have not yet been disclosed. Following this, Trump called the meeting “productive” on the social network Truth Social and reported significant progress.
“My envoy Steve Witkoff just had a very productive meeting with Putin. Significant progress was made! After that, I informed some of our European allies. Everyone agrees that this war must end, and we will be working on this in the coming days and weeks.”
– Donald Trump
Following this, a phone conversation took place between Zelensky and Trump with the participation of European leaders. The Ukrainian president noted that Russia seems more inclined toward a ceasefire, and pressure on it is yielding results.
“We proposed that soon our representatives – from Ukraine and partners, our security advisors – will talk to determine our position and a common view. Ukraine will definitely defend its independence.”
– Volodymyr Zelensky
Earlier, on July 14, 2025, Trump announced his intention to impose harsh tariffs if a ceasefire agreement was not reached within 50 days. On July 28, he shortened the deadline for Russia to 10-12 days.
On July 31, senior U.S. diplomat John Kelly informed the UN Council that Trump expects a war-ending agreement to be concluded by August 8.