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Russia and North Korea only nations to not face US tariffs, while goods from Ukraine will face new 10% levy
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The White House has defended its decision to not include Russia on its expansive list of countries that will face major new tariffs starting today.
US sanctions on Moscow already “preclude any meaningful trade”, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios on Wednesday. At the same time, war-hit Ukraine is facing 10 per cent tariffs from the US administration.
It comes as Vladimir Putin’s top negotiator, Kirill Dmitriev, held meetings in Washington.
Mr Putin’s investment envoy and one of the most US-savvy members of Russia’s elite, Mr Dmitriev, met with US officials in Washington yesterday. The highest-ranking Russian official to visit the US since the invasion in February 2022, he is visiting on invitation from Mr Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
His visit comes at a time when the Trump administration continues to press Russia and Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire. As he unveiled his tariffs on Wednesday, Mr Trump hailed “good cooperation” between Russia and Ukraine while underlining his desire to stop the war.
Donald Trump has hailed “good cooperation” between Russia and Ukraine as he underlined his desire to stop the war.
Speaking from the White House as he announced tariffs on US imports of goods from around the world, Mr Trump said: “We’re going to get it stopped.”
He added: “It’s a senseless war that would have never happened if I was president and it shouldn’t be allowed to go on.
“And I think we’ve been given good cooperation by Russia and by Ukraine, but we have to get it stopped.
“It’s humanity. It’s humanity. It’s a terrible thing.”
A team from Ukraine may be coming to the United States as soon as this week or next week, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg Television yesterday, amid efforts to end the war with Russia.
Last week, the top US official had said Ukraine may sign an economic deal this week.
“We have passed along a completed document for the economic partnership (that) is currently being reviewed by Ukrainians, and we hope to go to full discussions and perhaps even get signatures next week,” Mr Bessent had said.
The White House has defended its decision not to place tariffs on Russia, a decision which came as Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev visits Washington for a meeting with the Trump administration.
US sanctions on Moscow already “preclude any meaningful trade”, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios on Wednesday.
Donald Trump had earlier threatened Moscow with tariffs on crude oil, adding that he was “p***** off” with Vladimir Putin over his recent comments about Ukraine.
Ms Leavitt said that Russia could still face “additional strong sanctions”.
If you’re just joining us now, here’s everything you need to know from the past 24 hours:
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley writes:
Donald Trump is peeved. His officials are starting to spin that his plans for almost instant peace in Ukraine may take a lot longer, while Vladimir Putin’s business envoy heads for the White House, supposedly to make amends.
Yet what it truly reveals is that the 47th president continues to be played by the Kremlin.
Trump has unleashed a trade war, expressed colonial designs on two Nato members, scrambled Ukraine’s defensive war plans, shown public contempt for Europe and set about the pillars of American democracy with a sledgehammer.
Trump has shown a remarkable ability to interpret Moscow’s deepest desires and to deliver on them.
Kirill Dmitriev, one of Vladimir Putin’s most trusted international envoys, is in Washington for the first official visit of a Russian since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Details of the talks have been kept under wraps, but likely featured peace in Ukraine, the return of US companies to Russia, prisoner swaps, energy prices, and how to continue building ties between Washington and Moscow.
The US-educated, former Goldman Sachs investment banker, who was invited by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, has a strong relationship with many US officials including key members of the Trump team.
He may, therefore, be crucial in helping strengthen the relationship between the Kremlin and the White House – particularly after the US president recently said he was “p***** off” at his Russian counterpart for the failure to reach a quick ceasefire.
The Russian envoy played a significant role in the earliest contacts between Putin and Mr Trump after the latter first took office in 2016.
After Mr Dmitriev’s arrival and while announcing bombshell global tariffs – which didn’t include the previously-threatened levy on Russian crude oil – Mr Trump hailed the “good cooperation” by Russia and Ukraine.
European countries are providing more than half of Ukraine’s ammunition needs, which Volodymyr Zelensky recently put at two million rounds, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday.
It comes amid a European push to be more self-reliant in its support for Ukraine, with support from Washington no longer a guarantee under the Trump administration.
“These things are moving very well (…) we need to get the help to Ukraine as fast as possible. President Zelensky has said that they need five billion to have at least two million rounds,” Ms Kallas said ahead a of EU defence ministers summit in Warsaw.
“I’m glad to see that we already have different proposals or different countries are coming with their input to this, so we have already over 50% of what is needed,” she added.
Russia launched 39 drones against Ukraine overnight, the country’s air force said.
The Ukrainian air force shot down 28 drones and another seven did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, it said in a statement.
It did not detail what happened to the remaining four drones.
Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has said the US aims to secure a full ceasefire in the ongoing war soon.
Talking to Fox News, Mr Kellogg said Ukraine and Russia are already approaching a point of ceasefire but both sides will need to make compromises.
“Neither side is going to get everything they want,” he said.
“I know [Trump’s] frustrated with both Zelensky and Putin as well, but we’re going to get there, and I think what you have to do is stay really on focus, on point, to get where you want to go with the ceasefire. Because what we want to have is a comprehensive 30-day ceasefire. Once you get there, it’s gonna be really hard to restart the war again. That’s what I believe,” Mr Kellogg told Fox News last night.
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