President Donald J. Trump on Friday reportedly renewed his warning that the United States could impose sweeping sanctions on Russia if progress is not made toward a peaceful settlement in Ukraine within two weeks, signaling both frustration and resolve after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin in Alaska last week.
“I’m going to make a decision as to what we do and it’s going to be, it’s going to be a very important decision, and that’s whether or not it’s massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both, or we do nothing and say it’s your fight,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House.
The president expressed particular concern about Russia’s deadly strike on a factory in Ukraine earlier this week. “I’m not happy about it, and I’m not happy about anything having to do with that war,” he said.
Mr. Trump has sought to carve out a role as a negotiator capable of pushing both sides toward dialogue.
After his Alaska summit with Mr. Putin on August 15, he began laying groundwork for a potential meeting between Mr. Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The U.S. president said arrangements were underway following a Monday call with Mr. Putin.
But Mr. Zelensky on Friday accused Russia of obstructing such efforts. “The meeting is one of the components of how to end the war,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “And since they don’t want to end it, they will look for space to (avoid it).”
Moscow, for its part, downplayed expectations. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told NBC there was “no agenda for such a summit.” He added, “Putin is ready to meet with Zelensky when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all.”
Mr. Trump, asked about the Russian remarks, noted the challenge of brokering cooperation. “Well, we’ll see. We’re going to see if Putin and Zelensky will be working together. It’s like oil and vinegar a little bit,” he said.
The president, who had temporarily taken sanctions off the table before his Anchorage meeting with Mr. Putin, nevertheless brandished leverage again on Friday.
Holding up a photograph of his meeting with the Russian leader, he said Mr. Putin wanted to attend the 2026 World Cup in the United States. “I’m going to sign this for him,” Mr. Trump said, adding that the visit “may be coming, and he may not, depending on what happens.”
Mr. Putin, visiting a nuclear research center Friday, praised Mr. Trump’s leadership qualities. “With the arrival of President Trump, I think that a light at the end of the tunnel has finally loomed. And now we had a very good, meaningful and frank meeting in Alaska,” he said.
The war has exacted a steep toll, with thousands of civilians killed and analysts estimating more than a million soldiers on both sides killed or wounded.
Russia has demanded Ukraine cede territory in the east and south, while proposing to freeze front lines in other contested regions.
Mr. Zelensky, once adamant about a lengthy ceasefire before negotiations, has dropped that demand, though he continues to insist Ukraine “cannot negotiate under the barrel of a gun.”
At his joint appearance with Mr. Rutte, the Ukrainian leader pressed for robust Western security guarantees. Mr. Rutte echoed that message, saying NATO allies and Ukraine were “working together to ensure security guarantees are strong enough that Russia will never try to attack again.”
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