Trump is still considering imposing economic sanctions on Russia

US President Trump said that if Russian President Putin does not agree to end the war in Ukraine, he is prepared to impose economic sanctions on Russia.

Reuters reported that when asked by reporters at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (August 26) whether Putin would face consequences for refusing to end the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump replied, "I am considering very, very tough actions, but I would rather see the war end."

He said, "We have economic sanctions." I choose the economy (sanctions) because we don't want to get involved in a world war.

To push for an end to the war that has lasted for more than three years, Trump has put on hold the sanctions threats he has repeatedly issued to Putin, but his mediation efforts have so far failed.

Trump said, "This won't be a world war. This will be an economic war." The economic war is bad. It's bad for Russia. I don't want this to happen.

He added, "Zelensky is not completely innocent either."

Trump is seeking a one-on-one meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin. Zelensky has agreed in principle to such an arrangement, but Putin has not. The Kremlin hinted that there is no such plan at present.

Despite the slow progress of diplomatic efforts, US and European officials continue to discuss the potential security guarantees that Washington might provide to Kyiv after a hypothetical agreement is reached, which could include air support or intelligence sharing.