Trump responds on whether his deadline for Putin still stands

US President Donald Trump has commented on the deadline he set for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to make progress in achieving a peaceful resolution to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The 10-day deadline announced by Trump is set to expire on Friday 8 August. The US president had earlier warned that secondary sanctions against Russia would follow if progress was not made.

When asked whether the deadline still stands, Trump replied: "It's going to be up to him [Putin – ed.]. And we are going to see what he has to say… Very disappointed," Trump said, speaking to journalists at the White House.

It is worth noting that after US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit to Moscow, Trump began to talk about "significant progress".

The Kremlin stated earlier that there had been an exchange of "certain signals" concerning the Russo-Ukrainian war during the conversation between Putin and Witkoff.