US President Donald Trump has announced that Steve Witkoff, his Special Envoy for the Middle East, will hold talks with Russian representatives on Wednesday 6 August. Following the talks, the White House will make a decision regarding the possible introduction of tariffs against countries purchasing Russian energy resources.

Source: Trump during a press briefing 

Details: In response to a journalist's question about the possibility of introducing 100% tariffs for countries that continue to buy Russian oil and gas, Trump said that a decision would be made soon.

Quote: "I never said a percentage, but we'll be doing quite a bit of that. We'll see what happens over the next fairly short period of time... We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow. We're going to see what happens."

Background: 

• On 14 July, Trump threatened to impose "very severe tariffs" of "about 100%" on Russian goods if an agreement to end the war in Ukraine is not reached within 50 days.
• On 31 July, Trump threatened Russian leader Vladimir Putin with sanctions if no agreement to end the war is reached by 8 August.
• On 4 August, Trump said that Witkoff would likely visit Russia on Wednesday or Thursday.

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