US official neither confirms nor denies August 8 sanctions on Russia

Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State, Tommy Pigott, neither confirmed nor denied whether the US administration plans to impose sanctions against Russia on August 8, Report informs.

Pigott made the statement during a briefing in response to a related question.

He said there was a lot of speculation surrounding the topic and that he would not comment on it.

On July 14, US President Donald Trump stated that he was allowing a 50-day period to reach agreements on resolving the situation around Ukraine, after which he intended to impose 100% trade tariffs against Moscow and its trading partners. On July 29, the American leader announced that he was shortening this period to 10 days, noting that he did not know whether such a step would affect Russia’s position. On July 31, John Kelley, Deputy Acting US Representative to the UN, said that Trump believed Russia and Ukraine should reach a peace agreement by August 8.

The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US President’s Special Envoy Steven Witkoff. According to Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, Russia and the US agreed to arrange a meeting between Putin and Trump in the coming days. He said preparations for the summit had already begun.