U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed the opinion that the sanctions imposed should be taken into account when finalizing the peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. In his view, this condition is critically important for achieving lasting peace.
This is reported by Kyiv24
“We strive to achieve peace for as long as it takes. That doesn’t mean I can guarantee you that an agreement will be reached in a week or a month. I simply cannot set a timeline because it does not depend on us. It depends on the Russians and the Ukrainians. It also depends on our European partners who have sanctions that I believe must be considered in any final agreement,” Rubio said.
Negotiations in Riyadh
The negotiations between the U.S. delegation and representatives of Russia took place in Riyadh and lasted over 12 hours. The Kremlin issued a statement regarding the results of the talks, noting that the agreement to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea supposedly comes into effect after a number of sanctions against Russia are lifted. However, Washington did not mention such a condition in its statement.
Comment from the U.S. President
U.S. President Donald Trump, commenting on the results of the negotiations in Saudi Arabia, stated that there has been “great progress.” Meanwhile, Ukraine and its European partners believe it is too early to talk about lifting sanctions against Russia, as it is not demonstrating any real intentions for peace.