US Secretary of State comments on sanctions against Russia
Photo: Marco Rubio (Getty Images)
The United States has not lifted any of the sanctions against Russia imposed in previous years. Moscow has not done anything yet, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"The United States is not providing assistance to Russia. Every single sanction that has been imposed on Russia remains in place. They’re pretty sanctioned up. My point being is that we’ve, there’s been no steps taken to relieve any of these things," he said.
Commenting on the US plans for Russia if Moscow refuses the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, Rubio said:
"These things continue to be in place, but we don’t think it’s constructive for me to stand here today and begin to issue threats about what we’re going to do if Russia says no. Let’s hope they say yes."
On March 11, the United States agreed to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kyiv said it was ready to support Washington's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia.
After more than eight hours of talks with Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US would now pass the proposal on to Russia, and the ball is now in Moscow's court.
Rubio said that the US "will have contact" with Russia as early as March 12.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that advisers to US President Donald Trump are working on a plan to ease oil sanctions against Moscow.
