The US will not lift sanctions on Russia until there is a peace agreement in Ukraine

The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told European allies that the US will not lift sanctions on Russia at least until an agreement is reached to end the war in Ukraine.

Bloomberg reports this, citing sources.

The phone call between Rubio and a group of European colleagues came after the US Secretary of State joined US President Donald Trumpʼs national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff in talks with the Russian delegation in Saudi Arabia.

Bloomberg notes that the continued tightening of sanctions against Russia has been a central part of the allied efforts to pressure the Kremlin. Many of the sanctions were imposed by the United States in partnership with European allies. So if the United States decides to lift the restrictions early, it would deal a serious blow to Europeʼs efforts to deprive Putin of the money he needs to finance the war in Ukraine.

So Rubioʼs assurances about sanctions may somewhat reassure European allies who feared that the US would abandon sanctions against Russia. After all, the day before, after a meeting with the Russian delegation, he hinted at the possibility of lifting sanctions on Russia in order to achieve peace in Ukraine. Then Rubio said that "in order to end any conflict, all parties must make concessions", but it would be wrong to "predetermine them".

The State Department report on Rubioʼs conversation with European allies did not mention sanctions, but noted that the countries "agreed to remain in close contact" as they worked to achieve "a final end to the conflict in Ukraine".

Rubio believes that an agreement to end the war will open up opportunities for economic and geopolitical partnerships with the Russians. Both sides — American and Russian — were optimistic after the talks.

• On February 18, Russia and the United States held their first talks in Saudi Arabia. No specific date has been agreed upon for the meeting between Putin and Trump, which is unlikely to take place next week. However, the parties agreed to create negotiating groups to end the war in Ukraine.
• After them, the US President Donald Trump criticized Kyiv and Brussels, and also supported holding elections in Ukraine. In his opinion, during the "three years of war" there were opportunities to conclude a peace agreement with Russia.

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