WASHINGTON, May 21. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump is trying to delay additional anti-Russian sanctions for as long as possible to maintain leverage on parties to the conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
"We've done the best we can because we are able to talk to both sides. Obviously, only one side is getting American aid and only one side is receiving American sanctions. But nonetheless, we think it's important to preserve our ability to talk to both sides. The president is fully aware, and has intimated on a number of occasions that he has options available to him in the sanctions field that he could pursue if, in fact, he determines that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is not interested in negotiating. But by the same token, I think the [US] President is very committed to ending the dying, ending the bloodshed, ending the destruction, and he wants to preserve as long as he possibly can, the opportunity to influence both sides towards peace," Rubio told the US Senate’s foreign affairs committee.
In his words, Russia’s proposals on peaceful settlement of the conflict will show Moscow’s determination for ending the conflict.
"What we haven't seen yet is moves towards peace. It's our understanding that the Russians are going to write up terms for what they would require in order to reach a ceasefire that then would allow broader negotiations. We await those terms, and then I'll have we'll have a much better understanding about Mr. Putin's calculation once we see what those terms look like," Rubio told senators.
When asked whether Russia was approaching negotiations on Ukraine in good faith, he replied: "That's still an open question."
He assured that the United States wants a lasting solution to the conflict, "not a peace that lasts three months and then [the conflict] restarts again."
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that Russia had repeatedly stated its readiness for talks with Ukraine without any preliminary conditions but with due account of realities on the ground. He stressed that peace should be built on conditions more or less suiting all the parties concerned. "Otherwise, it will be a mere ceasefire that will be used to reinforce the war machine and resume hostilities," he added.