NEW YORK, September 15. /TASS/. European countries that ask Washington to tighten sanctions against Russia should first of all impose similar restrictions themselves, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with Fox News.
When asked how long President Donald Trump would wait before imposing new sanctions, Rubio noted that the president would not "artificially announce a time frame. But he’s also pointed out that it’s important for Europe to do so as well. There are still countries in Europe that are buying Russian products, including Russian oil. And what the president has challenged our European partners is to impose the sanctions themselves that they’re asking us to impose. So if they feel deeply committed to this, they should take – we want to encourage them to actually do the things they’re asking us to do."
On September 13, Trump said he was ready to impose tough sanctions on Russia if all members of the North Atlantic Alliance acted together and stopped buying Russian oil. He noted that the continued import of Russian energy by some NATO allies weakened the negotiating positions of the alliance. Besides, he called on the NATO countries to impose 50-100% import duties on China to put an end to the Ukrainian crisis. The tariffs can be abolished after a peaceful settlement.