New York Times: No US plans to impose agreement with Russia on Ukraine and Europe
The New York Times reported on Friday that the administration of President Donald Trump has no plans to impose conditions on Kiev and Europe if a bilateral agreement is reached with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
The New York Times published details of phone conversations held by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio with some European officials following the meeting between US and Russian delegations in Riyadh a few days ago.
The report said Rubio told his European counterparts in phone calls that there were no plans to impose the terms of any bilateral agreement with Russia on Ukraine and Europe.
Accordingly, Rubio also stressed that the talks in Riyadh were the first step towards measuring Russia’s sincerity in the peace process.
The New York Times explained that Rubio stated that the steps that will be taken towards normalizing diplomatic relations will be a test to understand Russia’s true intentions.
“If Moscow cannot make progress even on this issue, it will be clear that they are not serious about Ukraine either,” Rubio said.
The US Secretary of State stressed that Washington won’t lift sanctions on Russia unless there is a significant change in its behavior, and that if it begins to take the steps the United States wants, this will allow for limited relief of some sanctions.
Rubio also told European officials that he couldn’t confirm the Russians’ seriousness about the deal with just one meeting, but he felt that Moscow might be intent on moving the talks forward.
On Tuesday, Riyadh witnessed talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Foreign Minister Marco Rubio.
