United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday appeared to rule out additional sanctions on Russia, days after a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The problem is this – let’s use our heads here. The problem is this: The minute you levy additional sanctions, strong additional sanctions, the talking stops. Talking stops. And at that point, the war just continues,” Rubio said.
“You’ve probably just added six, eight, nine, 12 more months to the war, if not longer. More people dead, more people killed, more people maimed, more families destroyed, okay? That’s what happens if you do that,” the US Secretary of State added.
Rubio clarified that Trump would take “further action” if a peace agreement cannot be reached between Russia and Ukraine. “Now, we may end up being at a point where we have to do that, where there is no other recourse and that’s the end,” Rubio said, adding that the US Had already imposed “severe sanctions” on Russia.
“They’re already facing sanctions – severe sanctions – and they’re facing them from the Europeans as well. So we may very well reach a point where everyone concludes no peace is going to happen here, we’re going to have to do more sanctions,” Rubio said.
However, he said that imposing sanctions at present would imply “walking away from any prospect of a negotiated settlement”.
This comes after Trump on Sunday said that “big progress” had been made regarding Russia. “BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social without providing any further details.
The US President met Putin at an air base in Alaska, with talks between the two leaders lasting for over three hours. This was also the first time Putin was allowed on Western soil since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
