Rubio: imposing sanctions on Russia would mean another two years of war

President Trump has not yet imposed sanctions on Russia, because it would bury the chances of talks and sentenced us to the next two years of war – said on Sunday the secretary of state Marco Rubio in an interview with NBC television. At the same time, he announced that the coming week would be crucial and decide if the US still wants to get involved in the mediation of the conflict.

Rubio was asked in the program “Meet the Press” about the Saturday suggestion of President Trump that he could impose sanctions on Russia, because Vladimir Putin “brings” and does not want to stop the war. When asked why Trump did not do it yet, Rubio replied that he was still hoping in the success of diplomatic efforts.

“At the moment you start doing such things (impose sanctions), you leave it. You are condemning yourself to the next two years of the war and we do not want it to happen,” said the head of the US diplomacy. He also stated that only the US and President Trump are able to bring both sides closer and that they deserve praise due to their efforts in conversations.

At the same time, he noted that although it is currently closer to the fighting than during the three years of war, the initiative may not be novel, and the US administration will soon decide whether to continue to engage in mediation.

“The last few steps of this journey will always be the most difficult, but it must happen soon. We cannot continue, as I said, devoting time and resources to this effort, if it does not bring results. So the last week was really devoted to determining how close these pages are and whether they are close enough to deserve it to further invest our time as a mediator,” said the Secretary of State. He added that the coming week will be “critical”, and it will be a week, “in which we must decide whether it is an undertaking in which we want to still be involved.”

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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