We can reach the moment when we will support new sanctions against Russia, if it is not actually interested in peace – said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday. He added that the administration is working on providing Ukraine with subsequent Patriot systems.
In this way, Rubio answered the questions of the Senators of the Democratic Party, or the act reported in the Senate on sanctions against Russia, including against its oil sector and countries buying Russian oil.
“Yes, it may happen if it really turns out that the Russians are not interested in a peace agreement and just want to continue to wage war, it is very possible that (then – PAP) will happen,” said the head of American diplomacy. He also said that He warned the Russian side that the administration has no control over the Congress And he cannot guarantee that additional sanctions will not be imposed if Moscow is not skin until the end of the war.
The US President Donald Trump referred to the question in a more laconic way, who only answered: “We'll see” during a visit to the Capitol on Tuesday.
During the speech before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Rubio replied with Democrats that America got rid of pressure on Russia, and Trump is “played like a child” by Vladimir Putin and “threw Ukraine under a riding bus.” The head of diplomacy argued that the administration has not abolished any sanctions yet, did not make any concessions to Russia and continues to send military aid Ukraine. However, he refused to answer the question whether this help would continue when the current funds allocated for this purpose are exhausted. Rubio noted that he is working on providing Ukraine with additional Patriot systems.
“To be honest, we don't have them, but We work closely with our allies with NATO. There are allies from NATO who have some Patriot shell faucets that they could provide (…) to Ukrainians to defend, for example, the aircraft of Kiev and other places, “he said, however, that none of these countries wants to give up their patriots, taking into account that new ones are produced quickly enough.
He also assessed that nowadays the main problem of negotiations is that “Russia wants what she does not have and what she is not due, and Ukraine wants what he cannot regain militarily.” He stated, however, that it is still a “open question” whether Russia is negotiating in good faith. He said that the challenge is the fact that the entire Russian economy is based on war production and Moscow is more profitable to continue the fight.
At the same time, he noted that Trump wants to “keep the possibility of influencing both sides (wars – PAP) towards peace as long as possible, suggesting that this is why he has not imposed additional sanctions on Russia.
“We understand that the Russians will now exchange their conditions (…) Achieving a weapon suspension, which will allow broader negotiations. We are waiting for these conditions, (…) I will have a much better understanding of Mr. Putin's calculation when we see what these conditions look like,” said Rubio.
The deputy head of the commission, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen criticized Rubio and his policy, including a radical limitation of foreign help, claiming that in this way he reflects the field of China and undermines the US image in the world. As an example, she gave an anecdote from her visit to Poland at the border with Ukraine.
As she reported in Poland, “one of the most pro -American countries in the world”, she met with a representative of a non -governmental organization dealing with work with Ukrainian refugees. As she said, after the suspension of humanitarian aid by Trump's administration, her interlocutor told her that although Poles have always admired the US, “his trust in (this country – PAP) was disappointed”.
Other opposition senators regretted that they voted for the approval of Rubio as a secretary of defense, and asked rhetorically if he was proud of the destruction of the US global leadership. “
Rubio replied that despite the reduction of foreign help by 80 percent. The US provides it more than 10 consecutive countries combined. He also assured that foreign help would be continued, and the programs that were limited “did not make sense” or were inefficient.
Republican senator: We should have been introducing new sanctions against Russia a long time ago
I think that we should have been introducing new sanctions against Russia and many other senators a long time ago want to send a clear message in this matter – Republican Mike Rounds told PAP. The senator admitted, however, that the fate of the bill “crushing” sanctions against Russia depends on the management of the party and President Trump.
Rounds referred in an interview with PAP to reported in April and currently in the draft law in the Committee on Banking imposing “crushing” sanctions against Russia, if it does not negotiate in good faith. Reported by the Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, the project assumes, among others 500 percent Dutch for countries buying Russian oil, as well as blocking sanctions for the Russian banking and oil sector. The Act also calls for further military assistance to ensure Ukraine. However, although the document has already gained signatures of as many as 80 senators of both party, no further work has been undertaken yet.
Rounds, a member of the commission, stated that in his opinion it had to be accepted a long time ago.
“Personally, I think that it should be done earlier. I also think that we should show Ukraine more support than what we do,” a politician from South Dakota told PAP. “There are many members of the Senate who would like to send a clear signal in this matter: that if a peace plan is not established – and it is clear that Mr. Putin is an obstacle – and if he is not ready to get involved in stopping this war now, there will be serious consequences,” he said. He noted that the sanctions provided for in the project are “extremely aggressive”. He admitted, however, that whether they would be implemented depends on the party's management and President Donald Trump.
One of the leading party senators, John Cornyn from Texas, spoke in a similar tone, who on Tuesday, while hearing the foreign committee of Foreign Affairs, asked the Secretary of the United State Marek Rubio about whether Russia is negotiating in good faith. Rubio replied that this was still an “open question”, but suggested that Moscow is paying off, because her economy became addicted to war production.
When asked about this statement, Cornyn told PAP that he agrees with Rubio, that “the jury has still not issued a sentence” regarding Russia's intentions, although he added that he doubts the honesty of Vladimir Putin's declaration about the desire for peace.
“I do not think that sanctions are particularly effective in the case of someone like Vladimir Putin, but we must use all available resources to put pressure on it, and this may require us to use sanctions. But I do not think that they are the only way out,” he said.
Rubio on Tuesday did not rule out the support of the bill if the administration decides that Russia does not negotiate in good faith.
“It can happen if it really turns out that the Russians are not interested in a peace agreement and simply want to continue to wage war. It is very possible that (then – PAP) will happen,” said the head of American diplomacy. He also said that he warned the Russian side, that the administration has no control over the Congress and he could not guarantee that additional sanctions would not be imposed if Moscow is not skin until the end of the war.
However, John Hardie doubts the success of the Congress initiative, the Think-Tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) John Hardie. He said, although the pressure from the congress is valuable and it is not excluded that the act will be adopted, ultimately everything will depend on the will of Donald Trump. As he noted, the entries in the project allow the president to move away from sanctions. He also added that if Trump will make the Republicans clearly to understand that he did not want sanctions, then the President will not perform such a large number of politicians of this party that it would be enough to reject the veto of the head of state. Hardie reminded that although Trump repeatedly threatened to impose sanctions in the absence of progress in negotiations, he quickly withdrew from this idea.
Oskar Górzyński from Washington
From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)
OSK/ AKL/
