US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statements in support of Ukraine demonstrate that what Moscow once called “Biden's war” has now become “Trump's war,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday, according to state news agency RIA.
Lavrov was also quoted as saying that the fighting in Ukraine would have already ended if the US had really sought a peace deal, Reuters notes.
Rubio told a US Senate subcommittee on Wednesday that there would be news “fairly soon” about the $400 million that Congress has approved for Ukraine-related needs, but which has so far been withheld at the Defense Department (Pentagon).
Rubio's comments in support of Ukraine demonstrate that there are no fundamental differences between the US and European approaches, Lavrov also said, according to RIA.
Rubio, worried about the risk of an “escalation” of the war in Ukraine
Also Wednesday before a parliamentary subcommittee, the head of US diplomacy pointed to the risk of an “escalation” in the war between Russia and Ukraine, after the Ukrainian drone attack that hit energy and military facilities in St. Petersburg, Russia.
“What has changed in recent months is that Ukraine has become increasingly effective in conducting long-range attacks deep into Russian territory,” the secretary of state said.
“I think that's one of the reasons that reminds us why it's important to try to end this war if we can, because the risk of escalation is real, more real than it was two years ago,” Rubio added.
It was the first reaction from the United States after mutual attacks by Russia and Ukraine in recent days, despite the fact that Rubio was questioned for several hours during parliamentary hearings in which the topic of the war in Ukraine was largely ignored, AFP and Agerpres reported.
On Tuesday, a massive Russian drone and missile attack killed 23 people in Kiev and the industrial city of Dnipro in east-central Ukraine.
“Right now, neither side is willing to make the necessary concessions to restore peace, especially from the Russian side,'' Rubio stressed, adding that the United States remains “ready to play any possible role in this context to restore peace.”
Speaking before another panel on Wednesday morning, the US foreign minister admitted that “the outlook does not look very good in terms of the willingness of either side to make the necessary concessions to reach an agreement”.
Washington has unsuccessfully held a series of negotiations with the Ukrainians and Russians, and the talks are deadlocked.
Elected Democrats have slammed Rubio over the temporary exemption of Russian oil from US sanctions, pointing out that it funds Russia's war machine.
Washington introduced the waiver in March in an attempt to temper a spike in oil prices following the Middle East war. This has already been extended several times.
The US sanctions were aimed at draining Russian oil revenues and thus this source of funding for Moscow's war in Ukraine.
