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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denied a recent report in the U.S. media that he has discussed lifting sanctions on Russia related to the Ukraine deal. Rubio called the story published in Politico "blatantly false."
Claiming that Politico's publication was 'journalistic abuse', he wrote on social network X, 'This is clearly false. Neither Steve Witkoff (the US Middle East envoy) nor I have negotiated any lifting of sanctions against Russia as part of the deal with Ukraine. This is an abuse of journalism.''
Earlier, citing sources, Politico published news that the White House is discussing lifting sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline and potential other Russian assets in Europe as part of talks to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. The news marks a sharp shift in U.S. policy on lifting restrictions on one of the main pipelines linking Russia's natural gas fields with Western Europe. Former US President Joe Biden lifted those restrictions early in his term. But Russia re-imposed those sanctions after launching an attack on Ukraine in February 2022.
According to a source cited by Politico, White House special envoy Steve Wittkoff has been advocating for easing the sanctions against Russia. Since Trump took office as president, witkoff
has visited Russia three times. Wittkoff, who has had a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, is visiting Russia again next week.
He recently ordered a comprehensive inventory of US energy sanctions on Russia as part of negotiations with Russia. 'Nord Stream-1' and 'Nord Stream-2' are two pipelines built to transport gas through the Baltic Sea to Germany. Among them, the gas supply of "Nord Stream-1" was interrupted due to the explosion in September 2022. The investigation is ongoing. But some reports have suggested the possible involvement of Ukrainian nationals.
