US President Donald Trump has been postponing the introduction of new sanctions on Russia since taking office in January of this year, hoping to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine. On Wednesday, however, he imposed sanctions on the two largest Russian oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, and canceled a meeting with Putin in Budapest. According to Bloomberg sources, the change in Trump’s long-term position was mainly prompted by his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marco Rubio, reports TASR.
The head of American diplomacy, according to unnamed American and European officials, concluded that Moscow is not willing to make significant changes in its demands regarding the end of the war in Ukraine. Sources say that after Monday’s phone call between Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the US foreign minister concluded that Russia was only trying to slow down the ceasefire talks and prolong the war.
Rubio therefore canceled the planned personal meeting with Lavrov, which was supposed to precede the meeting of the presidents in Budapest. Washington subsequently imposed new sanctions on Moscow on Wednesday and Trump announced that negotiations with Putin would not take place.
In this regard, Bloomberg points out that Rubio’s tougher stance on Russia contrasts with the approach of US special envoy and close Trump friend Steve Witkoff. According to several sources, during Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week, Witkoff urged the Ukrainian leader to agree to Putin’s demands for the Donbass to be ceded to Russia.
The unnamed sources said Rubio’s more direct involvement in talks with Russia is a relief to many European officials, who have expressed concern that With Witkoff at the head of the negotiations, the US could get closer to Russia’s position and put pressure on Ukraine to accept Moscow’s demands.
