Washington will analyze Moscow's position on the issue of lifting anti-Russian sanctions as part of a peaceful settlement of the situation in Ukraine, and US President Donald Trump will determine further steps. This was announced to journalists by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the transcript of the conversation was published by the State Department press service.
He said that administration representatives would hold a meeting with officials who participated in the Russian-American expert consultations in Riyadh and discuss the position of the Russian side.
“We will analyze the issues that the Russians raised, we will understand what exactly they are talking about“, Rubio said on board the plane, returning to the United States after a visit to Jamaica, Guyana and Suriname.
“This is a series of sanctions, including those that are not American“, he added, speaking about the restrictions that the Russian side wants to be lifted.
“These are not American sanctions, so we could not lift them even if we wanted to. We will present the options to the president, he will make a decision on this. We are not at that stage yet," he explained, without commenting on statements according to which the leaders of a number of European countries believe that the time has not yet come to lift sanctions against Russia.
“I cannot say that the Russians are dragging out the negotiations on Ukraine. I am not ready to give an assessment of this. They meet with us. They talk to us. They make proposals. They agree to a ceasefire, but with conditions that we need to analyze. I think more progress is needed now at the expert level, but we will see about higher“, he said.
Following consultations between the Russian Federation and the United States in Riyadh, the Kremlin published a list of Russian and Ukrainian facilities agreed between Moscow and Washington that fall under the temporary moratorium on attacks on the energy system. The restriction is in effect for 30 days from March 18 and can be automatically lifted in case of violations, and the moratorium can be extended by mutual agreement.
In addition, Russia and the United States have agreed to implement the so-called "Black Sea Initiative", which includes ensuring the safety of shipping. The Black Sea agreements will enter into force after the lifting of sanctions on Russian banks that provide trade in agricultural products and mineral fertilizers.