Zelenskyy: US plans to lift Russia sanctions gradually after war
The draft agreement on ending Russia's war against Ukraine contains no provision on the lifting of US sanctions on Russia, but Washington intends to move towards their gradual removal after the war is over.
Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a press briefing on Tuesday, as cited by Interfax-Ukraine and reported by European Pravda
Details: Zelenskyy said he does not consider it important for the agreement to explicitly state that sanctions on Russia will be lifted, because it is unclear what will happen next.
Quote: "We do not see the lifting of sanctions in this agreement between Ukraine and America, but we understand that after the war ends, America will move towards the gradual lifting of sanctions. And here the question is how strong the Europeans can be.
American sanctions are American sanctions. There are also European sanctions and sanctions imposed by other countries. Sanctions are a multilateral issue, and it would be quite strange for anyone to make promises on behalf of others, especially since we still do not understand how seriously the Russians treat this or that document, or the end of the war in general."
Details: Zelenskyy also said that the United States wants to maintain a certain parity with Russia if it grants free trade to Ukraine. "They are talking about a free trade agreement with Ukraine and a free trade agreement with Russia," he added.
"But that is what they are talking about. We are talking about ourselves – about the possibility of free trade between Ukraine and the United States," the president noted, commenting on point 10 of the peace plan, which provides that after the peace agreement is concluded, Ukraine will fast-track a free trade agreement with the US.
Background:
- Bloomberg has reported that the United States is preparing a new round of sanctions targeting Russia's energy sector in the event that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin rejects a potential peace deal.
- Last week, the United States extended an exemption allowing oil sales from Russia's Sakhalin-2 project until 18 June next year.
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