US delegation to Moscow included Treasury official in charge of sanctions, Axios says
The US delegation visiting Moscow also included Gene Lange, acting head of the sanctions division at the US Treasury Department, as well as representatives of the National Security Council and the US State Department.
Source: Axios
Details: Lange joined US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during their visit. He took part in a preparatory meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy of Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, but did not attend the meeting with Putin.
Axios says that Lange's participation indicates that US sanctions against Russia were one of the topics discussed.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers' meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, last week and said that the US would not provide Russia with economic relief until it ends its war against Ukraine.
Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov later told Russian journalists that Witkoff and Kushner had "made serious preparations for this trip. They not only expressed their traditional interest in a speedy end to the fighting but also formulated a number of ideas regarding possible resolution paths."
A White House representative told Axios that "officials from the National Security Council, State Department and Treasury Department" were present at the meeting with Witkoff, Kushner and Putin.
The official added that "the two sides discussed substantive plans for next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks, and look forward to equally productive meetings tomorrow in Ukraine".
Background:
- On 5 September, Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow. They went to the Kremlin after a business lunch with Dmitriev. The US negotiators are expected in Kyiv on 6 September.
- On the afternoon of 5 September, the Kremlin announced that Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out on Kyiv for three days, starting from midnight.
- After speaking with Trump's special envoys, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv is willing to halt airstrikes on the cities involved in the negotiating process.
- After talks between Trump's representatives and Putin ended, the Kremlin highlighted the key points of the discussions.
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