'US could adjust Russia sanctions over Ukraine talks'
President Donald Trump has rattled Kyiv and its European backers by opening talks with Moscow that they fear could force Ukraine to make concessions to Russia, which invaded in 2022.
US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent speaks during a joint press conference with Ukraine's president in Kyiv on February 12, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
By AFP .
Journalists @New Vision
_________________
WASHINGTON - The United States is prepared to tighten or loosen sanctions against Russia depending on the outcome of Ukraine peace talks, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested on Thursday.
President Donald Trump has rattled Kyiv and its European backers by opening talks with Moscow that they fear could force Ukraine to make concessions to Russia, which invaded in 2022.
Asked by Bloomberg News if the US Treasury has prepared two sets of plans to either intensify or ease sanctions against Russia depending on how the talks go, Bessent replied: "I think that'd be a very good characterization."
On Wednesday, Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator", escalating a personal rift between the two a few days after Zelensky rejected a US proposal -- unveiled by Bessent in Kyiv -- to provide support in exchange for access to Ukraine's natural resources.
"I think President Zelensky unfortunately escalated," he said, calling the Ukrainian president's remarks at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend "inappropriate."
"President Zelensky, when I met with him, assured me that he'd be signing the minerals deal in Munich. He has not," added Bessent.