Bloomberg: The United States will involve the European Union in the implementation of the agreement with Russia on Ukraine
American representatives assured the Europeans that the European Union would become a party to a future peace agreement on Ukraine, Bloomberg reports. Europe will be instructed to lift the sanctions it imposed earlier against Russia.
Natalia Drozdyak
Alberto Nardelli
Andrea Palasciano
U.S. officials have told their European counterparts that the European Union will become a party to any peace agreement on Ukraine, as one of Russia's conditions is the lifting of sanctions imposed by the bloc. This was reported by informed sources.
According to the people, who agreed on condition of anonymity to disclose the contents of the confidential conversations, the United States has made it clear to the Europeans that the cessation of hostilities is a priority, and discussions on issues such as possible security measures for Ukraine will take place later.
Such a measure may to some extent dispel the fears of the allies that the United States will try to conclude an agreement without the participation of European leaders, which could weaken Ukraine or the security of Europe. So far, President Donald Trump has largely kept Europe out of his negotiations with Ukraine and Russia.
These fears intensified on Tuesday, after Trump's phone conversation with Putin. During the conversation, Putin rejected Trump's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, agreeing only to stop attacks on the country's energy infrastructure and demanding that the United States and other countries stop providing Kiev with weapons and intelligence.
“This process is now in full swing, and we hope that in the name of saving humanity we will do our job!” Trump wrote in his post on the Truth social network.
Ukraine's allies imposed a series of sanctions against Russia after the outbreak of a full-scale conflict in 2022. These measures have affected both individuals who are considered close to the Russian authorities and legal entities. Secondary sanctions have also been introduced, which are designed to increase the impact of direct restrictions by punishing third parties doing business with blacklisted organizations.
U.S. officials have repeatedly told allies that sanctions will remain in effect until an agreement is reached, and that they are ready to increase pressure on the Kremlin if it refuses to work on an agreement, including in the energy sector.
Representatives of the US National Security Council and the State Department did not comment on this topic. Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised this issue in his speech to reporters at the G7 summit in Charlevoix (Quebec) last week.
“The European Union has imposed serious sanctions on the Russian Federation and individuals located in Russia," he said. – Therefore, they will need to be consulted and they need to be involved in this process, and so on. So let's not define anything in advance and get ahead of ourselves.”
After meeting with Trump last week, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Bloomberg television that relations with Russia should return to normal as soon as the fighting in Ukraine stops. He also stressed that it is necessary to maintain pressure on Moscow, thus ensuring progress in the negotiations on a cease-fire.
However, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kastutis Budris told reporters that at this stage, “even the very consideration” of the possibility of restoring relations with Russia is harmful. According to him, before this happens, Russia needs to make a large number of concessions, including the cessation of hostilities, the return of occupied Ukrainian territory and the payment of reparations to Ukraine.
