US puts Russian sanctions on table for Ukraine deal

WASHINGTON: The US signalled that sanctions relief for Russia could be on the table in talks over the war in Ukraine as President Donald Trump rushes toward a deal to end the three-year conflict.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that the US is prepared to either ramp up or take down penalties based on the Kremlin's willingness to negotiate.

"That'd be a very good characterization," he said in response to a question about the potential for adjustments in either direction, in an interview on Bloomberg Television. "The president is committed to ending this conflict very quickly."


Bessent said recent remarks by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggesting that US President Donald Trump is misinformed about the war were "inappropriate" and that they had inserted "daylight" into the US-Ukrainian relationship.

Trump on Wednesday called Zelenskyy a "dictator" and ratcheted up pressure on Kyiv to accept the terms of a deal to end the war. The Ukrainian president had objected to the US and Russia negotiating an agreement without Kyiv's input.

Remarks from Bessent are the latest evidence of a major shift in the US stance toward Russia under Trump administration that has also left its European allies shocked and struggling for a response.

The change has affected talks among the Group of Seven nations, which is now struggling to agree on a draft communique to mark three years since Russia's invasion after an initial draft was significantly watered down, according to diplomats familiar with the talks.

Trump's broadside against Zelenskiy's legitimacy as the Ukrainian head of state, together with false claims about his low approval ratings, came as the country is under martial law, imposed in the wake of Russia's invasion, which prohibits it from holding elections.