US leaves it to Kiev if easing Russia sanctions should be part of peace deals

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According to Jose Fernandez, the US Under-Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, it should be left to Kiev to decide whether lifting sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its military campaign in Ukraine should be part of any peace agreement.

"Ukraine has paid a high price and earned the right to decide its sovereignty," Fernandez told Financial Times, adding that Kiev should decide whether to include the easing of western sanctions as part of any peace deals.

The diplomat went on to say that he does not expect the sanctions to be lifted until there is a significant shift in Ukraine's circumstances.

Fernandez stated that the US has a "long playbook" of sanctions against Moscow and sees no precondition for lifting those already in place.

Read more: EU Council to provide €500 million worth of arms to Ukraine

According to the Financial Times, the source repeated that the sanctions' "objective continues to be increasing the pain, the consequences on Russia, and minimizing the costs on the US."

The Under-Secretary also stated that the US is collaborating closely with the European Union to reduce its reliance on Russian energy sources and to implement additional sanctions against Moscow, as the EU is becoming less hesitant to sanction Russia's energy sector.

Read more: 10 years to replace Russian energy supply

Former US Ambassador Daniel Fried told the Financial Times that "if there was a peace deal on the table, sanctions easing would undoubtedly be part of the package."

However, he added that there is "another school of thought" that believes that sanctions should be kept "as long as Putin is in power because otherwise, he’ll commit aggression again."

Ukraine: Negotiations with Russia 'extremely difficult'

Two days ago, Kiev remarked that the ongoing talks with Russia to end the war was "extremely difficult". This comes after Russia accused Ukrainian negotiators of down-turning the discussions by repeatedly changing their security demands. 

Mykhaylo Podolyak, the Ukrainian Presidential Advisor, said, "Negotiations are extremely difficult. The Russian side adheres to its traditional tactics of public pressure on the negotiation process, including through certain public statements."

Talks to end the war in Ukraine have been talked about more than they've been implemented, with no results whatsoever on the horizon.