US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made it clear that easing sanctions against Russia could be a subject of negotiations over the war in Ukraine, saying that the US is ready to either tighten or ease sanctions depending on Russia's readiness to negotiate, in an interview with Bloomberg, UNN reports.
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"That would be a very good characterization," he said in response to a question about possible adjustments in either direction, "the President intends to end this conflict very quickly.
Bessent said that some recent remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that US President Donald Trump was misinformed about the war were "inappropriate" and that they brought "daylight" to US-Ukraine relations.
On Wednesday, Trump called Zelenskiy a "dictator" and, as the newspaper notes, "increased pressure on Kyiv to accept the terms of the agreement to end the war." The Ukrainian president objected to the US and Russia negotiating the deal without Ukraine's participation.
Bessent said Zelenskiy assured him before the Munich Security Conference over the weekend that Ukraine would sign a $500 billion deal to transfer rights to Ukrainian minerals, but has not yet signed. The deal, he said, would lay the groundwork for an "elegant" plan proposed by Trump to end the war.
"The sequence of what had to happen was this: bring the Ukrainians closer to the United States through economic ties, convince the American people, the American public, get them on our side," Bessent said. - "And then to tell the Russians: come to the negotiating table with a very strong message that if we need to, we will increase sanctions.
"The US, having a greater economic interest in Ukraine, provides a security shield," Bessent said.
Trump also suggested in a post on his Truth Social social network that Zelensky should hold elections in his country, which remains under martial law due to the war.
Asked about the president's remarks, Bessent said it was "probably necessary" for Ukraine to "move forward in the democratic process" after he described visiting a children's hospital that had been bombed during a recent visit to the country.