Russia Says Normalizing Ties with US Will Require Lifting Sanctions on Moscow
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was responding to a question about a Reuters report that said the United States is drawing up a plan to potentially give Russia sanctions relief as President Donald Trump seeks to restore ties with Moscow and stop the war in Ukraine.
"It is probably too early to say anything. We have not heard any official statements, but in any case, our attitude towards sanctions is well known, we consider them illegal," Peskov said.
"And, of course, if we talk about normalizing bilateral relations, they need to be freed from this negative burden of so-called sanctions."
The US and other Western countries have imposed waves of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.
The Reuters report quoted a US official and another person familiar with the matter as saying the White House has asked the State and Treasury departments to draft a list of sanctions that could be eased for US officials to discuss with Russian representatives in the coming days.
The Kremlin also said the next round of Russia-US talks on ending the war in Ukraine is unlikely to happen before the embassies of both countries resume normal operations.
"Unlikely," Peskov, the press secretary of President Vladimir Putin, told RIA state news agency in response to a question whether the negotiations could start before the two countries' embassies fully reopen. Operations have been curtailed since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
On Monday, Trump paused military aid to Ukraine after his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week, deepening the fissure that has opened between the two allies.
Before Trump began his second term as US president in January, ties between the two nuclear superpowers of Russia and the United States had plummeted to their lowest in decades following Russia's invasion.
Trump, who has promised a quick end to the war, has upended US policy swiftly to open talks with Moscow, including calls and meetings that have alarmed Washington's European allies and Kyiv.
At the end of February, Russia and US teams held hours of talks in Türkiye, narrowly focusing on restoring normal functioning of their embassies, and Putin said initial contacts with Trump's new administration had inspired hope.
Last week, Russia said it was sending a new ambassador to Washington, the latest sign of a thaw between the two countries, but it remains unclear when the full work of both embassies will resume.
Peskov also told RIA that it was too early say where the next round of talks between Russia and the United States might take place.
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