Rubio: Russian delegation paid cash for refueling plane in Alaska due to sanctions
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Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and his delegation were forced to pay cash for refueling the plane during a visit to Alaska, as Russians cannot use the American banking system due to sanctions. About said uS Secretary of State Marco Rubio on NBC News.

According to him, the administration Donald Trump did not impose new sanctions against Russia, but all previous sanctions remain in effect.

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"They [the Russians] face the consequences [of the sanctions] every day, but the bottom line is that it didn't change the course of the war. It doesn't mean that the sanctions were inappropriate, it means that they didn't change the outcome," Rubio said.

Speaking about the summit and the current state of the negotiations, Rubio defended Trump's decision not to impose further sanctions on Russia, despite Putin's failure to agree to a ceasefire.

Rubio emphasized that there is no evidence that the new sanctions will be effective and force Russia to immediately lay down its arms, as the restrictions will take months or even years to take effect.

He also said that the announcement of new US sanctions against Russia would stop the peace talks.

"These options [ed. – imposing sanctions] are up to the president. As soon as he takes these steps, all negotiations will stop. Once we take these steps, there will be no one left in the world who can talk to the Russians and try to engage them in negotiations to reach a peace agreement," Rubio added.

Putin stayed in Alaska for about five hours, where he and Trump held a joint press conference.

The American president said that no agreements were reached. At the same time, the media reported that Russia had allegedly made an offer that Trump could discuss with Kyiv.

  • On August 18, Trump initially will hold a separate meeting with Zelenskyy, and after that we will meet with European partners.
  • Before the Trump-Zelensky meeting join president of the European Commission, NATO Secretary General, Presidents of Finland and France, British Prime Minister, German Chancellor, and others.
  • Zelensky has already arrived in Washington, D.Cwhere he is scheduled to meet with Trump.