White House says Ukraine and Russia are not ready for talks
White House adviser John Kirby said that he currently sees no readiness for negotiations on the part of either Ukraine or Russia.
He said this during a briefing on January 10, commenting on the new US sanctions against Russia, Ukrinform informs, Censor.NET reports.
Kirby denied that the new sanctions against Russia were imposed as a bargaining chip in the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
"This (imposition of sanctions against Russia - ed.) was not done with the expectation that it would be a bargaining chip that could be taken off the table when Ukraine wants to sit down at this negotiating table. There is no expectation that either side is ready to negotiate," the White House official said.
He noted that the decision to impose additional sanctions was based on forecasts for the foreign and domestic markets in the energy sector.
Kirby also confirmed that earlier large-scale sanctions in this area had been postponed in order to keep energy prices in the US from rising.
On January 10, the United States imposed sanctions on a number of Russian oil and insurance companies. More than 180 tankers were also blacklisted.
