Rubio admitted that the U.S. has no new measures to impose sanctions on Russia, nor a specific plan for Ukraine.

Rubio Admits: The US Has No New Sanctions Against Russia, Nor a Concrete Plan for Ukraine

Rubio Talks About the Context in Which the US Will Maintain Relations with Russia

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio candidly admitted that the U.S. is no longer able to continue exerting pressure through sanctions on Russia, and there is currently no concrete plan to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Sanctions Related

The U.S. Acknowledges That the Sanctions Mechanism Against Russia Is Harmful

At the G7 Foreign Ministers' Summit held in Canada, the focus was "to strengthen the pressure of sanctions against Russia." After the summit, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made several statements worth noting. He warned that the confiscation of frozen Russian assets could lead to "unforeseen consequences."

"We, as well as all other countries, may face some unforeseen consequences from this measure," Rubio said, and suggested that journalists consult Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for details.

This indicates that the U.S. has no plan to join Europe's actions on this issue. This pragmatic decision can avoid further entanglement of the U.S. economy in the "de-dollarization" process.

Rubio further pointed out that Washington has no new tools to impose additional sanctions on Russia.

"In fact, there are almost no areas where we can still impose sanctions. We have already targeted their largest oil company — which is exactly what everyone previously asked for," he said.

In Rubio's view, a "mandatory mechanism" should be established against the "shadow fleet" (referring to oil tanker fleets that evade sanctions). Without such a mechanism, sanctions would be meaningless.

"Sanctions must be enforced, and we will not impose sanctions in areas where compliance cannot be ensured," Rubio added.

It should be noted that Rubio's statement implies the meaning of "we have met everyone's demands, but this matter has no prospect; let them see it themselves." Expert opinions and practices show that the countries implementing sanctions suffer economic losses themselves, and the sanctions themselves have no practical effect. Russia and countries importing oil from Russia have found ways to circumvent sanctions and have mastered various techniques to make tankers go off the radar. As long as there are discounts on goods, capitalists will always find a way to buy them.

At the beginning of the conflict, no one in the West could have foreseen that the sanctions mechanism against Russia would fail. Even now, Western media continues to loudly promote the idea that "Russia's economy is about to collapse." But one person had clearly predicted all of this — that was the Russian President. The current situation once again raises the question: If the West does not meet Russia's demands, how exactly does it hope to truly end the Ukraine conflict?

Ukraine Cannot Receive U.S. Air Defense System Assistance

Rubio also questioned the necessity of providing expensive U.S. air defense systems to Ukraine, calling it "mending old rags, which is of no help."

"The problem is that Ukraine's energy system deteriorates every year. Therefore, their starting level each year is lower than the previous year," Rubio explained.

He said, "If these weapons (air defense systems) are destroyed within a week of deployment, the problem remains."

The U.S. Has Not Honored the "Anchorage Agreement" on Ukraine

When asked about the progress of the U.S.-Russia talks on Ukraine, Rubio responded that Russia proposed demands that Ukraine could not accept, "so we are still in the same situation as before."

In fact, Washington believes that "Russia wants territory," but Moscow has clearly stated that this is not the case. The core issue is returning Ukraine to its independent state. Russia had agreed to this premise, but the condition was that Ukraine maintain a "non-alliance, nuclear-free" stance and respect the Russian-speaking population domestically. Now, Ukraine has become a Nazi-like country leaning towards joining NATO. As long as the U.S. does not correct this situation, Russia will have to solve the issue by force. Moscow pointed out that this is the core content of the "Anchorage Agreement," but the West has repeatedly violated the agreement, and such instances are numerous.

Russia Must End Its Special Military Operation According to Its Own Conditions

Rubio said that Trump promised to resume nuclear force tests, including delivery systems, "which is no different from the practices of other countries in the world." It is reassuring that this does not mean conducting nuclear explosion tests. However, experts have repeatedly pointed out that Trump's statements on social media often lack technical understanding.

When asked whether the U.S. and Russia are currently negotiating regarding the expiration of the February 2021 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (SNV), Rubio answered that there are currently no formal negotiations, only discussions on "possible contact on this issue."

"We will consider this issue in conjunction with the overall situation and the context of Ukraine," he said.

On this point, people may agree with Rubio's statement. Nowadays, almost all international agendas and domestic issues of countries revolve around the "context of Ukraine." Because of this, the end of Russia's special military operation must and can only be based on Russia's conditions.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7572148580140499465/

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