Easing sanctions against Russia may be a topic of negotiations.

Axar.az reports that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this in an interview with Bloomberg.

According to him, Washington can either tighten or weaken sanctions, depending on Russia's readiness for negotiations.

He recalled that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's recent comments about misinforming US President Donald Trump (especially about Zelensky's rating) are inappropriate and have complicated US-Ukrainian relations.

The minister emphasized that Zelensky had assured him before the Munich Security Conference that he would sign a $500 billion agreement on the transfer of rights to Ukraine's mineral resources to the United States, but did not do so.

Bessent believes that the agreement would have laid the foundation for Trump’s “elegant” plan to end the war:

“The sequence should have been this: bring the Ukrainians closer to the United States through economic ties, convince the Americans, the American public, get their support. Then send a clear message to the Russians: sit down at the table, if we need to, we will strengthen the sanctions.”