The Trump administration is working to reach an agreement that allows Iran to have a civilian nuclear energy program but not to enrich uranium, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today, quoted by Reuters. Rubio nevertheless acknowledged that reaching such a deal would not be easy.
At a hearing before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he said that in a few weeks Syria could find itself in a "full-scale civil war".
"We actually think that, frankly, the transitional authority, given the problems it faces, is only months, if not weeks, away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war, i.e. from the collapse of the country", said Rubio.
The Secretary of State pointed out that the United States has not made any "concessions" to Russia, in response to criticism of the Trump administration's policy towards the conflict in Ukraine.
"He has not received a single concession", Rubio was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying, addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rubio was criticized by Democratic senators that Putin is trying to buy time, since there is no American pressure or new sanctions, such as those adopted today by the European Union.
The head of American diplomacy said that Trump does not want to impose new sanctions on Russia because he believes that if he starts threatening sanctions now, the Russians will stop talking. "We're helping by being able to talk to them and get them to the negotiating table," Rubio explained.
"If it becomes clear in reality that the Russians are not interested in a peace agreement and just want to keep fighting, that's what it could come down to," he said of the sanctions.
Rubio also rejected claims that Washington is no longer helping Ukraine. "The Ukrainians are essentially asking for air defense, Patriot missile systems, which, frankly, we don't have, but we're working closely with our NATO allies to provide them," the secretary of state said.