The US administration expects to receive from Russia this week a list of conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine. This was stated by the US Secretary of State and Acting Secretary of State. National Security Advisor to the President Marco Rubio.
“We expect, based on the President's call and my conversations with Mr. Lavrov over the weekend, that at some point, fairly soon, maybe in a few days, maybe this week, hopefully, the Russian side will present the terms that they would like to see met“, Rubio said at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.
“Just general terms that would allow us to move to a ceasefire, and that ceasefire would then allow us to enter into detailed negotiations to end the conflict“, Rubio added.
The United States believes that the outcome of the Ukrainian conflict will affect China's attitude towards the situation around Taiwan, Rubio continued.
“The conflict deprives us and our allies of resources that could be used to expand our capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region“, Rubio said.
The Secretary of State was also asked whether he thought Beijing's policy towards Moscow would be affected by a possible imposition of tariffs on China for “buying cheap Russian oil“.
“Tariffs of 500%? Yes, I think that would have an impact“, Rubio said.
He said he supported removing Syria from Washington's list of state sponsors of terrorism, “but with reservations”.
He answered affirmatively when asked if he was in favor of removing Syria from the aforementioned list. "Yes, if it meets the standard," Rubio said.
He reiterated his support for a gradual lifting of sanctions on Syria "step by step."
On May 14, US President Donald Trump held talks with Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries in 25 years. The US leader announced that his country would begin lifting sanctions that had been imposed on Damascus for decades during the rule of Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar al-Assad.