G7 warns Russia of extended sanctions unless it returns the ceasefire

The United States and its G7 partners have warned Moscow that they can extend sanctions and use frozen Russian means to support Ukraine, as Donald Trump is trying to conquer Vladimir Putin on his ceasefire proposal.

After a week in which Kiev applied for a 30-day ceasefire, but Moscow signaled to do so immediately, US Secretary of State Marko Rubio and his colleagues achieved some degree of unity on Friday by using a joint statement on possible steps against Russia.

Their communication, published after the G7 meeting in Canada, noted that the foreign ministers discussed imposing additional penalties if Cremlin did not fully ceasefire.

Asked about US sanctions, Rubio warned that Trump “does not want to do so now, because he is hoping to attract people from both sides in a process where we can negotiate peace.”

He added that it is not yet clear whether Russia is playing on time.

“The question is, are we really moving to a ceasefire, or is this a delay tactic?” said the Secretary of State. “I will not respond to it because I can’t characterize it for you right now.”

The G7 statement said the ministers discussed possible measures against Moscow, such as “oil prices, as well as additional support for Ukraine and other assets”, especially using frozen Russian income.

The G7 froze about 300 billion euros in the funds of the Central Bank of Russia-exquisite cash and government bonds-in 2022 after the full invasion of Moscow of Ukraine.

Rubio, who had earlier pointed out that Kiev would have to make territorial concessions, signaled on Friday that Moscow would also have to do so.

“I have never heard that President Trump says Russia has the right to take the whole Ukraine and do what they want there,” he said.

He added that Trump’s national security team would convene this weekend after President Steve Vitkoff’s representative returned from Moscow to investigate the Russian position.

Trump said in a social networking post of his truth that discussions from Putin were “good and productive” with Putin.

Until this week, the new administration focused on putting pressure on Kiev to agree to a quick end to the war, but suspicions expressed by Putin have shifted their attention to Moscow for an immediate ceasefire.

“The ball is now in the Russian court when it comes to Ukraine,” Foreign Minister Melanie Ololi said in Canada on Friday, adding that there was a “strong unity of G7” in Ukraine.

One official said the text of Ukraine’s communication was subject to tense overnight quarrels. The United States claims that strong language can disrupt talks with Russia and is watered to reach an agreement, they say.

Kiev and his allies in the UK and France are interested in overcoming a catastrophic meeting last month between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelenski by taking measures against Russia on the US agenda.

The Greenski government has agreed to Trump’s proposal this week, after the United States broke military assistance and the exchange of intelligence with Kiev – both Washington now says it has continued.

Conversely, Putin said he supports a ceasefire but added that “Questions” remained It was to be discussed first.

His unwillingness to support the ceasefire proposal comes after Russian forces made significant Progress in the Kursk regionwhere Ukraine seized more than 1,000 km from Russia last summer.

In its truth, the social post Trump claims that the Russian army surrounded thousands of Ukrainian troops, adding that “I have strongly asked President Putin that their lives are spared.”

Ukraine’s general staff denied that Ukrainian troops were surrounded and said the fighting was still underway in the Kursk region.

Putin said on Friday that Ukrainian troops in Kursk should surrender “to make Trump’s appeal” because Zelenski has rejected Moscow’s ceasefire’s position as a stalling tactic.

“The devil is in detail and they will start offering you details to get you into dialogue, delay certain processes and delay the end of the war,” the Ukrainian president said. He added that he hoped for Trump’s “strong reaction” to Putin’s position.

Greenski also said the issue of Ukrainian territories occupied by Russian forces would be “the most difficult” to resolve.

The research fire and territories “are the most difficult times (negotiations),” he said.

“The first is difficult because it requires courage and political will, second because it requires difficult dialogue.”

Europeans and the United States are expected to coordinate the application of economic pressure on Putin. National security councilors from the UK, France and Germany in Washington were on Friday to talk with Mike Waltz, their US counterpart.

France and Germany, which have long opposed a full seizure of EU -kept funds, are now warming up on the idea and talking to the UK and other ways they could be used.

Additional notice from Max Sedon in Berlin and George Parker in London