Rubio says US still wants to meet with Russians despite sanctions

The United States still wants to meet with the Russians, despite the imposition of sanctions by the administration of US President Donald Trump against the two largest Russian oil companies. This was reported by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to CNN.

"We would still like to meet with the Russians," the US diplomat said, adding that he had a good phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"And we will continue to discuss this issue. We will always be interested in cooperation if there is an opportunity to achieve peace," Rubio emphasized.

He recalled that Trump has repeatedly stated for several months that at some point he will have to do something if there is no progress on a peace deal.

On Wednesday, the U.S. President imposed sanctions against two of Russia's largest oil companies, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he "felt the time was right" for sanctions and noting that he had been "waiting a long time" for them.

• On October 21, Reuters wrote that Moscow's refusal to accept an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine has likely put the summit in Budapest at risk.
• Prior to that, a meeting between Rubio and Lavrov scheduled for October 23 was postponed.
• On October 22, Trump confirmed that he had canceled a meeting with Putin in Hungary.