Reuters: Trump administration disbands group aimed at pressuring Russia

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has suspended the work of an interagency working group created to develop strategies to put pressure on Russia to speed up peace talks with Ukraine. This was reported to Reuters by three unnamed officials.

According to officials, the effort, which began in early spring, fizzled out in May. It allegedly became clear to the group that Trump was not interested in adopting a "more confrontational" stance toward Russia. The US president also began to talk about the possibility that Washington might abandon its role as a mediator in the talks.

Against this backdrop, the task of the working group began to seem increasingly irrelevant, officials said.

"By the end, everything slowed down because the president was not there. Instead of doing more, maybe he wanted to do less," said one of the interlocutors .

Three officials said that the "final blow" to the group's work was dealt three weeks ago. Most of the members of the White House National Security Council, including the entire team dealing with the war in Ukraine, were fired then.

According to them, the efforts were coordinated by high-ranking officials of the National Security Service, the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies.

It is unclear who ordered the group's termination, but officials suggested that the intensity of the staff cuts made further work impossible.

• on June 3, US Special Envoy to Ukraine Kellogg said that a new package of US sanctions against Russia is ready for approval. Congress and the White House are ready to approve.
• On June 16, Trump answered, why he is not imposing new sanctions against Russia. According to him, he is waiting to see if a peace agreement will be signed.