Ukraine open to Russia sanctions relaxation as part of peace deal

Western sanctions on Russia could ultimately be dropped if it helps deliver security and justice for Ukraine, Kyiv’s top sanctions official told POLITICO, as United States President Donald Trump steps up bilateral negotiations with Moscow in a bid to end the war.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s commissioner for sanctions policy, said in an interview that a return to countries doing business with Russia in one way or another is simply “a matter of time,” but had to take place under the right conditions.

Economic restrictions, embargoes and bans on importing Russian energy, he said, “have their own objectives, which might be pushing Russia to stop its aggression and to make them make a deal on lasting peace,” rather than simply being a “punishment of any kind.”

At present, the top official said, it is “premature to talk about what exact sanctions lifting should be part of any deals. We just want at this moment to make sure that first Russia makes significant steps in that direction, then any discussion about the lifting of sanctions emerges.”

“We’ve seen already that the Russians are trying to ask some questions [about] if those sanctions should be lifted, at least some of them, which gives us better understanding of what sanctions are most painful,” Vlasiuk went on. “It’s always good to know what is the most painful, and we have to use this leverage wisely.”

Russian leader Vladimir Putin is understood to be increasingly concerned about the state of his country’s beleaguered economy, having lost billions in oil and gas revenues from trade with the West, and seen businesses and skilled workers leave the country since ordering his catastrophic invasion three years ago.

According to Vlasiuk, who also serves as secretary of the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions, as part of any lasting agreement — which would have to ensure security guarantees for Ukraine — Kyiv would be seeking “justice for our people,” likely including “compensation for the Ukrainians” given the scale of the sacrifices they have made.

Trump has insisted that he will bring about an end to Russia’s war, while simultaneously cutting off aid to Ukraine — and threatening Moscow with new sanctions and tariffs if it doesn’t negotiate. The White House dispatched envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow earlier this week and confirmed on Friday that he had spoken directly with Putin.

Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy, meanwhile, has publicly signed up to a proposed ceasefire, but warned that Putin is not interested in peace and called for tougher economic measures to force Russia to back down.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also opened the door to normalization with Moscow. | Armend Niimani/Getty Images

“Sanctions must be applied — ones that will work,” Zelenskyy said Thursday. “We will continue working with our American and European partners and with everyone in the world who wants peace — to force Russia to end this war.”

Despite continuing to depend on fossil fuel extraction to pay soldiers’ salaries and for military hardware, Moscow has seen energy revenues decline by billions as a result of sanctions and lost business with the West.

Against that backdrop, Vlasiuk raised the prospect of European nations striking new deals to buy Russian oil and gas if and when the war is finally over.

“Russia has a lot of potential, especially energy resources, and that would be probably stupid not to try and use it,” he said. “Maybe not, and hopefully not, to the same extent — hopefully not ever finding themselves in the position of total dependence on Russian energy of any kind.”

“But if Russia at some point will come back to more or less normal politics toward its partners and neighbors, most importantly, I don’t think that they should be excluded from competitive markets.”

Earlier on Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also opened the door to normalization with Moscow.

“It’s normal if the war would have stopped for Europe somehow, step by step, and also for the U.S., step by step, to restore normal relations with Russia,” Rutte said in an interview with Bloomberg.