Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkov have opposed reports of lifting sanctions on Russia’s energy assets and calling the anonymously raised articles “completely fictitious” and “fake crap.”
The outlet released a report cited internal White House officials on Thursday, indicating that Witkov and Rubio were debating the possibility of lifting energy-related sanctions as part of broader peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
“This is wrong,” Rubio and Witkoff said in a joint statement released by the White House. “Neither of us has had a conversation about lifting sanctions against Russia as part of our peace agreement with Ukraine, a completely fictitious, irresponsible report from Politico, a five-year interest publication.
The Politico report claimed “five people familiar with the debate,” saying Witkoff is the “primary supporter” to lift sanctions on Russian energy assets, including Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, one of the country’s leading natural gas pipelines to Europe.
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Special envoy Steve Witkov and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are opposed to reports claiming they are arguing that they are lifting sanctions on Russia’s energy assets. (Getty Images; Fox News)
The Politico report alleged that Rubio tried to derail the effort by saying there was a continuous rift between US energy export advocates and those who wanted to improve relations with Russia.
When contacted for comment, a Politico spokesperson said the outlet would stand by the report.
“The story doesn’t even have a core of truth. Politico was again played by a ‘source’,” Witkov said in another statement posted by his X account after the report was released. “It’s embarrassing for them to print this type of fake crap.”
Steve Witkov meets Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. (Reuters)
“More Bulls — From Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff’s Liars in Pure Fake News,” Donald Trump Jr. posted to X.
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“I hope Politico has good coverage for honor-loss insurance,” Utah GOP Sen. Mikeley wrote on social media. “Or maybe I won’t.”
“Politico is a C-rated tabloid, plagued by poor procurement and TDS epidemics, pretending to be serious news,” added White House spokesman Anna Kelly. “This story is one of many pathetic tall stories that have been exposed, but their reporters are too hopeless to report a fake drama to identify the truth from facts.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodimia Zelensky. (Getty Images)
Sanctions over Russia’s NodeStream 2 pipeline were established during the first Trump administration and abandoned a few months after President Joe Biden took office. However, Biden restored sanctions after Russia’s decision to enter into a war with Ukraine.
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The energy sector has played a central role in the ongoing negotiations for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. The United States is reportedly proposing control of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, calling for critical mineral trade to be carved out to repay US military aid. The US also reportedly came to the idea of taking over Ukrainian natural gas pipeline to help with repayment.
Russia and Ukraine recently ended a US-brokered temporary ceasefire earlier this month, agreeing not to attack each other’s energy infrastructure.
However, negotiations reached a critical point after Vice President JD Vance said the US was ready to leave further ceasefire negotiations if both parties do not sign a contract. Vance’s remarks were followed by posts about the true society by the president who blows up Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelensky, who refused to accept the annexation of Crimea as part of the peace agreement.
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“We’re very close to the deal, but the guy who has ‘no card to play’ should ultimately get it done,” Trump said of Zelensky in his post.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House to comment on the story, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
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