Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, responded to a fake news story from Politico claiming the Trump administration is considering lifting sanctions against Russia. Rubio and Witkoff labeled the story as “totally fictitious.”
“This is false,” Rubio and Witkoff said in a joint statement. “Neither of us have had any conversations about lifting sanctions on Russia as part of a peace deal with Ukraine. This is just totally fictitious and irresponsible reporting from Politico, a fifth-rate publication. If they have an ounce of journalistic integrity they will fully retract this piece of fiction.”
The report from Politico claimed that “five people familiar with the discussions” told the outlet that Witkoff “has been the main proponent of lifting sanctions” against Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline and “other Russian assets.”
