Rubio: Trump urges Europe to match U.S. sanctions on Russia

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this in an interview with Fox News.

When asked how much time Trump would give Russian leader Vladimir Putin before deciding on sanctions, Rubio replied: “At some point the President may decide to do that.  That’ll be his decision to make.  He’s not going to go around and artificially announce a time frame.”

The secretary emphasized that everyone understands what sanctions the United States can impose, but also stressed the importance of European partners’ participation.

“What the President has challenged our European partners is to impose the sanctions themselves that they’re asking us to impose.  So if they feel deeply committed to this, they should take – we want to encourage them to actually do the things they’re asking us to do,” Rubio explained.

He also noted that several European countries continue to buy Russian goods, including oil, which undermines joint efforts to contain the Kremlin.

• U.S. President Donald Trump says EU sanctions against Russia are “not tough enough”, noting that European countries continue to buy Russian oil.