Vladyslav Vlasiuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s commissioner for sanctions policy, suggested that Western sanctions on Russia could ultimately be dropped if it helps deliver security and justice for Ukraine.
He stated this in an interview with Politico, according to Ukrinform.
Vlasiuk said that economic restrictions, embargoes and bans on importing Russian energy “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 the same time, he noted that 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 said.
The Ukrainian official added that 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.
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,” Vlasiuk added.
Source: Sanctions against Russia could be lifted under certain conditions – Zelensky's commissioner
