US temporarily lifts sanctions on Russian transactions to facilitate Alaska peace talks
The United States Treasury Department is temporarily suspending sanctions on Russian transactions required to organize upcoming peace negotiations between Moscow and Washington in Alaska, the department announced Aug. 13.
U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks in Alaska on Aug. 15. Their bilateral summit may be followed by additional talks involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The U.S. government will authorize certain transactions prohibited by current sanctions if those transactions are required to support the organization of U.S.-Russia talks in Alaska, according to a license issued by the U.S. Foreign Assets Control Office.
The authorization will expire on Aug. 20.
The license applies to transactions sanctioned under the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations (RuHSR) and the Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations (URSR). It does not authorize the release of any properties blocked or frozen by those regulations.
Trump is set to meet with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15, where the leaders will discuss a path towards ending Russia's war in Ukraine. The White House has described the meeting as a "listening exercise" that may not yield immediate results while also hailing the summit as a major breakthrough in the peace process.
In a video call with President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders on Aug. 13, Trump reportedly said he would push Putin to agree to a ceasefire during the Alaska meeting.
According to the Telegraph, Trump plans to present a package of economic proposals at the meeting in order to incentivize the Kremlin to accept a ceasefire.
The package reportedly includes granting Russia access to Alaska's natural resources and lifting certain U.S. sanctions on Russia's aviation sector. Another proposal involves giving Moscow access to rare earth minerals in Ukrainian territories currently under Russian occupation.
