US and EU cannot unbalance Russia

According to RIA Novosti on May 3, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on his Telegram channel that the US and EU statements may not play a mediating role in resolving the Ukraine issue and will not be able to unbalance Russia.

“Although the US side has stated that it does not intend to continue to mediate in resolving the dispute between Russia and Ukraine. Washington believes that these two countries must negotiate with each other. Meanwhile, the European Union, through its official representatives, has also stated that it does not intend to become a mediator. Yes, freedom for freedom. We must hope that neither Washington nor Brussels expect that these statements will be able to unbalance Russia,” said Mr. Ulyanov.

US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said on May 2 that the US would withdraw from peace talks on Ukraine if progress was not made, but "we have not reached that point yet."

On the same day, the official representative of the European External Action Service, Anwar al-Anuni, said that the European Union has no plans to play a mediating role in the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine if the United States refuses to do so. On the contrary, Brussels wants to continue providing military support to Kiev.

Meanwhile, according to a separate source of Reuters. The US has prepared a new package of sanctions against Russia to increase pressure on Russia in the process of negotiating a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine. According to this information, the new package of economic sanctions may include restrictions in the banking and energy sectors.

It is unclear whether President Donald Trump will agree to new restrictions on Russia, Reuters added.