Obviously, the Russians are not preparing to stop their war, at least for now. Putin always finds some lame excuse – not to meet, not to hold a trilateral, not to talk, not to end it, not to stop the killing… It has been the same with him for years – and all our partners feel it. He is looking for excuses to keep waging the war. It always sounds the same – and our recent meeting with the U.S. President showed that.

America sees the situation the same way. And Russia must develop a desire to spend money not on death, but on something else – they must develop a desire to end this war. We are working on this together – with America, with Europe, with Canada, with Japan, and with many others around the world who are helping Ukraine.

In the coming days and throughout October, there will be a lot of diplomatic activity to change the situation. But beyond that, the Lindsey Graham Act, other mechanisms of pressure – all of this needs to work even harder.