Rubio called the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul productive

The talks between Russia and Ukraine, which took place on May 16 in Istanbul, were "not a waste of time." This was stated on May 17 by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"I wanted to get to know him (Lavrov. — Ed.) an opinion on how yesterday's negotiations went. They weren't a waste of time," Rubio said in an interview with CBS News.

Rubio also recalled that the United States may tighten sanctions against Russia in the absence of progress in negotiations on a peaceful settlement. According to him, the administration of the President of the United States Donald Trump has asked Congress to give "some time" to resolve this issue.

"I think it's now (the imposition of sanctions. — Ed.) is becoming real," concluded the head of the department.

Step at the meeting: the results of the first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in three years

The first round of contacts took place in Istanbul — what's next

On the same day, Lavrov had a telephone conversation with Rubio. The negotiations took place on the initiative of the American side. The heads of departments exchanged views on the continuation of Russian-American contacts and discussed the results of the Russian-Ukrainian talks held in Istanbul on May 16.

The delegations of Russia and Ukraine at the talks agreed to present their vision of a cease-fire and to exchange prisoners of war in the 1000 by 1000 format.