United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied a report by Politico claiming the US considered removing sanctions against Russia's energy sector.

In a post on X, Rubio called the report "unequivocally false," stating that there were no "conversations about lifting sanctions against Russia as part of a deal with Ukraine." The secretary further said neither he nor Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff were involved in such discussions.

"This is journalistic malpractice. If Politico has an ounce of integrity they will fully retract this piece of fiction," Rubio concluded.