Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are pushing back against a report saying they have discussed lifting sanctions on Russian energy assets, calling the anonymously sourced article from Politico «totally fictitious» and «fake crap.»

The outlet released a report citing internal White House officials Thursday, indicating Witkoff and Rubio had been in discussions about potentially lifting energy-related sanctions as part of a wider peace negotiation to end the war in Ukraine.

«This is false,» Rubio and Witkoff said in a joint statement released by the White House. «Neither of us have had any conversations about lifting sanctions on Russia as part of a peace deal with Ukraine. This is just totally fictitious and irresponsible reporting from Politico, a fifth-rate publication. If they have an ounce of journalistic integrity, they will fully retract this piece of fiction.»

The report from Politico claimed «five people familiar with the discussions» said Witkoff has been a «main proponent» of lifting sanctions against Russian energy assets, including the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, one of the country’s main natural gas pipelines that goes to Europe. 

TRUMP INSISTS UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE, BUT MISTRUST IN PUTIN LEAVES EXPERTS SKEPTICAL

The Politico report claimed Rubio has tried to derail the efforts, saying there is an ongoing rift between U.S. energy export proponents and those who want to improve ties with Russia. 

When reached for comment, a Politico spokesperson said the outlet stands by its reporting.    

«There isn’t even a kernel of truth to this story – Politico was played by their ‘sources’ yet again,» Witkoff said in a separate statement posted by his X account after the report was published. «It’s embarrassing that they print this type of fake crap.»

Steve Witkoff meets with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. (Reuters )

«More bulls— from the liars at Politico smearing Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff with pure fake news,» Donald Trump Jr. posted on X. «How do they get away with continuing to run these fake stories????»

TRUMP HAS HIS OWN DEADLINE, ‘NO ALLEGIANCE TO ANYBODY’ IN UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL

«I hope Politico has good defamation insurance coverage,» Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee wrote on social media. «Or maybe I don’t.»

«Politico is a C-rated tabloid, fraught with poor sourcing and a TDS epidemic, pretending to be serious news,» White House spokesperson Anna Kelly added. «This story is one of many pathetic tall tales that have been debunked, but their reporters are too desperate to report fake drama to discern truth from fact.»

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (Getty Images)

Sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline were established during the first Trump administration and waived by President Joe Biden a few months after he entered office. However, Biden reinstituted the sanctions after Russia’s decision to enter into war with Ukraine. 

US–RUSSIA FLASHPOINT LOOMS OVER PUTIN’S PLANS FOR AFRICAN NAVAL BASE 

The energy sector has played a central role in the ongoing negotiations for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. has reportedly proposed taking control of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and is pushing to ink a critical minerals deal to help repay America’s military assistance. The U.S. has also reportedly floated the idea of taking over Ukrainian natural gas pipelines to help with the repayment. 

Russia and Ukraine recently ended a U.S.-brokered temporary truce, agreeing not to attack each other’s energy infrastructure, earlier this month.

But the negotiations reached a critical point after Vice President JD Vance said the U.S. is prepared to walk away from further ceasefire negotiations if the two sides do not strike a deal. Vance’s remarks were followed up by a post on Truth Social by the president, who blasted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for refusing to accept the annexation of Crimea as part of a peace deal.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

«We are very close to a Deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE,» Trump said of Zelenskyy in his post. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on this story but did not receive a response in time for publication.   

Los sastres romanos tradicionalmente preparan las vestimentas para el nuevo papa, pero afirman que esta vez el Vaticano usará sotanas de elecciones anteriores. Foto AFP

Las tres túnicas

El recién elegido Papa Francisco, el cardenal Jorge Mario Bergoglio de Argentina, aparece en el balcón de la Basílica de San Pedro tras ser elegido por el cónclave de cardenales, en el Vaticano, el 13 de marzo de 2013. Foto Reuters

Cardinal Robert Sarah – championed by conservatives as reflecting the doctrinaire and liturgically minded papacies of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI – is among those being considered to replace Pope Francis.

An African cardinal from Guinea, Sarah, 79, is viewed as a spiritual and theological standard-bearer for conservative Catholics, as critics of Francis have argued the late pope was too heavily influenced by modern secularism. 

Sarah previously headed the Vatican’s charity office Cor Unum and clashed with Francis on many occasions. 

Their ideological divide most seriously came to a head when Sarah and Benedict – who retired as acting pope in 2013 – co-authored a book titled «From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church.» The 2020 book advocated the «necessity» of continued celibacy for Latin Rite priests and came out as Francis was weighing whether to allow married priests in the Amazon to address a priest shortage there. 

WHERE WILL THE NEXT POPE COME FROM? ANALYSTS SAY IT COULD BE AFRICA’S TIME

As a result, Francis dismissed Benedict’s secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, from his papal household job, and several months later retired Sarah after he turned 75. The prospect of a retired pope trying to influence a reigning one created the scenario that canon lawyers and theologians had warned of when Benedict decided to retain the white cassock of the papacy in retirement as «pope emeritus.» The scandal died down after Benedict removed himself as a co-author.

It’s actually Sarah’s 2019 book that’s causing more of a stir with conservative Christians in the wake of Francis’ passing. 

Sarah has described «The Day Is Now Far Spent» as his most significant book. In it, the cardinal decries how Europe and Western civilization have turned away from Christianity and suffer from ideological challenges brought by mass migration. 

By contrast, Francis had openly contradicted the Trump administration and Vice President JD Vance – a Catholic convert – over their crackdown on illegal immigration. 

Vance, one of the last dignitaries to meet with Francis on Easter Sunday before his passing, has referenced Pope John Paul II – ideologically more similar to Sarah – in recent public addresses. At the Munich Security Conference, Vance praised John Paul II as «one of the most extraordinary champions of democracy» when emphasizing the importance of Western values. The vice president also celebrated John Paul II’s call for new evangelization at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

Sarah co-authored two other books – «God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith» in 2015 and The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise in 2017 – both with French journalist Nicolas Diat. 

Here are some key quotes by Sarah being highlighted ahead of Francis’ funeral later this week. The papal conclave will convene in the coming weeks to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church. 

1. The West cut itself off from its ‘Christian roots’

Sarah argued that the West has cut itself off from its Christian heritage in «The Day is Now Far Spent.» 

Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah attends a prayer at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Victories in Dakar on Dec. 4, 2023.  ( GUY PETERSON/AFP via Getty Images)

«The West no longer knows who it is, because it no longer knows and does not want to know who made it, who established it, as it was and as it is. The West refuses to acknowledge its Christian roots.»

«By losing its faith, Europe has also lost its reason to be. It is experiencing a lethal decline and is becoming a new civilization, one that is cut off from its Christian roots.»​

VANCE WAS ONE OF POPE FRANCIS’ LAST VISITORS

2. Gender ideology is ‘Luciferian’

Sarah argued that gender ideology is an affront to God’s creation and cannot fundamentally change whether a person is male or female in «The Day is Now Far Spent.» 

«Gender ideology is a Luciferian refusal to receive a sexual nature from God.»

3. Called mass migration a ‘new form of slavery’

In a March 2019 interview with the French publication «Valeurs Actuelles,» Sarah reportedly criticized the role of the Catholic Church in supporting mass migration policies in Europe, noting the harm caused to the migrants themselves. 

«All migrants who arrive in Europe are penniless, without work, without dignity,» Sarah reportedly said. «This is what the Church wants? The Church cannot cooperate with this new form of slavery that has become mass migration.»​

Newly appointed cardinal, Guinean Robert Sarah greets visitors during the traditionnal courtesy visit after the consistory on Nov. 20, 2010 at the Vatican. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)

4. Calls modern distractions ‘the devil’s tool’

In «The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise,» Sarah argues that modern distractions separate humankind from God.

«Distraction is the devil’s tool for cutting man off from God.»

5. Calls Christians to refuse loyalty to popularity or politics

In «God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith,» Sarah asserts that one’s loyalty must be to Christ – rather than to popularity or politics – and repeatedly argues against moral relativism in family and societal norms. 

«The Church is not a human organization. She is not subject to the fashions of the day or the winds of doctrine. She must be faithful to Christ.»

«God or nothing: there is no other choice. Those who choose God have everything. Those who choose nothing are lost.»

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

«If truth no longer exists, if everything is relative, then man becomes a slave to his passions.»

The Associated Press contributed to this report.