Neither the US leadership nor the German leadership is going to lift the sanctions imposed against Russia as part of the West's struggle for Ukraine.
This was stated by US State Department Special Representative Kurt Volker in an interview with Bild.
“There are positions in Europe from time to time, and more and more often, that people want to lift sanctions against Russia, which have created a certain pressure on the elites around Putin. But I don't expect anything to change from the status quo in the near future.
Chancellor Merkel also sees the situation as it is and will not give up pressure.
Regarding the possible “exchange” of Crimea and Donbass: this puzzles me. How about "trading" parts of Germany? Who has the right to this? Who should have the right to do this with Ukraine? Nobody,” Volker snapped.