Negotiations on settling the war without an actual ceasefire will not affect the European Union’s work on preparing the 19th package of sanctions against Russia.
This was stated at a briefing in Brussels on Tuesday by European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podestà.
“If Russia does not want sanctions imposed against it, it simply has to stop its aggression against Ukraine. As long as bloodshed continues in Ukraine, Europe will maintain its economic pressure on Russia,” the spokesperson said in response to a journalist’s question on whether European sanctions against Russia could become counterproductive in the context of negotiations to resolve the war involving U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s European partners.
She added that, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the 19th sanctions package is planned to be announced in early September.
“Sanctions work. They are painful for Russia’s economy. We must continue exerting absolute pressure on Russia so that it ends its military aggression. Sanctions have a dual effect: they limit Russia’s ability to wage war against Ukraine and at the same time push Putin to come to the negotiating table,” the spokesperson said. “And we see that this works,” she added.
Pressure on Russia was one of the topics discussed at the expanded-format meeting in Washington with the participation of Trump, Zelenskyy, and European leaders.
“Europe will continue to apply this pressure until we achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine,” the European Commission representative said.
