EU stands firm: No sanctions lift before Russia-Ukraine talks
Kaja Kallas emphasises that the European Union will not abandon sanctions against Russia before the start of talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Sanctions remain a key pressure tool in negotiations to end the conflict.
Kaja Kallas, the head of European diplomacy, noted that the sanctions imposed on Russia will not be lifted before the start of talks between Moscow and Kyiv. As she emphasised in a conversation with AFP, sanctions are an important pressure tool in negotiations regarding the end of the armed conflict, reported "Kommersant."
Kallas explained that abandoning sanctions would weaken the European Union's position in the negotiations.
Things haven't changed. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin hasn't changed his goals and nothing has changed on the ground. So there is no basis to for lifting the sanctions, said Kallas.
A new era of trump?
It is worth recalling that on 17 January, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on the EU to lift sanctions against Russia, arguing that a "new era" is coming with Donald Trump taking office as President of the United States.
Since the beginning of the military operation in 2022, the EU has implemented 15 sanction packages against Russia, and it is currently preparing the 16th package, which is to include, among other things, the gradual withdrawal of LNG gas imports from Russia and disconnecting new banks from the SWIFT system.
