Ukraine’s European allies say it is not the time to impose sanctions on Russia, after Moscow said that if some sanctions are relaxed, it will only agree to end a deal for an agent in the fight in the Black Sea.
Leaders from Britain, France and Germany confirmed at a summit on Thursday, March 27 that Europe will not lift sanctions on Russia, a strong and seemingly coordinated message to the Trump administration, which said it is evaluating the Kremlin’s demand for sanctions.
They spoke after the meeting in Paris, Willing Alliance, which discussed how to support Kiev’s support and what role they might play if a peace agreement was reached with Russia.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “(It is totally clear that it is not the time to lift sanctions.”
“Instead, we are talking about how to raise sanctions to support the U.S. initiative, bringing Russia to the table through further pressure from this country,” the British Prime Minister said.
Starmer said the meeting involved more than 30 countries, including European allies in Ukraine and NATO officials. He described the meeting as “very constructive.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the sanctions would be a “serious mistake”.
“It doesn’t make sense to end sanctions before peace is achieved, and unfortunately, as you can see, we still have a long way to go.”
“It’s absolutely clear that Russia is trying to delay and is playing the game. We have to be completely clear about this,” Stamer added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also called for “greater pressure” and “more sanctions” against Russia.
“Today’s 31 votes are supported, and no sanctions on Russia will be lifted until the war ends with a fair peace,” Zelensky said at a press conference in Paris.
Zelensky also called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to “split Europe and the United States”.
“We want the United States to be stronger. I agree with the Macron we all need. It’s not even a matter of desire, but we need the United States to be stronger in Russia.”
“Putin wants to negotiate territory from a stronger standpoint. He is just thinking about war,” Zelensky said earlier in a social media post.
“They are delaying negotiations and trying to get the United States into endless discussions about fake ‘conditions’ just to buy time and then try to grab more land,” Zelensky added.
The U.S. announced this week that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to end the battle in the Black Sea, but Moscow quickly followed the statement, saying the deal could be implemented only with some sanctions imposed on Russian banks and were canceled for its invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the United States will “evaluate” the conditions for Russia to agree to a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea.
Rubio said when U.S. negotiators return from Saudi Arabia, they will “sit down, go through the proposal, get the impression of dialogue so that we can have a more fully understanding of what Russia stands for, or what their demands are.”
France also made more revelations, that is, to send troops to European troops to Ukraine when a ceasefire is reached.
France and the UK have previously proposed the idea of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine and said they are willing to put their boots on the ground. But their latest discussion is honed in another term: “reassuring power.”
“These will be forces from many states…in the presence of strategic locations predefined by the Ukrainians, which will provide long-term support, assurance of the military, and act as a deterrent to potential Russian aggression.”
Regarding support for “restworthy power”, Macron said: “It is well known that today is not consistent, and we don’t need to be consistent.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the allies discussed the possibility of the UN playing a role in implementing a ceasefire, but stressed that Italian forces would not be involved in the possible military forces deployed in Ukraine.
