EU leaders vow to maintain sanctions on Russia despite Trump's actions

Ahead of a European Council meeting, EU leaders have publicly given assurances that sanctions against Russia will under no circumstances be eased, contrary to the actions of US President Donald Trump.

Source: European Pravda

Details: The remarks by the European officials came amid decisions by the US leadership to ease sanctions pressure and restrict aid to Ukraine.

However, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasised that it is unacceptable to use the Trump-Putin diesel deal as a pretext for this.

Quote from von der Leyen: "Of course, we supported President Trump's energy ceasefire, but we've seen that Russia did not respect it, not a single minute. Instead, Russia escalated, and therefore we have to increase the pressure on Russia."

Details: Similarly, European Council President António Costa has ruled out any easing of pressure on Russia.

He said: "Our message to President Zelenskyy is very simple. The support of the European Union to Ukraine remains as strong as ever. This is no time to withdraw the support to Ukraine. This is no time to relieve Russia's sanctions. Now it's time to increase our support. To increase our pressure. And this is essential to bring Russia to accept a real ceasefire, to bring Russia to the table of negotiations and to stop this war. This is time for peace. This is not time to continue the war."

Costa made it unequivocally clear: the EU will not lift any sanctions until Russia ends the war.

Background: The US intends to ease sanctions against Russia's shadow fleet. Trump's actions are also facing criticism within the US. In particular, 12 senators wrote a letter to Trump stating that his deal with Putin is a "betrayal of the people of Ukraine".

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