Europe and US to tighten sanctions on Russia if Putin rejects peace talks – Macron
Europe and the United States have agreed to tighten sanctions against Russia if Moscow continues to reject negotiations on ending the war against Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced this following the meeting of the "Coalition of the Willing," Censor.NET reports, citing RBC-Ukraine.
Macron said Europe and the US are calling for talks between Ukraine and Russia at the level of heads of state.
"If Russia continues to refuse genuine peace negotiations, and that is the conclusion we can draw from its choices and repeated actions since March of last year, then we will impose additional sanctions jointly with the United States and deliver a clear response to this unwillingness to move forward," Macron said.
He stressed that the West’s goal is to ensure Ukraine’s rights are restored, that aggression is not rewarded, and that violations of international law cannot be legitimized in any form. According to Macron, this is about adherence to international law, Ukraine’s security, and Europe’s security as well.
Macron also confirmed that US President Donald Trump expressed concern over Hungary and Slovakia continuing to buy Russian oil.
"I think this is a good thing, because sometimes these countries justified their actions by pointing to the proximity of the new US administration. Therefore, the alignment of actions between the US and Europe will make ending this practice much more effective," he added.
The French president said the meeting also discussed both primary sanctions (targeting Russia’s economy) and secondary sanctions (against countries helping Moscow evade restrictions). Technical-level work on this issue will follow.
