The British Prime Minister said the European leadership unanimously could not remove Russia’s sanctions, but to increase the pressure until the Ukrainian conflict ended.
“It is clear that now it is not the time to remove sanctions, on the contrary, what we discuss is how to strengthen the embargo and support the US initiative in order to put pressure on the negotiating table,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today.
Speaking given by Mr. Starmer after a meeting on the sidelines of the summit of European leaders in Paris, France.
The British Prime Minister expressed his determination to achieve “peace through power” in Ukraine, asserting that London fully supported Kiev “until necessary”. He also accused Russia of trying to postpone the effort to find peace in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Starmer (left) and President Zelensky after a meeting on the sidelines of the summit of European leaders in Paris, France, March 27. Photo: AFP
“Everyone understands and believes that Russia does not want any form of peace,” said President Zelensky at the press conference. He said that countries should not eliminate sanctions before Russia ended the military campaign, but need to “put more pressure, more punishment packages”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the same day confirmed that eradicating sanctions on Russia would be “serious mistakes” and “meaningless” if Ukraine has not achieved peace. “Unfortunately we are still very far from that goal,” he said.
President Emmanuel Macron said that France and Britain are leading his efforts to mobilize “guaranteed forces” to Ukraine if the peace agreement with Russia is approved, even if this idea is not approved by all European allies.
“The guarantee force is the proposal of France – England and Ukraine also want it. It does not reach consensus, but we do not need to agree to do this,” he said, adding that the French and British delegation will come to Ukraine in the coming days to discuss the above problem and the future form of the country’s army.
The European Council Chairman Antonio Costa affirmed the best way to help Ukraine achieve fair and long -term peace to “maintain pressure on Russia” through sanctions.
Russian officials have not commented on the above statements.
The summit of European leaders was organized to discuss measures to increase security for Ukraine before the potential ceasefire order with Russia. Speaking to the Conference, the British Prime Minister said that the US was leading in an attempt to achieve peace for Ukraine, while Europe was “enhancing the role in protecting Ukraine”.