European Commission warns of sanctions 'package after package'

The European Union will continue to impose sanctions on Russia "package by package" to increase pressure and help end the fighting in Ukraine , European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

According to von der Leyen, a ceasefire in Ukraine remains a priority for European countries. "That is why we are increasing the pressure even more to force Putin to sit down at the negotiating table . We are introducing tough sanctions against Russia," she wrote on social media.

Earlier, the HEAD of the European Commission admitted that the new sanctions would affect the Nord Stream project pipelines - Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. New oil tankers, which Brussels associates with the Russian shadow fleet, will also be blacklisted. According to sourcesBLOOMBERG , the banking sector will also be subject to sanctions.

On May 16, the first negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in three years took place in Istanbul. President Vladimir Putin , who proposed resuming contacts, did not rule out that the parties would be able to agree on a new, "real truce." According to him, the goal of the negotiations is "to establish a long-term, durable peace for the historical perspective."

Bild previously reported that the EU is discussing separate, tougher measures that will depend on the outcome of the talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul. According to the publication, European countries are considering the possibility of completely abandoning gas from Russia (currently, the share of Russian natural gas in EU imports is almost 20%) and limiting uranium imports  for nuclear power plants. 

Russian authorities have repeatedly called sanctions against Russia illegal. Vladimir Putin called their lifting one of the conditions for settling the conflict in Ukraine.

ReadPIONERPRODUKT .by inTELEGRAM .