Ukraine’s European allies say now is not the time for lifting sanctions on Russia, after Moscow said it would only agree to a US-brokered deal on ending fighting in the Black Sea if some sanctions were eased.
The leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany all affirmed at a summit on Thursday that Europe will not lift sanctions on Russia – a strong and seemingly coordinated message to the Trump administration, which has said it is still evaluating the Kremlin’s demands.
They spoke after a meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing” in Paris which discussed how to bolster support for Kyiv and what role they might play if a peace deal is struck with Russia.
While divisions remain among the leaders about how to respond, they spoke in unison on Russia’s demand to ease sanctions.
“(There is) complete clarity that now is not the time for lifting of sanctions,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
“Quite the contrary – what we discussed is how we can increase sanctions to support the US initiative, to bring Russia to the table through further pressure from this group of countries,” the British Prime Minister said, still striking a conciliatory tone toward the United States.
Starmer said the meeting involved more than 30 countries, including Ukraine’s European allies and NATO officials. He described the meeting as “very constructive.”
