The EU on Wednesday approved a fresh package of sanctions clamping down on Russia's "shadow" oil fleet, as Europe threatens further punishment if Moscow does not agree to a Ukraine truce.
Hailing the development, Kaja Kallas said on X: “We are upping the pressure on Russia to end its war.’
“It will target more of Russia’s shadow fleet, which is illegally shipping oil for revenues to fund (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s aggression,” she added.
The new measures against the Kremlin — the 17th round of sanctions from the EU since Russia's 2022 full-scale war with Ukraine — were in the pipeline before European leaders issued their latest ultimatum to Moscow over US-led peace efforts.
Putin has called on Kiev authorities to resume the talks on Thursday, May 15th, in Istanbul.
Open for aircraft deployment
Earlier French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris does not want to trigger a third world war but indicated that "Russia will not stop there if we let it carry on.”
He reiterated the need to continue supporting Ukraine to strengthen its forces.
“[…] we cannot abandon Ukraine, especially since it won’t be joining NATO,” he added.
He reaffirmed that France had advocated “nuclear deterrence” for decades, highlighting that they had not prepared themselves for a “frontline” or “ground war.”
Macron also expressed France’s readiness to open discussions on the deployment of aircraft armed with nuclear bombs to European countries.
"I want to initiate a debate, but France will not pay for the security of others. This will not come at the expense of what we already have, and the final decision will always remain with France," he said.
"I think good things can come out of that meeting," says US president of Thursday's peace talks in Istanbul
