European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that the latest actions of Russian ruler Vladimir Putin demonstrate his unwillingness to pursue peace, and therefore sanctions against him must be tightened.

Source : von der Leyen before the start of a summit of the European Political Community in Tirana

Details : Von der Leyen noted that Putin had initially called for a ceasefire on the eve of 9 May but then failed to keep his promise.

Then, according to Von der Leyen, Ukraine, with the support of the European Union and the United States, called for a complete and unconditional ceasefire for 30 days, but Putin had rejected this proposal.

"And finally he [Putin – ed.] offered a meeting directly between Ukraine and Russia in Türkiye, but President Zelenskyy was ready to meet. President Putin never showed up. And this shows the true belief of President Putin; he does not want peace. So we have to increase the pressure," von der Leyen said. [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Putin as president – ed.] 

She added that this was why the European Union was working on a new sanctions package.  

"This package will include, for example, sanctions on NordStream 1 and NordStream 2. It will include working on listing more vessels of the Russian shadow fleet and also lowering the oil price cap, and it would include more sanctions on the financial sector in Russia. For us it's important; we want peace and therefore we have to increase the pressure on President Putin till he's ready for peace," von der Leyen stressed. 

Background :

• The media expects that the main topic at the European Political Community summit will be a sharp tightening of sanctions against Moscow.
• The previous European Political Community summit took place in November 2024 in Budapest.

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