On Wednesday, Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky called for new Western sanctions on Russia as tensions remain high in the region over accusations that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine, a charge Moscow strongly denies.
The US has threatened to hit Russia with harsh sanctions if it invades Ukraine, but Zelensky wants sanctions now.
“For us, it is important to have sanctions applied before, rather than after, the conflict would happen, because if they were applied after the conflict would happen, this would basically make them meaningless,” he told reporters in Brussels.
EU leaders are meeting on Thursday to discuss the Ukraine situation and weigh potential responses. Bloomberg reported that leading EU nations are resisting a push to prepare new sanctions on Russia. Sources told Bloomberg that Germany, France, Italy, and Spain want to focus instead on talking to Moscow.
Zelensky said he would like talks with Russia but still prefers new sanctions. The Ukrainian leader said Moscow was not willing to come to the table with Kyiv, but the Russians have been eager to negotiate with Washington. On Wednesday, Russia submitted new proposals for security guarantees to US officials in a bid to ease tensions.
