Quotes from Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen added in sections eight to ten. The EU Commission is working to have a 17th sanctions package against Russia ready for the EU foreign ministers' meeting in May. This was stated by the EU's foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, after the foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. The EU's 16th sanctions package was adopted in February 2025.
This time, sanctions will be imposed against the so-called shadow fleet, says Kaja Kallas. Russia's shadow fleet is the name for oil tankers that transport Russian oil and are subject to sanctions. She also says that oil and gas are areas that will hit Russia's economy hard.
- The discussions are ongoing, but we also need to get all the countries to agree. I think we should act as hard as possible, says Kaja Kallas.
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (M) supports the EU putting more pressure on Russia by adopting a new sanctions package.
- We are working on a new sanctions package, and I am pleased that there is support for it almost all the way around the table.
- This is also something that we from the Danish side are leaning towards. We want the toughest possible sanctions on Russia. There should very much be a 17th sanctions package on Russia soon, says Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
The announcement comes the day after a missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, which according to Ukrainian officials killed 34 people.
With that in mind, Kaja Kallas said on the way to Monday's meeting that "it is clear that we must support Ukraine more".
- We are seeing the deadliest attacks in the war. Civilians are being killed. This is happening, one month into the period when Ukraine has agreed to an unconditional ceasefire, says Kaja Kallas.
She points out that Russia is attacking despite having participated in peace talks with the United States.
- The only way to get Russia to negotiate in a serious way is to put more pressure on Russia, says Kaja Kallas.
- If you want the killings to stop, you have to put more pressure on Russia, which is carrying out the attacks, she adds.
Kaja Kallas says that she cannot yet give more details about possible sanctions, but that she is hopeful.
- I think it is in everyone's interest that Russia realizes that they have made a mistake. They made a mistake when they attacked Ukraine. They cannot win in Ukraine, because the will of the Ukrainian people has not been broken. European and non-European countries will continue to support Ukraine.
Kallas also stressed that the EU does not accept EU member states or EU candidate countries participating in the May 9 celebrations in Moscow.
- Any participation in the May 9 parades and celebrations in Moscow will not be taken lightly by the European side, given that Russia is waging a full-scale war in Europe.
On May 9, an annual parade takes place in Moscow, celebrating the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.
European foreign ministers discussed the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East and Africa at their meeting on Monday.
jel /ritzau/
Text, graphics, images, sound, and other content on this website are protected under copyright law. DK Medier reserves all rights to the content, including the right to exploit the content for the purpose of text and data mining, cf. Section 11b of the Copyright Act and Article 4 of the DSM Directive.
Customers with IP agreements/major customer agreements may only share Danish Offshore Industry articles internally for the purpose of handling specific cases. Sharing in connection with specific cases refers to journaling, archiving, or similar uses.
Customers with a personal subscription/login may not share Danish Offshore Industry articles with individuals who do not themselves have a personal subscription to Danish Offshore Industry.
Any deviation from the above requires written consent from DK Medier.
