Russian President Vladimir Putin "must pay the price" for "avoiding peace" in Ukraine. This is the statement from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, on Friday night.
- Putin's tactics of hesitating and delaying while he continues to kill and shed blood throughout Ukraine (is, ed.) unacceptable, Starmer said in a statement.
The statement from the British Prime Minister comes the night before a summit of the European Political Community, EPC, in the Albanian capital, Tirana. Here, heads of state and government from both the EU and another 20 countries will meet to discuss security challenges in Europe.
Representatives from Russia and Ukraine are expected to meet for talks in Istanbul, Turkey, on the same day to discuss a possible end to the war in Ukraine. Neither Putin nor Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend the talks.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio played down expectations of a breakthrough in the talks in Turkey on Thursday.
Russian energy sector could become a key target for sanctions
The EPC was set up in 2022 at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron as a response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
According to Starmer, the participants will "put pressure on the Russian government" during the meeting on Friday after Putin failed to show up for talks in Istanbul on Thursday to end the war in Ukraine.
- A complete, unconditional ceasefire must be agreed upon, and if Russia is not willing to sit down at the negotiating table, Putin will have to pay the price, says the British Prime Minister.
If Russia does not agree to a ceasefire, he expects the Russian energy sector to become a "key target for comprehensive sanctions in the coming weeks".
Britain and EU countries agreed earlier this week to impose a package of sanctions on Russia's shadow fleet to curb Russia's war economy.
Russia's shadow fleet is the name given to oil tankers that transport Russian oil and are subject to sanctions. The sanctions package, the EU's 17th against Russia, is due to be formally adopted on Tuesday.
/ritzau/AFP
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