2 days ago
Europe declares it is ready to maintain pressure on Russia
European leaders have issued a statement declaring their readiness to maintain pressure on Russia through sanctions, following a summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
'We will continue to strengthen sanctions and broader economic measures to exert pressure on Russia's war economy until a just and lasting peace is achieved,' the statement reads.
The statement was signed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and the prime ministers of Italy and the United Kingdom.
The leaders emphasized their willingness to 'work with President Trump and President Zelenskyy towards a trilateral summit with European support.' They insisted that Moscow 'cannot have a veto' over Ukraine's potential membership in the European Union or NATO.
On Saturday morning, US President Donald Trump ruled out an immediate ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine following his inconclusive summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that a direct peace agreement would ultimately be required to end the war.
While both the White House and the Kremlin pointed to areas of agreement during their three-hour talks in Alaska, no breakthrough was achieved on securing a ceasefire in a conflict that has left tens of thousands dead and caused widespread devastation across Ukraine.
'A great and very successful day in Alaska!' Trump declared on his Truth Social platform, just hours after returning to Washington.
19th Russia sanctions package
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also weighed in on Saturday, telling journalists that Washington holds the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously.
'But the harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon,' she said. Putin left Anchorage without making any commitments to end the war, and she holds 'Russia's imperialist foreign policy' responsible. 'Europe will therefore continue to support Ukraine, including by working on a 19th Russia sanctions package.'
French President Emmanuel Macron, posting on X, called for 'unbreakable' security guarantees in any future peace deal and warned against Russia's 'well-documented tendency to violate its own commitments.'
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised Trump's efforts, saying they had brought the world 'closer than ever before to ending Russia's illegal war in Ukraine.'
'While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,' Starmer said in a statement.
Several EU government officials reacted to the meeting, criticising Putin's 'gaslighting' tactics - with the notable exception of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who hailed the summit.
'For years, we have watched the two biggest nuclear powers dismantle the framework of their cooperation and shoot unfriendly messages back and forth. That has now come to an end. Today the world is a safer place than it was yesterday,' said Orbán, a rare pro-Kremlin leader in Europe, on X.
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