Foreign ministers from a number of large European countries said they were ready to tighten sanctions on Russia’s energy and banking sectors to weaken Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, Reuters reported on June 12.
The meeting took place in Rome was attended by officials from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Britain and the European Union, with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and a Ukrainian representative also joining the talks.
“We reiterated our readiness to step up our pressure on Russia as it continues to refuse serious and credible commitments, including through further sanctions and countering their circumvention,” the ministers said in a joint statement.
They stressed they would maintain frozen Russian sovereign assets in their jurisdictions “until Russia ceases its aggression and pays for the damage it has caused.”
“We are prepared to enhance our support, including through improving defense industrial cooperation with Ukraine, and exploring additional forms of security and defense cooperation,” the ministers added, without providing further details.
As of now, about $300 billion in assets were frozen by the Group of Seven following the 2022 invasion, and last year G7 countries agreed to loan Ukraine $50 billion, which Ukraine could repay through windfall profits from those frozen assets.
Earlier, Germany announced it would provide up to €9 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2025, with €1.9 billion pending parliamentary approval, including funding for long-range weapons systems to bolster Kyiv’s defense industrial capabilities.
