The European Union is ready to adopt more sanctions against Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not stop the war in Ukraine, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday, APA reports citing CNN.
“We know that this conflict is far from over, and to be very clear, we are ready to take further severe measures if Putin does not stop and reverse the war he has unleashed,” she said alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels.
“Thanks to this coordination [with the United States], we have together designed, developed and deployed sanctions in record time. Sanctions that demonstrate our determination to make Putin pay a price for his war. We do not take these measures lightly but it is clear we need to act,” she added.
Von der Leyen said over 40 countries were now “partially or completely” aligned with the sanctions, saying it was “testimony to the determination of the global community to reject this invasion.”
Speaking after von der Leyen, Blinken commended the European Union for its response to Russia, saying, “this union is strong, it’s united and it’s acting.”
“If we allow those principles to be violated with impunity, then we're opening a Pandora's Box, in every corner of the world for this to happen again and again and again,” Blinken said.
He also warned that the war in Ukraine “may not be over soon” and that the US and European allies must sustain tough pressure on Russia until it ends.
"Unfortunately, tragically, horrifically this may not be over soon," he said.
"We have to sustain this until it stops, until the war is over," he added.
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