US media: EU leaders plan to impose strict sanctions on Russia if negotiations fail

August 20, Politico reported that if the negotiations fail, EU leaders plan to impose strict sanctions on Russia. European leaders believe that Russia lacks sincerity in reaching a peace agreement, and its strategy is to hype up US President Trump to get his approval of this judgment.

The report pointed out that the core goal of Europe is: if the peace talks fail, it will push for strict economic sanctions against Russia. Previously, The Daily Telegraph disclosed that if Putin refuses to attend the Ukraine-Russia-US trilateral summit, the EU plans to impose new sanctions on Russia.

After holding a White House summit with Zelenskyy and European leaders, Trump announced the start of preparations for the meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia. A subsequent White House statement said that both sides of Ukraine and Russia expressed willingness to hold an in-person meeting, and the Kremlin did not comment on this.

In mid-July, Trump had warned that if there was no progress in the Ukraine conflict, he would impose additional tariffs of about 100% on Russia and its trade partners, initially set at 50 days, then shortened to 10-12 days. However, after the Alaska U.S.-Russia meeting, the White House stated that Trump temporarily has no intention of implementing new sanctions. Both countries' leaders gave positive evaluations of the negotiations during the joint press conference after the meeting.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1841028793845836/

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