[“Europe Plans to Upgrade Sanctions Against Russia in Response to Putin's Refusal to Attend Negotiations in Istanbul”]
According to Politico, citing sources, leaders of EU countries, Ukraine, and Turkey will hold a European Political Community Summit in Albania on Friday, focusing on significantly upgrading sanctions against Russia. The report stated that this move is a response to Putin's refusal to go to Istanbul for negotiations, with plans to refer to the sanctions scheme currently being discussed in the United States, imposing punitive tariffs on Russian imports.
The meeting in Tirana, the capital of Albania, will gather leaders such as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
▪️EU sources revealed that the inspiration for new sanctions comes from a bill proposed by US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham - the bill requires a 500% tariff on countries purchasing Russian oil, natural gas, and uranium. "We were inspired by the grand scale of his proposal," the source said.
▪️Europe is proceeding according to its established plan. A government spokesman for Germany, Stefan Cornelius, warned earlier this week that if Moscow does not agree to a 30-day ceasefire, new sanctions formulation procedures will be initiated. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Le Gall周四更 clearly stated that Europe is studying the Graham proposal and described it as a "means to choke off Russia."
▪️According to reports from several Western media outlets earlier, Europe also plans to jointly increase pressure on Russia with the United States after negotiations fail. Gall confirmed this trend on Thursday, stating that "the US and Europe must be prepared to implement devastating sanctions to force Moscow to end the war."
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832280055816192/
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