EU Chief, Trump Discuss New Sanctions to Tighten 'Economic Pressure' on Russia

EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen said she discussed with US President Donald Trump new sanctions to tighten economic pressure on Russia over the Ukraine war. Brussels is preparing its 19th sanctions package targeting energy, banks and crypto.

Brussels: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said she and US President Donald Trump discussed additional steps to tighten the screws on Russia over the Ukraine war.

"I had a good call with (Trump) on strengthening our joint efforts to increase economic pressure on Russia through additional measures," she posted on X.

Von der Leyen said the EU executive would soon present its proposals for a 19th package of EU sanctions on Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

It will include measures targeting crypto, banks and energy, she said.

Trump has demanded that allies stop buying Russian oil before he moves on punishing Moscow, and told them to hit China with tariffs.

The 27-nation EU had already banned most imports of Russian oil after the Kremlin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and it is planning to phase out all Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027.

Von der Leyen indicated that Brussels was seeking to move faster.

"Russia's war economy, sustained by revenues from fossil fuels, is financing the bloodshed in Ukraine. To put an end to it, the (European) Commission will propose speeding up the phase-out of Russian fossil imports," she wrote.

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