French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday that he supports the imposition of new sanctions on Russia in the coming days if Moscow does not agree to the ceasefire in Ukraine, pointing to financial services, oil and gas as possible goals.
He said in a television interview: “We intend to impose new sanctions on Russia in the coming days,” if Moscow rejects the ceasefire application, adding: “We coordinate in this regard,” according to Reuters.
Significant tightening penalties
It is noteworthy that Macron’s comments are compatible with the statements of German Chancellor Fredchich Mertz, who announced on Tuesday that the European Union is ready to tighten sanctions on Russia unless this week’s progress is made to end the war on Ukraine, adding that work is being done to prepare a new package of sanctions.
He said in a press conference with his Greek counterpart: “We are waiting for the approval of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, and we agree that if real progress is not made this week, we want to work together at the European level to tighten the sanctions significantly,” adding: “We will look in other areas, such as the energy and financial markets.”
