EU preparing new sanctions on Russia: French FM

WASHINGTON: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Thursday that the European Union is preparing a 17th round of sanctions against Russia, describing the country´s president as the “sole obstacle” to peace in Ukraine.

The 27-nation bloc has hit Russia with multiple rounds of sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine and said earlier this year that it would not lift them before the “unconditional” withdrawal of Moscow´s forces from its neighbour.

“We Europeans will accompany this American (sanctions) initiative with a 17th package of sanctions and I committed yesterday to (US Senator) Lindsey Graham that we would try to coordinate both the substance and the timing of these two packages of sanctions,” Barrot told AFP in an interview.

US President Donald Trump is trying to broker an end to the fighting between Russia and Ukraine, and a bipartisan group of senators lead by Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal last month proposed legislation that would impose sanctions on countries friendly to Moscow if it disrupts efforts to end the war.

Barrot took aim at Russia´s president during the interview saying: “It is now crystal clear that the only obstacle to peace today in Ukraine is Vladimir Putin.”

Moscow´s forces launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 in a bid to seize control that Kyiv thwarted with the help of international assistance provided primarily by the United States and countries in Europe.

Barrot also told AFP that he welcomed the “unfiltered exchange” he had with his US counterpart Marco Rubio.

“We had an unfiltered exchange that allowed us to coordinate closely, but also to acknowledge the convergence of our objectives on regional and international crises, since we want to act in concert,” the French minister said.

Barrot and Rubio met Thursday “to advance the path to peace in Ukraine,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.