Description
Added on the 17/05/2023 19:09:56 - Copyright : AFP EN
Speaking at a press conference alongside the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, reveals a new round of sanctions against Moscow over its latest "escalation" in Ukraine. The new sanctions include a cap on the price of Russian oil and a ban on exports from the country worth seven billion euros ($7 billion). The announcement comes as the Kremlin-installed leaders of Russian-held regions in Ukraine have been claiming victory in what Von der Leyen describes as "sham" referendums on joining the Russian Federation. SOUNDBITE
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says Russia 'must pay and must be held accountable' for the war in Ukraine. 'For us it's important that we have the political will to make Russia pay for what it did to Ukraine', at the end of a Ukraine-EU summit in Kyiv. SOUNDBITE
European Council President Charles Michel warns that the coming weeks could decide the course of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He makes the statement following a meeting between European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "The next few weeks and months will probably be decisive. This is not the time to tremble, this is the time to be lucid and this is the time to deploy maximum support," Michel says. SOUNDBITE
Europeans must not tire in their effort to defeat Russia's invasion of Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says, warning Vladimir Putin would seek to exploit "democratic fatigue". SOUNDBITE
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg urges the alliance's leaders heading to a summit in Madrid to keep up their backing for Ukraine as it faces "a brutality which we haven't seen in Europe since the Second World War." SOUNDBITE
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, warns China that supporting "Russia's ability to wage war" in Ukraine "would lead to a major reputational reputational damage". SOUNDBITE