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European Union foreign and defense ministers reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine, addressing Russian human rights violations, and finalizing a new sanctions package on the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs Council.
Statement by Antonio Tajani, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation:
“As far as sanctions against Russia are concerned, they must be inflicted. A new package is needed, and we are absolutely in favor. The details are being finalized, but it seems to me that we are moving in the right direction to send a strong signal to Russia. As far as the Middle East is concerned, it is also important to continue working so that a ceasefire can truly be achieved, to reach then peace in Lebanon.”
Statement by Helen McEntee, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defence:
“This morning we started off with a really important engagement with the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, with Andrij, but also with Oleksandr and Maksym who represent civil society organizations. I had advocated with Kaya that we would have this on the agenda, that we would particularly focus on the impact that the illegal occupation of Russia in Ukraine is having on civilians, and those in particular that are being detained. What’s very clear is that there is systematic torture, abuse, rape in many instances, and that this is completely illegal. And so, our objective here this morning was to highlight this, was to highlight the situation for many civilians in the occupied territories, but also to agree a platform and a way forward by which we can support Ukraine in identifying who the civilians are, supporting their release, and importantly, making sure that those who are responsible for this are held accountable.”
Statement by Johann Wadephul, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany:
“Yes, well… from a German perspective, the focus today will be on continuing the policy that we have clearly formulated on other levels regarding the Ukraine conflict. The G7 have agreed on a clear statement by the side of Ukraine and have supported the Ukrainian government here, in this difficult situation in which the conflict still finds itself. That was a clear signal to Moscow as well. This continued at the NATO summit, where the German proposal found support to put together another package for Ukraine, totaling 140 billion euros for both years—meaning the current year and the coming year.”