Ukraine, EU ready for “robust” sanctions against Russia

The text of the conclusions of the European Council on sanctions against Russia and Belarus for the war in Ukraine has been changed compared to the draft circulated last Tuesday. Now the key passage of the conclusions on Ukraine, released just before three in the morning, is that the EU “has so far adopted significant sanctions, which are having a huge impact on Russia and Belarus and stands ready to close the loopholes and take targeting current and possible bypasses, as well as moving swiftly with further robust sanctions against Russia and Belarus, to effectively weaken Russia’s ability to continue aggression “against Ukraine. The European Council also “asks all countries to align themselves with these sanctions. Any attempt to circumvent the sanctions or to help Russia by other means must be stopped”. China is not explicitly mentioned, but that the passage is also directed to Beijing, a major trading partner of the EU, is quite clear. Previously, the text was less articulated and provided that the EU “remains ready to move quickly with further coordinated sanctions”. BILATERAL BIDEN-VON DER LEYEN – President Joe Biden will host the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the US embassy in Brussels this morning to discuss US-EU collaboration in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. To follow, the two leaders will hold a press conference. In the late morning, the US president will fly to Poland, where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war have found refuge. Polish President Andrzej Duda will welcome Biden at Rzeszów airport.