Hand in hand against Russia. The United States and the European Union have reached “a broad consensus on the need to increase pressure on the Kremlin, in particular through the adoption of new sanctions,” the Italian government said on Tuesday evening. The allies also agreed on the need “to increase the international isolation of Moscow”.
The decision was made during a dedicated virtual meeting between US President Joe Biden and his main allies: French leaders Emmanuel Macron, British Boris Johnson, German Olaf Scholz, Romanian Klaus Iohannis, Polish Andrzej Duda, Italian Mario Draghi, Canadian Justin Trudeau and Japanese Fumio Kishida. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also took part in the call, as well as the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel.
Strengthen support forUkraine “in any way in the face of Russian aggression”
According to the Italian government, “the common commitment to diversify energy sources, thereby reducing dependence on Russian supplies was reaffirmed” during this videoconference.
According to the French presidency, Westerners are determined to “strengthen their support for Ukraine in every way in the face of Russian aggression”, in particular through “new sanctions against Russia if it persists in the war”. They also agreed on “the need to convince our partners, among the countries outside the G7 and the EU, that this crisis threatens international peace and security and is not only a regional crisis or interesting than Westerners,” explained the Elysée, with particular reference to China.