Emmanuel Macron, President of France, demanded this Thursday by telephone that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, “immediately” cease military operations in Ukraine.
The French president called him after having spoken with the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, and transmitted that message to him in agreement with the latter.
According to the Elysée, the French head of state reminded Putin that his country is exposed “to massive sanctions” for the military offensive in Ukraine, launched on a large scale at dawn this Thursday.
The French Presidency pointed out that Macron called the Russian president upon his arrival at the European Council in Brussels, before the meeting of the leaders of the European Union (EU) began.
The community bloc gave the green light on Thursday to the new sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, covering the financial, energy and transport sectors, dual-use goods, as well as export control or visa policy.
The conclusions approved during that summit specify that the list of Russian individuals affected by community sanctions will be expanded.
After the approval of the leaders, these sanctions must follow the formal procedure necessary for them to be adopted and enter into force, with a next step this Friday in an extraordinary council of foreign ministers in Brussels.
The Twenty-seven also “strongly” condemned the involvement of Belarus in the invasion, since some troops entered Ukraine from there, and called for “urgent preparation and adoption” of new economic and individual sanctions also against that country.
Also read:
· There is still time to dialogue and avoid “the horrors of war”: Pope Francis
· FIFA pronounces on the situation in Ukraine and condemns Russia’s attacks
Biden: “Putin chose this war… he and their country will face the consequences”; severe sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine