Ukrainian President, Vladimir Zelensky, told US senators who visited Kiev that the US needs to impose sanctions against Russia urgently, without waiting for a possible invasion of Ukraine.
“The president made it clear: sanctions against Nord Stream 2 should be introduced now. And any possible sanctions against Nord Stream or other sanctions are useless,” a source close to the Ukrainian president told Axios.
According to the source, the sanctions that will be imposed in case of escalation are “neutral at best.” As the interlocutors of the portal noted, the general mood of the senators’ meeting with Zelensky was positive and warm, despite disagreements about when sanctions should be imposed against Russia.
Thank you @SenSchumer + @SenTedCruz for agreeing on a vote to stop Russia’s NordStream 2. 🇺🇦 asks all its friends in the US Senate to vote for S.3436 Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Implementation Act: https://t.co/rnnYfGDagr
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 8, 2022
However, the EU’s senior diplomat, Josep Borrell, has ruled out the introduction of “preventive sanctions” against Russia over the situation in Ukraine, clarifying that any measures would only be implemented in case of an actual attack, RT reports.
Borrell told the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs that the EU is preparing a package of sanctions that would be used to hit Moscow if it decided to invade Ukraine. However, despite cries from Kiev that Russia should be hit pre-emptively, Borrell revealed draft measures are being prepared but would only be implemented in case of escalation.
“Nobody has talked about preventive sanctions,” he said. “There will not be preventive sanctions […] We are discussing what to do in case something happens. To be prepared to act does not mean to act before it is needed.”
Ru-Main, 20.01.2022
Source: Interfax
