The United States and the European Union reached this Tuesday (04.19.2022) a “broad consensus” on the need to increase pressure on Russia, particularly through “new sanctions”. Likewise, the allied countries also agreed on the need to “increase Moscow’s international isolation,” the Italian government said in a statement.

The president of the United States, Joe Biden; NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg; the president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, and nine other world leaders met electronically to discuss the situation in Ukraine and promised to continue providing military, economic and humanitarian assistance to Kyiv.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki added that the leaders condemned the suffering caused by Russia’s “unprovoked” and “unwarranted” invasion and agreed to continue to coordinate their efforts through the G7 and NATO and that the sides discussed “their coordinated efforts to continue inflicting significant economic costs in order to hold Russia accountable” for its actions.

Diversify energy sources

The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, also participated in the videoconference, which lasted an hour and a half; the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the presidents of France, Emmanuel Macron; from Poland, Andrzej Duda, and from Romania, Klaus Iohannis, in addition to the prime ministers of Canada, Justin Trudeau; from the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson; from Italy, Mario Draghi, and from Japan, Fumio Kishida.

In a statement, Stoltenberg confirmed that the participants agreed “on the importance of making Russia pay even more” for the invasion of Ukraine. Italy, for its part, assured that the countries reaffirmed “the common commitment to diversify energy sources, thus reducing dependence on Russian supply.” The announcement of increased sanctions comes as the Russian government is carrying out a new phase of its offensive against Ukraine in the Donbas region.