EU chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed Friday to “increase the pressure” until Russia’s Vladimir Putin is ready for peace, saying work has begun on an 18th package of EU sanctions against Moscow.
“We want peace and we have to increase the pressure until President Putin is ready for peace,” von der Leyen told reporters at a gathering of European leaders in Tirana, as the first talks in three years between Russia and Ukraine got underway in Turkey.
The EU this week agreed its 17th package of sanctions since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, clamping down on its “shadow” oil fleet by blacklisting some 200 oil tankers used to circumvent curbs on Moscow’s oil exports.
Von der Leyen said the EU was already “working on a new package of sanctions” that would notably target the controversial Baltic Sea gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2, to pre-empt any attempt to bring them back online.
The new sanctions would also seek to list more shadow fleet vessels, lower the price cap set on Russian oil, and slap additional measures on Russia’s financial sector, von der Leyen said.
The two Nord Stream 1 pipelines for years shipped cheap Russian gas to Europe — particularly its biggest economy, Germany.
Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021, but never went into operation as Germany scrapped the project after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In September 2022, huge underwater explosions destroyed both pipes of Nord Stream 1 and one of the Nord Stream 2 pipes, in an attack for which Moscow and Kyiv have traded blame.
But German and British media have recently reported that Washington and Moscow, in their talks on ending the Ukraine war, are discussing reviving the project.
Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke out last week against the reported plans.
Questioned about the move to target the non-operational pipelines, EU spokesperson Paula Pinho told reporters: “you don’t know what can happen.”
“Nord Stream 1 could be repaired”, and Nord Stream 2 “could theoretically be licensed”, she said.
“So the idea is to dissuade any interest, and notably interest from investors, in pursuing any activity on Nord Stream, also in the future.”
Officials admitted this week the latest round of EU sanctions against Moscow was relatively limited compared to previous packages, as the bloc finds it more difficult to agree targets.
Several European leaders have warned Russia it will face more sweeping sanctions if no substantial progress is reached in Turkey this week.
France, Berlin and London have all advocated targeting Russia’s energy sector — with officials pointing for instance to a push by US Republicans to slap a 500-percent tariff on imports from countries that continue buying Russian oil, gas and uranium.
