The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaia Kalas, said that Ukraine will hold elections if Russia ends the war. Her comment comes amid Washington and Moscow's insistence on a new vote in the country, BTA reports.
“While there is a war, it is important for the people to be united“, Kalas told journalists in Luxembourg before the meeting of European foreign ministers. According to her, the only way to end the conflict is to increase pressure on Russia. She called on the US to impose sanctions and take into account the measures taken by the EU.
Kalas welcomed the reports of an agreed “energy truce“ and expressed hope that it would be respected. According to her, Russia is also interested in such an agreement, since without a war, Russian refineries would not have been attacked.
She also stated that European sanctions would have a greater effect if the United States also applied them. According to her, the measures so far have deprived Russia of revenues in the amount of one trillion euros, which could otherwise be used to finance the war.
Kallas announced that the EU Council is expected to approve the inclusion of another 1,600 individuals and organizations in the European sanctions lists related to the war in Ukraine. Measures are planned against representatives of the Russian military-industrial complex and individuals responsible for organizing elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories, which the EU does not recognize.