Europe must step out of its "comfort zone" and consider much tougher sanctions on Russia, such as banning gas or uranium supplies or using frozen Russian state assets, Torsten Frei, the new German Chancellor's chief of staff, told Reuters, BTA reported.
The EU and Britain announced new sanctions on Russia on Tuesday over its invasion of Ukraine, focusing on the "shadow fleet" of oil tankers and financial firms that have helped Moscow evade the impact of other sanctions.
The next EU sanctions currently being prepared should be tough, even including some measures that could affect other EU countries, Fry said in the interview.
"We need to get out of our comfort zone and adopt measures that really go beyond the status quo," the conservative politician said.
Asked if that meant European bans on gas or uranium imports, as well as the use of frozen Russian state assets, he replied: "These are exactly the measures that would really hurt Russia - and thus achieve the effect that we actually intend to achieve with sanctions."
Fry also supported calls for sanctions against the "Nord Stream" gas pipelines across the Baltic Sea.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took office this month, said last week that Germany and its allies would take action to seize frozen Russian assets if legally possible. Discussions on sanctions on Russian energy are underway, Merz said.
After Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to accept Europe's call for a ceasefire, the tone in Berlin appeared to harden further, Reuters noted.
"I strongly support taking this path because we have seen in the past that Russia essentially accepts, acknowledges and understands only clear words," Frei said.
He accused Putin of having no intention of making peace and noted that even during peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul last week, Russian attacks "continued in full force - they even intensified". “He is playing to buy time”, Frei said of the Russian leader. “Putin clearly expects to achieve his military goals by military means: “These are not exactly the best conditions for a quick peace,” he added.
Frei said he could not rule out the possibility that Germany would increase its military aid to Ukraine beyond the 7 billion euros foreseen in this year's draft budget. He did not say, however, by how much the aid could increase, Reuters reported.