Brussels does not lift sanctions on Russia, regret over US move on diesel

From the European Council meeting in Brussels emerges the Union’s position on sanctions against Russia, placed in implicit contrast with the US choice to ease part of them.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the Union will not lift any sanction until Russia ends the war:

“no sanction until Russia ends the war” — Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission

In the conclusions adopted at the end of the meeting, the leaders of the member states expressed regret over the decision by the United States to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel — a choice that moves in the same direction of easing that the Union says it does not intend to follow.

The European Commission spokesperson said that sanctions are putting pressure on the Russian economy, but that the Union must do more. This is a formulation that leaves open the question of what additional measures Brussels intends to adopt, without the summit’s conclusions specifying them.

Present in Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked that Europeans have their own path in negotiations with Russia, distinct from the one being conducted by Washington. The request fits into the same climate of diplomatic uncertainty that marked the day: on one hand the United States easing part of its own sanctions, on the other the Union reaffirming its line of firmness, while Kyiv asks not to be caught between the two approaches.

The result, by the end of the day, is a clear statement on the level of principles — no sanctions lifted for as long as the war lasts — accompanied by explicit regret toward a decision taken by an ally. The European Council’s conclusions do not contain, at this time, new additional sanctioning measures beyond those already in force.