#russia-sanctions

#russia-sanctions

The European Commission president was in Serbia as part of her tour of the Western Balkans to discuss EU enlargement with candidate countries in the region. That day, she invited Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to come to Brussels a month later so that the two could "take stock together." That was October; this is December. According to multiple sources who spoke to DW, the meeting was postponed because Serbia had no progress to report.

The Foreign Office said there had been "a summer of Russian delay tactics at peace talks" aimed at ending the conflict in the region, as well as increased attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure. Cooper added support for Kyiv was "unwavering and stronger than ever" and that fresh funding would support Ukraine through the winter and into 2026. She continued: "Putin's bombardment of Ukrainian civilians, his stalling and delaying in internationally-backed peace talks, and his blatant disregard for human life must end."

Behind the scenes: White House officials are losing patience with European leaders, whom they claim are pushing Ukraine to hold out for unrealistic territorial concessions by Russia. Axios has learned that the sanctions the U.S. is urging Europe to adopt against Russia include a complete cessation of all oil and gas purchases - plus secondary tariffs from the EU on India and China, similar to those already imposed on India by the U.S.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last night he was making progress in talks with European and US partners on designing potential security guarantees for Ukraine should the war be brought to a close. In his nightly address, he said: It is important that everything be as practical as possible what forces on the ground, in the air, at sea everything must be clearly defined. And the foundation of our security is our strong Ukrainian army, which means long-term financing and the provision of weapons all of this will be ensured.

The EU and UK are advocating for a lower oil price cap on Russian crude to reduce Moscow's revenue from oil sales, currently set at $60.