French President Emmanuel Macron demanded this Thursday (24), during a telephone conversation, that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, “immediately” cease military operations in Ukraine.
Macron called Putin after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and relayed this message in agreement with the latter.
According to the Élysée Palace, seat of the French presidency, Macron reminded Putin that his country is exposed “to massive sanctions” for the military offensive in Ukraine, launched on a large scale in the early hours of Thursday.
The French presidency detailed that Macron called the Russian president upon his arrival at the European Council in Brussels, before the start of the meeting of European Union (EU) leaders.
The EU bloc on Thursday gave the green light to new sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, covering the financial, energy and transport sectors, dual-use goods, as well as export controls and visa policy.
The conclusions approved at that summit also specify that the list of Russian individuals affected by community sanctions will be expanded.
Once approved by the leaders, these sanctions must follow the formal procedure necessary for them to be adopted and take effect, with a next step this Friday (25) at an extraordinary council of foreign ministers in Brussels.
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