EU: Russia Must Withdraw From Ukraine Before EU Considers Sanction Relief

On Wednesday, the European Union announced that for sanctions on Russia to be lifted or eased, it’s essential that all Russian forces withdraw from Ukraine. This announcement came after the US brokered agreements between Ukraine and Russia to cease attacks on energy infrastructure and maritime targets, which also involved US promises to seek some limited relief from sanctions for Moscow. While the EU wasn’t directly involved in those negotiations, they welcomed the agreement reached between the U.S. and Ukraine.

EU foreign policy spokesperson Anitta Hipper said that sanctions will only shift if Russia shows “genuine political will” to end its “unprovoked and unjustified aggression.” The EU has just renewed its sanctions framework for another six months, and any adjustments will require unanimous agreement from all 27 member states.

Russia is saying that the US has agreed to assist in lifting Western restrictions on food, fertilizer, and shipping companies as part of a security agreement for the Black Sea. However, a lot of these restrictions are linked to EU sanctions, which include tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grain that were put in place back in July. There are also talks about imposing additional tariffs on agricultural products and fertilizers.

The EU has clarified that it doesn’t impose sanctions on agricultural goods, but it does enforce “prohibitive tariffs” on certain imports from Russia and Belarus. Diplomats have mentioned that while the US can act independently, EU sanctions need a collective agreement. Hipper stressed that trust in Russia is based on actions, not just promises, claiming that Russia has broken past agreements.