Weimar public: EU and UK consider new sanctions against Russia

European allies are considering the possibility of imposing new sanctions against Russia. This is stated in the joint statement of the participants of the Weimar+ summit, which was held in Madrid on March 31. It also talks about continuing to exert pressure on the Russian Federation for the sake of "a better situation for Ukraine to ensure a just and lasting peace." Following the meeting, the participants again agreed to continue supporting Kiev and strengthen European defense capabilities. Representatives of the leading EU and UK countries believe that Washington should put pressure on Moscow, which, however, has begun a dialogue with it. However, not all European countries support the initiative of France and the United Kingdom to send troops to Ukraine. In particular, Italy spoke out against it. About the split in the European camp and the ability of the Russian Federation to resist Western restrictions — in the material of Izvestia.

Results of the Madrid summit

The Weimar+ summit, which brought together the foreign ministers of Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain and Poland, as well as the head of the European Diplomacy and the EU Defense Commissioner in Madrid on March 31, was another attempt to consolidate the European approach to resolving the Ukrainian conflict. This was the third meeting in this format in two months. The first one took place on February 12, the day after the telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. The second one took place on February 17th.

In a joint statement after the meeting in Madrid, the participants stressed their readiness to "adopt new sanctions against Russia" in order to ensure Ukraine "the best position for a just world." However, the possibilities of Western countries are very limited, since the Russian Federation has adapted to the restrictions, says Stanislav Tkachenko, Doctor of Economics, expert at the Valdai Club.

— They can increase their sanctions quantitatively so that more businesses and individuals fall under them. They may impose restrictions on the military industry and related people. The West has come to the conclusion that the real threat is a complete rupture of relations, blocking the border is really dangerous for both sides. Well, or new energy sanctions that go beyond this price ceiling," the expert argues.

Stanislav Tkachenko noted that the Europeans are not directly talking about this yet, because some countries are interested in Russian oil and gas, for example Hungary. Although even France and Spain are actively buying our LNG. "But in general, we have adapted and they will not be able to do anything particularly painful," he told Izvestia.

The head of the European Diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, speaking before the meeting, focused on the need to "increase pressure on Russia," referring to the lack of progress in the peace talks. At the same time, according to her, the United States should play a special role in this strengthening. Obviously, Brussels is concerned about the beginning of a dialogue between Moscow and Washington, where they are trying to prevent the normalization of Russian-American relations. This is evidenced, in particular, by the fact that after the Russian Federation and the United States agreed to revive the Black Sea Initiative, the EU refused to lift sanctions against Rosselkhoznadzor, and this is one of the key conditions of the agreements. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov drew attention to the fact that the EU is blocking these efforts by refusing to lift sanctions on Russian banks involved in agricultural exports.

At the same time, Ukraine consistently violates the agreements reached with the United States during the negotiations in Riyadh on March 24-25. Back on March 18, the parties agreed not to strike at each other's energy infrastructure. Moscow immediately gave the command to stop the strikes, while Kiev continued the attacks even after the Kremlin and the White House issued statements following hours of consultations.

It is noteworthy that the rhetoric of unity within the European camp hides a deep split. Italy, represented at the summit, opposed the plans of France and Britain to send troops to Ukraine. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said earlier that Rome would not support such steps without the approval of the United States. This reflects a general trend: European countries are afraid to act in isolation from Washington, especially on issues fraught with escalation.

The split became even more obvious after the Paris summit of the coalition of the Willing, held on March 27, where the parties reaffirmed the course towards "peace through force." French President Emmanuel Macron said: "We want to stay united, achieve peace through strength," announcing a new €2 billion military package for Kiev, including Mistral missiles. But even here, unity turned out to be illusory: only France, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and Sweden expressed their willingness to participate in a possible "peacekeeping mission."

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who attended the meeting, again accused Russia of disrupting the truce, but did not offer concrete steps towards de-escalation. Kiev continues to demand new military supplies from the allies to continue the conflict. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski noted at a meeting in Madrid that "Ukraine itself must decide when and whether foreign troops should be stationed on its territory."

An approach to conflict resolution in Europe and the United States

If Europe continues to rely on sanctions and pumping Ukraine with weapons, then the United States, under the leadership of Donald Trump, is demonstrating a more pragmatic approach combining pressure with diplomacy. After several telephone conversations with Vladimir Putin, Trump declared his readiness to "work closely to achieve a diplomatic solution," while threatening Kiev with "big problems" if it breaks the deal on rare earths.

Trumpists listen to European voices the least. Support for EU initiatives will depend on the deal with Ukraine that Trump is trying to achieve, according to Sergey Shein, senior researcher at the Central Research Institute of Higher School of Economics.

— Now there are serious problems in reaching agreements between Moscow and Kiev, as there are very different initial positions of the parties. Therefore, if the situation with the temporary truce is stalling, then there is a high probability that the Americans may change their approaches and be more attentive to what the Europeans are doing in many ways. They may even try to synchronize with Brussels somewhere. But in any case, it's a matter of several months, at least," Sergei Shein told Izvestia.

Europe's financial capacity for such support remains in question. According to the Energy and Clean Air Research Center (CREA), in 2024, the EU spent €21.9 billion on purchases of Russian energy resources, more than on assistance to Ukraine. Thus, dependence on Russian LNG and oil undermines Europe's ability to impose tougher sanctions. The split within the EU is also deepening on the issue of further restrictions. For example, Hungary and Slovakia oppose tougher energy sanctions, while France and Spain continue to purchase Russian LNG, despite Paris' intransigent rhetoric.

According to Shein, there are very few resources for military assistance to Ukraine in Europe, and strengthening defense will require "getting into debt" and will last for "the next five years."

European leaders meet to discuss the same thing for a number of reasons. First of all, symbolism. It is necessary to demonstrate the loyalty of support when the United States has somewhat changed its vision on this issue. The second is the need for constant communication. And we know that European countries sometimes have problems building a unified position on certain issues. Centralization is still very far away there, the expert concluded.

The summits in Madrid and Paris highlighted the main thing: Europe, despite the rhetoric of unity, remains fragmented. Sanctions, even in the format of the 16th package, are unlikely to be able to "do much harm" to Russia, which has adapted to the restrictions. The United States, for all its willingness to engage in dialogue, acts in its own interests, often ignoring European initiatives. The EU's financial and military resources are limited, and the split between "Europeanists" and "Atlanticists" makes it difficult to develop a unified strategy. Under these conditions, a peaceful settlement depends on the West's ability to overcome internal contradictions and recognize that it is impossible to end the conflict without dialogue with Moscow, if that is what Brussels wants at all.