As the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis is sceptical about the European Union’s new sanctions package against the aggressor.
“Without much optimism,” he described the new sanctions package on Monday ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.
Landsbergis believes the sanctions package will be adopted, but “the only question is what kind of package it will be and whether it will be strong”.
Reuters reports that almost 200 entities and individuals are to be included in the new sanctions package against Russia.
“The whole technical discussion that we are involved in is in no way adequate to the situation on the front line where the Ukrainians are left without weapons and ammunition,” Landsbergis said.
“We are talking about whether we will be able to add a few hundred more people to the additional sanction package. This is important, I don’t deny it, but it doesn’t correspond to reality,” he added.
Landsbergis reiterated that sanctions against the Kremlin must also be tightened because of the recent death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a penal colony in Russia last week.
“Alexei Navalny is the author of many names that have been put forward to the European Union for sanctions because he had the best information about who is who in Russia,” the minister said.
Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, is due to meet with European foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.