Yesterday at 20:05
The European Union must act far more decisively on sanctions against Russia, as the current measures remain weaker than the rhetoric surrounding them, former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told Ukrinform in an exclusive interview.
Responding to a question about the effectiveness of the EU’s 18th sanctions package, Landsbergis said that while any restrictions add pressure on Russia and are “hard to criticize,” they have not achieved the main goal.
“Have we managed to stop Russia? I don’t think so. This means our sanctions were too weak and too late. It has always been like that. Now it is clear that the Russians have found ways to bypass them,” he said.
He pointed to China as Russia’s main partner in the war, stressing that Europeans must decide whether they truly want to stop this cooperation or allow the coalition to continue.
“We should act much more decisively than we are now. And I usually criticize the fact that statements about a new package sound much tougher than the sanctions themselves,” Landsbergis noted.
Commenting on the fact that some EU countries continue to buy Russian natural gas despite sanctions, he drew a historical parallel with the years before World War II.
“When Nazi Germany invaded Czechoslovakia and Italy moved into Bosnia and North Africa, France imposed sanctions on Italy … on foie gras. Not on gas, not on oil, not on production, but on such a product. You can imagine how much harm that caused. To me, this looks like history repeating itself,” he said.
The EU is currently considering potential sanctions against China and other states that continue purchasing Russian oil and gas.
