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EU capitals have agreed a fresh sanctions package against Russia, as Brussels vows to step up pressure on Moscow and increase its support for Kyiv, widening a transatlantic divide with US President Donald Trump as he pushes for a rapid end to the war in Ukraine.
The new measures targeting Russia’s aluminium and oil exports come as Brussels fears Trump could ease US sanctions on Moscow as part of a peace deal struck with President Vladimir Putin without Europe’s involvement.
After the first formal day of US-Russia peace talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, US secretary of state Marco Rubio hinted that EU restrictions on Russia’s economy, defence industry, and oligarchs and officials who help to maintain the war could be part of the negotiations.
“The European Union is going to have to be at the table at some point, because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed,” Rubio told reporters.
In a statement whose contents were largely echoed by Moscow, the US state department said following Tuesday’s talks that the two countries would “lay the groundwork for future co-operation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest and historic economic and investment opportunities” following a peace deal in Ukraine.
“There’s deep concern about how we [the EU] can keep up economic pressure on Russia if the US delinks its sanctions from ours,” said one EU official involved in the package. Most western sanctions imposed on Russia since 2022 have been co-ordinated by the G7 to ensure maximum impact.
Endorsement of the new sanctions package follows discussions between EU capitals over the past week on adhering to the bloc’s principles towards the conflict, regardless of how Trump acts, said senior EU diplomats.
“We must continue to forge our path on Ukraine, despite what any other ally chooses to do,” said one.
Rubio has told European diplomats in recent days that he supported placing additional restrictions on Russia to maintain pressure on Moscow during the negotiations, said two officials briefed on the conversations.
But the officials acknowledged that his view could differ from Trump’s.
The bloc’s 16th package of sanctions against Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022 imposes a “phased-in” ban on imports of Russian aluminium products and further tightens measures targeting its crude oil sales, according to people briefed on its contents.
The sanctions target 73 so-called shadow fleet tankers used by Moscow to export crude oil in violation of western restrictions, 13 Russian banks, and scores of individuals and companies deemed to be helping the Russian war effort.
It was agreed by ambassadors from all the EU’s 27 member states on Wednesday, ahead of formal adoption by foreign ministers next week.
“We keep supporting Ukraine and we keep sanctioning the Russian aggressor, because this is the right thing to do, preserving international rules and order, defending sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said one EU diplomat briefed on the new package.
