European leaders at the summit in Paris agreed that sanctions against Russia should not be lifted but increased until Moscow stops its war against Ukraine.

"There was absolute clarity that now is not the time to lift sanctions, but quite the opposite - what we discussed is how we can increase sanctions to support the US initiative to bring Russia to the negotiating table from further pressure," said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, side by side with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who in turn added: "everybody understood and understands that today Russia does not want any peace."

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke along the same lines, "our goal is clear: to achieve peace and to put Ukraine in the best negotiating position".

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed that lifting sanctions against Russia would be a "serious mistake" and "makes no sense" until there is peace.

"It makes no sense to end sanctions until peace is actually achieved, and unfortunately we are still far from that," Scholz said.

Zelensky pointed out that there should be "no lifting of any kind of sanctions until Russia stops this war," but instead "more pressure on it, more sanctions packages."

Starmer stressed being "determined" to see "peace through strength" in Ukraine and told Zelensky that Ukraine has "our full support as long as it takes."

He accused Russia of "trying to delay" the search for peace in Ukraine.

Europe is also seeking to support Ukraine after a possible ceasefire deal. In that context, Starmer said, "We discussed peacebuilding plans - the coalition of the willing - and military and operational plans, whether they are in the air, on the ground or at sea."

"We will work on security guarantees in the coming days and weeks," Zelensky added. | BGNES