This was highlighted by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas after the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on 20 May 2025.

“We had a very intense day. First, we started with the Foreign Affairs Council on Defence and then we had the Foreign Ministers when we [discussed] a wide range of topics.

First, the first discussion on Ukraine. Our top priority remains a full and unconditional ceasefire.

Ukraine agreed to it over 60 days ago already, but instead of seeking peace Russia is still playing games and Russia has escalated its attacks. The only option is to put more pressure on Russia to negotiate seriously.

Today, we adopted another sanctions package. This package is also targeting Moscow's shadow fleet, among others. And we also had the discussion. We had David O'Sullivan, and we had also Daniel Markić showing how the sanctions are affecting Russia's economy. So, the impact on Russia's economy, of the sanctions, is significant, and they hamper Russia's capacity to wage the war. The effect on the European economy is limited because we have diversified our energy resources.

Ministers asked also for a fast progress on the next round of sanctions. We have said, many countries have said, if Russia does not agree to full an unconditional ceasefire, there will be more pressure. And of course, working on the next package of sanctions is the pressure we can put [on].

We also discussed the contributions to security guarantees given to Ukraine and what more can we do also on the European level in this regard”.

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-272078

Q&A.  

Q. European leaders keep saying that they want to strike some sanctions against Russia. Some of them even mentioned massive sanctions. You mentioned the 17th package. But we all know that this package has been in discussion for a long time, way before the necessity of imposing more sanctions was raised by some leaders. So, could you give us some more details on this sanctions’ package? What kind of sanctions could be really a game changer for Russia?

It is true that the 17^th package was already in process, but it is not a long-time process – I think our last package was [adopted] in February, if I remember correctly, and now we are in May. The announcements of countries [which] say to put more pressure on Russia, after it is clear that they [Russia] do not want peace and do not agree to unconditional ceasefire. We have to put more pressure on Russia. It was last week, and it is something that we are working on. So, the strongest [element] of this [upcoming] package is, of course, energy. The oil price cap is something that has a clear effect on Russia's economy. President von der Leyen has pointed out what is there regarding Nord Stream – it is more for the future, that is true. There are also discussions about banking services. But I think the most important is the oil price cap, because what we heard today from the intelligence [reporting] was that Russia's economy is not doing well. And so far, they have been able to cover this with propaganda saying that the economy is actually rising, and there is nothing to see here, but now they cannot even cover it with the propaganda anymore, and they are saying that it is in stagnation. So, energy is a big part of Russia's National Fund, which is almost completely depleted. If we can put more pressure there, then it would also be the pressure that might help to end this war.

Q. The President of the United States, Trump, said that he does not want to impose a new sanction against Russia, but today, you adopted new package of sanctions. The Ukrainian Minister and his EU colleagues said that it is very important to coordinate sanction policy with United States. What is your decision today, coordinated with Washington? And do you coordinate sanctions with United States? On top of this, what do you think about the sanctions initiative spearheaded by the US Senator Lindsey Graham?

I think first we are coordinating with a lot of partners outside European Union also – because then we have stronger pressure if everybody agrees and wants to really end this war. So, we are cooperating and coordinating with a lot of partners. When it comes to the proposal by Senator Graham, I think it is a very strong proposal, and it shows that there are also people thinking this similar way, in [the] United States. 

Q. I would like to come back to the 18th package of sanctions. What is your prediction on when it may be adopted? You said fast track. You said it will be quick. Will it be during the Polish Presidency or Danish presidency? Because if it will be strong, some countries, some Member States, may block it, as, for example, Hungary is blocking Ukrainian accession. And this is my second question. It is not the topic of the discussion, but today, in the morning, we saw Marta Kos, who also participated in the meeting, and she was talking about the necessity of opening the first cluster with Ukraine. Are there any news? What did you discuss with Marta Kos? Maybe Hungary is moving forward in this question, or no?

The work is already ongoing, but can I tell when we will be ready? I cannot tell it now. It always is one Member State [saying] “this is not going”, the other one is saying, “we need to find something else.” So these are always very intense debates. I cannot estimate how long it will take, but if the necessity and needs from the Member States are there to move fast, to send a strong signal, to put the pressure that also Russia wants to end this war, then we need to move fast. On enlargement, there were many Member States around the table who were pointing out that we need to move on with enlargement and unblock the opening of clusters. We are working on that – and definitely, the enlargement commissioner is doing a great job.  

Q. My question is about the oil cap. Today, Andrii Sybiha asked to decrease the oil cap till $30 per bar. Now it's 60. Before, Reuters, I think, wrote that the EU wants to decrease it till $50. Do you think it is realistic? Without the United States, how realistic do you think it is? 

So, oil price cap. Just to recall, when we first agreed the oil price cap, the agreement was, between all the parties, that it will be: if the market price goes down, then [the cap] is always lower than the market price. That was the initial agreement by all parties. Now, when the price actually got down, we did not do this step of having it lowered. And then we had the US also on board. Right now, I know that in this big package of sanctions that the Senate is preparing, there is also the oil price cap, so the necessity is there. But can I predict how it is going? I cannot, because the work is ongoing.

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-272530