When asked if sanctions against Russia would continue if the war against Ukraine drags on, he said the sanctions are necessary to check the Russian aggression.
European Union (EU) Ambassador Ugo Astuto on Wednesday said it is important that the international community comes together and makes it clear to Russia that its aggression against Ukraine must stop. He was speaking to reporters after delivering a keynote address at the 'EU-India: A green, digital and resilient future' event organised at the Savitribai Phule Pune University here on the occasion of 60 years of EU-India partnership.
When asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal for an immediate ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, the EU ambassador to India and Bhutan said, "I think it is very important that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and we hope that Russia comes to its senses as its unprovoked and unjustified aggression is senseless."
"So it is important that the international community comes together and makes it clear to Russia and its leaders that the aggression must stop, hostilities must stop and troops must be withdrawn," said Astuto. When asked if sanctions against Russia would continue if the war against Ukraine drags on, he said the sanctions are necessary to check the Russian aggression.
"Through the actions, we are trying to affect the Russian war machine and to hold those responsible for this decision to attack Ukraine. We have already approved five packages for sanctions," he said. Astuto added that they have developed "very effective financial sanctions and have excluded major financial institutions from Russia from the SWIFT".
"We are progressively expanding in respect of the sanctions. In the last package, for instance, we also made it clear that we want to target the coal export from Russia," said Astuto. He added that it is a process which is continuing and the point is that through these sanctions, they want to affect the capability of the Russian military as it continues its aggression against Ukraine. "So we will continue and expand as it (imposition of sanctions) is necessary as long as Russia continues its aggression," Astuto added.
(With PTI