EU decries 'concerning' Trump-Putin deal, insists sanctions on Russia will continue

The EU will maintain sanctions on Russia despite the diesel deal struck by Washington and Moscow over the weekend. In addition, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced an as-yet-unconfirmed energy ceasefire in Russia's war in Ukraine on Sunday. The deal provides for Russia immediately releasing 300,000 tons of diesel to the U.S. and global markets and additional volumes later on. In exchange, Washington waived sanctions on Russian diesel until April 2027, raising concerns among allies. Of course, the U.S. is our biggest ally, but our message is clear. If we want to end this war, the only way we can do this is putting more pressure on Russia. Meanwhile, the EU adopted on Monday its largest ever addition to its sanctions list, targeting more than 1,600 people and entities accused of supporting Russia's war in Ukraine. What we need to do is refocus and redouble our efforts in keeping pressure on Russia. So our priority has to be to maintain that pressure, but also to maintain our channels with the U.S., because this is not going to be achievable without the support of the U.S. Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs also said Trump's energy ceasefire was not working, pointing to Russia's relentless airstrike on Ukraine.