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Vladimir Zelensky PHOTO: PHOTO: Reuters
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“Internal strife must stop,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told European Union leaders today, calling for “greater unity” so that the sixth package of sanctions against Moscow could be approved, AFP reported. BTA.
“Europe must show its strength. Because Russia considers only strength as an argument (…). It is time for you not to be divided, but to be one,” he said in a video message issued at an extraordinary EU summit in Brussels.
“Only through greater unity will we be able to find effective answers to everything that Russia is doing against us and against you,” Zelensky stressed.
The Ukrainian president encouraged the 27 countries to vote on a new package of sanctions against Russia, “including on oil, so that Russia pays for what it does against Ukraine, against Europe.” “To finally become independent of Russia’s energy weapons, at least (as far as) oil is concerned,” he said.
“Obviously, there must be progress in sanctions against (Russian) aggression,” he added.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose country is heavily dependent on Russian oil, said earlier today that there was no acceptable compromise so far on a European embargo on Russian oil.
“Unfortunately, for some reason that escapes me, we are not there yet,” Zelenski said in his address. According to him, Russia does not want to see a united European Union, but “27 divided countries, 27 pieces that cannot be combined. This is their wish,” he said.
Regarding Ukraine’s EU bid, he said he was confident the abstentions would change their minds, while several European representatives, mostly French, expressed reservations about Ukraine’s swift accession.
“We want Ukraine to receive candidate status. We have met all the necessary criteria for that,” Zelensky said.
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