Zelenskyy on Paris meeting: No sanctions on Russia will be lifted before a just peace

Sanctions against Russia will not be lifted until the war against Ukraine ends with a just peace—a position unanimously supported by all participants of the "coalition of the willing" meeting in Paris, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced during a press conference.

According to him, this is an "important unified signal" not only from European Union countries but from Europe as a whole.

Zelenskyy stated that 31 meeting participants voted in favor of this stance.

The attendees included leaders of France, Lithuania, Finland, Cyprus, Romania, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Czechia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, as well as the heads of the European Council, European Commission, and NATO. Austria, Australia, and Canada were represented at the ambassador level.

Earlier, European Council President António Costa stated that the EU would not lift sanctions on Russia but instead continue to increase pressure on the aggressor state.

• On March 27, the "coalition of the willing" meeting took place, lasting two hours. President Zelenskyy invited allies to Ukraine to jointly develop a clear security plan for land, air, and sea.
• French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the UK and France would send teams to Ukraine to help strengthen its military. He also stated that several countries plan to provide a "reassurance force" to be deployed in strategically important areas after the war ends.