The head of European Commission discusses maintaining a united front in sanctions against Russia with Trump's VP

On September 4, in a telephone conversation with the vice president of the United States J.D. Vance the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen discussed the issue of maintaining a united front on sanctions against the aggressor country of Russia. This was reported by the European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho, reports Ukrinform.

"The conversation between President Lien and Vice President J.D. Vance was about maintaining a united front on sanctions. Because the more we coordinate our approach with our partners, the more effective sanctions are, and we have a number of examples that demonstrate this. For example, joint efforts with the G7 to price restriction for Russian oil," the official said.

She noted that the European Commission believes that sanctions are effective and that the EU will continue to put pressure on Russia's military economy, increase the price for Moscow for avoiding peace talks, and eventually the bloc will "bring in" a dictator Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.

"Leyen discussed this issue, among others, with the vice president of the United States," Pinho said.

When asked whether sanctions against China were discussed, the official replied: "We are also looking at sanctions circumvention. And in that sense, we also raised that issue, particularly when Leyen was in China. It is being discussed, and it is part of the overall discussion when it comes to sanctions."

The officials also clarified whether von der Leyen had discussed of yesterday's conversation with the prime minister of India Narendra Modi cooperation between New Delhi and Moscow in the energy sector. The official replied that energy was indeed on the agenda of the conversation as part of a broader range of relations, as the European Union and India are negotiating a free trade agreement.

Pinho also noted that the reduction in oil purchases from Russia is part of the toolkit to weaken Moscow's war economy, and added that the deadline for the EU to gradually abandon Russian hydrocarbons by the end of 2027 remains in effect.

• On September 4, after the meeting of the "coalition of the willing" in Paris, president Zelenskyy, European partners, and US leader Trump had a phone call.

• Following the conversation, French president Macron said that if Russia continues to refuse to agree to a ceasefire, then Europe and the US to impose sanctions.

• The Ukrainian president reported that during the call, Trump raised the issue of Slovakia and Hungary buying Russian oil and was "very unhappy" that Europe is purchasing it.