President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a phone conversation with President of the European Council António Costa.
The Head of State briefly updated his counterpart on the progress of the peace process and Ukraine’s next steps in cooperation with partners. In particular, preparations continue for the resumption of negotiations with the Russian side on ceasefire, humanitarian issues, and prisoner releases.
The President of Ukraine expressed gratitude to the EU for adopting the 17th sanctions package against Russia. He emphasized that the next package must be even stronger and target the energy sector, banking sector, and the shadow fleet – not only the vessels themselves but also the crews operating them.
António Costa stressed the importance of continuing to synchronize all sanction decisions with partners. He also confirmed that stronger sanctions will be applied if Russia refuses to cease fire.
Special attention was given to the opening of negotiation clusters for Ukraine’s EU membership. Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that our state has fulfilled all European Commission requirements on a technical level and expects the first clusters to be opened soon.
The President of the European Council assured that he will exert efforts to unblock the negotiation process as quickly as possible.