BRITISH Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Russian President Vladimir Putin “must pay the price for avoiding peace” ahead of a European Political Community meeting in Albania on Friday.
“Putin’s tactics to dither and delay, while continuing to kill and cause bloodshed across Ukraine, (are) intolerable,” Starmer said in a statement ahead of the summit, taking place the same day talks are expected between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey.
The European Political Community (EPC), which brings together the members of the European Union and 20 other countries, is meeting in the Albanian capital Tirana on Friday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Russian and Ukrainian delegations are also due to meet in Istanbul for talks on ending the conflict in Ukraine.
However, neither Putin nor Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to attend the talks, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has expressed scepticism that they will produce a peace breakthrough.
The EPC was established on the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron in 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Participants in the meeting will be “piling the pressure on the Kremlin… after Putin dodged US arranged peace talks in Istanbul yesterday”, according to Downing Street.
“A full, unconditional ceasefire must be agreed and if Russia is unwilling to come to the negotiating table, Putin must pay the price,” Starmer said.
London said Russian energy was expected to be a “central target in widespread sanctions action in the coming weeks if Russia does not agree a ceasefire”.
The EU and Britain on Wednesday have both approved fresh sanctions on Russia’s “shadow” oil fleet over the past few days.
