US, EU diplomats discuss pressure on Russia over situation in Ukraine – State Department
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and European External Action Service Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs Enrique Mora have discussed the coordination of U.S. and EU policies and actions related to Russia in connection with the situation around Ukraine in Washington, the U.S. Department of State has reported.
Nuland and Mora condemned the Kremlin's unprovoked, unjustifiable, and barbaric war against Ukraine, also enabled by the Belarusian government.
The parties said in a joint statement following the meeting that they "the coordination between the United States and the European Union in implementing unprecedented sanctions and export control measures in response to Russia’s aggression and discussed continued close cooperation in coordination with the G7 to ensure stringent implementation of these measures."
"They also discussed additional steps to isolate Russia further from the U.S. and EU economies and the international financial system to impose severe costs on Russia for its actions," the State Department said in a statement.
The diplomats noted "the necessity of consolidating international support for the government and people of Ukraine and of holding the government of Russia to account," and agreed that they would continue "to urge China not to circumvent nor undermine sanctions against Russia, and not to provide any form of support to Russia's aggression against Ukraine."
Nuland and Mora also discussed issues of "high-level attention and support to the Republic of Moldova and to work together to strengthen its resilience" and "ongoing efforts to support the democratic forces inside and outside of Belarus in defending and advancing human rights," the statement said.
"This high-level meeting follows the commitments taken at the June 2021 U.S.-EU Summit, where both sides resolved to coordinate U.S. and EU policies and actions related to Russia," the statement said.
The parties decided to continue meetings in this dialogue, with the next high-level meeting to take place in late 2022.
