At a “Coalition of the Willing” meeting in Paris, which the U.S. president joined by video, leaders discussed not only Ukraine’s postwar future but also attempts to forge a unified Western sanctions policy against Russia. The New York Times reported that European leaders sought to show the U.S. president that Europe is prepared to do the hard work of guaranteeing Ukraine’s security and that Vladimir Putin has no interest in peace.
“They focused their energy on keeping Mr. Trump engaged and roughly on their side … and tried to leverage Putin’s unwillingness to negotiate seriously to extract new commitments from the White House on economic sanctions against Russia,” the NYT said.
But, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited officials who attended the Paris meetings, Trump did not make clear commitments on new U.S. sanctions.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told American reporters that the president responded with a counterproposal: he urged European leaders to stop buying Russian oil, which funds the Kremlin’s war, and to apply more economic pressure on China. So far, EU sanctions on Beijing have been modest.
EU representatives, in turn, tried to draw the U.S. president’s attention to Hungary and Slovakia—Europe’s main buyers of Russian oil. Those countries are not part of the “Coalition of the Willing,” so their representatives were not present for the uncomfortable exchange.
“Trump is very unhappy that Russian oil is being bought by Europe. Among others there are two countries; we know they are Hungary and Slovakia,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the summit.
Bild reported that the discussion was broader and the atmosphere tense.
Trump’s personal envoy in Paris, Steve Witkoff, accused Europe of buying Russian oil via India, which the U.S. has sanctioned.
Axios reported that on sanctions Washington looked to the EU, proposing to also target India and China, which are buying up Russian energy. Trump has now repeated that call personally.
Perhaps for that reason, the EU is not expecting a quick decision from Trump on new U.S. sanctions.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Trump that since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the EU has significantly reduced imports of Russian oil.
They agreed that she and Trump’s advisers would discuss joint efforts to limit Russia’s oil revenues. After the summit, she contacted U.S. Vice President JD Vance about “maintaining a united front on sanctions.”
“Coordinated sanctions under Trump could finally squeeze not only Putin but also one of his most reliable European friends, Viktor Orban. The time for a difficult decision may have arrived,” Euractiv noted.
The EU is already moving on areas Washington has criticized. Europe may introduce secondary sanctions on Russia to stop third countries from helping Moscow circumvent existing measures, Bloomberg reported.
Late last week in Copenhagen, EU foreign ministers discussed activating an anti-circumvention mechanism adopted in 2023 but not yet used. It allows the EU to ban the export, supply or transfer of certain goods to third countries deemed to be facilitating sanctions evasion.
That discussion ran in parallel with preparation of the EU’s 19th sanctions package against Russia. It will target captains of the so‑called “shadow fleet,” Russia’s defense-industrial complex and financial operations, said Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Ukrainian president’s commissioner for sanctions policy. The EU may also focus on stepped-up enforcement of existing measures, consider new secondary restrictions on partners of Russian businesses abroad, keep expanding the list of companies aiding Russia, and widen the number of banks cut off from SWIFT and subject to transaction limits.
EU foreign ministers also plan to weigh additional limits on Russia’s oil, gas and financial sectors and to discuss the import and export of Russian goods. Bloomberg noted those talks are not tied to a specific package.
Brussels also wants to address Trump’s criticism over European purchases of Russian oil and gas.
Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said the EU will permanently abandon Russian oil and gas. “A few months ago I put forward a proposal for a de facto ban on gas imports. That proposal is now being discussed in the European Parliament and among member states. It’s important to reach an agreement-we need to send a very clear signal to Russia,” he said.
For now, the U.S. has limited itself to threats of tougher sanctions on Russia and has repeatedly missed self-imposed deadlines to act. Still, there remains a chance Trump will move ahead.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that if peace initiatives fail, additional measures will come. “I believe that, in the end, if all these efforts do not yield results, Russia will have to face additional consequences,” he said.
Most Americans support tougher sanctions on Russia. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 62% back imposing sanctions on Russia’s trading partners.
Trump has issued multiple ultimatums to Putin but has not taken decisive action. Political analyst Oleg Saakyan told “24 Kanal” that Trump seeks to normalize relations with Russia and the war in Ukraine complicates that. He will delay as long as possible to avoid increasing pressure on the Kremlin or offending Putin, Saakyan said.
He believes circumstances will eventually force Trump’s hand, while the Kremlin tries to delay that moment. “Trump will hit Russia not when the latest ultimatum expires, but when he has fully exhausted his room for playing games with the Kremlin—and that resource is already running out,” the expert said.
On Sunday, Trump said at the White House he is ready to move to a second stage of sanctions over the war against Ukraine. Asked whether he is prepared for a second phase of anti-Russia measures, Trump answered briefly: “Yes.” He gave no details, leaving hope he may soon adopt a tougher line on Russia.
