France urges new sanctions to ‘suffocate’ Russian economy

The United States and Europe must put together new sanctions to “suffocate” Russia’s economy in order to force Vladimir Putin to end the war against Ukraine, France’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

The EU on Wednesday approved a fresh package of sanctions on Russia, but Jean-Noel Barrot pointed out that multiple rounds of punitive measures have failed to halt Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

“We will have to go further, because these massive sanctions have not yet deterred Vladimir Putin from continuing his war of aggression against Ukraine,” Barrot told broadcaster BFMTV.

“We must prepare to impose devastating sanctions that could suffocate the Russian economy once and for all,” he said.

Barrot said that he was set to meet US Senator Lindsey Graham in Turkey on Thursday to discuss a US sanctions bill he was working on.

Graham has rallied dozens of lawmakers to support a plan to impose additional sanctions on Moscow as well as tariffs on countries that buy Russian energy.

Graham “has designed a package of extremely powerful sanctions”, with tariffs of 500 percent on countries that continue to import Russian oil, the French foreign minister said.

“Russia has found ways to circumvent the blockade imposed by Europe and the United States,” Barrot said.

“Turning off the tap in this way is a way of grabbing Russia by the throat,” he added.

“I hope that Europe will in turn be able to impose sanctions on hydrocarbons,” Barrot said.

On Saturday, the leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Poland called on Russia to accept a 30-day unconditional ceasefire starting this week, but to no avail.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Putin to personally attend upcoming Russia-Ukraine talks in Turkey on Thursday, but Moscow has so far not said who will go.

On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europeans would slap Russia with more sanctions if it did not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

The 17th round of sanctions aims to clamp down on Russia’s “shadow” oil fleet. Officials admit that the latest package is relatively limited compared to previous sanctions as the EU finds it more difficult to agree on targets.