Burnham unveils ‘stinging’ sanctions on Russia at major European summit
The Prime Minister urged other leaders to ramp up pressure on Vladimir Putin to take peace talks seriously.
The UK is sanctioning all 10 of Russia’s major oil producers, Andy Burnham will announce as he attends a gathering of European leaders in Ireland.
The Prime Minister will use the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Dublin to urge leaders from some 50 nations to ramp up pressure on Vladimir Putin to take peace talks seriously.
Mr Burnham said Britain has slapped a package of new sanctions on Moscow, including on shadow fleet vessels illicitly transporting Russian oil, Russian oil company Slavneft, and Rosneft’s flagship Arctic oil and gas project LLC Vostok Oil.
He said: “Peace talks on Ukraine have progressed but now is not the time for complacency – we must continue to ramp up pressure on Russia to agree a full and immediate ceasefire.
“That is why the UK has announced a sweep of stinging new sanctions to turn the screws on Russia’s oil revenues and drive forward an end to the Kremlin’s needless war.
“We all now need to harness the momentum on negotiations and find a way forward for our security at home, and the security of our continent.”
The Labour leader arrived in Dublin on Thursday afternoon after flying in from Turkey, where he attended the UN Cop31 climate conference.
He has recently reopened the debate about Britain’s future relationship with the bloc and is preparing for a UK-EU summit in Brussels next Friday.