Italy's foreign minister informed the upper house of parliament on Thursday, that additional sanctions were necessary to exert pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to engage in negotiations aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine.
The U.S. and European Union said they are working to align their efforts, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stating on Wednesday that the EU is considering an accelerated phase-out of Russian fossil fuels as part of new sanctions.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told the Senate, "We must increase pressure on Putin to bring him to the negotiating table. This requires using every available tool to disrupt the financing of his war effort, including new sanctions."
Tajani, who is also a deputy prime minister in Giorgia Meloni's government, emphasised that the EU was working on a 19th sanctions package, which would significantly affect financial flows.
The EU is expected to source about 13% of its gas from Russia this year but is negotiating legal measures to halt Russian oil and gas imports by 1 January, 2028.
Tensions between Russia and the West have escalated since Poland reported shooting down suspected Russian drones in its airspace with support from NATO aircraft.
Tajani also reiterated Italy's proposal to extend NATO's collective defence umbrella to Ukraine, without granting it full membership, in order to provide security guarantees should a peace agreement be reached.
"The starting point is to define a collective security clause that would allow Ukraine to benefit from the support of all its partners, including the United States, if it is attacked again," Tajani said.
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Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Iran to pay compensation for decades of deaths and damage, adding a new demand to peace talks as Tehran seeks compensation and sanctions relief before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
A criminal court in Damascus has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
Millions of people across Spain and Iceland are preparing on Wednesday to witness a rare total solar eclipse, when the moon will pass directly between Earth and the Sun, briefly turning daylight into darkness along a narrow path.
Millions of people across Spain and Iceland are preparing on Wednesday to witness a rare total solar eclipse, when the moon will pass directly between Earth and the Sun, briefly turning daylight into darkness along a narrow path.
Ukraine has agreed to refrain from targeting certain tankers using Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk following a request from U.S. Vice President JD Vance, the Financial Times reported, although Kyiv has continued strikes on Russian targets at the port.
Taiwan has criticised a planned joint naval exercise involving China and Indonesia near its eastern waters, describing it as a politically charged move designed to strengthen Beijing's claims over areas surrounding the island.
An overnight Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk killed an eight-year-old child, injured others and damaged residential buildings, port infrastructure and grain facilities, Russian officials and industry sources said on Wednesday.
Romanian military divers have destroyed two Gerbera-type drones found drifting near the Neptun Deep offshore gas development in the country’s Black Sea exclusive economic zone.
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