Foreign ministers from major European nations expressed readiness to increase pressure on Russia, including potential new sanctions targeting the energy and banking sectors, to undermine its war efforts in Ukraine.
Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom as well as the High Representative of the European Union issued a joint statement on Thursday following the Rome meeting. The NATO Secretary General and the Ukrainian Foreign Minister also joined the gathering.
"We reiterated our readiness to step up our pressure on Russia as it continues to refuse serious and credible commitments, including through further sanctions and countering their circumvention," the foreign ministers' statement said.
The Rome meeting occurred amid escalating Russian attacks on Ukraine, which Moscow claims are in retaliation for recent Ukrainian strikes inside Russia. Earlier this month, representatives from both sides met in Istanbul for inconclusive peace talks that failed to produce a ceasefire, despite calls from Ukraine, European allies, and the U.S.
The Europeans said on Thursday they were "ready to swiftly adopt new measures (notably in the energy and banking sectors) aimed at undermining" Russia's war effort.
They stressed they would keep frozen Russian sovereign assets in their jurisdiction "until Russia ceases its aggression and pays for the damage it has caused."
"We are prepared to enhance our support, including through improving defence industrial cooperation with Ukraine, and exploring additional forms of security and defence cooperation," the statement said, without elaborating.
They expressed committment to supporting Ukraine’s economic stability under its IMF programme, ensuring it has sufficient fiscal assistance for 2026 and beyond, and its recovery and reconstruction, in close coordination with our international partners.
The Ukraine Recovery Conference, which will be hosted by Italy in July 2025, will represent a pivotal moment for advancing such efforts.
Additionally, European foreign ministers reiterated the importance of strengthening European defence capabilities by increasing national security and defence spending in a flexible and sustainable way, enabling effective deterrence and defence across all domains in the Euro-Atlantic area.
"The Atlantic Alliance remains the cornerstone of our collective defence. The NATO Summit in The Hague will demonstrate our unity, based on an enduring transatlantic bond, an ironclad commitment to defend each other, and fair burden-sharing. The Summit must take further decisions to build a stronger Alliance, prepared to defend every inch of the Allied territory," -the statement said.
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Outlined draft peace proposals discussed by the United States and Ukraine could become the basis of future agreements to end the conflict in Ukraine, but if not, Russia would fight on, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Paris on Wednesday in a rare visit by an Iranian top diplomat in recent years.
Uzbekistan is hosting the Third European Union–Central Asia Economic Forum, bringing together government representatives, international organisations and private-sector leaders from 32 countries.
Türkiye is reaffirming its role as a diplomatic center in the Russia–Ukraine war, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan telling President Vladimir Putin that Ankara pushes for a just and lasting peace.
At least 47 people have died and another 21 are reported missing following ten days of heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides across Sri Lanka, local media reported on Thursday (27 November).
Hong Kong fire authorities said they expected to wrap up search and rescue operations on Friday after the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years tore through a massive apartment complex, killing at least 128 people, injuring 79 and leaving around 200 still missing.
A passenger aircraft from Polish carrier LOT veered off a taxiway at Lithuania's Vilnius airport after arriving from Warsaw on Wednesday, halting all traffic, the airport operator said.
Netflix crashed on Wednesday for about an hour in the U.S. as it launched season five of "Stranger Things", with the service becoming inaccessible to many subscribers within minutes of the episodes going live at 8 p.m. local time.
Thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets of Sofia on Wednesday to protest against the government’s draft budget for 2026, the first to be prepared in euros ahead of the country’s planned eurozone entry on 1 January 2026.
The Kremlin is set to evaluate a new diplomatic proposal aimed at halting the hostilities in Ukraine, with high-level discussions involving a Washington envoy scheduled for the coming days in Moscow.
The European Union’s high-stakes strategy to leverage hundreds of billions in frozen Russian capital to prop up Ukraine’s defence has hit a critical roadblock, with Belgium warning that the move could torpedo fragile diplomatic openings aimed at ending the conflict.
A simmering diplomatic feud between Washington and Pretoria has erupted into a full-scale crisis, with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa describing U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to ban South Africa from the 2026 G20 summit as "regrettable" and based on "misinformation."
Making his diplomatic debut in Türkiye, the first American Pope warned a "piecemeal" World War III endangers humanity. Leo XIV met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed on Thursday (27 November), urging an end to global conflicts.
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