EU leaders reaffirm readiness to introduce new sanctions against Russia, Belarus

Leaders of European countries on Friday reaffirmed their readiness to introduce new sanctions against Russia and Belarus, the European Council said in its statement.

"The European Union has so far adopted significant sanctions that are having a massive impact on Russia and Belarus and remains ready to close loopholes and target actual and possible circumvention as well as to move quickly with further coordinated robust sanctions on Russia and Belarus to effectively thwart Russian abilities to continue the aggression," read the European Council statement.

According to the statement, the European Council calls on all countries to align with those sanctions. "Any attempts to circumvent sanctions or to aid Russia by other means must be stopped," the statement added.

The Russian military aggression against Ukraine has forced millions of people to flee their homes, the statement said, adding Many of them have found shelter and safety in the European Union, facilitated by the temporary protection mechanism.

Particular attention should be paid to the needs of the most vulnerable and measures to prevent and detect human trafficking, the statement said.

The Council also called on other countries "to align with those sanctions" and to prevent "any attempts to circumvent sanctions or to aid Russia by other means."

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate as the war between the countries enters the second month.

Russia launched its invasion last month after recognising the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as "independent republics." Russia has since continued to maintain that the aim of its operations has been to "demilitarize" and "de-nazify" the country.

( With inputs from ANI )