Pune (Maharashtra) [India], May 11 (ANI): On his one-day visit to the Pune district of Maharashtra, EU Ambassador to India, Ugo Astute on Wednesday said that the European Union would continue its sanction until Russia ends its aggression against Ukraine.
Ugo Astute was speaking to reporters on the sideline of his address at the celebration event of 60 years of EU-India Partnership at Savitribai Phule Pune University.
When asked will the sanction on Russia to continue if the war drags on, Astute said, “The sanction is necessary. Through the sanctions, we are trying to affect the Russian war machine and to hold those responsible for making the decision to attack Ukraine. We have already approved five packages for sanctions.”
He further added, “We have developed very effective financial sanctions. We have also excluded Swift and a number of major financial institutions from Russia.”
The EU envoy to India said that the sanction is a continuous process and they wanted to affect the capability of the Russian military through the sanctions. He further said that as Russia continues its aggression against Ukraine so it will continue and expand as long as it’s necessary.
While reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to a ceasefire during his recent visit to Europe, Astuto said, “I definitely think it’s important that PM Modi called for immediate cessation and hope that Russia comes to ends it as it is unprovoked and unjustified aggression. So it’s important for the international community to come together and make it clear to Russia and its leader that their aggression must stop, hostility must be stopped and troops must be withdrawn.”
PM Modi started his three-nation namely, Germany, Denmark and France on May 2. PM Modi held several high-level engagements with the leadership of Germany, Denmark and France, during the course of his visit, while also interacting with the Indian diaspora in all three countries.
The Prime Minister also held interactions with the business leaders in Germany and Denmark during the course of his visit. (ANI)