EU Agrees 21st Sanctions Package Against Russia After Weeks of Negotiations

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — European Union member states on Thursday agreed on a new, scaled-back package of sanctions against Russia over its ongoing war in Ukraine, ending weeks of negotiations that had exposed divisions among the bloc over the scope of the proposed measures.

The agreement marks the 21st round of EU sanctions imposed since the start of Russia's military operations in Ukraine in February 2022. The latest package maintains the current price cap on Russian oil exports rather than tightening restrictions, reflecting compromises reached after several member states objected to key elements of the proposal.

Diplomats said the sanctions package was delayed by a range of concerns from EU governments, which sought changes to various provisions before giving their approval. The negotiations highlighted the growing challenge of maintaining consensus among the bloc's 27 members as the war enters its fifth year.

Despite the watered-down measures, the European Union said the new sanctions are intended to sustain economic and political pressure on Moscow while reaffirming the bloc's continued support for Ukraine.

In parallel, Russia on Thursday warned the United States against continuing arms deliveries to Ukraine, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held high-level talks in Manila amid renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war and growing geopolitical tensions.

The meeting, held on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in the Philippine capital, marked the first formal talks between Lavrov and Rubio since September 2025. The discussions came as Washington's diplomatic focus has increasingly shifted from mediating the war in Ukraine to addressing the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov told Rubio that continued U.S. military support for Ukraine was "unacceptable" and urged Washington to halt weapons deliveries to what Moscow described as the "Kyiv regime."

Lavrov also criticized European governments for pursuing what he called a "destabilizing policy" aimed at inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Russia, while reiterating that Moscow remained open to a "political-diplomatic resolution" of the conflict.

Since 2022, the EU has introduced multiple rounds of sanctions targeting Russia's financial sector, energy exports, defense industry, technology imports, and hundreds of individuals and entities linked to the Kremlin, making the sanctions regime one of the most comprehensive ever imposed by the bloc.