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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced an accelerated timeline to completely phase out Russian oil and gas imports to the European Union by the end of 2025, emphasising the urgency to cut off funding for Russia's war efforts in Ukraine.
Speaking during a pull-aside meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined the EU's progress in reducing its dependency on Russian energy and its commitment to imposing further sanctions. "President Trump is absolutely right. We're on it. We have already massively reduced the gas supply from Russia. Completely got out of Russian coal and massively also reduced the oil supply, but there's still some coming to the European continent," von der Leyen said. "We put sanctions out to those ports where, for example, LNG is coming from Russia. We want to put tariffs on oil supplies that are still coming to the European Union. After the last bits of oil and gas come from Russia to the European Union, we want to get rid of it," she added. Addressing questions about the previously set timeline of 2027, von der Leyen affirmed a faster approach. "We want to be out earlier. Absolutely. Till the end of the year, we have the phasing out. We have now the sanctions on the table proposed. Member states have to agree. But we have to be faster because every payment is filling Putin's watches. This cannot be," she stressed. Meanwhile, Trump, during the meeting, criticised the UN's effectiveness in resolving global conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war. "We shouldn't have any wars if the UN's really doing its job... The UN has fantastic potential... You can have a wonderful concept, but if you don't have the (right) people... We (solved) all these wars, and we weren't helped by the UN... They didn't do anything, and they're supposed to be solving these problems," Trump stated. He had also called out the UN's effectiveness during his address at the UNGA's high-level debate. He further accused the UN of not being able to solve global issues but causing "new problems". "Not only is the UN not solving the problems it should--too often, it is actually creating new problems... The United Nations is FUNDING an assault on Western countries and their borders... The UN is supposed to STOP invasions--not CREATE them and not FINANCE them," Trump said during his address. Trump also warned that he was prepared to impose heavy tariffs on Russia if it refused to end the war in Ukraine, adding that Russia's war in Ukraine is "not making Russia look good". "In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs," Trump said. (ANI)
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