German Chancellor's Office head Thorsten Frei has accused Russia of lacking genuine interest in a ceasefire in Ukraine and of stalling for time. "It has become particularly clear in recent days that Russia has absolutely no interest in the weapons falling silent. On the contrary: drone attacks have increased in recent days, both in number and intensity," the Christian Democratic politician said on a ZDF talk show on Tuesday, May 20,
DW reports.
According to Frei, Putin is clearly stalling for time and trying to pit Europeans and Americans against each other. Speaking about the 17th package of EU sanctions against Russia, Frei stressed that in addition to the Russian "shadow fleet", individual companies and actors, it is necessary to put much more bold pressure on the energy and financial sectors in the Russian Federation. Work is currently underway on the 18th package of sanctions.
