Poland’s foreign ministry: seventh package of sanctions must include complete ban on russian gas imports

The EU should work together to approve the seventh package of sanctions which must include, inter alia, a complete ban on russian gas and petrochemical imports

Zbigniew Rau, Polish foreign minister, stated this in Warsaw at a joint press conference with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg on Tuesday, Ukrinform reports.

According to him, the adoption of the sixth package of EU sanctions against russia last week is "an important step towards ensuring Europe's independence from russian energy resources."

However, Rau called this step insufficient and urged to immediately start work on the seventh package of sanctions.

According to the minister, among other things, it must include "imposing a complete ban on russian gas supplies, petrochemical imports, as well as cutting off all russian and Belarusian banks from the SWIFT system."

Rau stressed during the conference that Ukraine's place is in the European Union.

"Therefore, we expect a positive recommendation from the European Commission to grant Ukraine candidate status. We hope that the European Council will make a positive decision in this regard at the next meeting," Rau said.

He noted that this does not change Warsaw's position on supporting European integration of the Western Balkan states.