Media: Summit in Albania to consider imposing duties on imports from Russia amid disrupted talks

Ukraine's allies will consider imposing new sanctions, which could include punitive duties on imports from Russia, against Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin at a summit of the European Political Community (EPC) in Albania after he failed to attend the expected talks in Türkiye between Kyiv and Moscow.

As reported by Politico, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Erdoğan are meeting in the Albanian capital of Tirana on Friday 16 May to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine.

The sources claim that the main topic at the informal summit of the EPC will be a sharp increase in sanctions against Moscow.

Two European sources said that punitive duties on imports from Russia are currently being discussed. The EU has already imposed significant sanctions following the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but has so far refrained from a full trade embargo against Russia.

Politico reports that one of the UK officials, before the talks between Ukraine and Russia on Thursday 15 May which did not take place, warned that if the meeting was not productive, the conversation would turn to the topic of sanctions.

"President Putin is hiding," an aide to Macron said before the Kremlin confirmed the Russian leader would not travel to Türkiye. [N.B. European Pravda doesn't recognise Putin as president – ed.]

The EU official said that the new sanctions were also inspired by the idea of US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has proposed imposing 500% tariffs on Russian exports if Putin does not stop his aggression against Ukraine.

"We would take inspiration from the magnitude of his proposal," an EU official said.

On 13 May, Bloomberg reported that European leaders were ready to wait until a possible meeting between the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Kremlin leader in Türkiye before moving to new sanctions.

Talks between Ukraine and Russia were expected in Türkiye on 15 May. Zelenskyy travelled to Ankara in anticipation of Putin's arrival. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Putin would not travel to Istanbul for negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation.

Instead, Russia sent a low-level delegation led by Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky. Nevertheless, Zelenskyy sent a Ukrainian delegation led by Defence Minister Rustem Umierov to Istanbul for the talks.