Italy's Prime Minister on Monday called for countries of the European Union to act swiftly with sanctions against Russian people and entities following Moscow's attack on Ukraine.

"And now we have to act, all of us, with speed on this point," Mario Draghi said in Brussels speaking at a conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

On Saturday, the Italian government said police seized villas and yachts worth 143 million euros ($154.94 million) from five high-profile Russians who were placed on sanctions lists following Moscow's attack on Ukraine.

#Ukraine-#Russia #War: EU President To Discuss New Sanction Enforcement Package With #Italy PM
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EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi to discuss the new sanction enforcement package amid Russia-Ukraine war.

Amidst the escalating war in Ukraine, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, on Monday, met Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi to discuss the new sanction enforcement package that they are working on. Issuing a statement, in the view of the Kremlin's 'recklessness', Leyen informed that the EU Commission along with Italy is looking forward to imposing new sanctions and will make sure that the effect of the sanctions is 'maximised'.

"We are going to discuss the situation in Ukraine, the war which is led by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the new sanction enforcement package that we are working on. As you know, we had three packages of hard-hitting sanctions already, but now we have to make sure that there are no loopholes and that the effect of the sanctions is maximised. The sanctions in place are really biting as we see the downward turbulences in the Russian economy. But in view of the Kremlin's recklessness towards civilians, including women, children, men, we are also working on further sanctions," the EU Commission President said.

Leyen also added that their second topic of discussion will be energy as they plan to 'get rid of the dependency of Russian gas, oil and coal'. She said, "The commission will be coming forward with proposals tomorrow and there are three main pillars. One is the diversification of the supply away from Russia and towards reliable suppliers. This is mainly energy and pipeline gas and both have the advantage that the infrastructure is overtime hydrogen compatible. The second main element is to repower, which means massive investments like solar. The third pillar is energy efficiency, so from the renovation of buildings to smart industrial processes. Finally, the main part of our discussion will focus on the protection of consumers."

Kyiv rejects humanitarian corridors to Belarus & Russia
As the Russian Military on the 12th day of its invasion declared a ceasefire in Ukraine from 7.00 GMT to open humanitarian corridors, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko rejected humanitarian corridors to Russia and Belarus. Russia's proposal to evacuate civilians out o Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, and Sumy is not an acceptable option for Ukraine as the humanitarian corridors mostly lead to Russian cities.

Meanwhile, Russian and Ukrainian delegations are set to meet for the third round of peace talks even though the first two rounds did not lead to a ceasefire. The peace talks will be taking place in Belarus. During their second round of talks, the two countries agreed on a ceasefire and a safe passage corridor for people. In a telephonic call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasised that Russia is open to negotiation with Ukraine, according to Xinhua news agency.