International sanctions against Russia can only be lifted when all Russian troops completely leave the territory of Ukraine, British Foreign Minister Liz Truss said at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Germany

The night before, she stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin must be completely defeated so that he is not capable of new aggression in the future.

“He’s dishonoring himself on the world stage,” Truss said.

“The best way to ensure Ukraine’s long-term security is for it to be able to defend itself. This means giving Ukraine a clear path to NATO-compliant weapons,” she said.

James Landale, BBC European Diplomacy Correspondent

The British government says it wants Putin’s defeat in Ukraine. Yet ministers rarely explain what this means in practice. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is an exception here.

In April, she said that Russia should be squeezed out of the entire territory of Ukraine. On Thursday, she went further, urging the G7 not to lift sanctions until the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and the establishment of a lasting peace.

According to her, Putin’s defeat should be complete, he should not receive any favorable conditions for himself.

This categorical, maximalist stance is intended to send a clear message to the Kremlin: Russia will achieve nothing through war.

Some analysts, however, express fears that such specific demands from the West may at some point conflict with the vision of the situation in Ukraine itself, and then it will be much more difficult to reach a political settlement.

Speaking to reporters at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers, Liz Truss called for additional military assistance to be provided to Ukraine.

“Now it is very important that we continue to put pressure on Vladimir Putin by supplying Ukraine with more weapons and increasing sanctions,” she said.

The G7 foreign ministers have been discussing the war in Ukraine and its consequences for the last three days at a meeting in Germany, in particular the rise in food and energy prices around the world.

On Friday, the second meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the G7 countries will take place with the participation of the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Moldova.

Meanwhile, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, promised that the European Union would provide an additional 500 million euros in military assistance to Ukraine.

“I intend to announce that we, the European Union, will provide a new tranche of 500 million euros to provide military assistance to Ukraine. Thus, the total amount will be 2 billion euros,” he said on Friday.

Borrell also called on the G7 countries to increase pressure on Moscow, impose new sanctions, try to isolate the Russian Federation on the world stage and create a united front to support Ukraine.

According to him, he is optimistic about the prospect of introducing a pan-European embargo on the purchase of Russian oil, which can be agreed upon in the coming days.

On Thursday, Brussels reported that EU representatives continue to discuss proposals for a sixth round of sanctions against Russia. However, it is still difficult to say when this process may be completed.