New EU sanctions against russia "tied" to results of meeting in Istanbul - Bloomberg

European leaders have decided to wait for the likely meeting of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with russian dictator vladimir putin in Turkey before demanding that the US tighten sanctions against russia.

This is reported by Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the situation, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

According to them, after consultations between American and European officials on May 12, it became clear that Washington wants to give a chance to the talks in Istanbul, which were previously scheduled for May 15.

Only after that can the US move to increase pressure on Moscow.

If putin refuses the meeting or the Kremlin does not comply with the demand for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, European leaders, according to the agency, will call on US President Donald Trump to implement the previous promise regarding sanctions.

The Trump administration has already prepared several options for economic pressure on russia, but a decision has not yet been made.

The US Department of State declined to comment on the situation.

Bloomberg writes that over the past 48 hours, there has been "uncertainty" in Trump's position on sanctions against russia.

Although last Saturday, the UK, France and Germany were convinced that they had received the US President's consent to joint sanctions in the event of a ceasefire violation, after putin's de facto refusal to accept the 30-day silence, Trump did not impose restrictions.

Instead, he called on Zelenskyy to meet putin in person in Turkey, to which the Ukrainian President agreed.

European officials noted that this position of the White House was unexpected for them.

During the talks on May 12, the US side did not give a clear understanding of whether it would impose sanctions if the russian attacks continued or if putin refused to meet at all.

In early May, US Senator Lindsey Graham announced bipartisan support for a bill that would impose "terrible" new sanctions on russia - including a 500% tariff on imports from countries that buy russian oil, gas, uranium, or petroleum products.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on May 11, russian dictator vladimir putin said that russia was supposedly ready for bilateral talks with Ukraine.

He suggested holding them in Turkey on May 15.

Zelenskyy said that on May 15 he would personally wait for the russian dictator to hold bilateral talks in Istanbul.