Kallas says EU to prepare 18th package of anti-Russian sanctions after adopting 17th

BRUSSELS - The European Union is planning to prepare the 18th package of sanctions against Russia after the 17th one, which is currently in development, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said.

"We are working on the 17th package. I hope that we get this adopted on the FAC [Foreign Affairs Council] that we have next week [on May 20]. And then we are working on the next package," Kallas told reporters in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

The packages of sanctions are the EU's economic instruments intended for pressuring Russia into coming to a peace agreement on Ukraine, she said.

Kallas described the circumvention of sanctions as big problem.

"That's why we have already introduced a criminal punishment for those who circumvent sanctions, because it's clear that, you know, European companies want to still benefit from Russia," she said.

"Of course, we are also talking with those countries that are helping the circumvention of sanctions. But we also need to look within ourselves, because it's European companies that want to still, you know, buy and sell to Russia," Kallas said.