Home > World > World

U.K., EU to ramp up pressure on Russia and boost defense initiatives

Published: 18 Mar. 2025, 12:18

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy speaks during an interview on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, on March 14. [POOL/AP/YONHAP]

Britain and the European Union will ramp up pressure on Russia and boost defense initiatives, as the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, meets British foreign minister David Lammy and defense minister John Healey in London on Tuesday.

The talks will coordinate cooperation on Ukraine and discuss efforts to increase economic pressure on Russia, U.K.'s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement on Monday.

The discussions will also include stepping up action against hybrid threats such as cyberattacks, election interference and rampant Russian disinformation, the statement said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, left, and European Commission Vice-President and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas attend the EU conference on Syria in Brussels, Belgium, on March 17. [EPA/YONHAP]

Kallas and Lammy will also set review efforts to boost European defense spending through "innovative initiatives" and military readiness in support of NATO.

"It's vital we upgrade our partnership with the EU and work together to bring an end to this war and deliver security of all of our citizens," Lammy said about the war in Ukraine.

Conditions demanded by Russia to agree to a cease-fire show that Moscow does not really want peace, Kallas told reporters in Brussels on Monday.

Earlier in the day, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would speak to Russia's Vladimir Putin on Tuesday morning about ending the Ukraine war.

Trump has been trying to win Putin's support for a 30-day cease-fire proposal that Ukraine accepted last week.

REUTERS