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On 15 December 2025, at the final EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting of the year in Brussels, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Baiba Braže emphasised that all EU influence must now be used to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. She also pointed out that Latvia will never recognise the incorporation of the temporarily Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine into Russia, regardless of the outcome of the peace talks.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže:
“Russia continues its aggression, targeting civilian infrastructure and innocent Ukrainian citizens, and there are no indications that it is ready for peace. Russia is the sole obstacle to achieving a sustainable and just peace in Ukraine. It is trying to weaken support for Ukraine, divide the EU and NATO, and diminish the global influence of the United States. Europe must therefore use all the influence at its disposal to achieve “peace through strength” and exert maximum pressure on Russia through new sanctions, redirecting frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine and providing reparations loan, increasing military support, including unblocking EUR 6.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine through the European Peace Facility, etc.”
Baiba Braže also pointed out that Ukraine needs not only air defence and other defence capabilities, but also ammunition and long-range precision-guided weapons to destroy legitimate military targets and stop Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, participated in the meeting remotely. He briefed EU ministers on the peace negotiation process to end the war, on Ukraine’s internal reforms and readiness for EU negotiations, and thanked EU partners for their support so far. Andrii Sybiha stressed that the solution for the unconditional return of children deported by Russia to their homes in Ukraine must be part of the peace agreement.
The EU Foreign Affairs Council imposed sanctions on four legal entities and five individuals linked to the “shadow fleet” ecosystem, which provides or supports the operation of ships.
“I am pleased with the new sanctions against Russia’s “shadow fleet” – we have agreed to impose sanctions on 41 vessels without waiting for the next round of EU sanctions. I called for this at the November EU Foreign Affairs Council so that sanctions could be imposed as quickly as possible. We also approved the EU declaration on international law in relation to the threat posed by the “shadow fleet” and the protection of critical maritime infrastructure,” said Baiba Braže.
New sanctions have also been imposed under the hybrid sanctions regime on 12 natural persons and two legal entities spreading propaganda, disinformation and destabilising activities in Europe. Ministers agreed to continue aligning sanctions against Russia and Belarus – in future, the Belarus sanctions regime will also include a criteria related to hybrid attacks. Belarus has recently carried out a series of hybrid attacks, including against Lithuania, threatening civil aviation and critical infrastructure, as well as causing negative economic impacts. In relation to the situation in Haiti, the EU imposed sanctions on four individuals and agreed to extend the sanctions regime against Venezuela for 12 months. Ministers of Foreign Affairs discussed further steps to contain Russia, including progress on the 20th round of EU sanctions.
Ministers discussed the situation in the Middle East, including the implementation of the Gaza peace plan and the situation in Syria, one year after the fall of the Assad regime, as well as EU-China relations. With the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs discussed the upcoming parliamentary elections on 7 June 2026. Baiba Braže encouraged taking into account Moldova’s election experience, as it successfully fought against external interference and disinformation.