EU: Expand Iran Sanctions     04/18 05:27

   The European Union's top diplomat urged Group of Seven foreign ministers on 
Thursday to take quick, concrete steps to provide more air defense systems to 
Ukraine, warning that continued delays could tilt the war in Moscow's favor.

   CAPRI, Italy (AP) -- The European Union's top diplomat urged Group of Seven 
foreign ministers on Thursday to take quick, concrete steps to provide more air 
defense systems to Ukraine, warning that continued delays could tilt the war in 
Moscow's favor.

   Without more Patriot air defense missile systems to guard against incoming 
Russian strikes, "the electricity system of Ukraine will be destroyed. And no 
country can fight without having electricity at home, in the factories, in the 
front line," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned.

   He was speaking on the sidelines of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on the 
Italian resort island of Capri, where Russia's war in Ukraine and surging 
tensions in the Middle East over Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel were 
topping the agenda.

   U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed Borrell's call, saying he 
hoped U.S. funding for Ukraine would soon come through Congress but that other 
allies needed to step up.

   "In this moment, it is urgent that all of the friends and supporters of 
Ukraine maximize their efforts to provide Ukraine with what it needs to 
continue to effectively defend itself against this Russian aggression," Blinken 
said after meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

   Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani opened the first working session by 
calling for new sanctions against Iran for its weekend attack and concrete help 
for Ukraine to defend itself from Moscow's invasion.

   "If Ukraine loses, Putin will never sit at the peace table," Tajani warned.

   Russia's war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war were taking center stage at 
the Capri meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, Canada, France, 
Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, which dovetailed with other 
regional diplomatic efforts sending the same messages. On Wednesday, EU leaders 
meeting in Brussels vowed to ramp up sanctions on Iran to target its drone and 
missile deliveries to proxies in Gaza, Yemen and Lebanon.

   Borrell said the existing EU sanctions regime would be strengthened and 
expanded to punish Tehran and help prevent future attacks on Israel. At the 
same time, he said, Israel needed to exercise restraint.

   "I don't want to exaggerate but we are on the edge of a war, a regional war 
in the Middle East, which will be sending shockwaves to the rest of the world, 
and in particular to Europe," he warned. "So stop it."

   Kuleba and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg were attending the Capri 
meeting as guests. Kuleba underlined his country's need for essential military 
support, including artillery, ammunition, and air defense systems as Russia 
pushes along the front line.

   He thanked Germany for providing Ukraine with a new Patriot battery, which 
was announced over the weekend, but urged the U.S. Congress to approve a 
funding package that has been held up.

   "So we will work here at the ministerial level to make other allies deliver 
air defense systems to Ukraine. Because it's of fundamental importance," Kuleba 
said.

   U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday he supported a proposal from the 
House speaker, Mike Johnson, to provide about $61 billion in aid for Ukraine, 
signaling bipartisan support for the precarious funding bill.

   Blinken said he hoped the bill would come before the House this weekend and 
insisted that the U.S. has "profound stakes" in Ukraine's success.

   "If Putin is allowed to proceed with impunity, we know he won't stop at 
Ukraine and we can safely predict that his aggression will continue," Blinken 
said after meeting with Kuleba. "Other would-be aggressors around the world 
will take note and unleash their own aggressions. And we will have a world of 
conflict, not a world of peace and security."

   Borrell concurred and said Europe can't rely solely on Washington to help 
Ukraine defend itself.

   "Concrete decisions have to be taken in order to send to Ukraine more air 
defense," he said. "We do have Patriots, we have anti-missile systems. We have 
to take them from the our barracks where they are just in case, and to send to 
Ukraine where the war is raging. And I'm sure we will be doing that, but it has 
to be done quickly."