The foreign ministers of major European countries said on Thursday they were ready to increase pressure on Russia, “including through further sanctions” affecting the energy and banking sectors, to weaken Moscow amid the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported. 

The Rome meeting was attended by officials from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Britain, and the European Union. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and a representative from Ukraine also joined the talks. 

“We reaffirmed our readiness to increase our pressure on Russia as it continues to renege on serious and credible commitments, including through further sanctions and countering their circumvention,” the foreign ministers said in a statement.

Representatives from both sides met in Istanbul earlier this month for peace talks that proved inconclusive and failed to produce a ceasefire that Ukraine, its European allies, and Washington had urged Russia to agree to.

Europe declared Thursday that it was “ready to quickly adopt new measures (especially in the energy and banking sectors) aimed at undermining” Russia's military efforts. 

They emphasized that they would keep frozen Russian sovereign assets in their jurisdiction “until Russia stops its aggression and pays for the damage it has caused.” 

About $300 billion in Russian state assets have been frozen by the G7 (Group of Seven) rich democracies since the outbreak of war in Ukraine.