“He will pay the price” .. Starmer threatens Putin hours before the Tirana summit

British Prime Minister Kiir Starmer said that Russian President Vladimir Putin should “pay the price of his rejection of peace” with Ukraine, before the European Political Group summit in Albania on Friday.
“The Putin’s tactics of dribbling and procrastination, while continuing to kill and cause bloodshed in Ukraine, is unacceptable,” Starmer said in a statement before the summit that brings together members of the European Union and twenty other countries from the continent in Tirana.

Istanbul talks

This also comes as talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin nor his Ukrainian counterpart Folodimir Zellinski will not participate in the talks, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday expressed doubts about the possible result of the talks.

Tirana summit

At the Tirana summit, which will be attended by Zelinski, according to Paris, Kiev’s allies will discuss “increasing pressure on the Kremlin (…) after the Russian president escaped from the United States’ peace talks,” according to Downting Street.
Starmer stressed that “a full and unconditional ceasefire must be reached, and if Russia refuses to sit at the negotiating table, Putin will have to pay the price.”
London is considering imposing a “wide package of sanctions” targeting the Russian energy sector “in the coming weeks” if Moscow does not accept a ceasefire, a threat to France as well.