The European Union needs to show Ukraine a "clear and open door" on membership and hit Russia's energy sector with sanctions, Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said on Thursday.
Karins told reporters at a meeting of the European People's Party (EPP) in Paris that Ukraine should be granted EU candidate status.
"If we want to stop Putin, we have to cut off his funding," he added.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Jon Boyle)