U.S. president has said Europe should pay for the missile systems Kyiv needs, but the bloc’s top diplomat wants to split the bill.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -EU countries are close to reaching an agreement on a new package of sanctions against Russia, the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday. "We hope to reach a political agreement on the 18th sanctions package.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Tuesday called on Israel to take tangible action to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, warning that the bloc

The European bloc welcomed a shift in US rhetoric on Ukraine but pressed Washington to chip in. The EU, however, failed to agree on a new round of sanctions on Russia.

The European Union did not approve the 18th Russia sanctions package on Tuesday, the EU's foreign chief Kaja Kallas said after a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Moscow is using banned chemical weapons to inflict as “much pain and suffering” as possible to force Ukraine to surrender, Kaja Kallas said.