Kallas Warns EU Off Russia’s Pressure to Talk Security
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told leaders in Dublin on November 13 not to walk into Russia's traps by debating European security before a ceasefire. Leaders also disagreed over who should speak for Europe in any Ukraine peace talks.
Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, warned European leaders in Dublin on November 13 against "walking into the traps that Russia is setting". She said Moscow's pressure to talk security is meant to divert attention from its aggression against Ukraine.
"We have one aggressor and one victim, and the aggressor does not have security concerns," Kallas said on arrival at an EU leaders' summit. "Nobody has ever attacked them. They have attacked others. I mean, keep the focus, people."
She said a ceasefire must come first. "First, there has to be a ceasefire," Kallas said, adding that any other discussion would take attention away from testing whether Russia wants peace.
Moscow revives old demands
In the Ukraine talks, Russia has revived hardline demands for a total overhaul of European security. Those demands were rejected in 2021 because they were seen as an infringement on the sovereignty of central and eastern European countries.
The latest round of talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States took place this week in Abu Dhabi. US envoy Jared Kushner said on Thursday night that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to bring Europeans into the next round. Russia quickly contradicted him.
The Kremlin said on Friday it would decide on an expanded format once it understood Europe's "real intentions and their willingness to contribute to the peace process". Russia's lead negotiator in Abu Dhabi, Vladimir Medinsky, said it was "unclear what there is to discuss" with Europe.
Who speaks for Europe
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rejected Moscow's agenda. "We do not need to discuss that; it already exists," he said of a European security architecture. He called it a "given" that Germany would be part of any European delegation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was "self-explanatory that Europe is included in the peace talks to safeguard our interests, but also to support Ukraine". Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal also said Russia is using the issue to distract Europeans.
The US push to involve Europe has raised the question of who would represent it. After more than two years of on-off talks, the EU has not settled on an answer, though a view is growing that no single person should speak for the continent.
Paris and Berlin back a continued role for their own envoys in the E3 format of Britain, France and Germany, alongside EU representatives. Smaller member states put more weight on European Council President António Costa and Kallas.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called the debate "slightly overstated". He said some issues, such as financing Kyiv and Ukraine's future EU membership, are "pure EU interests". He also backed the E3 and the E5, which adds Italy and Poland. "I think what we actually say is more important than the exact configuration of the people in the room," he said.
Kallas and others at the summit stressed that the UK, a founder member of the coalition of the willing committed to future peacekeeping in Ukraine, must be included. Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the UK and Norway each had a significant role.
