Kallas on Witkoff's upcoming Moscow talks: I'm afraid Ukraine will be forced to make concessions again
The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, fears that during the upcoming talks between US Special Representative Steven Witkoff in Moscow regarding the peace plan for Ukraine, agreements will again be reached that will force Kyiv to make major concessions to Russia.
“I am afraid that all the pressure will be put on the victim, which is that Ukraine has to make concessions and obligations, whereas, in order to have peace, we should not lose focus that it is actually Russia who has started this war, and Russia that is continuing this war, and Russia that is really targeting civilian infrastructure every single day to cause as much damage as possible. Yes, I am afraid that all the pressure will be put on the weaker side, because that is the easier way to stop this war when Ukraine surrenders. But this is not in anybody's interest,” Kallas expressed her concerns on Monday at a press conference following the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (Defense), answering questions from journalists.
She is convinced that such a situation is not in the interests of Ukraine, the European Union, or global security. “It is the United Nations’ Charter that says that you cannot change borders by force. If this pays off, we will see this elsewhere, all around the world. Then we see that whoever has the power gets to take what they want, which is not good for the majority of countries in the world,” the EU High Representative said.
Journalists asked Kallas if she trusts the United States. She responded: “It is not a question of trust. It is a question of, again, if we want a long-term peace, then we need to understand the starting point of this war. And the starting point of this war is that Russia just decided to start the full-scale war and aggression on its neighbouring country. If we want this war to stop, so that it does not continue in a few years, if we want this war not to expand, then we should put all the pressure on the one who is doing the aggression, which is Russia.”
She also does not believe that it is not time for the European Union to discuss the issue of a European special representative like the American Witkoff for negotiations with Moscow, since Russia does not demonstrate the political will for peace negotiations.
“Everybody has been very clear, especially the Russians, that they have no interest in peace right now. Again, we need to put them in the position where they need to negotiate. Right now, they are not in that position because they think that they can outlast us, and they also hope that there is a very good offer made, because they see that there is a lot of pressure to put on the victim, but no sacrifices asked from them, at least we do not know that any of the sacrifices have been asked to of them. So clearly, they want to negotiate with those who are just offering them something on top of what they already have. This is clearly their interest, but it should not be ours,” Kallas explained her stance.
