European Union’s top diplomat has cautioned against the idea of Ukraine having to give up its territories to Russia in a potential future peace agreement. Kaja Kallas, EU’s top diplomat who has been placed on the Kremlin’s “wanted list”, discussed the topic in her first UK interview since joining EU leaders’ talks with Donald Trump’s White House regarding Ukraine’s peace. Kallas believes that allowing Russia to keep the Ukrainian territories would be “a trap that Putin wants us to walk into”. The EU has consistently rejected the idea of Ukraine conceding Donbas to the Kremlin for peace, despite Trump’s emphasis on “swapping territories”.
Kallas discussed the need for “credible and robust” security guarantees for Ukraine, but stated that the plan for a deterring force is currently vague. The “coalition of the willing” members, which include France, Germany, Italy, and Finland, have to determine their level of contribution to establishing guarantees that are valid in practice, not just on paper. Leaders from these key EU countries, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, participated in talks at the White House recently, following Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a military base in Alaska.
Kallas remarked that the Alaska summit was successful for Putin and would impact negotiations, as he achieved what he wanted, including not facing sanctions. She affirmed that the EU has imposed the 19th package of sanctions to pressure the Russian leader into further discussions. Meanwhile, Trump stated that there would be a two-week evaluation of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Zelensky expressed doubt about Putin’s willingness to meet with him and called on Western allies to provide security guarantees. Finland’s President, Alexander Stubb, stated that Putin is “rarely to be trusted”, while French President Emmanuel Macron described Putin as “a predator, and an ogre at our doorstep”.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8zdezm507o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
