EU chief diplomat says Russia should be forced into negotiations, not asked

Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, believes that European countries should force Russia into a genuine dialogue on peace rather than beg it to negotiate.

Source: Kallas's statement after a meeting of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Journalists asked Kallas whether Europe risks its own interests by not engaging in dialogue with Russia while the United States does.

Kallas replied that she currently sees no signs that Russia is willing to enter into meaningful talks, which is why Europeans should not be asking for them.

"We should not humiliate ourselves by being the demandeurs, 'please we beg you to talk to us', but we should put them in a position where they actually go from pretending to negotiate to actually negotiate," Kallas said.

She said that EU foreign ministers will hold a meeting in Cyprus to discuss the bloc's demands on Russia regarding the end of the war against Ukraine.

"We have planned to discuss with the foreign ministers of the European Union in Cyprus, also what is the picture that we see, what are the requests that we have for Russia after this war is over, so that we can see that Russia does not pose a threat to any of these countries or Europe as a whole, because that has been the problem. That's why, before talking to them, we should really agree on what we want to talk to them about," she explained.

Background:

• Earlier, Estonian President Alar Karis said that European countries should already be planning their actions for the period after the end of Russia's war against Ukraine and their model of engagement with Russia since this could happen quickly and unexpectedly. Some politicians in Estonia criticised him for these remarks.
• Karis also expressed the view that Europe made a mistake by missing the opportunity to begin peace negotiations with Russia at the start of the full-scale war, after Ukraine's first key success in repelling the advance on Kyiv.
• Some politicians in Estonia criticised Karis for these remarks, and Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that his position contradicts the country's foreign policy.

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