Kallas Says US Negotiators Tried to Push Ukraine Into Surrender for 1.5 Years

The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has accused US negotiators of trying to push Ukraine into surrendering to Russia, saying Washington had pursued that approach for around 1.5 years as she called for tougher pressure on Moscow.

Speaking during a European Parliament plenary debate on Russian strikes affecting Black Sea shipping, regional stability and food security, Kallas said Tuesday that Ukraine had resisted surrender on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s terms because Europe had continued to support it.

“Although American negotiators have been trying to push Ukraine into surrender for already almost 2 years, 1.5 years now, why Ukraine hasn’t surrendered on Putin’s terms is because Europe has been supporting Ukraine,” she said in her closing statement.

She rejected accusations that Europe lacked a peace strategy or did not want peace, adding that Ukraine and European countries wanted an end to the war, but that any settlement must be just and lasting rather than a temporary ceasefire that would allow Russia to attack again.

Europe must have a seat at the negotiating table

Kallas said she had presented EU foreign ministers with what she described as a “maximalist plan” for entering peace talks in February. She argued that Europe should put forward its own demands to counter Russia’s maximum demands and ensure that European interests are represented in negotiations.

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She also said Russia’s interest in having sanctions lifted demonstrated that the restrictions were working.

“Those things that they are interested in lifting sanctions, all of these things actually Europe needs to be around that table because it’s European decisions,” Kallas said.

According to her, sanctions had deprived Russia of €1 trillion ($1.12 trillion), arguing that the money had therefore not been available to finance its war effort.

She rejected the argument that a country possessing nuclear weapons should be given what it wants to avoid escalation, warning that such an approach would encourage other countries to acquire nuclear weapons to secure political concessions.

“If we say that, then everybody is under threat,” she said.

Kallas says Russia rejected multiple ceasefire proposals

Kallas argued that Ukraine had already agreed to several ceasefire initiatives, including an energy ceasefire, a Black Sea arrangement and a broader ceasefire proposal put forward around 1.5 years earlier. She said Russia was the party that had refused to agree.

“We really need to put more pressure on Russia and to be very firm that we also have requests and these things are not coming for free,” she said.

She also called on European lawmakers to reach out to African countries over Black Sea security, saying Russian actions affecting grain and barley shipments threatened food security beyond Europe.

Kallas said the grain and barley transported through the Black Sea were destined for African countries and urged them to help push for a security arrangement to protect shipping.