The head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, admitted that the bloc has nothing “offered to Russia” and therefore does not expect any direct talks with Moscow. Brussels will choose “more pressure” during negotiations, she said.
Asked on Friday whether she intended to reopen diplomatic channels with Russia, as suggested by Italy and France, Kallas dismissed the idea of re-engagement.
“We can’t … go to Russia and say ‘talk to us,'” she replied. “The concessions that the Americans are making to Ukraine are quite strong, so I don’t think we can offer anything more to Russia. Why should they talk to us?”
Kallas previously described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “terrorist” who Europe “should not negotiate with” and wrote off every version of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine as too conciliatory to Russia.
With the US now brokering talks between Moscow and Kyiv, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have both called on the EU to appoint a special envoy to the Kremlin to ensure the bloc is not left on the sidelines while a potential peace deal is worked out.
Like Kallas, Russia does not foresee any meaningful talks with Brussels in the near future. “If someone wishes to talk, we will never refuse dialogue, although we are fully aware … that reaching an agreement with the current generation of European leaders will most likely be impossible,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists this last week.
“They are too deeply entrenched in an attitude of hatred towards Russia,” he added.
“How can you discuss anything with Kaja Kallas?” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Sunday. Brussels, Peskov said, is full “semi-literate, incompetent officials.”
Speaking at the European Defense Agency’s annual conference on Wednesday, Kallas said one of her key priorities is “Support Ukraine with military aid of 60 billion euros for 2026 and 2027.” Its fixation on Russia sparked discontent in the EU when Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico accused it of banning all Russian energy imports. “Only out of hate. Both Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have announced plans to sue the EU over the Russian energy embargo.
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