Transatlantic rift "would strengthen Russia". "Russia wants to see the US and Europe divided. Let's not give them that." said EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas in an interview with Euronews.
In a live appearance on Euronews' Europe Today programme on Wednesday, Kallas said that there was a "crisis" between Brussels and the Trump administration "there is no wedge", and called on both sides to remain united in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Kallas also said that the current talks are "shuttle diplomacy" and that Europe will have a seat at the negotiating table when formal negotiations on a peace settlement begin. "There is no table at which Russia and Ukraine are now sitting. It's shuttle diplomacy," said the day after a phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in which the two presidents agreed to a temporary 30-day halt to strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. "Of course, for any agreement to work, you need the Europeans to sit at the table and agree to the deal. Because the implementation of the agreement has to be in the hands of Europe."
Asked how she was responding to Putin and Trump's call, Kallas said: "It's really good to see how these things are developing. Trump made it clear that aid to Ukraine was not on the table. Putin said it was discussed. I would rather trust Trump on this than President Putin."
According to reports, Putin has demanded that the West stop delivering military aid to Ukraine as a condition for a limited 30-day ceasefire. Trump later claimed in an interview with Fox News that he had not discussed the military aid "was not acted upon".
Trump also hailed the talks as "productive", but the agreed limited ceasefire falls short of the comprehensive cessation of fighting on land, sea and air that the US president had hoped for.
Putin will 'continue' if Ukraine stops policing itself
Kallas also questioned Putin's goodwill and the feasibility of the limited, 30-day ceasefire he agreed to with Trump. "For a ceasefire to work, there must be deterrence. And if all the guards are down, I mean, Putin has shown this before, he's not respecting the ceasefire," She said. "And if he wants the guards down on the Ukrainian side, he's actually going to get what he wants, and I'm absolutely sure he's going to continue to do that."
Kallas has put forward a proposal to release a staggering €40 billion in new military support to Ukraine, which, if approved, could increase the supply of artillery ammunition, air defence systems, missiles, drones and fighter jets.
According to the proposal, recently published by Euronews, the funding would be shared by "participating countries", which means that unanimous approval by all 27 EU member states would not be required. It is also open to like-minded participating countries outside the EU, such as the UK and Norway, suggesting a move towards a "coalition of the willing".
Kallas' initiative will be discussed when EU leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday for a summit. The question remains whether the plan will include an €18 billion loan backed by seized windfall profits from Russian assets frozen in the EU. The EU executive is also expected to present a paper later on Wednesday with concrete proposals on how to strengthen European defence.
"The stronger we are, the less likely war will be," Kallas said. "We have to do more for our defence. We also need to do more for Ukraine so that the stronger it is on the battlefield, the stronger it is at the negotiating table."
euronews/ gnews.cz - RoZ
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