Europe can’t shoulder all burden of aiding Ukraine — top EU diplomat
Photo: Kaja Kallas (Getty Images)
Europe cannot end the war in Ukraine on its own. The United States and NATO must share responsibility, according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
She notes that the position of US President Donald Trump is of particular importance. "He was the one who promised to stop the killing," Kallas says.
Her words came amid an unexpected change in Trump's rhetoric on the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump's statements and Europe's reaction
This week, Trump said he believes Ukraine is capable of fighting and returning all its territories to their original form. He added that this is possible with the support of the EU and NATO, which can do whatever they want with American weapons.
Although many European politicians welcomed the more positive statements, some experts cautioned that Trump may be planning to reduce US involvement and shift responsibility to allies.
"There is no NATO without the US. America is the greatest ally in NATO. So if you talk about what NATO should do, that also means what America should do," Kallas emphasizes.
Energy and sanctions
Trump had previously insisted that NATO countries completely stop importing Russian oil and gas. He linked this to further measures by Washington on tariffs and sanctions.
"Trump has been right. We have decreased our oil and gas purchases by 80 percent, which means that if everybody did what we do, there could be a bigger effect. We have done 19 packages of sanctions. If allies would mirror them, the war would be over sooner," Kallas says.
She adds that the US should use its influence on Hungary and Slovakia, the largest importers of Russian energy in the EU.
Kallas welcoms Trump's recent conversation with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Negotiations with Moscow and threats in Europe
American diplomats have stated that sanctions could complicate negotiations with Russia. However, according to Callas, Moscow is not approaching them in good faith.
"I understand what the Americans are saying—they don't want to put pressure on Russia so as not to close channels of communication. But all these gestures of goodwill only lead to escalation. Putin is taking advantage of this," she emphasizes.
Meanwhile, Europe is concerned about new incidents in its airspace. Russian drones and aircraft have violated borders, and unidentified drones have been spotted over airports in Denmark.
“Putin is testing us, checking how far he can go. He wants to see our reaction,” Callas said.
Reparations from Russia
Callas also called for frozen Russian assets to be used to help Ukraine. This issue will be discussed by G7 finance ministers on October 1.
"I understand what the Americans are saying — that they can’t put pressure on Russia because that would close the communication channels that they have with Russia, and they are the only ones mediating this," the diplomat stresses.
Trump said that Ukraine could regain all its occupied territories with the support of the EU and then go even further.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Trump's statement about Ukraine liberating the occupied territories may indicate his intention to shift the responsibility for ending the war to the EU.
