EU’s Foreign Policy Chief, Kaja Kallas has hailed US military deal with NATO to deliver weapons to Ukraine, saying that the news from the US was “really welcome.”
Speaking to reporters upon arrival at a meeting of the bloc’s Foreign Ministers, Kallas said,“It is … good signs that we see from United States that they have also realised that Russia does not really want peace.”
She added that in order to have peace, Ukraine needs to be supported and “we need to put the pressure on Russia.”
Kallas hoped that the bloc would follow the US’ decision up with striking a political agreement on the 18th package of sanctions against Russia “either today or tomorrow.”
She also said the Ministers will talk about the Middle East and Gaza, stressing that “we have reached a common understanding with Israel to really improve the situation on the ground.”
“So we see some positive signs when it comes to border crossings open. We see some positive signs of them reconstructing the electricity lines, providing water, also more trucks of humanitarian aid coming in.
“But of course, we need to see more in order to see real improvement for the people on the ground.”
Kaja Kallas
She later said that the situation was “very bad” and “catastrophic.”
She added that the Ministers will discuss Iran and Georgia.
“There are all options on the table, including suspension of the visa fee regime and other elements that could make to the Georgian government to change the calculus.”
Kaja Kallas
Also speaking to reporters on his arrival at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, was Danish Foreign Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who confirmed that Denmark would be prepared to participate in the US deal with NATO, but “need others to partner up.” He repeated that Trump’s new messaging was “very, very important.”
Additionally, Dutch Foreign Minister, Caspar Veldkamp stated that the country was “looking into” the US-NATO deal announced by Trump “with a positive inclination.”
“The Netherlands already does a lot, including on air defence, from patriots missile systems, missile batteries, to F-16 … up to 1.4 billion in drone cooperation between the Netherlands and Ukraine, up to radar systems against incoming drones.
“We will look into what we can do also in relation to Mr Trump’s announcements, and take it from there.”
Caspar Veldkamp
He noted his gladness that “there’s convergence between Europe and the US on this matter.”
However, he stressed that the 50-day deadline given by US President, Donald Trump to Russia is too long.
“I do believe that 50 days that Mr Trump has announced is rather long, that’s up to 2 September. I think that’s rather long. But I do appreciate that they really see that Putin is dragging his feet and that we need to ramp up the pressure on Russia.”
Caspar Veldkamp
French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot told reporters that he hoped the new language from the US and more sanctions from the EU will force Russian President, Vladimir Putin “to face the facts: he has gone too far and he is now at an impasse.”
He said that he was hoping for more alignment between the US and the EU on sanctions, as he met with American Senators last week in Rome to discuss their proposed bipartisan bill on Russia.
He urged other EU leaders to adopt the 18th sanctions package today to keep the momentum after Trump’s announcement last night in a bid to “apply very strong pressure on Vladimir Putin.”
Trump’s Statements On Deal With NATO ‘Serious, Require Analysis’
Separately, the Kremlin said that Trump’s statements were “serious and required analysis.”
Kremlin Spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin will comment on Trump’s proposals if he deems it necessary to do so.
Also, he stated that Kyiv interprets decisions on Ukraine made in Washington and other capitals of NATO countries as a signal for continuing the war rather than seeking peace.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov said that Moscow was ready to negotiate with the US after Trump’s comments last night, but added it didn’t want to bow to any ultimatums.
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