EU plans to provide Ukraine with additional €40 billion in defense aid – Kallas

This was announced at a press conference in Brussels during a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Pisi Kaja Kallas, as reported by an Ukrinform correspondent.

“There is significant public support for the €40 billion defence initiative for Ukraine. Of course, the details are still being discussed. At the last Eurasian Council, we noted that it is necessary to move forward with this initiative quickly. We have already done some preparatory work on this issue and, of course, we can really continue. Everyone here understands that we must be resilient at this moment in time to support Ukraine so that it can defend its interests,” the EU High Representative stressed.

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She noted that EU government representatives approve of the results of the talks in Jeddah between the Ukrainian and American delegations, adding that now “the ball is in Russia’s court,” although Russia itself is showing that it is not really interested in peace and is only ready to put forward new conditions.

“However, we see that Russia does not really want peace. It has also become clear at the negotiating table that Russia cannot be trusted. They will use this situation to make various demands, and we already see that they are formulating demands that are their ultimate goals. So let's see how the situation develops further,” Kallas noted.

In response to a question about the readiness of the European side to send its delegation to negotiate an end to the war, the EU High Representative noted that at present there is no real negotiating table, as “shuttle” diplomacy prevails, since Russia is not ready for a peaceful settlement.

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“We are discussing these issues (concerning the EU's participation in the negotiations – ed.) with various interlocutors. At the moment, there is real “shuttle” diplomacy, since there is no negotiating table. Last week, we also met with our American colleagues and expressed our concerns about various aspects that could be raised by the Russians and what needs to be taken into account. But now, as we see, there is no negotiating table, since Russia is not ready for negotiations,” Kallas said.

As reported, today, March 17, the EU Foreign Affairs Council was held in Brussels, where one of the main issues was the continuation of assistance to Ukraine and the search for ways to end the war in order to achieve a fair and stable peace. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiga took part in the discussion via videoconference.

Photo: Eura.EU