The European Union has broad political support for the defense initiative for Ukraine, which provides for additional military aid worth EUR 40 billion, but the EU must move quickly in its implementation so that Ukraine can protect itself from Russian aggression.
This was stated at a press conference in Brussels following EU Foreign Affairs Council by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“There is broad political support for the defense initiative of EUR 40 billion for Ukraine. Of course, the discussion is now around the details. During the last European Council, we had the wording that we need to move swiftly with this initiative. We have already done some work on this and, hopefully, we will be able to really move on. Because everyone understands around the table that we have to show resolve right now, to support Ukraine so that they can defend themselves,” the EU High Representative emphasized.
She noted that European government officials welcomed 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 demonstrating that it does not really want peace and is only ready to put forward new conditions.
“But we see right now that Russia doesn’t really want peace. And also what was understood around the table that Russia cannot be trusted. They will seize this opportunity to present all kinds of demands and we already see that they are presenting demands that are their ultimate goals. So let’s see how this develops further,” Kallas noted.
When asked whether the European side is ready to present its delegation at the talks to end the war, the EU High Representative noted that at the moment there is no real negotiating table as “shuttle” diplomacy dominates since Russia is not ready for a peaceful settlement.
“We are discussing these matters (regarding the EU’s involvement in the negotiations – ed.) with various interlocutors. There is now a real ‘shuttle’ diplomacy because there’s no negotiation table. Last week we also had the meetings with our American counterparts and voiced our worries about different elements that could be brought up by the Russians, and what to take into account. But right now, as we see, there is no negotiation table yet, because Russia is not coming to the negotiating table,” Kallas said.
As reported, today, March 17, the EU Foreign Affairs Council was held in Brussels, where one of the main issues was continued assistance to Ukraine and the search for ways to end the war in order to achieve a just and lasting peace. The discussion was attended by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha via video conference.
Photo: Europa.EU
Source: EU plans to provide Ukraine with additional EUR 40B in defense aid - Kallas
