Brussels draws its own roadmap
The European Union is drawing up a list of concessions it believes Russia must make to ensure any long-term peace in Ukraine. The bloc’s head of diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, said this Tuesday, as the US-led talks show few signs of real progress.
Russian forces used cluster munitions in an attack on a market in Ukraine, killing seven people. This came as envoys from Moscow and kyiv met in Abu Dhabi last week for another round of Washington-brokered talks.
No progress was made, although a new prisoner exchange was agreed. After saying in 2024 that he could end the conflict in one day, then in 100 days, US President Donald Trump has now given Ukraine and Russia until June to reach a deal.
European skepticism
The EU is convinced that Russia is not negotiating seriously. He also doubts that European and Ukrainian interests are being represented by the Trump administration. That is why he has begun working on “a sustainable peace plan” that could force Moscow’s hand.
“We have seen an increase in bombing by the Russians during these talks,” Kallas said.
It included the attack on Ukraine’s power grid during what has been the coldest winter of the conflict. The foreign policy chief expressed that the bloc is “very grateful” for the US diplomatic efforts so far.
But he added: “To have a sustainable peace, everyone at the table, including the Russians and the Americans, must understand that they need the Europeans to agree.”
“We also have conditions,” Kallas told reporters in Brussels. “And we should put the conditions not on the Ukrainians who have already been put under a lot of pressure, but on the Russians.”
These conditions could include demands that Russia return possibly thousands of kidnapped Ukrainian children. Also limits on the size of the Russian armed forces once the conflict ends. Russia insists on a limit for Ukrainian forces.
“The Ukrainian army is not the problem. It is the Russian army,” Kallas said. “It’s Russian military spending. If they spend that much on the military, they’ll have to use it again.”
A preliminary list will be shared among member countries in the coming days. It will be discussed when the bloc’s foreign ministers meet on February 23.
Kallas noted that Ukraine is too dependent on American support. This dependency has forced it to make almost all the concessions so far.
“Pressuring the weaker party can always get results faster,” he said, “but it is just a declaration that we have peace. It is not a sustainable peace.”
He added: “It’s not going to be a guarantee to Ukraine or anyone else that Russia is not going to attack again.”
The Europeans do not want to start a separate track of peaceful negotiations — which Russia would probably rule out — but Kallas said it is important to “change the narrative.”
“Everyone wants this war to end, except the Russians,” he said. “We can push them to the place where they really want to end this war. They’re not there yet.”
He cited recent estimates indicating that Vladimir Putin is having difficulty finding new recruits. He insisted that sanctions are damaging the Russian economy — inflation there is high — and mentioned another key measure:
The EU is also working on a ban to stop repairs and other services to ships carrying Russian fuel. Kallas hopes to join the G7 during talks this weekend.
