Ukraine: Press conference by the High Representative/Vice-President Kaja Kallas following the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers
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Good evening, everybody.
Thank you, dear Andrii, for hosting us here in Kyiv today.
This morning, we visited Bucha to mark four years since its liberation. In March 2022, the images of murdered civilians and mass graves sent shock waves around the world. Bucha exposed the systematic and calculated brutality of Russia's war.
A year in peace talks has not delivered a breakthrough for the simple reason that Russia has been deliberately stalling. Time and again, Ukraine has shown its willingness for peace while Russia escalates its attacks. Pressure to end this war must fall on the aggressor, not the victim.
There can be no just and lasting peace without accountability for Russia. This is why the EU is advancing the establishment of the special tribunal for the crime of aggression and the International Claims Commission. We aim to reach the next milestone on both by the time of the Council of Europe ministerial meeting in May.
And today, we also focused on what is our two-point strategy: how to strengthen and support Ukraine and also increase pressure on Russia.
The way to end this war is to confront Moscow, not reward it. Not to loosen sanctions, but to harden them. The 20th package is ready to go, and we will tighten the net even further, especially around Russia's shadow fleet.
Today, I am pleased that we are providing an additional €80 million to Ukraine drawn from the profits of Russian frozen assets.
On energy needs; we discussed this deeply today, we continue to mobilize international support to provide Ukraine with generators and repair equipment, so your country enters the next winter better prepared.
As we heard today, also air defence remains the top priority, both here in Ukraine, but also in the Middle East. Ukraine is providing drone defences to the Gulf, but it needs more Patriot missiles to protect its own skies.
Ministers were very clear today that we will not allow the Iran war to divert attention away from Ukraine. The wars in Iran and Ukraine are very much interlinked. Higher oil prices are boosting Kremlin's coffers, while Russia is providing Iran with the support to target US forces. We must continue to cripple Russia's military industrial complex by further sanctioning and disrupting dual-use supply chains. We can reduce the threat in both regions.
At the same time, we are also investing in Ukraine's capabilities. As Ministers saw this morning, Ukraine's defence industry is innovating at extraordinary speed. Ukraine's expertise in drone defence is second to none.
There is a clear case for integrating Ukrainian companies even more deeply into Europe's defence industry.
And finally, we also discussed support to Ukraine's veterans. We heard two very moving stories of two veterans, and also their stories of integrating into the society. EU is expanding support for their rehabilitation and reintegration into civilian sectors here in Ukraine, and that is, of course, applying to all veterans.
So, dear Andrii, thank you again for hosting us here in Kyiv today, Ukraine is the shield for Europe. Your future belongs also with the European Union.
Thank you.
Q&A
Q. First of all, for Kaja Kallas, what happened at the G7 meeting last Friday? Media says that you exchanged some sharp words with Marco Rubio about pressuring Russia. I wanted to ask, is it true?
Whatever meetings we have, whether it is G7 or European Union, it is meeting of ministers, where we have a frank and open exchange of views on different topics. And we had extensive discussions on Ukraine, the war in Ukraine, and what more can we do. And, also, the Middle East, where we can cooperate. These are exchange of views that we have, and this is normal that we express also our ideas in these meetings.
Q. Did you get today, any consensus of the idea of the fast-track EU accession for Ukraine and 2027 is a realistic timeline? And the second question to both of you, what is your reaction of the leak of audio recordings between Lavrov and Hungarian Minister Szijjártó on sharing information before closed door with Moscow?
On enlargement, it is clear that enlargement is always a geopolitical decision. If you look at past enlargements, it has always been also geopolitical. But at the same time, it is also the reforms that are required to be made by the countries who are joining the European Union. That is why today we had also with the Prime Minister, a lot of discussions with how the reforms are going. R, rally so it is important that Ukraine does its own work, but it is also important that we do our own work from our side. I cannot give you a concrete date, but certainly it is in my interest, in my wish that Ukraine is going to join European Union soon.
Q. The Iran war is very expensive for Europe, even though European countries are not directly involved. So I would like to ask you, how can it be prevented that support for Ukraine has to be reduced for financial reasons? And what is the plan B, if the loan for Ukraine should remain blocked after the elections in Hungary? Would you recommend to restart negotiations on the Russian assets at Euroclear or what would be a scenario, an option?
First I owe the lady in the first row the answer to her question, because I forgot. I will just say shortly that European ministers should work for Europe, not for Russia. To your question, it is the loan that we are working right now to deliver, that we agreed in the end of last year, but let me remind you that was actually plan B. Plan A was the use of frozen assets. We should also keep in mind that if plan B does not work, let us go back to plan A, but we definitely need to deliver Ukraine, the financing that they need to resist the Russian aggression.
Q. Starting with foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, President Zelensky has announced that he will have a meeting tomorrow with Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Lindsey Graham and Mark Rutte teleconference evidently. You are here carrying tons of moral support. The EU is providing financial military support. Are you disappointed that you are not invited to take part in this conference? President Zelenskyy was telling about the video conference that they have tomorrow with the Americans. So far, he was also saying that the peace talks have been stalled. I think it is important to flag that many things actually depend on the European support. So, even if America and Russia agree something, then they cannot deliver if Europe is not part of it. Sooner there is realisation that Europe also needs to be part of this discussion, the better. And we can also push these talks going forward.
Thank you.