Kallas Warns US against Forcing Ukraine Into a Putin-Friendly Peace Deal
EU chief says European support prevented Kyiv from accepting Moscow’s demands.
STRASBOURG: European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has accused the United States of pressuring Ukraine to accept a settlement on terms favourable to Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that Europe must play a central role in peace negotiations to safeguard Kyiv’s interests and ensure a lasting agreement.
Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday, Kallas said American negotiators had been attempting to push Ukraine towards surrender for approximately a year and a half, arguing that continued European support had prevented Kyiv from accepting Moscow’s demands.
“American negotiators have been trying to push Ukraine into surrender for already almost two years, one and a half years now,” Kallas told lawmakers.
“Why Ukraine hasn’t surrendered on Putin’s terms is because Europe has been supporting Ukraine,” she added.
Her remarks came amid mounting tensions between Washington and European capitals over US President Donald Trump’s approach to ending the war in Ukraine and a new round of peace talks in Oslo, Norway, attended by senior Western officials.
Kallas maintained that European participation in negotiations was essential to balance the positions being advanced by the White House, which she believes have increasingly favoured Russian interests. She argued that Europe could not be expected to accept a settlement negotiated without its involvement, particularly when the agreement would have direct consequences for European security and sanctions policy.
The EU’s foreign policy chief also rejected criticism from some members of the European Parliament that the bloc lacked a coherent strategy for achieving peace. She said she had already presented European capitals with a document outlining the demands that the EU should expect Russia to meet as part of any future settlement.
Kallas argued that Europe must place its own conditions on the negotiating table rather than simply respond to Moscow’s demands.
“If Russia is presenting their maximalist demands and requests, we should put our maximum demands on the table to balance these negotiations, and also to send a clear message to Russia that for all of those things that they are interested in – lifting sanctions – Europe needs to be around that table because they are European decisions,” she said.
“We are not giving these things up for free because it is not only peace that could be there, but it’s also that this peace is long-lasting and just,” she added.
US-Russia Engagement Deepens Rift With Europe
Relations between the United States and Europe have deteriorated over the Trump administration’s engagement with Moscow and its approach to negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.
According to the report, tensions intensified after Trump reached a diesel supply agreement with Putin and eased sanctions until April 2027 without securing Russian concessions in return. The reported developments have fuelled European concerns that Washington could offer Moscow economic and diplomatic benefits without obtaining meaningful commitments to end the war.
Trump has also called for fresh elections in Ukraine, although elections are barred under the country’s martial-law framework during wartime. He has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, describing him as more difficult to deal with than Putin.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, has expressed frustration with Washington’s approach, saying he feels betrayed by Trump.
“I believe steps have been taken to convince Ukraine to capitulate,” Zelenskyy told Bloomberg in a recent interview.
The dispute reflects a widening disagreement over the terms of a potential peace settlement, including the extent of concessions Ukraine might be expected to make, the future of Western sanctions against Russia and the security guarantees needed to prevent renewed hostilities.
European officials have repeatedly stressed that any agreement must be sustainable and must not reward military aggression by allowing Russia to secure its objectives through force.
Kallas Warns of Russian Threat to Black Sea Security
Beyond the negotiations, Kallas accused Russia of threatening security in the Black Sea through what she described as an armed blockade and the use of food supplies as a weapon.
She warned that Moscow’s actions could undermine global food security and contribute to a wider humanitarian crisis. Her concerns come as Romania and Bulgaria have recently reported Russian drone strikes off their territorial waters, highlighting the potential risks posed by the conflict to neighbouring countries and the wider Black Sea region.
Kallas also criticised Russia for refusing an energy ceasefire and intensifying its bombing campaign against Ukraine ahead of the winter season.
The renewed attacks, she argued, demonstrated that Moscow was continuing its military campaign despite diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting. Continued strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure could increase pressure on civilians as temperatures fall and demand for reliable energy supplies rises.
Defending Europe’s position, Kallas rejected suggestions that the EU was standing in the way of peace. Instead, she argued that Ukraine and its European supporters were seeking an end to the conflict, while Russia’s continued military operations were undermining prospects for a settlement.
“Ukraine wants peace more than anybody because they have been under bombardment for already four years now, and the fifth year is going on,” she said.
“And Europe wants peace. It is not right to say that we don’t want peace. The only one who doesn’t want peace is Russia. Let’s be very clear-eyed about this.”
Europe Insists on Role in Oslo Peace Talks
Kallas has emerged as one of the most outspoken European critics of Trump’s approach towards Moscow. Last week, she told Euronews that the reported diesel agreement amounted to a gift to Putin, underscoring European fears that Russia could benefit from improved relations with Washington without making substantial concessions.
Despite the growing differences, officials in Brussels have maintained that engagement with the United States must continue. European governments believe that maintaining dialogue with Washington is important to influence the peace process, protect Ukraine’s interests and prevent a settlement that could weaken European security.
Senior officials from the European Commission, NATO, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Poland travelled to Oslo on Tuesday to participate in the latest round of talks.
Their involvement reflects the broader diplomatic effort to coordinate Western positions as discussions continue over possible terms for ending the war.
The central challenge remains whether Washington, European capitals, Kyiv and Moscow can agree on a framework that addresses Russia’s demands while protecting Ukraine’s sovereignty and providing credible safeguards against renewed aggression.
Kallas’s intervention highlighted the EU’s determination to ensure that European governments are not sidelined in negotiations whose outcome could reshape the continent’s security architecture for years to come. For Brussels, any agreement that offers sanctions relief or other benefits to Moscow without enforceable commitments would risk undermining the credibility of Western pressure and leaving Ukraine vulnerable to future attacks.