Kaja Kallas: Russia miscalculated by betting solely on the US in negotiations

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said that Russia miscalculated by trying to force Ukraine to surrender through agreements with the US, starting with last year's Anchorage summit.

"The Russians want to discuss and negotiate with the US for Washington to deliver the desired outcome. But we have our own demands for Russia," she said. "The message is: you need to talk to the Europeans."

Responding to a question about the diesel fuel deal and energy truce announced by US President Donald Trump, under which Russia would supply 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the United States and global markets, Kallas called this scheme a clear gift to Russian President Putin.

"The question is what he got in return. We see that he is actually intensifying attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. The announced energy truce from the Russian side is not working," she stressed.

According to Kallas, the key issue is that Russia must stop its aggressive war, and then Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries will also stop.

"If you look more broadly, most of the funding for this war comes from oil. That's why Ukraine is striking these facilities, and Russia is striking energy infrastructure in Ukraine, trying to cause as much suffering as possible to Ukrainians in the upcoming winter," she said.

Kallas reiterated that international pressure should be put on the aggressor to stop the war, not on the victim to capitulate. This is the position, she said, that Europe consistently maintains.

"If we acted together with the US, the signal to Russia would be unambiguous: stop this war – and all your problems with oil refineries and other facilities will also disappear," she stated.

Asked whether a series of elections in key EU countries, including the possible election of Marine Le Pen as President of France, would mean a weakening of support for Ukraine, Kallas acknowledged that public sentiment had changed over the four years of the war.

Nevertheless, she said, Europe needs to present a united front, otherwise its foreign policy will not be effective.

"This is what the Russians are essentially counting on: that Europeans will get tired, and then they will get what they are after. And I want to emphasize: then their appetites will only grow," said Kallas.

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