NATO is the best guarantee for Ukraine’s security, says Kaja Kallas

NATO would beryllium the champion warrant for Ukraine’s security, stated EU overseas argumentation main Kaja Kallas successful an interrogation with Agence France-Presse connected Thursday, taking a stance diametrically opposed to that of Donald Trump.

During the interview, conducted successful Washington, the Vice President of the European Commission besides warned that Europeans would not beryllium capable to lend to immoderate imaginable statement connected Ukraine if they were not invited to the dialog table, portion the American president negotiates straight with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

For Ms. Kallas, the archetypal pistillate to go Prime Minister of Estonia—a erstwhile Soviet republic until 1991 and a neighbour of Russia—NATO countries person ne'er attacked Russia, which, successful her view, “fears democracy.”

“Why are we successful NATO? Because we fearfulness Russia. And the lone happening that genuinely works, the lone information warrant that is effective, is NATO’s umbrella,” she insisted.

The American president has ruled retired Ukraine’s imaginable accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an thought opposed by Moscow. Meanwhile, helium remains vague astir the information guarantees the U.S. authorities is consenting to connection Kyiv successful the lawsuit of a ceasefire agreement, 3 years aft the Russian subject invaded Ukrainian territory.

Donald Trump has besides argued that NATO was “probably the crushed wherefore each of this started.”

“These claims are perfectly false,” countered Ms. Kallas. “This is the Russian narrative, and we should not autumn for it.”

And why, she asked, “should we springiness Russia everything it wants, beyond what it has already done—attacking Ukraine, annexing land, and occupying territory? Should we springiness it adjacent more?”

“Imagine if, aft 9/11 (2001), the U.S. had sat down astatine the array with Osama bin Laden and said, ‘Okay, bash you privation thing else?’ It’s unthinkable,” she remarked sharply.

Russia Insists the U.S. Had Promised NATO Would Not Expand After the Cold War

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is presently successful Washington, though she has not met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, officially owed to scheduling conflicts—amid increasing tensions successful transatlantic relations.

The American president often lashes retired astatine his European NATO allies, accusing them successful peculiar of not shouldering their just stock of the burden.

Mr. Trump, who is expected to motion an statement connected Ukrainian minerals with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky successful Washington today, has truthful acold appeared unwilling to connection U.S. information guarantees to Kyiv, arguing that this work should autumn connected Europeans.

On the different hand, for Ms. Kallas, “Europeans indispensable beryllium portion of the negotiations and immoderate agreement. Without that, we cannot lend anything,” insisted the Estonian official.

She besides criticized Mr. Trump’s assertion that the European Union was founded to instrumentality vantage of the U.S., a stance she described arsenic “incredible” and contrary to “shared transatlantic values.”

She further pointed to the important cuts successful U.S. overseas humanitarian aid, informing that Europe “will not beryllium capable to capable the gap.” However, she added, the satellite is present “turning to us” and asking whether Europe tin bash more. “I judge we indispensable summation our geopolitical influence,” said Kaja Kallas, urging Europe—amid U.S. inwardness—to take outward engagement, to “look outward.”