Don't let Russia divide US and Europe, Kaja Kallas says
"Russia wants to see the US and Europe divided. Let's not give them that," the EU's foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas has told Euronews.
Speaking live on Euronews' Europe Today on Wednesday, Kallas said that there is "no wedge" between Brussels and Trump's administration, and urged both sides to remain united in the face of Russia's aggression in Ukraine.
Kallas also said that the current talks are "shuttle diplomacy" and that Europe will have a seat on the table when formal negotiations on a peace settlement start.
"This is shuttle diplomacy right now. There is no negotiation table yet. But we're trying to get the picture of where the parties are," she said, a day after a call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in which both presidents agreed to a temporary 30-day halt on strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Asked about her response to the Putin-Trump call, Kallas said: "It's really good to see how these things are going. Trump was clear that aid to Ukraine was not discussed. Putin said it was discussed. I'd rather trust Trump on this than President Putin," Kallas explained.
According to reports, Putin demanded that the West halt its deliveries of military aid to Ukraine as a precondition for the limited 30-day ceasefire. Trump later claimed in an interview with Fox news that military aid was "not discussed."
Trump also hailed that call as "productive", but the limited ceasefire agreed falls short of the comprehensive halt to fighting on land, sea and air that the US President had hoped to secure.
Kallas has tabled a proposal to release a staggering €40 billion in fresh military support for Ukraine which, if approved, could ramp up deliveries of artillery ammunition, air defence systems, missiles, drones and fighter jets.
The draft proposal, recently seen by Euronews, would see "participating countries" pitch in with pledges, meaning it would not require the unanimous approval of all 27 EU member states.
It's also open to like-minded non-EU participating countries, such as the United Kingdom and Norway, suggesting a shift to a "coalition of the willing."
Kallas' initiative will be up for debate when EU leaders gather in Brussels for a summit on Thursday. Questions remain over whether the €18 billion in seized windfall profits from Russian assets frozen in the EU will be part of package of that plan.
The EU executive is also expected to unveil a paper later on Wednesday with concrete proposals on how to ramp up Europe's defences.
"The stronger we are the less likely war is," Kallas said. "We need to do more for our defence. We also need to do more for Ukraine so that the stronger they are on the battlefield, the stronger they are on the negotiation table."
'In fact, the system is training itself and you don't need 200 people anymore to send all the mails,' says Europol's Executive Director Catherine De Bolle, regarding the adoption of AI in organized criminal activities, 'The AI system is even more accurate than the human letter, so you do not really find the mistakes anymore.'
Europol also noted a growing cooperation between organised crime groups and foreign actors aiming to destabilise the EU. As a result, monetary gains from the crimes are no longer their only incentive. 'Destabilisation is not only about getting money anymore. It's also about helping ideologically oriented states to reach their goals,' said De Bolle.
Radio Schuman also features discussions on the European Union's response to growing security concerns at its eastern borders and the uncertain US involvement in European defence, as well as this year's recipient of the Hunyadi János Award.
Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Maïa de la Baume, with audio editing by David Brodheim. Music by Alexandre Jas.
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Euronews
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