Kallas says US should pressure Russia to end wars in Ukraine and Middle East

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas has said that ending the war in Ukraine will require concessions from Russia as well as coordinated pressure on Moscow from both the United States and Europe.

She said this ahead of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in France, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

Kallas noted that if such joint pressure were applied, it could make it possible to end the war and achieve a lasting peace.

Kallas also stated that Russia was using what she described as a classic negotiation tactic, seeking to claim things that had never belonged to it. She added that this was a cause for concern, pointing out that for about a year Russia had been attempting to gain through negotiations the territories it had failed to seize militarily over the past 12 years.

She suggested that the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East were closely interconnected. According to her, Iran shares intelligence with Russia, while Russia provides drones to Iran, enabling it to carry out attacks against neighboring countries and U.S. military bases.

Kallas argued that if the United States wanted the conflict in the Middle East to end and to stop Iranian attacks, it would also need to increase pressure on Russia to prevent it from supporting Iran.

G7 foreign ministers are meeting in France on March 26-27, with support for Ukraine among the key issues on the agenda.