Kallas in Berlin: Security guarantees for Ukraine must be tangible
This was stated by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas during a joint press conference with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius while visiting Berlin, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“We are discussing the security guarantees, and what we have been discussing in the Coalition of the Willing is these security guarantees really have to be tangible,” Kallas said, noting that it must be clearly understood how these guarantees would work in practice.
In her view, it is also necessary to ensure that such guarantees cannot be withdrawn.
Recalling the conditional nature of security guarantees, including the possibility of their cancellation in the event of an alleged Ukrainian attack on Russia, Kallas said: “History is full of cases where Russians have instigated an attack while showing that it was Ukrainians, or Finnish, or whatever.”
“That is why it has to be very clear that if we give security guarantees, whether it’s Americans or Europeans, that these are not on paper but they are tangible,” Kallas emphasized.
The EU’s top diplomat pointed to intensive diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving peace, adding that these efforts remain one-sided: “Every week, Russian bombs plunge Ukrainian cities into darkness, destruction, and death – that is Russia’s answer to diplomacy.”
She stressed that the war could continue for a long time “unless we collectively put more pressure on Russia to stop it.”
Kallas also acknowledged that Russia’s ambitions extend beyond Ukraine.
“To keep our countries and people safe, Europe must further improve its defense readiness,” she said, adding that boosting Europe’s defense readiness does not mean duplicating NATO’s role.
“It is about making Europe stronger within NATO,” Kallas noted.
She also acknowledged that while the United States remains an indispensable ally for Europe, relations with Washington “are not as good as they used to be,” but Europe and the U.S. are “stronger when we act together.”
When asked about a possible European response in the event of a U.S. invasion of Greenland, Kallas declined to comment publicly, while noting that European countries are discussing the tools at their disposal behind closed doors.
As reported, Kyiv’s allies among the G7 countries, including the leaders of Italy, Germany, France, Canada, and the United Kingdom, as well as the President of the European Commission, are set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Davos to secure his personal support for security guarantees for Ukraine after a ceasefire.
Discussions are currently underway regarding the details of the meeting scheduled for Wednesday, which may also include other leaders of the Coalition of the Willing. National security advisers from those countries were also planning to hold a separate meeting, the Financial Times reported.
The United States and Ukraine are preparing to sign a large-scale postwar reconstruction agreement worth about $800 billion, as well as an agreement on U.S. security guarantees. It is expected that U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet for this purpose during the World Economic Forum in Davos.
