STRASBOURG, France -- European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says there have been “no positive signs from Russia” in ongoing cease-fire negotiations over Ukraine, and that Moscow is “just playing games.”
She made the remarks in an exclusive interview with RFE/RL on the sidelines of a European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg on April 2.
Russia, Ukraine, and the United States have been locked in negotiations for a month in an effort to end the three-year full-scale war.
While partial cease-fire agreements have been reached -- covering energy infrastructure and traffic on the Black Sea -- Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities continue on a daily basis.
Watch the full Interview With Kaja Kallas:
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Asked whether she believes a full cease-fire can be achieved by April 20 -- a target date floated by Finnish President Alexander Stubb during a recent visit to US President Donald Trump in Florida -- the former Estonian prime minister stressed that pressure must be placed on Moscow.
“I think it could be very good to set them a clear deadline when they have to answer, what is their standing, and to really show some goodwill that they also want peace,” she said. “It's clear that the Ukrainians want it.”
Not Talking With Russia Yet
This week, Kirill Dmitriev, a senior Kremlin adviser and head of a major state-backed investment fund, is expected to visit Washington for talks with US officials on Ukraine and bilateral relations, the Kremlin said.
Dmitriev's reported visit comes as Washington and Moscow move to repair relations following years of spiraling tensions that predate Russia's February 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine.
When asked whether the EU should also engage directly with Dmitriev, Kallas said any discussions must center around Kyiv.
“For Ukraine, Ukraine has to negotiate with Russia,” she said. “It can't be done by anybody else, because it's about Ukraine and it can't be without Ukraine.”
So far, the European Union and its 27 member states have been sidelined from the talks. Pressed on whether the bloc or any of its member states were ready to talk directly with the Kremlin, Kallas emphasized that Europe must be part of any long-term settlement.
“When it comes to negotiations about Ukraine, then clearly Europe must be around that table because it also concerns us what is the result of this,” she said. “And any deal can't work without the implementation of the Europeans.”
Transatlantic Trade War?
Kallas, who took over as the EU high representative in late 2024, will later this week attend the NATO ministerial in Brussels together with the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The meeting comes at a time of rising transatlantic trade tensions.
On April 2, Washington imposed a 25 percent tariff on all car imports, following steel and aluminum levies introduced in March.
SEE ALSO: At Brussels Foreign Ministers Summit, All Eyes Will Be On Marco RubioBrussels is preparing a response, expected later in April, which is likely to include penalties targeting big US tech companies.
Kallas, however, was keen to play down the latest rift, saying that, despite a lot of rhetoric on the subject, European negotiators still “don't really know what is exactly coming.”
“There are the statements we see, but what are the real actions?” she said. “What I want to stress is that there are no winners in trade wars. I mean it raises the prices and in the end the consumers get to pay for these products at a higher price and this is not wise, so I still hope that we are not starting this trade war.”
New Format For Serbia-Kosovo Dialogue?
On April 7–8, Kallas will visit Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Montenegro -- her first trip to the Western Balkans since taking office. A visit to Serbia is also likely in May.
Asked about the recent wave of anti-government protests in Serbian cities -- sparked by the deadly collapse of a newly renovated train station roof in Novi Sad which has fueled public anger over corruption and government mismanagement – Kallas suggested such demonstrations were normal in democratic societies.
“It is democracy,” she said. “I mean we have it in our EU member states that people get tired of governments, and they protest. That shows that democracy is working.”
The EU has led the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo since 2011, aiming to normalize relations between them.
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Kallas’s predecessor, Josep Borrell, last met with the leaders of the two Balkan countries in September 2023 but failed to strike a final agreement.
While Kallas has named Danish diplomat Peter Sorensen as her special envoy for the talks, no high-level meetings have yet been convened, and she hinted that a new approach may be needed.
“It seems a bit that the dialogue is a bit stuck, because the parties just are complaining about each other,” she said. “I think we have to keep the end goal in mind -- the normalization of their relationship, so that they can both proceed on their European path. So maybe it's the dialogue, or maybe it is another tool. I'm willing to look into it, and I will do so together with the [Sorensen] in the coming days.”