EU’s Kallas to propose concessions that Europe should demand from Russia

By Andrew Gray

BRUSSELS, Feb 10 (Reuters) – European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday she would propose a list of concessions that Europe should demand from Russia as part of ‍a settlement to end the war in Ukraine.

Talks to end the war have mainly involved Ukrainian, U.S. and Russian officials, with Europeans consulted from time to time. But European officials say there can be no peace deal without them.

“Everybody around the table, including the Russians and the Americans, needs to understand that you ‌need Europeans to agree,” Kallas told a group of ‌news agency reporters in Brussels.

“And for that, we also have conditions. And we should put the conditions not on Ukrainians, who have been already pressured a lot, but on the Russians.”

TO PUT LIST TO EU GOVERNMENTS IN COMING DAYS

Kallas ​said she would propose a list to EU member governments in the coming days. Asked what the list could include, she cited the return ‍of all Ukrainian children abducted during the ​war and limitations on Russia’s armed forces. She did ​not elaborate further.

European officials say they have leverage such as some 210 billion ‍euros ($250 billion) in Russian assets frozen in Europe, which may be part of any settlement.

Most European nations have pursued a policy of diplomatically isolating Russia since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But some have spoken in recent months in favour of talking directly to Moscow, partly as they ‍are wary of extensive discussions between U.S. and Russian officials.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s top foreign policy adviser, Emmanuel Bonne, visited Moscow last week for talks with ‍Russian officials.

Some European officials ‍have suggested appointing an EU envoy to lead ​talks with Russia. But Kallas said it was important ​for the ⁠bloc to decide its messages to Moscow before considering ‌such an appointment.

“If we don’t stand up for anything, there’s no point for us to be around the table,” Kallas said. “It’s important that we discuss what kind of concessions we need to see from the Russian side in order to have a sustainable peace.”

($1 = 0.8401 euros)

(Reporting by Andrew Gray, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout ⁠and Alex Richardson)