Kaja Kallas, the Estonian Prime Minister and leading figure in EU diplomacy, has accused Russia of feigning interest in peace while Vladimir Putin dismisses calls from Donald Trump to halt the killing in Ukraine. She asserts Putin consistently breaks promises and escalates aggression, while Ukraine and its allies seek a diplomatic resolution.
Putin Dismisses Trump’s Demands
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas stated on Friday in an interview with the BBC that “Russia does not want peace, and Vladimir Putin only laughs off Donald Trump’s demands to stop the killing” in Ukraine. The politician emphasized that Putin keeps no promises and, instead of stopping the aggression, is escalating it further. “It is clear that Europeans, Ukrainians, and Americans want peace and are making diplomatic efforts to achieve it, while Russia is stalling. It is clear that it does not want peace,” Kallas said.
Kallas: Putin Has Not Kept Any Promises
Kallas also called for further sanctions and tariffs against Russia by the EU and the US. She reminded that last week, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced another, the nineteenth package of economic sanctions against Russia. “Putin has not kept any promises, and we must remember that, but at the same time, do everything to put pressure on him to sit down at the negotiating table. And we have various tools for this,” she noted. In her opinion, the Russian leader “got what he wanted” during the summit in Alaska with the US President. “Therefore, his interest is now less, because he extracted everything he wanted from that meeting,” Kallas said.
Zelenskyy: Pressure Must Be Applied to Russia
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also accused Vladimir Putin of “trying to wriggle out of a meeting.” “They do not want to end this war,” he emphasized. He referred to ongoing attacks, including on facilities of American companies in Mukachevo, as well as the increasing number of provocations against NATO countries, including Lithuania and Poland. “These are not coincidences, this is Russian insolence,” he stressed, adding that Ukraine expects its partners to “react decisively.” “This war must end. Pressure must be applied to Russia, because Putin only understands strength and pressure,” he noted.
Putin Attempts to Avoid Meeting with Zelenskyy
There are growing doubts about the possibility of a direct meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Although the White House promised to arrange a meeting, signals from the Kremlin are ambiguous. The Kremlin is not abandoning its ultimatums to Ukraine, including the key demand for the return of Russian control over Donbas, which Kyiv cannot agree to. There is also no clear signal confirming a willingness to talk with Zelenskyy, and Russia does not like the announcement of Western security guarantees for Ukraine. Ukrainian politicians and commentators also believe that Putin is trying to avoid a meeting with Zelenskyy. Following a telephone conversation between the Russian leader and Donald Trump, the Kremlin issued a statement indicating that the Russian leader was ready for a meeting with Zelenskyy. However, so far, no information has appeared in Moscow about preparations for such a meeting. According to independent Russian media, a meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia is the most important point in efforts to end the war. Most independent Ukrainian and Russian commentators believe that the Washington meeting was necessary, but its consequence should be a trilateral summit Ukraine-Russia-United States, because then the true intentions of Vladimir Putin will be revealed.
Source: Gazeta,
