While EU member states welcome the outcome of talks in Geneva this weekend with American and Ukrainian representatives, they must nevertheless insist regularly on the conditions for future peace in Ukraine. The foreign affairs ministers of the EU27 met by videoconference on Wednesday 26 November to review the latest developments in the talks, in the presence of their Ukrainian counterpart.
The day before, the members of the ‘coalition of the willing’, met virtually at Head of State or Government level, where they insisted on Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty. “Borders must not be changed by force. This remains one of the fundamental principles for preserving stability and peace in Europe and beyond”, according to the minutes of the meeting.
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, regretted that, according to the information available, the draft peace plan drawn up by the United States prior to the Geneva meeting does not include any concessions from Russia, which is the sole aggressor.
She also reiterated that any issue relating to the EU or NATO – namely Ukraine’s membership of these two organisations – should only be discussed in the presence of EU and NATO members, a point on which the members of the ‘coalition of the willing’ were reassured after the discussions in Geneva.
For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on the Europeans to keep up the pressure on Russia, “including through the 20th EU sanctions package and the decision to enable the full use of frozen Russian assets”.
On this last point, Kaja Kallas was clear: the option of mobilising frozen Russian assets as part of a reparations loan is the best option, in her view. She welcomed the European Commission’s announcement that it was preparing a specific proposal: “Member states had a lot of questions on the details so they need to see the legislative proposal. The Commission is working on that; the urgency is seen”, she said (see other news).
Ms Kallas also responded to a question about Belgian concerns over the use of frozen assets: these must be taken into account and the risks associated with the loan, if any, must be shared. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)