EU top diplomat warns of 'Russian traps' in Ukraine peace efforts
EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas has dismissed Russian claims that Europe is obstructing peace efforts in Ukraine by demanding a ceasefire before negotiations begin.
- World
- DPA
- Published Date: 03:27 PM 13 November 2026
The European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has rejected Russian criticism that Europe was hampering efforts to end the war in Ukraine by insisting that a ceasefire is a prerequisite for talks.
Any discussion about the European security architecture would divert attention from the need for a ceasefire to prove whether Russia wants peace in Ukraine, Kallas said on Friday, as she arrived at an EU summit in Dublin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had criticized what he described as Europe's unwillingness to discuss a future security system on the continent, saying European countries had not even appointed a negotiator.
"If we start to talk about what Russia is asking regarding the security architecture, we actually walk into the traps that Russia is setting us," Kallas said.
"Let's focus on what it is at hand. We have one aggressor and one victim. The aggressor does not have security concerns. Nobody has ever attacked them, they have attacked others. I mean, keep the focus, people," she urged.
Kallas said she is aware "that the Russians don't want me" to represent Europe.
"They don't want anybody strong on the other side because they want to push through their maximum demands like they have always done," she said.
EU leaders in Dublin are expected to discuss who should represent Europe in future peace negotiations.
Kallas urged the gathered leaders to stick to current EU rules under which she, as the bloc's top diplomat, represents the EU on foreign and security policy matters alongside European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Any discussion about the European security architecture would divert attention from the need for a ceasefire to prove whether Russia wants peace in Ukraine, Kallas said on Friday, as she arrived at an EU summit in Dublin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had criticized what he described as Europe's unwillingness to discuss a future security system on the continent, saying European countries had not even appointed a negotiator.
"If we start to talk about what Russia is asking regarding the security architecture, we actually walk into the traps that Russia is setting us," Kallas said.
"Let's focus on what it is at hand. We have one aggressor and one victim. The aggressor does not have security concerns. Nobody has ever attacked them, they have attacked others. I mean, keep the focus, people," she urged.
Kallas said she is aware "that the Russians don't want me" to represent Europe.
"They don't want anybody strong on the other side because they want to push through their maximum demands like they have always done," she said.
EU leaders in Dublin are expected to discuss who should represent Europe in future peace negotiations.
Kallas urged the gathered leaders to stick to current EU rules under which she, as the bloc's top diplomat, represents the EU on foreign and security policy matters alongside European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
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