EU Foreign Policy Director Kaja Kallas told CNBC at a Munich security conference on Saturday that this would not work if Europe between Russia and Ukraine is excluded from peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
“In order to make Ukrainians and Europeans a part of it, because Ukrainians and Europeans are the people who need to implement this deal in Europe, no deal would work without us.” CNBC’s Silvia Amaro is on the sidelines of MSC.
Kallas’s comment came as U.S. Vice President JD Vance was shocked by European officials on Friday when he slammed European democratic institutions and free-speaking countries in the region at MSC speech.
Vance said in a speech to MSC on Friday The threat to Europe comes from within, not from its opponents.
“What I worry most is that the threat from Europe is not Russia, not China, not other external actors. What I worry about is the threat inside.” Some of its most basic values, values shared with the United States of America. ”
Needless to say, these comments have encountered stone silence in Europe, the strongest signal that ideological and geopolitical rifts between the two great powers have expanded since President Donald Trump came to power.
Earlier EU official Karas responded to Vance on Friday Saying it is like the vice president is “trying to fight” with Europe.
“Listen to that speech, they were trying to fight with us, we didn’t want to fight with our friends,” Ras said at the Munich event.
Carras told CNBC on Saturday that Europe “can solve our own family problems and the thing we need to discuss with friends and allies is how we oppose the threat from outside of us to the transatlantic community.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy can be seen on monitors during the Munich Security Conference. The 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) will be held from 14 to 16 February 2025 at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich.
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The world’s defense and security elites gathered in Munich for a three-day security summit to discuss peace talks with Russia and reshaping Europe’s security and defense architecture.
The summit came a few days after Trump announced Russia and Ukraine have agreed to start peace talksand he had instructed U.S. officials to start negotiations immediately.
The essence of these conversations, and what conditions and compromises in Moscow and Kyiv and the United States may be part of these negotiations, is the focus of MSC representatives.
Despite Ukraine’s insistence that its strongest allies are included in the negotiations, the role that Europe will play in the discussion remains to be seen.
In a speech to MSC on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls on European allies to create their own military And prepare for future Russian aggression, saying Russia is “not ready for dialogue” to advance peace negotiations.
He also claimed there was evidence from Kiev, but he did not elaborate that Moscow was preparing to send troops to Belarus this summer.
