With U.S. foreign policy priorities likely to shift under President-elect Donald Trump, the new EU foreign policy chief made a vigorous case for Europe to remain central in defending Ukraine and countering Russia and China, RFE/RL writes.
At a key appointment hearing in front of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee on November 12, Kaja Kallas noted that “Ukraine’s victory is a priority for us all” as she vowed that the bloc would continue to support Kyiv for as long as necessary. During the three-hour session, she also underlined that China “must feel the higher cost” of supporting Russia’s war and hoped that Brussels can use the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank in the EU, nearly 300 billion euro ($318 billion), to channel to Ukraine. The hearing came amid fears in Europe that the new U.S. administration under Trump will seek a quick resolution to the war in Ukraine on terms more favorable to Russia and that Washington will care less about multilateral institutions such as the EU or even NATO. Kallas pointed out that the United States “is our biggest ally and continues to be so” and added that “if Washington was worried about events in the South China Sea, then it should also be worried about how we respond to the Russian war against Ukraine.” She did not say a word about Georgia. On Belarus, she offered a standard answer on the need to work with the opposition. As regards Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, she emphasized the importance of working for a “peaceful solution” and highlighted the need for transport corridors and energy cooperation.
