Europe
Kallas at the European Council: “Squeeze Russia, not Ukraine, to surrender”
Arriving at the European Council, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said sanctions pressure must target Russia, not Ukraine, and called for more ships for Operation ASPIDES.
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said on 15 October that the bloc should “squeeze Russia, not Ukraine, to surrender to end this war”, speaking to the press on arrival at the European Council in Brussels. The transcript published by the EEAS is marked “check against delivery”.
Asked about Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, Kallas said most of Russia’s war funding comes from oil revenue, so cutting it is key. In her words: “We see that we should squeeze Russia, not Ukraine, to surrender to end this war.” She said EU ministers had adopted 1,600 new listings on Monday and that work on a 22nd sanctions package continues, calling sanctions “the only way to put the pressure on Russia.” Geopolitiki reported the listings in EU lists 1,569 Russian firms and executives in its largest sanctions package on the military-industrial complex.
Frozen assets and the US
Asked whether Europe can still trust the United States, Kallas did not answer directly but said the EU takes a different approach, in which the aggressor is pressured rather than the victim. “Squeezing Ukraine is not the right approach,” she said. She added that she had proposed to foreign ministers a message to Russia that frozen assets and sanctions relief are for Europeans to decide and are “not given for free to them.”
Enlargement and the Middle East
On enlargement, which the leaders were due to take up in the evening session, Kallas said “we do not bilateralise the enlargement process”. She said everyone who wants to join is welcome, and mentioned talks on deeper ties with partners including Canada, the UK, Norway and Iceland.
On the Middle East, she said the EU “can be and are a security provider in the region” and repeated the call for more ships for Operation ASPIDES in the Red Sea, describing Houthi attacks as “totally unacceptable.” See also EU approves new Lebanon support mission and extends Iraq advisory mission; Kallas says Aspides needs at least 10 ships. She noted that foreign ministers agreed on Monday to open a new EU mission for Lebanon, while questions remain about security in southern Lebanon after the UNIFIL mandate ends. On the planned GCC-EU Summit she said discussions are ongoing and announcements will follow.
Ukraine is due to be discussed at the European Council on Friday, according to Kallas.