"Russia is not a superpower" and "Europe is not threatened with civilizational destruction", Kaia Kallas emphasized in her speech to the Munich Security Conference. She outlined three priorities for the future of the EU.
The last day of the Munich Security Conference was opened by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaia Kallas. "Europe is not threatened with civilizational destruction, although some say so. On the contrary. People still want to join our club," she said at the beginning of her speech. According to Kallas, "the waiting list is quite long", but she expressed hope that "those who have been waiting for a long time will not have to wait much longer".
In her speech, Kallas outlined three priorities for Europe in the future. "First, this is European defense. It starts with Ukraine, but we know that Russia will not stop in Donbas. Russia is already trying to weaken economies (ed. note. in Europe) through cyberattacks, satellite disruption, sabotage of undersea cables, destruction of alliances with the help of disinformation and, of course, the nuclear threat remains. To respond to these threats, we are working on a new European security strategy," said Kallas.
"Russia is not a superpower. After more than 10 years of conflict, it has barely made any progress in Ukraine, and the price it is paying is 1.2 million victims," the EU's top diplomat stressed. "Russia is broken, its economy is destroyed, it is excluded from the European energy market, and its own citizens are leaving. The main threat is that Russia will get more at the negotiating table than on the battlefield," Kallas is convinced.
Kallas: Russia's maximum demands cannot be met
Speaking about the negotiations with Russia to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine, Kallas stressed that "it is important not just to sit at the negotiating table, but to know exactly what to ask for." "Russia's maximum demands cannot receive a minimalist response. If Ukraine's army is limited in size, then Russia's must also be limited. Russia has caused destruction in Ukraine, Russia must pay for it. No amnesty for war criminals. Return of deported Ukrainian children. This is the minimum that Russia must agree to if peace is its goal," Kallas is convinced. She stressed that in her opinion this is not the Kremlin's goal.
As a second priority, Kallas identified stability in Europe. In this context, EU enlargement is an "antidote to Russian imperialism," Kallas is convinced.
The third priority for Europe is international cooperation. "The EU has built the largest free market in the world. We are also creating defense alliances, for example with India and Australia this year," Kaia Kallas added.