Kallas: US Negotiators Have Pushed Ukraine to Surrender for Nearly Two Years

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said in a plenary debate of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday, 20 October, that American negotiators have for a year and a half tried to push Ukraine into surrender on Vladimir Putin's terms, European Pravda reported.

"Although American negotiators have been trying for almost two years, now a year and a half, to push Ukraine into capitulation, the reason Ukraine has not capitulated on Putin's terms is that Europe has supported Ukraine," Kallas said.

She stressed that Europe must keep supporting Ukraine and has no other choice. Kallas also recalled that back in February 2026 she presented EU foreign ministers with what she called a "truly maximalist plan" for taking part in peace talks.

Europe's demands at the table

"If Russia puts forward its maximum demands and requests, we also have to put our maximum demands on the table, to balance these negotiations, so to speak," Kallas explained. She said Russia is interested in, among other things, lifting sanctions, but such decisions fall within Europe's competence, so it must be represented at the negotiating table.

"But we must make it very, very clear that we also have demands of Russia. We do not give these things away for free, because it is not only about peace coming, but about that peace being lasting and just," she said.

Context

European Pravda noted that Zelensky earlier accused the United States of trying to pressure Kyiv into capitulating to Russia. Talks are being held in Oslo on 20 October with US special envoys, Zelensky and the leaders of Norway and Finland; Witkoff landed in Oslo earlier in the day, and Britain, France, Germany and Poland are also represented, along with EU and NATO officials. More in our politics section.