European Council: press remarks by High Representative Kaja Kallas upon arrival

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Today we are going to talk about firstly Ukraine and then Europe in the world. 

On Ukraine, we have to talk about how we can support Ukraine more. 

Zelenskyy's meetings here [in Brussels] are also about how we can provide more support to Ukraine. Any push for negotiations too soon will actually be a bad deal for Ukraine. 

All the other actors in the world are carefully watching how we act in this case – therefore, we really need to be strong. 

Syria shows us that Russia is not invincible – and we should not underestimate our own power. 

Then, the second topic is very wide, it is Europe in the world. 

There, I think it is important to understand that we are a great power, and if we want to be a geopolitical power, we need to act in a united way. Then, we are strong. Then, we are also serious on the world stage.  

Everybody is also looking at us in these developments that are going on in the world. 

We see this struggle between the forces that want to have the world order where ‘might makes right’. We see on the other side the European Union with its allies where we have a rule of law and we want to have a world that is rules-based. 

It is not that those who have the power can just take what they want. It is a real struggle, and therefore we have to [stand] together. 

We see the actors Russia, Iran, North Korea acting very clearly together in terms of military power. We see also China more covertly using the economic clout that they have against us. 

Europe also should not underestimate our own power. We are a great power if we act together. 

Q&A

Q. On Georgia please, you are going to again discuss Georgia. What should we expect and are you going to discuss extra measures? 

Well, on Georgia of course we can discuss, and we will discuss what more can we do to really [put] pressure [on] the government not to use violence against the protesters, not to use and oppress the opposition and send very strong signals from the European Union. Of course, on Monday we discussed [this] and we did not achieve agreement on the sanctions part, but we need to work with that further. 

Q. How concerned are you about the threats of Donald Trump that he might impose tariffs of up to 20% on European goods and how will you react to that?  

There are no winners in trade wars - that is very clear. If we start to have a trade war with the United States, I think also United States people are not benefiting from this. So, we need to be very careful. If the United States is looking at China, then we should stick together, I mean Europe and United States. If we are having a trade war between United States and [the] European Union, then [the one] who is laughing out loud is China. 

Q. [inaudible] 

Europe has been the biggest provider of aid, and we continue to be so. Of course, we work together with our United States allies to convince [others] why helping Ukraine is not charity, but actually investment to their own security and the global security. Of course, we are discussing amongst ourselves what more can we do – for Ukraine but also for our own defence. These are hard discussions, because they need financing, and they need difficult decisions [to be taken]. 

Q. One question about issues between Syrian Kurds and Türkiye. You know Türkiye wants to attack Kurds. 

Syria is a very diverse country, so it has many groups and Kurds are one of them. So, when we had the meeting in Jordan together with the Arab countries – also Türkiye and [the] United States – then the messages were very clear. Nobody should pull the cover to their side and use this situation. Everybody is interested in a stable country, a peaceful country and no civil war. [This extends] also [to], Türkiye, also [to the] United States. Those messages were very clear. I think it is very important that we stick together there, together with the regional partners and us, conveying the same messages and also conveying the messages that if the right steps are taken on Syria's side, then we are also willing to take steps on our side so that they can build up the country again. 

Thank you. 

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تصريحات الممثلة العليا كايا كالاس قبل المجلس الأوروبي، تشير فيها إلى أن سورية أظهرت أن روسيا ليست منيعة، وإلى أهمية التنسيق بشأن الأكراد السوريين وتركيا.