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Kaja Kallas urges Europeans not to fall into Russia’s traps in peace negotiations over Ukraine

Riana Gegiu

13 November 2026, 13:59

Kaja Kallas/ Foto: Shutterstock.com

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European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Friday urged Europeans who are expected to take part in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine not to fall into Moscow’s “traps.” She made the statement in Dublin ahead of a summit of European leaders, amid discussions on ending the war in Ukraine.

Kallas stressed that the priority must be securing a ceasefire. She warned that prematurely debating Russia’s demands regarding Europe’s security architecture could divert attention from the lack of a truce.

Negotiations on the future of the conflict are at the center of the European leaders’ meeting agenda. The United States supports Europe’s participation in the process, but Moscow is opposed, at least for now, to an expanded format.

The Kremlin said it has not yet accepted European involvement. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would be able to decide on organizing negotiations in an expanded format after assessing the Europeans’ intentions and their willingness to contribute to the peace process. Announcements regarding Europe’s participation were previously made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. envoy Jared Kushner.

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Context: The EU prepared conditions and a negotiating framework ahead of the Abu Dhabi format

Before the US-mediated talks scheduled in Abu Dhabi, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that she expected expectations to be low and saw no signs that Moscow was negotiating in good faith. She called for a ceasefire and an end to attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, while also pointing out that frozen Russian assets should not be released before Russia pays reparations.

Kallas said that, together with European foreign ministers, she had prepared a list of Europeans’ essential interests to balance the negotiations, while sanctions and blocked assets depend on European decisions. In parallel, the EU executive made discussions on the European security architecture conditional on achieving a ceasefire and supported the presence of NATO allies and EU states in any relevant framework.

One day before the Abu Dhabi round, European representatives, Ukraine, and the US held coordination consultations, but the public statement emphasized that these did not announce an agreement with Russia or a ceasefire that had already been achieved.