Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) Informal Ministerial Meeting: Remarks by High Representative/Vice President Kaja Kallas during the press conference
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Thank you, Radek for hosting us here in Poland. Really good discussions we had, very open and, of course, really shaped by the developments this week. The war in the Middle East is rapidly widening. Tehran’s strategy is to sow chaos and set the region on fire by indiscriminately attacking its neighbours. The regime is making a strong case for its own demise. Of course, the dream scenario would be a democratic Iran that poses no threat to its neighbours. But of course, this outcome is far from certain. Right now, no one can predict which direction this war will take.
For Europe, it is a dangerous moment. The safety of hundreds and thousands of our citizens in the region is at stake. The EU is coordinating consular assistance and funding repatriation flights for people stranded in the region, and our naval missions help protect international shipping. Tomorrow, we have a meeting together with the EU foreign ministers and the ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council together to discuss the way forward.
As the world focuses on the war in the Middle East, we cannot let Ukraine slip off the agenda. Moscow may have lost another ally in Tehran, but the same drones that are hitting Dubai are also hitting Kyiv.
There are no signs that Russia's war is slowing. Moscow's maximalist demands remain unchanged. Europe has a clear and legitimate interest in how this war should end. If we do not articulate ourselves, no one will do it for us, and if we wait too long, it might be too late.
Respect for borders and an end to sabotage, compensation for war damages and the return of kidnapped Ukraine children are not just farfetched demands. They should be the baseline. Russia's maximalist demands cannot be met with minimalist response.
At the same time, we must continue to support Ukraine. We agreed to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion loan, and this we also must deliver. A broken pipeline should not hold Ukraine's defence hostage.
Likewise, the next sanctions package must follow as soon as possible. A full maritime services ban on Russia's oil exports would go a long way to decimate Moscow's war funds, and it is extremely important at this moment when the oil prices are rising.
Work also continues on the EU's contribution to security guarantees, including through our missions, support to Ukraine's defence industry, and with ceasefire monitoring. Ministers make clear that Ukraine's accession is a geostrategic goal and the strongest security guarantee that the EU can offer.
And finally, we also discussed the upcoming NATO Summit. If the last months are of any indicator, the time until the summit will remain unpredictable. The Middle East war shows that Europe must invest in defence capabilities and boost defence production. For example, air defences are in short supply across the West, and this war will stretch them even further. The case is very clear. The money is there, so industry also needs to step up production. A stronger Europe makes also a stronger transatlantic alliance.
Link to the video: https://newsroom.consilium.europa.eu/events/20260304-eu-hr-kallas-council-of-baltic-sea-states-informal-ministerial-meeting/152897-3-press-conference-q-a-20260304
Q&A
Q. About the shadow fleet, do you have a joint idea how to limit its operations in the Baltic Sea? Everyone expects that demand for oil will be higher, so the shadow fleet may be more active.
If I may add to this, on the last Foreign Affairs Council we also shared the paper of best practices, how to deal with the ships, so that Member States can use this and we are putting now sanctions on rolling basis to these fleets. So as soon as we know about a new ship, we are putting it on. We are not waiting for a package of sanctions but doing this on a rolling basis. And thirdly we are also working closely with the flag states, if the flag is moved, we do the outreach to the third countries, and I must say, they are really cooperative with us to make the steps so that we can limit the shadow fleet from moving.
Q. There is growing concern that war in the Middle East will divert attention from Ukraine. Is this concern also shared by you? Is it growing among other European leaders? And could you tell us if there are any plans to somehow maybe talk with the United States on some kind of cooperation where Europe supports the US in the Middle East, but in return, maybe get some increased pressure on Russia.
The worry is there, that it is diverting attention away, and that is why today, also, we had this meeting that we cannot let it slip off the table, because this is the real and very close threat to Europe. Also, what is worrying is that all these capabilities that are needed in the Middle East are also needed in Ukraine. So, the production we need to speed up, because there is more need, and we really need to deal with this, and also the attention away from the negotiations to actually achieve peace. What is maybe a positive side is that Russia has lost another ally in this war. I think this is positive, but we need to also move with the maritime services ban, because the rise in oil prices is also helping Russia to fund the war.
Q. Following up on the discussion about Middle East today, there was an Iranian missile heading towards Türkiye that was shot by NATO air defences. How worrying is that, and what are the implications of that?
The worry that this war is widening is very much widespread. I mean also the attacks of Iran against the neighbouring countries in the Middle East. We will discuss this tomorrow with the Gulf countries, what we can do in in this regard. But also the missiles coming to outside the Middle East are worried. Türkiye is able to take down these missiles, we have seen also the drones coming to our directions before, not in this war. So clearly we are looking at these countries, what they are asking. So the countries in NATO have Article 4, Article 5, the countries in European Union have 42(7). But the request needs to come from there, and it has not been the case.
Q. Friedrich Merz recently said that the European Union should be part of the negotiation on Ukraine. Will the European Union have its own representative in these talks and one would happen?
This is why I also have proposed to discuss and put forward ideas, what are our requests for Russia. Because it is clear that in these negotiations, there are a lot of concessions made on the Ukrainian side, but none on the Russian side. And it is also clear that there are also asks for Europe. What is important is that we are not giving upfront approval to the negotiations that are going on when there are requests for Europe. And that is to be very certain, very clear on this, that we are not giving our consent up front without negotiation. That is why we need to be at the table. But we also have asks for Russia if we are at that table. And that is why we also discussed this today. There are issues that are mirroring the requests that are already on the table for Ukraine. They should be also on the Russian side. And there are also issues that concern European security architecture, where we clearly also have requests for Russia in order to have a sustainable and long-term peace. We are saying this very often, that the peace has to be sustainable and long-term, but we are not really putting the finger on it. What does it mean? It means that Russia is not attacking neighbouring countries and how we can live with such neighbour in the future and that is why it is important that Russia also takes concessions.