Foreign Affairs Council: Press remarks by High Representative Kaja Kallas upon arrival
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Good morning, everybody.
So again, another day of Foreign Affairs Council. Today, we have a packed agenda.
First, we start with the discussions on the European Security Strategy. It is important that the Member States have a buy-in, because Member States need to be on board, with what should be there. So we will have a broad discussion on what are the different aspects that Member States want to see in this Security Strategy.
Then we go and discuss Ukraine. Of course, it is important that the attention on the Middle East does not take away the attention from Ukraine. That the attention does not fizzle out there. We see the easing of sanctions on oil, on Russia, by the US is a dangerous precedent, because right now, we need them to have less money for waging the war than more. And of course, you know the Strait of Hormuz being closed is also to the benefit of Russia to fund this war. We need to do definitely more on this.
And then, of course, we will discuss the Middle East. And everything, what is happening in the Middle East is also affecting Ukraine. It is affecting other partners. And there, the main topic will be how to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
During the weekend I also had talks with UN Secretary General.
I had talks with Antonio Guterres about whether it was possible to also have the same kind of initiative like we had the Black Sea initiative, how to get the grain from Ukraine out, because the closure of Strait of Hormuz is really dangerous for the oil supplies, energy supplies to Asia. 85% of the oil and gas through Strait of Hormuz goes to Asian countries. But it is also problematic for the fertilisers. And if there is lack of fertilisers this year, there is going to be also food deprivation next year. So, we discussed with Antonio Guterres how to make this happen.
And then on our side, we have missions and operations in the region. We have ASPIDES, of course, we will discuss with Member States whether it is possible to really change the mandate of this mission. The point is that whether the Member States are willing to actually use this mission. If we want to have security in this region, then it would be easiest to actually already use the operation that we have in the region, and maybe a change a bit. There is also talk of Coalition of the Willing in this regard. But we also need to see what could be the fastest to provide this opening for the Strait of Hormuz. But of course, as you can see, it 'is not easy. And then we will also have a discussion on the Southern Neighbourhood.
So, there is also how, this Middle East crisis affects the Southern Neighbourhoods so we will also discuss this and many other topics.
Q&A
Q. German Foreign Minister yesterday said that he does not really see, or he does not really see that it's so necessary or that it would be very helpful to extend ASPIDES, what is your position on this?
We will discuss this today. We have proposals on the table, what we could do. But of course, we need to also have the Member States on board. If the Member States say that we are not doing anything with this, then, of course, it is their decision. But we have to discuss how we help to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
Q. Do you have some updates on these attempts to negotiate with Russia? Because there was a visit of some European diplomats to Moscow and there is some [inaudible] that they would not like answers from Moscow on the proposition to have Europe as a partner in negotiations And do you feel that Europe now is a part of negotiation in some way?
This is not surprising. Russia has shown that they do not really want to negotiate. They are actually increasing their attacks on Ukraine because they want to have their maximalist goals satisfied. And that is because Europeans are not willing to give them these maximalist demands, then why should they talk to us? What should be our approach is to increase the pressure, and that is why enforcing the oil price cap is very important, also using sanctions and the 20th sanctions package, fighting the shadow fleet, also giving €90 billion loan to Ukraine. This is all important, that we would put the pressure on Russia, so that they would go from, pretending to negotiate to actually negotiate.
Q. President Trump has said that NATO faces a very bad future if US allies fail to assist in opening the Strait of Hormuz. What is your response to that? And are you concerned that the Middle East war is going to be more linked to Ukraine and NATO?
Clearly, all these security theaters are very much interlinked when it comes to the capabilities that are needed in Ukraine or in the Middle East, when it comes to also our attention. That is very, very clear. And the actors or our adversaries are also using this. So, this is very, very clear. Now, it is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and that is why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard, from the European side.
Q [Inaudible]
We have been in touch with the US colleagues on different levels on this. But of course the situation is very volatile.
Q. After two weeks of war between Iran, Israel and America, how concerned are you about the price of gas and petrol in Europe? Do you have enough supplies of food and energy for this year?
It is clearly affecting the overall oil price in the market. So, it raises the prices. That is very clear, even if we are not so much dependent on these sources that come from the region. But these are all global issues. Of course, we are very concerned. At the same time, when we have the FAC, there is also the meeting of energy ministers. And I was in contact also with the Energy Commissioner on what can we do in this regard to actually, keep the oil price on the global market down because it affects everything.
Q. And what about the food?
And the food as well, because, via the Strait of Hormuz the food supply is equally concerning. And like I said, the fertilisers. So, if it is blocked and the fertilisers do not get through, then there will also be food deprivation in Africa, for example. That is why I also discussed this with UN Secretary General.
Q. What can you say about Georgia? We will, we know that [inaudible] will discuss about Georgia.
We are discussing Georgia and of course, the situation is getting more serious. And that is why, from the 6th of March we have this implementation of the visa ban for diplomats. We will discuss what more can we do, because Georgian Government is definitely not going in the right direction.
Q . You mentioned the EU mission, and you mentioned the Coalition of the Willing. Taking into consideration that having structure of command already in operation, why should you talk about European Coalition of the Willing? Or is it something Americans want to take credit for?
No, I was referring to the French initiative regarding putting together the Coalition of the Willing. I think these two things could go hand in hand: we already have the operation ASPIDES, where we have the chain of command, and everything is in place. But if there is also a Coalition of the Willing, these can also complement each other. But like I said, we will discuss this today during the meeting.
Q. How do you want to convince Hungary to approve the €90 billion credit for Ukraine and if it is not going to happen what is your plan?
This is really enforcement of the decisions that have been already made at the leaders’ level. Also Hungary agreed to this decision. So, it is the enforcement of these decisions. I know that President Costa and President von der Leyen are dealing with this. We will also have EUCO at the end of this week, so hopefully we will not push Hungary to accept or not accept, but actually stick to the agreements that they have also made.
Q. [Inaudible]
We have been in contact with NATO previously, but this is out of NATO's area of action, really. So, that is why we have the operation ASPIDES and there are Member States who are also willing to contribute, whether it is in the Coalition of the Willing or in the operation itself. But it is out of NATO's territories. There are no NATO countries in the Strait of Hormuz.
Q. [Inaudible]
We first have to discuss what the Member States are willing to do in the Strait of Hormuz. And there is also discussion that there could be [an] element when the big fighting is over. But, of course, the needs to open the Strait of Hormuz are there, right now. So, we will discuss this today.
Q. Do you see these internal domestic Polish discussions about potential Polexit dangerous, especially for the EU, and especially for Ukraine, as Poland is the main logistical hub.
Yes, I have not followed these discussions in detail, but clearly Poland is a very strong European Member State, and in the Eastern flank, I mean their support to Ukraine, but also being a logistical hub for Ukraine, has been extremely important. So I hope it remains that way.
Thank you.
Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/media/video/I-286275