Informal meeting of Defence Ministers: Press conference by High Representative Kaja Kallas
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The meeting is not over yet, so we are still ongoing. But it is good to be in Cyprus. Thank you, Vasilis, for hosting us here, and the Defence Ministers also yesterday.
Let me start with the support for Ukraine. On the battlefield, time no longer works in Russia's favour. Putin is losing money, men, and momentum. That is precisely why Russia is escalating its attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
Ministers’ exchange demonstrated today once again strong unity to support Ukraine and also put more pressure on Russia. The numbers speak volumes: Western sanctions have already cost Moscow an estimated $1.2 to 1.5 trillion. For next week’s Foreign Affairs Council, my services have proposed more than 80 new listings targeting Russia's military industrial complex, human rights violators, and propagandists. Brick by brick, we are collapsing the foundations of Russia's war economy.
Regarding practical support to Ukraine, ministers discussed the future of the European Peace Facility. As you know, Hungary is lifting its veto on the blockage of €6.6 billion, and I propose to use these funds to reimburse the Member States for the past weapons deliveries, to finance new joint procurements, and to sustain operations in the EUMAM Ukraine mission.
Ministers also looked into deepening the defence industrial cooperation with Ukraine, particularly on air defence, which is the most needed capability right now, and this must go hand in hand with facilitating production of Ukrainian systems in the European Union and establishing European companies in Ukraine.
The €90 billion loan for Ukraine is ready to roll out, and the first €5.9 billion payout is going to be for drones this month. As we allocate funding, Ukraine’s needs are the ultimate priority.
Then, on the Middle East, Israel and Iran exchange fire overnight. The region is stuck in phases of peace talks and fragile ceasefires. A return to full-scale war would come at tremendous costs to the entire region. All sides must come back to the negotiation table.
Freedom of navigation is under heavy pressure globally, as we see most acutely in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran actively, effectively closed the Strait, and its drones continue to threaten the maritime traffic. Ministers were clear today that Iran's actions are unacceptable.
In response, EU Member States in Brussels today approved sanctions against the Iranian individuals and entities involved in disrupting the transit through the Strait of Hormuz. This is the first time, the EU has applied its new freedom of navigation sanctions regime, and where necessary, will apply it again.
Our Operation ASPIDES is making a crucial contribution protecting shipping in the Red Sea.
The latest threat by Houthis to target ships also in the Red Sea shows how important this mission is. I have also proposed, once the conditions permit, that ASPIDES could contribute also to the Franco-British Coalition in the Strait, and based on the discussions today, we will continue to work on this proposal.
Now, when it comes to countering Russia's shadow fleet, the lesson is that concerted action works. Over the past months, our measures have made these shady operations harder, riskier, and more costly. For example, France and Sweden recently boarded tankers, and our EU naval Operation IRINI has begun boarding shadow fleet vessels under updated rules of engagement.
Every vessel seized, detained or disrupted means less revenue for Russia to finance this war.
After this press conference, hopefully we will have also a chance to discuss the European Security Strategy.
And finally, just a few words on the elections in Armenia. The vote took place under heavy Russian pressure and economic coercion. The Armenian people have made it clear that they have made their democratic commitment to peace and also closer ties with Europe. The EU is preparing an economic support package for Armenia, and we will continue to be its partner.
So, thank you again, dear Vasilis for hosting us today.
Q&A
Q. Are you in any way concerned that the EU and especially East European nations might be sidelined from Ukraine-Russia diplomacy, particularly in view of the meeting of the E3 in London yesterday with President Zelensky?
Like we were discussing last week with the Foreign Ministers, also in Cyprus, about the negotiations. What is the substance, what it should be actually our asks to Russia, because if we want to have a long-term sustainable peace, what are the Europeans' core interests? And, of course, there also Member States were voicing this, that clearly the countries that know Russia better than anybody should be heard. I think we had a very good discussion on the substance, and we really also need to have a strategic patience when it comes to really pushing Russia into a situation where they genuinely would negotiate. We feel that it is not there yet. That is why we were also discussing today how to put more pressure. That is why we are coming up with the 21st package of sanctions, and actually moving further to push them to really negotiate. But we are not there yet.
Q. A question on the Middle East: where exactly do you see options for the EU to influence the situation?
Today we discussed, of course, what can we do in terms of freedom of navigation. When it comes to the Middle East and the war that is going on, then eventually US and Iran need to really agree on these things, and of course, we, together with the regional partners, are also passing these messages that the diplomacy needs to prevail, and really have this first phase of agreement, or mutual understanding of seizing the hostilities, and then opening the Strait of Hormuz, and then using this time to negotiate, and there we have also offered, nuclear experts on the negotiations, because I think this is a very important issue. We have expertise also when it comes to trust building or confidence building measures that we can bring to the table because it is not the only ceasefire that we need but the long-term peace that also requires the voice of the regional actors to be taken into account.
Q. Can you give a reaction on the recent drones troubles in the Eastern Flank. Are you worried about it? And is there some kind of solution?
That is why we need to proceed quickly with all the work that we are doing with the Drone Wall and actually getting these capabilities up. We have a lot to learn from Ukraine regarding this, because they have put it up very, very effectively. We heard today from the Deputy Minister that the interception rate is 97% that they are taking these drones down, and we really need not to create a bicycle, but learn from them. It shows clearly that the threat is also to European soil. We have to take it seriously when it comes to really boosting our own defence, and keeping in mind also the way that the wars are conducted today, especially in mind that the drones are very effective tools, so we need to have also the tools to counter that risk.
Q. Just curious, if you have revised your view on perhaps putting together a standing EU army, or at least a quick reaction force to counter any threat, whether it be from air, land, sea, something that would benefit as a counter way to NATO, not necessarily supplanting or replacing NATO, but as an addendum on issues that the EU really cares about and needs to respond quickly. Just your thoughts on that.
So, generally, defence is a national competence. We are trying to push Member States to work more jointly together, because if Member States are strong, the European pillar in NATO is strong. Now, why I do not support an additional army, it is because every Member State has one army. 23 Member States are also members of NATO. If you allocate this army to NATO, then you cannot use it elsewhere. You cannot also create another army, just a parallel. That is why it is very important that we do not create structures that could create confusion. We, of course, also on the European level, have Article 42(7), which is not equal to Article 5 in NATO, to be very, very clear. But that is why we have also proposed, how to operationalise this Article if Member States also need help. We have many tools when it comes to the European Commission, when it comes to the External Action Service, when it comes to also the Member States, and Member States need to understand who does what in terms of crisis. We have the crisis response teams when it comes to hybrid attacks that have been quite successful, and we need to develop these even further, but not to create an alternative army to those armies that already exist.
Q. You will be traveling to Ireland tomorrow, as I understand it. And how high on your agenda is this question about alumina exports to Russia, if the Irish company is owned by a Russian company and at least half of the exports of alumina go to Russia? Will you consider putting this company or alumina exports under sanctions right now? Ireland can say, quite honestly, it is not under sanctions, so we can go ahead and continue our exports. But morally, is there a reason to stop?
Of course every time when you media do a good job to actually flag these issues, we are also raising these issues when we are talking about next sanctions that we can do, because our aim is to really deprive Russia of the funding that they get from various resources. So, clearly, we can discuss whether what kind of impact it has, and whether Member States are willing to put this forward and agree also on this to again put more pressure on Russia. But, definitely I think it will also be a topic that we will discuss tomorrow.
Link to the video: Audiovisual Service - Informal meeting of Defence Ministers in Lefkosia, Cyprus + Q&A - Audiovisual Service - Informal meeting of Defence Ministers in Lefkosia, Cyprus