Good morning everybody,
It is great to be back in the UK.

Today we are going to discuss very important topics, including the EU-UK relations and of course what is happening in Ukraine and how we can really proceed with the ceasefire and also peace in the end. Right now, we have seen what Putin has said, but what they have done, overnight – again, over 100 drone attacks on Ukraine. In order to go into any peace talks, there has to be a ceasefire.

We also need to see that Russia wants this, to show goodwill to sit down and talk to Ukrainians. It is not there. We have to put pressure on Russia to really want peace, and to sit down and to talk with Ukraine.

On EU-UK relations, we have the negotiations going on about the Defence and Security Partnership. It think the partnership is very important in this very turbulent time. And that our very close partner, the UK, and the EU, have this relationship.

Also regarding defence and security, we already have a lot of cooperation points. We need to develop them further. So, I am hoping that we get this agreement signed in the EU-UK Summit that is coming up next week.

Q&A.

Q. At that Summit, what is the EU looking for specifically from the UK [inaudible]?
Specifically, we are looking into cooperation regarding cyber security, regarding crisis response cooperation, regarding different topics where we already exchange information – intelligence sharing and all this part that makes us both stronger.

Q. How significant is that partnership, do you think, and this moment will be?
I think it is very important we know that our relationship has had some difficulties over the past years – and this is a good point, considering what is going on in the world. We are the most likely partners and that is why I think we need to move forward with this partnership.

Q. You say for weeks already that Putin needs to come to the table. What are the ways to bring him in?
Well, we have to put more pressure on our side. We are working on the 17^th sanctions package that should be adopted next week at the Foreign Affairs Council. But also, I am very much welcoming the Senator Lindsey Graham sanctions package in the US. I think when we are doing this together, then the effort that we do together will pressure Russia into the talks.

Q. Would you like to see Putin on Thursday in Türkiye?
If they are continuing bombing Ukraine all the time, if there is no ceasefire, there cannot be talks under fire.

Q. Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said that he would be waiting in Türkiye. He said he awaits a ceasefire, but it looks like he might be following Trump’s call to hold those talks anyway, even without a ceasefire. Would you object to that in some way? If he goes ahead even without a ceasefire.
Well, we want to see also that Russia wants peace. It takes two to want peace, it takes only one to want war. And we see that Russia clearly wants war. It has been over two months already since Ukraine agreed to unconditional ceasefire. Russia has just played games. I think they are playing games right now as well.

Q. We are closer the [inaudible] sanctions against Russia [inaudible]?
Yes, I think the moment is there. This is what really fuse their war machine to get their proceeds from oil and gas. So, we should put more pressure on that, because we all want this war to stop and therefore all the efforts are needed.

Q. [Inaudible]
No, not within this week. The preparations are already ongoing when it comes to the 17^th package of sanctions. But, as soon as we get that adopted, we will start also to prepare for the next one. And I think there, the United States is also a very important player.

Q. Do you think that Donald Trump is more keen now [inaudible]?
Well, I think it is clear to everybody that we need to put the pressure on Russia because they are playing games. And in order to put the pressure, we have to use the tools that we have. And this is one of the tools. Therefore, it is also vital that we cooperate on different fields. Thank you very much.