European leaders, including Kaja Kallas and Jean-Noel Barrot, are urging Russia to show goodwill by agreeing to a ceasefire in Ukraine and making humanitarian gestures like returning deported Ukrainian children and releasing prisoners of war.
Europe's top diplomat Kaja Kallas urged Russia on Monday to show goodwill and agree on a ceasefire in Ukraine.
She said "giving back Ukrainian children that have been deported to Russia" and "releasing prisoners of war" were examples of gestures Russia could make to show goodwill.
Speaking before a meeting of European foreign ministers in Madrid to discuss the war in Ukraine, she also called on the United States to apply pressure on the Kremlin to put an end to the three-year-old conflict.
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Russia owed a clear response to the U.S. on whether it wants to go on a peace path at all.
U.S. President Donald Trump is becoming increasingly frustrated about the lack of movement in his efforts to broker a peace deal, after he adopted a more conciliatory stance towards Russia which was met with wariness by his European allies.
As for a deployment of peacekeeping troops in Ukraine that France and Britain have been working on, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said it was up to the Ukrainian government to decide when and if to allow foreign troops on its soil.
Read next
23:16
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran will continue to defend itself unless Israeli strikes stop, following high-level talks in Geneva with the foreign ministers of the UK, France, Germany, and the European Union’s top diplomat.
13:09
EU UCPM
Several EU Member States have activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) to assist the departure of citizens due to the airspace closures in the Middle East. Slovakia, Lithuania, Greece, Poland and Portugal have requested UCPM support to assist the departure of their nationals.
12:57
In 19 EU countries, the share of renewable energy sources in net electricity generation decreased in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the first quarter of 2024. The largest drops were recorded in Greece (-12.4%), Lithuania (-12.0%) and Slovakia (-10.6%).
15:07
EU meet Iran FM
European foreign ministers are set to meet Iran’s top diplomat in Geneva for urgent nuclear talks amid growing fears that the Israel-Iran conflict could spiral into a broader regional war.
22:00
world news
European Union governments have agreed on a 1.5 billion-euro scheme to fund defence investments, though some countries said its "buy European" rules are too restrictive, diplomats said on Wednesday.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment