While the United States has welcomed what it describes as a new willingness from Kyiv to “give up land” currently occupied by Russian forces in the interest of peace, the European Union opposes this progress, insisting on total Ukrainian victory and the full return of all occupied territories.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Kaja Kallas—the EU’s high representative for foreign and security policy and former Prime Minister of Estonia—strongly rejected the notion of territorial concessions. Kallas said the European Union would not tolerate Russian occupation of any part of Ukraine, nor would it support the lifting of any sanctions on Moscow.
“No EU country would accept recognition of Crimea as Russian, an element of the US proposal that is a major red line for Kyiv,” she told the Financial Times. “I can’t see that we are accepting these kind of things… we have said this over and over again… Crimea is Ukraine.”
President Donald Trump, who has increasingly taken a leading role in brokering potential peace terms, has maintained that no negotiations can begin without meaningful concessions to bring both sides to the table.
While it remains to be seen whether these positions will result in formal negotiations, recent developments suggest a thawing in Kyiv’s previously rigid stance. Ukraine’s unexpected agreement to sign President Trump’s rare earth minerals deal this week is being interpreted by U.S. officials as a signal of growing willingness to compromise—and a hopeful step on the road to peace.
