The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, defended Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump called for his replacement by another leader and criticized the lack of elections in Ukraine. The community official emphasized that it is not feasible to organize elections while the country remains immersed in an open war.
"Almost all constitutions have provisions that establish that, when there is a war, elections cannot be held," Kallas pointed out to the media upon her arrival at the Council of Foreign Affairs (CAE) on Monday in Luxembourg, where she also recalled that Zelensky has already expressed his willingness to call elections if a ceasefire is achieved.
The head of European diplomacy stressed that electoral processes imply a struggle between different political forces within the same state, which is why she emphasized the need to preserve the internal cohesion of Ukrainian society while Russian attacks persist.
Kallas maintained that, on the other hand, "if pressure is applied to Russia to stop this war," she is "sure" that Ukraine "will hold elections," in an indirect reference to Trump's decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel and close a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to facilitate its sale in the U.S. market and globally.
In this line, the European official urged Washington to increase pressure on Moscow with new sanctions, emphasizing that "the only way" to stop the war is to tighten measures against Russia, which she reminded bears the responsibility for having triggered the conflict.
"It would work much better if our partners in the United Kingdom and the United States were aligned with us. The United Kingdom is, but if the United States were also, if it passed the Graham law on Russia, we could really exert pressure for Russia to end this war," she argued.
Energy ceasefire and risk of advantage for Russia
On the other hand, Kallas positively assessed the energy ceasefire announced on Sunday by Trump, although she warned that if it is limited only to attacks on refineries, the main beneficiary would be Russia, especially after the occupant of the White House made public last Friday an agreement with Putin to authorize the marketing of millions of tons of Russian diesel.
"Of course, we welcome the energy ceasefire when it is fulfilled. We have not yet seen Russia respect it," added the High Representative, who demanded that any truce also includes the end of attacks that cause deaths.
"Personally, I would also appreciate that the ceasefire includes not killing people, not just energy, although energy is also extremely important because winter is going to be cold," she stated, before warning that "it is important that it does not only apply to refineries, because Ukraine has one and Russia has many."