The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, has demanded that Russia prove "its good faith" in the talks it is holding with Ukraine and the United States to achieve peace, and that it enable humanitarian corridors and agreements that make possible the "family reunification" of Ukrainian children abducted by Moscow.
The head of European diplomacy delivered this message in a debate held this Wednesday at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Brussels, where she urged the Eurochamber to approve a resolution that calls on the Kremlin to demonstrate "its good faith" and that it "is truly considering and seeking peace" by returning minors deported and forcibly transferred to Russia since the start of the invasion of Ukraine.
"We could ask Russia to facilitate humanitarian corridors and practical agreements that would allow eventual family reunification.
We can ask Russia to allow the United Nations, UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other relevant independent bodies to access the institutions and places where Ukrainian children are being held," she cited as an example.
The Estonian politician has also demanded that Moscow "bring an end" to bombardments and attacks against schools, educational centers, day care centers, universities and other facilities, as well as "against all those places where Ukrainian children are located."
Kallas has argued that "all children have the right to have a home, to be with their parents and also to live and grow in peace," and for that reason she backs "all diplomatic efforts" with Moscow. However, she has lamented that "Russia is not interested in peace" and that she believes it can limit itself to "presenting maximum demands and then withdrawing from the negotiations."
"While we are holding this debate, talks are taking place between Ukrainian and Russian representatives in Abu Dhabi. The European Union has always supported efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. The only problem is that Russia is not showing any signs of being willing to negotiate seriously," she added.
"Disdain" for human life and a deportation network
In this context, Kallas has emphasized that "the treatment meted out" to Ukrainian minors in the last four years is "the clearest example of Russia's absolute disregard for human life", especially when "it is likely that the kidnapped Ukrainian children are now being sent by Russia to fight against Ukraine".
As she indicated, Russia "can only keep up its horrific system of deportation, indoctrination, and illegal adoption of children thanks to a network of people and entities", which is why the European Union has approved sanctions against those responsible for these practices.
The High Representative has pointed out that recently restrictive measures were expanded to cover more children’s camps, including the International Children’s Camp Songdo-1, in North Korea, where Ukrainian children were located.
"Russia kidnaps the children and North Korea indoctrinates them. This is how dictatorships split up the work," she has denounced, noting that the EU continues to be "the main support" for initiatives to demand "accountability for these crimes", including the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
"Let’s not forget that there are two arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova (the presidential commissioner for Children's Rights in Russia) for these crimes," she stressed, insisting that the deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia "is a policy of the Russian Government, approved by Putin himself".