EU ready to lead in Ukraine support if US steps back, chief diplomat says
The European Union is prepared to take a leading role in supporting Ukraine if U.S. backing wanes, EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Jan. 9 at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, German media outlet Tagesschau reported.
"If the United States is not ready for it, the European Union is ready to take the lead," Kallas said.
President-elect Donald Trump and his team have expressed skepticism about the ongoing financial U.S. support for Ukraine. Michael Waltz, Trump’s incoming national security advisor, said on Dec. 15 that "a blank check... just isn’t a strategy."
Kallas emphasized that, regardless of leadership, the U.S. has "no interest in Russia being the strongest power in the world."
A report by The Wall Street Journal indicated that Trump’s team may propose delaying Ukraine’s NATO membership by 20 years in exchange for Western arms supplies and European peacekeepers to oversee a ceasefire with Russia. Trump has pledged to bring a swift end to the war but has yet to provide detailed plans for achieving peace.
Kateryna Hodunova
