EU High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas held a press conference on April 10 after meetings of the “Coalition of the Willing” on April 10 in Brussels. She is also Vice President of the European Commission and former Prime Minister of Estonia.
She was asked “You said yesterday about the reassurance force that there had to be some clarity as to what the goal was. Was it a monitoring force, a reassurance, a deterrence force? Can you be any clearer as to what exactly is being asked of European countries in terms of commitments, military commitments, and what their role will be after that meeting?” She replied: “No. I mean, the different Member States, like I said, have different opinions and the discussions are still ongoing.”
As if to underscore the division, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey, asserted during his press conference with French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu that “Franco-British led coalition’s plans were ‘real’ and ‘well-advanced,’” reported Yahoo.
Meanwhile, reported RT.com, Agence France-Presse “cited unnamed European officials as saying later that day that thus far, only six nations, including the U,K,, France, and the Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—have pledged to contribute troops.”
Additionally, in an interview with Estonian Public Broadcasting ERR on April 10, Kallas admitted that there was also disagreement on the matter of seizing frozen Russian assets, stating, “When it comes to using frozen Russian assets, we are in discussions with the 27 member states. We’re getting ready, as there are certain risks involved, and we need to find ways to mitigate those risks. Plus, some states are strongly opposed to it.” She declined to name names, but pointed out, “For example, take Belgium, where we are sitting right now; they hold most of the assets. As a result, they feel their risk exposure is the highest.” Several nations, such as Austria, France, and Germany have warned of potential legal and other repercussions if they were to confiscate the assets outright.
“Early last month, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron said they were ready to lead a coalition of European countries to support Kiev with ground forces and aircraft, if and when Ukraine and Russia achieve a ceasefire. The proposal followed the launch of bilateral peace talks between Moscow and Washington, from which both the EU and the UK were conspicuously left out,” reported RT.
