BRUSSELS — The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas says she welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump’s readiness to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine — but insists the Americans do their fair share in the effort.
“We welcome President Trump’s announcement to send more weapons to Ukraine, although we would like to see the U.S. to share the burden,” Kallas said at a press briefing after Tuesday’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.
“America and Europe are working together, and if we work together, we can put pressure on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to negotiate seriously.”
On Monday Trump proposed a plan whereby NATO allies would finance the purchase of Patriot missile defense systems and other weapons for Ukraine. Trump said the weapons, worth “billions of dollars,” will be built by the U.S. defense industry and paid for by European countries.
Trump made the announcement during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who praised the move as further evidence that Europe is “stepping up.”
When asked to clarify her comments on sharing the burden with the U.S., Kallas called on the Americans to continue to support Ukraine: “If we pay for these weapons, it’s our support. Our call is that everybody should do the same.”
Kallas declined to assess the feasibility of using frozen Russian assets to purchase U.S. weapons, but did not dismiss the idea. “We need to provide Ukraine with more funding to defend itself. Although we have different views on the frozen assets, it’s important that everyone hear everyone’s assessment. Ultimately, we all have taxpayers asking why Russia isn’t paying for the damage it has caused.”
Ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council, several ministers welcomed Trump’s initiative. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said his government is already looking into the feasibility of such an arrangement.
“We’re looking into that as a positive inclination. As you know, the Netherlands is already doing a lot, but we will look into what we can do in relation to Mr. Trump’s announcement and take it from there,” Veldkamp said, adding he’s “very glad about the convergence between Europe and the U.S.” on the matter.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called Trump’s plan an “alternative version” of a Danish model whereby Copenhagen purchases weapons for Ukraine directly from Ukrainian companies.
“The new messages from Trump were very important in terms of accepting the delivery of weapons,” Løkke Rasmussen said. “We have to work out the details. It could be Ukraine buying the weapons themselves and supporting themselves, or it could be paying directly into the U.S. The most important thing is that there’s a readiness to deliver these most-needed weapons.”
Czechia also didn’t shut the door on joining the plan. “The important news is that the U.S. now signals a strong will for such sales,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský told a small group of reporters during the meeting.
But he cautioned that it was too soon to say whether Prague will pitch in: “We already participate in so many mechanisms that there is currently no discussion about new resources. However, I cannot say that it won’t change. It’s really too soon,” he said.
Some diplomats say that as the bloc pushes to ramp up European industrial production by 2030, EU member countries will instead find themselves having to buy more U.S. weapons. Lipavský refused to speculate, arguing the current plans to help Ukraine are more short-term.
“We are looking at how to fill the gaps in Ukraine’s air defense and how to do so in a few months. I will not compare it to major European defense efforts,” Lipavský said.
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