Kallas also stressed that any guarantees given to Ukraine must not be discussed beforehand with Russia, because doing so would give the Kremlin more influence.

European leaders have started to discuss giving Ukraine security guarantees. The Americans have as well. But first of all, this war needs to be ended. Does it seem possible to get Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian president Vladimir Putin to the same table?

We are making all efforts for that to happen, but as we know, Putin plays games and he actually cannot be trusted. It is also very clearly visible now that, in fact, Russia has no wish to come to that table or to have any substantive discussions.

Moscow has indeed said that they will not accept the deployment of European troops to Ukraine come what may.

Yes, though it is not for them to accept it. When I hear such positions, that European security guarantees for Ukraine must be talked through with Russia, by doing so we would grant Russia even more influence than it has now. It is absolutely not for them to say, but once again, it shows that they are not in any way serious about the goal of achieving peace.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said recently that a peace treaty will be signed only if it is done together with a legitimate representative of Ukraine.

This is again a great example, where all kinds of conditions constantly come up. In response, one could state that Putin has not gone through elections either; at least in Russia, there have not really been proper elections over the last 25 years. He, too, is not a legitimate leader, and it would not be right for him to negotiate a peace treaty on behalf of Russia.

So how do you grapple your way out of this situation? Russia definitely does not want peace, perhaps a ceasefire with concessions, but that ceasefire still leaves the back door open, so that Ukraine could be attacked again some day.

In fact, we together with the Americans do have the tools to press Russia to end this war until it can no longer sustain it, and for that, there are sanctions. If we apply these so that there is no circumventing them, and really the great powers — the Americans, the Europeans — apply them together, then it will be possible to press Russia to the point where they too would want peace. Right now, they are not at that point.

Moscow or at least Putin still talk about those root causes of the war; they have not changed.

I travel a lot around the world and I get to see that these Russian narratives are being picked up and it gets said that we must talk about the root causes of the war. Under international law, there are two conditions under which you may use force: One is in self-defense, and the other is when there is a UN Security Council decision on it. There is no "root cause" for attacking another country, and if we start conceding that, as if there were, then the borders across the whole world would actually be open, and that is not the world we want. These are Russian narratives which must not be subscribed to.

So what are Europe's actual options now, today, tomorrow, and the day after, to help Ukraine?

We must stand united, and we have been united. In fact, this was also a very good example where European leaders were together with president Zelenskyy in Washington. The picture we saw in Washington was quite different from the picture we saw when president Zelenskyy was there alone. The discussions we are having are related to security guarantees, that if indeed a peace treaty is made, then how to ensure that Russia will not go further and will not start again after a pause. We still need to convince our transatlantic partners on that.

Russia has not so far stuck to any treaty.

Russia has not so far stuck to any treaty or pledge, and for this reason, we must do everything so that they do not have the means to wage this war.

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