European Union foreign policy chief Kaia Kallas yesterday rejected a call by Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever to normalize relations with Moscow and restore access to cheap Russian energy.
De Wever's comments, made in an interview with the Belgian newspaper "Echo", contradict the official EU policy of maintaining a tough stance towards Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine and phasing out the use of Russian fossil fuels.
De Wever also said that European leaders behind closed doors agree with him, but that "no one should say it out loud."
However, in an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Kallas said she did not have the same impression and warned against attempts to resume business with Moscow as if nothing had happened.
"I've been... behind those closed doors, when we're talking about the leaders' meetings, and I don't see that kind of mood," Kalas said.
"When we talk to Russia, of course, the most important thing is to first agree on what we want to talk to them about," added Kalas, the former prime minister of Estonia.
“If we just go back to business as usual, we will have more of this - more wars. We have seen this before, so we have to be very careful and not give Russia what it wants, because its appetite will only grow.”
Global oil prices have risen by about 40 percent since the US and Israel began a war against Iran, reaching their highest level since 2022.
De Wever's comments, made over the weekend, drew criticism from within his ruling coalition. He has since tried to tone down his remarks, saying he is in favor of normalizing relations only after an agreement is reached to end the war in Ukraine.
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