EU's Kallas says India was asked to ‘put pressure’ on Russia to end Ukraine war: 'Not even good for...'

Kaja Kallas (File photo)

• EU urges India to pressure Russia for peace in Ukraine conflict
• India-EU summit concludes FTA negotiations, pending ratification
• EU and India to expand cooperation in defence, security, and Indo-Pacific

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The European Union has sought a more active diplomatic role from India in efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas saying New Delhi was asked to “put pressure” on Moscow to pursue peace, as per reports.

Speaking at a think-tank event in New Delhi after the 16th India-EU Summit, Kallas said European leaders had conveyed their concerns directly to Indian counterparts.

“So we have asked our Indian colleagues to put pressure on Russia. Because this war is not good even for southern countries … We both want peace and sustainable peace,” she said.

Kallas accused Russia of prolonging the conflict despite Ukraine’s willingness to agree to a ceasefire.

“Ukrainians have agreed to unconditional ceasefire already a year ago. From the Russian side we only see games and they are pretending to negotiate but they are actually not negotiating,” she said.

She alleged that Russia was deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure to break Ukrainian resistance.

“They are not looking at the battlefield… They are not conquering territories. What they want to do is to push the Ukrainians to surrender by causing as much pain,” she said, adding that such actions violate international humanitarian law.

While Russia was not named in the official India-EU joint statement, both sides acknowledged the gravity of the conflict. The statement said they “expressed concern over the ongoing war, which continues to cause immense human suffering and carries global consequences”.

They reaffirmed support for a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace… through dialogue and diplomacy, based on the principles of the UN Charter and of international law, including independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

India-EU free trade agreement

The summit also marked the conclusion of negotiations on a broad-based India-EU free trade agreement (FTA), which had been under discussion since 2007. The agreement will now go through ratification processes in India and the European Union.

Kallas described the EU as a dependable partner at a time of global volatility.

“When I go around the world, I see more and more countries want to build partnerships with Europe, because we are predictable, and that has become something of value,” she said.

Without naming the United States, she criticised the global impact of tariff threats and abrupt policy reversals.

“The constant threat of tariffs” and the reversal of signed agreements “by an executive order” had created uncertainty for businesses, she said.

She also pointed to China’s “weaponisation of trade” and said India and the EU face similar economic pressures.

“[EU and India] both face economic coercive practices coming from China and to address this alone, we are both weak. But together we are much stronger [and can] stand up to this,” she said, arguing that the FTA would strengthen cooperation and support the multilateral order.

Expanding cooperation in defence and the Indo-Pacific

Beyond trade, Kallas highlighted scope for closer engagement in defence, maritime security, and emerging threat domains.

“There is an interest in our EU member states for cooperation with the Indian defence industry, because we have these existential threats coming from Russia,” she said.

She noted that European countries are increasing defence spending and may look beyond the region for equipment if domestic industries fall short.

“If European industries cannot deliver, we can buy from outside,” she said.

Kallas said cooperation could extend to maritime exercises, cybersecurity and addressing hybrid threats, and stressed the importance of keeping sea lanes open in the Indo-Pacific.

She also reiterated her view that India’s ties with Moscow have complicated relations in the past. In September 2025, she had said that India’s participation in the Zapad military exercises and its imports of Russian oil “stand in the way of closer ties” between New Delhi and Brussels.

Despite these differences, she underlined the need for long-term confidence-building.

“[EU members] take a long time to negotiate an agreement, but when we do, we stick to them and actually implement them,” she said, adding that India and the EU must work together on trade, security, defence, and foreign policy.