On 12-13 August, quotes attributed to the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, were circulated on Facebook, in which she allegedly commented on the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. According to posts by Giorgi Kushitashvili, a Georgian-speaking user who systematically spreads disinformation, and by several Russian-language accounts (1;2;3;4), she supposedly said, “If Zelenskyy doesn’t go to Alaska, we won’t go either. This is an ultimatum!”
Another quote being spread claims Kallas said, “Europe is against the Trump-Putin meeting. In Alaska, it will still be Friday, while in the EU it will already be Saturday. This means we’ll be the last to find out about the results and won’t be able to counter anything, because it will already be Sunday” (1;2).
False quotes in Kaja Kallas’s name are being circulated. No information confirming that Kallas made such statements about the Trump-Putin meeting can be found in open sources, including reputable media or her official accounts.
We first searched for the quotes in media outlets that cover EU-related issues (1;2;3), as well as in Estonian media (1;2), which often report on the former prime minister. None had published these or similar quotes. The statement also cannot be found on Kaja Kallas’s X account.
Kaja Kallas did indeed comment on the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska, but the content of her remarks differs from the quotes being spread. On 10 August, Kallas stressed the need for Ukraine and the EU to be involved if the U.S. and Russia attempt to reach any agreement:
“The U.S. has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the U.S. and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security.”
On 11 August, following the informal virtual meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), which was also attended by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, Kallas stated that EU ministers supported Trump’s steps “that will lead to a just peace.” She said:
“Transatlantic unity, support to Ukraine, and pressure on Russia – this is how we will end this war and prevent future Russian aggression in Europe.”
In addition, Kallas spoke on the matter in media interviews. For example, on 12 August, in a live appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe [01:50], she stated:
“Putin doesn’t want Zelenskyy around that table because that would reveal that he actually doesn’t want to negotiate. He just wants to have a picture with President Trump and also to postpone sanctions.”
She made a similar statement to the Ukrainian outlet Suspilne:
“Of course, we hope for this [that the U.S. will have influence over Putin], because the U.S. clearly has leverage over Russia. This is evident from the fact that Putin is now sitting at the negotiating table, but it is also clear what Putin wants. He wants a photo with President Trump, the most influential person on Earth, and then he wants a postponement of the threat of sanctions to pretend that he is negotiating so that the threat is no longer there. The result should be an unconditional ceasefire so that real negotiations can begin, negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.”
In the same interview, Kallas spoke about the need for Zelenskyy’s participation in the negotiations, because in her view, that would make the talks fair. She added that a peace agreement should be reached under conditions acceptable to Ukraine and that foreign countries should not make decisions on behalf of the Ukrainian authorities.
Although Kallas has repeatedly discussed the Alaska meeting and the issue of involving Ukraine and the EU in negotiations, based on her interviews and other sources, we can conclude that she did not make the statements circulating on social media. The spread of false quotes serves to discredit her.
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