New EU foreign policy chief argued with Orbán over Ukraine's NATO membership at summit – Politico

Kaja Kallas, the new EU foreign policy chief, openly clashed with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during the NATO summit in Washington in July, back when she was serving as Estonia’s prime minister. Orbán had opposed Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance.

Source: Politico publication, as reported by European Pravda

Details: During the NATO summit in Washington in July, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told fellow leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine should never be admitted to the Alliance. An unnamed participant of the summit described it as a "very rude" moment.

Kallas was scheduled to speak after Orbán. An unnamed source revealed that she discarded her prepared speech.

Quote from the diplomatic source: "She answered Orbán directly, saying how wrong he was and that history and facts show that NATO’s aim is to avoid wars, and not to provoke [conflict]." 

Following Kallas, several other leaders abandoned their pre-prepared speeches and spoke out against Orbán.

In her first week as EU foreign policy chief, Kallas has already adopted a more hawkish tone than her predecessor Josep Borrell, Politico writes. She has also shifted the narrative on the war in Ukraine, writing on social media that "the European Union wants Ukraine to win this war".

Politico reported that in summer 2021, Kallas prevented former German Chancellor Angela Merkel from inviting Vladimir Putin to an EU summit ahead of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

On 1 December 2024, Kallas assumed the role of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The same day, she visited Kyiv.

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