European leaders lock in Ukraine funding amid renewed peace efforts

6 hours ago 1

The European Union's ambassador to the U.S. argues that Europe's latest financing move strengthens Ukraine's hand at a fragile moment in peace negotiations.

MILES PARKS, HOST:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Miles Parks. The United States is still pushing to end the war in Ukraine. President Trump has said he wants a deal by Christmas. In Miami this weekend, Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have a meeting with Russian officials, and the pair met with the Ukrainian delegation recently as well. On Friday, European leaders also agreed on a loan of about $105 billion to address the most urgent financial needs of Ukraine. The plan came together at the 11th hour after efforts to use frozen Russian state assets fell apart. For more on the European view of the war in Ukraine and this moment in the peace talks, we turn to the EU ambassador to the United States, Jovita Neliupsiene. Welcome to the program.

JOVITA NELIUPSIENE: Well, thanks for having me.

PARKS: So tell me a little bit about why the timing of this loan is so important.

NELIUPSIENE: I think that what is extremely important that we are going into the fifth year of this war where Russia's aggression in Ukraine is not any way to stop. And we have to help Ukraine in making sure their finances are sound, that they can keep their economy afloat, that we have enough humanitarian support, that we have support for their energy systems, which are bombed every night, and in general to make sure that Ukrainians have defense support from us.

PARKS: And how does the loan, do you think, play into the peace negotiations that are ongoing between Russia and Ukraine? I mean, does this give Zelenskyy a stronger position?

NELIUPSIENE: Of course. I think that there's - we listen what President Putin is saying from time to time, that he can outlast and that the Western support is waning down, or there will be not enough stamina coming from the neighboring countries or from Europe. I think this is really a signal that, no, we are here. And this funding actually should help Ukraine for at least two years.

PARKS: That said, many countries in the EU were pushing a deal that would have included using frozen Russian assets as collateral. In the end, that did not end up being part of this deal. Is it fair to read that as the EU being somewhat divided on how exactly to support Ukraine?

NELIUPSIENE: Look, I think that what is the most important and what is significant for today is actually that Ukraine is getting the support. We can have hundreds of hours of negotiations and conversations how we get there. So you mentioned it's 90 billion euros or above 100 billion of dollars, and Ukraine will get this money and - with the very clear understanding that this is a loan with a no need to pay back unless the war stops and Russia starts paying reparation. That's why sometimes this loan is referred in the media as reparation loan.

PARKS: I mean, how likely is it that Russia would agree not only to end this war, but then also to pay reparations as part of it?

NELIUPSIENE: Well, look, first of all, instead of just pretending to negotiate, Russia should be serious in negotiating because pretending to negotiate is not enough. Actually, it should be very concrete terms and should be very clear that, you know, that Russia is halting the everyday bombing. Because otherwise, it's not negotiations if you - in daytime, you are saying that you want peace, and in the nighttime, you are bombing churches, schools, energy facilities and so on and so forth. So what we need right now is actually real commitments and serious proposals on the table. You know, the credible peace plan has to start with the very basic principles on our side.

PARKS: Well, I want to ask how the United States plays into this, too, because President Trump has been hot and cold on the idea of supporting Ukraine. And this came up a lot in the campaign last year. Many Republicans feel like the United States should not be financially supporting Ukraine as much as the country has in the last few years. How much of this deal is a moment where the EU is realizing that it can just rely less on the United States for financial support for Ukraine?

NELIUPSIENE: I think Ukraine needs all support it possibly can get. But, you know, by now, actually, our support exceeds 317 million. And by now, Europe and European Union countries are actually the largest supporter of Ukraine since, I would say, beginning of this year. And this includes not only, you know, the financial support or humanitarian support, it actually includes defense as well. I think that for the last year, we are there and we will continue. And this is the decision of Friday night - is actually about this - that we are serious.

PARKS: That's Jovita Neliupsiene, the European Union's ambassador to the United States. Thank you so much for talking with me.

NELIUPSIENE: Thank you.

Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Read Entire Article