Kaja Kallas says EU will demand Russian troops withdrawal from Georgian territories

Russian troop withdrawal from Georgia

The European Union will also demand that Russia withdraw its troops from Georgia’s occupied territories as part of any broader agreement to end the war in Ukraine, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas has said.

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Earlier, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that Kallas had presented EU member states with a document outlining concessions Russia should make during ongoing negotiations with Ukraine. The document addresses the architecture of long-term peace and security on the continent and sets out a package of demands for Moscow. These include the withdrawal of Russian troops from Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia, as well as a commitment not to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus.

According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the document emphasises the principle that if Ukraine is asked during negotiations to reduce its armed forces or withdraw from certain territories — proposals currently being discussed in US-mediated talks — Russia should be required to take comparable steps. The wording reflects an attempt by the EU to establish a principle of symmetry in the negotiation process.

Speaking to Euractiv ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Kallas said Russian military contingents remain stationed in occupied regions across several countries and that their withdrawal is necessary to achieve a sustainable peace.

“Russia has occupied many territories and its troops are deployed in different places, whether in Georgia or Moldova. So yes, you know, for long-term peace it must be clear that they have to withdraw their troops from all the occupied territories where they are currently present,” Kallas said.

She stressed that, as Russia is seeking through negotiations to obtain territories it failed to seize militarily, reciprocal demands are necessary to maintain balance in the talks and to refocus attention on what she described as the core issue — Russia’s continued aggressive actions towards neighbouring countries.

“I have counted at least 30 international agreements under which Russia undertook various obligations that it is now failing to fulfil,” Kallas said.

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Her remarks come as negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine are being mediated by the United States, while the European Union is not formally involved in the process at this stage.

Experts say Brussels appears to be seeking to define the limits beyond which a “sustainable peace” on the continent cannot exist, with Georgia’s occupied territories explicitly included within that framework.

Russian troop withdrawal from Georgia