NATO would be the best guarantee for Ukraine’s security, stated EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in an interview with Agence France-Presse on Thursday, taking a stance diametrically opposed to that of Donald Trump.

During the interview, conducted in Washington, the Vice President of the European Commission also warned that Europeans would not be able to contribute to any potential agreement on Ukraine if they were not invited to the negotiation table, while the American president negotiates directly with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

For Ms. Kallas, the first woman to become Prime Minister of Estonia—a former Soviet republic until 1991 and a neighbor of Russia—NATO countries have never attacked Russia, which, in her view, “fears democracy.”

“Why are we in NATO? Because we fear Russia. And the only thing that truly works, the only security guarantee that is effective, is NATO’s umbrella,” she insisted.

The American president has ruled out Ukraine’s possible accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an idea opposed by Moscow. Meanwhile, he remains vague about the security guarantees the U.S. government is willing to offer Kyiv in the event of a ceasefire agreement, three years after the Russian military invaded Ukrainian territory.

Donald Trump has also argued that NATO was “probably the reason why all of this started.”

“These claims are absolutely false,” countered Ms. Kallas. “This is the Russian narrative, and we should not fall for it.”

And why, she asked, “should we give Russia everything it wants, beyond what it has already done—attacking Ukraine, annexing land, and occupying territory? Should we give it even more?”

“Imagine if, after 9/11 (2001), the U.S. had sat down at the table with Osama bin Laden and said, ‘Okay, do you want anything else?’ It’s unthinkable,” she remarked sharply.

Russia Insists the U.S. Had Promised NATO Would Not Expand After the Cold War

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is currently in Washington, though she has not met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, officially due to scheduling conflicts—amid growing tensions in transatlantic relations.

The American president frequently lashes out at his European NATO allies, accusing them in particular of not shouldering their fair share of the burden.

Mr. Trump, who is expected to sign an agreement on Ukrainian minerals with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington today, has so far appeared unwilling to offer U.S. security guarantees to Kyiv, arguing that this responsibility should fall on Europeans.

On the other hand, for Ms. Kallas, “Europeans must be part of the negotiations and any agreement. Without that, we cannot contribute anything,” insisted the Estonian official.

She also criticized Mr. Trump’s claim that the European Union was founded to take advantage of the U.S., a stance she described as “incredible” and contrary to “shared transatlantic values.”

She further pointed to the significant cuts in U.S. foreign humanitarian aid, warning that Europe “will not be able to fill the gap.” However, she added, the world is now “turning to us” and asking whether Europe can do more. “I believe we must increase our geopolitical influence,” said Kaja Kallas, urging Europe—amid U.S. inwardness—to choose outward engagement, to “look outward.”