EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has claimed that American negotiators have been trying to push Ukraine into surrendering to Russia for nearly two years.

Axar.az reports, citing the European External Action Service (EEAS), that Kallas stressed that Europe must be involved in negotiations with Russia, particularly on issues concerning sanctions against Moscow.

“Although American negotiators have been trying to push Ukraine into surrender for already almost two years, one and a half years now, why Ukraine hasn't surrendered on Putin's terms is because Europe has been supporting Ukraine,” Kallas said during a debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on October 20.

“If Russia is presenting their maximalist demands and requests, we should put our maximum demands on the table to balance these negotiations, and also to send a clear message to Russia that for all of those things that they are interested in – lifting sanctions – Europe needs to be around that table because they are European decisions,” she said.