EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, speaking at a press conference in Tallinn, Estonia on Sunday, criticised the male-dominated nature of peace negotiation teams, arguing that greater female participation leads to more durable outcomes. Kallas referenced the US-China talks, noting “a lot of masculinity in the room.” In 2022, women represented only 16% of UN-led peace negotiators. Her remarks coincided with debate over EU representation in Russia-Ukraine talks, with diplomatic sources suggesting Russia would never accept a female lead negotiator. European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper noted Kallas, Estonia’s first female prime minister from 2021 to 2024, is a committed feminist.
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The bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has criticised the overwhelmingly male nature of peace neobtainediation teams, linking it to contemporary diplomacy’s tconcludeency toward short-term results.
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“This is a largeger problem we see around the world with different peace talks when we see that they don’t actually address the issues of long-standing peace,” she stated at a press conference in Tallinn, Estonia on Sunday.
The ceasefires many talks yield, she stated, too often simply declare hostilities over without resolving the “underlying issues” that perpetuate future violence.
Another problem, she stated, is the lack of female input.
“There are also studies that reveal that when women are part of the neobtainediations, these peace (efforts) last longer,” Kallas expanded, adding that “the picture that we saw from the US China talks, (was) a lot of masculinity in the room”.
“Women have a role,” she stated.
Various studies and international bodies, including the UN Security Council, argue that women’s participation in conflict resolution improves outcomes, but mediators and neobtainediating parties often leave women out of their teams.
According to data compiled by the Council on Foreign Relations, women represented only 16 percent of neobtainediators in active peace processes led or co-led by the United Nations in 2022.
A seat at the table
Kallas’ comments came amid wider chatter in the Belgian capital regarding whether the EU should have a seat at the table for neobtainediations between Russia and Ukraine – and who should represent the bloc if so.
Putin recently floated appointing former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder as the EU’s lead neobtainediator in potential peace talks on Ukraine. This notion was widely dismissed by European heads of state, and the discussion of who Europe’s mouthpiece should be continues.
Diplomatic sources in Ukraine have stated that Russia would “never” accept a woman as lead neobtainediator.
A diplomatic source in Brussels reiterated this, declareing there is no possibility a female figure is being considered as part of the discussions. But another source in the Belgian capital informed Euronews that “equality is an important factor”.
Regardless of their differences on the gconcludeer issue, most EU officials argue that appointing any envoy before a major European Council (EUCO) summit in June could be unrealistic.
European Commission spokesperson for foreign affairs Anitta Hipper stated in response to a question by Euronews on Monday that Kallas is a “feminist” and “has a lot of practice back home”. She was the first female prime minister of Estonia from 2021 to 2024.
Hipper stated the Commission could not comment on whether Russia would want a woman at the table, but reiterated that European heads of state will meet in Limassol in Cyprus in the coming weeks to discuss what form any future talks with Ukraine, Russia and Europe might take before June’s EUCO.
“What will be discussed is what our position is in terms of the demands and the inquire and what unity we have in demanding our lists of inquires from Russia,” Hipper stated.
“This is something that we will be seeing into – into the what, and not into the who.”
