The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, considered this Monday "very positive" that the US President, the Republican Donald Trump, is pressing Russia to achieve peace in Ukraine, but estimated that the 50-day period that the president gave before applying sanctions to the regime is "a lot of time."

"On the one hand, it's very positive that President Trump is taking a long-term stance on Russia. On the other hand, 50 days is a long time if we see that innocent civilians are also being killed every day," Kallas said upon arriving for a meeting of EU foreign ministers with their counterparts from the Southern Neighborhood.

The former Estonian prime minister added that "it's clear that we all need to put more pressure on Russia to also want peace. It's positive that the Americans are taking action. I hope they will also provide military aid like the Europeans are providing," she added. That same day, Washington announced the shipment of supplies to Ukraine, which will be paid for by NATO members.

Melania Trump's role

Trump increased the pressure on Putin by threatening to impose “very severe tariffs” if a peace agreement with Ukraine is not reached within 50 days and by confirming the shipment of new weapons to Kyiv. The Republican president's apparent change of heart came during a meeting at the White House with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, after several days of growing frustration with Putin over his refusal to stop the bombing of Ukrainian territory. If I were Vladimir Putin, after today's announcement, I would take the negotiations on Ukraine much more seriously, Rutte said. First lady Melania Trump appears to have played a role in Trump's change of heart about Putin, for whom he had once expressed admiration. I come home and I say to the first lady, 'You know, I spoke to Vladimir today; we had a wonderful conversation, Trump said. And she said, 'Really? Another city was just attacked.