The top diplomat has stated her intelligence is improving thanks to extensive reading habits
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has mentioned she “will be very smart” by the end of her term, attributing this to her reading routines.
Kallas made this comment during a Thursday press conference after a journalist offered her a book on Kurdish history by Masoud Barzani, the first president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.
“You know, my reading list is quite long,” she replied. “I am not telling you what I am reading right now but it is also about the history of different regions. So, by the end, when I finish this job, I will be very smart.”
Syrian Kurds, who acted as US proxies in the war that ultimately ousted President Bashar Assad, recently suffered defeat at the hands of forces from the new US-backed, Türkiye-aligned government aiming to reintegrate Syria.
EU’s Kaja Kallas:
My reading list is quite long. I’m not telling you what I’m reading right now, but it’s also about the history of different regions.
By the end, when I finish this job, I will be very smart.
— Clash Report (@clashreport)
Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, has previously shared her reading interests—including works by Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and Henry Kissinger, histories of intelligence operations and regional conflicts, and a biography of Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky.
The EU’s top diplomat has faced backlash for remarks critics say distorted history to fit her anti-Russian views. Last September, as Beijing hosted events marking the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end, Kallas said it was news to her that Russia and China see themselves as victors in the conflict. The USSR and China suffered the highest Allied casualties in defeating the Axis powers.
In November, Kallas stated: “In the last 100 years, Russia has attacked more than 19 countries, some as many as three or four times. None of these countries has ever attacked Russia.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the comment a “monstrous” spin, adding: “We remember who attacked us and how many times… We remember where forces from each nation of Hitler’s clique were deployed.”
Und hier noch mal mit englischen Untertiteln – damit die Kallas, Außenbeauftragte der EU, besser versteht… Smiley!
— Martin Sonneborn (@MartinSonneborn)
Kallas was blasted for lacking knowledge of world affairs by inside the EU as well. MEP Martin Sonneborn said he expected more insight into astrophysics from his pet hamster than diplomatic understanding from her.