Her latest diplomatic blunder is a comparison of Israel to apartheid South Africa
Kaja Kallas compared Israel to South Africa’s racist apartheid era during high-level talks in Mexico, breaking ranks with EU official foreign policy and deepening the controversy around her leadership.
The remark comes as the European External Action Service (EEAS), which she heads, is facing an unparalleled level of criticism about whether it is fit for purpose during the second term of Donald Trump, and amid greater geopolitical uncertainty.
Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, travelled to Mexico City from 20 to 22 May as part of a senior EU delegation attending a major summit in the country.
During closed-door and confidential meetings with Mexican government representatives, Kallas compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to the racist apartheid policies of South Africa, which ended in the early 1990s.
